Episode 1087: Your first sentence decides everything
There’s something people forget when selling their offering, and it could cost them everything. Your first sentence decides if anyone keeps listening.
You don’t get a second chance
You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. We think about dressing well and putting our best foot forward, but rarely apply that same care to the very first thing we say. Yet those first few words decide whether someone bothers paying attention to the rest of what we do.
If that first sentence is that important, the obvious question becomes, what should it actually be about?
Start with the problem, not yourself
There’s only one answer worth giving. Start with the problem the buyer faces. Talking about the problem earns attention, because it implies you understand it, and understanding the problem implies you’ve got a solution.
Most people default to talking about themselves, their company, their offering, right out of the gate. It feels natural, but it gives the buyer no reason to keep listening, because it doesn’t tell them anything about their own situation yet.
If you can’t name the problem, buyers assume you can’t solve it
Most people struggle to articulate the problem they solve for their buyer, or can’t do it concisely. That’s a genuine issue, because if you can’t clearly say what problem you solve, it quietly implies you can’t actually solve it.
Being able to state the problem simply and specifically, in that crucial first sentence, is what earns the right to say everything that comes after it.
What’s the first sentence you currently use to explain what you do, and does it start with the problem or with you?
Take Action
Write down the first sentence you currently use to introduce your offering, whether on your website, in a pitch, or in conversation. Check if it opens with the buyer’s problem or with your own company. Rewrite it to lead with the problem first, in language your buyer would recognise instantly.
See Also
- 105+ ways to seize buyer attention
- What To Say To Sell™
- The Trigger Point
- 150+ ways to connect with your buyer
- 100+ ways to differentiate
- The Defined Problem Effect
