The issue is…. We live In an era where the focus on how advanced the newest tech is. Unfortunately, B2B companies forget what makes customers actually BUY IT.
Why should they care about you? What we’ve seen……..90% of companies just go on-and-on about what their products can do. The Inspector Gadget method is their default mode of salesmanship. To drive this metaphor deeper they don the Inspector Gadget trench coat, fanning each side hoping to not forget all the things their magical potions can do for you. If you penetrate the market with features and benefits it comes off as selfish. It’s like that annoying, insecure mutual friend at the dinner that is always looking to one-up you with long-winded explanations about themselves.
Ask any “mid” (shout-out Zoomers) salesman how selling in their industry is like, and 80% will tell you it's saturated. This is projection. Following the technology adoption curve…. Most solutions are in the Early to Late Majority. This is the time the MOST amount of people will be reviewing and buying your solution. So where’s the disconnect?
Yes, it is always good to update your product, and make it better. Those are the playing stakes to competing in any industry. Unfortunately, many companies completely neglect the fundamental ways humans make any action. 95% of Humans only make decisions when the pain is great enough (Stat I made up, but its true). The funny thing is….most of these companies will tell you they understand these basic elements of human psychology, but forget where they should be applied first. Who is to blame here? There is quite a bit of malpractice . If you do not apply The Buyers Formula to the first touch of your TAM, then you execute your plan on the wrong foot. A great organization has the best minds in technology, and the best minds in sales psychology. Effective sales organizations can translate tech-speak into a digestible seed that can produce fruit. What are these seeds? Seeds of doubt, Seeds of Intrigue, Seeds of Reward, Seeds of Fear.
For this latest musing. I want to Focus on FEAR. Fear is massive pain-driver.
I love Fear-Based selling. Fear-Based or FUD-selling (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) gets a bad rap, and rightfully so. Most abuse this power, and use it like a hammer. Fear should be applied like a small dab of Hot Sauce on Breakfast Burrito. Put too much Hot Sauce on your Burrito, and it sucks out all the flavor of your pitch. It has to be delivered in the right tone with ZERO condescension. This applies to cold-calls, texts, emails, and DM’s. Fear should be backed up by real statistics, or at least high-level expert observed anecdotes. It should not be directed at your prospect, but rather delivered indirectly. You are just the forensics analyst reporting the details of the latest tragedy in a matter-of-fact way because it is your job to do so. You are not convincing anyone about what happened, is happening, or going to happen. The deeper, and more specific the fear you are pointing out is…the better the result. As The Game of Thrones often pointed out: “Winter is Coming”.
Most sales professionals are Captain Obvious with the fears they lead with. If your solution has product-market fit…your ICP most likely has extensive knowledge about the solution you are selling. This means you have to hit them with a DEEP CUT. Have you ever met someone that said they were a fan of a music artist that you listened to. You ask them, “What’s your favorite song of theirs? And their answer is a song from an album you’ve NEVER heard of. This my friend is a true expert, and in this musical hierarchy he reigns supreme. You cannot help, but scroll your one of your favorite artist’s whole catalog to make up for not being a true insider like the person you just met. There are so many carnal emotions that go through your body as you begin to search for this lost song. FOMO, jealousy, joy, anticipation…… In the battle for your market the Greatest Hits are not going to make your prospect take a sales call. It’s that underground, scarce, rarified Deep Cut that your prospects wants. Here is a bad-example and a good example of Fear-Based selling
Bad example:
Mr Prospect, did you know that 22% of data breaches come from phishing emails,...... so it’s really not a matter of IF, but WHEN a hack is going to hit your organization.
Why? - This fact is too known. Almost everyone in the Cyber Security Industry knows this. You are not intriguing anyone with statistic. Also, this fear seed is too direct. It comes off as if you're insulting their current Cyber Security System.
Good example:
Many companies we speak to, even though well-intentioned…. we find out together.. (say this part non-chalantly and quickly) they are unknowingly on shared IP’s in the cloud, we see gaps internally and at the third-party level…. , even things like insufficient patch management… just some key areas many MSSP’s Are. Not. thoroughly bolting down.
Why? - The fear seed is planted from 3rd-party experiences. Each fear seed is extremely specific, and has been vetted by a top-level cyber thought leader. These observations are lesser-known which will intrigue our prospects to dig deeper to its original source.
This is what separates the good from the GREAT. Yes, this will drive more revenue to your business, but more importantly this is FUN. Do you want to hit the phones, emails, LinkedIn, Instagram DM's, and snail mail with the same De-facto-FUD everyone else is spewing? No! There is a reason why Alex Jones is one of the most alluring figures in journalism. No one cares about CNN anymore. We want to hear about how space aliens are actually intergalactic demons looking to microchip me. That will grab my attention.
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