How to sell cow poop
TweetA few weekends ago, I saw a truck come and deliver cow manure to two of my neighbors. It started me on a thought process about packaging and how really, anything can be sold, when it is packaged correctly.
Think about cow crap. I have no idea how large this market is, but I have to imagine it is pretty darn big. And people sign up year after year to willingly let someone deliver a truck load of cow crap, dump it in a big pile on their driveway, and then they take this stuff in wheelbarrow loads and spread it all over their yard.
I think in sales, its important to understand that the right message, the right pitch, and the right packaging of the product can make the difference between phenomenal success and failure. If someone said, “Hey, want to buy some of my cow crap and spread it on your lawn?” it would probably not sell as well, yet packaged as “fertilizer” it is suddenly a HUGE market.
This is NOT about selling someone something they don’t want or need. In fact, the cow crap on your yard is EXCELLENT in terms of what it delivers as nutrients for the plants, the lawn, the flower garden, etc. Buying and using cow crap is a GOOD thing. Nobody is getting swindled here; however, in order to get the product out – you need to make sure that the packaging of the message is done correctly.
When I approach selling, I try to always look for the pain of that particular customer and craft a message and story around that pain. This is not ingenuine. In every company that I have worked for, I honestly believe in the product I am selling and believe that it will be a good thing for the prospect – but the key is to craft the right message that makes sense to them – that identifies why the product will solve THEIR problem. Whenever I have lost faith in the product’s ability to do that – or in the direction of the company – that’s the time to move on. I find that unless you believe it – its hard deep down to sell it. At least it is for me – because I honestly want to bring the RIGHT solutions to my customers.
