Bringing new technologies to market can feel lonely. Your product is truly special, which can change the life of your target customer. But unfortunately, those customers aren’t yet knocking down your door. When your sales reps finally get them in a room (or Zoom), they’re met with a litany of excuses. The song goes something like this:

“This is a really cool solution, but it’s not something we can consider now.
We have other priorities on our plate. Maybe next year.”

Here’s one likely issue with your messaging…

The features and benefits being touted by your sales reps aren’t enough to penetrate the prospect’s state of mind. Your target customers were surviving just fine before the sales call, and it’s their human nature to just keep chugging along. You need to shake them out of their complacency.

You need a Core Premise

A Core Premise is an irrefutable fact about your customer’s underlying pain. Core Premises are a universal truth that are tied so closely to your buyer’s life that you’ll get immediate head nods and chuckles. For example:

“Commuting to work sucks.”

(Tidbit: According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the average commuter spends the equivalent of 9 full days in traffic per year!)

Other Core Premises are less well known, but pack the power of a valuable insight. For example, here’s one from my client ReFirm Labs, which sells an IoT security solution: “25% of IoT devices have exploitable vulnerabilities.”

Curiously, most enterprises spend millions on software security, but not a penny on their connected device security. ReFirm is a disruptor, so its message needs to be too.

Expand your target buyer’s mind

If you want to get an “Aha!” from your prospects, a Core Premise is the first punch to throw. Getting early agreement on the Core Premise gives prospects nowhere to go with their objections – except closer to what your people are selling.

The key is to get agreement on the Core Premise at the very beginning of the conversation – a “yes,” eyebrow raise or laugh will do. Once your rep gets this acknowledgement, they’ll have secured the high ground for selling.

Let’s drop in on the middle of a sales conversation with a prospect who has already accepted the Core Premise:

  • Prospect (objection): “Well, you have an interesting product, but this is not something we have budgeted for this year.”
  • Sales Rep (staying on the high ground): “At the beginning of our discussion, you said that cybersecurity is a top priority and we both agree that 25% of your IoT devices are likely exploitable.”
  • Prospect (nowhere to go): “Well, that’s true.”
  • Sales Rep (offers invitation to high ground): “I understand you have a full plate already, but we both know that your IoT devices are leaving a major security gap for your company. I can’t imagine that this is an acceptable risk for you or your CEO. Here’s a suggestion…”

We don’t have space for the rest of the meeting transcript. But you should know that this deal got closed. 🙂

Create a Messaging Mantra

Once you’ve identified your Core Premise, make it a mantra for your salespeople and your marketing team. Have them keep using the Core Premise until you’re bored of it. Then still keep using it.

For your marketing:

  • Website: Make it your central premise.
  • Collateral: Use it as your opening argument.
  • White Papers: Quantify it in educational materials.
  • Blogs: Demonstrate your authority on the topic.
  • Infographics: Promote it throughout your industry.
  • PR: Present it as a news angle.
  • Analysts: Get them to adopt it.

Going to market with an innovative technology is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it can provide unprecedented value and benefits. On the other hand, people tend to stick with what they know – even if it continues to hurt.

As a centerpiece to your messaging, you need a Core Premise to break the cycle of your prospect’s inertia. Your Core Premise puts a spotlight on their reality and awakens them to your product’s unique value.

So what’s your Core Premise? Contact me for a free consultation.