Most salespeople are taught to start by asking the prospect what they need.
Sensible. Polite. Also exactly how you end up looking like you'll say anything to win the deal.
The buyer lists their requirements. You nod. Your product can do that. They add another. Apparently, you can do that too. By the end of the meeting you've shape-shifted into the precise thing they said they wanted.
And the buyer believes none of it.
Start with the ransom note
A ransom note is the opposite approach.
It's a short, blunt declaration of the things a prospect must believe for you to be right for each other.
This is who we are.
This is how we see the world.
This is the problem everyone else has failed to acknowledge.
This is why we built our technology the way we did.
Draw a line in the sand - a declaration - telling the prospect that you have a philosophy, and that the sale only makes sense if they share enough of it.
That sounds exclusionary because it is.
The buyer should qualify themselves
Buyers are professionally distrustful of salespeople. They assume you'll say what needs to be said, change what needs to be changed and promise what needs to be promised. All to get your hands on their wallet.
Using a ransom note in your pitch breaks that pattern.
You become less available. Instead of auditioning for their approval, you ask whether they qualify for yours.
Think about the psychology. Your needy friend that used to chase girls and repel them by being over-keen, and the cool kid that didn’t seem bothered had everyone chasing them.
Get them to chase after you for a little bit!
A prospect that agrees with your view will have an evangelical response and become a champion. Anyone less sure will be lured into the open to have a discussion.
Anyone that passionately disagrees? They were never meant to be customers and, frankly, it’s better to find that out ASAP.
Make yourself Marmite
For anyone outside Britain, Marmite is a spread we use on toast with a taste that divides people violently.
In 1996, its advertising stopped pretending otherwise. The brand embraced the line "Love it or Hate it" and turned polarisation into its identity.
Marmite didn't become weaker by admitting some people couldn't stand it. It gave the people who loved it a flag to gather around.
Your positioning should do the same.
Most companies are terrified of a strong negative response, so they sand every opinion down until nobody could possibly object.
They become beige.
Beige rarely creates detractors. It doesn't create evangelists either.
A stronger position will repel some prospects. Fine. Those were probably the prospects who would demand endless compromises, grind your margins down and still leave disappointed.
Your ransom note doesn't need to be theatrical. It needs to be true.
And just so no one misunderstands. I’m not telling you to abandon discovery, but know that provoking a strong positive response is often the perfect setup for a good fact-find.