Summary: You will read why I am writing this article at first and some responses of my friends on "Sell Me This Pen" question and then you will read an interesting content marketing strategy that I would have devised if I have been given a task to "Sell Me This Pen".

Last week on Friday, I got back on my seat at my workplace. And as my daily routine I started scrolling to my Facebook news-feed to read something interesting to start my day.

And I found an interesting Quora discussion shared by Hiten Shah. It was about the best responses to the question, "Sell Me This Pen".

I read the whole thread and then shared on my timeline too. And asked my friends to share their experiences if they have also gone through this "Sell Me This Pen" experience in any interview in the career as a marketer.

I got to hear 4 very unique stories. Sharing them here so you guys can enjoy them as well. And then I will tell you how I would have answered Sell Me This Pen question at the end ;)

Ranjan Pathak

Ranjan is a friend who lives in India. And here is what he responded to Sell Me This Pen.

I sold it with a better graphite that you can use for both writing and sketching.

Ali Amjad

Ali is a good friend of mine and a brilliant writer/marketer. He cracked me up with his hilarious story about Sell Me This Pen.

I sold the pen by bluff actually. :-) Just when the interviewer asked me this question, she received a call. I then moved the pen close to her hand that was on the desk, she then took the pen and started to click it on and off, and when she was done with the call, she asked me, "So, where's the pen?" I said, "I have already sold you the pen!" Well, I know that's stupid, but I just passed my matriculation exams and it was my first job interview! Well, I wasn't selected but at least this made her smile and I was happy for that!

Luke Havard

Luke is an inspirational person. A good friend. A great digital marketer and investor. He was very candid answering the question, Sell Me This Pen.

Yeah I told them thanks for their interest but unfortunately my pen is not for sale... Needless to say the conversation became awkward.

Brandon Wirtz

I kept the best response of Sell Me This Pen for the last. Brandon is an amazing person. A marketer, a technology enthusiast. I would give him a word "All-rounder". His response is just amazing.

Hiring Manager hands me his Tebaldi, and says "Here is this pen, look it over, then sell it to me." I put it in my breast pocket, and say, "You can bid for it on eBay in a about an hour when I get home. Good luck." I start walking out of the office. He chases me down, and says, "Hey, that's a $8,000 pen, give it back". "So you are saying you are a really motivated buyer? Make me an offer, $7500 seems like a good starting price".

This was indeed an awesome response. No one can beat that I guess.

So, as I promised above that I will share how I would have answered the question, Sell Me This Pen? Here is my response as being a content marketer.

How I Will Sell The Pen?

I believe content marketing is the best way to edge out in a very saturated market. Its all about educating people on solving their problems.

What I would suggest to interviewers is that I will create a content strategy first.

We all know that most of the people suck at hand writing. And if we can help people improve it, we can easily sell that pen as well.

But how?

Some cost effective things I will start with.

A Blog,

Facebook Group,

A Reddit Subreddit,

A Facebook Page,

A Twitter Handle,

An Instagram Account,

A Youtube Channel,

or May be SnapChat account too.

What I will do with these channels?

I will share the best tips every single day there to help people improve their hand writing. And I will create videos, image posts etc using the pen I have been given to sell.

Secondly, I will start an influencer marketing program. And invite writers, authors, handwriting experts for interviews and ask them about their best practices and recommendations and market that content on all the channels mentioned above.

People will get value of the information I will share and they will see the pen I have been using to improve my hand writing. I will also mention the Pen brand more often in my content. So, people get to know the brand and recall it whenever they go to buy a pen.

This strategy will create a brand that promotes Great Hand Writing.

So, do you like my take on this "Sell Me This Pen" question?

Have you ever gone through this question in your interview? If yes, please share your responses in the comment section below :)

Muhammad Saad Khan is a growth hacker & content marketing strategist at Cloudways. He is a columnist at VentureBeat and a full stack marketing advocate. Working on business growth, influencer engagements, and innovative content strategies. Connect with me on Twitter: @invinciblesaad or follow me on Facebook.



