top of page

Play 20 Questions - Sell More Stuff!

Let's play a condensed version of "20 Questions".  (Bear with me...this will make sense in a moment.)

 

You have 5 seconds to tell me 4 things you want out of life.  GO!

 

I don't care if you live on the east coast, heartland or west coast; it doesn't matter what you do for a living; male or female; young or old...it doesn't matter.  I'd be willing to bet that if we asked 1,000 people the same question we'd get strikingly similar answers:

  • Happiness

  • Comfort

  • Financial Security

  • Good Health

Put those things in a column labeled “Desires”.

Now to the next question:  What four fears do you have?

​

I'd be also willing to bet the answers from 1,000 people are similar, and that they have to do with losing or not obtaining the desires on their list:

  • Being Poor, or Never Being Better Off Financially Then They Are Today

  • Getting Sick

  • Loss of a Job or Savings

  • Living an Uncomfortable Life Below Their Dreams

Put these answers in a column labeled “Fears”.

​

Now, ask yourself:  “If someone could show me a way to avoid fear and achieve my desires, would I listen?”

​

Answer?  Probably...many do and that's why financial, health and diet, job and lifestyle coaches abound and rake in billions of dollars a year, and why these four topics are the hottest money makers on the internet.

Fear - whether justified or not - is a huge motivator.  It can cause people to act in an effort to avoid ill consequences, but just as easily it can be the motivation for buyers to go with your biggest competitor - "doing nothing".  What do your buyers fear?

Finally, one last question:  What benefit would I gain by listening to any of these "coaches"?  

 

Answer:  I would hopefully avoid the “fear” list and achieve the things on my “desire” list.

 

What you've just read is what I call the Common Ground Rule, and why it is so powerful.  By determining your target audiences'

  • Desires

  • Fears

  • Needs, and

  • Benefits

...you've found a way to hit a nerve with everyone.

You didn't slice and dice your content down to something ridiculous like,
“a single male janitor with diabetes living in Spokane making
$30,000 a year who was just bypassed for a promotion”
...or make countless personas with all of their possible variations.  
 
You don't have to write endless content for endless scenarios or target audience members –
which, by the way, means you've made it easier for 
the right person at the right time finding the right content.  
 
You've uncovered Common Ground between all audience members and therefore can address all of the desires, fears, needs and benefits in one presentation with just a few bullet points.  This is also why your content will hold the attention of an extremely high number of viewers or readers to the end.  You've hit a nerve that resonates with them all.

Now apply our form of "20 Questions" to what you're selling or providing:

 

  • What desires drive my target audience?  (What do they want to achieve by looking at my solution, product or service?)

  • What fears do these audience members have?  (This could also be called common “objections” to working with you or buying your solution.)

  • What needs do they have that my solution (product or service) can solve?  What answers can I give them?

  • What benefits will they receive when they work with or buy from us?​

If you play "20 Questions" for your target audience before we get together for our two free phone session, we'll goover your answers and actually build an outline for the one (YES - ONLY ONE!) big piece of content you need to get more sales.

​

Haven't booked your sessions yet?  Here are the details!

 

​

​

bottom of page