When exactly do your customers need you?
[Free Framework] Lead gen becomes so much easier when you can pin-point the moment your customers need you.
Most B2B marketing teams nail the high-level “outcome” of their product.
✔ Streamline internal processes.
✔ Simplify data management.
✔ Boost collaboration and efficiency.
It all sounds great… until you realise none of it gets your ideal buyer to stop scrolling, open an email, or say yes to a call.
Why?
Because all of that is high-level. Conceptual. Sanitised.
This is dangerous in the world of lead generation.
When you’re playing with a matter of seconds (or even a moment), you need to hit your buyer right in the heart of their need.
Like bringing up politics at Christmas - you need to trigger people.
You need to hit your buyer right at the moment they sub-consciously think “argh! You know what I need?… {insert your product’s capability here}.
Lead generation doesn’t work at the conceptual level.
It works at the moment of felt need.
The secret to good lead gen? Timing & frustration!
Lead gen isn’t about casting a wide net and hoping the right fish bite (despite what the majority of lead generation looks like today…).
It’s about knowing exactly which fish you want,
when they’re most likely to bite, and
why they’re hungry in the first place.
Let me explain with an (hopefully unrelatable) example:
Imagine there is someone who dreads putting on a tie each morning for work.
They don’t want to look slick, they simply have to.
It’s frustrating. It’s uncomfortable. It’s a daily identity crisis wrapped in polyester.
Now imagine they’re scrolling on their phone the minute they wake up. Dreading their incoming tie tying. Then ad ad pops up on their phone and says:
“Don’t compromise who you are. Save time and make your boss happy with one of our clip-on ties!”
Boom. They’ve met their buyer right at the moment of friction, and offered a solution so contextual it feels like magic. (magic = emotional trigger).
This is where most B2B messaging falls flat
Let’s take the B2B calendar booking SaaS product, Calendly.
At a high level, the value prop is:
“Automate your scheduling. Streamline your calendar. Save time.”
Great. But it’s not visceral.
It’s of course what we all want, but it’s so high level, there’s not an emotion in sight!
It makes me think - I guess that sounds nice.
Until I read the next ad that says the exact same thing…
Now imagine reframing it for someone who’s just been through their 7th cumbersome email reply to an annoying prospect who’s trying to book a meeting:
“When you’re on email #7 trying to book a meeting and THAT prospect who is 1 reply away from ghosting you...You’re not selling anymore, you’re in a calendar negotiation and no one is winning…
Well… We can fix that.”
See the difference?
You’ve entered their lived experience. Not your product’s.
Even if the person isn’t in this situation, they’ll probably understand the feeling and will want to avoid it before it happens next.
The “When Do They Need You?” Framework
This is why I built a simple framework to help founders and marketers figure out exactly when their customers feel that tension.
I use it as a handy self-check and direction for all my short term lead gen.
It’s not just what the value prop is - it’s when and why that hit hardest.
Think of this as a demand trigger discovery tool.
The goal is similar to establishing your value prop, but with a few added points.
Create a narrative from the moment a customer needs you, right up to the promise you make to your market to serve this need.
Because people don’t care about your product.
They care about what you can promise them.
Feel free to copy or download this, and use it yourself!
For context and a lived example, here is an this framework using Canva:
Using the above framework, you could experiment with a range of pitches, ads and content to get your potential buyers hooked on what you have to offer.
For example:
“Tired of being embarrassed from those social posts built in PowerPoint?”
“Waiting a week for your designer to slightly tweak a basic social post?”
“Feeling like using photoshop requires a 10 year apprenticeship?”
It’s specific. It’s emotional. And most importantly - it meets the buyer in their moment.
You’ll know it’s the moment when you’re buyers say the golden phrase “omg yes, that’s it!”
Why this matters for lead gen
Lead gen is demand capture.
But demand doesn’t come from features - it comes from friction and needs.
Your job is to:
Identify the specific point in time when your product matters most.
Design your messaging around that moment.
Deliver it in the channels where that buyer is most likely to be.
This is what separates forgettable ads from “holy sh*t, I needed this!”.
It’s also why most outsourced lead gen fails miserably.
They focus on outputs. You need to focus on triggers.
TL;DR: Stop selling your product. Start selling the moment.
If you want to win in lead gen, don’t just build a better value prop…
Find the moment your buyer hates their current situation, and is yearning for change.
Then meet them there.
Then say:
“Hey, you don’t need to live like this. Try this instead.”
When you make your messaging about them and their moment—not you and your product - you stop interrupting, and start resonating.
That’s when real demand gets captured.
I’m always curious to hear what others think - so comment what you think works best to hook buyers in lead generation 👇
And as always, please ❤️like this post so I know what content you do/don’t like!