
Ask HN: How to sell a motor car to a horseman? - _448
Dear sales and marketing wizkids on the forum, how would you market and sell a motor car to a horseman? What would be your marketing and sales strategy?
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quaquaqua1
A performance difference so drastic in theory should sell itself. Many of the
original motorized carriages were sold through the Sears catalog. Others were
sold by retailers who would bulk order from the factory and mark it up to the
individual who eventually bought it. For those who could afford the investment
and risk of learning new technology, the added benefits of motorized carriages
were 10x better than carriages pulled by a horse (for those who needed to
travel say 35 miles and not just 8 miles).

The real question is how two different companies selling basically the same
thing can achieve drastically different results from each other in sales
(think about Delta vs United vs American Airlines).

That type of sales is done through big channels and very intimate corporate
contracts that are hard for newcomers to crack into (notice there are no new
startup airlines out there :D)

~~~
_448
> Many of the original motorized carriages were sold through the Sears
> catalog. Others were sold by retailers who would bulk order from the factory
> and mark it up to the individual who eventually bought it.

This is then a classic chicken-and-egg problem. One cannot manufacture
something unless there is a demand, and there may not be a demand unless the
technology is proven. How does one crack that conundrum?

~~~
quaquaqua1
There is a demand in the abstract sense- people want safe, fast, cheap,
enjoyable transport.

Whether that is achieved through a horse or motor isn't important in my
opinion.

You used to use normal phones until you bought a smart phone, surely :)

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2vj
Engage by Questioning the Horseman.

Try to find out the pain points, it could be speed, Comfort, safety, feeling
privileged or nothing at all. In that case use the gain points which are a
plenty.

Try to connect on the right emotion of the horseman. (Fomo could be one)

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ian0
Sell to one, whatever it takes. Then publicise the crap out of your first ex-
horseman, if the advantages are real the rest will follow.

The key is publicising your user, not your company. Because (1) it benefits
them so they will be happy and (2) the rest of your customers care about what
peers are doing, not what vendors are providing.

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JSeymourATL
People always like to feel they're getting a great deal.

1908 Publication: _Low prices create a sensation_ >
[http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/331880/361327.html?1368...](http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/331880/361327.html?1368499036)

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pryelluw
Go read the sales book written by Jordan Belfort (the wolf of wall street). It
works very well and its easy to understand.

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tmaly
All I can think of is to sell the benefits. See the book Spin Selling

