Pop quiz.
Which copy converts better?
Option A
“Revolutionize your work with the best project management tool designed for all teams.”
Option B
“With Basecamp, everything’s organized in one place, you’re on top of things, progress is clear, and a sense of calm sets in.”
B converts 10X better (30%) than A (3%).
A small change to a handful of words can create a jaw-dropping difference in conversion.
Here’s another example.
Option A (Lower converting)
“We are the top photobook layout software for bringing special moments to life.”
Option B (Higher converting)
“Create a beautiful photo book in 5 minutes.”
What’s going on here isn’t magic.
When you enter the conversation already taking place in your prospect’s mind (Robert Collier), a lightbulb in their head switches on and subconsciously says, “You get me, what do you have?”
In other words, customers feel like you’re reading their minds.
How To Read Your Customer’s Mind
Here are three ways to read your customer’s mind.
1) Podcasts where a customer is interviewed. Listen for words the customer uses to describe the “before story” or what sucked before switching.
Here’s an example that I used to write Gong’s cold call script:
Here’s how the customer quote translates to a cold call script for Gong:
LEVEL 2: POTENTIAL PROBLEM
The reason for my call is that we find that a lot of sales leaders are relying on SVPs or a bottom-up methodology to prepare forecasts.
LEVEL 3: POKE THE BEAR
If you don’t mind me asking, how are you forecasting today? Is it a human-derived process, or are you also using machine learning to predict more accurately?
2) Case studies. Look for quotes that described the “before story.” By way of example, here’s a quote from a customer that switched to Captivate IQ.
And here’s how the cusomer quote converts into a cold call script:
Potential Problem
“We often hear that determining payouts involves a lot fo manual data entry like hard-pasting Excel pages into Google Sheets and then manually making adjusstments one sheet a time.
Poke the Bear
“If you don’t mind me asking, how are you calcuating and running payouts today? Is it a manual process or is it automated?”
3) Interview customers that purchased within 45 days (so the story is fresh).
Say:
“Typically people don’t wake up one day and decide to buy our solution. Take me through your journey.”
AskL
a. When did you know what you were using wasn’t getting the job done?
b. What did you try first?
c. What obstacles did you bump into?
d. What did you try next?
e. Why didn’t you stick with that?
Knowing how to read your customer’s mind is a sales superpower.
Your customers are better at writing sales messages than you are.