I went over the border into Spain last weekend, and popped into an enormous Chinese supermarket selling a bewilderingly vast range of products.
Pretty much anything you could imagine, you could buy there.
My eyes were darting around, landing on food, toys, garments, travel accessories, household goods and god-knows-what.
Floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall, it was a smorgasbord of overwhelm. On just one shelf, rolls of duct-tape were piled high next to Rubik’s Cubes and clotheslines. Candles, wet-wipes and pencil sharpeners (multiple colour choices) were their close neighbours.
I could have bought anything I wanted, almost literally.
And yet, I came out without buying anything.
I get that same feeling when I browse social profiles, websites and sales pages from many coaches and consultants in my community.
- Vague, wide promises
- Endless lists of Things They Can Do
- Rows of letters after their name tooting their impressive qualifications
- Made-up job titles
- Weird, mysterious brand names
Look, here’s the #1 Rule of Attention in 21st century marketing:
You have three seconds to engage, enthrall and entrance us with your single, irresistible offer.
That’s barely long enough to SAY “duct tape, clotheslines and Rubik’s Cubes”, let alone sell us them.
See you around
Jonny
PS: I’m in the East Midlands of England next Thursday the 23rd October, and have a few hours during the day when we could meet for a coffee. Reply to this email if you could be local, and we can fix something up.Â