B2B founders who come from technical backgrounds (engineers, lawyers, doctors, etc) don't know - or forget - that a big part of effective selling is communicating to the prospect's emotions.
They overlook the fact that they are ultimately selling to human beings, and that our primal "lizard brain" is always active, lurking just below the surface.
These founders often disgorge a bunch of technically correct facts, figures and assertions about their products' capabilities.
But to really amplify the effectiveness of their pitches, they should also paint pictures of what their prospect's future looks like without the product - and what it would look like with it.
In other words, using storytelling to paint a compelling future of how the prospect's life will be improved.
In doing so, they can also layer in "away" and "towards" triggers to ensure they speak to both kinds of human motivation.
"Away" motivational triggers include scarcity or FOMO (Fear of Missing Out).
"Towards" motivational triggers include belonging, humor, nostalgia or luxury.
It's up to you to decide what you want to use - and how much of each to use - but amplifying your pitch with away and towards emotions is much more effective than merely reciting facts.
As a journalist turned legal practitioner who loved getting technical with the law, layering emotion into my pitches was something I had to relearn.
For other technically minded founders, it's something well worth your time to learn (or relearn).
Communicating to your prospects' and customers' emotions will make sales easier and contracts stickier.
Don't just talk to your prospect or customer - talk to the human being behind the prospect and customer.
Give it a try.