I just hit the publish button, and heard that my computer was speaking.
A British marketer’s page was open, and his sales video was playing.
I put on my headset and listened, not to the words, but to the emotions, the intangibles underneath.
I heard that he was shy about asking for the sale. I heard that even thought he saw that his software was very good, the moment when money came up, he had the very common misunderstanding: that people pay for HIS value, not for the software’s value.
One of my students, whose dominant belief is that she is worthless, has a hard time asking for money for her work. She fell victim to the same thinking error.
You can be an evil beaver, a child molester, a kitten killer… and have brilliant products that are worth a bundle.
YOUR value has nothing to do with your product’s value.
As long as you confuse the two, you’ll be in trouble.
Is there a connection between your value and your product’s value?
Yes and no.
People, before they buy something, they look at you. If you don’t look much, they will consider your work “not too much”
This is, I think, what happened to a lot of artists who had poverty while they lived, and would be swimming in money if they lived now.
Which means: you have to attend to both, but know that they are not connected, the two values.
Especially when look through the eyes of the ordinary man of the world… the 99%.
And the other thing you must understand: you can be valuable, and your product can be crap, and vice versa.
The price something gets in the marketplace is the price that is negotiated. Not its worth.
The phenomenon is called “perceived value.”
And as with anything, perception is influenced by inner and outer factors, many of those you have no control over.
But you always have “moves” that make others perceive your value: salesmanship, authority, value by association, etc.
- My website increased its perceived value ever since I first started to talk about Tai Lopez… A month ago.
Now the traffic they allow to come to my site almost doubled. Now I seem to have more value in google’s eyes.
- When I send out an email to everyone on my list, seemingly my value goes up: out of sight–out of mind.
- When I employ scarcity: no one wants to lose out.
These are moves. And these are moves that increase the extrinsic value of what I have to offer.
Unless you get better at influencing the perception of the people who are potential buyers, whether it is relationship, product, promotion… your extrinsic value will be low.
But the potential of it still can stay high. It can still be worth a damn… it just won’t earn it.
But, when I said: your value has nothing to do with your product’s value, I actually lied, if you look at extrinsic value.
Selling is a skill. Aligning yourself with authority is a skill, etc.
Your worth a damn factor depends on the number of skills you use, and the level of master in those skills.
I know, this article is quite confusing. Because life, value, are not linear.
Linear things are easy to explain… life isn’t.
But if you start to produce good stuff and learn how to “sell” it, they your worth a damn factor will go up in spades.
What’s in your way to do either or both?
I say that you can’t hear what I am saying. I hear that you translate everything to what you are already saying… and therefore you are stuck where you are: in your own little box.
Chances are your box and truth don’t mesh… often don’t even have an overlap.
If you are like an artist, and you don’t sell, haven’t sold your “product” you have a long road to hoe… unless you get really good at the “moves” that increase the perceived value of your product.
You will have to let go of “I don’t like to do it” to “It’s important to me to sell my product”.
And then, when you have said that: look what skill it is you’ll learn and practice next.
I’m looking at this, Sophie. I saw a singer songwriter the other day who was terrifically talented, but his manner was either disdainful, dismissive or self-deprecating. It was not attractive. He didn’t sell it…