This story is the perfect illustration of selling value. People trade their money for your products. If they think your product or service is worth more than their money, you've got a deal. But if they don't - for whatever reason: No deal. So your job is to convince them that you've got something of value.

Every sale boils down to this simple principle. Don't worry about the competition. Forget about building rapport. Ditch all those closing techniques. If you've got a $20 widget, your customer is asking this question, "Is that worth more to me than the $20 bill in my wallet?" You've got to get them to say, "Yes".

A paperclip for a house? Crazy, right? Well, it depends. He starts by trading it for a novelty pen, which somebody gave him just for the fun of it. The first few trades are just for fun. And then it gets serious. He gets something rare, and finds a collector willing to trade for it. He gets a lot of media attention, so some people want to trade on the exposure they'll get. And so on. At one point, he seems to be going backwards - at least, in the opinion of many of his loyal fans. But he sticks to his guns.

You've got to do the same.

Your $20 widget has all the bells and whistles? OK, but if your customer doesn't value them, who cares?

It's far better than anything the competition can offer? But you're not competing with somebody else - you're competing with the buying power of the $20 in their wallet.

It cost you $19.50 to build, so you're only making a tiny profit? That's none of their business!

This is exactly what selling value means. If you're not doing it, you'll face an uphill struggle in every sale.