Before & After: The Secret to Selling Anything

You've seen it a thousand times in fitness ads. The before and after photo. Before, they're tired and out of shape and frustrated. After, they're confident, they're in shape, they're energized, they're unstoppable. That simple story arc sells billions of dollars in fitness products every year. But here's the thing. You can use the same strategy to sell anything. Courses, coaching, software, services, it doesn't matter. You can do this, whatever your offer is. And today I'm going to show you exactly how to do it. People don't buy products, they buy transformation. Imagine for a moment that I can upload information to your brain, just like in the Matrix. Would you rather me do that or give you a course with 10,000 videos? You'd go with the upload to my brain please option, right? That's what we choose because it's quicker, it's easier, and really all you care about is transformation, is getting the skills you're looking for, is getting the result. So you're not really selling the course or the videos or the training or the coaching. You're selling the after photo that the customer has in their mind. They're buying a better version of themselves, a better version of their business, a better version of their life. If you can show someone how their life will be better after using your product, they'll lean in. They are interested. This is emotional storytelling and not just selling features. Let's break it down. Before is what life is like without your product. After is what life is like with it. Pretty simple, right? The more vivid and relatable that contrast is, the more powerful your marketing becomes. This isn't just copywriting, it's persuasion at its core. So how do you use this in your offer? We'll start with the pain. A lot of entrepreneurs, a lot of business owners, forget about this. You gotta start with where people are experiencing pain. Before working with me, for example, my clients felt overwhelmed, scattered, stuck, frustrated. You want to really flex the pain. You want to really push on the pain. You want to aggravate the pain. Speak the words your audience is already using and saying to themselves. Number two, paint the picture of the after. For example, after six weeks, my clients got clarity. They, they got a plan and a business they actually love and a business that makes money. The specifics matter here. Don't say better, say how. Make it as real as possible so they can really see what life is like after working with you. Number three, use visuals. Even for non visual products, even if a product isn't physical, Use visuals and analogies. Here's an example. Before it was like trying to build Ikea furniture with no instructions. And the after, like walking into the room and knowing exactly where everything goes. See, that's sticky. That's memorable. People are making a mental picture of what's happening here. And that sells because people see a vivid difference. Next, use real testimonials the same way get your customers to share their before and after. So what I ask them to do is answer three questions. The first question is, what was their life before? After consuming my product, working with me, what was, what was it like? What was their business like? The second question is what were they struggling with? Specifically, what were their struggles? What were their pains? What are the things that they hated? And hate is a strong word. That's a good one, right? What are some of the things they hated about their business or life or their state of being? And number three, what changed? What was their life after using my product or service or working with me? Very simple three questions. Life before, what they struggled with, and what is their life after like? By answering just three questions, you get a very powerful testimonial. These stories are more powerful than any ad that you can ever write. This makes your testimonials transformational. So for example, a testimonial that I would get for the hundred dollar MBA would be something like, when I got started, I was very overwhelmed. I didn't know where to start with growing my business. I was really busy and I didn't know where to spend my limited time. I was really frustrated because I bought other programs that wasted my time and money. But when I started using the hundred dollar BA program, I got clarity. I got step by step instructions. I immediately felt more confident. I was able to know exactly what to do next. And my business grew day by day. I could actually tie the results I've had in my business with the $100 MBA program. That is clean, that is clear, that is transformational, that's compelling. So now that I have this information, I have a clear before and after. I can use this information. I can use this copy on my sales pages. So for example, again with the $100 MBA, I can write something like, when people find a program, they're usually overwhelmed. They've got the skills, they got ideas, maybe they even have a side hustle, but no roadmap. The before is like trying 10 different strategies at once, getting stuck, doubting everything. The after could be a clear business, foundation, revenue, confidence and focus. See, this is not hype. This. That's the transformation we aim for. And that's how we sell it. With truth, with story, with a before and after. You're not just selling a product, you're selling a new reality. Help people see themselves in the before and believe in the after. Do that and selling becomes natural, it becomes honest and most of all, effective. Thanks for tuning in to the $100 MBA show podcast. If you found this helpful, found this episode useful for you, share it with friends. Send it to them via text message or via WhatsApp or on social media. Whatever you want to do, go ahead and share it. You can just send them to our website, 100mba.net show where they can find our latest episodes. If you want to go deeper and build your business with me, you might want to subscribe to our three Things newsletter. It's absolutely free and every week I send you an email to help you work on three things. Number one, I send you something to think about to build a stronger mindset. Number two, I send you something to do so you're building upon actions. Number Number three, I give you something to learn so you're scaling up every week. Simple, practical, yet powerful. Just like the before and after. You can sign up by just going to 100 MBA net and signing up for any of our freebies, our guides or templates. You'll automatically get added to our weekly newsletter. Thanks again for being part of this podcast and being a listener. I am here to support you every single episode, so I'll see you in the next one. Take.