75. Nike’s Phil Knight: How to sell without selling

At its core, great branding is about simplifying. It's about stripping away the irrelevant details until only the essence remains.

This is what spot-on branding can do. It doesn't just showcase the best aspects of the product; it lets you believe that you deserve them.

The problem with relying on charm as a sales strategy is that it's difficult to scale. It's not impossible, but when there's a mismatch between product and market, the bottom usually drops out.

Great selling is actually not about trying to force-feed customers an ill-fitting product; it's more about matchmaking. First, tell the world who you are, and then do everything you can to find and connect with your ideal customers.

Selling by deception is harder than it looks. It feels bad to trick people into buying a product you don't believe in and they don't want. It gives selling a bad reputation. It places customer and salesperson into a zero-sum match that only one of them can win, and frequently, they both lose.

Great branding is about matchmaking. Risky or not, there's actually a benefit to letting your brand story define not only who your audience is, but who it isn't.

To quote the legendary graphic designer Paul Rand, 'Design is so simple—that's why it's so complicated.'

I believe you need to sell without selling. Great branding is about identity and matchmaking.