Demand-Side Sales for Filmmakers
Over the last week I was introduced to an idea and a book called Demand-Side Sales 101 by Bob Moesta and Greg Engle.
I knew it was a book I should have read by now when I saw that the foreword was written by one of my internet-mentors, Jason Fried.
Plus, Bob was the co-creator of the Jobs To Be Done theory alongside Clayton Christensen. So I knew I was in for something good.
What I didn't know is that the book would completely reshape how I'm approaching sales and pitching going forward.
We're selling all wrong
The way it typically goes with filmmakers (and even investors who are pitching their films to distributors, networks, and studios) is that we approach it from the supply side:
"Here's an amazing project we've put together that we're super proud of and passionate about, and we want you to finance/distribute/buy it"
This is completely disconnected from the struggles or needs of the "buyer", and may not have anything to do with what they are looking for.
From the book:
"Sales is about helping people make progress. People don't "buy" products and services, they "hire" them to make progress in their lives...
Selling isn't about you, it's about the buyer's needs, context, and desired outcomes...
The best salespeople act as guides, mentors, coaches, or a concierge, rather than order-takers."
Flipping the script from supply-side to demand-side selling
We (incorrectly) think that "if we build it they will come" - if we write the best script, give the most passionate pitch, or make a film that wins all the awards at the festivals it plays at, that we'll be able to sell it.
But the demand doesn't come from the product! It exists independently from our ideas, pitches, and films.
Said differently, there either are or aren't people already looking for what you're selling.
The goal isn't to convince people to buy, it's to find the people who are already struggling to find what you have.
If there's not struggle, there's no demand.
The four forces of change in every purchase
In the book, they give an equation or formula for what's actually happening in the minds of a potential buyer.
Their purchase decision is driven by four "forces":
- The push of the situation - the pain or struggle making them feel dissatisfied with their current experience
- The pull of the new solution - the attraction to or demand for a better alternative
- The anxiety of the new solution - the fear and uncertainty they have about changing their situation or buying a new solution
- The habit of the present - their existing comfort level of the status quo, even if it's not great or very low
A sale happens when the first two forces are greater than the second two. The formula looks like this:
(Push + Pull) > (Anxiety + Habit)
Additionally, the money is made by reducing the anxiety in the minds of the buyer. This means that the more they trust and believe you and your solution (your product or service), the more profitable you can be with each sale because of that added value you've given them.
The example I often share is the "million-dollar lunch". On the last film I produced, the writer-director and I sat down to lunch to talk about the status of the film. Months prior we'd tried to produce it with a company for $400,000, but they pulled the funding the day we were to start pre-production.
Ouch.
So my friend was out there hitting the pavement for investors. He went on a cruise and screened the previous movie we'd made to an audience of a few hundred cruisers - are they called "cruisers"? - in two back-to-back weeks.
He met two separate people who came up to him after the screening and said "you need to talk to my friend/brother about your next project. He's looking to get into film."
(Notice that the demand already existed, independent of what the next film was or how it would be pitched.)
So my friend meets this investor and pitches him on this next movie that he wants to produce for $500,000 (ignoring the fact that the movie really needs about a $1.2m budget...)
And gets this investor to put up $150,000 toward the $500k budget.
No small feat! But...not enough to get the green light.
So that's the situation he's in as we chew on our chicken sandwiches across from each other.
I told him I think he pitched the wrong thing. He pitched a "creative project", not an investor, and was lucky to get a "donation" of $150,000. Because, in my mind this investor was just giving away this money and never expected to see it again. Maybe he saw it as the price of entry to get into producing indie films.
I pulled out my iPad and started to draw out a new pitch focused on the struggles or needs and desires of this investor. He wanted to "get into" indie films. That probably doesn't mean losing $150k. It means he wants to take some of the money he makes investing in businesses and real estate and make money investing in films.
We needed to present an opportunity that helped him achieve that outcome.
With the new pitch in hand, focused on the financial return of the movie, the package already in place, and the new budget of $1m, my friend scheduled another lunch with the investor.
Two days later we had the full $1m in the bank and a green light to produce the movie.
That's the difference between supply-side selling and demand-side selling. In the first pitch it was about the product. In the second, it was about helping get the forces at play into the proper balance - the push and the pull were finally greater than the anxiety and the habit forces.
(6.67 times greater, to be exact!)
How to apply this to your next pitch
The first thing is to go get the book so that you can apply demand-side selling in its entirety. But if you don't want to do that, here's what I recommend having read it and applied the principles - however unknowingly - in the past:
- Flip the approach from supply-side to demand-side
- Learn the struggles of your buyer and how your product or service helps them get the outcomes they want
- Meet buyers where they are instead of rushing them to buy
- Focus on reducing anxiety and increasing the pull for your product or service
The questions I get most often from filmmakers are all around raising money. This is the most important thing you can do - realize that you're trying to sell from the supply-side, and you need to completely shift to selling from the demand-side.
If you're struggling with getting your project to its next milestone, think about it from the buyers perspective. How does investing in your movie / distributing your film help them get what they want?
Then, rather than DMing random investors on social media, look for the signals from people that show their struggle - that the demand already exists. Talking about your project in the context of how it helps people will help you surface the people who are currently struggling.
Lastly, practice! Ask people about their struggles. Learn where they are in the buying process - did they just start thinking about investing in films? Or are they actively looking for a project to invest in? Meet them where they are by asking questions before delivering your canned pitch. Cater your "solution" to their "struggle" and see how the conversation changes.
Member discussion