Do you know what happens when you treat your sales pitch like a pre-flight briefing? You sound precise, confident, and completely forgettable.
That might work in the sky, but in business, it makes you invisible.
Most pilots, like us, stepping into entrepreneurship, fall into this trap. We talk about systems, processes, and credentials, the same way we’d describe aircraft performance. However, in this case, the clients aren’t passengers.
They are people looking for transformation (how their life and results will change).
So, if you want to build something with a genuine connection, it’s time to take the first steps in the right direction.
Key Takeaways: Transformation Selling
- Transformation Inspires: Most entrepreneurs talk about what they do, not what it means. Transformation shows who your client becomes because of it.
- Emotions Drive Decisions: Over 90% of buying decisions are emotional. When you connect your service to how it makes people feel, you become their solution.
- Ask, Don’t Tell: Use the Transformation Conversation Framework to uncover what your clients truly want. Ask about frustrations, desired outcomes, and what success looks like.
- Sell the Future: Sell what life looks like after it. Help clients picture themselves succeeding, leading, and growing.
The Three Levels of Value Communication
Every conversation you have with a potential client sits somewhere on three levels of value communication. These levels are the foundation of transformation selling.
For pilots transitioning into business, it’s important to master this shift. You’ve spent years focusing on precision and process, but in sales, people buy vision and emotion. The clients don’t just want to understand what you did; they want to feel what it can do for them.
Here’s how the three levels are typically described:
Level 1: Features (What It Is)
Features describe the mechanics of what you’re offering. It could be a number of sessions, tools, or any frameworks you’re providing. In short, it’s the technical description.
Even though it’s useful, it doesn’t move emotion. For instance, saying, “My program includes six strategy sessions and a strategic framework” sounds like an aircraft spec sheet.
Informative, yes. Inspiring, no.
Level 2: Benefits (What It Does)
Here, you start connecting the dots between what you offer and what it delivers. Benefits explain how your service makes life easier, smoother, or even more efficient for your client.
At this level, instead of listing features, you say, “You’ll gain clarity in decision-making, minimize team friction, and respond to pressure with control.”
It’s your responsibility at this point to make your prospects imagine the positive change it would bring to their life.
“People don’t buy products and services. They buy relations, stories, and magic.” ~ Seth Godin.
Level 3: Transformation (Who You Become)
The last two levels were like the flight plan, showing just the details. But on level three, the real transformation happens, and it’s where your message takes flight.
Transformation is about who your client will become as a result of working with you. You need to show where they’ll be, maybe in a better position, with better sales, or anything else. Your job is to show them the unlimited potential (mostly the ROI) of signing with you or buying a product.
Why Transformation Sells Better?
When was the last time someone sold you something that actually changed how you felt? If you did, you would understand what transformation brings to the table and how it’s totally different from just explaining the features and hoping the other person is impressed.
Here are a few reasons why transformation sells better:
- Emotion Drives Action: People rarely make decisions through logic alone. They act based on how something makes them feel. In fact, research also shows that over 90% of buying decisions are emotional.
- Creates a Story: Facts tell, but stories sell. When you frame your message around transformation, you’re letting clients imagine their own before-and-after scenario.
- Builds Loyalty: A customer who undergoes a transformation doesn’t just make a one-time purchase. They stick around because your service changed how they see themselves. It’s also why airlines sell adventure.
- Removes Price Resistance: As your clients envision their future improvements, the question shifts from “How much does it?” to “When can we start?”
Two Examples of Transformation Selling in Action
Let’s explore how transformation selling shifts the conversation and pick up a few key points for your next pitch.
Example 1: Crisis Management Consulting
Most consultants stop at describing the structure of their program, which is just the feature level. It informs the client about the contents of the box, but not its implications for them.
You’re not going to do that.
You’ll be moving to the benefit level to show results, like faster response times, fewer errors, and smoother coordination.
Now, step into the transformation level. This is where your message becomes personal and powerful. You paint the picture of who the client becomes.
For instance, you say something like, “the leader everyone looks to when things fall apart.” This one line shifts perception. It speaks to the identity, pride, and emotional aspiration of that person and what he really wants to become.
Example 2: International Business Expansion
Imagine a business consultant helping a company break into global markets. At first, they describe the offer: market analysis, regulatory guidance, and local partnership support. These are solid features, but sound dull.
Then come the benefits. These include fewer compliance issues, faster entry timelines, and a clear path to market success.
It makes sense. However, if the consultant stops here, the client might not sign with him because of a lack of transformation.
Once he adds transformation to the mix to show who the client becomes after success, he’ll be helping the client own the global market rather than just being a part of it. And that’s how transformation selling changes the game.
How to Use the Transformation Conversation Framework
Most pilots-turned-entrepreneurs struggle with connection, and you might be too. This framework will help you shift from talking about your service to talking to your client’s emotions. Here’s how to use it step by step.
Step 1: Discover Current Frustrations
Start by understanding where clients are now. Ask questions that uncover the surface problems as well as the emotional weight behind them.
For instance:
- “What’s the biggest challenge you’re facing with [relevant area]?”
- “How is this situation affecting you personally?”
Step 2: Explore Desired Outcomes
Once they share their pain, guide them toward possibility. Help them visualize what success looks and feels like.
Questions like, “How would you feel about yourself if this problem were resolved?” work wonders here. You can also go for “What would be different in your daily experience?”
These questions have the same motive but are asked differently.
Step 3: Paint the Transformation Picture
Now, take their vision and make it vivid. Make sure to use language that helps them see themselves already in that future.
Examples:
- “Here’s what I see happening for you…”
- “Imagine six months from now when…”
- “Picture yourself in that situation, feeling…”
Step 4: Create Urgency for Change
Without momentum, there’s no transformation. Your job is to remind them of the cost of inaction gently. No pressure, just a simple perspective.
“Do you know what the cost of staying where you are?” Such questions can gently nudge your clients to see where they are now and which actions they need to take to make that transformational picture a reality.
Step 5: Position Your Solution
Finally, connect their desired transformation with your solution. Position yourself as the bridge from where they are to where they want to be.
Also, try not to skip any of the above steps before offering your solution. That way, the client would run away, thinking you only care about closing them and not about their business or what they want to achieve.
Ready to Turn Conversations Into Conversions?
When you stop talking about what you do and start painting a picture of who your client becomes, everything changes. Your words connect deeper. Your offers feel valuable. And your clients start saying “yes” for the right reasons.
However, if you’re not sure whether you’re ready to step out of your comfort zone, that’s fine. Just spare three minutes and complete the Life After the Sky Checklist.
By the end of it, you’ll know exactly where you stand and whether you are ready for this transformation.
Worry not, you’ll get the exact steps in the end to help you take the leap.
Invitation to Join Our FREE Strategy Session
Most pilots are one honest conversation away from clarity. This is that conversation.
Complete our “Life After the Sky” checklist, then join me for a FREE 15-minute “Strategy Session” via Zoom.
This session has been created for pilots who want to take ownership of what comes next.
Those who want action, not just to talk about it.
In just 15 minutes, we’ll:
- Review your checklist results
- Identify the one obstacle holding back your reinvention
- Translate your checklist results into a clear starting point
Start your pre-flight assessment for the next chapter of your journey by Booking your free strategy session here!
