Have you ever heard the phrase “sex sales”? It tends to refer to advertisements. The origin started from a tobacco company that used sexuality in advertising around 1870. Since then, it has been one of the most powerful marketing tactics. The phrase addresses an important topic you don’t see many people discussing unless it’s behind a paywall: the marketing message. However, there is something important that you have to figure out before you start working on your marketing message. That’s identifying the core desire that you want to serve.

What is a Core Desire:

I sprang out of bed on a Saturday morning, rushing to get ready and hope for the live class that morning. I had acquired a nearly $300 ticket to this live event, and there was no way I would miss it. It was a multi-day event, and the hosts, Russell Brunson, Steven J. Larsen, and others, dropped nothing but gold daily. My head hurt from all the new information I acquired with each session. It’s been a few years since I took advantage of learning from some of the biggest names in digital marketing, so I don’t remember much. I remember Steve Larsen discussing his time at a Funnel Hacker Live event. At this event, they touch on different topics at the beginner and start working on that part of the funnel later. During one of the events, one of the participants asked Steve Larsen,

So… Do you think this offer is sexy?

Mr. Larsen replied,

I don’t know, it depends. What market are you serving?

The confusion on the guy’s face said it all. Mr. Larsen, noticing his reaction, continued.

Well then, that’s the riskiest idea ive ever heard in my life,

He went on to say,

Think about it, if you don’t know who you’re serving, anything you come up with is a guess, because you aren’t the one buying it. You don’t fill your own wallet. You need to figure out what market you are going to serve first, and then you can create the offer they want.

What Are They Hoping to Achieve?

There are three core desires/marketers that every product falls into. They are, in no particular order, health, wealth, and relationship. Whenever someone purchases a product, they’re trying to fulfill or solve a problem of one of these desires. As such, the first question you must answer is,

“Which of the three desires are my customers trying to get results in when they acquire my products?”

This is a relatively simple question for most people, so creating a marketing message is straightforward. However, there are times when things can get… complicated. I’ve been in one of those more complex situations before. My head is starting to hurt just remembering it. So you don’t have to go through the same pain I went through, here are the two common reasons one may find oneself in such a situation.

Reason #1 — My product fits into multiple desires

I had this problem back when I started promoting Builderall. I didn’t understand how to craft the perfect message to get people to buy. I pondered whether I should create a message around the customer’s relations with their family, making money, or saving money. So, I tossed my hand up and tried all three. That was a huge no-no. Why? As I learned from reading Expert Secrets, your marketing message is supposed to break down a false belief your audience holds and install a new one. However, things get tricky when you try to make people believe in more than one thing at a time. Who knows how long that nightmare might have lasted if I hadn’t read Expert Secrets…

Reason #2 — My product doesn’t fit any of these desires

I want to inform you that this notion is false. Every product falls into one of the markets. Have you ever seen the peanut commercial that played during the Super Bowl in 2020? Mr. Peanut is cruising in his car with friends when an armadillo appears on the road. To avoid hitting it, he swerves… Baby Peanut, or Peanut Jr. as some call him, makes his first appearance shortly after in another commercial. In this commercial, Mr. Peanut’s friends surround his grave, mourning him, when a tear from the Kool-Aid drops on the upturned dirt. Moments later, Peanut Jr. appears, signifying new beginnings. There were so many mixed reactions to it. Some people thought loved it; some people hated it. But either way, very few people responded with indifference or lukewarm attitudes.

Of course, whenever there’s talk about Mr. Peanut, we also talk about the tasty Planters’ Peanut, snacks people eat to stave off hunger. Yet, these commercials didn’t target the market of health. It targeted the market of relationships. The relationships between life and death, old and new. This campaign was meant to impact the human psyche so much that it stays on people’s minds for a long time. It aimed to show people that every end has a beginning. Likewise, every beginning has an end. Gary V, the owner of Vayner Media, always talks about macro and micro messages like that, so I’m sure there’s even more to it.

Conclusion:

To create a powerful sales message, you need to understand the core desires and which market your product or service serves. While most products fall into at least one market on the outside, some are a bit more difficult. You’ll need to understand submarkets and how to use them. Even if your product doesn’t fit into one of the three markets, your sales message has to.