After attending or listening to The Brain Audit Sessions, I would love to hear from you.
Can you post your questions and what you have learned below?
Warm regards
Sean D'Souza
P.S. Here is the link for more details on: The Brain Audit seven-part webinar series that shows you why clients buy and why they don't.
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I’m wondering if what we’re for/against is supposed to match what the customer is for/against. Do we have to align on both? Is the problem, the what we’re for, and the what we’re against, three separate things?
You don’t know what the customer is thinking. Hence, for you to align anything would range from “difficult to pure fluke”. All you can do is simply put what you’re thinking, forward and wait for their response.
Hence, let’s take an example of a cafe. Auckland is currently in a lockdown (and tsunami warning, but I digress :)) Anyway, there are about five cafes open in an area of 100 metres, because takeaway coffee is still permitted. If you’re a cafe owner, the lines are likely to be like this:
What is your product?
– Coffee
What do you stand for?
– Excellent coffee.
What are you against?
– Terrible coffee.
Even if we stay within these very vague “excellent” and “terrible” description, let’s just assume that the client already knows where the coffee is good or not good. And for the sake of this discussion, let’s assume all the cafes already have excellent coffee (at least that’s the perception of the client). If you were to try and align with the client, you’d struggle because in your mind, there is no higher standard than “excellent” coffee.
But what is the customer thinking?
I’ll tell you what. We asked one of them why they bought from one place vs the other. And they said, “the one at the beach attracts a lot of snobs”. Well, that’s not something you as a owner would anticipate. You’re so focused on the coffee that you don’t realise that your store is attracting people who:
1- Already think the coffee is more or less the same within the 100 metre range. They like ALL the coffee.
2- However, you are being chosen because your store is “not snobbish”. The client feels uncomfortable at the other store and chooses your cafe for the unpretentious manner.
It’s clearly impossible for you to figure this point out in advance. Just like we saw with the Febreze ad, it’s very hard to know what the client is thinking. One thing we know for sure is that given that all products appearing to be the same or similar, the client chooses one over the other, because it’s solving a specific problem.
Having the three questions allows you to interrogate your position and puts the client in a place where they can come back and tell you why you’re right—or where you’re off the mark.
Makes sense?
Hi Sean,
The 3 questions are answered by me or by the customer? I mean..do I ask them these 3 questions and note their answers?
Thanks,
Ravi
You need to ask your client. If you’re the client, you need to ask yourself.
What I learned was to tell the client ‘What my service is for’ and ‘What what my service is against’ — then see how the client responds. Do they correct me (“No, what your service is for isn’t X, it’s Y”) or do they accept it and talk about something else (the payment method or somesuch).
What I ***like*** about this is that it’s a brief opening that opens a door that it feels like it will be easy to come back to later for a continued conversation.
Better said, it feels like it will be the start of a more succinct version of the Target Profile interview.
Thanks. Yes, it does feel less intimidating to just do the small part first and then move to the bigger chunks later.
The founder of the Feldenkrais method (movement exercises to enhance body awareness) coined the term “the elusive obvious”. In communication workshops, you learn not to assume what the other person is thinking. Why then do we sit at our desks, relying on our pseudo telepathic powers to come up what our clients want?
My main learning is so straightforward, it hurts: Don’t guess what the clients wants/needs, ask them. Duh!
I know, you’ve asked for just one learning but I’add one more “elusive ovious”:
If you try to reach EVERYone, you won’t reach ANYone. When a prospect is looking to have their problem solved, they’re looking for SOMEone with SOME solution they hope will get the job one. The clearer we define the SOMEthing or SOMEone our business represents, the easier it is for clients for see if that’s a match for them or not.
The funny thing is that I removed all of those slides. I had slides that said “Everyone is not your audience”. And they will never be. A good example of this are the testimonials of the podcast on iTunes. One client says: I love the music. If you scroll down just a tiny bit, there’s a client that says, “I hate the music.”
At one point, I was considering making two podcast versions. One with music and one without. I gave up on that idea and I am so glad I did.
Exactly. But if you don’t have a target profile, write what you think and then fix it later. That’s what we had to do. And still do.
What I learned is that what I thought was a specific “for” and specific “against” was not specific at all. That I need to get way more granular — to the specific *emotion* involved, eg anger sadness etc — rather than just “stuck in a bad feeling.”
If we can’t explain what “bad feeling” is, then it’s vague. For someone, a “bad feeling” might be that they end up eating all the cookies in the jar. For another, it might be “waking up on Friday and wondering where the week has gone.” The Anthony Hopkins, “destroying the furniture” is a vivid way of explaining the abstract.
Going deep instead of wide can make us think we need more details and examples. But it can always start with a tiny version of it.
Target profiles can start with a tiny target profile. That was my learning in the webinar.
The tiny steps strategy is really good and it’s always useful when we found ourselves before a big task to step back and remember that there is a tiny version of it we can certainly handle.
Exactly 🙂 No matter how small and doable something can seem, it can still be made easier and smaller. And that’s what I learned too with this target profile interview. I’m just annoyed I didn’t think of it, earlier.
I am trying to find the replay link. Did you it via an email?
John
YEs we sent it via email. Email Renuka if you don’t have it.
Hi Sean,
Would love your inpur on these key questions regarding Target Profile:
(1) If I’m ‘stuck’ choosing a Target ……. ‘Darius!’ [max 4] – any methods of rapid testing?
(2) What if theTarget is my Target’s Target? Alexander wan’t me to slay Darius, but I can only get close to Darius by getting him something from the Oracle!
i.e. lets say my client is a ‘Solarpreneur’ and they need Investment. So who do I base my target profile around or from ?
(3) How else could I use Target Profile, if any, to reach the objective? More a deep thinking query.
Alexander really want to conquer Persia – so convinced that Darius is the target and that’s very likely but to consider alternatives.
i.e. Solarpreneur needs big investment so naturally knows thats the best way. Crowdfunding is another way though….maybe there are others???
Thank you,
Rishi
Hi Rishi,
Renuka here. Can you post this question in 5000bc, please.
I don’t get the questions/ Can you use a real example?
My aha slide was the “too many features” with Quatro devoured by the plant. It was so dramatic, I cannot forget it! Looking forward to the recorded session, I need to print it and hang it on the wall!
Thanks, Daniela
Ha, ha.Yes, I’ve sent the recorded version 🙂 Hop you got it.
My learning:
The problem and solution must intertwine – too much of either is not good. The solution and problem can show up in many areas of a landing page, even including figure captions, but also in other important areas like features/benefits and testimonials.
Keep focus on writing something first, and then iterate and adjust to improve things. It is too hard to get it 100% all perfect on the first go around.
Thanks, Ryan.
You’re unlikely to get to perfection on the 72nd round. But usually once you go over a sales page about 5-6 times, you’ve covered all the important bits.
Wow, learning so much from this series!
Too many to list, but here’s my top 2 learnings:
1. We should be focusing on one problem (the biggest feature) and making sure we stay with it and describe the specific consequences of not solving that problem before mentioning any other features/problems. We tend to think more features = better, but when we move too quickly, we almost pull a bait and switch on the client because they started reading to specifically hear more about that one problem.
2. If we don’t have a client yet, we simply need to choose what we think is our product/service’s biggest feature and put it out there to see if it’s one that resonates.
Sean, if we have follow up questions, is it best to post here, 5000bc, or the WhatsApp messaging group?
If it needs a back and forth discussion, post in 5000bc. If it’s a quick question, it’s fine to post here.
Indeed, Venus Flytrap eating Quatro with Too Many Features was fabulous illustration.
Wow – that 7 part series of mind-bending and a lot to take it – but so well done – thanks Sean (and Renuka)
So good I jumped in and joined 5000 BC – but in the 21 day line up – last time I waited that long to get in was a U2 concert!
(Maybe this is too long for here, but hey, I am in a 21 day waiting period so show me some mercy (lol))
I have a specific course I am targeting for B2B Insurance Salespeople – ironically a frustrating career for many sales reps because while every business needs insurance, nobody on the planet likes talking about insurance and it viewed as all being “the same”.
A lot of window-shoppers and info-hogs get the subservient salesperson to do all the hard work to secure them a proposal and 92% end up staying with the incumbent who hides in the shadows for the ‘last look’ and simply matches the price and keeps the business. It’s an ugly truth in the business.
So for so many its a frustrating career where sales reps get used and abused and don’t recognize a ‘lead from a lie’ and end up spinning their wheels on every opportunity hoping it works out.
Option 1
What I stand for?
A ‘fully-in-control’ sales system where you lead like doctor to a patient to diagnosis and disqualify right away.
What I stand Against?
A subservient sales system where the prospect says ‘jump’….and you ‘jump’ and hope it just all works out in getting a sale now and then.