Alligators

As creative professionals, it’s easy to forget why people really buy.

It’s especially easy when our ego tricks us into wanting to sound smart.

We think people buy because:

• We look or sound smart / fresh / innovative

• We have a good keynote with fancy slides

• We said the right things in the right order

But that’s not why people buy your services.

Imagine your best potential customer standing on the edge of a cliff, looking over the edge and wondering how they’ll ever get across the canyon in front of them.

As they stand there, they peer over the edge and see a bunch of problems that really freak them out.

How will they ever get across this big ol’ canyon?

Your customer looks over the edge and they might see a waterfall, some sharp rocks, or even an alligator. Look out - Danger below!

The key to getting better at sales is to slow down and really listen to what they see at the bottom of the canyon.

Not by giving them a pitch. Because most pitches focus on the wrong problems. We are so creative, that we draw our favorite problems into our customer’s picture.

Pitches stink because they focus on the flashy stuff we care about. (Hint: customers don’t care). We waste 20 mins and 30 slides trying to warn our customers about the perilous dangers of 1/5 people being eaten by alligators. (Who the heck cares?!)

When you listen and show your customers that you really understand their point of view, it builds trust in your solutions. And suddenly the bridge doesn’t seem so scary.