Your best salesperson is you. As an owner you have the most gravitas and create the most comfort in the mind of the prospect. But there’s a problem, isn’t there. You can’t spend all your time selling, especially now when you want to grow, and it’s hard to duplicate your gravitas and the specific connection you make.
I help your website and sales message better communicate that gravitas and comfort by focusing on THAT ONE PERSON.
What I mean: The more your message speaks directly to your ideal customer — THAT ONE PERSON — the more universal the appeal. The more specific you can be, the more you touch on the universal truth or truths in your message.
I know, this may sound a little, well, backwards. Backwards because our instinct is to generalize what we say to appeal to the most people. Our instincts are wrong. The more specific you are — the more you speak to THAT ONE PERSON — the more universal your message becomes. Universal truths. Think about it…
Hey Hamilton, we sell software that formats research papers, are you saying there’s a universal truth in our message? About software that formats research papers? Really??
Yes dear reader. Regardless of what you sell, the story you tell needs to touch universal truths. Maybe it’s “You can trust us.” Or ‘You CAN Do This (and we can help)!”* And, the more you speak specifically to THAT ONE PERSON, the more universal your message becomes.
Weird, right, for research paper formatting software? Not really, when you listen to what their users say (and I did). They don’t say “Thank you so much for reducing the reference building steps from six to two, saving me time and letting me focus on writing the paper, not formatting it.” They said “You saved my life.” “I couldn’t have done my masters without your software.” “I love you guys.”
Hook into that, my friends, and good things happen. In the past six years they’ve raised their price four times, doubling it. And sales are up over last year, in a very weird, hard year. There are lots of reasons why. They make great software, they keep improving it, and they bend over backwards for their users. AND, their marketing tries to be very, very specific. To that one person.
Still a little weird, right, maybe this time for swimming pool remodeling? Not really, when you listen to what their customers say (and I did). They don’t say “I’m glad your pebble surface is patented and you use your own crews.” They said “Thanks, we love our pool again.” Or they send a picture of their kids playing in the newly remodeled pool, or themselves toasting margaritas.
Hook into that, my friends, and good things happen. When they hired me they had two crews and a crew-and-a-half worth of work. Today they run eight crews and sales have grown tenfold. There are lots of reasons why. They are maniacal about quality and service, same with their costs so they can do superior work at a competitive price, AND, their marketing tries to be very, very specific. To that one person.
STILL doesn’t quite make sense, you say — what’s universal in a message about business writing training?? I guess I can’t blame you. But their customers told me: “I sleep better at night knowing the writing going out the door that represents our company is more professional.” Help your customers sleep better at night, my friends, and…you know what happens.
Okay, so how do you speak to THAT ONE PERSON?
There are three parts to the answer:
- Identify THAT ONE PERSON who you are a perfect match for. That person who says your version of “Oh, yeah, okay, I’m done looking, Hamilton is the perfect marketing consultant for us, sooooo glad we found him!” You actually have a handful of customers who are this one person. What is it about their company, issues, situation, personality, etc., that make them a perfect match? How do you describe why they’re buying? Develop as detailed a description as possible of your perceptions.
- Interview 4-6 of your ‘THAT ONE PERSON’ customers. Ask lots of open-ended questions. Then shut up and listen, you want to find their perceptions.
- Re-tool your message to better fit the real reasons your customers buy.
I can do these things for you or coach you through them. Neither option is particularly expensive. The cost depends on how close you are — how much needs doing. Contact me and let’s talk: 602-369-1009 or [email protected].
Hamilton
*No, you can’t tell people “You can trust us” in your sales copy. You have to build trust. In what you say and how you say it. Yes, it’s hard. That’s why you need people like me, people who know how to do that. I hope I hear from you.
