Barbell Template Instructions Follow these steps when working
Barbell Template Instructions Follow these steps when working through the Barbell Exercise 1 PURPOSE OF THE MESSAGING WHAT: List the product or service you are selling. Are you promoting a new high-tech product, creating messaging for an upcoming webinar, creating an aftermarket service flyer? WHO: Determine your target audience – perhaps leads you have in your database connected to a specific end market, existing customers who are seeking support options, prospects attending a tradeshow. It is important that you carefully determine who will be consuming the messaging. The more narrowly defined your target audience, the greater the chance your messaging will resonate with them. If you define your audience too generally, your message will likely not be relevant to the audience you are trying to reach and will be drowned out by the noise of their daily onslaught of tag lines and promotions. VEHICLE: How are you going to deliver your messaging? Will it help create copy for your website, brochure, email campaign, product press release, flyer, print ad, or other collateral? TONE: What tone do you want your message to have? The tone must be appropriate for the application. Depending on the application, it might be authoritative, technical, sexy, elite, strong, trustworthy or whimsical. Your tone is different if your buyer persona tends to be an engineer, as compared to an artist, small business owner, or CEO of a large firm. CURRENT BEHAVIOR & FUTURE BEHAVIOR 2 3 How is the target audience behaving now? How do you want them to behave in the future? Future behavior is connected to your CTA (Call to Action). This section typically includes one concise bullet for the current and one for the future behavior. An example of a current behavior of a prospect would be, “I will not fill out the contact information card on your website. ” Examples of future behavior of a prospect after your messaging has done its job is, “I will fill out the contact card. ” “I will call ABC company. ” “I will sign up for the webinar. ” In high dollar sales you don’t want to be unrealistically aggressive, such as listing a future behavior of, “Buy all of my product at full price. ” Think about the call to action that progresses the audience, rather than closes the sale.
Barbell Template Instructions Follow these steps when working through the Barbell Exercise FUTURE BELIEF CURRENT BELIEF 4 5 Again, keep these statements concise and to the point. Current belief statements should be limited to 6 to 12 items and your future belief statements should answer the current belief statements. You may insert some emotion into these statements. A current belief should describe the attitude of your target audience today – how they see your company and offerings today and what problems they face. A future belief is what you want the target audience to believe after they have consumed your messaging. Developing your current and future beliefs statements require careful thought. You are not focusing on features, but instead are looking to communicate an understanding of the benefits your product or service offers. As you create these statements, imagine starting each phrase with “I believe…” Examples of desired future beliefs include: • I’ll have great ROI with this truck. • I will complete jobs faster. • New design will save project time and gas. • ABC will help me configure the flatbed properly. • This equipment will help keep my workers safe. • I can get high-end jobs. • ABC vehicles are reliable Here are some possible current beliefs about ABC Custom Truck Works. • I don’t know who ABC Truck Works is. • ABC is too expensive. • A new landscaper truck can’t make my job easier. Here are other current beliefs associated with the typical problems and needs of a landscaper. • I must keep my workers safe. • I need to complete jobs faster. • Idle labor kills my profit. • I can’t configure the truck myself. • I must have complete reliability. Make sure you are answering the current belief statements with your future belief statements. 6 7 SUPPORT POINTS & THE USP It’s time now to create the output of the Barbell exercise. Develop the support points and the unique selling proposition together, while constantly referencing the future belief section.
Current Belief What do people currently believe about the subject? Do they even know it exists? 4 WHAT: What exactly are we trying to define? What subject are we describing? VEHICLE : What is the medium that we will convey the message to the recipient? Website, literature, ad, etc. ? 1 Ultimately, what do we WANT people to believe about our 5 subject in an ideal situation. Who is the primary audience? What are the pre-conceived notions that we are fighting in the field? WHO: TONE: These beliefs can have some emotion in them. Consider starting each sentence in your mind with, “I believe …” What do we want to sound like? This dictates word choice and overall feeling we want to convey. These are not features, they are benefits the customer will believe if your USP and Support Points do their job. What weaknesses are we trying to overcome? Unique Selling Proposition (USP) Future Belief 7 This is the bridge, or vehicle that will get you from the current to the future. This single promise is the primary outcome from this exercise. It will drive all communications relating to the subject. It is not a tagline. Support Points 2 Current Behavior What reaction is caused by the current belief? How do people respond to the current belief in the marketplace? 6 1. Support point 1. These points are connected to the future beliefs and are the means to move people from the current to future belief. The facts and data that make the future beliefs real and back up your USP. Sprinkle these facts within your document as ways to solidify the USP to your audience. • These bullets reflect support point 1 • • 2. Support point 2 • These bullets reflect support point 2 • • 3. Support point 3 (if necessary) • These bullets reflect support point 3 • • 4. Support point 4 (if necessary) • These bullets reflect support point 3 • • Future Behavior 3 How do we want people to react or what action do we want people to take towards our subject. THIS IS THE OVERALL GOAL!
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