Hi Reader,
Yesterday evening I was watching Dutch national TV. A man who runs a fashion store said seven words that cut right through.
"I am not selling cloth. I am selling identity."
Pretty powerful, right?
Yes, clothing is a different world, but it landed exactly where I see so many software companies get it wrong.
Here's the thing: most software companies are still selling cloth.
They lead with features, add-ons, and customizations. They build demos around what the product does, not what the customer becomes. And then they wonder why prospects nod along in discovery and their deals stall right after that.
Your customer was never buying your software. They were buying the next version of themselves.
Here's what that looks like:
- A €15M ARR company pitching "AI-powered workflow automation" — when their champion is a COO who wants to be the person who finally solved the chaos no one else could.
- A sales team preparing a demo to show the richness of their compliance capabilities — when the real question in the prospect's head is "does this company understand what's actually at stake here?"
- A CEO dropping price to prevent losing a deal — when the problem was never the price.
Nobody walks into a boutique thinking about thread count. They walk in thinking about how they'll feel in the room. The cloth is just the vehicle.
Your software is the cloth. The identity is what sells.
So before your next demo, ask this: what does your customer become when they work with you? What will their life look like as a leader, a team, and a company once they are on your software? Is that the thing you lead with?
If it isn't, you're selling cloth.
(Where do you get stuck with this? Hit reply — I might have a tip)
Question for you to reflect upon:
When your champion talks on your behalf internally, are they sharing what your product does — or what they'll become when your software is in place?
The Remarkable Effect is when customers buy who they become, not what you built.
Ton