As somewhat of a follow-up to the “Ten Second Elevator Speech” blog from last week, I wanted to share some additional tips from Geoffrey James BNET blog on writing killer sales messages.
Rule #1: Tell a story about the customer… not the supplier (you). Focus on how you can help your prospect, not on how great your company is, how big it is, or how it’s a leader in its industry. Those claims are not important at this stage.
Rule #2: Use colorful words rather than biz buzz words. If I hear “synergy” or “collaborate” in a pitch, I turn off the volume. You can show the prospect how smart and savvy you are once you are in the final negotiations. At this point, your message should be a unique and complete capsule of who you are and what you do.
Rule #3: Don’t use terminology that raises questions. A good sales message prompts the listener to ask a question, such as “How do you do that?” You don’t want that question to be about a word you used…or worse yet, a smile and a nod as the prospect shies away from further conversation for fear of being exposed as ignorant.
Rule #4: Differentiate yourself from the competition. A good sales message should position you against the obvious alternatives. Connect the dots for the prospect, and communicate why/how you are different.
Rule #5: Provide a quantifiable benefit. A good sales message needs to highlight a tangible and measurable benefit for the prospect.
The example he uses helps illustrate these rules:
BEFORE: “Companies hire us to tweak the technical aspects of their digital marketing programs.”
AFTER: “Companies hire us to help them market their products online, a service we provide at twice the speed and for half the cost of a traditional ad agency”
See how much better that message works? It’s story is still about the customer, and now contrasts the comparative “twice” with “half” as a more visual comparison. In addition, these few words communicate clearly what is being sold, and the benefit the prospect will potentially receive. Finally, it successfully positions the vendor against his typical completion.
So what do you think? Which of these ten second messages will be more likely to start the RIGHT conversation?
“Nobody is as interested in you as you think they are."
--Barbara Corcoran, real estate guru, as quoted by Business Week