Here’s a critical question: how easy is it for someone to IGNORE your MSP marketing? Doesn’t matter if it’s direct mail, a Facebook ad, trade-show booth or e-mail – if your prospect is not instantly drawn in with interest and curiosity, it falls flat.
This is why I rally against vague headlines that all too often miss the mark. “Looks cloudy” for an ad trying to sell cloud solutions. “Is your network battle-ready?” for a cyber security solution. What the hell does any of this mean? Don’t know, don’t CARE – and that’s what you have to realize whenever you are writing copy for whatever campaign you’re putting out. It MUST be IRRESISTIBLE to your ideal prospect. If they can look away, they will.
Whenever marketers get together, all too often the conversation becomes focused on the MEDIA, or the technology, gadgets, tricks, hacks and tactics, NOT the offer and what will move that prospect to action. This is a giant, unproductive mistake.
I’ll remind you that without a crystal-clear understanding of WHO you are trying to attract and what MOTIVATES them, you’ll be wildly unsuccessful in writing copy that will influence and persuade them.
Hence your e-mails, landing pages, webinars, videos, telemarketing calls, etc., will fall flat. THEN what happens is the media is blamed. “Direct mail doesn’t work. LinkedIn prospecting doesn’t work. Google PPC is too expensive and therefore doesn’t work.” None of this is true, for if it was, NOBODY would be spending money on this media. Read that again.
The reality is that you haven’t figured out how to use that media to accurately target your ideal client with a message so compelling they can’t ignore it.
One of the biggest reasons for my success in marketing is my learned skill of sales copywriting. I’ve purposefully taught myself how to write e-mails, headlines, sales letters, telemarketing and video scripts that compel my audience to click, consume and respond. YOU SHOULD TOO. This is not *just* about being able to write marketing, but being able to influence – and all great leaders know how to influence, sell, persuade and engage. It’s a core fundamental of leading people and interacting with clients.
Steve Jobs was brilliant onstage talking about his products and company. Elon Musk is a very influential marketer. Evan Hafer of Black Rifle Coffee, another brilliant marketer and influencer. Look at anyone making big bucks, and I can guarantee you they have this ability. Maybe not the ability to write a landing page, but they know, understand, practice and master INFLUENCE.
So, before you write a single campaign, remember that the correct mindset to start with is that NOBODY CARES, needs or wants what you are selling. Brutal, yes. But the best results in marketing spring forward from that assumption and the acceptance of the difficulty of the job. Only then will you put the time and attention into the ads that are necessary. Therefore, to generate leads successfully, you must:
Be able to succinctly articulate the problem or desire that your prospect MOST wants your products or services to deliver.
Keep in mind that most businesses aren’t really about the “thing” they sell. Starbucks is about a third place, not necessarily about coffee. CrossFit is NOT about losing weight and getting in shape; it’s about a tribe of people who want to feel superior above others in their ability to grind out a brutal workout. Every smart car company advertising their vehicles knows they’re not just selling transportation, but a statement of who you are. We recently bought a Jeep for the beach house and were instantly welcomed into a tribe of Jeep owners we didn’t know existed, with their own language and wave. Nearly 80% of all B2B products and services are sold to avoid LOSS. To be successful in MSP marketing, you have to be able to nail the emotional payoff of what you sell.
COMPEL readership.
The headline “How To Have A Happy Marriage” is good. A much better one: “What Wives Secretly Wish Their Husbands Knew About Sex.” Why? The second DEMANDS you to read on, curiosity overwhelming you with a slippery slope of “need to know” even if you don’t think you have a problem in your marriage or with your sex life.
Get the message delivered.
With e-mail, you have to have permission. To get permission, you have to offer lead generation bait that is irresistible. Direct mail is all about packaging so it gets bypassed by the human spam filter in every office. That’s why I’m a fan of unusual and/or personal mail. Postcards are obvious advertisements that the office manager or secretary can throw away. A personalized letter wrapped in an unusual element, like the example on the next page, gets DELIVERED and, more importantly, gets OPENED. This is an envelope we’ve used to promote an event, and it’s working very, very well.
In summary, make sure you start by asking yourself (and answering) the question “What could we say or deliver that our ideal prospect would find IMPOSSIBLE to ignore? What would COMPEL them to respond?” I’ve reviewed thousands of lead generation campaigns and can tell you unequivocally THIS is the missing element in almost every case. Even seasoned marketers I know often skip these critical questions and move right to media and process. Big, BIG mistake in MSP marketing.
