The Perfume Business Is Not What You Think It Is
I was reading something the other day and I came across this quote which I quickly jotted down for future reference.
SIDE THOUGHT: You should make it a habit to keep your eyes peeled for great quotes by people who are more famous and more knowledgeable and keep them in a file. These are great nuggets to use as proof in a sales pitch, advertisement or story.
Ok, getting back to this quote...it was just awesome and made such a great point that I thought it could really help you understand a major point that we are always trying to get across.
Here’s the quote by makeup mogul Charles Revlon.
"In the factories we make perfume, but in the stores we sell hope."
What did Mr. Revlon mean when he said we sell hope? He meant this…in order to sell perfume you have to tap into what people want. Mr. Revlon is smart enough to know that what his customers want is not a bottle of colored water that makes you stink good. What they want is hope.
Mr. Revlon knew that he was not in the perfume business; he was in the business of marketing and selling hope.
Hope? Yes, hope.
Hope that you will feel prettier, hope that someone will pay more attention to you, hope that you might get a date or meet the person of your dreams, hope that you might mask an embarrassing odor problem. It’s different for everyone. But Mr. Revlon understands that he’s not selling the features of an ordinary bottle of colored water that smells.
So let’s tie this back to you…
If you make widgets in your factory, or have created a service that you can offer what are you selling in your store or on the street? Let Mr. Revlon give you a hint.
It’s not the widget or the service. That’s not what anyone is buying and that is not the business you should be in.
You should be in the business of selling the WANT – the hope. The solution your widget or service solves for your customer. The thing they so ardently desire that you can deliver as a result of your widget or service.
Figure out what that is and the sales process becomes infinitely easier.
