Hope, Confidence and Safety

At the start of a buyer journey you're dealing with three elements at once, and you need to convey each of them as quickly and clearly as possible without dwelling on them.

Safety. It's safe for me to vouch for you to my boss. It's safe for me to mention you in the list of three companies we should explore.

Confidence. A stranger at some company meets you on a home page, in an email, in a brochure or at a conference booth. They bring no confidence to that interaction. You have to supply all of it, so they walk away with a full bucket after arriving with an empty one.

Hope. We understand your negative present and we can shortcut you to a positive future. We've done it for others. We can do it for you. It's okay to hope we're about to solve this problem.

Convey all three, then dispense with them. Treat them as givens. This person just doesn't know you well enough yet to understand that they should have hope, have confidence and feel safe.