# 9 - Understanding Psychological Reactance
How to increase your prospect engagement
Read time: 4 min.
Welcome to the 9th edition of Scale with Outbound. (if you want to follow my new case studies, you can follow me on LinkedIn).
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Discover how I help my clients reach out to their target customers to book more qualified meetings and generate revenue.
Access my document, processes, experiments, learnings, and failures.
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I'm sharing my learning here with you.
Summary
Unleashing the Power of Experimentation in Outreach
Navigating the Unknown: Journeying through Scenario 1
Breaking Barriers: Experimentation's Triumph over Scenario 2
Results
The Science behind : Understanding Psychological Reactance
The Power of Experimentation in Outreach
In the realm of outreach, there are no guarantees for success.
This is why experimentation is critical to finding the right approach.
In my recent efforts, I performed two scenarios with the same audience group, which consisted of 80 C-level individuals in health-tech companies, my preferred field.
The aim was to retarget non-responsive leads with a different messaging strategy and to see which approach would yield better results.
PS: I don't claim that my approach is the ultimate solution, but it has proven effective.
Navigating the Unknown: Journeying through Scenario 1
The first scenario served as a baseline, using the initial messaging strategy.
These leads are coming from three separate campaigns that accepted my invite on LinkedIn but haven't replied yet.
It was designed to be informative and concise to pique the audience's interest and drive engagement through my landing page.
It was composed of 3 DMs with five days between each message.
Copy details:
DM_1
Hello {{firstname}}
I’m trying to gather {{persona}} feedback about the challenge of {{pick up the most significant challenge}}.
Do your teams struggle with {{ pain assumption that you can solve}}?
This is a common challenge I’ve spotted among X% of {{same kind of persona}} I’ve recently exchanged with.
Happy to swap best practices with your team if this is also your case.
Cheers
DM_2
To give you more details {{firstname}}
By best practices, I meant {{more details about your offering}}
Have your team ever considered using {{your service}}?
DM_3
{{firstname}} - I’ve just published my latest use-case about how I’ve helped {{client}} increase {{ROI}}.
{{link to your use case}}
Worth exploring the same method for {{companyName}}?
Key learnings:
We are not robots = Selling is a mix of solving a pain + building trust + credibility. Building trust = takes time. It won’t work within 15 days if you are trying to push for your product or service.
Remember: According to Chet Holmes - Only 3% of your prospect are ready to buy now.
Redirecting to a landing page without knowing if someone has a problem you can solve for them seems useless.*
PS: *Views are my own - It’s too easy to make generality, but I’m just sharing my results based on my experiment here.
Plus, there are plenty of unknowns in the equation. (Context, Pain, PMF, audience, …)
Breaking Barriers: Experimentation's Triumph over Scenario 2
The second scenario was designed to address the non-responsive leads.
We implemented a new messaging strategy that focused more on empathy and fundamental interest of the prospect. Segmentation is key.
The goal was to establish a stronger connection with the audience.
Copy details:
Message 1
I was browsing your profile and was impressed by your experience {{firstname}},
I am actively looking for inspiring {{job_title}} to interview.
I’m writing on {{your favorite topic}}. I thought you might be a good fit.
PS: If you need to read first to answer, you can find the link to my newsletter channel in my profile, if you don't mind.
I am excited to speak with you.
Message 2
Did you receive my previous message (first name) ?
Message 3
I’m sure you are very busy, but maybe you have someone I can speak with?
Key learnings:
It’s incredible how people are willing to help.
It seems they forgot even if they were pitched three weeks ago. C-level are extremely busy.
Create engagement instead of trying to sell.
Be honest.
Discuss and build credibility.
Discussion about the results
The second scenario yielded a higher response rate and a more engaged audience. (6 discovery calls booked for now.) Hopefully, more to come with referrals ;)
This proves that experimentation is essential in outreach, as it helps us to identify the most effective approach for a particular audience group.
In summary, outreach is not an exact science, so experimentation is crucial in finding the best approach.
Through my investigation of two scenarios, I found that a more sincere messaging strategy effectively engages the audience.
This experience highlights the importance of creating engagement and building credibility before asking someone to purchase your product or service.
Understanding Psychological Reactance : The Science behind
Every time something happens, I’m trying to understand the reason why.
I have found a theory supported by scientific evidence that seems relevant to our use case.
Have you already heard about Psychological Reactance?
Psychological reactance is when individuals feel their freedom of choice or autonomy is threatened or restricted.
In the context of sales and marketing, it can significantly impact consumer behavior.
Nothing is worse than a first cold email starting with this CTA: “Let’s schedule 15’ next week”.
Absolute no-brainer.
When people perceive that their freedom of choice is being undermined, they tend to experience reactance, leading to resistance or defiance against the influence of sales and marketing strategies.
This can result in avoiding the product or service, rejecting persuasive messages, or actively seeking alternative options.
According to experts Robert-Vincent Joule and Jean-Léon Beauvois, persuasive tactics can backfire by triggering a defense mechanism, known as "reactance," by the client. This can result in the prospect refusing to comply with the request.
Their book, "Petit traité de manipulation à l'usage des honnêtes gens," explores the risks of using manipulative behaviors.
I hope you find this content helpful.
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I look forward to seeing you next week.
PS: Here're my last articles if you have missed them
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