Last week the temperature hit “Nashville Hot Chicken” levels of 100+ degrees with the weatherman reporting the “feels like” temperature to be somewhere between spontaneous combustion and Satan-left-the-door-open hot.
What kind of B.S. is the “feels like” temperature, anyway?
This is just another way people ignore “the science” we’re all supposed to trust and come up with their own personal interpretation of what something actually means. People in Phoenix have been running this con for years. “It’s a dry heat,” they say. Well, so is a microwave as it boils you from the inside.
Changing the ACTUAL temperature to a “feel like” one is a perfect example of how human behavior is predictably irrational.
We’re not rational. More like rationalizing creatures. We buy things we don’t need and then tell ourselves a story to justify buying it – or vice versa. A friend of mine partially justified private air travel to his wife by saying at least he got free parking. You can laugh, but we’ve all heard similar silly arguments to justify (or refusal) to buy something.
I had a client once double his close rate by simply changing the name of his managed services plan from “Silver, Gold and Platinum” to “Home Business, Economy and Growth.” Previous to the name change, most of the prospects he met with bought the Silver plan, with a small portion buying the middle (Gold) plan, and even fewer buying the Platinum.
Along with the name change was the description: The “Home Business” plan was positioned for small startups with very little success or “sophisticated” needs. The Economy Plan was positioned for businesses that needed good, solid, professional IT, but no extras – and the “Growth” Plan was positioned for “fast-growing entrepreneurs who need an IT company that can keep up with the pace of their success and growth.”
Once he renamed them, INSTANTLY (and changing no other aspect of his pitch or the plans) he had prospects skipping OVER the “Home Business” plan (because nobody wants to live in Loserville) and only considering the other two; PLUS he more than doubled the number of businesses that took the high-end plan. No change in what’s included or the pricing. It shocked the heck out of him but didn’t surprise me in the least.
The cybersecurity service you proposed “feels like” it’s expensive and more than they need. Is it? Based on what? That cheaper alternative “feels like” it’s more appropriate for someone “like us.” Says the person with ZERO expertise in IT.
If you are getting pushback on your recommendations and finding it difficult to sell something, it’s very likely you’re relying TOO MUCH on facts and logic to make the sale while completely ignoring the “feels like” signals you’re sending.
Prospects don’t buy data and facts – they buy stories and base their decisions on personal interpretations of the facts and data. Essentially, how they FEEL about you, the service you’re proposing and your company in general.
Engineers are the worst at prioritizing and valuing the FUNCTION of something vs. the PERCEPTION of it. One of the keys for Dyson’s vacuum cleaner success was that you could see the dirt you cleaned up in the clear canister, giving the user an enormous sense of accomplishment. Most engineers would have scoffed at such a silly thing and would prefer to point to the genius of the construction, the design of the engine, the powerful suction; but often changing how something “feels like” when using it is the key.
Steve Jobs got this very, very right at Apple. He focused on how the users felt using his products over the technical function of them. Porsche pioneered the “sport mode” button in their vehicles that became wildly popular and sold more cars – not because the engineering was better, but simply because the car felt more exciting to drive.
One of the smartest things Uber did early on was adding a map of where your driver was to the app, so you could see where they were and when they would arrive. Uber execs could have spent enormous amounts of time and money on any number of other app features or service quality but chose this one because it instantly removes the anxiety of waiting for a driver, improving the “feels like” experience. They built anxiety relief.
In your MSP, you might be trying to figure out how to resolve tickets 20% faster, when all you might really need to do is improve communication so that your client knows you have the ticket instantly and are working on it…almost like the stages of DoorDash where I know where my order is and when it will arrive.
If you refuse to accept this fact about how products, service and ideas are sold, choosing to be pigheaded determined to sell what you do MERELY on the mechanical, tangible, intrinsic value of what you build, you’re seriously handicapping yourself.
Quit trying to logic-sell the lizard brain of your prospects and start engineering the “feels like” conclusion that what you’re selling is exactly right for them.
If It “Feels Like” You Need A Better Marketing Plan…
…you’re probably right. For 24+ years I’ve helped MSPs install marketing and sales systems that actually put money in the bank — not “brand awareness,” not likes, but appointments booked, contracts signed and MRR that shows up every single month. If you’re an MSP with honest ambition, go here and see what we’ve built for you: www.robinrobins.com
