How To Sell Anything To Anyone

Well, you’re probably not going to be able to sell a Snickers bar to someone with a nut allergy…

But I’ll tell you THE BEST WAY to sell anything.

Take this for example…

You live in the cold, hard plains of the UK. A place where rain is more common than the common cold. You’re driving home after a long day at work and you see three coffee shops with three different signs outside.

The first says: “Fresh Coffee, Expertly Roasted”

The second says: “100% Arabica”

And the third says: “Feeling Cold? Come Grab A Nice Warm Coffee!”

Most people who see the signs will go for the third option.

Why Not The First And Second Coffee Shop? 

It’s the same reason why most people won’t buy what you’re trying to sell.

A lot of businesses talk about themselves when selling. They usually talk about the features and benefits of the product, completely ignoring what people actually need.

The third sign works because it addresses people’s needs. Because it’s raining, passersby feel cold and will want something to keep them warm. Such as a nice hot coffee in a cosy café.

Sell the need instead of the product and you can sell anything.

There’s a classic example of this: 

“Sell Me This Pen” 

In The Wolf of Wall Street, Jordan Belfort pulls a pen out of his pocket and asks inexperienced salespeople to do this very thing.

Each one of them takes a turn, fumbling through an attempted sales pitch:

“This is an amazing pen…”“This pen is blue…”

“This pen works…”

After each one, Jordan shakes his head and takes the pen back. Finally, one person on his team grabs the pen from him and hands him a napkin.

“Write your name down on that napkin for me,” he tells Jordan. 

Jordan looks around for something to write with: “I don’t have a pen.”

“Exactly. Supply and demand my friend”

He created a need so that Jordan had no choice but to buy the pen from him.

Always Sell The Need

People sometimes buy things they want. 

But they always buy things they need.

Whenever you create a piece of marketing, you’ll probably catch yourself NOT selling the need. 

Whatever you create might feel good, the words might sound fancy and sophisticated. But always remember there has to be a need for it. 

Without that, no matter how hard you try to sell your product, most of the time you won’t succeed.

Get Good At Sales…

Whenever you’re out, always look at how other businesses are trying to sell to you.

Ask yourself:

- What are they selling me?

- How are they trying to sell to me?

- Are they selling the features?

- Are they selling me on price?

If I Owned This Store, How Would I Improve It?

…After you find a need for your product, you’ll also need to be able to write headlines that won’t get you ignored.

If you want to get good at writing headlines that’ll attract more customers read this:

pkcmarketing.co.uk/post/three-ingredients-you-need-to-write-a-killer-headline-for-your-next-ad