TikTok made me buy a microphone, a TrueBill trial, and a ring light for shooting videos.
I wasn’t in the market for any of these products.
So why did it buy?
Creator-driven sales messages that shined a light on the cost of doing nothing.
In other words, creators created demand.
By way of example, here’s a TikTok creator calltoleap:
“I can’t believe I wasted $200 bucks this month on subscriptions I didn’t know I had. Why do I pay for Apple Music and Spotify Premium?”
There’s a good lesson here.
Most of the people you reach out to aren’t in the market for the product you’re selling.
Prospects are making progress (Jobs-to-be-Done).
They’re getting from point A to point B.
Inertia is powerful.
Your job is to shine a light on the cost of doing nothing, so people are motivated to start a conversation with you.
In other words, you have to poke the bear.
Why the cost of inaction?
Because people prefer avoiding losses to acquiring equivalent gains, it’s called loss aversion.
Here’s how that might sound like on a cold call for TrueBill.
ASK FOR PERMISSION TO TALK
Salesperson: “Hi John, {This is Lisa Smith}. We’ve never spoken. And I know you weren’t expecting my call. Are you able to talk for a brief moment?”
Prospect: “Sure.”
MAKE SURE YOU’RE TALKING TO THE RIGHT PERSON
Salesperson: “Just to make sure I’m in the right place, are you responsible for paying the bills in the Braun household?”
Prospect: “I am.”
POKE THE BEAR
Salesperson: “If you don’t mind me asking, how are you keeping track of subscriptions? Are you checking statements, not keeping track, or can you see a single list of what you’re paying for?”
Prospect: “I don’t pay attention to that. I’m sorry, why are you calling?”
EXPLAIN HOW YOU MAKE PEOPLE MORE AWESOME
Salesperson. “We’re seeing that many people are paying $100-$200 a month of subscriptions they forget about. With Truebill, you identify and cancel unwanted subscriptions, so you don’t have to. Does that sound like something you’d be open to having a conversation around over the next week or two or am I way off base here?”
Conversation started.
Creating demand without being pushy is a good skill to master.