Sales Lessons from Steve Jobs

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Imagine this.

(00:01):
You've built a company, yourvision has changed an industry,
but one day you get fired fromyour own company.
Now, 12 years later, thatcompany is about to collapse.
The board calls you back.
They say, save us.
This is exactly what happened toSteve Jobs in 1997 when they
called him.
Apple had just 90 days of cashleft.

(00:22):
Their stock had dropped to$3 and42 cents per share, and they
were teetering on the brink ofbankruptcy.
Apple was seen as a failurebecause almost nobody who was
buying a personal computer fortheir home was buying an apple.
They were buying PCs, runningwindows from Dell and Gateway.
Remember those black and whitecow boxes?
Microsoft had a stranglehold onthe personal computer market.

(00:44):
Apple's employees and investorswere demoralized when jobs
walked back through that door.
He wasn't greeted with applause.
The employees had doubts.
This was the guy who had beenkicked out of his own company a
decade earlier.
Many people wondered, could hereally save Apple or was this
just his ego bringing him backin his first meetings jobs said

(01:05):
something that nobody expected.
The products suck.
People shifted uncomfortably intheir seats.
Some of them had worked foryears in those products, and to
be fair, some of them wereinnovative quality products, but
people just weren't buying'em.
Apple was cranking out productafter product after product, A
bunch of beige and brown boxesjust like the rest of the

(01:27):
computer industry.
But Jobs wasn't here tosugarcoat things.
He was here to tell the truth.
And the truth was Apple had lostits way.
He held up a mirror to apple'sfailures, the bloated product
lines, the lack of vision, thelack of excitement.
He told them that day, appledoesn't need more products.

(01:49):
Apple needs better products.

(02:13):
as a salesperson, the thing youcan take away from this is
brutal.
Honesty builds trust.
See, jobs didn't sugarcoatapple's, failures, he confronted
the reality head on.
Salespeople often fear being toodirect, but customers respect
honesty.
If your product has flaws,acknowledge them and then show

(02:34):
how you're fixing them.
But how do you sell a comebackwhen everybody has already given
up on you?
See, apple wasn't just failing,it was dying.
Years of poor leadership, failedproducts, and internal
dysfunction had pushed thecompany to the edge.
Stockholders were furious.
Employees had no confidence inleadership, and customers were

(02:56):
leaving Apple behind forcheaper, faster, better Windows,
PCs.
But Jobs didn't come back tosave the apple of the past.
He came back to build the appleof the future.
And he had a three-step comebackplan.
One, cut the fat jobs eliminated70% of Apple's products.
No more printers, digitalcameras or niche accessories.

(03:18):
Apple would focus on just a fewcore products.
Two, sell the vision he neededcustomers, employees, and
investors to believe in Appleagain.
And three.
Make people feel again.
He stopped selling specs.
He sold emotion Jobs, wasliterally rewriting the

(03:40):
company's DNA.
He helped meetings with topexecutives and engineers asking
one fundamental question, if wecould only make one great
product, what would it be?
The room would go silent.
See, for years, apple had beentrying to do too much.
But now jobs was forcing them tofocus.

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Of course, there was pushback.
Some longtime employees arguedthat cutting product lines would
make Apple irrelevant.
Others thought customers wouldleave, but Jobs stood firm.
He said, we don't need moreproducts.
We need better products.
He refused to chase the trends.
He knew that Apple needed tocreate something so great that

(04:24):
customers just couldn't ignoreit.
Behind the scenes jobsruthlessly cut anything that
wasn't exceptional.
The Newton PDA Gone Applebranded printers and scanners
gone over 3000 employees laidoff.
The result was that Apple becameleaner, more focused and more
aggressive jobs.
Wasn't trying to pleaseeveryone.

(04:46):
He was creating something thatthe right people would love, but
that wasn't really enough.
He needed people to believe inApple again.
he took to the stage at MackWorld in 1997.
He wasn't just speaking to theaudience, he was selling Apple's
future.
He told them Apple is aboutpassion.

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People who believe they canchange the world are the ones
who do.
The audience erupted anapplause.
But the real test was stillahead.
Now, as a salesperson, what canyou learn from this?
Well, first brutal honestybuilds trust.
See, when jobs returned to Applein 1997, he didn't waste time

(05:28):
trying to boost morale withempty optimism.
Instead, he walked into theboardroom and called out the
problem directly.
The products suck.
It's raw.
It was uncomfortable.
But it was the truth.
So how does this apply to you asa salesperson or a business
owner?
Well, basically, customers don'twant fluff.

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They want the truth.
A salesperson who acknowledgesflaws and focuses on real
solutions builds instantcredibility.
When you're pitching.
Don't be afraid to admitlimitations.
Instead of covering up a productweakness, bring them up
yourself.
Disarm the objection and givethe solution before the customer
brings it up.
Transparency also creates trust.

(06:11):
The second lesson is sell thevision, not the product.
See, when Apple was failing.
Jobs knew that selling computerswouldn't save Apple.
What he had to do is sell abigger idea the future.
See, people don't buy products.
They buy the transformation theproduct provides.
They buy into the vision of abetter version of themselves,

(06:32):
the hope that their product willimprove their life.
What they're looking for is ahappy future state.
So when you're sellingsomething, ask yourself, what
does my customer want to become?
And then frame your product asthe path to that transformation.
The Mac wasn't just anothercomputer, it was a statement.

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Apple had spent years producinggeneric beige boxes that blended
into the background jobs, wantedsomething that stood out,
something that made peopleexcited about technology again,
and that's exactly what hedelivered.
The first thing that peoplenoticed about the iMac.
It was transparent and colorful.
It was a complete break from theboring, boxy computers of the
nineties.

(07:13):
It was shaped like an egg.
It came in bright colors, and iteven had a handle on top making
it the first personal computerthat was really designed to be
carried around, jobs insisted onmaking it as simple as humanly
possible.
It had no floppy disc drive.
I mean, this was an unthinkablyradical decision at that time,
but jobs believed that floppydiscs were obsolete, and he

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wanted the iMac.
To be leading edge.
Instead, it had USB ports.
It had a built-in modem becausepeople were starting to explore
the internet and jobs wanted theiMac to be their gateway.
The marketing campaign was justas bold as the product.
In a world of complicatedcomputers that required assembly
and customization and a steeplearning curve, the IMAX slogan

(07:57):
was, there's no step three.
Instead of overwhelming peoplewith speed and specs, apple
focused on a single message.
This computer is easy to use.
The launch event was a classicSteve Jobs event, dramatic
pauses, simple slides, and abuildup that made the audience
hang on every word when thecurtain finally dropped,

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revealing the Bondi Blue iMac.
The crowd erupted into applause.
The iMac became the fastestselling computer in Apple's
history at that time, selling800,000 units in just its first
five months.
The sales lesson here,simplicity sells and jobs
understood something that mostsalespeople forget.
Customers don't buy features,they buy solutions.

(08:40):
If you're selling somethingcomplex, ask yourself, how can I
make this simple?
If your customers have to thinktoo much, you're losing them.
See, the iMac wasn't the fastestcomputer.
It didn't have the most storage.
What it had was simplicity, Aone button setup, a fun design,
and a single bold message.
There's no step three over.
Complication kills deals.

(09:01):
If a customer can't quicklygrasp the benefit, they'll lose
interest and move on.
Strip your pitch down to thebone.
If your customer only remembersone thing about your product.
What should that be?
Now, by 1997, apple wasdrowning.
It needed cash and credibility,and jobs knew that there was
only one company that couldprovide both Microsoft.

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Most companies in crisis lowertheir prices to survive.
They they slash costs, theybegged for investors jobs.
He did the opposite.
Instead of asking for a handout,he cut a deal.
Microsoft would invest$150million in Apple and in return,
apple would agree to settle alongstanding patent dispute and
make Internet Explorer thedefault browser on the Mac.

(09:45):
The moment that Jobs announcedthe deal on stage at Mac World,
the audience booed Apple fanssaw Microsoft as the enemy.
How could jobs partner withthem?
Jobs reframed the deal.
Instead of defending himself, hedid something brilliant.
He reframed the narrative.
He didn't say that Apple neededMicrosoft.
He said Microsoft needed Appleto avoid monopoly lawsuits.

(10:06):
He positioned the deal as awin-win.
Apple would survive andMicrosoft would have a serious
competitor in the market.
He made people look forward.
He said, we have to let go ofthis notion that for Apple to
win.
Microsoft has to lose.
Now, as a salesperson, what canyou learn from this?
Well, I think the most importantthing is never negotiate from

(10:26):
desperation.
See, apple was on the brink ofcollapse, but Jobs never
positioned Apple as weakenednegotiations.
Instead, he structured theMicrosoft deal as a strategic
partnership, not a bailout.
The moment that a prospectsenses desperation, you lose
control.
People wanna buy from confidentwinners, not from somebody
desperate.

(10:47):
Always position yourself as anequal, not a beggar.
If you need to negotiate, focuson what the other party gains
rather than what you want orneed.
Apple's biggest challenge wasn'tjust selling computers.
It was changing how people sawApple in 1997.
Apple was the underdog, afailing company with a declining
brand.

(11:07):
Jobs knew that if he wanted tomake Apple relevant again, he
needed to do more than just sellproducts.
He needed to sell an identity.
So instead of promotinghardware, apple launched a
campaign featuring black andwhite images of visionaries like
Albert Einstein, Gandhi, andAmelia Earhart, along with a
simple message, think different.

(11:29):
There was no mention of productspecs, prices.
Just a simple, powerful message.
Apple wasn't just anothercomputer company.
Apple sold products for peoplewho want to change the world.
The campaign redefined Appleovernight.
It created a sense of belonging.
If you owned an Apple product,you weren't just a customer, you
were a visionary.

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Now, what is the sales lessonhere?
Sell the identity, not just theproduct.
See, jobs knew that Applecouldn't just sell computers
anymore.
It had to sell an idea.
The think different campaignwasn't about processors or ram,
it was about rebels, creatives,and people who change the world.
People don't just buy things.
They buy who they become, whenthey use the things they buy.

(12:14):
If you're selling something, askyourself, what kind of person
does my customer want to be?
And then sell them that vision.
Don't just talk about what yourproduct does sell the feeling
and identity that comes with it.
What does owning your product?
Say about the customer.
See, Steve Jobs didn't just sellcomputers.

(12:36):
He sold a belief.
He understood that the mostpowerful sales pitch isn't about
features.
It's about a vision.
The iMac wasn't just a computer.
It was fun, simple and personal.
The Microsoft deal wasn't justabout money.
It was about securing Apple'sfuture.
The Think different campaignwasn't about advertising.
It was about creating amovement.

(12:58):
Do you wanna change the world?
Then remember these saleslessons from Steve Jobs first.
Radical honesty builds trust.
Be direct.
Customers.
Respect truth over hype.
Sell the vision, not just theproduct.
People buy into the futureyou're creating.
Simplicity sells overcomplication loses deals.

(13:20):
Make your pitch crystal clear.
Never negotiate fromdesperation.
Always frame the sale as awin-win, finally, sell an
identity.
The best brands make customersfeel like they're a part of
something bigger.
Now it's your turn.
Which of these sales lessonsresonates with you the most?
Drop a comment below and let'stalk about it.

(13:42):
And if you wanna learn to selllike a believer, like Steve
Jobs, you can grab, stopselling, start believing ebook
and audiobook versions for 50%off for the bundle
[e-mail].
The link is gonna be in thedescription down here.
I'll see you in the next one.
Now go sell something and makesome money.