Do you send text messages? Of course, you do.  A lot easier than talking sometimes…right? 

Do you get those long voice messages on your phone? People who ramble on and never really get to the point, and then they end the message by saying, “Just call me.”

Do you remember when television shows would say, “We’ll be back after these important commercial messages?” Then, you would get up to get a snack or use the restroom, totally tuning them out? 

Our lives are full of messages. Some more impactful and important than others. To get clearer on what a message is, I went to Webster’s dictionary to see what they said. 

“A communication in writing or in speech. An underlying theme or idea. A messenger’s mission”. 

I was conducting training recently and asked the group what The Message was for them. A more vocal participant shouted out, 

“My sales pitch!” 

While a little dated, that is the view of many salespeople. Just say the same thing, every time…with every client. 

The challenge with a “canned” sales pitch is you could throw strikes…or balls. I have never liked the canned sales pitch approach. Yes, you must have a track to run on, but people are cynical enough as it is, and if you sound like you are “pitching” …many of them will step away from the plate (ok, no more baseball analogies!). 

So according to the definition above from Webster’s, The Message should have three elements: 

#1 – A communication in writing or in speech. In writing, a brochure can relay the static attributes of your product. You must bring that static product to life with your dynamic presentation into the client interaction, and words that fit the “buying ear” of your prospective client. 

For The Message to be a natural extension of you, you must immerse yourself in the product. You must understand how it works, where it is most effective (and ineffective), and how to translate that information to the client in a compelling and comprehensive manner – bringing it to life!  

#2 – An underlying theme or idea.  The Message is about your product and its value to your potential clients. Your product and how it can meet the needs of your clients should be the core message. The theme should not be about the features – the recited list of all the things your product can do. 

The theme of The Message should be the advantages of those features.  Explicit uncovered needs they solve for your clients. An example;

“Mr. Jones, our product has a lifetime replacement guarantee (feature) which, based on your previous experience with another product that failed, would be important and provide you with peace of mind (benefit of the feature).” 

#3 – A Messenger’s mission. The Message would also incorporate your personal mission. In Sales Crumbs from the Master’s Table, Matt’s mission was to “Help People Build Generational Wealth” and he conveyed that message to his clients very effectively.  

You must do that as well. Integrate your mission into your communication of the product, features and benefits. You must create a comprehensive and compelling interaction that will resonate with clients and move them affirmatively into the buying phase. 

The Messenger’s mission is the blend of what you believe…not what you are trained or told to believe about yourself and your product. It has to be built on sincerity, your knowledge and your experiences up to this point. 

As time goes on, you will build the intensity of all three of the core elements of The Message. Eventually, you will be a walking extension of the product and you will no longer be selling…you will simply “be” the product. 

That state of being is Nirvana for salespeople! 

Clients and prospective clients want to “feel” that you believe in what you are doing, what you are saying and what you are selling. They want to believe… 

The Message.