Transformation.
The deepest human desire.
Transformation is the narrative behind everything from religion to retirement planning. From salvation to snake oil.
We take The Hero’s Journey, the Eightfold Path, and then we cheapen it, bastardize it, and use it to make a buck.
America! And maybe everywhere else.
Before and after. It’s the best sales pitch on the planet.
People will pay to be changed. And people always want to be changed.
This is the basis for late night infomercials like P90X, all the way to enterprise software sales. If you can get people from where they are to where they want to be, you’ve got a chance.
No matter how large the company, they are in the same business.
Transformation.
Salesforce, Accenture, and Microsoft. They will offer transformation, digital transformation, before and after, just like Tony Horton and Tony Robbins.
It’s a “stop the struggle” pitch, and it’s a good one.
Feel-felt-found is a standard business technique. When your prospect informs you they are not a buyer today you simply say, “I understand how you FEEL, and I’ve had many customers who FELT the same way, and what they FOUND was, the [insert product/service] was integral to their [insert transformation].”
This is why schools hype their famous Alumni. The future looks bright with that MBA, doesn’t it?
This is why infomercials lean on their “geek to freak” customers. You’d finally be happy if you had abs, wouldn’t you?
Designers. Before and after.
Makeovers. Before and after.
Personal trainers, investment bankers, and landscapers. Before and after.
Client testimonials. 5-Star reviews. Recommendations. They are all touting one thing.
Transformation.
Tell a story. Spin a yarn about someone just like them, going through exactly what they are going through.
Articulate the “man in a hole,” and how you got them out of that damn hole, once and for all.
The faster the better.
They might push back at first, that’s part of the Journey too, but you are the mentor they’ve been waiting for, the one that can guide them over the threshold, through the trials that may come, and return them home safely to their people, changed.
Be careful though. Transformation is a powerful thing, and more often than not, you’ll find yourself changing along with them. After all, you’re on this journey together, so make sure the destination is a good one.
Did you enjoy this post? If so, please share it with a friend.
Did you really enjoy this post? If so, you may enjoy my book. A later (better?) version of transformation appears in the wildly popular Passing Notes to Strangers.
