Part 5: Go on a Rant
Today, I’ll be sharing the 5th and final hack for writing a great relationship-building email with ease. And I’m excited, because today’s hack allows you to become a true advocate for your customers and prospects.
The hack is to go on a rant.
I mean it! Get irritated about something and then start writing. You will be very surprised with what you’re able to produce when you’re fired up.
While my husband was in-between jobs, he took some freelance work as a consultant for a marketing software company. His job was to get on the phone, and help business owners upload their data, give them some advice on the marketing strategy they wanted to put in place, and then help them get a follow up sequence in place.
One of his greatest frustrations, was having these business owners ask him where they could get more leads, and he had nothing to offer other than Facebook, blogging, or PPC.
“I feel like such a fraud,” he ranted. “We tell everybody the same things. But will Facebook actually work for them? Probably not! But I’ve only get a handful of calls with these clients. I don’t have time to help them find a better source of traffic.”
Well, there is power in anger. And in this case, anger turned into our lead source website wheresmeleads.com.
Sometimes, it takes getting angry before someone is willing to take action; whether that action is losing weight, or standing up to a bully, or demanding a refund for a product or service that failed to meet your expectations.
It can be difficult to get your clients “fired up”, but that doesn’t prevent you from getting worked up and taking a stand. It shows you have passion and you truly care for those you’re connecting with.
Here’s a template for how to start this one:
“I have to admit, I’m a little fired up today.
<Why are you angry?>
<How will your anger help your prospects and customers?>”
Once again, this template is a little rough. So let me give you an example of how it works:
“I have to admit, I’m a little fired up today.
Yesterday, I was speaking with two business consultants who were complaining about their clients. “Needy” is the word they used to describe them. They talked about how their clients wanted them to suggest what technology they should use. The clients wanted their consultants to tell them whether or not the emails they had written were good or not. The clients wanted the consultant’s thoughts on a lead source they were considering.
“They want to know my opinion on everything,” these consultants complained.
Well, I couldn’t listen to their complaining any longer. Because I’ve met far too many consultants who are just like this.
Their business strategy is to make their clients think they know everything there is to know about marketing. They demonstrate why the client needs them and then they complain once the client buys into the idea that the consultant actually knows best.
If you don’t want to be the “everything” go-to for your clients, then don’t position yourself that way. Be the consultant that gives your client direction and then empowers your client to move forward on their own.
Consultants create the clients they have.
As a business owner, who’s looking for help from a consultant, you need to understand what makes one consultant awesome, and another, not so great. Guess what? It has nothing to do with how much they know…”
See how we took something you might be angry about, and turned it into an advantage? Your prospects and customers learn to trust you because:
- You were real. Not many business owners choose to show “weakness” (anger could be considered a weakness). But it is our weaknesses and strengths together that help your prospects and customers feel they know the real you.
- You’re looking out for their best interests. Does it really hurt me that these consultants were complaining? Nope. But my compassion for my prospects and customers is what caused me to react the way I did.
- You’re passionate. If you’re going to buy products or services from someone, wouldn’t you rather buy from the individual who is passionate about what they do?
Do you have to be furious? No. Of course not. But if you find something rubs you the wrong way, and you can twist that irritation to your benefit, you’ve got a great email to write.
Far too often, we make writing complicated. We’re afraid of writing the wrong words or not connecting with our prospects and customers. And we end up spending hours in front of blank computer screen when, really, we just need to write something and move on. You’ll get lots of opportunities to connect with the people in your database.