Everything is a sale.
Got a PR approval? Yep, sale.
Job offer? Sale.
Got a date? Believe it or not - sale.
Reader copp’d a free subscription on your substack? You got it. Sale.
Know what you’re selling
You need to know what you’re selling.
If you don’t know exactly what the second party wants, how could you know what to sell? Empathize with the person on the other end. What are their goals? What would convert you if you were them?
Convert your users
Selling a “user” signup isn’t convincing the user to sign up. You’re selling users a lack of friction. Users don’t want to see a landing page. They just want the thing. “Don’t make me think!”, they beg.
I was sent an application by @AdonAlternative. No landing page. The first thing that happened was a redirect to a GMail login. I immediately signed up. I was sold.
Your user is happy. And so are you, because chart is going up.
Help the Canadian Government do their job
Imagine you’re trying to apply for an extremely important approval from the government for your company. You get a response. It’s a big fat NO.
Dear Executive Officer That is Trying To Get Something Done,
Lmao, NO
- Jimbo, Government Employee
It’s over. Your company is dead. Your entire business model is in ruins. But wait, what does Jimbo actually want? First, lets model him!
Jimbo is a nearly retired government employee. It’s Canada day weekend soon, and he’s trying to figure out which fireworks to get off of amazon before time runs out.
What you are selling Jimbo isn’t getting an approval. You’re selling him a distinct lack of pain in the ass. So, just do all the work for him! Use an LLM to surf Canadian policy, show exactly how what you want to do is kosher. Back link everything, make it rock solid.
Make it look like Jimbo is doing a good job, and make it effectively impossible for Jimbo to get in trouble. Do enough work for Jimbo that he can go grill in his backyard for the next three weeks.
Make it more of a pain in the ass for him to say no, than him saying yes.
Dear Executive Officer That has Gotten Something Done,
Approved! Great weather we’re having this weekend, huh?
- Jimbo, Government Employee
Jimbo is happy. So are you, because you aren’t bankrupt.
Sell to yourself
If you asked Jimbo what he wants, he would have said “My goal is to do my job right”. But really, it’s BBQ before 5pm (based). Most people won’t say what their real goals are. Often, they don’t even know what their goals really are!
You have a perfect person to practice this with. This person is with you all the time. It’s you!
Lets practice.
I’ll start.
My goal isn’t to start a company, or be successful. My real goal, getting (you)’s from gwern type mfs. I want to elicit a head nod from the abstract anonymous internet user.
My heart doesn’t skip a beat when le famous person joins my twitter space. But it does when this mf comes on.
Let me know in the comments, what are you selling to yourself?
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the grillers shall inherit the earth
Banger