The other day I was scoping out a new product for a client. I started my investigation on a landing page my client suggested I look at to evaluate the product. Next I spent 90 minutes on a webinar, listening to the presenter teach me about a certain subject and educate me about the product.
All told I probably spent 120 minutes reviewing the product for our client. And at the end of that 120 minutes, here’s what I knew about the product: nothing.
Okay…virtually nothing!!
In all my years of marketing, I have never seen a product engulfed by so much hype. Covered in layer upon layer of over-the-top, unbelievable sales copy on the landing page. On and on yakking during the webinar about himself, his family, lessons he’s learned–all followed by “when I teach you in a minute about…” Of course, that teaching never came.
The landing page, if I had a tape measure, must have been 3 yards long. On the webinar, we were 46 minutes into the chatter, and the presenter still hadn’t told us one thing he promised to “teach” us. Of the 120 minutes, I’m betting that he spent 15–max–on the subject he said he intended to teach us about.
The product could be great. It might be the greatest product on the face of the earth. I’ll never know, and our client will never buy it to find out.
Why was I so offended? I certainly knew there would be a product pitch on the landing page and in the webinar.
I was offended because he made a promise to me he didn’t keep.
He promised to teach me something in his landing page copy. He promised on the webinar to share something I wanted to know about.
He broke his promise each time.
It’s a fine line all of us must walk when we are selling someone on a stage, on a landing page, in a webinar. I think we all get by now that there will be a sales pitch, and that’s okay. That’s business. But we must also give the listener something they value. A tip. Some insight. Something they can take away and use. Something that demonstrates the value in working with us.
And most of all, if we make a promise–and here I’m going to share something of value with you–keep the promise!
First impressions count. Keeping a promise you make is imperative if you want to make a good first impression. Keeping a promise shows you’re a person who does what they say, a person who can be trusted.
Interestingly, the company called me after I listened to the webinar and asked for my feedback. I gave it to them. And today I see they’ve taken down that webinar. Who knows what will go up in its place. At least they heard the message.
So to what might have been the greatest product in the world, I say “we’ll never know.” To you I say, “make sure you keep your promises.”
Go forth and do great things
Martha Hanlon and Chris Williams