Sell the thinking behind the thing

March 13, 2015 8:59 PM

I have a friend who runs a knitting shop.

Brandi sells handcrafted scarfs, gloves, hats and other cozy fibrous accessories. What’s interesting is, that’s not the only way she creates value for her customers. In addition to selling her knitted wares, she also sells her knitting patterns.

Here’s why.

Brandi worked in a knitting shop for fourteen years. Growing up, she saw and touched and studied and sold everything a knitter could ever want. And so, because of her exposure to all that raw material, she accumulated massive intellectual capital, which she now translates into intellectual property, which can be implemented by others. Using knitwear design software, she built a series of blueprints to help customers take matters into their own hands, quite literally.

It’s quite brilliant.

Brandi didn’t just sell the thing, she sold the thinking behind the thing. And often times, that’s the real value. Because our best customers don’t want to look like us, they want to see like us. Yes, they want to buy the art we make, but they also want to buy into the way we think. They want the pleasure of our intellectual company.

Make your customers smarter. Don’t just teach them how to fish, invent a special lure for them to use. Any idiot can lead their customers down a path, but only smart entrepreneurs help their customers discover the path on their own.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

How are you brining intellectual capital to the table?LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

For a copy of the list called, “12 Ways to Out Service Your Competitors,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

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Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Author. Speaker. Strategist. Inventor. Filmmaker. Publisher. Songwriter.

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com