Nobody Cares About Your Products and Services

Banned 13 years ago

Thanks Chris, we all need to be reminded of this sometimes!

Sometimes with all the stuff that I do know, i tend to forget that the average person doesn't know anything about it or care about it. All they care is the end result!!! LOL

Funny.. my wife has the same attitude...

Thanks

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iamchrisgreen

13 years ago

Hey Jason

It's true. I was with a guy yesterday. He sells really complex electrical systems into massive companies. Each unit is about £200,000

At one point I asked him if he uses Google analytics to track the people on his site ... he gave me a completely blank stare ...

He didn't care, he just wants the leads.

Thanks

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Steven A

13 years ago

Hi Chris,

Good point. The main thing I think is get yourself out of the way and start thinking from their point of view, how to help them, and what if you are the business owner, What will you need. For sure they don't give a .. about wordpress or list building or whatever. They are bussy enough, they just want more leads and save time

It's strange, sometimes you forget how little business owners know of the possibilities they have when it comes to online marketing. For us it's so normal to know all these things but for business owners.. they just want their business roll. It's cool if we can help them.

Thanks for the post!

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iamchrisgreen

13 years ago

Originally Posted by Steven A

Hi Chris,

Good point. The main thing I think is get yourself out of the way and start thinking from their point of view, how to help them, and what if you are the business owner, What will you need. For sure they don't give a .. about wordpress or list building or whatever. They are bussy enough, they just want more leads and save time

It's strange, sometimes you forget how little business owners know of the possibilities they have when it comes to online marketing. For us it's so normal to know all these things but for business owners.. they just want their business roll. It's cool if we can help them.

Thanks for the post!

Absolutely

Thanks

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warriorwun

13 years ago

Ya, I've been guilty of trying to make my site too pretty instead of focusing on the user experience. Moved it in a new direction now and getting much better results. Good post for those that are focusing on the wrong goal.

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Eduard Stinga

13 years ago

I remember reading this in some copy writing ebook, the clients don't care about the features of your product, but only about the benefits

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jimbo13

13 years ago

Correct, although more leads, saving time and more profits are not benefits either.

They are merely advantages leading to a benefit.

Going on a 2 week holiday with your long neglected family during the time you saved and using the extra money you made from the increased enquiries is a benefit.

It is up to you to elicit the individual benefit from your prospect as no two will be the same.

Dan

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iamchrisgreen

13 years ago

Originally Posted by jimbo13

Going on a 2 week holiday with your long neglected family during the time you saved and using the extra money you made from the increased enquiries is a benefit.

Now you're talking Dan!!

Maybe the call should be:

"Hi ______________ , I work with people that want to go on a 2 week holiday with their long neglected family instead of running around trying to find prospects and hounding them to buy from you... should we meet?"

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jimbo13 13 years ago

lol

You could give it a go Chris.

Not sure you would use it as an opening line but certainly in a F2F presentation where you have built rapport you can ask what they really want out of their business; what would they really like to do if they had an extra £x or more free time.

Anyway Chris, you can see whereabouts I live and it is actually very warm and sunny so I think I will get myself outside.

Cheers

Dan
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RRG

13 years ago

Originally Posted by jimbo13

Correct, although more leads, saving time and more profits are not benefits either.

They are merely advantages leading to a benefit.

Going on a 2 week holiday with your long neglected family during the time you saved and using the extra money you made from the increased enquiries is a benefit.

It is up to you to elicit the individual benefit from your prospect as no two will be the same.

Dan

Good point, Dan. One copywriter I follow calls it finding and pressing their "emotional hot button."

Another way to put all this is that . . . the prospect only cares about . . . HIMSELF!

Oh, and people only buy what they want, not what they need.

I mean, what does any of us really need? Food, water, shelter.

Everything else we buy is what we want.

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IdeaFool

13 years ago

I could not agree more, Chris. I am constantly amazed at how many offline marketers try to wow their prospects with the marketer's knowledge of technology. As I said in another post, the business owner is likely to read an ad and think, "AJAX? Isn't that what I use to clean my sink? I run a coffee shop, not a computer store. What's AJAX got to do with me? I have no idea how I'm going to make money with the stuff in this ad? Oh well, this ad belongs in the garbage." If that ad said that the prospect could possibly increase his business by 15%, well, then, that business owner might be more inclined to talk.

Great thread! Keep hammering it home, buddy!

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iamchrisgreen

13 years ago

Originally Posted by IdeaFool

I could not agree more, Chris. I am constantly amazed at how many offline marketers try to wow their prospects with the marketer's knowledge of technology. As I said in another post, the business owner is likely to read an ad and think, "AJAX? Isn't that what I use to clean my sink? I run a coffee shop, not a computer store. What's AJAX got to do with me? I have no idea how I'm going to make money with the stuff in this ad? Oh well, this ad belongs in the garbage." If that ad said that the prospect could possibly increase his business by 15%, well, then, that business owner might be more inclined to talk.

Great thread! Keep hammering it home, buddy!

LOL... I might use that illustration in my training if I can.

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IdeaFool 13 years ago

Originally Posted by iamchrisgreen

LOL... I might use that illustration in my training if I can.

Please do. I'm just glad I can contribute something to the pros on this forum.
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EagleImagery

13 years ago

Great thread!

Thanks

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ND

13 years ago

Yes.
Always remember to write copy about benefits to the user.
Always use "you" not "I" or "we".
Reread your copy from a user's prospective to see if it "moves" you.

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magnates

13 years ago

Originally Posted by iamchrisgreen

.. apart from you of course!

They don't care about whether you have the latest mobile solution!!

They don't care that you know all about what tech is round the corner.

They don't care that you know wordpress.

They don't care ...

What they do care about is the end results of using your products and services. What's it going to do for them?

They DO care about getting more leads

They DO care about saving time

They DO care about increasing profits

So the next time that you get on the phone, create a postcard or change the front page on your website, make sure that you are engaging in a conversation that they CARE about.

I know this is simple guys. But it makes a MASSIVE difference.

I am so glad i came across this thread . They only care about getting more qualified leads and increasing profits and if you get lost in technical jargon you can loose them completely

A gentle reminder to always point at what people care about . Thanks for the post

~Femi

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BradleyC

13 years ago

Totally agree! Especially in the Lead Generation process. It's all about "What's In It For ME!"

How do they benefit? How do they gain? Will it increase sales? Will it make them more money? Save them time? Decrease their expenses?

WIIFM!

Who you are, who you work for, how many years you've been in business are insignificant in the lead generation process.

Good thread, and a very necessary one.

Bradley

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RRG

13 years ago

I was just reading this thread when I received this email from Craig Garber:

"An optimistic young salesman was found walking around the
office one day, with his shoulders slumped and his normal
smile missing.

Apparently, he'd just lost an important sale and was feeling
disappointed.

Sometime shortly after the young salesman's disappointment,
an older (and much wiser) veteran salesman comes strolling
through the office. The old salesman often mentored the
younger man, and sensing something was wrong, he immediately
walked over to his young protégé.

In trying to break down and analyze what happened, the young
man said, "Well, I guess this just proves you can lead a
horse to water... but you simply can not make him drink."

"Son," said the old salesman... "Let me give you a piece of
advice. Your job isn't to make him drink. It's to make him
thirsty."

And in a nutshell, this is the secret to selling. Contrary
to what most people will tell you, you cannot create
"want." People WANT or DON'T want to buy things... already,
on their own -- with... or without you.

However, once you are able to attract those people who are
likely to want what you're selling -- who already have a
"taste" for the drink you're serving... all you need to know
is how to make them even thirstier.

And then... they buy... and your job is done."

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DrPaul

13 years ago

Originally Posted by RRG

I was just reading this thread when I received this email from Craig Garber:

"An optimistic young salesman was found walking around the
office one day, with his shoulders slumped and his normal
smile missing.

Apparently, he'd just lost an important sale and was feeling
disappointed.

Sometime shortly after the young salesman's disappointment,
an older (and much wiser) veteran salesman comes strolling
through the office. The old salesman often mentored the
younger man, and sensing something was wrong, he immediately
walked over to his young protégé.

In trying to break down and analyze what happened, the young
man said, "Well, I guess this just proves you can lead a
horse to water... but you simply can not make him drink."

"Son," said the old salesman... "Let me give you a piece of
advice. Your job isn't to make him drink. It's to make him
thirsty."

And in a nutshell, this is the secret to selling. Contrary
to what most people will tell you, you cannot create
"want." People WANT or DON'T want to buy things... already,
on their own -- with... or without you.

However, once you are able to attract those people who are
likely to want what you're selling -- who already have a
"taste" for the drink you're serving... all you need to know
is how to make them even thirstier.

And then... they buy... and your job is done."

*BING* and the light went on... Peanuts! ... Pretzels and Peanuts!... Pretzels, Peanuts and Chips!

Suddenly, The Pabst Brothers were back in the brewery business.....

Thanks

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swagcentral

13 years ago

great concept. thanks for sharing

Originally Posted by RRG

I was just reading this thread when I received this email from Craig Garber:

"An optimistic young salesman was found walking around the
office one day, with his shoulders slumped and his normal
smile missing.

Apparently, he'd just lost an important sale and was feeling
disappointed.

Sometime shortly after the young salesman's disappointment,
an older (and much wiser) veteran salesman comes strolling
through the office. The old salesman often mentored the
younger man, and sensing something was wrong, he immediately
walked over to his young protégé.

In trying to break down and analyze what happened, the young
man said, "Well, I guess this just proves you can lead a
horse to water... but you simply can not make him drink."

"Son," said the old salesman... "Let me give you a piece of
advice. Your job isn't to make him drink. It's to make him
thirsty."

And in a nutshell, this is the secret to selling. Contrary
to what most people will tell you, you cannot create
"want." People WANT or DON'T want to buy things... already,
on their own -- with... or without you.

However, once you are able to attract those people who are
likely to want what you're selling -- who already have a
"taste" for the drink you're serving... all you need to know
is how to make them even thirstier.

And then... they buy... and your job is done."

Thanks

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dancorkill

13 years ago

Great post Chris. I would add don't assume what they want always, as it's often not the way we think as marketers about making more money. Some people want to spend more time with their family, instead of more leads (which will just make them see their family less). Ask the business owner what it is they want (you will have to dig).

Then link your solution to what they want. e.g. if we make you $25,000 more a month through online marketing, you can hire a manager and another staff member to take over your work here, then you can spend time with your family.

A good story always worth a read, Google Fisherman Story.

Thanks

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PaulFL

13 years ago

When I meet with a prospect, it's all about leads, prospects and sales. the technology is just a delivery vehicle. A lot of people tell me that I'm the first web guy that ever talked to them about increasing sales. Everybody else talks to theme about design and technology.

I met with prospect once who showed me his site. First he said isn't it pretty? Then he called it a $5,000 piece of pretty **** that didn't deliver a single lead or customer!

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iamchrisgreen

13 years ago

Originally Posted by PaulFL

I met with prospect once who showed me his site. First he said isn't it pretty? Then he called it a $5,000 piece of pretty **** that didn't deliver a single lead or customer!

YUP... offline clients only now seem to be getting that the shiny websites that they paid thousands for a worth nothing without all the marketing around them...

These are great times if you can market your marketing skills to those that need it.

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Chris Rivers

13 years ago

Chris,

That's great advice.

It makes it infinitely easier when we are offering what our prospects truly care about.

The other thing that I would add is that it becomes easier to focus on what the prospect wants when we customize our marketing to a specific niche.

I was blowing a ton of money just trying to get a generic message in front of a "business owner." When instead I would've had a much easier time figuring out what the prospect wanted if I wasn't trying to write a ad for "every" business owner.

Chris Rivers

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Tupem

13 years ago

Yeah! This is a hard truth! but truth it is!

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Toby Couchman

13 years ago

Great post. I really get the sell benefits over feature theory. Its the practice I struggle with.

Are their any methods you use to brainstorm the benefits your customers are looking for from your own business?

Thanks for the help
TC

Thanks

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addison.agnote

13 years ago

Thanks Chris, this is a great reality for many business owners that its not about you but about the needs of your target market.

Thanks
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iamchrisgreen

13 years ago

Originally Posted by Tupem

Yeah! This is a hard truth! but truth it is!

Some don't like the truth ...

Originally Posted by Toby Couchman

Great post. I really get the sell benefits over feature theory. Its the practice I struggle with.

Are their any methods you use to brainstorm the benefits your customers are looking for from your own business?

Thanks for the help
TC

That all comes from asking great questions. I'll get some examples and post them below later.

Originally Posted by addison.agnote

Thanks Chris, this is a great reality for many business owners that its not about you but about the needs of your target market.

YUP ... it's never really about us. We need to learn that quick.

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dericks3

13 years ago

"Hi ______________ , I work with people that want to go on a 2 week holiday with their long neglected family instead of running around trying to find prospects and hounding them to buy from you... should we meet?"

This is what I do for a living setting appointments for my clients.
I am actually going to give this a shot tomorrow just for fun

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iamchrisgreen 13 years ago

Originally Posted by dericks3

This is what I do for a living setting appointments for my clients.
I am actually going to give this a shot tomorrow just for fun

Tell us how you get on !!
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