A newsletter for B2B SaaS founders and marketers who don't want the curse of knowledge to mess with their messaging.
Hi Reader,We keep chanting this term. We keep saying we need to position the product.But we don't realise the folly of saying this. ๐ It assumes that product is what customers buy. In reality, what the customers buy is a story about themselves. This should make us think whether we should position the product....or the customer?
Hi Reader,There are two ways to check if a story is worth spending on... 1๏ธโฃ Tell the story to people. Then observe how they respond.2๏ธโฃ Observe people first. Then tell a story that mirrors them. You can do first. Or second. Or both! But do at least one of them. Because every good story emerges from ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐๐ (not wordplay).
Hi Reader,I have worked in both kinds of companies.One where being close to customer was expected and rewarded.Another where wanting to speak to customer was seen as threat to sales/CS.This email is not about the politics of it.But the two opposite perspectives you often hear, on this topic. Does talking to customers generate insights?One side of the argument is that customers don't really know what they want. So why talk to them?Another side is that unless we know how customers think about...
Hi Reader,Guess why us selling B2B SaaS so tough? Imagine for once your buyer, and their business. Struggling with an unsolvable problem.Cheated by solutions that promise the moon.Robbed by their sales in the name of a big brand.Flooded with information thatโs enough to drown in. Selling B2B SaaS is tough because ๐ฃ๐ถ๐บ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐2๐ ๐๐ข๐ข๐ ๐ช๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ. What should your sales & marketing be doing in this situation? Should it boast louder than the competitor?Or should it come down to the level of your buyer...
Hi Reader,Many B2B SaaS founders know about the Jobs theory. ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐น๐ ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐น๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ฎ๐น๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด.Just as customers hire products for a job.They also hire your sales and marketing for a job.The job of buying.Tฬฒhฬฒeฬฒ ฬฒdฬฒeฬฒeฬฒpeฬฒrฬฒ ฬฒquฬฒeฬฒsฬฒtฬฒiฬฒoฬฒnฬฒ:Is your sales and marketing focused on ๐ธ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ค๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด?Or on ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฑ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ ๐ฃ๐ถ๐บ?The former is just the outcome of doing the latter well.
Hi Reader,It might be killing your judgement in the name of efficiency and speed. You know what I am talking about.A lot of sales and marketing effectiveness relies on judgement.You try something, it works or it doesnโt.Then you look back at the core assumptions of why you did it that way.You learn something new. And then you improve upon it the next time.This is precious memory. And it gets better with practice.Continue investing in it for long term gains.Donโt outsource human judgement to a...
Hi Reader,I was reviewing outbound SDR messages for a founder recently. And I couldnโt help noticing the pattern. It sounded scripted.And engineered.And over-personalized.Even over-keyworded.Click-baitish.Bordering on manipulative. That's the problem with most B2B SaaS sales and marketing. It sounds too much like marketing and sales speak. And because of that, it fails to persuade. If you want your sales and marketing messages to work, let authenticity and humaneness be your central strategy.
Hi Reader,How do we make big decisions in personal life?We ask ourselves 'who am I'?And then make choices that align with that answer. Buying a business software is also a tough decision.The company invariably asks itself 'who are we'?And then chooses software that aligns with that answer. What if you already answered that question in your positioning?That would help them make more confident decisions, right?
Hi Reader,Recently as part of positioning & messaging work for a client, I came across a testimonial their customer had written on G2. In the testimonial, the customer used a term which was nowhere a part of the client's vocabulary to describe their product features. The testimonial said "context awareness". If you ask a B2B SaaS messaging expert, they would mostly advise against using such words in your content. But that's exactly the problem with best practices. They force you to go into an...
Hi Reader,What are buyers ๐ข๐ด๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ for?What do they ๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต to hear?What do they ๐๐๐โ๐ want to hear?As part of my work, I personally listen to a lot of sales conversations.Sharing ๐๐ผ๐ฝ ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ฏ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ below: #1 Buyer are talking about AI, but in an off-handed way. The focus is still on the unique problem they struggle to solve.#2 Buyers want Al, but they are not sure in which part of their workflow. They rely on your for those answers.#3 Buyers need an assurance that you have Al. But they want...