August 24th, 2009
When I work with my individual branding clients, there is one question I ask that stops every single person cold: what is it that you are really selling? Sputter, stumble, er, um, coaching services, or legal services, or widgets that go bump in the night. No, I say as gently as possible, let’s try that again.
Why am I being such a kill-joy? Because unless you can clearly articulate the uber-value of your new, better, best tooth pick there’s no point in selling it at all.
When you go to Home Depot and buy that wonderful orange drill, what are you really buying? Surely not the drill for the drill’s sake. But maybe, just maybe, what you’re really buying is the hole that only that drill can make in order to hang that Picasso you just bought or those kitchen cabinets from Ikea?
My guess is the latter. You want that hole!
Your prospective clients feel the same way. They may ask you for a description of what it is that you can do for them, but what they really want to know is the result of what you do.
When a bride asks a wedding planner to find the right venue for the big day, what she is really asking for is the fulfillment of a lifelong fantasy. When a client asks you to craft a press release, what they really want is to not only generate buzz about their new product, but to increase sales and make more money.
In my experience, the more you position your products and services around the results you can help a client achieve, the more likely you are to get the job — and build a brand that will begin to speak for itself.
What is it you’re really selling? Can’t decide which part of what you offer is the hole and which is the drill?
