I have an iPhone case.
My case is getting the job done. It’s protecting my phone.
Your prospects have an “iPhone case” too.
They’re making progress.
They’re getting the job done.
Their case is good enough. Inertia is powerful. It’s called the status quo bias.
Imagine you sell an iPhone case that prevents other people from peeping at your screen.
Your prospects are lawyers that take a crowded subway (the “L”) to work in Chicago. They work on sensitive information during their commute.
To motivate a lawyer to respond to your cold email, you need to shine a light on a future disaster.
What terrible, no good, very bad thing happens if lawyers do nothing?
Here’s the email:
Subject: peeping, the “L” and pancakes
“Hey Josh – Packed in on the ‘L’. Curious, how are you preventing others from peeping information on your cell phone in public? Lawyers are using the Hygo case to stop spying. It uses anti-peeking glass – snaps over your phone. Worth exploring?
Regardless, saw your office is near Beatrix. Lemon ricotta pancake perfection.”
Illumination questions (“How are you …) get people to think differently about their current solution. They don’t sound salesy because they don’t lead people to a desired response. They’re neutral.
Notice that I ended on a high note. People judge an experience largely based on how they felt at the end (the last sentence). It’s a psychological heuristic called the peak-end rule.
When you make people feel good, they associate that feeling with you and are more likely to respond. The opposite is also true.