Sexy matters.
We hate to think that’s true. We look at the girl strutting down the sidewalk, who’s obviously “trying too hard,” and we silently disapprove. But it’s not because she’s trying too hard. It’s because she makes us feel inferior. To soothe our egos, we immediately start telling ourselves the story that we’re “better,” so to speak, because we don’t need all that make-up to feel pretty, or at least we’ll get taken more seriously, and men prefer natural, anyway.
But guess what? Sexy still matters.
It matters because she feels sexy. And she attracts men not because she is sexy, but because they feel sexier when they’re with her.
Similarly, sexy matters in business, too.
Just like we eye up the girl strutting down the sidewalk, we look at successful competitors, products and services with a judgy eye, finding a million reasons why we disapprove. Their product clearly isn’t as good as mine, their service obviously inferior, their methods weak. And we work to find ways to soothe our egos so we don’t feel inferior.
That’s why when you read a post about procrastination being a good thing, you eat it up. Because independent of whether it’s true or not, it soothes your ego. It makes you feel better. So now you don’t have to feel like a procrastinating lazy ass. And the reason you aren’t making any money isn’t because you aren’t working hard enough, or smart enough–it’s because maybe you haven’t found your angle yet. It’s warm and fuzzy and people fucking love that because it gives them permission to stop beating themselves up. To stop feeling inferior.
But the one thing that’s often forgotten is the most important thing of all.
It doesn’t matter if your product is better than theirs, your service better than theirs, your methods stronger than theirs, or any other way you measure things.
None of it matters.
Because people don’t buy utility.
They buy sexy.
What looks sexy, yes, but more importantly, what makes them feel sexy.
And that’s precisely the trick in figuring out how the hell to market your stuff.
Sexy doesn’t have to mean sexy in the traditional sense. Sexy might mean powerful. Sexy might mean put-together. Sexy might mean in-charge. Sexy might mean organized. However your customers are defining sexy, is what you need to sell to them.
Not what you’re actually selling.