A few months ago, while I was shopping at my favorite clothing store, a sales associate came up to me and asked if I needed help. She greeted me warmly at the entrance since it was slow, and I was one of only two customers there. Normally, I would decline help and say I was just looking around, which is what I usually do when I visit. I enjoy browsing to see what’s new and what’s on sale. However, that day I had a specific goal; I was searching for a certain pair of jeans that I couldn’t find online. I knew they fit well and looked good, which is why I kept returning. The sales associate told me they no longer had them, even though they had sold that style for a few years. What they had left were the last pairs available. After she suggested several pairs of pricey new jeans that I found unattractive and thought wouldn’t fit, I asked her to check in the back for any of the old jeans in my size. She returned after a few minutes with a pair of the style I liked, but they were two sizes too small. I left without a word and haven’t returned to that store since.
Could there possibly have been a similar pair in a slightly different style somewhere in the store? Most likely. But the sales associate conveyed to me two things; she didn’t care enough to ask me what I really wanted to suit my needs and help me find it, and she was desperate to make a sale.
Being on the receiving end of a cold call is much like being approached by an associate in a clothing store. You know that sales person is trying to sell you something and instantly you’re a bit guarded. This is part of why coming up with effective messaging for a sales or marketing campaign can be a difficult challenge. What is going to grab a prospect’s eye in their inbox to make them respond? How do you convey to a prospect exactly what you do, and why you can provide value in a few messages or in the first few seconds of catching them live on the phone? The answer: you don’t.
People are naturally curious about what they don’t know, and they are quick to come to assumptions about things they think they do know. If you give away a part of what your solution can do too soon that is not what the prospect needs, you may have them qualify themselves out before hearing what they might be interested in. People also like to talk about their interests and needs more than yours, and if they feel you’re not listening, they will walk away. Let the focus be on wanting to learn your prospects’ needs, and then tailor what you can do for them after you have an understanding of their environment.
You can do this by eliminating the word “I” whenever possible in your emails, voicemails, and introductions. Don’t leave the name of you product in your messages, either. Your prospect may have an assumption about your product already — possibly a misguided one. Ask open-ended questions instead until you hit the pain point. Your solution will still be a mystery, which will peak your prospect’s curiosity. Once the pain point is revealed, ask your prospect how helpful it would be for them if there were a solution that could solve that pain. Let them come up with the idea of needing that solution. With this approach, you can become the trusted advisor of how your solution could work to fit your prospect’s needs, and your prospect will be more receptive to hearing about it.
