1: “A lot of people enjoy the Geico gecko commercials,” Erik Peterson and Tim Riesterer write in their book Conversations That Win the Complex Sale.
“They’re fun, and they get your attention,” the authors note.
Beyond entertainment, these commercials clearly communicate Geico’s main value proposition in just 30 seconds: “Fifteen minutes can save you 15 percent or more on your car insurance.”
“It’s perfect,” they note. “Simple, specific, and provoking.”
The authors highlight how Geico’s concise, direct messaging stands out from the complexity of typical branding exercises, which often overcomplicate their core message and blend in with competitors.
“And, here’s the amazing irony: Most of these statements say absolutely nothing, but at the same time they manage to say the same thing as everyone else.”
The Geico example is a textbook illustration of focusing on the “Does” layer [hyperlink] of the Messaging Pyramid.
“Most salespeople,” Erik and Tim observe, “do a good job of talking about the details of their solution—the ‘Is’ layer. And they also do a pretty good job of talking about the high-level value of their solution—the ‘Means’ layer.”
What they often miss is explaining exactly what the prospect will be able to “Do” differently with their proposed solution compared to the competition.
The Geico commercials are a powerful example of the concepts we’ve been exploring this week—Finding your prospects’ pain points, identifying your unique ‘Value Wedge,’ and then turning that into a “Does-level statement” for a “Power Position.”
“It doesn’t talk about the insurance,” Erik and Tim explain. “It talks about what you can do as a result.”
–>Fifteen minutes. Everyone is time-starved. And no one wants to meet with an insurance agent.
Tim had an insurance agent friend who had just retired, who said he was happy to be getting out of the business: “People aren’t going to want to have a relationship with their insurance agent anymore,” he said.
Tim replied, “I hate to break it to you, friend, but people never wanted to have a relationship with their insurance agent.”
–> Save 15 percent or more. “Insurance is a necessary evil,” they write. “No one wants to pay more for it than they have to.” Car insurance is a commodity. Geico makes it easy to see if you are being ripped off and then to make a change. That’s a “Value Wedge” against the competition.
The ultimate power of the Geico message lies in its brevity. As Mark Twain once wrote to a friend at the end of a long letter, “I apologize this letter was so long. I didn’t have time to write a short one.”
Clear, brief messaging requires skill. Delivering a story in seconds demonstrates true mastery.
2: One time, when Erik was teaching Power Messaging to a client’s new-hire class, the company’s Chief Learning Officer (CLO) walked into the room and said, “I need to speak with you right away.”
He paused the training and stepped into the hallway to see what the CLO needed.
She shared that she’d just learned that her CEO wanted to meet later that day to review what each third-party vendor was doing to justify their costs for the new-hire training.
It was about 2 p.m. She said she would postpone the training session because she needed an answer by the end of the day.
Erik replied that that wouldn’t be necessary. He could tell her right now what they were getting out of the training.
“I don’t want just anything,” the CLO said, “I want your best answer. And it needs to be a paragraph or less. But you’ve got to get it to me by 5 p.m.”
Erik said, “Well, here it is:
First, “Your new hires are learning how to simplify their complex message without dumbing it down or robbing it of its power.
Second, “They’re learning how to differentiate themselves from the competition in such a way that customers will actually care about that differentiation, so that at the end of their sales cycles, the conversation isn’t just about how far they can come down on price.
Third, “And finally, they’re learning how to deliver their message in a way that is so memorable that even if the prospect doesn’t make a buying decision for a week or a month or a year after meeting with them, they’ll still remember why they need to choose them.”
The CLO said, “That’s great! Can you say it again? I need to write it down.”
Erik said, “Sure,” and waited until she got a pen and paper, then wrote it down.
Then, before heading back into the class, he asked, “Why did you think I was going to need until the end of the day to answer your question?”
The CLO said, “Since I knew you were running a class, I called all the other vendors who help us with new-hire training to get their answers first. And they all asked if they could have until tomorrow to get back to me.”
Erik was simply sharing the power of “Does-level statements that supported our Power Positions,” the authors note. “That made it easy for him to tell his story short.”
The competition? “They were looking to buy time, starting a fire drill to get something clear, simple, and powerful.”
3: Some may think Geico’s clear, powerful message is simply a result of being the low-price leader. As the authors comment, “Wal-Mart doesn’t require much imagination in its marketing, right?”
In fact, the power of the “Value Wedge,””Power Positioning,” and “Does-level statements” applies even when your prospect is trying to force you into a commodity trap.
The authors share the example of one of their clients, a commercial cleaning services company. “Things don’t get much more commoditized than that,” they note.
The client wanted to persuade owners of multitenant office buildings to choose their cleaning service over other national and local options.
“The company found one of their Power Positions by tapping into the issue of staff health and absenteeism,” Erik and Tim write.
“Get a healthier clean at no extra cost” was their Does-level Power Position statement.
“The landlords used it as a way to differentiate themselves when competing against other landlords offering office space,” the authors share. “They explained to potential renters how their cleaning service uses unique, proven approaches to disinfecting and avoiding cross-contamination to improve building and staff health.”
While the company offered many services, its strong Power Position enabled it to win larger deals and improve closing rates.
More tomorrow.
__________________________
Reflection: Can I clearly explain what my customer can do differently with my solution in one short, memorable sentence?
Action: Write a single, concise “Does-level” statement that captures the core value of my solution in plain language.