“We’ve got twenty seconds to capture our value proposition with this video post – how can we do that?” I hear questions like this all the time. With in-person interaction reducing drastically, the market place has turned into a battleground for companies to convince people that they should spend their time and money on them, but they must accomplish this daunting task in as few words / characters / video seconds as possible. The outcome is that our customers have information overload. It usually comes in the form of an aggressive sales pitch claiming miracles. Don’t misunderstand – they’re not claiming to be all things to all people. Marketers have done a very good job of defining and targeting personas. However, since they’ve defined the life and times of an IT manager at a community hospital, many marketers think they can fix 100% of that IT manager’s problems. They can’t, and here lies your opportunity to gain instant credibility …
While your competition and every other organization pitching your customers are claiming to be the end-all-be-all, you can gain credibility with one simple statement: “I’m not sure if we’ll be able to help you in the same way we’ve helped these other companies, but I think it’s worth … “. You fill in the last part. If you’re trying to schedule a discovery call, “… it’s worth a quick discovery call.” If you’re conducting a meeting and about to ask probing questions, “… it’s worth asking a few questions.”
Essentially, what you’re saying is this: “We’re awesome, and I think we’ll be awesome for you. However, we may not be, so let’s make sure before we go too much further.” (For the record, don’t say “we’re awesome”.) When you use this type of communication, it’s natural and real … and your customers will love you for it.
That’s it. Simple, but magical.
