I did some training a while back for a really good client. And something we did had quite a surprising result that I think we all can learn from.

The area we were focusing on was tenders/RFPs and we used a live example of a proposal they were about to work on to bring the training course to life.

The team did a great job and came up with a theme and approach to the proposal that really hit their customer's hot buttons while highlighting their strengths.

At the end of the course, one of the participants made an excellent point…

“You know, we normally would have just ‘gone through the motions' with that proposal and not come up with half the ideas we ended up including”.

It wasn't that we did anything particularly unusual.

We just analysed their customer's request a bit more deeply and used a couple of frameworks I'd developed for them to draw out what was really driving their needs, and what fears they might have about switching suppliers.

What was important was that we tried something different.

We looked at something they'd essentially looked at a hundred times before – but just with a different lens.

And it made a big difference.

Try it the next time you're working on your marketing.

Look at what you're working on through your customer's eyes. Or your competitors'.

Instead of focusing on problems, focus on aspirations – or vice versa.

Instead of your normal benefit-filled headlines – write copy to invoke curiosity or surprise this time.

Do something different. It can work as well for you as it did for me.

Speak soon,