So, my girlfriend sent me a message yesterday asking about a laptop she wanted to buy.

Here’s the message:

I asked her what colour the laptop was. Lol

Now, if you noticed the ensuing conversation, you’d see she took my reply seriously, whereas I was making a joke and just messing with her.

Now the thing is I could have started going down into talking about specifications and blah blah blah about the laptop. Even going as far as sounding like a laptop salesman.

But what’s cute is I could finish talking about everything I knew about laptops and she might end up buying another laptop because it’s pink in colour.

Or because it’s cute.

Now, no disrespect to my woman who is smart as hell, as she shows here.

But the truth is that it’s important to know and understand your audience before selling to them.

My woman doesn’t work in tech, but she writes and makes videos so that laptop should be good enough.

But as someone who cares about form and aesthetics, does it also catch her eye?

This is why I teach students in my sales and marketing community that other things can sell a product other than functionality or features.

People buy because of benefits.

But they also buy because of how they feel about it in the present.

Or how they would feel about the product in future.

Does it tap into an emotion?

Does it elicit or tap into a certain desire?

Does it catch their eye?

Does it make them fulfilled?

Peace of mind? Freedom? Vanity? Prestige?

There’s a reason why religious groups spend so much money designing and building their places of worship.

Aren’t you awed when you see those magnificent churches and mosques and temples?

Grandeur – that is it.

That’s how King Solomon stole God’s heart overnight.

Even God who created all things was moved by the splendour on display. Talk less of humans.

What else does your product give your customers apart from function?

Those are questions you should ask when trying to sell.

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