👋 Hey, Chris here. Welcome to the 164th Floor. Each week I answer reader questions about closing more deals, bigger deals, negotiation. You name it. It's the weekly advice column to help you become the top 1% at sales. Send me your questions and I’ll give actionable real-talk advice. On to this week’s question.

Q: How do I sell a commodity? When the products are so similar it comes down to price?

"How do you choose between two identical products at the same price? When everything is equal, how do you differentiate and win?”

I ask every founder and salesperson I coach that question.

If you can’t answer, you’re leaving it to luck.

Common answers:

1. “Whatever arrives fastest."

2. "Made in the USA”

3. “Whichever has the better story”

4. “The easier one to buy."

5. “The better packaged one."

For the last 14 years I’ve sold packaging. That’s a fancy word for something that will be thrown away, maybe recycled, or maybe ruin the earth. Yet, it's a necessary evil.

After a couple hundred million dollars in sales, packaging has taught me how the world works.

Picture this. You order the same product from two different companies.

Same price.

The products arrived.

One comes in...

One comes in...

Same product.

Same price.

How do you feel about bringing in each box from the doorstep?

Which one do you keep?

That's the power of packaging.

By the end of today’s newsletter, you’ll know how to differentiate yourself in the most competitive markets.

What is packaging?

Let’s start with a definition.

Packaging (noun): The way the world perceives you.

“Packaging is perception. Perception is reality.” - Chris Rocas

The goal of your personal packaging is to change how people perceive you, which changes your opportunities. Now you have a new reality that lasts forever.

Perception → changed perception → New Reality → Perception → changed perception → And it never ends.

Examples of Personal Packaging

Packaging is:

• How do you handle yourself?

• How do you handle conflict?

• How do you set a meeting?

• How do you communicate?

• How do you dress?

• Your personal brand?

• Your way of talking?

• Your online presence?

• How you look?

• Your track record?

• How you act?

• The way you say what you say?

• Your intent?

• The people you surround yourself with?

• [Insert anything else you can imagine here]

Packaging is everything, everywhere, all the time.

You understand.

The best way to explain packaging.

“You can’t judge a book by its cover."

I’ve always hated this quote. Of course you can. You’ve been judged since you were a baby. And you’ll be judged well after you’re gone.

Every book is judged by its cover.

You know what happens to books with bad covers? They don’t get read.

You could have the most incredible book in the world.

If the cover sucks, it doesn’t get read.

You. Your talents. Resume. Skills. Products. Services. That’s the book.

The cover? The part that stands out. The part of a book that makes a stranger choose a it? Give the book a chance to be bought?

That’s the packaging.

How do you package yourself?

This isn't about genetics. It's about the way you present yourself. What do you wear? Are you fit? Fingernails clipped or bitten? On time? Do you wear a black turtleneck every day? Maybe a grey shirt? Or are you a 3-piece suit person? Are you late to meetings or on time?

You might say “this doesn’t matter”.

All things being equal, who do you go with?

The person whose fingernails are shredded to the cuticles, or the person with clean-cut nails.

The devil is in the details, as my grandpa would say.

Why is it important?

Your packaging impacts every part of your career:

• Better salary

• Getting Promoted

• Decision makers want to talk to you

• Unlimited Pipeline

• Meetings with people who matter

• Being happy in your career

• Being less stressed.

• Able to influence decisions

• Credibility

• High $$$ network

• Job security always

• Career autonomy

Packaging Analysis

It’s hard to analyze the way someone communicates or presents in a newsletter. But how people look? How they present themselves? We can do that with a picture.

TV and movies are an easy way to understand packaging.

Take the characters from Entourage (favorite TV show of all time).

Look at these photos and feel something. Think about each character and how they present themselves.

In both pictures, the main character is in the middle of the group. What does this say about this person? This is packaging.

In both pictures, one character wears a suit and tie. What does that say about him? How do you perceive him differently than the guy in a blue track suit in the bottom photo and a white hat in the top? Oh, and that guy in the white hat in the top photo is behind 3 people walking ahead. What does that say about him?

How about the smiles in the bottom photo from left to right: Serious, Serious, Smile, Casual, and serious.

What does that portray? How does it make you feel?

Look at the style of the characters in the 2nd photo.

Left to right.

1. Graphic t-shirt with an eagle.

2. Gym outfit with a backwards cap.

3. Half-tucked polo with big smile.

4. Untucked button-up with rolled-up sleeves.

5. Buttoned suit. Tie. Phone in hand.

Each makes you feel something.

Remember the first sentence of this newsletter?

“Two of the exact same products, at the exact same price. How do you pick which one to buy? When everything is equal, how do you differentiate? How do you win?”

Same idea. New question.

Same product, same price. Looking at this picture, who are you buying from and why?

There's an answer.

It’s different for each of you.

That's packaging.

Weekly Challenge

This week's challenge is different. It’s harder. A bit more abstract. And probably only a few of you will actually go through with it. For the few that do, you’re well on your way. To those that don’t, you are still on your way, just not as fast as the ones who did the challenge.

Onto this week's challenge ✅:

1. Time block 2 hours on your calendar.

2. Open a Google Doc or get a notebook.

3. Answer these questions in order.

   1. Do you believe in packaging?

   2. How would you describe your current packaging?

   3. What’s the most important part of a person’s packaging?

   4. What part of a person’s packaging is most influential?

   5. When you think of the best packaging, who has it? Must be real life human.

   6. What about a fictional character? Who has perfect packaging?

   7. What part of your packaging is hurting you?

   8. How does the world perceive you?

   9. Is this how you want the world to perceive you?

   10. If you could be perceived as one type of person, who would that be?

   11. What is holding you back from being perceived as that person?

   12. What is your biggest advantage that comes from genetics?

   13. If you could design the perfect perception of yourself, what is it?

   14. Is this achievable?

   15. If yes, why aren’t you perceived this way yet?

   16. If no, why not?

Until next week,

Chris