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The Conversion Protocol

A proprietary technique – Linear B Group

If you have a product that’s marginally better or shinier than the rest, you’ll win.

The biggest challenge in business is selling something new.

No matter how much greater the benefits (or how logical your case) people just mistrust the unfamiliar.

Drawing on the latest psychological techniques, combined with our own communications expertise, we have developed the Conversion Protocol: a guide to changing the way people see the world.

Below, we showcase an overview of the approach. If you would like to know more, get in touch.

To build anything, you must take people on a journey.
You might want them to…

Switch service providers

From Acme Ltd to Ace LLP

Allocate to new asset classes

From liquid to committed

Adopt new processes

From manual to automated

Flip assumptions

From low fat to low sugar

Studies show the classic techniques of changing behaviours are rarely effective.

If you really want people to see things your way… read on

The right goals

Don’t try to ‘convince’ anyone. We like to change our own minds.

‘Soft-hitting‘ goals:

  • Keep people listening
  • Get them asking questions

Open a dialogue

Used too early, hard logic and facts can be counter-productive.

‘Soft-hitting‘ goals:

  • Ask questions of them and listen to the answers
  • Try to integrate their views into your narrative

Drop love bombs

Seeing things differently is mentally and emotionally costly. To do it, people must believe you are on their side.

  • Find common ground
  • Acknowledge their situation and challenges

Drop truth bombs

‘Weight of evidence’ tactics are intellectual ‘brute-force’. This repels most people.

  • Truth bomb: a nugget of information that ‘speaks volumes’ and holds the seed of your idea

Drop, with precision

Show humility

The golden rule of PR is never admit to weakness. The golden rule of soft-hitting communications: ‘fess up early’.

Soft-hitting strategy:

  • Volunteer the weaknesses in your position
  • Earn trust, with disarming honesty

Be suggestive

The golden rule of PR is never admit to weakness. The golden rule of soft-hitting communications: ‘fess up early’.

Soft-hitting messages:

“You may start to notice the market shift in this direction”

Be repetitive

Sadly, most people will accept even obvious contradictions, if repeated often enough.

How much more powerful will be your simple truth, if you…

Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

Profiles: what you really need to know

Classic account-based marketing begins by organising your audience by LinkedIn style personas – job title, sector, experience, etc.

But if you want to change people’s perspective, their most important characteristic is their receptivity to your message.

Therefore, segment your audience – not by job type or industry – but by their openness to change.

Persona Description Features Action
Immovables Representative of the status quo. Tied temperamentally or structurally to the status quo. Unreachable. Accept their position and move on.
Sceptics Active supporter of the status quo. Resistant to change. Reachable. Deploy full ‘Perceptions Protocol’. Converts become powerful advocates.
Novices No strong view held. Effected by general consensus. Not a change-leader. Reached through ‘Repetition’ and social proof.
Receptives Open to engagement. Natural adopter, sometimes constrained by systems/bureaucracy. Deploy logic and evidence sooner.
Advocates An ally. A convert, client or colleague. Leverage their advocacy for social proof.

Campaigns – how to apply the Conversion Protocol

Managing personas

Unlike the LinkedIn persona approach, you will need to assign personas dynamically, as your campaign and engagement with the market unfolds. The idea is to progress people down the chart.

  • Organise your audience by persona, as far as possible.
  • For unknowns, the default persona should be ‘Sceptics’.
  • Capture ‘Novices’ with repetition.
  • Funnel ‘Receptives’ quickly to ‘long-form’ insights.
  • (Ignore ‘Immovables’.)

Content types, by persona

SCEPTICS

This audience should form the basis of any general communications campaign

Target with:

  • Surveys (ask open questions)
  • Green papers (ideas sharing, for debate)
  • Seminars and forum Advertising (repetition)

NOVICES

This audience is most effected by repetition and social proof

Target with:

    • Advertising
    • Testimonials
    • Regular social media postings

RECEPTIVES

Rich content for engaged prospects

Target with:

  • White papers (authoritative)
  • Long form articles Podcasts
  • Direct email marketing.

Linear B Group is expert in helping companies with complex strategic communications challenges. Find out more.