Tomorrow

Welcome to The Beat by Rockstar CMO. I’m Ian Truscott, a CMO, trusted advisor, strategy consultant, and Chief Bottle Washer at Rockstar CMO. In this newsletter, I’d like to share a mix of what’s caught my eye, topics from our podcast, and our street knowledge blog.

Hello there!

I’ve seen a few posts recently about the difference between B2C and B2B.

Let’s get the standard stuff out of the way; the similarity is that we sell whatever we sell to humans, hopefully as humanly as possible.

The difference in B2B is that you are probably addressing a buying group, and it’s a considered purchase, a journey to be had that will take time.

What’s the same and different are the emotions involved. They are the same regarding FOMO and the satisfaction of satisfying a need, but sometimes in B2B, the emotions are higher as they involve personal risk, reputation, and livelihoods.

You’ve read all this before, but something I’ve been considering this week is that the primary difference is that in B2B, we are not usually satisfying an immediate need like you do in B2C; we are solving a problem for someone tomorrow.

Solving a problem for tomorrow requires a shared vision with the buyer. They must see what the product or solution will do for them and what a better tomorrow will look like.

I’ve shared this before, but I’m a long-time fan of the content structure that Andy Raskin shared in The Greatest Sales Deck I’ve Ever Seen (written 8 years ago - gasp!), which goes like this:

#1. Name a Big, Relevant Change in the World

#2. Show There’ll Be Winners and Losers

#3. Tease the Promised Land

#4. Introduce Features as “Magic Gifts” for Overcoming Obstacles to the Promised Land

#5. Present Evidence that You Can Make the Story Come True

You notice that it is only at the end that we start to talk about ourselves or our product. It’s about painting a picture of tomorrow—what’s happening, what will happen positively and negatively, and the promised land of tomorrow.

As you know, I use song titles as the subject line for this newsletter, and this topic gives me an excuse to share a tune from my youth; probably not that well known, but it’s Tomorrow by Omar, an artist I have seen live and a splendid drop of early 90’s acid jazz.

Thanks for reading, hope you’ve had a good week, and please click on some of the links below, even if it is just to let me know you are real :-)

Cheers!

Ian

Ian Truscott | Chief Bottle Washer Rockstar CMO

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