What It’s Like To Be

How to charge more by selling treats

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Long-time readers know I am a fan of the podcast What It’s Like To Be. I only know about this podcast because it’s hosted by Dan Heath, author of the book Made to Stick, which I believe is one of the best texts about crafting persuasive messages.

In the What It’s Like To Be podcast, Dan Heath interviews people who make their living doing different jobs.

Sometimes it’s inherently interesting — a speech writer, a baseball player.

This week though, it was… a baker. I had to force myself to listen to it. I’m glad I did.

It turned out that this interview about what it’s like to be a baker is very relevant for folks who have or want to have a small online biz, maybe writing or teaching or coaching or having an audience.

There are lots of parallels and business insights from the baker, someone who works in a surprisingly similar to what I do, but in a different sphere.

I’ll include the link to the whole podcast at the end here if you wanna check it out. For now though, lemme share one specific and interesting thing I heard.

Dan Heath asked the baker, how do you price your bread?

This led the baker into a discussion of what would be reasonable in theory:

Figure out her cost of ingredients… put in margin on top of that to cover fixed expenses like rent and employees… and add an extra margin on top of that for profit.

In reality, the baker said, what she does is she looks at what other bakeries are charging, and charges something similar. When margins get too tight, she raises prices.

And then came the really interesting and insightful part wanted to share with you:

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And and then if like our overall margins are starting to feel too tight, then I try to put more of our price increases on our pastry because I feel like pastry is a luxury good, and bread is like a staple food and should be as affordable as possible.

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Dan Heath asked if this a commie-like desire to make sure everyone can afford the staples of life? Well, yes. But it’s also a capitalist calculation about what people are willing to pay. The baker explained:

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It also lines up with how people spend money. Like, people are going to balk at spending $12 or $15 on a loaf of bread in a way that they won’t at spending, like, $7 on a slice of cake or, like, $3 on a cup of coffee. People’s mental calculation is so different for things that feel like treats, whether it’s like sugar or alcohol or snacks than it is for something that feels like grocery, that feels like a staple good.

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My point today is exactly what the baker says in this second block.

There’s one mental calculus for things that feel like necessities and staples. There’s a different mental calculus for things that feel like treats or splurges.

You can apply this insight the way the baker did, by simply offering two lines of products, one staple-y and one treat-y, and using the treats to be able to charge more, and to support the other parts of your business.

You can also benefit from this insight without launching a new line of products, simply by repackaging your dutiful and reasonable products in a new gift box that suggests indulgence, enjoyment, or fun to your prospects.

I’ll have more to say about that “fun” element tomorrow.

For now, if you wanna hear what other business insights the baker had to share, you can find the link below. Highly recommended, even if you have no interest in baking, and only want to run an online four-hour-workweek-style business:

https://www.whatitsliketobe.com/2246914/episodes/18563714-a-baker

What it’s like to finally sell Guinness

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My friend Biff recently texted me to say he had been listening to the What It’s Like To Be podcast, which I’ve written about often in these emails.

That podcast features interviews with people in different professions, with the goal of finding out what it’s like to do their job.

(As is often true of these kinds of podcasts, the host is somebody famous or influential, who has decided to do a pet project. In this case the influential person is Dan Heath, author of the book Made To Stick, which I’ve also written about many times in this newsletter.)

Anyways, I had not been listening to the What It’s Like To Be podcast for a while – there’s too much damn stuff to listen to.

I felt guilty after Biff wrote me to say he had heard some good episodes lately.

So at the gym two days ago, I put on the latest episode, to find out what it’s like to be… a barman.

A barman is apparently what in Ireland they call a bar tender. Except not really, because a barman also acts as a kind of standup comedian as well as a therapist or self-esteem coach, which U.S. bar tenders are typically not certified for.

But let me get to the point of today’s email, the valuable message that can maybe make you millions of cents or even dollars:

The barman — name, Brian Wynne – said that his pub has been around for 30 years. But in spite of it being an Irish pub, in Dublin, they didn’t sell Guinness until three weeks ago. He explained:

“We’ve been open since ’96 and we put our first Guinness tap in three weeks ago. We make an equivalent porter. When I say equivalent, I mean it’s vastly superior, of course, but I can’t say that. I’m sure your lawyers will have a go at you for allowing me to say that kinda thing.”

Dan Heath then asked Wynne how Guinness is doing after the first three weeks. Wynne replied:

“Oh, it’s outselling everything else we have. You spend 20 years explaining to people why we don’t sell Guinness ’cause our products are superior and more Irish. You make jokes about it. I have so many anecdotes and lines all built up about the sale of Guinness, which we don’t have, and then we do have it in…”

… and it outsells everything else, without even trying.

I wanted to share this with you because it’s a truth that goes far beyond the Irish pub.

I thought to myself, as I listened to Wynne while doing my fire hydrant exercises, how many online business owners find themselves in same position?

They work to create a “vastly superior” product… they turn themselves into the equivalent of a barman who educates and jokes and soft-sells… they show up day after day in front of their prospects… and yet, sales still a fraction of what they could be, if they only sold what people already really wanted, ie. a Guinness instead of their no-name vastly superior equivalent.

Do with that what seems meet.

As for me, I’ll take me to do some market research. I’ll even offer you a trade:

Hit reply to this email and tell me the last digital info purchase you made. It could be a course… some live training or coaching… a new newsletter or membership you subscribed to… or an ebook (except Amazon kindle ebooks, that’s too broad for my purposes).

I’m curious to find out what you’ve already spent money on, and maybe I will start selling the same.

And in return?

I’ll reply to you and tell you my own latest digital info purchase. (It’s not Travis Sago’s Royalty Ronin, I promise that.) I will tell you that it’s an ebook, that I paid $209 for it (yes, there are no missing decimal points in there), and that I have so far taken 9 pages of notes from it.

I’m not sure it will be as useful for you as it has been to me, but if you’re curious to find out what it is, you know what to do.