But it would be a tremendous mistake to do as LT apparently suggests and let the data try to speak for itself. Instead, you not only need to present the data but tell your readers what it means to them. And often what it means to them is saving time (so maybe they don’t have to work so late), saving money (so they can grow their department or keep their job), closing more sales (so they can earn more commission), increasing their company’s revenue (so they can get a bigger bonus) and in general making themselves more valuable to their employer (so they can win a promotion) — which are pretty emotional benefits to outwardly rational decisions.

Jargon should be avoided unless it is necessary to connect with the reader or is the only or most accepted way to refer to something in the reader’s industry. Otherwise, you should recognize jargon for what it really is: a convenient cover used by people who don’t really know what they’re talking about.

And of course B2B writing can be conversational. It should be just as conversational as the in-person B2B sales pitch. Or does LT believe that a salesperson should deliver an academic lecture rather than engaging in a one-to-one conversation? I want my B2B copy to sound like something you would actually say to a prospect. I want the reader to hear my words in their head. I want to write in short sentences as much as I can. And even use sentence fragments to keep sentences from getting long. I want to make continued reference to “you” so that the reader thinks “me” or “I.”

>OK, I caught myself using B2B, which I suppose is jargon. But it was used in the question, which makes it reasonable to use it in the answer. <

In the end, the main thing LT doesn’t get is that there are different types of buyers with different information and communication needs. Maybe he’s right that some buyers make only rational decisions based solely on the data. But not every buyer. Not even in business. Most of us know that ourselves from the different personalities of our different clients.

If this means that LT won’t like my B2B copy, that’s OK. My clients and their customers do.

Neil Rackham in “Spin Selling” makes the point that discussing extra features reduce sales in the complex sale. This is based on empirical research.

“Selling is Dead” makes the case of different types of complex sales- aggregate demand, vs. new paragigm, etc.

Are you selling to someone who is going to buy something no matter what? Is he replacing existing of the same?

Is the buyer a visionary, an early adopter? Or a conservative? Are you selling a recognized category of solution?

Should all complex large sale marketing be directed at lead generation and account advancement, with the solution selling process generating the USP and final copy?

If you write too much copy, do you lock your self out of having the conversation to consult and formulate the solution?

Maybe there is no answer without answering those questions.

If anyone knows good sources for B2B copywriting that includes considerations for complex large sales, market adoption models, new paradigms, and marketing in those areas, I’d been very interested.

I’d also like to see Bob Bly provide his answer!

Each of these types of people have motivations for buying your product and you have to talk to the emotions behind them. It’s not going to be as emotional as selling teddy bears to parents, but humans are not Mr. Spock and completely logical. There’s some emotion in every decision.

I am not quite convinced.

Businesses are run by people not computers.

Individuals interact with an advertisment, direct mail package or web site. And those same people hand over their credit card and then use the product or service they bought.

I know I am moved by emotional or emotive copy, and not just spec sheets. Copy gets me to the point of wanting to buy, and the spec sheet, which I think LT is saying should be enough to sell the item, assists me in adding logic and reason to my buying choice.

A spec sheet will get me to buy a product, but it will not get me to buy the product from YOU. Emotive copy will.

Fiona Fell
http://www.FionaFell.com.au

(sorry for the typo – letters got lost in my editing)

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This overall discussion is very relevant to a writer who is writing for a B2B client that has NO real “knowledge” of what kind of approach or appeals makes their targeted audience respond best. That is, they haven’t tested extensively or at all … or maybe they don’t have any audience feedback.

I almost always get information from my B2B clients about what irks or fires up their audience … how they like to be approached … etc. For example, I’ve been told that one particular audience was “very literal” and therefore, a certain phrase wouldn’t fly – and so on. That’s shorthand for the kind of info. a seasoned B2B client will pass on about their audience.

When the audience is NOT so defined, the answer is – you’ve got to test. Just as you would with any or type of marketing. See what works best.

Now if you have to advise a client on which way to go, you’d better have some back up to support your stance. And that doesn’t boil down to black and white (emotional versus robotic) … it’s a very multi-faceted sort of thing. And needs to be customized – so going full circle, back to my original comment (or rather question), “What’s most appropriate?”)

I always felt that the logic to emotion balance is different in B2B, but that you still needed some emotion in there. The person making the decision is still a human being. Exact details would depend upon the prospect’s business and situation within the marketplace.

Just my thoughts on it.