The straw that broke out my credit card

I’ve been reading Blair Enns’ blog for about ten months. Once every few weeks, I open it up, read a different post, and incorporate a new idea into my own blog. If you’re a consistent reader, I’m sure you’ve noticed me quoting him recently. 

But even after ten months of reading and quoting Blair Enns, I still hadn’t purchased his book. Then, this morning, as I was reading one of his posts, he linked his book, and I bought it. What changed? 

I read an idea recently in Donald Miller’s book Coach Builder. He said that people are unlikely to hire a coach because they want a coach. The reason they hire a coach is because their “problems and frustrations triggered them to make a decision to hire a coach.” Problems need to get to a place in which hiring a coach helps them solve that problem. No one wants a coach. They want to solve problems. 

When I finally purchased Enns’ book this morning, three were at play. First, I had come to trust him over time. He had delivered consistent free value to me, such that I was confident his book would be worth the price tag. Second, my own problems had gotten to place in which I wanted them solved. As I push into selling workshops and consulting, I realized that a value-focused pricing structure could really help me out, and his book promises to educate on that. Third, he called me to action. One simple hyperlink, and one short callout to the content of the book was the draw that broke this camel’s back (rather, the straw that convinced this camel to pull out his credit card). 

Here’s the lesson, for me and for you. If you try to sell something one time, you might make one sale. But for the 99 other non-buyers who saw your sales pitch, maybe they don’t trust you yet, or maybe their problems haven’t reached the place where they’re inspired to take action. Keep adding straws. Eventually, these three components will align: trust, need, and a call-to action.