I’ve spent the last 20 years writing B2B copy. And I have to admit, my experience is limited to one area: selling. Virtually every piece of copy I’ve written has had the same goal: to part an executive from some money. That might have been for a research report, training course, conference place, magazine subscription (lots of those), professional service contract or online database. So I’d like to look at a four-stage approach to, as John Kennedy once put it, salesmanship in print.
First we’re writing to sell to people at work
Whatever else we know about our reader, we know the following: they’re busy. (Not time-poor, incidentally I’m a fan of, if not a proselytiser for, plain English.) That means one thing. We have to be relevant, not brief. Here’s my point. An executive won’t read a 10 word email if they don’t think it’s relevant; ergo short isn’t better.
Next, our reader is making a business purchase. As writers, we have to uncover and promote the benefits to the business of taking the desired action. Here are a few that tend to be true of most products and services: save money; save time; gain peace of mind (very useful if you’re selling to health and safety managers who don’t want to end up in court); keep ahead of your competitors; keep up with the latest news from your industry; make bigger profits; reduce staff turnover; improve productivity; increase shareholder value. And so on.
You are also usually selling to a decision-making group. So you have to address the needs, motivations and reservations of each member of the group. This might involve sending one brochure with several different letters. Or using variable data printing to include different copy sections for different stakeholders.
Second we’re writing to sell to people
There’s one inescapable fact that a lot of copywriters forget: businesspeople are still people. And even if they do make decisions based on the business benefits, they are also considering how this will affect them personally. So to make a strong and personal connection with your reader, it pays to address the deep-seated concerns they have as human beings.
Here are a few things I know are true of a great many people. They are lazy. They are greedy. They are anxious. They are ambitious. They are vengeful. They are tired. Find the emotional hook, the pathway to their inner motivations, and you can bring the sale closer.
Third we’re writing to sell
At its simplest, selling means focusing on benefits not features. But as writers we can do a lot more to involve our reader. Telling stories is a hugely effective strategy to engage the attention of busy managers. It’s hardwired into the human brain to listen to stories I recently helped a major global publisher write a proposal that started Once upon a time….
Selling also means engaging the heart as well as the head, so using personal language is a great way to start. As pronouns, You and your are far, far better than I, we or us. Selling also means looking at your product from your reader’s point of view. I have lost count of the letters I have opened that begin, Dear Mr Maslen, We are delighted to announce…. Who cares?
Fourth we’re writing
There is no separate language called ‘B2B-ish’. Though to judge from the rubbish I have to wade through regularly, many writers believe the opposite. So use plain English. Why say prior to when before is available? Why say substantial revenue stream enhancement when you just mean a big hike in sales?
And it pays to distinguish between technical vocabulary and the threadbare clichés that fly around most organisations. I have many favourites, but high on my list just now is going forward (as opposed, presumably, to going backward always useful in business).