Never let them see Oz: Sell the Magic

Have you ever been to a great restaurant where the waiter proudly told you that their signature fish dish was inspired by a comparable dish at the restaurant down the block? 

Can you imagine the fashion designer, Giorgio Armani, telling attendees of his latest fashion show that the $15,000 gown they just saw modeled on the runway is just cotton fabric assembled by low-wage workers in a third-world country? 

Would you appreciate/value that food dish or designer fashion item more or less if they told you this upfront?

These are rhetorical questions, but they speak to the importance of recognizing that while reality may be inspired by looking at this competitor, talking to those customers, or finessing and iterating a so-so idea until its implementation is pure brilliance, never forget that you want the customer feeling that what you do is MAGIC (albeit, with a little SCIENCE perhaps). 

This may be a little unnatural when you first present things this way to customers, partners or even co-workers, but it is suggestive of the importance of selling a vision, speaking to an operational discipline and driving your target audience to a specific experiential place. 

Life is messy.  We often grope our way to success.  Pure luck and serendipity often enter the equation, as does simple asserting, watching and listening.

But remember, while these statements are borne of reality, there is another reality; namely, that customers don’t want to see the man behind the curtain.  They want to be entertained and amazed.

Don’t let them down.

See also:

1. My blog post on 'the assertion-based reasoning model.'