After putting up my 8-year-old Kindle for sale, several people asked me the following question:
“What’s your Kindle’s hard disk space?”
To which I replied, “3 GB.”
After that, cricket…
You see, 3 GB by itself doesn’t mean anything. But when you know that the latest Kindle has a 32 GB capacity, 3 GB sounds pathetic. Don’t you think so?
But I was determined to sell it since I’ve bought the 32 GB one.
So, I decided to sell my Kindle like how Steve Job presented Apple’s first iPod.
When Apple launched their first iPod, instead of telling people it has a 5 GB capacity, Steve Job said, “We put 1000 songs in your pocket.”
Therefore, when the next person asked about my Kindle’s hard disk capacity, I said, “I don’t know exactly, but I know it can store up to 1000 books.”
Guess what? I sold it off immediately!
The above is a classic example of “facts tell, but stories sell.” In my case, it is, “jargons tell, but contexts sell.”
So, the next time you present or sell something, lose the technical mumbo jumbo and instead use words even an 8-year-old would understand.
PS: For the math geeks. The average size of a Kinkle book is 2.6 MB. Therefore after taking away the space needed for the OS, the Kindle’s actual capacity is about 2,600 MB. Hence the 1000 books.
PPS: If you’re wondering why I need 32 GB when 3 GB can store 1000 books. You see, this latest model allows me to keep audiobooks too. So, not only can I read with it, but I can also use it to listen to my audiobooks.
