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If you were a toothpaste creator and went around saying, “Buy my toothpaste; it has sodium monofluorophosphate with fluoride ion,” your people would look at you with a very confused expression…and then they would go shop with your competitor who’s saying, “Buy my toothpaste; it whitens your teeth.”
That, my friends, is an example of how leading with the chocolate (and, sure, supporting with the broccoli) helps you *actually* make more sales. Because let’s be honest: your toothpaste (aka your offer) could be the best one on the market, but if you’re not talking about it in a way that your customers will naturally connect with, then you’re going to miss out on those customers.
In Season 2, Episode 4 of Selling Chocolate, I am going to expand on one of my favorite messaging foundations (that this very podcast is named after): how to sell Chocolate and not Broccoli!
In the spirit of this episode, go ahead and grab some chocolate (or broccoli), settle in, and be prepared to take notes as I cover:
- What the “broccoli” of your messaging is, and why your audience does not want to hear about this
- How to lead with the “chocolate” (what your customer already knows they want) and follow up with the “broccoli” (what you as the expert know they need)
- Examples of how I personally use this strategy to make sales
- How to actually figure out what YOUR “chocolate” and “broccoli” are, so you can speak in the language of your ideal client and connect what you are offering to what they are currently experiencing (this is a BIG part of how to make sales in a way that feels totally easy and not sleazy!)
Now, I’m gonna be honest with you: selling chocolate, not broccoli, is a total LEARNED SKILL. So listen up, then get practicing!
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“The chocolate of this training was that my community was saying, ‘I keep getting on sales calls with people who can’t afford to work with me’ or ‘they’re haggling down my price,’ or ‘they are saying I’m too expensive.’ So I listened to that, and I built a training on that very chocolate-y topic. I lead with the chocolate by naming that training what I did—How to Stop Attracting People Who Can’t Afford to Work with You—and at the very beginning of the training, I gave a few examples of what that might actually look like. I also shared a personal story of when I was attracting people who couldn’t afford to work with me. And THEN after I had used the chocolate to capture the attention of my audience, I came in and supported with the broccoli.”
— Carly Jo Bell, Selling Chocolate
LINKS:
- Get all the resources mentioned in Season 2 of Selling Chocolate here.
- Apply to work with me in EXPAND.
- Join Marketing, Magnified.
- Join the WholeCo Media Facebook Group for Big-hearted Entrepreneurs.
Episode Links:
hey!
I’m Carly Jo Bell.
(Though you can just call me Carly.)
Carly Jo Bell is a business strategist and mentor, and fonder of Whole Co media. Through her courses and programs, podcast, and one on one coaching, Carly helps pulled-in-every-direction entrepreneurs create a business that brings in as much joy as it does revenue — by cultivating deep self trust, and solid foundations as the first step.
For more from Carly, and to learn about her signature “looking external for inspiration, and internal for answers” approach, join the conversation by signing up for her weekly email series, Carly's Couch.
