How to sell things you make
(the sales philosophy I've come to adore)
Ariel sang it best - flippin' your fins, you don't get too far... selling things you make can definitely feel like having fins and wanting to cover ground sometimes.
As a maker, our darkest fear is most often...
"What if it never sells?"
But as you approach the path to profitability, it's about time you added some new tools to your toolbox.
I'm a huge fan of studying sales philosophies, and since no one else is doing it - how they can work for handmade businesses.
There are numerous sales copy philosophies out there, but one I've come to love and use regularly is by connecting with two distinct ways of thinking.
logical buyErs
Emotional buyErs
rEturn to sEwing businEss rEsourcEs
This is how it works:
There are two types of buyers out there, who like to be sold to in two different ways. People don't buy things - they buy feelings and experiences.
They buy stories - but those stories won't land if they aren't in a language your ideal customer won't understand. Enters the logical vs. emotional buying philosophy. Both buyers have completely different motivators behind why they buy, and what they must experience, to know, like, and trust you. And remember, they're not going to buy a thing until they do.
Logical vs. emotional
Logical buyers love facts, and realistic reasons as to why they should buy your products or services. They won't be moved by scarcity sales tactics, and most of the time, they won't make a decision until the final day of a sale.
Logical buyers need to hear the benefits so they can make sound decisions after they've considered all their options. I wouldn't market to this kind of customer the same way as I would to an emotional buyer, because what motivates a logical buyer isn't emotion-based. They want the facts - shoot straight with them! No fluff, no frills, serve up benefits
So what do you do?
Do the research for them. Provide comparisons between your product and the competition.
For instance...
You want to convince your friend to try a new restaurant. It's PRICY but it's the hottest spot to open up and it's sure to be incredible. Your friend is a logical buyer - they weigh everything out. They're going to tell you it's expensive, it's going to be packed, parking probably sucks/is expensive, yada yada.
You're going to counter with a valet option, you can get a reservation, your mutual friends said it was worth every penny, etc.
All logical, valid points that can't be argued with.
Back when i worked at Apple, we were always taught to sell people based on their benefits, not their features. But as I built different businesses throughout my 20's, i learned that this sales strategy truly only caters generically to one kind of person, the logical buyer.
Emotional buyers shop differently.
if you want to sell more to emotional buyers, combine that emotionally charged language into product descriptions, with a scarcity tactic, such as an abandoned cart coupon code, or an exclusive code only meant for email subscribers. Emotional buyers, however, need to be convinced that they'll feel how they want to feel by becoming a customer.
Now let's go back to pretending we're convincing our friend to go to the fancy pricy restaurant.
If your friend were of the emotional buying variety, you'd simply read them the menu. You'd talk about how exquisite the appetizers are, how balanced and flavorful the entrees look, how decadent the dessert menu looks, and you could provide the extensive geographical coverage of the wine list.
You could lean in to the beauty of a Michelin star-evening, the ambiance & experience of dining exclusively.
These customers require different messaging to close the sale.
I recently had a conversation with someone who argued that everyone is both emotional and logical, but merely at different points in the customer journey. He agreed that many people lean one way or another, but added, that we're all emotional until it comes time to provide a credit card, and that's when our logical brains kick in.
I curiously started running my own tests. Rather than filtering emotional and logical messaging together throughout the course of my sales pages, I instead lead with the emotional, and closed with the logical. This way, for those who back out of the cart, their brain instantly sees logical facts surrounding why purchasing my course is the most obvious smart choice.
So far, sales have increased 14% per month!
