The Growth Newsletter #112

Objection Smashers, 5 questions for better messaging, and Shiny Objective Syndrome  ‌ ‌ ‌ [Demand Curve]( The Growth Newsletter #112 [Read on demandcurve.com]( Welcome everyone! We're now almost 25% of the way through 2023. Absolutely horrifying realization I know.  This week we cover Objection Smashers, 5 questions for better messaging, and Shiny Objective Syndrome.  Thanks to our sponsors [Vanta]( and [The Hustle Daily Show]( for helping keep this newsletter free for everyone!  As always, if you don’t find this valuable, you can unsubscribe at the bottom of this email. If you like it, tell your friends to [subscribe here](. It's the number one way to support the newsie.  –Neal   Together with [Vanta](  Automate compliance. Simplify security. Demonstrate trust. Try Vanta free for 7 days.  [Start your free trial →](   Want to get in front of founders/marketers? [Here's what you need to know]( (new page!). Un-ignorable #2 is coming...  Quick note: Cohort 2 of our popular course, the Un-ignorable Challenge, is coming this April.  You'll learn how to create thumbstoppingly good content and build an audience of future buyers from DC founder, Neal O'Grady, and buyer's psychology expert, Katelyn Bourgoin.  For example, [Eric]( has grown from 20k to 45k followers in ~2 months since the course: We're currently revamping it to make it even better this time.  There are over 3,000 people on the waitlist for just a few hundred spots, and cohort #1 sold out in a mind boggling 6 minutes.  [Join the waitlist]( to get access before the general public.  1. Create an "Objection Smasher" Insight from [Dave Gerhardt](.  You likely have oodles of sales pages on your site, but do you have an “Objection Smasher?”  This is a landing page that lists the top 5-10 reasons why people don’t buy your product or why they churn. Seems like a potentially bad idea telling people how you don't live up to expectations, right?  So, what’s the point of creating an Objection Smasher?  I bet whenever you buy something, you almost always consider multiple products or vendors. And so do your leads.  And since every company is trying to sell to them, they’re usually wary when companies claim that their "the best," or that they're for everyone.  An Objection Smasher builds trust and credibility with potential buyers since it acknowledges upfront why others churn or choose another business over yours.  And you can even weigh in to explain why certain customers aren’t a good fit for your product, or what you’re doing to improve your product further.  Here are a few examples of Objection Smashers: - Drift’s article, “[4 Reasons Customers Quit Drift in 2017](,” lists their top customer complaints and then explains how they’re tackling these issues. - [Monday.com]( chooses a slightly different angle by naming [Salesforce as its best alternative](. The Objection Smasher addresses common objections and builds trust—so chances are the leads who see it yet still continue to move down your marketing funnel will actually convert.  2. 5 questions for better messaging and personas Insight from [Matt Lerner](.  Imagine you own a mountainside rental property and want to attract more applicants. Which of these statements do you find more useful when writing the listing? - George is a single 32-year-old software engineer in Philadelphia. He has a bachelor’s degree, earns $120k/year, and lives in a one-bedroom apartment with his pet dog. - George is feeling cooped up working from his downtown apartment—with very little green space for his energetic border collie. We’re guessing #2.  Knowing that, you would emphasize that your property is dog-friendly, has a yard, and has many nearby nature trails and excellent Wi-Fi.  Then why do we all build customer personas that sound like #1? Focused on demographic details like age, education, and profession.  It’s not that this info is irrelevant—but you’ll attract more of your ideal customer when you focus your messaging around your customers’ frustrations and motivations. Not their demographic and firmographic details.  Otherwise you get this: When developing personas, prioritize answering these questions: - What are prospects stressed about? - Where are they looking for solutions? - What solutions are they trying, and what are their shortcomings? - How do prospects describe success? - What are they nervous about? These questions follow the [jobs-to-be-done (JTBD) framework](, a customer-centered approach where companies focus on meeting users’ real-life needs, aka jobs. Use it to pinpoint where and how your product provides the most value. [Cool stuff]( 3. Don’t succumb to shiny objective syndrome Insight from Rafael Gi ([Bell Curve]().  "If you sell to everyone, you sell to no one." – Common saying remixed many ways.  Most startups get a bad case of shiny objective syndrome: trying to collect a bunch of wins, and sacrificing focus in the process. Examples:  Product: They want to have a “rich feature set.” Which turns into a feature dump. Messaging: They want to make as many sales as possible. Which results in distilled messaging that connects with no one.  The almost-inevitable result: The team spreads itself too thin, employees feel lost, and growth suffers.  Three ways to overcome shiny objective syndrome:  #1) Define your core persona. Make it niche—almost scarily so.  [Lenny Rachitsky calls this]( the “super-specific who.” Examples he shares from companies’ early days: - Substack: “successful veteran online newsletter writers” - Cameo: “B-list athletes in Chicago” #2) Define your north star metric and the levers that move it.  Examples: - Monthly active newsletter subscribers - Orders - Number of transactions per week - Percentage of paid subscribers What levers affect active newsletter subscribers? - New monthly subscriber rate - Unsubscribe rate - Email bounce and spam rate - Open and click rates So, if active newsletter subscribers is the North Star Metric, every one of your growth initiatives should be centered on those levers.  #3) Try fewer channels for more concentrated growth.  Don't invest in Twitter, TikTok, SEO, influencers, Facebook Ads, and cold emails all at once.  Look for the one or two channels that have the greatest chance of success, given your specific goals and constraints.  The seven criteria we recommend considering are: scale, targetability, effort, time to results, intent, context, and cost.  Nail one, scale it up, systemize it, and only then move on.   News and links News you can use: - LinkedIn is integrating GPT-4 tech to add [more AI features]( to the platform. Think: personalized bio suggestions for your profile, AI-generated job descriptions, plus new AI-focused LinkedIn Learning courses. [Microsoft]( and [Google]( are likewise integrating AI support into their respective software ecosystems. - Meta just launched "[Meta Verified](" in the U.S., its paid subscription tier for FB/IG. Is it worth the upgrade? Maybe. If you're building audiences on these platforms, purchasing a blue checkmark is an easy way to demonstrate credibility to users. - On the other hand, Meta is [sunsetting NFTs]( on Facebook and Instagram in less than a year after introducing the feature. - Speaking of features, Instagram is (apparently) working on a [new feature]( that lets you go live only for followers who follow back. For brands, this could be a valuable new way to communicate with your biggest fans and strengthen those core relationships.  Podcast we're loving: [The Hustle Daily Show](*  The Hustle Daily Show gives a daily dose of irreverent, offbeat, and informative takes on business & tech news. It's one of DC writer, Joyce's, favorite podcasts.  Check out their episode: [How Ticketmaster Created its maligned ticket fee system](  Former Ticketmaster CEO Fred Rosen explains how fees gave Ticketmaster a leg up in the live events industry and why we're unlikely to see a competitor charging less than Ticketmaster.  *Sponsored by HubSpot Top new marketing jobs  If you're looking for a top growth role, check out the opportunities below from our [job board](. [Head of Growth Athena Building 1-to-1 partnerships between best-in-class remote Executive Assistants and high-achieving professionals.]( [Sr. Demand Generation Manager Aplos The largest nonprofit & church management software on the market.](   Something fun From [@prettycooltim](   What did you think of this week's newsletter?  [Loved it]( | [Great]( | [Good]( | [Meh]( | [Bad](  If you enjoyed this, please consider sharing it with a friend. The number one way to support us is to share us with fellow founders and marketers.  Who's [Demand Curve](?  We’re on a mission to help make it easier to start, build, and grow companies.  We share high-quality, vetted, and actionable growth content as we learn it from the top 1% of marketers. We democratize senior growth knowledge.  How we can help you grow: - Read our free [playbooks](, [blog articles](, and [teardowns](—we break down the strategies and tactics that fast-growing startups use to grow. - Enroll in the [Growth Program](, our marketing course that has helped 1,000+ founders get traction and scale revenue. - Check out our [Sprints](: short video courses that are laser-focused on a topic in growth. - Want to build an audience of buyers? Join the waitlist for the [Un-Ignorable Challenge](. - Are you a funded startup looking to grow? Our agency, [Bell Curve](, can be your strategic growth partner. - Get your brand in front of our audience by [sponsoring]( this newsletter. See you next week.  — Neal, Grace, Joyce, Dennis, and the DC team. [Neal]( [Neal O'Grady]( [Grace]( [Grace Parazzoli]( [Joyce]( [Joyce Chou]( [Dennis]( [Dennis Buckley](   © 2023 Demand Curve, Inc. 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