The Monday Morning Building Product Advisor
Issue #129

A few weeks back, I pointed out that your product’s best fact is probably already in your technical documents, just waiting for someone to spot it.

Today, I have even tougher news for your marketing team: The best sentence for your presentations is already out there. And your team didn’t write it. An architect did.

OK, OK... easy now... Let me explain by sharing the most useful headline test I know.

Joanna Wiebe, founder of Copyhackers, was once hired to write a headline for a rehab center. The stakes were high, and the audience was tough: people deciding whether to admit they need help.

She could’ve written a headline herself. As one of the best conversion copywriters, it would have been good.

But she took a different approach.

She read hundreds of Amazon reviews of addiction memoirs. Not because they were about rehab, but because that’s where her audience shared their real feelings, without anyone trying to sell them anything. And in those reviews, she found a line from an ordinary person describing their turning point. She used it almost word-for-word and put it at the top of the page:

“If you think you need rehab, you do.”

Wiebe said that headline got about 400% more clicks than the polished, professional version. In other words, the audience’s own words worked better than her own expertise.

Does this sound familiar? It’s like the Rolls-Royce clock story from a few weeks ago, just in a different way. Ogilvy found his headline in the technical documents. Wiebe found hers in the audience. Neither of these great copywriters wrote the winning sentence.

They just knew where to look.

Here’s why I think this works…

When a product rep starts with manufacturer language, architects immediately see you as an outsider.

It’s not personal. But when you use the words we use with each other, it feels different. We don’t think, “Woo-doggy! That’s some good copy!” We’re thinking, “Finally, someone who understands us.”

This test happens in the first 2 sentences of every email or meeting. It’s pass or fail. If we hear our own words, you pass. If we have to translate... then you don’t.

Want to see the difference? Here’s the same pain point described in two ways:

“Specification integrity challenges during the procurement phase.”

...OR...

“Death by a thousand substitution requests.”

The first phrase is how a product rep usually talks. The second is how we talk. An architect actually said that second line during a stressful bid week, and a super-smart rep wrote it down. That’s the main idea: we keep saying your best lines, but you’re probably not capturing them.

So start a file. It doesn’t matter where. It can be a notes app, a legal pad, or the back of your planner. Every time an architect describes a problem in a way that makes you think, “That’s exactly it,” write it down.

Include the exact words, who said it, when, and what it was about.

Where exactly do we say these things?

There are 5 great places to keep your eyes and ears open:

1) In meetings & site walks (listen to the vents & asides, not just answers to your questions)

2) In LinkedIn comment threads (the posts are nice, but the comments are conversations)

3) On your own tech support line

4) At conference Q&A microphones

5) In the RFI and substitution paperwork your company already gets every week.

And there’s a sixth bonus place, which I can’t take credit for.

When I teased this issue on LinkedIn last Friday, a subscriber, Crystal W., suggested one place that wasn't on my original list:

Your competitor’s website.

There you can check the testimonials, which hopefully haven’t been polished by marketing. But you also want to check their FAQ and support pages, because every question a competitor answers publicly is one architects keep asking them. [Sweet! It’s kind of like they already did your homework on architects’ pain points for you. And shared the answers…]

So, thanks again, Crystal! This gave me a chance to show exactly what the capture file can look like when it’s working. Someone made a comment on my LinkedIn post, and I captured it and used it right here.

[Be sure to check out the resource alert below, where I go into a little more detail about each of those “listening posts,” and what to capture.]

There are two important rules…

Verbatim means verbatim. Don’t edit or polish it. The messiness is what makes it unique. For example, “The submittal log looks like a crime board” loses its impact if you change it to “submittal tracking difficulties.”

Steal language from the market, not the mirror. Use Architect A’s phrase when talking to Architect B. Quoting someone’s words back to them in the same meeting shows you’re listening, and you should do that. But the file is for making sure the language from all the architects you’ve met helps you connect with new ones.

I kept this “assignment” small on purpose.

Just capture one sentence this week. An architect will probably describe a problem better than your whole brochure. Write it down exactly. That’s how you’ll make it a habit. And before you know it, your file will grow, and in 6 months your outreach will sound like it was written by your audience.

[Because it was…]

The words came from them. You were just smart enough to write them down.

🔔 Resource Alert:

I’ve put together a “Capture Kit” worksheet for you.

It’s your field guide to all 6 listening posts where architects share the best phrases (a few of which you probably already have easy access to but might be ignoring). It also includes a template to keep your notes useful and a filing method to help you find the right phrase when you’re writing early in the morning.

Reply with the word STEAL, and I’ll send it to you. (And don’t worry… we won’t press charges.)

Final Thoughts:

• This issue is the intentional twin of the Clock newsletter from a few weeks ago. That one showed your best fact is already hiding in the documents. This one shows your best sentence is already in the audience. With both, you don’t have to invent anything. You just need to read and listen.

• There’s another lesson from Joanne Wiebe’s story. She didn’t use a survey because they just show you what people say to researchers. She went where the audience talked to each other, without being sold to. Remember this difference when you decide where to listen.

That's it for this week!

Here's to building more than just buildings, and see you next week,

Neil "stealing-words-not-hearts" Sutton
​Architect | Speaker | The Product Rep Coach

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P.S. Do you really want inside an architect's head?

When you’re ready, there are 3 ways you can start working with me:

• Product reps: If you want to be better at connecting with architects, reply and let's chat.
• Business owners or Team Leaders: You can book an Architect Connections Training for your team. Reply, and I'll send you the details.
• Speaking: If you would like me to present at an upcoming group meeting, get in touch, and let’s talk!

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