If My Product’s So Great How Come I Can’t Sell It?

If My Product’s So Great How Come I Can’t Sell It?
by Kim Klaver

The following is a very brief “Cliff’s Notes” summary of the book If My Product’s So Great How Come I Can’t Sell It? Sections of the summary have been paraphrased to hit on key points. This is not meant to be a substitute for the book, but rather a study guide. Kim Klaver goes into much more detail and provides a number of examples in her book and the 3 Scripts class that the book is based on.

Part 2

Creating Your “First Date” Script:

Your First Date Script is the first thing your prospective customer will hear you say about your product or service. Use this to respond to people when they ask what you do, to introduce your product to new people, to create ads, flyers, business cards, voice mail messages, emails, and email signatures. Use the FORMULA to create YOUR OWN unique script. If you put an authentic part of yourself in your script, you’ll touch people and magically open their minds to your product or service.

Remembering – Go sit in quiet place where you won’t be distracted to complete this section

1) Remember how you were Before you came across your product or service. What made you decide to try it for the first time? What were the specific things you were suffering from, or were disgusted with, or really needed or wanted to do? Don’t be afraid to get personal with this. Use picture words to describe yourself. If vague words come to you first like “I was tired,” or “I was stressed out,” say to yourself, “What I mean by that is…”

Examples:
• My skin looked dry and flaky.
• I spent too much time at work that my family started complaining about never seeing me.
• I was someone who was always active in sports, and then started slowing down, getting sore, and needing more rest between workouts.
• I looked in the mirror and saw a fat man with a big potbelly.
• I couldn’t run up and down the stairs like I used to.
• I used to take a nap every afternoon and was in bed by 8.

If you are having difficulty remembering, then recall what happened in your life that triggered the conditions or problems you were having and how long ago you started noticing them.

• I was healthy and active all my life, then about four years ago I noticed my joints started getting achy and I’d get these shooting pains up and down my back….
• About 3 and a half years ago I pulled some muscles in my arms and chest and then I couldn’t work out like I used to. I couldn’t even carry groceries or lift my briefcase…
• For as long as I can remember, I used to get 4 or 5 long lasting colds per year …

2) Remember what happened After you started using your product or service. Did it fix or improve one or more of your Before situations? These fixes don’t have to be dramatic; they just have to be true. One little thing can make a big difference in someone’s life, like “Now I rarely get colds and when I do they last two days instead of 3 weeks.”

Be sure to match your Befores and Afters like “Before I was blind and now I can see” rather than “Before I was blind and now I can walk.”

On a piece of paper, write out three examples of Befores and Afters. Answer the following questions:
Before I started using my product (or service) I was someone who…

Then One day I tried this product (or service), and after (time period) I noticed that …

Finale: (see below)

3) Choose your Favorite Fix. What is the problem or concern that your product or service fixed that you are happiest about? Look at the 3 examples you wrote down and choose one that makes you feel the happiest or most relieved about inside. You’ll have other opportunities to present others. Just not now. You may market many fixes, but you LEAD WITH ONLY ONE.

Some people feel strongly about their results because they were life altering for themselves or families. In some cases, long-term health problems were reversed. If you have a similar feeling about your product or service, include a Finale in the

After part of your Favorite Fix. Examples:
• It feels good to use a product that actually makes a difference.
• It’s been 2 years and I feel better now than I ever did.

4) Remember a few Personal Zingers. Let’s finish creating a script for your Favorite Fix. Personal Zingers are juicy tidbits from your personal situation before you started using your product or service.

• These may include crises, frailties or problems you’ve overcome by using your product. Example – “Seven years ago my relationship fell apart, and after the break up, a lot of things went downhill. After a while I stopped doing things socially and I didn’t enjoy my work. Actually I didn’t enjoy anything anymore…”

• If you didn’t have a problem you overcame, but wanted to maintain an already good condition or ensure peak performance, your zinger can be what you’ve done to prove you’re a member of the Segment you are marketing to. Example – “I’ve been a vegetarian and always taken supplements because I wanted to maintain great health and improve my athletic performance. I play sports to win, not just for exercise.”

To get more specific Personal Zingers that paint a picture, ask yourself “Why did I feel like that?” What caused that to happen?” or “What happened just before I felt like that?” Now go back to your script and add some Personal Zingers to the Before and After sections.

5) Remember the Things You Tried before you came across your product or service. Did you try to fix your situation with other products or services? Some try other things for years like going from doctor to doctor, taking different medications, trying all kinds of vitamins. Examples:

• I was on four medications that weren’t helping me much and had bad side effects.
• I tried all kinds of vitamins from our local GNC over a couple of years and it didn’t seem to make a difference whether I took them or not.
• I changed my diet and started exercising, but neither seemed to make much difference.

Phrases that work well after saying what you tried before you found your product include:
• … but nothing seemed to make a difference.
• … but nothing seemed to work.
• … but they had bad side effects (and I got scared).
• They worked for a while, but [the problem] didn’t go away.

On your paper, add some of the things you tried:
Things I Tried (optional)

…but nothing seemed to make a difference.
(or similar appropriate phrase.)

Scripting Your Market Segment – Do not complete this section unless you have completed all of the Remembering Steps above. Otherwise, you will end up with the dreaded SELLER TALK.

Your Market Segment is your marketing name…it’s your favorite fix – the juiciest problem, condition or personal goal you had, that your product or service fixed or helped you attain. It’s your HOT BUTTON. You find your Market Segment by looking at what you wrote as the Before part of your Favorite Fix. Convert your Before into your Market Segment by using it or a version of it to complete the following sentence:

I market a product for someone (or people/parents/men/women) who…

At the end of the sentence add one of the following “like me” phrases. It shows the consumer you are a member of that market segment and most important, it shows the person that you have vulnerabilities also:
Like me… like I used to be… like what happened to me… like I did.

Examples:
• Favorite Fix: Before I started taking the product I was someone who had to eat every couple of hours, otherwise I’d get weak and feel like biting people’s heads off.

• Market Segment: I market a product for people who can’t go for more than a couple of hours without eating like I used to.

• I market a product for people who know they’re not eating right and are interested in health like I was.

• I market a product for people who can’t seem to lose weight with diet, exercise or will power like what happened to me.

• I market a product for women who want a natural alternative to the hormone replacement drugs they’re taking like me.

• I market a product for people whose joints hurt a lot like mine used to.

• I market a product for people who have dull dry skin and wrinkles, like I used to. Since I was little, my skin was dry, like my mom’s. I spent a lot of time outdoors in the sun and my skin got worse. It started flaking and I got a lot of deep wrinkles around my eyes…

On your paper, define your market segment:
I market a product for people (someone/women/men/parents) who…

…like me/ like I used to / like what happened to me / like I did / like I had.


Assembling Your First Date Script – Now it’s time to put it all together. Your script will have five pieces that come out of your personal experience. You created all of these pieces in the sections above: Market Segment, Personal Zingers, Things You Tried, Your Results After Using the Product, Your Optional Finale. The script also has key phrases that introduce or end each piece and a question that’s considered “The Close” - Do you know anyone who might like to know about a product like that?

The closing question puts no pressure on the consumer because you’re not asking them to buy. You’re simply asking if they know anyone who might like to know about a product like that. If you hit their Hot Button, they’ll say,
“Yes, me! I want to know more…” or they might refer someone to you.

First Date Scripting Formula

I market a product for people who …
Add your Personal Market Segment … like I used to.

Add your Personal Zingers
Add the Things You Tried … but nothing seemed to make a difference (or other phrase).

So then I tried this product and after ___ months (within a few weeks / almost right away)…
Add your results After using the product
Add your Finale (optional).

Do you know anyone who might like to know about a product like that?


Example – Long Script

I market a product for people who …
work a demanding job and have lost their energy … like what happened to me.

I worked in a medical practice for 25 years and during the last four, I started working longer hours, did more procedures, saw my family less, and made less money. I’d come home after work with no energy. I’d fall asleep on the couch within 10 minutes after dinner. I was so wiped out that my family stopped including me in their evening plans. They said “Dad’s no fun.” So I had to do something about it.

I had access to prescription drugs, but I was looking for something natural to boost my energy. I tried a couple herbal pills … but nothing seemed to make a difference.

So then I tried this product and within a month, I started coming home with more energy than I had before. I didn’t go to the couch anymore after dinner. Instead I stayed awake and spent time with my family.

It’s been 3 years and I feel like I’m in my 30’s again. The best part is the kids say “Dad’s fun again.”

Do you know anyone who might like to know about a product like that?


Example – Long Script

I market a product for people who …
have a hard time maintaining the weight they want … like I used to.

Growing up, I was always so active that I could eat whatever I wanted and never gain a pound. But then I got a demanding job working long hours and sitting at a desk all day, so I didn’t have time to go to the gym as much or make healthy meals.

My weight started to increase, and I’m a small boned girl, so even 15 pounds made a big difference. My clothes fit tighter, and at one point I actually busted out the back-side of my pants when I went to sit down. I looked into different ways to lose weight but I didn’t want to starve myself or use drugs.

So then I tried this product and within a couple months, I lost the extra pounds and my clothes started to fit again. Now I am going on 30 and I am back down to a size 2.

Do you know anyone who might like to know about a product like that?


Tips to Make Your Script Zing
1) Use words a 13 year old would understand. Say your script OUT LOUD and if possible, have someone listen to you. If you can’t, then record yourself and listen to it.
2) Make sure there’s no seller talk. It has to speak to someone without techno-babble, promises, etc.
3) Use picture and action words. NO clichés, generalities, or big words. Example – Arthritis = my feet and legs hurt so much I couldn’t sleep.
4) Go over your first draft and give it a polish…
5) Time your polished script. Make sure it is no longer than 45 seconds – MAX.


Depending on the situation, you may not be able to give your Long Script version, so make a Short Script out of it. You would use this, for example, in line at the grocery store when answering a quick question of “So what do you do?” You’ll add Personal Zingers later in the conversation if the prospect shows interest.

Limit this short script to around 19 words or less. Using the example above…

Example – Short Script

I market a product for people who …
work a demanding job and have lost their energy … like what happened to me.

Do you know anyone who might like to know about a product like that?


Congratulations. You now have a First Date Script. Get out there and start using it!

More and more next time on If My Product’s So Great How Come I Can’t Sell It?