Unraveling the Magic Woven Into the Art of Selling Solutions
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Welcome back to the Business Witch Academy! If you’re just joining us for the first time, this is Step 4 in the Quick Sell Mastery Course, but if you missed the previous steps you can get caught up here:
A Sudden Sense of Enlightenment: The Art of the 30 Second Elevator Pitch
Step 1: Who Are You? How to Clearly and Concisely Self-Identify in Sales Pitches and Social Bios
Step 3: Hook, Line and Sinker: How to Use Hooks to Capture Attention Instantly
If you don’t want to miss a thing, you can subscribe to The Library at the Business Witch Academy here and to the Magically Thriving Business weekly recap newsletter here. If you’d like to get your hands on the 7 AI prompts, 2 Canva Whiteboards to organize your thoughts and 2 free bonus eBooks you can either purchase the full course from the Business Witch Emporium right now, or you can become a paid subscriber to my Substack where you’ll receive each lesson as they are published plus the bonuses. Don’t worry, you don’t have to decide right now, I’ll give you these links again at the bottom of this story.
I’m about to enter the classroom with Ophelia and the other students where we’ll start on our next lesson. It’s probably one of the most important lessons in the course. Why don’t you join us?
Quick Read Snapshot For Those in a Hurry
The key to a successful sales pitch is to focus on selling solutions rather than just products. By identifying and addressing the specific pain points and challenges of your target audience, you can engage their interest and guide them toward a decision. In this lesson, you’ll learn to pinpoint the top problems you solve and craft pitches that position you as the hero they need.
Unraveling the Magic Woven Into the Art of Selling Solutions
Exercise 4: What Problems Do You Solve?
Unraveling the Magic Woven Into the Art of Selling Solutions
“We’ve uncovered the importance of a crisp job title, a precise business category, an understanding of our target market and the lure of a hook. Now, let’s unravel the magic woven into the art of selling solutions, not just products.
“Ophelia,” I began, leaning slightly forward with a twinkle in my eye, matching her ever-present gleam of curiosity, “do you know why people yawn during a sales pitch?”
With a playful flutter and an exaggerated mimic of a yawn, Ophelia chirped, “Because they’re dreaming of better places?”
“Exactly!” I chuckled. “Often, we bombard them with every amazing feature of our service or product. It’s like trying to cast every spell in the book all at once. The result? A big confusing puff of smoke.”
Ophelia’s giggle rang through the air as she imagined the chaos. “So, what’s the secret potion then?”
“It’s quite simple,” I explained. “We need to sell the solution, not the product. People don’t want to hear about every wand the Fairy Godmother owns; they want to know how a specific wand can turn their pumpkins into carriages.”
I continued with a real-world example to ground our mystical musings…
The Library 📖 at the Business Witch Academy is a reader-supported publication. To learn how to sell the solution, get a full color eBook and this week’s AI prompt, please subscribe. By the way, it’s cheaper than Netflix and way more valuable!
“Let’s consider my coaching business here at the Business Witch Academy, where I offer 1-on-1 consulting to new start-ups. I could spend all day boasting about my 20+ years of expertise and affordable prices. But, just declaring ‘I’m Cheryl the Head Business Witch!’ might earn me polite nods at best.”
Ophelia, playing the role of a weary new business owner, responded with an exaggerated nod, “Oh, that’s nice.”
“But what if I targeted their actual nightmares?” I posed, drawing her into the scenario. “Many new business owners are overwhelmed by marketing, sales, bookkeeping, taxes, software programs and more.”
Her eyes widened, the character of the concerned solopreneur coming to life. “Those sound like terrifying problems indeed!”
“Imagine this,” I said, setting the stage for a transformative encounter. “I meet an entrepreneur and start with a simple charm: ‘Hi, I’m Cheryl. May I ask what you’ve found to be your biggest challenge in starting your own business?’”
Playing along, Ophelia frowned, “Oh, I’ve been cursed by marketing gremlins. Every time I try to market my business something goes wrong. The images are the wrong size, they’re blurry or distorted. Or I get no engagement.”
“Would you find yourself making more money and having less stress if you had someone by your side, taking your step-by-step through the process of creating and launching a marketing campaign, from messaging to Canva training, to creating a content strategy?” I asked, offering the magical key to her imagined dilemma.
Ophelia’s face lit up with the realization. “Now, that’s a magician I’d want to meet!”
“Exactly my point,” I concluded with a smile. “By pinpointing their pain and offering a clear, magical solution, you engage their curiosity and guide them toward asking for more details. You sell a solution, not just a service.”
Exercise 4: What Problems Do You Solve?
“Keeping your target market in mind, jot down the problems you solve. What haunts their halls? What dragons are they fighting?
“Select the top one or two sorrows you soothe for this exercise. We’ll use these to craft enchanting pitches that highlight how you, not just your products, can be their hero.
“Keep the full list, though,” I advised as Ophelia scribbled furiously. “We’ll conjure up more captivating spells — uh, pitches — with those other problems in future sessions.
“Make sure you grab the AI Prompt on your way out the door and you’ll be done this assignment in no time! For my virtual learners, you’ll find the prompt at the bottom of this story.
“Thanks for joining me for Step 4 in the Quick Sell Mastery course. I’ll see you back here next week for Step 5! Class dismissed.”
Subscribers, scroll down for your bonus!
Stay Magical,
Cheryl
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DISCLAIMER
Many of the people and businesses I feature are ones that I've met in the course living my life and running my businesses. I feature them when I feel they have something my readers may be interested in hearing about.
Some outbound links may financially benefit me through affiliate programs or sponsorships, but frequently they don't. Any affiliate relationship doesn’t influence my opinion, and I would never endorse people, programs, products, or services I didn’t use, approve of or feel familiar with. So If you use it, I may get compensated — but there’s no additional cost to you.
BONUS CONTENT! Full Color eBook & AI Prompt!
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Full Color eBook
Thank you for supporting me and this publication with your membership. If you don't want to wait for the weekly installments. You can download the full color PDF version of the entire Quick Sell Mastery Course here.
AI Prompt
Copy/paste this ENTIRE prompt into ChatGPT or similar AI bot (yes, it’s long). Fill in any blanks. Submit.
…Beginning of Prompt…
I'm on a mission to identify the pain points of my niche target market, [INSERT NICHE TARGET MARKET]. Can you assist me in uncovering the challenges and obstacles that keep them up at night? I need to understand their deepest frustrations and struggles so I can sell them [INSERT YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE] that addresses their specific needs.
Specifically, I am looking for information on the following:
What hassles, annoyances, disappointments, and stresses do they have to live with?
What negative emotions are they experiencing?
What mindset challenges do they have? What beliefs are holding them back? What ideas or values are outdated or misplaced? What myths do they believe in? Be specific, cite examples. How do these challenges make them feel?
What fears are holding them back?
What skill set challenges do they have (the how to)? What technology might they need to learn how to use?
What execution problems do they have? Do they know where to start? Do they know what step to take next and after that? Do they need to document something or alter their current workflow or train/hire someone else? What technology might they need to purchase?
Analyze and document each pain point in detail. Describe the specific problem, its impact on my target audience, and any patterns or trends you observe. Consider the potential opportunities for my business to address these pain points.
How is this affecting their personal relationships? Their family? Their finances? Their health? Their confidence?
How is this affecting their professional life? Their job role? Their finances? Their relationships with colleagues? Their confidence?
What happens over the next 6 months if they DON'T get this figured out?
Over the next year? The next 3 years? 10 years?
…End of Prompt…