Q: How do you sell a crappy car for 30x the price 10 years later without any drop of sales skills?

Here’s the story:

In 1971, Italian car maker De Tomaso released the Pantera.

(fyi, pantera means, “Panther” in eye-talian.)

The Pantera’s an absolute beauty. Pop-up headlights, low-profile, big wheels, huge V8 engine which growls. The type of car that Bond would drive…

… if Bond could get it to work, that is.

You see, the Pantera was plagued with problems. It had corrosion issues. The pedals were in the middle of the car, which made it extremely uncomfortable to drive. And the fuel vaporized, stalling the engine. No bueno for car chases.

But hell, it looked the part, and in 1971, it was just what Elvis needed to impress his new girlfriend.

Alas…

Elvis’s career at the time was on shaky ground…

(Drug problems)

And combined with his love of guns, he had the habit of shooting things.

So, one fateful night, Elvis is in a bar, probably drugged up, and gets mad. He storms out of the bar, gets in his car, and lo-and behold it won’t start.

He kicks open the door, and whips out his revolver.

BANG!

One shot hits the tyre.

BANG!

Another shot ricochets, hitting the steering wheel.

in 1981, there’s a Pantera for sale.

It can’t start, it’s got engine problems, but it’s got a hole in the steering wheel that came from the King of Rock’n’Roll himself.

So what does someone do?

Buy it for $300,000 in diamonds, as you do.

Cos as M&S might’ve said…

This wasn’t just a Pantera.

It was Elvis Presley’s Pantera.

So, how do you sell a sh*tty car for 30x it’s production value 10 years later?

The simple answer is, “Get a drug-addicted, gun-loving, world-famous pop star, and get him to put a couple of bullets in it.”

The simpler answer:

“Put it in a category of one.”

A lesson which applies just as well to your products online as it does to unreliable Italian supercars.