“For every sale you miss because you are too enthusiastic, you will miss one hundred because you are not enthusiastic enough.”

I was on a call to an accountant the other day and I asked him what his marketing message was and he replied: “We are accountants and work with SME’s”.

I said “Yes, but please explain to me what your message is to your prospects. What do you write in your brochures, on your website, and on your social media profiles?”

This is not unusual. Most accounting firms I speak with answer in EXACTLY the same way. Most are either confused about a marketing message or use industry jargon that bores the pants off their reader or the person they are speaking with.

Some accountants think their marketing message is their tagline, others think it is their mission statements. It is none of these things.

A marketing message will grab your prospects attention, it will take them on a journey that enables them to trust you and it is impactful.

Words, and how you use words will either enable you to speak to your prospect and have them engage with you or send them to sleep.

In this crazy world where most people live on the verge of near constant stress, asking for your prospect’s attention is one of the most difficult requests you will make of them.

This is why it is important to appeal to your prospect’s “Hot Buttons” and trigger an emotional reaction.

No one wants to be pitched. You hate it, I hate it, and your prospects hate it. Pitching leaves your audience feeling like they are not being listened to and they feel unimportant. Your audience will only be interested in what you have to say if it interests them.

I also want to be clear that creating a marketing message is not complicated. On the Pioneering Practice Marketing Programme we teach a 5 step method to create a marketing message called the Message Matrix. Let me pull back the curtain and outline those 5 steps to you today so that you can create your own impactful marketing message that will engage your audience and not having them fall asleep the moment they listen to you.

“People don’t care about you until they know you care”

Step 1
Have a clear understanding of your ideal client.  Create an avatar so you know who it is you specifically help, and how you specifically help them.

Step 2
Have a deep understanding of their problems. Knowing your ideal client’s “Hot Buttons” and knowing how this makes them feel will ensure they engage with what you are saying because it will resonate with them. This step is highly important because no one will take action unless they feel bad enough, or want the outcome more than anything in this world.

Step 3
Share your solution in a way that is neither waffley or jargon-driven. During this stage, you need to share how you overcome their pains, but be careful not to go back into problem mode, as this will get the listener to tune out.

Step 4
Show why you are the best accounting practice for them. What makes you credible and different from other practices? Have you won awards? Have you got case studies that you can share? Answer the question WHY YOU? in this step.

Step 5
This is the final step where you explain why you are in business. Why do you do what you do? What is your mission and how do you leave people feeling?

Your ability to craft and recite a strong marketing message will affect the overall success of your business. You need to know your marketing message off by heart and this means writing it down and practicing it until you live and breathe it.

I want you to understand the importance of a rehearsed marketing message. When you listen to a politician read from a teleprompter/autocue they sound credible. They don’t make up what they are saying, the wording flows and we trust what they are saying. Conversely when a politician is put on the spot and asked a question, because they do not have a well thought out reply, they stumble on their words, sound unconvincing and lack credibility.

The same happens when people ask “what do you do”.

Talk to people and explain clearly who you help; the problems you overcome; the solution you provide; why you are credible and your mission; and you will stand out from the crowd and create lucrative relationships.