Why do people buy things?
Why, specifically, do people buy your thing?
There are many different motivators that cause somebody to make a decision to purchase – to shell out money and to get a solution.
Over the next few days, I’ll be diving deep into the psychological motivators that exist and how you can develop your insight into how they work, and how you can make them work for you.
And today, we start with a purchase motivator that gets talked about far too little.
I’ll go back to a Steve Jobs quote, where he said:
“People don’t buy products – they buy a new version of themselves.”
This is a profoundly important fundamental element of why people buy things.
Here’s the deal:
We have this story we tell ourselves about who we are, about our position in the world, about our relationship with other people.
This is our self-narrative.
This is how we define ourselves as a person in the world.
And when we make a purchase, something changes in the story that we tell ourselves.
If I go and I buy a Prius, then the story Martin tells himself about himself changes.
I’m no longer a guy who talks about taking care of the planet – I put my money where my mouth is.
My story changes from ‘I no longer pay lip-service – I actually take action’.
When you are able to identify that identity piece, and you learn what change in identity your buyer will obtain, you’ll be able to have a much deeper, more impactful conversation with that buyer.
You’re no longer talking about features and benefits and price and promise – you’re actually talking about the thing that matters most to your buyer, i.e. you’re talking about them.
And not on a superficial level, but in terms of how that person sees themselves.
So today, I suggest you take some time to list out as many items as you can, in answer to the question:
What changes in your buyer’s self-view and self-narrative, when they buy your solution?
