Doug Davidoff“Our main consulting strategy is to convince clients that we do stuff they can't do themselves, and that we deserve lots of money for it. The best way to do this is to always look good, and always sound like we know something you don't. Because we do.”
From the Huh.com web site…
When you are finished reading this post, visit www.huhcorp.com. I don’t know who created this site but it is unfortunately the best (and wickedest) example I have seen of what most company websites are like. Instead of creating value, they erode it by focusing on what “we” do and cutting the prospective client out of the communication process right from the beginning.
Talking about what “we” do in marketing messages or sales presentations is a sure-fire way to begin convincing buyers that you are just like everyone else: nothing but a commodity. The reason is that the “we” message has everything to do with your company and nothing to do with a prospect’s problem. Think about it – when you talk to someone and all they do is talk about themself, how does it make you feel? You tend to begin discounting everything they say, don’t you?
There is no place better to see this communication dynamic in action than on the web. The web offers businesses a unique and powerful opportunity – the ability to control and regularly update their message for little or no money. No other medium attracts more buyers than the web. If you have a salesperson making a call on a potential client, it’s a good bet the buyer is looking at your website before the salesperson visits. If for some reason they don’t, and the sales call goes well, you can be certain the buyer will check you out after the sales call. Does you website deliver on your value proposition? The sad truth is that it probably doesn’t.
I say this because I have personally visited over 2,000 websites for the sole purpose of seeing if they deliver their company’s value proposition. While each site is slightly different (mainly the offer), they all sound the same. Most are “we” oriented and the tone of the copy is somewhere between defiant and defensive when they roll out their “me-too” list of offerings. The unfortunate part of it is that I know how much money was spent to create such a message.
Try this exercise: bookmark “huh.com” and share it with your co-workers. Sensitize them to how awful it sounds when your organization is bragging and operating in “we” mode.
Maybe then they’ll stop trying to get your clients to understand what you do and start making them feel understood. That’s the path that leads to fast growth.
Until next time,
Doug
410.544.7878