Page 106 - The $100 Startup_ Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love

A few years ago, I ran my first marathon in Seattle. I’d love to tell you I ran
strong to the finish, but by mile 18 I was wiped out, focusing entirely on putting
one foot in front of the other. As I trudged along in the final hour, I spotted a
volunteer handing out fresh orange slices on the side of the road ahead of me.
Tired as I was, I made sure to change my position, slow down, and gratefully
accept the gift. The piece of fresh orange was an offer I couldn’t refuse—even
though it was free, I would have gladly paid for it if I had the money and was in
the right frame of mind to make a transaction.

Two miles ahead, I saw another volunteer handing out a different gift: halves
of Krispy Kreme donuts. Unfortunately, this offer did not excite me (or any other
runners I saw) at all. I’m no puritan and have eaten more than my share of
donuts over the years, but three hours into the longest race of my life was bad
timing for a sugar rush. The offer was unattractive and a poor fit for the context.*
A compelling offer is like a slice of orange at mile 18. It’s a marriage proposal
from the guy or girl you’ve been waiting for your whole life. An offer you can’t
refuse is like the $20,000 Bonderman Fellowship offered every year to
graduating seniors at the University of Washington. The fellowship has very
strict rules: Take our money in cash and travel the world on your own; don’t
come back for eight months. Oh, and once in a while send us a quick note so we
can tell your parents you’re alive. If you guessed that hundreds of students
compete for the fellowship every year, you’d be right.

How can you construct an offer that your prospects won’t refuse? Remember,
first you need to sell what people want to buy—give them the fish. Then make
sure you’re marketing to the right people at the right time. Sometimes you can
have the right crowd at the wrong time; marathon runners are happy to eat
donuts after the race, but not at mile 18. Then you take your product or service
and craft it into a compelling pitch … an offer they can’t refuse.

Here’s how you do it.

1. Understand that what we want and what we say we want are not always
the same thing.
The next time you get on a crowded plane and head to your cramped middle seat
in the back, with a screaming infant seated behind you at no extra charge,
remember this principle. For years travelers have been complaining about
crowded planes and cramped seats, and for years airlines have been ignoring
them. Every once in a while, an airline creates a campaign to respond to the
concern: “We’re giving more legroom in coach!”