#404: Sell me this pen

Why do so many of us jump right into sales mode?

Jordan Belfort’s (Leonardo DiCaprio) “sell me this pen” scene in Wolf of Wall Street is entertaining, but it’s also artistry as it relates to sales. I was stumbling through YouTube recently and came across this clip of the real Jordan Belfort explaining what this meant:

I am reminded of this daily in the business I am in. While I am mentoring and coaching entrepreneurs I often find them jumping right into the features and benefits of their inventions or ideas. Many times I look at them with a blank face, and simply say “who cares?”. What I am really asking them to do is sell me this pen.

What pain do you remove if I use your product or service?

What problem are you promising to solve?

Are you promising convenience, if so what does it save the buyer?

I don’t care what you are selling, you are solving a problem or filling a need. It’s your job as a sales person or entrepreneur to find out what those needs are before you jump into the sales pitch.

Just a short and simple reminder this week about customer discovery process. If you can do this successfully, you will save time, and your go to market strategy will be smoother.