Showboating works…
when you sell the sizzle, sourdough and full stomach, not… the sausage.
here’s what can SharkNinja and Dyson teach us about demonstrating the warm fuzzy feelings you get from owning thier products instead of the products themselves.
A 20-minute read from Crazy Animal Face in 3 separate parts.
ok, you have a great product, what’s next?
Starting at the beginning, let's assume:
The product works really well.
Customers genuinely benefit from it.
You've invested lots of time and money building it.
Now comes the really hard part, convincing someone else, to put their hand in their pocket and part with their hard earned cash. And that's where many businesses accidentally (and that’s the key word, because for all intents and purposes no-one is deliberately trying to make things difficult) make the sales process harder than it needs to be.
Because, they start explaining, lots and lots of explaining. And dumping features all over the shop.
Specs, techs, industry jargon, slide decks, web pages, RAM forms, brochures, sales presentations… we could literally spend a whole day breaking this down.
And, while all of those things have their place, they often miss the question customers are really asking:
“What does my life look like after I buy your new shiny thing?”
Because customers rarely buy products, they buy outcomes.
Part One
Why SharkNinja slapped me round the chops
A few years ago, while I was working at Dyson, if you'd asked me to name one of the most commercially interesting businesses in consumer goods, I probably wouldn't have said SharkNinja. But today I might.
Not because of what they market, but because of HOW they sell.
Spend five minutes scrolling social media and you'll likely see:
an air fryer transforming dinner
a vacuum cleaning up a disaster in seconds
a hair styling product delivering salon ready results
an ice cream maker producing something that looks incredible
What you rarely see is:
engineering diagrams
detailed technical specifications
lengthy explanations
product history
manufacturing detail
Instead, you see outcomes for the customer and that matters sooo much for the customer. Because outcomes create imagination of a better world, a nirvana if you like. And customers can immediately picture themselves using the product.
And once someone can imagine the outcome, the buying decision becomes significantly easier.
David Beckham Shark Ninja Brand Ambassador
What is the ‘Accessibility Strategy’ then?
Ok, so here’s where we start looking at positioning. For example, Dyson often sells aspiration, SharkNinja sells possibility. And that's not a criticism on either brand, it's positioning and its not a surprise therefore that both of these brands control the market segment that they do.
Dyson asks:
What if the world's best engineers solved this problem?
SharkNinja asks:
Imagine what this problem taken away for you feels like?
They're very different approaches. And both work.
In SharkNinja’s case, they have created a ‘pivot’ and growth by helping customers believe:
This solution is for people like me.
That's a powerful commercial lever to pull even though it has its pitfalls.
Part Two
Most Businesses Talk Like Experts
Now, one of the biggest mistakes a business can make is assuming customers care about products as much as they do.
They don't.
Customers care about the problem disappearing.
Let's look at a simple example. You can sell the same vacuum cleaner in two ways:
"We use advanced cyclonic technology with multi-stage filtration."
Or you could say:
"Picks up pet hair in one pass."
One explains. One demonstrates. One requires interpretation. The other sells an outcome.
The Apple Example
Apple has spent decades demonstrating outcomes rather than explaining technology. I love asking this question to anyone who flips up a silver lid of a macbook on the train:
“Nice! How much RAM does that have? What screen size is it?”
Cue the blank expression, and I stop after that in case they think I’m a mugger.
Just think about iPhone launches. Apple rarely leads with processor speed, instead they show:
better photographs
smoother video
easier communication
simpler experiences
The technology matters (a bit) but the outcome (and the status) sells.
The Dyson Principle
While working at Dyson, one phrase came up a lot:
"Where we demo, we win."
So, so true. Put one of those fantastic products in someones hand, and they were blown away. No pun intended.
Not because the technology wasn't important, but because demonstration removed doubt that the cost was a justification of the technology you held in your hand.
Once customers saw:
the design
the performance
the speed
how the sound was kind to ears
The product largely sold itself because the demonstration did the heavy lifting.
And that principle applies FAR beyond vacuum cleaners.
Part Three
The Commercial Impact
This isn't just marketing and sales theory, it has direct measurable business impact because when customers can clearly see the outcome:
Conversion Rate Increases
All because the understanding of why you need a product happens faster. And customers spend far less time trying to interpret value.
Customer Acquisition Costs Fall
Because the proposition becomes far easier to understand, and clear outcomes outperform complicated explanations.
Sales Cycles Become Shorter
Because fewer questions need answering, the customer can already see the result.
Revenue Per Customer Improves
Because trust develops quicker and customers become more willing to purchase additional products and services.
This Isn't About Consumer Electronics
At this point you might be thinking:
"That's great if you sell air fryers."
Nope.
Banks, insurers, and Telecoms businesses can all demo.
Let's take insurance, so many insurance companies explain policies, ‘length of the policy, inclusions, exclusions etc’. The best ones, demonstrate peace of mind.
Banks are the same, they often explain features, cash back, international transaction fees etc, but the best ones demonstrate convenience.
Telecoms companies explain coverage, handsets, rates, speed, the best ones demonstrate connection between loved ones.
The principle remains exactly the same.
Customers don't buy explanations, they buy the confidence in the solution you are giving them. And if they give you their trust, you better make sure you do everything you can to protect it.
Ok class, here’s A Simple Exercise
Look at:
your website
your latest sales deck
your last customer email
your most recent LinkedIn post
And ask:
How much of this explains? And how much of it demonstrates? Because there is often a significant difference.
The CAF Commercial Takeaway 🥡
Creative commercial thinking often comes from making things a lot simpler (I have a book recommendation here: Check out ‘The Obvious: By James Dale’) and the key part of this study, is that SharkNinja isn't successful as a brand because it explains products better. It's successful because it demonstrates customer outcomes really well.
And that's a lesson almost every commercial leader can borrow.
If your customer can't immediately picture the outcome you are giving them, you're asking them to do too much work. The easier you make it for customers to imagine success, the faster they will move towards a decision that you want.
And that impacts ALLLLLL of the below:
✅ Conversion Rate
✅ Customer Acquisition Cost (CPA)
✅ Sales Cycle Length
✅ Revenue Per Customer
Simmer down on this…
The next time you're creating marketing, ask yourself:
Am I explaining what we do?
Or:
Am I showing customers what life looks like after they buy?
Because one creates understanding.
The other creates action.
🦉
Crazy Animal Face
Creative Commercial Thinking for leaders responsible for revenue generation.
