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Stop Being Boring!
It’s been quite some time since I had a good rant here, so I feel like I’m a bit overdue. On that note, I’d like to share with you the biggest frustration about my job.
One of the things we do for clients is to create the content that provokes, educates and leverage sales efforts. Over the last three weeks I’ve been involved in about 12 content interviews we conduct to keep the voice of our client. With a couple of exceptions, the only word I can use to describe what was shared is “Boring!”
The most frustrating part of my job is when I’m more excited about your company, your products, services and your impact than you are. I don’t know what it is, but the way 98%+ of companies talk about themselves is just boring. Maybe it’s because our parents told us that bragging about ourselves is rude. Maybe it’s because we’re so focused in trying to get people to understand the importance of what we do that we can’t help but “blah, blah, blah” our way to oblivion. Whatever the reason, it’s ineffective, it’s killing your company and it needs to stop! Now!
We work with a client (who’s name and details I will protect here) who does some amazing things. Their product is truly disruptive and yet extraordinarily simple. Their solution can materially and permanently reduce the cost of manufacturing, increase efficiencies, virtually eliminate rejection rates and shorten production cycles. What’s more it can be implemented in days, requires little training and no change or retrofitting for their customers manufacturing process.
Yet, how did my client talk about themselves? They talked about their process. They talked about the technical details. They were (and still are to some degree) reasonable that a manufacturing process is complex, and the credited their prospects with the knowledge and understanding to allow them to translate their features and benefits into meaningful results.
The important thing to remember is that your prospects and customers don’t have time to think. They’re too busy trying to keep up with the multitude of demands, the simply do not have the attention span to connect what you do to even the most obvious of points. If you talk about yourself like a commodity, you are going to be treated like one.
The solution is to stop talking about your features and benefits – features and benefits are dead. You need to speak the language of results. Lead with impact. No start with what you think makes you unique, finish with it.
- Be bold.
- Share you experience – help them understand why they’re failing to get the results they desire.
- Take charge. Remember, your job is to challenge your customers.
We work hard to get to essence of what makes our client’s companies special, while standing out from competition and resonating with clients. In an effort to help end the boredom, I’d like to share our approach with you. If you’d like to access The Five Tips to Stand Out & Resonate With Your Market, along with an accompanying worksheet, you can download it here.
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Resources
Doug's Washington Business Journal Columns- Intelligent Growth Articles
Third Wave Selling Blog
Products to Grow
Excellent Post.
I learned this the hard way recently where I came up with a great metaphor for this large SW company that was selling a sw development product. I compared it to the way NE Patriots do it and win consistently.
They were not impressed at all and wanted me to be more technical. They were too deep in their way of seeing things and were not open to look at it differently.
Looking forward to reading more insights from you.
Thanks.
@5ToolGroup