Practical Sales Training™ > Attention > The Did You Know? Effect
The Did You Know? Effect
Most follow ups sound the same. “Just checking in.” “Any update on your decision?” Buyers see these coming, so they delete them before they even open.
The Did You Know? Effect breaks that pattern. Instead of chasing, you lead with something genuinely interesting. There’s no pitch and no pressure, just value first.
What Is It
The Did You Know? Effect means sharing an interesting fact or figure as the theme of your message. It’s not about your product yet. It’s about giving your buyer something worth reading, since that’s what earns their attention in the first place.
Why Does It Work
It works because it leans on information gaps and plain curiosity. A good fact makes people want to know more, so they read on instead of skimming past.
Too many messages are themed around selling or chasing. A fact based message moves away from money for a moment. That’s exactly why it stands out, even to a busy inbox.
How Can You Use It
Think about what’s genuinely interesting in your world. It could be about your industry, your product, or the problem your buyer faces right now. Even a small detail can work, as long as it’s specific.
The bar is simple. It has to be interesting to the person receiving it, not just to you. Say you sell pens, and one lasts five years on a single fill. That’s a fact worth sharing. The fact that Ken from accounts likes scuba diving is not. Nobody buying pens cares about his hobby.
When It Works Best
This effect works best in follow ups, especially when a buyer has gone quiet. Instead of chasing them for a decision, you give them a reason to open your message again.
It also works well early in a relationship, since it builds trust before you’ve asked for anything. You’re leading with value, not a request.
When It Becomes Dangerous
This backfires the moment the fact feels forced or irrelevant. If your buyer can tell you’re using a trick to get a reply, the trust you were building disappears fast. That rarely happens with a genuine fact.
It also fails if the fact has nothing to do with their world. A random statistic with no connection to their problem just feels like noise, even if it’s a true one.
Common Mistakes
Sharing Facts That Don’t Matter
Not every fact deserves a message. Ask yourself if your buyer would actually care, or if you’re just filling space. If it wouldn’t make you pause, it won’t make them pause either, so leave it out.
Jumping Straight To The Pitch
The whole point is leading with value first. If your fact is just a setup for an immediate pitch, buyers see through it fast. That means the trust disappears fast too.
The Did You Know? Effect – An Example
Say you sell CRM software. Instead of following up with “Just checking in to see if you’ve had a chance to decide,” try leading with a fact instead.
Something like this: “Did you know sales teams waste an average of 546 hours a year manually entering data? That’s over 13 full work weeks. Our CRM helps you win that time back automatically.”
This works for a few reasons. It shares a stat that’s relevant and a little surprising. It creates curiosity instead of pressure. In fact, it reframes your product as the fix for a real, measurable problem, rather than just another pitch.
See Also
