You might have heard about Kyle Macdonald, who tells his amazing story of how he traded a paper clip for a house. Well, not in one trade, but in a series of trades that took him back and forth across North America. His book and his blog tell his story in detail.
Sounds crazy doesn’t it? A paperclip for a house? Well, it depends. He starts by trading it for a novelty pen, which somebody gave him just for the fun of it. The first few trades are just for fun. And then it gets serious. He gets something rare, and finds a collector willing to trade for it. He gets a lot of media attention, so some people want to trade on the exposure they'll get. And so on. At one point, he seems to be going backwards - at least, in the opinion of many of his loyal fans. But he sticks to his guns. And ends up with a house.
Kyle’s story is the perfect illustration of selling value, and more importantly how one person’s need may be very different to another. He understood that if he could find out how each trade item solved that persons problem or need then that item had value for that individual. In fact, throughout his blog (and his book) he highlights what benefits a specific trade provided for an individual (ie, what "problem" did the traded item solve for that person. For example, Shawn Sparks really wanted the door knob for his espresso maker (stating that "Yeah, it even looks like me in the morning after my first cup - all wired up and stuff"). Each trade solved an individual's need, and in the end solved Kyle's - he got his house!
Step into your audience's world, truly understand their need, and create messages that solve their problems.
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