Those folks at Eurotunnel know a thing or two about communication.
At the UK terminal in Folkestone, in big old letters on the tarmac, is this sign.
It doesn’t say “Tunnel”, “Car Train”, “Le Eurotunnel”, “Boarding”, “Embarking” or anything like that.
It simply says ‘FRANCE’.
It’s unambiguous.
It’s simple.
And boy, does it get you excited.
Now I’m sure that those proud folk at Eurotunnel love their feat of underwater engineering.
They can tell probably tell you how long the tunnel is in millimetres.
How many man hours it took to build. How many vehicles it can hold.
But they understand that, by the time we’re at the terminal, most of us couldn’t care less.
We’re interested in our destination, not the journey.
Ultimately we just want to get to the land of buttery croissants, oozing cheeses and 5 Euro rosé.
And it got me noticing that lots of businesses make the mistake of selling the tunnel instead of the dream destination.
Is Your Business Selling The Way And Not The Yay?
Clients come to me all the time who can’t understand why they’re not winning more business. Often it’s because they’re selling only the ‘way’ and not the ‘yay’ as well.
They’re focusing solely on the detail of their method instead of creating a feeling of excitement about where they can take their clients.
I see:
– tech businesses lost in the tiniest details of their products
– lawyers immersed in the letter of the law
– consultants banging on about their cutting-edge methodology
And these details are just not as important to their clients as they are to them.
So take a minute to review your website and your materials. Ask yourself:
- Are you focusing on your service’s features more than on their benefits for your clients?
- Are you talking more about process than outcome?
- Are you focusing solely on logical arguments, and forgetting the emotion?
If so, it’s time for a rethink. Put yourself in your clients’ shoes. What’s the feeling you want them to experience?
Make sure you and your clients are headed to the same place. If not, you’re likely to get stuck in that tunnel.