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How to scare an introvert

Show them this picture of a crowded space and tell them that you’re giving them a great opportunity to network and meet lots of fun people (plus free drinks and an after show party!).

It’s the perfect place for some. But a scary place for others.

Nothing wrong with that but it helps to be conscious about it.

It’s unique because it’s for them

Be unique rather than better! That’s almost too obvious to state, right? Because when you are, you’re in a class of your own. People can get what you offer only from you. Which means you can charge higher prices. Strengthen your brand. And have a number of other benefits …

Only that there’s one major catch: Most people don’t like to go first. Which means that they don’t like to buy what’s unique.

Most customers don’t care for unique but for proven.

Buying something that’s unique is risky. What if it’s not as good as they promise? What will the others say? What if my friends don’t approve? What if it doesn’t last?

That’s why bestseller lists still work: it’s a list of proven work. It’s also why reviews count. And why we value a recommendation from a friend so much.

I’d argue that unique is mostly a selfish motive of the marketer. Which is not to say that you should dismiss the possibility of being unique. Quite the opposite. But don’t regard it as a means to an end. It’s not about uniqueness.

It’s about making positive change for the audience. If you care for the change, there’s a more meaningful kind of uniqueness waiting for you: Uniqueness that grows out of empathy.

Uniqueness that’s due to a solution that you found because you’ve looked closer. Or that’s the result of an effort that no-one else was willing to pull off.

That kind of uniqueness is different. It checks both boxes at once: It’s in your best interest. But it’s also in your audience’s best interest.

It’s unique because it’s for them.

Life’s busy

Life’s busy. I bet that yours is busy, too.

So are your audience’s lives. Problems keep popping up for them, quick fixes need to be put in place, opportunities want to be chased, risks managed, pitfalls avoided, … all of that not only in business but in their private lives, too.

Let’s face it: Most people are rather busy with managing their own lives. There’s just not much time left for them to care for what you’ve got to say … let alone cheer for you.

Which can be a source of major frustration when you’re expecting that from your communication. When you want your audience to care for you.

Things change, though, when you turn your expectations around and cheer for them. When you see their struggles and understand their desires. When you open them a door or prevent them from falling into a trap. When you make their lives a little bit easier.

See them first and they will, sooner or later, see you.

A better future

Great salespeople show us a better future. They make us see that there’s a gap between what we have got now and what we could have in the future.

They make us want that future.

The difference between selfish and honest salespeople is that the former doesn’t care whether a path exists between the now and the future they paint us.

Which is why their promise can be bolder, their future even brighter.

In fact, if all you care for is the quick deal, the best thing you can do is to paint the brightest future that’s not totally unbelievable.

It’s what bullshitters do all the time.

Things are different, when you care for your customer to actually achieve what you promise. Then you can’t bullshit.

But that means that you need to work extra hard to paint a credible and true picture of a possible future that’s just as attractive as the fake picture of the selfish salespeople.

It means that we need to work extra hard on bold promises that we can confidently keep and then tell true stories about it that resonate deeply with what matters to our audience.

PS: If you struggle, let’s talk: https://michaelgerharz.com/coaching

It’s different over there

If your communication doesn’t challenge what we know or what we believe, why would we grant you a share of our time?

If afterwards everything will be just the same as before and nothing has changed, why invest the time?

Communication that brings no change is a waste of time.

Worst, it creates no tension for your audience to take any action. So, it’s also a waste of your time.

Tension is created by showing us a path that’s different than the one we’re on. A path that we like better. Let’s say because it helps us solve a challenge we’re facing. Or because it provides the missing piece for a puzzle. Or maybe simply because it’s more fun over there.

So you care for your cause …

Many people who deeply care for their cause fail to make change happen.

For a simple reason: It’s not enough to care for your cause. You need to care for the change, too.

This has a profound impact on your actions. If you care for the change, you’ll inevitably have to take the others into account. You can’t just care. You need to empathize: Who is affected? Why would they care? What would make them listen?

It’s when you switch to that perspective that you start looking at your communication differently. Suddenly, all the details that felt so near and dear to your heart loose some of their weight because you realize that people need to be curious for the facts before you can dig deep. Suddenly, it’s not even about the facts anymore but just as much about the values and beliefs that make us interpret the facts in this way or another.

But most importantly, when you care for the change it’s not about whether you feel uncomfortable to go on a stage and speak about your cause. When you care for the change it’s required to speak up. It needs to be done.

And so, you just do it. And when you do it, you’ll find the courage to turn your speech into a powerful speech because that’s what’s required to make change happen.

Overdeliver on your clickbait

We’re living in the attention economy (think “5 super weird reasons why your headline doesn’t perform”).

Whoever gets the audience’s attention, gets the first shot at selling them something. So, it’s no wonder that people love to use attention grabbing techniques – such as scroll-stoppers or click-baity headlines.

LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook are flooded with these things that have the sole purpose of making you click “Read more”.

And it might get you the click. Initially, that is. Until these techniques wear off and the readers just give up on clicking “Read more” because every single time the actual post doesn’t deliver on the promise.

And suddenly, something unexpected becomes the attention grabber for these readers. Suddenly, they are drawn to the people who just post valuable stuff. Smart thoughts. Funny takes. Or useful hacks.

Don’t get me wrong, though. There’s nothing wrong with grabbing people’s attention. If you can grab their attention, go for it. (We’re really in the attention economy.) Just make sure that what you deliver after the click delivers – or even better: overdelivers – on what you promised before the click.

In other words: Make a bold promise – one that gets people’s attention – but keep it, even better: overdeliver on it.

Leading your future boss

Lighting the path is an activity, not a role. You can light us the path from any position, no official title required, no permission needed.

In fact, we see examples of people lighting the path in the most unexpected places. Here’s a remarkable example from a marketing manager who landed their dream job by lighting the path for their future boss.

That person crafted a website which made the company (called Basecamp) see the future of working with him. The website pays incredible attention to detail to pick up Basecamp’s style. Ultimately, the job application site led the founders of Basecamp to the point of no return, the point at which it had become an unbearable thought not to hire this person who was so passionate about getting the job and who understood Basecamp so well.

Lighting the path means bringing the future into the present. You don’t need any title for that. What you need to do, though, is to show up, step up, and do work that matters.

Read the manifesto at https://LeadersLightThePath.com.

Electric clocks

In the 50s, Rolls Royce claimed that their cars are super quiet.

But how quiet were they? Here’s how Rolls Royce explained it:

“At 60 miles an hour the loudest noise in this new Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock.”

Can you explain to me your promises in plain English in a way that I can make sense of them from my everyday experience?

What does the door sign say?

When you make someone an irresistible offer, it’s as if you’ve opened a door in their mind that is so tempting that they absolutely must go through it. It’s an unbearable thought for them to shut that door and not walk through.

Would you like to have such a door?

Here are three useful questions to ask:

  1. What does the sign on the door say?
  2. What kind of person is it that would feel that tempted to walk through?
  3. What do these people hope to find behind the door?

Spread the Word

Dr. Michael Gerharz

Dr. Michael Gerharz