I believe in the power of a good message.

I used to roll my eyes every time someone would say, “The pen is mightier than the sword.” I’d think, “That’s why those medieval knights carried those #2 pencils, right? — To Hell with Excaliber!” But as I got older and slightly less cynical, I began to believe the message to be true.

Because a great message can move mountains. A great message is mightier than a sword. A great message can motivate millions of people more than force ever could. And as a business owner, I firmly believe the difference between hundreds, thousands, and even millions of dollars boils down to a good message.

But how did I learn this lesson?

The Best Insult I Ever Got

I was working as a territory sales manager for a construction company that sold hangers. For context (not to put you to sleep), if you ever walk into a building and see how the lights, the ductwork, and the plumbing are attached to the ceiling — that’s a hanger. (Exciting stuff, right?!)

My q̶u̶e̶s̶t̶ job was to get construction contractors to use our hangers to hang all of their “stuff.” So, for the journey ahead, our marketing department prepared these nice, thick, (and boring) brochures that told our customers all the reasons they should go with us. But as I would quickly learn, this was the wrong message.

The brochure was speaking to a general crowd instead of homing in on the nitty-gritty nuances that my customers actually cared about. It focused on every reason, which caused it to lose sight of the real reason. Whenever I sat down with a construction company, their project manager’s eyes would quickly glaze over like a box of doughnuts at 5 AM.

And it wasn’t until one particularly burly construction worker let me in on a little secret. “Don’t you know we don’t care about any of this shit?” he barked, pointing to the glossy brochure I placed on his desk. “The reason your product is good is because one box of your hangers is equal to 500 pounds of rod and strut. It allows us to get the work done in half the time. Ya, dumbass.” He kid.

I could feel a light bulb going off in my head. This was the best insult I ever had because it revealed the truth — the message about why people bought our product.

After the call, I raced home and created a new flyer. It was a picture of 500 pounds of rod and strut (my competition) with an equal sign to one box of the hangers I sold. And in the paragraph above, I said, “Do The Math,” and then broke down the time cost between hanging with rod and strut versus using my product.

The result? A pretty damn compelling case for why someone should use my product. This flyer single-handedly won deals for me (which all good messages do) and made my territory profitable during a time when the economy was cutting back.

But the question becomes, how can you replicate my success without being insulted?

Talk to Your Customers

In messaging, your compass will always point to your customer base. ALWAYS. This means as marketers and business owners, we need to spend less time focusing on what we want to say and more time focusing on what our customers want to hear. We need to discover our customer’s pain points, listen to how they describe their problems, and listen to the real reasons someone buys our products.

Notice a Common Thread

In your research, if you notice that 8 out of 10 people say they buy your product for the same 1–2 reasons, generally speaking, that’s the golden nugget of your message. You should immediately reflect on all of your marketing material and make sure that the message is highlighted in neon lights (okay, not really neon).

Simplify It

Now that we know the message we need to focus on, we need to make it digestible — in other words, we need to simplify the message. Every good message is less about buzzwords and more about being simple and straightforward. Because the reality is your customers are too busy living their own lives to take the time to decipher your corporate lingo. Sorry.

To drive the point home, let me channel the great David Ogilvy, the father of advertising: “If you’re trying to persuade people to do something, or buy something, it seems to me you should use their language, the language in which they think.”

In other words, if your bar buddy can’t grasp what you do, you probably need to simplify it. It’ll not only make you a better communicator but also a sharper thinker.

Write It

Now, put pen to paper and craft the message that moves the needle. You’re not selling aerodynamic wire hangers; you’re selling an easier and faster way to hang. You’re not selling reverse osmosis water coolers; you’re selling cleaner water. Get it, got it, good.

Full Circle

Humans, we’re suckers for a killer message. We buy movie quote posters and tweet song lyrics because those messages tug at our heartstrings. So, toss the sword aside and embrace the pen. A good message doesn’t just move mountains; it does the selling for you. And who doesn’t want that?

Please like, comment, share and tell me what you think. If you’re a business owner or writer and you want to work with me to help you craft your message, let’s talk. Anthony@anthonyrobertagency.com