Are You a Confuser or Clarifier?

A couple of quotes from really smart people crossed my desk recently. They highlight a core challenge sales and marketing people need to solve with the messages they create and deliver. Here they are:

“While our access to raw information has grown exponentially, our time to process this information has declined rapidly, which has placed an unprecedented premium on the act of meaning-making.” (George Dyson, Futurist)

“People are information-rich and theory-poor. If you can give them a way of organizing their experience, then their minds are wide open.” (Malcolm Gladwell, Author)

So, the question for you is… Are you a meaning-maker? Do you turn information into theory?

Test yourself, are you a confuser or a clarifier:

Confusers pile information on their prospects and customers assuming that more is better. Clarifiers cut through the clutter and make sense of the data to present usable insights.
Confusers use lots of industry jargon because they assume their prospects and customers like the lingo and it adds credibility. Clarifiers know better and instead use simple, concrete terms along with metaphors and analogies to make sure their audience understands.
Confusers ask lots of questions, expecting their prospects and customers to blurt profound pains and answers they are looking for. Clarifiers know their audience is wondering if they need to change and are looking for relevant, unique ideas on why they should do something different.
Confusers use lots of words in their campaigns, communications tools and presentations. Clarifiers tell engaging stories and use lots of visual support including hand drawings and infographics.

This is especially important for your marketing lead generation efforts. Brain science research proves that people respond better to emotional, visual and spoken-­word messaging, yet most B2B demand generation still relies heavily on volumes of written content like whitepapers. Talk about being a confuser. If you want to engage prospects and disrupt their current status quo you have to do better. Check out this video to learn about a new visual storytelling approach for your lead generation programs.

Do you have a confuser vs. clarifier example?

Share it with us and we’ll post it so others can test themselves and their messaging.

Filed under: Business-to-Business, Marketing, Sales Tagged: B2B, business-to-business, customer conversation, demand creation, demand generation, lead generation, marketing, marketing messages, sales, sales messaging