When I used to sell cloud, I didn’t start with uptime percentages or TCO spreadsheets. Instead, I told a story about NASA.

There was a time when NASA built every rocket themselves. Every bolt, every system, every launch vehicle was designed in-house because it was the only way to achieve their business outcomes: getting astronauts and payloads into space. It was expensive, slow, and specialized — but it worked, because no one else could do it.

Over time, that changed. Launch vehicles became more standardized. Commercial partners built reliable rockets. Eventually, NASA realized they didn’t need to design their own anymore — they could rent space on existing rockets and still achieve their mission at a fraction of the cost.

That’s the same shift companies face when moving from on-premises data centers to public cloud. You don’t need to build every piece yourself anymore. You can rent proven infrastructure, focus on your mission, and still reach the same outcomes.

The facts about cloud infrastructure didn’t change when I told that story. But framed as an analogy, they clicked.

Why Analogy Framing Works

Raw data rarely changes minds. People make decisions by connecting new information to something they already understand. Analogy is the shortcut to that connection.

NASA’s rockets made cloud relatable. Instead of talking about VMs, SLAs, and CapEx vs. OpEx, I talked about something people had already seen in the news: the shift from building rockets to renting space on them.

The analogy created context. It helped customers see cloud adoption not as a technical leap into the unknown but as a natural progression — the same one NASA made.

The Psychology of Analogy

Our brains are wired to learn by comparison. When we encounter something unfamiliar, we instinctively search for a pattern we already know. Analogies supply that pattern.

• Concrete beats abstract – Rockets are easier to picture than racks of servers.
• Emotion attaches to story – Space exploration sparks excitement. Cloud data centers? Not so much.
• Correction builds clarity – Even if someone said, “Well, NASA still builds some rockets,” that correction only deepens engagement. They’re not rejecting the analogy — they’re refining it, which means they’re already thinking in your frame.

Using Analogies to Surface Latent Pain

One of the hardest parts of persuasion is showing customers where they’re stuck without making them defensive. Nobody likes being told directly that the way they’ve always done things is inefficient — it feels like calling their baby ugly.

That’s where analogy framing shines. Instead of saying, “Your on-premises data center is outdated and wasteful,” you say, “It’s like NASA insisting on building every rocket from scratch when reliable ones can be rented.” The analogy does the work. It lets them see the flaw without you attacking their choices.

In fact, the best analogies create a mirror moment. The customer recognizes the inefficiency, waste, or risk in their current model because the story makes it obvious — and since they connect the dots themselves, the realization feels natural instead of forced. That shift from confrontation to self-discovery is what makes analogy framing so powerful.

Practical Exercise: Build an “Ugly Baby” Analogy

Pick a common inefficiency or pain point you see with your customers. Instead of stating it bluntly, try these steps:

1. Write it down plainly – “Customers waste money maintaining unused on-prem capacity.”
2. Find a relatable analogy – “It’s like heating every room in your house year-round, even when no one lives there.”
3. Test the reaction – Does it spark recognition? Do they laugh, nod, or push back with, “That’s exactly us”?
4. Refine it – The best analogies make the pain undeniable without ever saying, “You’re wrong.”

Framing Builds Trust, Not Tricks

Analogy framing isn’t about clever wordplay. It’s about helping people recognize their own problems without triggering defensiveness. When you can show customers latent pain through a story they can relate to, you’re not insulting them — you’re equipping them.

And here’s the key: trust is built when customers feel you understand their world and respect their intelligence. By letting them “correct” the analogy or draw the conclusion themselves, you’re showing that persuasion isn’t about winning an argument. It’s about guiding them to clarity.

In persuasion, sometimes the boldest move isn’t calling their baby ugly. It’s telling a story that lets them realize it on their own.