Strategy and White Papers – Flank with Education

Most people write white papers to sell. They have a particular product and they want people to buy it. So they throw together a white paper and pack it with content in a fancy sales pitch. Our product does this, does that, and it’s better than the competition. The problem most folks don’t realize – Most consumers see through this ego-centric sales pitch. As soon as you start writing about your product, the reader’s defenses  go up and you’ve lost the game. I call this approach ‘head-on collision.’

Head-on collision describes the manner of the sales approach. It’s a one-on-one battle against the potential consumer. You are desperately trying to convince them to buy your product. Likewise, the reader is adamantly ignoring your pitch. And, like with cars, there’s a collision.

A better way to write a paper is to use a flanking strategy. Don’t approach the reader with straight-on, blustery language trying to sell them. Instead, look for an angle that accomplishes the goal of selling, but without the damage of a collision.

One flanking strategy is that of education. By using your white paper to educate, you are raising the information base of your prospect. You are providing real and concrete reasons on the nature of your industry or product-space, rather than the specific features of your product. How does this help you? By educating your readers, you are actually improving their decision making ability.

In the end, this education helps you increase your sales percentage. That is, unless you have a sub-standard product. Which, in that case, you’ve got bigger problems than just your white paper.