Principle 1
"Customers don't buy features.
They buy solutions and outcomes."
—Zig Ziglar
In other words, Lauren doesn't risk her husband's mood with careful honeyed words, twice a week, for 6 months straight, because the house she wants is "4,200 square feet with 2 bathrooms."
She has much better reasons than that.
Maybe...
After 4 decades of grinding away at a city job, an hour each way in traffic, she wants to come home to rolling hills, the sound of her horses calling from over the fence, and watch a spectacular sunset from the porch.
Or she's fulfilling a lifelong dream of living by the water, that her kids can enjoy, just like she did in her childhood while her parents were still with her.
Dave's got his own visions. After a lifetime of sacrifice, working long hours and putting 3 kids through college, he no longer has to spend an extra hour getting to the storage place to hitch up his boat and get to the lake. Now he can pour himself a Rob Roy, look out from his shop's porch, the sun's rays glinting off his Sea Ray Sundancer, uninterrupted.
Principle 2
"Paint the picture."
—Zig Ziglar
"Painting the picture" is a sales technique where the representative helps clients visualize the successful outcome of a product, rather than just listing features.
It involves creating a compelling vision of the future.
It shows clients how it will feel once their problem is solved.
Principle 3
"Good marketing should feel like it reaches out and grabs you buy the throat."
—David Ogilvy / Alex Hormozi
It grabs YOU, the viewer. It's almost uncanny how it feels like they ad is talking so specifically to you.
"Hey, looking for a 3BR 3 BA house in Whitesboro?"
❌ Generic, speaks to almost everybody—and therefore nobody.
"Hey guys, are you tired of living somewhere where you have to drive an extra hour out of the way, just to get your boat ready for the lake, and you're paying $150 a month to do it?"
✔ Oddly specific, you've got my attention.
The Power of a Story
Have you ever heard of Lamborghini? Yes, the elite car company known for its super fast cars and exclusive price tags.
As an upper middle class-raised female in my mid-30s, I too have heard of Lamborghini. My impression: "Ridiculously expensive cars that old rich guys buy to wave around how much money they have." Cool for them, irrelevant to me.
About a month ago, I watched the movie "Lamborghini: The Man Behind the Legend," which told the origin story. I found out that Ferruccio Lamborghini was a 29 year old world war II veteran, who got his mechanical chops from working on airplanes in the Italian Royal Air Force.
After the war, he (literally) bet the family farm on opening his own garage, using military surplus parts to build better, faster tractors.
After becoming wealthy from this opportunity, he started buying high-end cars—especially Ferraris. He liked them, but kept having problems with reliability, especially the clutch.
One day, he went straight to Enzo Ferrari to complain. Enzo basically brushed him off, famously telling him something along the lines of: "Stick to tractors."
Snubbed by the most famous and respected icon in his industry, Ferruccio could have kicked rocks on the way home that day, or.. reach within himself and say, "I'll show you."
Using his own ideas, he overhauled the performance car status quo and launched his own model, the Miura. It became a status symbol in the late 60s, and despite his later start, is a world-renowned brand.
Poof.
That's the sound of a middle-class raised female who couldn't care less about Lamborghini becoming an absolute fan. Hypothetically, if the 2 options were in front of me, guess which one I'm buying?
Principle 3
"Good marketing should feel like it reaches out and grabs you buy the throat."
—David Ogilvy / Alex Hormozi
It grabs YOU, the viewer. It's almost uncanny how it feels like they ad is talking so specifically to you.
"Hey, looking for a 3BR 3 BA house in Whitesboro?"
❌ Generic, speaks to almost everybody—and therefore nobody.
"Hey guys, are you tired of living somewhere where you have to drive an extra hour out of the way, just to get your boat ready for the lake, and you're paying $150 a month to do it?"
✔ Oddly specific, you've got my attention.
Principle 2
"Paint the picture."
—Zig Ziglar
"Painting the picture" is a sales technique where the representative helps clients visualize the successful outcome of a product, rather than just listing features.
It involves creating a compelling vision of the future.
It shows clients how it will feel once their problem is solved.