There's a reason your chiropractor calls it "tech neck" instead of only saying "your neck hurts from staring at your phone all day."
And it’s the same reason Snickers calls it “hangry” instead of putting out ads that only say “you feel irritated when you’re hungry.”
Keep reading to find out why your brain la-la-looooves a good name. π§
Read time: 3.3 minutes ⚡
One of the hardest jobs right now? Head of AI
You're expected to deliver AI results. But almost no one has a playbook on how to actually do that.
Imagine this…
It's 11 p.m. on a Tuesday. You're hunched over your laptop like a shrimp, staring at a Google Doc that's been blank for 45 minutes.
You have a discovery call tomorrow afternoon with your biggest potential client yet—a $15,000 contract. The kind that pays five+ months of rent in one shot.
But every time you open your mouth to practice your pitch, the words come out like wet cement—slow, heavy, and oh so wrong.
You’ve been a consultant for 15 years. You know your process works—and you have a long list of happy clients to back you up.
But when you try to explain what makes your thinking unique—aka why you’re the obvious choice—to strangers, it sounds like you're reading the ingredients off a cereal box... backwards.
So you do what any desperate human does in the dark of night—you start doomscrolling on LinkedIn.
Minutes later, one post stops you cold.
"Even brilliant people often can’t articulate what makes their thinking distinctive. You suffer from The Expert’s Paradox—your best insights feel basic to you, so you dismiss them as ‘too obvious’ to share,” the post reads.
You sit up straight.
“Holy smokes. That’s it! She’s right.”
You haven't changed a single word of your pitch yet.
But something has already shifted in your chest.
Instead of feeling overwhelmed, you feel… relieved.
Why did simply reading a term that captures your problem make you feel better?
In today’s edition of Why We Buy π§ we’ll explore the Rumpelstiltskin Effect—why we feel relieved when our problem gets a name.
Let’s get into it.
π§ The Psychology of Rumpelstiltskin Effect
Remember the fairy tale where a mysterious little man spins straw into gold, but the heroine only gains power over him once she discovers his name?
Fun fact: it may not be limited to folklore.
Early clinical observations are uncovering something fascinating: when you give someone's problem an official name, they tend to feel better immediately—even prior to treatment.
The problem goes from feeling abstract to known—and, consequently, manageable.
Humans like when things make sense.
So when a clear, easily understandable label is put on a problem, it no longer feels unexplained and uncertain. (Bonus points if it rhymes.)
And when your product is the one doing the naming?
Customers finally feel understood—and like you are the one who can finally fix their true problem.
π€ How To Apply This
Alright, so how can you apply this right now to sell more?
Consumer goods
Create awareness of an unknown problem with a catchy name
Plot twist: your couch smells like a golden retriever and three years of takeout containers. But you can't smell it anymore.
That moment when your brain stops registering a nasty smell you’ve been living with too long? Yeah, Febreze calls it “noseblind.”
Before Febreze coined that term, people thought their house smelled fine. But once it had a name, suddenly everyone was panic-sniffing their couch cushions.
Febreze didn't just describe a problem. They created awareness of one by naming it.
And the moment customers recognized themselves in that short phrase, Febreze became the obvious fix.
Psst… Wanna find out how Chris Walker used the Rumpelstiltskin Effect to become known as the “Father of Modern Demand Gen”? Don’t miss Thursday’s issue of Unignorable. Subscribe for $0 now >
Consultants
Package solutions by naming specific client problems
Generic marketing consultation packages feel vague—and, consequently, expensive—to potential clients.
So a consultant could create packages aimed at labeling and solving specific problems, like Content Paralysis Crusher, Scattered Social Media Solver, and Client Drought Eliminator.
Suddenly, chaotic internal struggles become addressable conditions.
The best part? Potential clients experience relief that their problems *aren't* personal failings and view you as the solution.
Apps
Center your solution on what your buyers want but can’t explain
Ever sat in a coffee shop to get work done and suddenly knocked out your entire to-do list in an hour?
That's not a coincidence. It has a name: body doubling. It’s the simple act of working in the silent presence of another person to stay focused and motivated.
Deepwrk didn't coin the term. But they did center their ADHD productivity app on it.
It turned a fuzzy but highly desirable feeling that seems random into an experience that users can now repeat whenever they want—even in the comfort of their own living room.
And the app their brain links to this experience? Deepwrk.
π₯ The Short of It
Naming your customer's exact problem with sharp, specific language is one of the fastest ways to build trust.
When people feel seen, they feel safe. And when they feel safe, they’re more likely to buy.
So create specific terminology for customer struggles instead of using generic descriptions.
Because when you put a name on their pain, you watch the walls come down—and wallets open.
Until next time, happy selling!
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