A unique marketing strategy to get 1,000 true fans

Welcome to another newsletter of Rocket GTM 🚀, where we talk about go-to-market strategy for $0-$10M ARR startups.

If you haven’t already check out my video podcast The Search For Growth where we break down the biggest stories in the start-up world, interview founders, and share frameworks and principles for entrepreneurial success.

In today’s newsletter we’re talking about an innovative way to get your first 1,000 true fans.

---

When I walked into Suit Supply in San Francisco this summer I knew exactly what I wanted. I needed a lightly tanned suit for a summer wedding. I needed it quick. I had two weeks to find it and tailor it. I had the cash. I had the vision. I wanted to get in. Make the purchase. And get out.

I left the store 55 minutes later infuriated and without a suit.

Little did I know, Suit Supply doesn’t let you just walk in and buy a suit off the shelf. You have to book an appointment with a stylist. They had to consult you on what you wanted.

So when I waited for 50 minutes with a suit in my hand, ready to buy, waiting to be seen by a member of staff. I was told that I needed an appointment for a “fitting” and to come back in two weeks. I said “I’m going to get it tailored somewhere else, I just want to try this on and buy it.” their response? “No can do, come back later”.

Suit Supply just missed out on an $800 sale.

I will likely never shop there agin.

So when I came across this marketing campaign by Walnut.io a few months later I burst out laughing. Walnut’s marketing team hit the nail on the head.

The terrible experience I had in the suit shop is being replicated all over for software buyers.

Below is one of the best marketing campaigns I’ve seen. Give it a watch, and I'll tell you the learnings I took away from it. 👇

On point, right?

Show, don’t tell

People don’t change their mind because you tell them to. No, they must come conclusions on their own volition.

If you want to persuade someone, don’t make statements. Share experiences.

In the above video Walnut doesn’t say “Hey, the current state of sales sucks and it’s a terrible buying experience”, they just demonstrate it instead. They make you live it. Feel it. Experience it.

I talked about how to demonstrate pains on discovery calls by scrapping factual statements like “we find similar customers have X pain” and instead asking powerful questions like “what happens if you left your current process the way it is?”.

In the same way that parents ask their kids “How would you feel if someone spoke to you like that?”. It’s far more effective than saying “Don’t say that. It’s mean.”

Questions are a powerful tool to get customers to experience something first hand. They illuminate a problem and lower the barrier to persuasion. When you stop convincing and start demonstrating, magic happens.

Your customer may be aware of one pain, but how do you demonstrate others?

Take this example. When I was learning French, I struggled with vocabulary. I kept finding myself in situations where I didn’t know the word or phrase I needed to use. A colleague recommended that I increase the amount of books and podcasts I consumed in French.

Her explanation was simple:

“Let’s say you break your arm and go to the hospital, you’re going to learn what the French word for an arm cast is. But you don’t actually have to break your arm to learn the word. Instead of waiting to encounter a real-life scenario to learn a word, read books and you’ll encounter a world of scenarios that you won’t normally come across. Your vocabulary will grow much faster than relying on your personal experience.” - Melissa.

In the same way I experienced new words through books, your customers can experience new pains through stories.

Help your customers experience pains and benefits by 1) asking questions and 2) telling stories.

Start a movement, don’t sell a product

To stand out in the crowd ask yourself “what movement am I starting?”.

For Walnut they started #WeAreProspects

Walnut.io creates personalized and highly interactive demo’s for sales teams to close customers. Their buyers are sales people. Isn’t it odd that they’re creating a movement for buyers? Yes. And that’s exactly why it’s brilliant.

#WeAreProspect represents all the buyers who are fed up with sh*tty sales practices. They’re building a buyer-centric sales solution. By putting buyers on a pedestal it’s clear what they stand for.

Movements stand for something.

What does your movement stand for?

It’s far easier to get raving fans by rallying them around a shared vision than it is to convince them your product is good.

Walnut is going to attract buyer-centric sales teams who want to create an amazing experience for their customers.

Rally your customers around a movement. A vision of a better future. Be the advocate for this movement. You’ll automatically become the defacto solution in the mind’s of your customer. It’s far easier to sell a product if you’ve already sold a vision.

Kudos to Walnut’s marketing team

You nailed it.

👏