Think of this as part 2 of my last post… on using an ROI based value proposition in tough times.  OK, I admit it… I thought of this AFTER the last post.  Here’s another way to look at the situation.

You know the story about the bear and the two hikers? You probably do, but to be safe I’ll repeat it.  Two hikers in the woods encounter a bear who immediately gives chase to them.  After it becomes apparent that the bear is not to be dissuaded, one of the hikers stops and begins putting on his running shoes.  His buddy stops alongside and remarks, “what are you doing that for… neither of us can outrun that bear.”  And, tying up his running shoes, the first replies, “I don’t have to beat the bear… I just have to beat you!”

Selling stuff in normal times is like selling to that bear.  The bear already was in the buying mood… he was fantasizing about hiker steak.  The only question was which he going to catch.  Now change the situation.  You come home to your family and sit down to eat dinner.  Tom, the old tomcat, has just finished a big bowl of tunafish, so he’s going to leave you alone and not be a pest.  Then as one of the kids runs in from outside, the front door is flung open for a second… just long enough for Tom to shoot through and out.  You know from past experience that he’s going to be gone for a few days and as a result, your life is going to be living hell for awhile.

The kids run out after him, and Tom, sensing capture, elects to shoot up the neighbor’s tree.  You stand beneath it looking up while your wife pleads for you to do something, and your kids scream for you to do something.  Living hell.

Only one thing to do.  “Bring me the tunafish can,” you command.  But it doesn’t work.  For an hour you stand under the tree waving the can around hoping the fumes waft up into the tree to Tom.  But the problem is, Tom isn’t hungry.  He’s not buying… in this case cause he had just eaten, and from where he is the situation on the ground is looking very strange…even threatening.

Good times and bad times.  In good times, you can sell to bears just by beating your competiton.  There was no need to convince the bear he was hungry… hell, all the buy signals were in.  The only question was which “product” he would chose.  But in bad times, you can’t sell to cats by just claiming you have the best tunafish in town.  You have to find other motivators, and in fact, you have to reestablish their need.  That’s why the ROI pitch works… the product pays for itself in a short period of time making it essentially free and after that it’s saving the customer money every day.  In the case of Tom, tunafish doesn’t work, but I bet that lady cat he so obviously admires would do the trick.  Just wave her around under the tree and I bet Tom will buy… err, come down.

Tags: Big-M Marketing

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