Hey guys, welcome to Shama.tv. I’m back sans Snoopy and full of the ‘60s hair, so interesting to see what you guys think about that – just trying out a new style.

I want to talk about marketing today, actually, with you guys, and something that’s really near and dear to my heart, of course. But here’s the thing about marketing. A lot of people don’t understand how it’s meant to work and I read an analogy a few months back, and I think it was in Michael Neill’s newsletter, which I really enjoy. (I can’t be completely sure that that’s where I got it.)

But here’s the analogy, and I really liked it, and it’s something that’s stuck with me, so I wanted to share it with you guys and see what you think. So, think about a big steaming hot cup of coffee with two handles, okay? So it’s a mug of hot steaming coffee with two handles. And maybe I should have props to explain this, but you know: big steaming cup, coffee, two handles. You guys got it?

That coffee is your product. It is your service. It is whatever you’re offering. It’s whatever you’re selling. That’s the coffee.

Now, one handle is your connection to that coffee or your product, so it’s how you view your product. It’s what you think about it. It’s your personal relationship. Now, if you’re an artist, it’s whatever your connection to the art is. If you’re an internet marketer, it’s whatever you’re selling and however you’re connected to it. If you’re a consultant, maybe it’s just, you know, how you’re helping the company, but it’s your angle, if you will. That’s your handle.

The other handle on the coffee mug is how the people who are meant to drink that coffee relate to it, okay? And it’s really interesting because a one-handled mug is not going to fly. You need two handles on the marketing mug.

I just thought it was a really nice analogy because not only do you need to understand how you connect with the product, which usually comes easier for people, but you also need to have this other handle where you are offering a grasp of your coffee or the mug that the coffee is in, for people who are going to be drinking that coffee. And it may not necessarily be the way you connect to the product.

So maybe the way you connect to your art is, you know, you’re very personally connected to it. It’s cathartic, whatever it may be. But someone else may connect to it because they think it’s beautiful and that’s it. And they just love how it looks. And so, it’s really marketing. I think it’s a great analogy and example that you need two handles for your product, and that’s really good marketing.

So anyways, it a cute little analogy I wanted to share with you guys, and interesting to hear your thoughts and see what you guys thought about that.