I stole this blog post from Mike Walter, a very successful owner of a DJ company, Elite Entertainment, in New Jersey. If you get anything from this article, please read the last paragraph.
Sometimes I think about what we sell, as Mobile DJs, and I get dizzy because of how esoteric it all really is. But understanding it is half the battle so I endeavor to figure it out and make sense of it all.
Which brings me to a little revelation I had at a Holiday Party I attended a few months ago. It was a get-together at a friend’s house and they did this “grab a gift” thing. Everyone had brought a wrapped present with them and then we were all given numbers. The person with #1 picked first from the pile of gifts and then opened their present for all the room to see. The person who had #2 then had a choice. They could take #1’s gift or pick from the pile. If they took #1’s gift then #1 picked from the pile again. I’ve been to similar house parties with similar games and inevitably one or two gifts become the hot items, being taken from the person holding them numerous times. It can be fun.
So at this particular party, the hottest item was a set of wine charms. Wine charms are those things you put around the stem of everyone’s wine glass at a dinner party so you don’t accidentally drink out of someone else’s glass. All glasses of white wine might look similar but if you remember that you have the picnic basket wine charm, you should be safe from someone else’s backwash.
Why these particular wine charms became the hot item, in my opinion, has a lot to do with what we sell as Mobile DJs. Here’s what I mean:
Think about what a set of wine charms says. It says that there will be fun times in your future. You don’t need wine charms when you’re having a glass of wine by yourself. Or even a romantic dinner for two. You need them when you have a house full of guests. And not just any guests but guests who are moving around the party, mingling, picking up and putting down their wine glasses so much that confusion could reign if not for these lovely little wine charms. As someone who loves a good meal, a great bottle of wine and stimulating conversation, the promise of wine charms and what they mean when they are taken out is exciting. It’s says, “clasp me around the stem of your wine glass and hang on, it’s gonna be a fun night.”
I think that’s why those wine charms became the hot item. They represent the promise of a fun evening. It’s like the old sales axiom, Nobody wants a drill. What they want is a hole. A drill is just the best way to get there. I don’t think anyone cared about these specific wine charms. I mean they were nice but certainly not diamond covered and I’m sure you could find a similar set in any Bed Bath and Beyond. But it’s what they represented — the promise of them — that people coveted.
And there’s one other reason I think they became the hot item. Not only do wine charms hold the promise of a fun evening, but needing wine charms says something about you. In a room full of people who are evaluating every gift that is opened and also why someone might select an opened gift as opposed to the exciting mystery of a wrapped present, grabbing wine charms says, I’m popular. I host great evenings and I need these. It became a positive peer pressure thing that took on a life of itself. After awhile, as the numbers got higher and the number of people selecting gifts began to diminish there was a palpable excitement in the air. Who would wind up with these wine charms?
That’s what we sell. We sell the promise of a fun evening. We sell all the excitement and anticipation that comes along with that. We sell to brides months, sometimes years in advance of their day. So before we actually deliver, we have to leave them believing that we will deliver. That, like those wine charms, there is an exciting and fun evening laying in wait for you. We also sell positive peer pressure. Every bride wants her friends to be slightly jealous of the choices she made. Much like those wine charms, it’s as much what they say about you as it is actually needing them. If a bride selects you for her wedding, what does that say about her? Most of the time, she hopes it says she’s smart and fun and maybe even savvy. Do you deliver on that promise? And even before you get the opportunity, do you provide the anticipation that you are going to deliver on that promise? Doing so will not only lead to sales but it’ll lead to pre-event referrals. Imagine that, a bride who you haven’t even DJed for yet, telling her friends how awesome you are. How awesome you are going to be.
All that from a set of wine charms.
