People Don’t Buy What You Do

Michael and Phil Farrell knew how to sell steak. They didn’t do it by having an abundance of tasty cuts in their shop window to tempt strangers or passers by who might fancy a t-bone for dinner that evening. No, they did it by knowing the name of every single customer who walked through their door.

The brothers sold thousands of kilos of steak at premium prices even when times were hard, because a housewife was prepared to juggle the budget to afford them. A trade that was worth it for the amount of joy she experienced when they remembered her name and some tiny detail in her life. She was prepared to ignore the supermarket specials in lieu of the feeling she got when Michael went in the back and brought out a cut of meat he was saving just for her.

The steak was good but that’s not what the customers were there for. They were there for the whole story, not just a good product.

People don’t buy what you do. They buy how it makes them feel.


Image by yooperann.

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  • http://www.facebook.com/dusti.arab.3 Dusti Arab

    Now to get better at figuring out the tangible exchange part of this. I still feel like I haven’t hit the nail on the head where things finally converge. Glimpses of the story I want to tell keep coming through, but it’s still incomplete. I understand how I make people feel, but figuring out how to package that has is such a challenge.

    • http://thestoryoftelling.com/ Bernadette Jiwa

      It’s a process Dusti and you’re right it all comes together when you’ve got all the elements aligned.
      You’re well on your way!

  • ancuta

    People don’t buy what you do. They buy how it makes them feel.” This is the most important marketing lesson every business school student and entrepreneur should learn. Unfortunately, most entrepreneurs still believe that a SWOT analysis can put them on the right track. They complicate things too much — when things are so simple and natural…

    • http://thestoryoftelling.com/ Bernadette Jiwa

      Yes Ancuta.
      Maybe that’s where the books lead us?
      Thanks for your comment.

  • http://www.ricardobueno.com/ Ricardo Bueno

    I buy my coffee at a specific cafe because of this. Every time I walk in, they have a smile on their face, never an attitude. They know what I want, I sit down, and they bring me my coffee. We talk, catch up. And the experience overall, is always great.

    • http://thestoryoftelling.com/ Bernadette Jiwa

      When our local cafe grew they stopped doing that and we stopped going Ricardo.
      Sounds like you’ve found a great one!

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