What do you think, it’s the water that sells or the pot?
Have you ever felt it’s difficult to explain the value of your idea, product or invention? Does it frustrate you when people don’t understand what you say? Do you feel that selling is the hardest part in creating your business?
Let me tell you Jack’s story.
Just like most of us, Jack had big dreams. He had spent all his life doing things for others. He wanted to do something different now and create value for others. Everyday he woke up feeling close to creating something that would transform people’s lives.
One day, while he was dreaming about being lost in paradise and looking for water, he came across a pot.
A green pot that had mesmerising artwork, he had never seen anything like it before. He drank the water from the pot and to his surprise the pot refilled itself. This epiphany jolted him out of his stupor. There it was. His life changing invention. He wanted to create that pot in reality.
It seemed impossible but he believed he knew how to create it. He began to plan and design his green pot. There was only one small problem, he didn’t have any money to fund his invention. He created a plan and drew the sketches of the pot, yet, he was skeptical of sharing his idea openly, fearing somebody might steal it. This fear drove him to pitch his invention to his friends. He was proud of his pitch and started presenting it to all his friends.
He talked at length about all the cool features of his pot but to his surprise everyone refused to believe in his crazy idea. He was heartbroken. He didn’t know how to give up. Sitting on a bench in a park, paralyzed, analyzing his failures, he was about to give up when a kid asked him why he was worried. Jack lamented to the kid that nobody believed in his crazy idea.
The kid was puzzled and prodded Jack further. Jack narrated the whole story. The kid was amazed and started questioning Jack. The kid asked Jack, whether he could go around the world and help people who didn’t have access to drinking water?
Jack exclaimed, “Yes!”. The kid gave him the only chocolate he had and asked him to not worry and ran away to play. BAM! There it was. The lesson. Jack figured out the problem with his pitch. He was talking about the features of his pot but never focused on how people will benefit from the pot. How it will transform lives!
Most businesses focus on the features but the benefits or ‘the impact’ take a backseat. They wonder why their product or idea has no takers. As human beings we take pride in our ability to rationalize everything but the mush in our skulls also drives us to take irrational decisions stemming from emotions. The best pitches are the ones that strike a balance between the logical and emotional parts of our brains. Some people have the innate quality to spin magic with their presentations or the written word or storytelling. However, for most of us it’s an acquired skill.
Reading helps this process. Now, I know that most of you would squirm or shrug your shoulders if I suggest a long list of books that can help you build the business acumen or the design thinking necessary to weave a beautiful story that sells your idea or your product. It’s justified because between our jobs and chores we barely have time to devour books.
Additionally, not everyone likes to read big fat books but that shouldn’t keep anyone from realizing their dreams.
I have read 9 brilliant books that I think would help you inch closer to your goal. I want to summarize the takeaway of each one of these books and arrange them in a booklet for you. Do you know what the best part is? IT’LL BE FREE! In return, you can help me by providing your feedback so I can learn and improve.
If you want this booklet, just “Comment” below or simply drop me an email at jagsirsinghchauhan@gmail.com and I shall send you a copy as soon I publish the ebook.
Originally published at https://www.thegoodgorilla.com on July 24, 2019.
