There are always two stories at play in any transaction: the personal story someone has in their head and the story of the marketer.
As the marketer, your story is, “I want people to buy my product so my boss is happy and I keep my job and life goes on as planned.” What makes marketing so hard is that the person you want to buy your product doesn’t care about that side of the story because they have their own narrative inside their head. They’re probably thinking, “I don’t want to buy that software because if it doesn’t work out then my boss will be mad that we wasted on time and money on a bunk product.”
These two stories are like oil and water. They don’t mix. If you put this marketer and this customer together, they would immediately repel each other. They’re speaking entirely different languages. Their stories are not compatible.
As the marketer, your job is to step out of selfish mode, and start seeing the other person where they stand. Imagine if the marketer could say, “we know you’re nervous about implementing a new software, that’s why we offer free access to our implementation team and a 100% money back guarantee if you’re not seeing tangible benefits after two months.”
Now that is a story that starts to sound good to the customer. When the story sounds good, people buy. And when people buy, marketers are happy. It’s a win win for everyone involved.
The important part is realizing the route to success is through empathy. Step outside, see people where they are and tell them the story they need to hear. Not because it’s a false story, but because you know their pains and you have a solution that can relieve them.