Early on in my copywriting career, I managed to catch lightning in a bottle.

Somehow, some way, I talked myself into an audition as a copywriter for one of America’s truly iconic companies. Now, for privacy reasons, I won’t say the name, but let’s just say you can find their logo in any neighborhood in the USA. Leave your best guess in the comments.

But before they gave me the job, they wanted to see what I was made of. You know, good, old, refreshing meritocracy .

They tossed me the challenge of crafting a direct mail piece that would hit millions of mailboxes across America. No pressure, right? And I clutched this opportunity like it was the last lifeboat on the Titanic. Like Rose, I wasn’t about to let go.

But I had this one big problem standing in my way. I hadn’t done this before. This was new territory for me and with the stakes being so high, the last thing I wanted was to mess this up. But I had a hunch I could pull it off if I did one thing —lean into the power of preconceived beliefs.

What are preconceived beliefs?

So what exactly are preconceived beliefs?

 Well… it’s the stuff people already think when they hear about a product or brand. In other words, It’s the mindset of the masses. For instance, most people believe that McDonald’s, while convenient, isn’t exactly health food. Or take Rolex, for example. Most people think if you own a Rolex, you must be rich. It’s a luxury brand that makes a statement louder than your mouth ever could.

And just for fun, let’s try on everyone’s favorite car to complain about, a BMW. If you drive a BMW most people might think y̶o̶u̶’l̶l̶ f̶o̶r̶g̶e̶t̶ t̶o̶ u̶s̶e̶ y̶o̶u̶r̶ t̶u̶r̶n̶ s̶i̶g̶n̶a̶l̶s̶— ermmm… you’re doing alright financially. You get the drift. The preconceived belief is what the world thinks.

But why does this matter?

Because it’s way easier to ride the wave of what people already think than to convince them to adopt a completely new belief from scratch.

Think of this as the difference between struggling to push a boulder uphill vs letting it roll down effortlessly. Using a preconceived belief is how you let the boulder roll down hill. It’s also the true way to understand your brand.

Remember, a brand isn’t what the corporate suits say it is; it’s the little stories your customers tell themselves when they think about you – aka your preconceived belief.

How to find preconceived beliefs

So how do we find these darn preconceived beliefs?

In a word: research.

Research your customers —they hold all the answers. Luckily, it’s easier than ever before because we have the world in the palm of our hands – literally.

Read online reviews, scour YouTube comments, dig into Reddit forums, and even consult AI —that’s just the tip of the iceberg. If you have access, talk to your sales team and customers.

The sales team is where your marketing meets the road. They can tell you what you’re customers actually respond to, and trust me – it’s usually different than the canned material marketing produces.

And your customers? They’re the buyers, so skip the middleman and go straight to the source. Ask them about the product, the brand, their buying motivations, and why they chose you. You’ll have more insights than you know what to do with.

How to harness the power

Once you know the preconceived belief about your company or product, it’s time to harness the power.

This means we take all the preconceived beliefs and give them back to the customers. For example, let’s say you sell a high-end protein powder. And after reading 100 reviews, 80 of them said the same thing: “It’s the best-tasting protein powder on the market.”

Well, a smart marketer would cannonball into this insight and lead with that benefit in most, if not all, of their marketing material. Why? It’s the preconceived belief. If your customers already think this, then remind them. It’s how you hop onto the momentum train.

Unfortunately, most companies miss this trick. They might focus on a unique selling proposition or other benefits, neglecting what the customers are actually saying, and it’s a missed opportunity. Why start from scratch when you can leverage existing momentum and remind potential customers of what they already know? After all, as they say in sales, the most convincing person is yourself.

But what if the preconceived belief is bad? Or what if there’s none because your product is new?

You have two plays:

1. Agree and Pivot:

Let’s say your company sells a product that’s perceived as expensive. Acknowledge the premium pricing, then explain why. Ignoring what people think makes you seem out of touch, but addressing it captures their attention and allows you to pivot, justifying your price point.

2. No preconceived belief? Paint away.

Your company is a blank canvas, ready for your masterpiece of perception. Play to your strengths and focus on how you want to show up in the market. There’s no judgment yet, so paint away!

Full circle

As I started writing my test project, I went all in on the power of preconceived beliefs. I immediately did a deep dive into the reviews, scoured Reddit, read articles, and spent extra time studying Amazon review comments for our products. After an hour or so, I had a pretty good idea of what people thought about our company and our preconceived belief.

Our preconceived belief was that people thought we were the best in our space, so all I had to do was simply remind them.

I wrote the whole piece with our preconceived belief in the back of my mind and when my trial piece was done, it felt very authentic… because it was. I took the words from my customer’s mouth and made it fit the narrative.

And the result?

I got the job.

That’s the power of preconceived beliefs.