“Well, their eyes are going to glaze over listening to that.”
Dave was to present to a group of bored dentists about cyber insurance.
It doesn’t get much funner than that.
And his presentation was typical for the finance world. Boring.
The prevalence of cyber-crime. Its different forms, the business harm it could cause, and the costs of dealing with it.
But
Facts do not motivate or drive behaviour.
They justify. Facts appeal to the cold, rational part of our brain. They are evaluated, scaled, discarded.
To get people interested you must appeal to their feelings.
Fears, anxieties, curiosity, aspirations, hopes. Stories. They capture interest, motivate.
It’s how our brains are hardwired.
For insurance there is a lot of truth to the old saying, “they won’t buy until they see the hearse pulling up outside the front door”.
Dave’s pitch “Why should your dental business have cyber insurance?” was dreary.
So, back to fundamental principles.
To understand his audience, their world, drivers, fears, motivations. And where cyber insurance might fit in.
Out rose the kernel of truth.
Dentists care about their reputation. A lot.
They’ve endured years of relentless study. Taken on the weight of huge student loans and sacrifices to qualify.
Then set themselves up in business. And its entire success is based on one thing: their name and what that represents.
And beyond their business success – the hidden ego, vulnerable part of their psyche. Dentists care deeply about what their peers think of them.
The headline changed to “What Price your Reputation?”
The opening slides honoured the hard work they had put in to become qualified. That their reputation was central to the success of their business, their lifestyle, their status.
How a tarnished reputation could be devastating.
That cyber-crime has moved on from ransomware to identity theft. And health data is highly prized.
That under the current regime, if they were hacked, they had to report it – and be placed on a public register.
They would not want their patients writing in to demand rectification.
The result:
Out of an audience of eighteen, six made immediate enquiries, and two further enquiries rolled in over the next two weeks.
All of them converted into written business.
And Dave has been invited to speak at other industry forums.
If you want to make a real impact on your audience - get them interested, motivated, take action – then start thinking about stories and pitches that connect.
Or get in touch with us and we’ll craft them for you.
To get the outcomes you want.
Contact Alex Meijnen today on 02 4023 5958 or email alex@deliveringresults.com.au
Next, read The High Price of Getting It Wrong