Speak to your customer, not at them.
We have the same conversation almost every time we work with a sales team to help them navigate the business development cycle with a new brand.
Everyone seems to run into these two pitfalls:
Talking about themselves too much and not being curious enough about the customer.
What you stand for and what drives your team matters, but if you belabor it, you can come across as self-oriented. If you take the opportunity to frame your brand story and differentiators in the context of the customer’s needs, it will hit differently.
Core truth — this isn’t about you; it’s about them.
Leading with the ‘how’ instead of the ‘what’.
In other words, they over-explain their solution or process. It is a normal human impulse to want to be recognized for having solved something complex or built something special. Unfortunately this puts the customer in the position of having to listen to complex, granular explanations that focus on process over outcomes. If they are interested in the details of the how and can follow along, they probably don’t need your help in the first place.
Focus on the outcomes you deliver for them and you’ll get a lot more traction.
Core truth — customers don’t care how you did it; they care that you can help solve their problem. Sell a better tomorrow.
