A solid messaging platform is at the foundation of most successful sales and marketing efforts. Clear and strong messaging delivered in a consistent and systematic way has been proven to close more sales. It can also attract new backers for your business and top talent to your team.
Here’s everything you need to know to create stellar sales messages.
Your messages must answer the two key questions every consumer has:
- What’s in it for me? The prospect needs to understand why they should buy the product or service you offer.
- Why should I buy it from you? You must make the case for why the prospective purchaser should do business with your company.
This may seem simple, but most sales messages miss the point, derailing countless journeys through the sales process.
The first question is often answered by a list of features and functions, not benefits to the prospective client or customer. To be successful, sale messages must focus on why what you offer is good for the people in your target audience, not how it works.
The second question is often answered by a series of claims, awards, honors, and reviews. Instead, it should provide meaningful reasons for why someone should do business with your firm.
Why do so many companies miss the mark when they try to answer these questions? Because they focus on their business, not the needs of the people in their prospect base.
The only way to create messages that resonate with your target audiences is to shift the focus FROM your company TO your prospects by putting yourself in their place. Ask yourself:
- What problems, issues or challenges can I help them solve?
- How can I make their lives better?
- What do they know about my company and its offerings?
- What do they need to know?
- What does my business do for clients that’s better than what my competitors do?
Once you answer these questions, you’ll be in a better position to craft meaningful messages and use them in marketing and sales collateral, including your website, social posts, blog articles, emails, presentations, scripts, and talking points.
How many sales messages should you develop? That depends on the answers to the questions above, the complexity of your offerings and business model. It should be enough to help your prospective clients understand what you do and the factors that make your business right for them. However, it shouldn’t be too many to overwhelm them. Also be careful that your messaging platform isn’t too big or complex for the members of your sales team to remember and deliver effectively.
If you’re not sure a message you’re thinking about using will resonate with your target audience, test it in social media. Simply develop posts that use it and promote them to people in your target market. If they click on the posts, comment or share, you know a message is an effective one. You can also use social media to test different messages or variations against each other to see which work better. Social media is a real world, low-cost way to find out if your messages work.
As a final step, map out where the messages will be delivered in the marketing and sales process. Not everyone should be used in every phase. It could be overwhelming, inappropriate or redundant. Using them when and where they make the most sense will improve the customer experience and guide people to a sale.
Tip: Using a sales enablement system like the one offered by Mobile Locker ensures your sales reps use the correct sales collateral at the right times. It also monitors which pieces are most effective and the ones that aren’t working. It will help improve your messaging and sales support materials over time.
In the end, the answer to:
- “What’s in it for me?” is an overview of how what you offer will help your prospects achieve their goals.
- “Who should I buy it from?” must outline what you can do for them that your competitors can’t.
Coming up with sound answers will help you define and explain your offerings in a unique and meaningful way that will guide consumers through your sales journey so you close more sales.
It really is that simple.
