Here is how you do it. — Tell how you ran into the problem. Your product is the solution to a problem you once had, and that your prospect is facing now. Tell your personal story of suddenly being confronted with this problem, and needing to solve it. — Give your reason why for solving the problem. Why was it so agitating? What frustrations did it create? What ill fate did you fear would become you as a result of facing this problem? What would be the cost of failing to solve it? — Future-pace your ideal solution. This is a moment of discovery. You realize that there must be a perfect solution, and you have an idea of what you want it to look like. You’re not talking about your product yet, but the features you’re looking for in a solution will line up with what you put into your product. — Share your search for the solution. You looked at a lot of options — and they all came up short. Dramatize the struggle. Pick the top few competitive and best-known solutions, and invalidate them. They were great for some of your buying criteria, but failed on others. In the end, they simply didn’t measure up. — Reveal the darkest hour. At one point, you faced ultimate frustration. None of the solutions available to you in the marketplace were sufficient. While you could solve your problem in a way that wasn’t ideal, you knew it wouldn’t make you satisfied. — The moment of truth. This is where you change from problem-haver to problem-solver. It’s an emotional moment. This is where the story gets its name. In your darkest hour, you make a decision. “I can’t find it, so I’ll build it. ” — The invention. Here you again touch on the buying criteria — the feature list of the ideal solution. “I wanted this to do X, Y, and Z, so I built it all in. I created the solution that I would have been an excited customer for, if only someone else had built it first. ” — The triumph. With your invention complete, you recognize it as the perfect solution to your problem. — The call to share. This is where your solution goes from personal to product. Either you realize this is too good not to share, or better, someone else facing the same problem tells you that you need to share it. — The packaging. Briefly, if relevant, tell of the creation of the product itself. What extraordinary steps did you take to create a packaged, perfect solution? — The offer. Here is where you finally shift to “selling” your product — although you’ve been selling all along. Compare the blood, sweat, tears, and expense you endured to make the product, to the silver-platter service you’re offering for a more refined version of the same solution.