There’s a story I keep coming back to. Simple, almost too small to matter. But it captures a strange and uncomfortable truth about business, sales, and human nature.
A teenager is looking for a suit for prom. He calls local stores.
“Hi, do you have this exact model in navy blue?”
One store says: “No, sorry.”
Click. End of call. End of game.
Another store says: “Yes — come in, we’ll show you our prom suits.”
Technically? They don’t have that exact model. But they do have prom suits. They have experience. And they know something the kid doesn’t: he’s not really sure what he wants yet.
Maybe he tries on a charcoal-grey slim fit and looks ten times better than he would have in navy blue. Maybe his parents agree. Maybe he walks out confident, excited, and dressed for the moment he was aiming for — even though it wasn’t the suit he first asked for.
Was that store lying? Or were they guiding him to what he really needed?
If you’ve never sold anything, this might sound manipulative. If you have — if you’ve stood behind a counter, pitched a product, launched an MVP, or raised funds on a vague prototype — you know it’s a tiny bit more complicated.
This is where most outsiders (non-trained folks) get it wrong.
What people think they want is shaped by what they see.
What they want shifts when they experience/try things.
A good seller understands that. A great one respects it. And a bad one abuses it.
Let’s explore that fine line — and how founders, marketers, and creators can walk it without slipping into BS.
Most people don’t show up to your project knowing exactly what they want.
They show up with vague desires, partial ideas, half-informed expectations. Influenced by TikToks, Twitter threads, friend recommendations, old habits, or a hunch. When they say “I want this,” what they often mean is: “This is what I think might solve my problem.”
If you take that too literally — if you just say “No, we don’t have that” — you’re letting them walk away without helping them at all.
This applies to retail, yes. But it also applies to startups.
Think about:
A founder who tweets a half-formed idea: “What if there was a better way for Substack writers to monetize?”
→ 60 replies. 200 email signups. No logo. No prototype.
→ Why? Because people didn’t know what they wanted until someone voiced something close.
A team who publishes a manifesto about decentralized reputation systems — without a product.
→ 1,000 people join a waitlist. A DAO offers to co-fund the vision.
A designer drops a one-page “vibe deck” for an AI storytelling tool.
→ Investors reach out. A co-founder appears. People buy into the intention.
None of these examples involves deception. But none of them involve a finished product either.
They’re invitations.
They say: “You’re looking for something. Let me help you see if this could be it.”
That’s what good selling is.
It’s a fair question.
Where does persuasion end and lying begin?
Here’s how I draw the line — and I’ve learned it the hard way:
If what you’re offering is real value — even if it’s not done yet — it’s not a lie.
If it only benefits you and you mislead others to get there, it is deception.
A good “yes” is a bridge. A bad “yes” is a trap.
Let’s go back to the suit story.
The store didn’t say, “Yes, we have that exact model in your size right now.” That would be dishonest.
They said, “Yes, we’ve got prom suits. Come in and we’ll find you the right one.” That’s guidance. That’s experience. That’s service.
In the same way, when a founder builds a landing page for a product that isn’t finished, they’re not lying — if:
They're honest about what’s ready and what’s not.
They plan to deliver the value they’re promising.
They’re testing if people care enough for it to be worth finishing.
This is the logic behind smoke tests.
Why the best founders launch before they’re ready.
Why great marketers talk about products before they exist.
It’s not about faking it.
It’s about surfacing real demand — and meeting it, fast.
Here’s what no one teaches you in business school:
The truth is shaped in context.
Truth is not just what exists — it’s what people experience, understand, and respond to.
Another famouse water bottle example;
- A water bottle is 30 cents in a supermarket.
- It’s $3 at a concert.
- It’s $10 in the desert. Or it costs your life.
Same product. Different perceived value.
Same value, different urgency.
Same urgency, different framing.
The honest product — the water bottle — stays the same.
But the meaning changes based on where and how you offer it.
Selling is not just delivering the truth.
Because there's no one truth. It's context and experience dependent.
Selling is creating the right context for someone to see the truth clearly — and act on it.
Let’s bring this home to our virtual world.
If you’re building something of value — you need people in your shop.
Whether that “shop” is a waitlist, a community, a Discord channel, a YouTube audience, or a pre-launch product page…
You can’t help anyone if no one shows up.
And no one shows up when you lead with:
- “We’re not ready yet.”
- “We don’t have that.”
- “We’re just figuring it out.”
That’s not humble. It’s self-sabotage.
You’re allowed — and even encouraged — to say:
“We’re building something that might help you. Come take a look.”
Because if you wait until it’s perfect, they’ll be gone.
Or worse — they’ll have already bought from someone else who wasn’t afraid to say “Yes.”
There’s no virtue in hiding your project until it’s perfect.
And no shame in showing up early, even half-finished, if your goal is to help.
Your job isn’t to promise something you can’t deliver.
Your job is to spark curiosity, create entry points, and guide people toward something better than what they had.
If that’s manipulation in your vocabulary, you need a new word for it.
It’s not. It’s human. It’s good business.
It’s how people figure out what they actually need — with your help.
Customers rarely know exactly what they want — until they see options.
A soft “Yes” is a bridge to understanding; a hard “No” closes the door.
If your product delivers real value, pre-selling or teasing it isn’t dishonest.
The line between persuasion and lying lies in intent, context, and delivery.
Don’t sell hype — but don’t wait for perfection either. Get people in the shop.
Now you have all you need to train your brain to be sale ready. Go practice!
Till next time, let's BUILD BETTER!
BFG
Publishing every Tue morning UTC and occasionally over the weekends.
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