Ever used dating apps?
Well I have and have tried all of them.
I’m an expert of sorts.
Thing is I haven’t gone on a ton of dates. But I’ve gone on good dates. And on incredibly crappy dates.
I like extremes. Extremes teach you invaluable lessons.
They make for interesting stories, too.
Like one of these dates.
She was a “business owner”. I said, cool we must vibe really well, lots in common you know?
Her business? Dog walker.
I’m always trying to be curious and as open minded as possible. I find it opens up a lot of opportunities.
Anyway back to the date. Since at the time I didn’t own a car (didn’t need it), she was going to pick me up and we were going on a walk in the woods! Awesome, I thought.
Only caveat was… she was on the job, walking not one, but 2 dogs.
Cool, I thought, I get to see her in her work environment, how she deals with it and if she’s really passionate about it.
Well, suffice it to say she was indeed passionate about it.
To the point where…
SHE DIDN’T STOP TALKING ABOUT DOGS!
And on our walk we went, and I’ve found myself asking incredibly weird questions about dogs, and their behavior, and her job. Trying to be curious and interested, when in reality…
I just wanted to know more about her! Not about dogs.
I can still feel it.
The dread…and the embarrassing silences, waiting for her to ask something, even a tiny-dog-crap-sized bit of information about me. And of not learning anything really insightful about her personality or character.
Nothing.
If anything I’ve got a ton of education on what a professional dog walking business is like: van maintenance and fitting, cages, how to use multiple leads tied to your wast line, how we as humans “humanize” dogs too much, how she managed her bookings (and how incredibly inefficient I thought that was – ever heard of Calendly?) and on and on.
What’s the point in all of this?
If you care about dog walking as much as I do (not a lot), then you’ve already absorbed the lesson.
Talking about yourself and only about yourself, is the enemy of good, persuasive copy.
And this is true for any time of copy in my experience.
Yes, even for your About us page. People, your prospects, don’t want to hear about your awards, your behind the scenes tutorials on how you do your job.
That’s important, but it comes only after you’ve shown them you care about THEM.
They are the center of your attention.
And ironically, in a conversation the more you ask questions, the more you are interested in them (for real, not in a fake or forced way), the more you speak about their desires, fears, pains and goals…
The more they’re like “ok, enough about me tho, TELL ME MORE ABOUT YOURSELF!”
And the flood gates are now open for you to plant the seeds of your persuasive message.
Moral of the story: Don’t date professional dog walkers.
Just kidding, she was cool, just not my type (for reasons you now understand).
The real moral is: talk about your prospects, not ONLY about yourself.
Want to learn how I apply these lessons to any SaaS or eCommerce business?
