As a content marketer, do you take client success personally if a client rejects your advice, fails to complete your program, or complains they didn’t get what you promised?
Maybe you write them off as a difficult or uncommitted client. Or, do you torture yourself by trying to figure out what you did wrong and how you can fix it?
You want to believe as a content marketer your offer is a solution to your client’s problem. They should be reaping the success benefits, yet they don’t.
What you may not realize is that you are in the role of changing the minds of people who find it hard to change their minds.
The Brain Threat
One of the reasons clients may fail to make beneficial changes is because change itself is an underlying fear and anxiety threat.
Two primary brain areas are involved. You are probably more familiar with the limbic system with its fight or flight responses. The other is the VMPC (ventromedial prefrontal cortex). A large sensory processing area affecting emotions, risk assessment, fear, and decision-making.
Your brain is wonderfully designed to find ways to protect you even if lions and tigers are highly unlikely to cross your path. Today’s dangers are more likely to be your own conscious and unconscious beliefs. These beliefs are known as “cognitive biases” and take many different forms.
Cognitive Biases
- Similar patterns of information processing and thinking that support personal beliefs
- May be held as either conscious or unconscious beliefs
- Affect behavior, judgment, and decision-making
- May appear to be unreasonable, illogical or show poor judgment in relation to circumstances
Confirmation Bias
Clients often have a confirmation bias of preconceived ideas and expectations. Some may think your solution will be a quick fix, it doesn’t require having to learn a whole new process, or require making changes that carry risk or uncertainty.
Anything that may be a challenge for time, learning or having to change can be perceived as a threat.
Even though the benefits would far outweigh the threat of change, the brain’s decision choice is to stay with the status quo and avoid risk and uncertainty. Yes, even when they have fully paid and are not asking for a refund.
Ego Biases
It’s common for clients to also believe they are the masters of control. It’s an illusion that also extends to overestimating their confidence, optimism and being able to plan for everything.
For some, being asked to make changes can be perceived as a threat to these abilities. It can even be interpreted as an attack on freedom of choice. It’s easier to rationalize an illogical reason to abandon ship than to surrender any ego biases.
Authority Bias
Clients also seek out authority figures for their knowledge.
However, there’s a kind of authority bias according to Denise Green, author of Why Brains Hate Advice, where the focus is on superior information rather than personal benefits. In other words, clients want authority information but it doesn’t mean they are going to change and act on it.
Others are clients who resist the authority of the impartial assessment or advice they’ve paid for. This doesn’t seem logical since they claim they want the service yet reject the results.
For them, it’s easier to reject making any changes that challenge their beliefs about their business. It would not be uncommon to avoid success by saying “But, you really don’t understand me, my business, my vision, or what and how I want to make things happen. “
It almost comes down to a test of wills. You the content marketer with a solution versus clients who want your services but are resisting any changes to make them successful.
Client Success
However, that doesn’t that mean there’s nothing you can do!
Researcher Emily Falk found a simple technique that has an effect on cognitive biases. In a study, when subjects were asked to review their personal core values first, they were more receptive to taking subsequent advice.
According to Falk, the act of focusing on core values appears to stimulate the VMPC area of the brain (emotions, risk assessment, fear, and decision-making) changes how it responds to messages.
Doctors find this valuable for patients who are resistant to making changes to improve their health. Having patients focus on their core values first helps them to be more receptive to taking health and life-changing advice.
The same can be applied to clients by using their core value to increase their chances of success when dealing with their own biases.
In the next posting, we’ll explore how to uncover your client’s core values and how you can use them to help your clients achieve greater success.
Do you have any thoughts as to why you think your clients might not take advantage of all the benefits you promote?
Resources:
https://brillianceinc.com/why-brains-hate-advice/
https://www.riskology.co/core-value-therapy/
https://www.nbrii.com/employee-survey-white-papers/do-you-ignore-the-advice-that-you-pay-to-receive/
Image: Pixabay 895383
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It’s really amazing how many people will seek out great information and advice, sometimes spending large sums of money on it, and never implement it. I never thought about it from a bias perspective. Thanks for that!
I was surprised by how many commented on how often they had experienced the same thing. Realizing that cognitive biases can come into play and keep a client from being successful gives us the opportunity to try to find a way to address these issues sooner. At the same time, we can’t beat ourselves up for their failure.
Honestly, I have never thought about why people don’t take the expert advice that they pay for. It just irritates me when they don’t take it.
Now you know.
Hi Joyce,
I am happy to see that discovering a client’s core values and then reminding them to focus on them helps them to make the changes they claim that they want. Indeed, the brain does not like to change..
So right, Rachel. The brain likes to run the show on what it already knows. Then again, there are those people who seek out change and adventure for the brain stimulation that it gives them. For the rest of us, we have to convince our brain it’s worth it to change.
“Even though the benefits would far outweigh the threat of change, the brain’s decision choice is to stay with the status quo and avoid risk and uncertainty. ” Oh, I have someone very close to me who has let this fear control their life. They avoid risk at all costs, even if the risk would provide great benefit. I believe it stems from a traumatic childhood event that left they in a very unstable environment for many years.
Kimba, yes childhood experiences, especially those of a trauma or embarrassing nature can have long term effects. Sometimes they can’t make the connection back to childhood. In general, the brain is responding in protector mode, Every time there is a recognition of a potential threat, there is a behavioral reaction to stay with the status quo rather than taking the risk to encounter those old feelings. It’s good that you’ve made the connection to their childhood experiences and hope that it helps you in understanding their risk aversion.
This same problem creeps up with personal training clients as well. They pay for my services, but when I instruct them on what to eat they insist they know better. Very difficult to change someone’s mind when it comes to nutrition even when they are looking for a solution. Looking forward to your next post!
Getting people to change their eating habits is tough. One of the reasons is that the food industry uses excitotoxins in processed foods. This acts to establish favorable (tasty) memories in the brain that makes you want to crave more of them. Remember Lays Potato Chips where the commercial said, “you just can’t eat one!” Also, emotionally there are a lot of comfort foods people turn to in order to offset stress. It usually takes hearing about healthy foods from all different kinds of sources over a period of time before people are ready to make healthy food choices. So, Just keep putting your good information out there.
I call it the white coat bias since I am a health coach. If a person without a white coat says it, it isn’t as believable as a white coat person saying the same thing. I agree that we start with focus on core values and understanding priorities in order to move forward. Can see how that would work in business to
Yes, there is this authority that is heightened by the white coat effect. And, yet there are also circumstances where medical professionals ignore making healthy lifestyle changes for themselves. So, it can be a complicated issue.
As a health coach, it can be very frustrating when clients choose not to take my advice. But I’ve been learning more about compassion and seeing life from the client’s point of view. Everyone is dealing with things we know nothing about. It’s definitely a shift in mindset, but it saves everyone a lot of grief.
Yes, Carol, this makes it so interesting. There are these obstacles that we many never understand, and yet at times we might learn more by digging a little deeper.
Hi Joyce,
Interesting post and so key to understanding your clients 🙂 So many fantastic tips that will help increase the chances of your client making that choice to work with you. Thanks for sharing as I know there are so many that need to know this info 🙂
Thanks, Joan. It’s a fascinating subject.
It’s making sense of an interesting phenomenon that I’ve noticed regarding the free content that I provide, Joyce, where people sign up and don’t even bother to read or take active steps to study the material which I know personally will help them achieve that instant gratification they want.
Is it fear of finally having a solution? Maybe. I’m going to look closer at the core values and how I can incorporate it into my text with the solution. Perhaps allude to it, not sure…..what I do know is that you’ve got me thinking. Thanks!
Vatasala, as you know there is this marketing principle of giving information away vs. the argument that information is not valued if you don’t charge for it. But, the real question is, what is it that motivates some people to act and others who get motivated but never enough to take action? I think core values and self-beliefs are factors we can address.
Great article Joyce! I never beat myself up over a client’s decision not to work with me, but I do try to understand their reasoning. Quite often the real issue is timing or internal issue more than anything to do with us or our company. Maybe it’s just been luck of the draw, but I’ve never had a client refuse to help me understand their needs better – if anything it helped to build a bridge that I could use later.
You’re right about the external factors that can come into play where a client decides not to work with you. For those who do, obviously you make them feel very comfortable, safe and secure to work with you. Kudos for having those skills.
Joyce, I enjoyed reading your informative post. The mix of scientific research and logic was interesting. As a Business Coach in the purest sense there were times when I questioned how I was working with clients because they would appear to ‘get it’ yet failed to take action. I wondered if my style was not effective. Yet, other clients were taking action and had accelerated the growth of their business.
It was not until I enrolled in a new coaching program, mainly because I wanted to deliver greater results to my clients, and Personal/Life Coaching is a an integral part of the program, that it became much clearer what happens with many clients.
Their beliefs affect their mindset and unless those disempowering beliefs are identified and removed or at least acknowledged, they will not take action; sometimes they cannot take the action they should because it paralyzes them. Strategies are basically ineffective if the mindset is not aligned with their vision and goals. Now that I have that clarity, a mindset discussion, which may involve more than one coaching sessions is a part of my business coaching. You referred to this in several ways in your post.
I look forward to your expansion on the core values in your next post. Thank you.
Yvonne, yes mindset is such an important component of being successful. When clients hit that point of being paralyzed sometimes they can articulate the problem, other times they can’t and get stuck in overwhelm and frustration. Coaching is not as simple as they some make it out to be. I think that’s great that you have a clarity of mindset discussion. Talking about and sorting out core values and beliefs early on can be helpful in moving a client through a process more quickly. Thanks for sharing your process.
I’ve often wondered why people who have health issues and symptoms, don’t listen to them, often until they have no choice. It always appears to me that people are looking for the ‘quick fix’ when it comes to their health. As any of us who have healed a life-threatening illness knows, it actually takes commitment and work. I’d be curious to hear your thoughts on what you believe would work to have people say ‘yes’ to their health, before they have no choice but to. As someone who prefers sharing information with people and trusting them to make their own informed choices, I am starting to wonder if perhaps people respond more to a ‘harder sell’. Thanks Joyce! Always interesting info you share.
Yes, it is a conundrum as to why people won’t pay attention to health advice. There’s still some degree of fear about doctors and medical treatment, and many would prefer not to think about it or have a fatalistic idea of when your time is up, it’s up no matter what. The harder sell idea works for some, but it’s also a fear tactic that can backfire for others. It’s like to the old drug deterrent of “scared straight.”
I was that client who resisted good advice. When I first started my online business and social media marketing I had so much to learn. It was overwhelming and all I wanted was to sell my jewelry. Now several years later I notice I still resist an idea if it means I have to change my style of doing a task. Like using Trello or Pocket or Feedly. All great resources for managing content & ideas but foreign to me, time-consuming and challenging.
Great post.
Thanks Roz for sharing your experiences. Yes, it can be a hassle to adapt to new systems and ways of doing things. In today’s world, we have so many choices and it gets confusing. So, there really has to be a good reason if you are going to make any change in your life or your business.
I deal with this sort of thing on a regular basis because the majority of folks don’t get SEO or PPC and Social Media isn’t understood… so I spend a lot of time trying to explain. I get to the point when I let PIA’s go.. and just know, they don’t get it and sometimes they never will… so be it!
You’re right Kristen, no matter how much you try to explain why something is important, they just don’t get it and you have to let them go. There’s always a hardcore of stick-in-the-mud hard heads, and so be it!
I love your point about focussing on core values as a way to help clients open to change. This is something I do with my clients and it gives them great freedom to succeed using new strategies.
Reba, this, of course, is an area where therapists have more experience in. Working on discovering a client’s core values is key to helping them out of old patterns that no longer are working for them.
Joyce,
I think you article is great and enjoyed the core Values. I agree with you about the core values
AND helping risk assessment
Thank You,
Lori English
Thanks, Lori. Often as marketers, we think the benefits we promote address those values. Then we are disappointed and confused as to why they didn’t follow through.
This is such good advice and I’m looking forward to the next post. I think this could help with anyone who is ‘stuck’ and unwilling to make changes.
I’m excited because the more tools we have to help our clients be successful makes the world a better place.
I do not focus on the benefits of the service as much and also I should pinpoint the need the client is looking for to take action today. Great thought provoking post, thanks for sharing.
Great Sabrina. The more we can clients past their cognitive biases, the more we can really help them.
That is so fascinating. I can’t wait to read more about the clients core values. Great topic.
My site must have hiccupped, so I’m responding again. Hang on part 2 is coming. I had a lot I wanted to say and the post was getting too long. I decided that breaking it into two parts was better. See you next week.
This is fascinating, Joyce. I love how the different areas of the brain respond! I’m blessed in that my editorial clients take my advice. I once thought that was because I’m expensive, and yes, they’d paid for it. But now I’m more attuned to the idea that I’m helping to foster their dreams. Are they overwhelmed at first? Always. as I’m fond of opening with at writers’ conferences: “Writing well really IS rocket science.” But by keeping their dreams and goals always at the forefront, together we take that first step up Mt Everest. And then the next. And then the next . . .
Great piece!
You’re right on target Susan. You have to find that inner drive that is going to get them past their fears and anxieties. I know when I look back at old notes about how to do something, I wonder what all the fuss was about. But, at the time I was tearing my hair out. LOL