Message v. Medium

"Sales is stand-up comedy, but with much slower rejection" - me.

NO clue if that joke makes you laugh or not. In the past, I've used it that in my keynote presentation and trainings, and it's gotten some big laughs.

Conversely, other stuff I've written killed on social media has bombed when I told it onstage (thankfully, I didn't "die". Comedy sounds so violent, I know).

The whole jokewriting thing is an amazing phenomenon whose process offers loads of learnings, but today's takeaway is that all messaging we create to connect with prospects has and needs context & nuance. It's kind of inspired by Marshall McLuhan who said "the medium is the message".

As I've mentioned a bunch, bespoke humor can be designed to highlight a challenge you can solve for your prospect can be used - repeatedly - to:

1) Showcase your relevance to your prospect

2) Stand-out by delighting them

3) Elicit an emotional reaction

But in both cold outreach and marketing, prospects appreciate - but are not expecting - funny (scripted) messaging designed to make them laugh.

And while most jokes/scripted messaging can be used across most channels to grab attention, sometimes a given message isn't appropriate for the channel.

Consider some jokes that have come out of my workshops.

Any of these jokes could be used to open a cold email to targeted personas struggling with the pain/problem the joke highlights.

Linkedin connection request notes are another logical spot for each of these jokes.

And if delivered with some gusto/mustard (or as I now call it, 'gustard'), they're a great way to kick off a voicemail or video message.

And while these jokes can be delivered to a prospect during a cold call, it's doubtful they can be used to open one. Sure, it's possible - but tough to pull off (unless, of course, you're using a Cold Opener).

Prospects aren't buying the buzzword-laden messaging that marketing sometimes clings to - which means that marketing messaging may also not work when delivered on a sales/cold call.

And a salesy message may not register with prospects when used in marketing efforts.

Be mindful that your message makes sense for your chosen communication medium. Make sure the words and context are properly received through the filter of the channel.

Have you been frustrated by messaging crafted by marketing that doesn't register with prospects, or if some marketing efforts flopped because messaging used was too salesy?

Call in, let us know.

Oh. My producer just informed me this isn't a talk radio show. And that it's no longer 1995.

Last week, I announced that my self-paced course Cold Openers is live and available for purchase for anyone who's looking to craft bespoke messaging for any form of cold outreach.

I've also created a way for teams to leverage the course, share insights about prospects and problems your company eliminates for them, and craft and find the right opener that resonates with prospects. It's followed-up with 4 group coaching sessions. We'll role play cold calls so that you can master how to open those opening 8 seconds and I'll show you tips on how you can exploit your newfound icebreakers to start more conversations across various cold outreach channels. Get in touch for a quote for early adopters (based on # of reps). Please check out (and share):

coldopeners.com/teams

Get in touch if you have questions.