If you’re selling a marshmallow donut, make sure it’s a marshmallow donut

On selling what you’re *actually* selling and calling things as they are

If you’ve been around here for a while, you’ll know that I can get pretty irate about the personal development and self-help world.

Now, I love self-reflection, and I’m a self-confessed creativity and personal development junkie.

But something I absolutely loathe?

Being mis-sold to in the name of making something sound more attractive or more trendy.

Case in point: today me and Mr. Meg went to a wonderful maker’s market. There were so many artisanal fudges, chocolates — all the good stuff — and the thing that tempted us was a marshmallow donut.

For one, a marshmallow donut?! Secondly, it was HUGE.

We’re imagining a donut made out of marshmallow (yum) or a donut with marshmallow in it (also yum).

So, you can imagine our disappointment when we find out that the marshmallow only comes into it to hold rice krispies together.

Now, I’m not saying it wasn’t a good. It certainly had a marshmallow-y taste to it.

But was it a marshmallow donut?

No.

Would we have bought it had we known it was essentially a rice krispie donut? Probably not, but we’d still have been tempted.

Would other people have bought it simply because it was a rice krispie donut?

Hell yes!

And *this* is the problem with the state of marketing and the thought processes that go into selling:

Focusing on marketing the one aspect of a product/service you think people will want and is trendy, and ignoring the big picture.

It’s like the click-bait articles that promise you the moon but give you a fake piece of moon rock.

Or the I-can-make-you-happy-in-five-seconds/minutes/days self help books which neglect to tell you about the work that goes into changing your life.

And when we’re first starting out, generally we eat this shit up thinking that it will be what it says on the tin.

But often we learn the hard way that things are rarely as they appear.

I think so much of the mistakes come because people think that the actually-does-what-it-says-on-the-tin name is “unsexy” and people won’t buy it. (Don’t even get me started on this idea of making every “sexy”).

And it’s bullshit. Tides are turning, consumers are becoming naturally sceptical and we’re seeing behind the fluff.

Like I said about the rice-krispie donut, people would have bought it.

And people will buy things if you actually talk about the whole thing, not just the one thing you’ve heard is trendy right now, or you think people want to buy.

Now, there’s no denying the donut was good, but would I go back and try something else of theirs? No.

Would I go back if it was advertised as a rice-krispie donut instead? Probably.

The difference is trust.

It’s not about the product being bullshit, it’s all about how you talk about something and how you sell it.

So fellow business owners, be proud about what you’re selling and call it as it is. Don’t buy into this marketing bullshit that encourages you to align yourself with the latest trends or what’s hot right now.

And fellow consumers — keep up the scepticism, the tides haven’t changed yet.

If you’re a fellow bullshit-free creative and multi-passionate, come and on over make yourself at home! You might also want to check out The Couragemakers Podcast — because building the life you want takes a shitload of courage, and you don’t have to do it alone.