People buy based on emotion...
No matter what people say, this is how buying happens. If you're in sales, instead of jumping to conclusions, tell a story about how your customer solved a similar problem with your solution.
It would be easy for marketers to only show features and buttons on their product's website, but this would never work, no matter what prospects think they want.
Telling a story relaxes the mind, while overselling creates a fight (objections) or flight ("Let's speak next quarter") response. Whether you're a sales team creating a new pitch or marketing leader building an ad, Tell A Story!
The best stories have the following framework:
Background
- Set the stage based on your expertise and industry research
- Acknowledge the problems you're about to solve
- Fully immerse yourself in the role of the user and the buyer
Problem
- Explain the problem in great detail, despite how obvious
- Pain = emotion and urgency
- Resist the urge to jump to a solution - stay here, ask questions
Status Quo
- Indecision is your biggest competitor
- What will happen to the user, revenue, risk, if they do nothing
- This is the most visceral moment of all. They must believe action is REQUIRED.
Resolution
- This should ONLY be the solution they need at that time
- Never begin a click path that shows of meaningless features to an audience that doesn't care
- Quantify how this will increase sales, decrease cost, or reduce risk - These are the three reasons B2B buyers make a purchase.
...and everyone lives happily ever after 😄
