Why Educating Your Customers Could Be Costing You Deals

We’ve all written marketing copy that sounds like the following:

“We provide unmatched advisory services.”

“Our solutions are industry-leading.”

When headlines fall flat, we often tell marketing to use stronger verbs or flashier adjectives. We treat it like a phrasing problem.

But it’s actually a perspective problem.

We are stuck writing from inside the building, looking out the window. We are trying to convince the market of our value. But as the legendary Gene Schwartz wrote in Breakthrough Advertising, you cannot create desire; you can only channel it.

“The power of your ad is not in your words, but in how much of your prospect’s own thoughts you can reflect back to them.”

Schwartz’s golden rule was simple: Don’t teach. Don’t convince. Reflect.

Empathy is for High-Stakes Marketing

This concept of “Reflection” is critical in B2B because 99% of B2B brands’ job is to de-risk.

If you’re marketing a chocolate bar, the stakes are pretty low. If the customer buys it and hates it, they spit it out, and they’re out two bucks.

But in B2B, the stakes are much higher. If a purchaser makes the wrong decision on a vendor, they could lose their job.

To de-risk your offer, don’t list features. Guide your customers. You have to embody: “I know exactly what you are afraid of, because I have been there.”

Hire your former customers

I have a friend who was a geologist. He moved into sales for a geological software company. Technically, he wasn’t a “born salesman.” But he became one of the company’s highest performers.

He wasn’t selling software.

He was reflecting reality.

He had empathy.

He wasn’t talking about “unmatched features.” Instead, he was saying: “You know that panic you feel when the data ignores that specific substrate? I used to hate that. Here is how this tool fixes it.”

He didn’t have to fake empathy. He had the battle scars. He wasn’t guessing where the hero of the story was trying to go; he had walked the path himself.

Next Steps for You

If your messaging isn’t working, stop looking for better words. Seek better alignment.

1. Check your perspective: Are you the hero of the story, or the guide?
2. Check your empathy: Are you observing their pain, or sharing it? There is a major difference.
3. Check your roster: The next time you need a sales lead, don’t just look for a resume with sales experience. Look for the person who used to buy what you sell.

People don’t want to be persuaded by a vendor. They want to be validated by a peer.