They already told you what to sell

Most people build an offer by deciding what they want to sell, then trying to convince everyone they need it. There's a quieter way. Look at what people already ask you for, without being sold anything, and build the offer there.

Here's why it works: it changes who has to make the case. When you invent an offer, you have to argue for it. When you name something people keep asking you for, the argument is over before you start. They made the case themselves, every time they asked.

The move: name the thing people already ask you for.

Here is what it looks like in three places. These are made-up examples, but if you've ever been the person everyone comes to for one specific thing, you'll recognize every one of them.

A personal trainer keeps getting the same text from clients between sessions: "What should I actually eat this week?" She answers it for free, because food isn't what she sells. Naming it means turning that answer into its own offer: "A simple eating plan built around the week you actually have." Same knowledge. Now it has a name, and people can say yes to it.

A bookkeeper notices that new clients don't want bookkeeping explained. They keep asking one thing: "Can you just tell me what I should be charging?" Named, it becomes a pricing review, an offer of its own instead of one more line on a long list of services. The question was the offer the whole time.

A coach gets the same message after people watch her talk: "How do you get yourself to post every day?" She has been selling general coaching. Named, it becomes a narrower offer: help posting consistently, for people who know what to say and still don't say it. It's smaller than what she sells now, and easier to say yes to, because they already asked for it.

Notice the pattern. The question shows up without you prompting it. It comes from more than one person. And they ask it in their own words, which become the words you sell with. You don't have to guess what to call it. They already named it.

There is one way to ruin it: take the repeat question and bury it inside a bigger package. If the thing they asked for turns into one line on a long list, you've hidden it again. Lead with it. Use their words. Keep it narrow until people keep saying yes.

The easiest place to start is your next conversation with someone who already works with you. Ask them why they came to you, and listen for the words they use, not the words you'd use.

Steal this line: When you first reached out to me, what were you really hoping I'd help with?

The thread: the strongest case for anything is the one the other person already made, which is also why you let a buyer describe the problem before you describe the fix. An offer is different in one way: it has to fit many people at once, so one person asking is a hint, and the same question from several people is the signal.

Hit reply: what's the one question people keep asking you?

Gunnar

P.S. Know someone who's great at what they do and still can't say what they sell in one sentence? Forward this to them.

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