It’s Easier Than You Think, Here’s How To Sell More Faster.

Ohhh, there’s a sound that always hijacks my attention.?I can hear it at 20 yards and my mouth starts watering.?My jaw clenches.?Like a Pavlovian dog, I stop what I’m doing and start searching for the source of that seductive sound.

It’s whip cream.?When I squirt it on pancakes/ ice cream/ cake/ my finger, it sends me.?There’s no other sound like it.?And that sound is pure pleasure.

When I see it at the grocery store, I believe our inventory needs restocking.?So I just reach out, put it in the cart and pay for it. There’s no label inspection.?I don’t care what it cost.?I only compare when forced to if the brand I like is out of stock.?

Call me gauche if you like.?But I love it.?Apparently millions of other people love it too.?Market researchers expect the whip cream market to grow by 5% through 2023.?Statistics suggest it’s enjoyed globally, especially in first world countries. ?

This is perfectly evident where Vail resorts places cans of the squirting sweet extravagance next to its hot chocolate machines.?The available free garnish surely sells more hot drinks.

Of course you don’t need a drink to enjoy whipped cream from the can, you can just tilt your head back and give your taste buds a direct shot.?You know what I’m talking about.?Anyone who does it endorses it.

So do my dogs.?They’ll hang around for as many whip cream freshees directly to their toothy yappers as are available.?They’re gauche too.

Borrowing a line from Ferris Bueller, it’s appropriate- I highly recommend it if you have the means.?My favorite, Reddi Whip, is $5 for 13 oz of delectable deliciousness.?A can is waiting for you now on every grocery store shelf in America.?It’s cheap, enjoy.

If you make anything, that’s what you want your customer experience to look like.?Such love and devotion where the elegance of pure emotion replaces logic.?I’m not buying a can a whipped cream, I’m paying for the exquisite experience. ?

What experience are you delivering??Are you putting your product before the experience??Big mistake.

On February 10, 1806 the brig Favorite loaded with ice blocks cleared customs in Boston, MA destined for Martinique in the West Indies.?The Boston Gazette immortalized the event with the?smug headline: "No joke. A vessel has cleared at the Custom House for Martinique with a cargo of ice. We hope this will not prove a slippery speculation.”

The son of a wealthy Boston lawyer, Frederic Tudor, spurned a Harvard education for becoming an entrepreneur.?After thirsting for ice while visiting the West Indies, Tudor dedicated himself to exporting ice to the sweltering Caribbean islands.

It didn’t go well.?The 3 week journey meant much of the ice would melt by the time it arrived at its destination.?As a young businessman, only 23 at the time, multiple unscrupulous associates preyed upon Tudor reducing his margins or turning deliveries into net losses. ?

Over the next decade Tudor’s business ranged from feast to famine.?Despite spending time in debtors prison in 1812, his commitment never diminished.?He opened new, ice hungry markets in Cuba and in South Carolina, Georgia and Louisiana shortly after being released. ?

By 1825 ice sales smoothed out and he was making money. Tudor sharpened his game, learned how to better insulate his inventory and expanded his reach globally.?Mass production of ice blocks cut by harnessed horses more than tripled his production. ?

Taking coolers full of ice to bars, restaurants, ice cream makers and doctors with patients having fevers, Tudor's marketing was boundless. A master of understanding his target markets, Tudor ignored his critics railing on their perceived ridiculousness of his endeavor.

On May 12, 1833 the brig Tuscany left Boston with 180 tons of ice, destined for Calcutta, India.?Arriving 4 months later with 100 tons of ice left, Tudor netted a $220,000 profit.?Some believed it an eccentric joke, but Calcutta would become Tudor’s most lucrative destination for the next 20 years, some 16,000 miles away.?

By 1847 nearly 52,000 tons of Tudor ice was being transported to more than 28 cities by train or ship.?Today the ice business is a $2.5B industry. ?A tip of the hat to Tudor, Tudor Wharf in Boston is so named for the Ice King’s departure point.

In the early 1800s a cold drink was unheard of.?Tudor changed that. ?Once you had ice in your drink, it became an expectation.?Tudor’s success stemmed from doing more than delivering ice.?He created an experience.

Think of the products you buy without debate, they’re the ones that improve your life.?You don’t picture of them as products but of their impact.?You don’t invest in disc brakes for your bike, you buy safety.?A first class airline seat isn’t about the seat, it’s about the comfort and amenities.?You don’t buy whiskey for its own sake, you’re buying an elixir.

That’s all any buyer is looking for.?They’re shopping for grease in their wheel.?Some whip cream on their troubles. ?

The best relationship between a buyer and seller is one where a buyer believes a supplier is a consistent source of whip cream.?They make the experience pleasurable.?And when it’s not, loyalty gets translated as faith that the whip cream will be restored soon.

As a supplier you should ask yourself:

1. Is your marketing talking about the delicious nature of your solution, or are you talking about features?
2. Are you giving too much weight to critic’s comments??Doing so only drills holes in your boat.
3. Is your first priority, your DNA ribbon saturating every business operation, centered on how your product or service improves a life??

You don’t have to reinvent the ice trade.?Making a significant impact is simply a matter of prioritizing value over features.?