Creating Compelling Sales Materials

Want your words to actually sell? Here’s a simple roadmap I've found incredibly helpful: Think of crafting your message like taking someone on a mini-journey: 1. Hook them with curiosity: Your headline is the first "hello."  Make it intriguing enough to stop the scroll.  Instead of just saying "Email Marketing Tips," try something like "Want a 20% revenue jump in the next 60 days? (Here's the email secret)."  See the difference? Promise + Specificity = Attention. 2. Tell a story with a villain: This might sound dramatic, but hear me out.  What's the problem your audience is facing?  What's the frustration, the obstacle, the "enemy" they're battling?  For the email example, maybe it's "wasting hours on emails that no one opens."  Giving that problem a name creates an instant connection and a sense of purpose for your solution. 3. Handle the "yeah, but..." in their head: We all have those internal objections.  "I don't have time," "It costs too much," "Will it even work for me?"  Great copy anticipates these doubts and addresses them head-on within the message. 4. Show, don't just tell (Proof!): People are naturally skeptical.  Instead of just saying "it works," show them.  Even a simple "Join thousands of others who've seen real results" adds weight. Testimonials, even short ones, are gold. 5. Make it crystal clear what you want them to do (CTA):   Don't leave them guessing!  "Learn the exact steps in my latest guide" or "Grab your free checklist now" are direct and tell them exactly what to do and what they'll get.  Notice the benefit in the CTA example: "Get sculpted abs in just 4 weeks without dieting." And when you're thinking about where you're sharing this (LinkedIn post, email, etc.), there are different ways to structure your message. The P-A-S (Problem-Agitate-Solution) or A-I-D-A (Attention-Interest-Desire-Action) frameworks are classics for a reason. The core difference I've learned? Good copywriting isn't about shouting about your amazing product. It's about understanding them – their challenges, their desires – and positioning your solution as the answer in a way that feels like a conversation, not a sales pitch.

"We help companies streamline workflows and drive operational efficiencies." Holy shit you just said a whole lotta nothing. Folks, buyers don’t buy "efficiencies." They buy time. They buy certainty. They buy survival. If you wanna get someone's genuine interest, get rid of the generic language and try this instead: 1. Anchor to hard numbers - always. Vague value gets vague reactions. Concrete value is what gets signatures. (Example: “Increase renewal rates by 14% this quarter” - not “improve customer loyalty.”) 2. Make the before/after visceral. Good value articulation shows what life looks like with you versus without you - with pain baked into the “before.” (Example: “Without us: missed launch deadlines, spiraling costs. With us: 17% faster launches, $2.1M annual savings.”) 3. Quantify the cost of inaction. Your biggest competition isn’t another vendor - it’s always, ALWAYS going to be inertia. (Example: "Every quarter without action is a $300K revenue gap you won't get back.") 4. Sell the emotional outcome. Behind every B2B deal is a personal motivator: getting promoted, avoiding risk, hitting a bonus. Speak to THAT. (Example: “This isn’t about another dashboard. It’s about your team exceeding their Q3 targets and you getting full credit.”) Good articulation informs. Great articulation scars. Make your value impossible to unsee.

After processing $6B+ in digital product sales, here are the 7 copywriting rules we see the top sellers follow: 1. WRITE FOR THE BUYER, NOT FOR YOURSELF Most sellers describe what their product IS. The top sellers describe what their product DOES. Nobody cares that your course has 30+ modules, but they care about having a working funnel in 30 days. Lead with the outcome instead. 2. ONE PRODUCT, ONE CLEAR PROMISE The biggest conversion killer we see across our platform is sellers trying to do too much on one page. They list: > 5 benefits > 8 bonuses > 4 guarantees > 3 different audiences the product is “perfect for” Instead, pick ONE clear promise, make it specific, and make it believable. Then build your entire page around proving that one thing is true. 3. KILL THE GENERIC LANGUAGE “High quality” means nothing. “Premium content” means nothing. “Comprehensive guide” means nothing. Sellers who convert use specific, concrete language. So instead of “high-quality templates,” write “36 plug and play email sequences that generated $2.3M for our clients last year.” Specificity is credibility. 4. MAKE THEM FEEL WHAT IT'S LIKE TO OWN IT The buyer can't touch your product. They can't flip through it or try it on, so your copy has to do that work for them. Paint a picture of what life looks like AFTER they buy. Try writing “wake up tomorrow morning, open your ads manager, and launch your first profitable campaign before lunch.” 5. PUT THE MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION FIRST People spend less than 15 seconds on your sales page before they decide to stay or leave. Your headline and the first two lines of copy do 80% of the work. If you bury the transformation at the bottom of the page, nobody will ever see it. 6. USE YOUR CUSTOMER'S ACTUAL WORDS The best copy comes from your customers. Go read your reviews, your DMs, and your support tickets. Find the exact language people use to describe their problem and put those words on your sales page. When a buyer reads their own thoughts in your copy, they trust you instantly. 7. STOP COPYING MANUFACTURER DESCRIPTIONS If you're reselling or white-labeling a digital product and you're using the same description as everyone else, you've already lost. Search engines penalize duplicate content, and buyers can tell when copy feels generic. So write your own description in your own voice (even if it's shorter). Your perspective is what makes it different. If you're driving traffic and not converting, the problem is almost always on the page, not in the ad. Fix the words first.

A B2B SaaS founder came to me with a big problem: Their product was so complex that even their sales team didn’t fully understand it. Their offering had too many steps, too many details, and too much technical jargon. Even the CEO struggled to explain it concisely. So how did we solve for this? 1. We simplified the messaging We stripped away big words and industry jargon, and translated everything into elementary school language. We focused on: - What the user is struggling with - How this product will benefit them - What they care about when shopping around 2. We turned complexity into a clear story We built an interactive case study that walked them through a real-world journey: - Showcasing their relatable problem - Illustrating how the product solves each problem step-by-step
 - Helping prospects see themselves in the story This storytelling approach replaced information overload with empathy and clarity. 3. We built sales-winning materials Here's what we created: a. A one-pager that clearly outlined who it’s for and how it works in a step-by-step format. b. A comparison guide that showed exactly how this product outperforms competitors c. Customer testimonials to build trust Sales reps no longer had to rely on verbal explanations alone. They now had clear, concise materials they could share with prospects and partners. The results? → Salespeople felt more confident explaining the product → Sales calls became shorter and more effective → Prospects understood the value quickly and made decisions faster Content became a go-to resource used by the entire company to communicate their offering consistently. Clarity isn’t just a nice-to-have. It's the difference between struggling to sell and closing deals.

The other day, a founder I know well messaged me: “I’m reworking our outbound approach and thinking of supporting it with some content to warm up interest. But I’ve no idea where to start. What kind of post would actually help generate leads without sounding too salesy?” I asked, “What’s the biggest challenge your buyers are facing right now?” He said: “Honestly? They’re overwhelmed. Too many tools, too much noise, and no clear return on investment.” My response? “Talk about that. Share your take on the problem, and how you’re approaching it differently.” Here’s the thing, sales content doesn’t need to be a pitch. In fact, the best demand generation content isn’t a pitch, it’s a perspective. If you want to spark genuine conversations and generate qualified interest, start by addressing your buyer’s pain points, sticking points, or misconceptions. Be useful, be relevant, be real. It’s not about likes, it’s about trust. So if you work in sales or go-to-market and you’re holding back from posting on LinkedIn, here’s your nudge, you don’t need to be perfect, you just need to get started. Because attention drives conversations, and conversations drive pipeline.

Stop telling on yourself by trying to use big fancy words and complicated explanations. Using big words to sound smart makes you sound less smart. Sales reps think using complex language makes them look professional. They throw around industry jargon and technical terms to prove they know their stuff. But research shows emails written at a third grade reading level get 36% higher response rates than emails with complex language. Your prospects aren't impressed by your vocabulary. They're scanning your email for 3 to 4 seconds trying to decide if it's worth their time. When they see complicated language, their brain registers it as extra work. Complex language creates barriers. It confuses prospects, makes your message harder to digest, and causes frustration. Clear, simple copy helps prospects quickly grasp your message. Clarity is what drives action. I personally aim to write emails at a fifth grade comprehension level. This isn't talking down to anyone. It means using clear language that's easy to understand, even if someone is skimming on their phone between meetings. Make your message so clear that prospects immediately understand the benefits you're offering and feel confident taking the next step. They respond because you made it easy for them to engage. Simple stands out in sales copywriting. 📌 What's one piece of jargon you need to cut from your outreach?

Sales teams are sitting on the most underused follow-up asset: Their CEO's LinkedIn posts. Your CEO posts 3x/week on LinkedIn. Your sales team never references it. That's a missed opportunity. I've been writing LinkedIn content for climate tech CEOs and founders for 2.5+ years. Companies that repurpose founder content for sales enablement shorten their 6-12 month B2B sales cycles. Here's how to write LinkedIn posts your sales team can actually use in follow-ups: Tip 1: Start posts with problems your prospects are facing right now. Open with the exact challenge your ideal customer is dealing with today. Use their language, not yours. For example: "Everyone's talking about scaling from $5M to $20M, but nobody talks about what breaks when you hit $10M." When your sales team follows up, they can say: "Saw our CEO wrote about the challenges at $10M ARR. Curious if you're experiencing any of that?" Instant warm conversation starter. Tip 2: Use the borrowed credibility format to create instant relevance. The format: "I met a [prospect's role] who [achieved impressive result]. Here's what they did differently..." Example: "I met a VP of Operations who cut their energy costs by 40% in 8 months." When your sales team reaches out to similar prospects, they can say, "Our CEO just shared a story about a VP Ops in a similar situation. Thought you'd find it relevant." Tip 3: Reference internal triggers that signal buying readiness. Call out the specific moments when companies realize they need a solution. Things like: "Growing past 5-6 crews," "Drowning in service tickets," "Hitting the limits of spreadsheets." These triggers tell prospects: we know exactly where you are. When sales follows up, they can ask: "Are you hitting any of these inflection points?" It naturally qualifies the prospect. Tip 4: Include real numbers and metrics from your experience. Don't just say "we helped a client save time." Say: "We helped a $25M company reduce their reporting time from 40 hours/month to 4 hours/month." Specific numbers establish credibility and give sales concrete data points to reference. When a prospect asks "can you quantify the impact?", your sales team points to the CEO's post. Tip 5: End with niche-relevant engagement questions that filter for qualified prospects. Don't ask generic questions like "What do you think?" Ask questions that only your ideal customer can meaningfully answer. Examples: • "What's the biggest bottleneck you're hitting between $10M and $20M?" • "CFOs: how are you currently tracking sustainability metrics?" When prospects comment, they're self-identifying as qualified leads. Your sales team can follow up directly with context. — Using CEO content for sales enablement is one of the most underrated tactics in B2B. Your sales team gets warm conversation starters. Your prospects feel understood, not sold to. Your CEO's content drives pipeline. — How often do you repurpose your CEO's LinkedIn content for sales?

In 2014, I found a copywriting book so rare I had to pay $900 for it. The author, Gene Schwartz, died in 1995. But it's still the best copywriting advice I've ever seen: CONTEXT The book is "Breakthrough Advertising" by Gene Schwartz. Back in 2014, they weren't printing new copies, so you had to buy it from a reseller. I paid $900 for a beat-up paperback that looked like it survived a hurricane. These days you can buy it for $199 or so. 1. Sell at the identity level People want to become someone who doesn't need your product anymore. A founder buying productivity software doesn't want better time management. They want to become the type of person who naturally prioritizes the right things. Sell the identity shift, not the tool. Just look at Marlboro. They didn't sell cigarettes - they sold the rugged, independent identity of the "Marlboro Man." They sold that same identity for 30 years straight. (Not endorsing the product, just analyzing the marketing.) 2. Match awareness levels or die People exist at 5 different levels of awareness. Some don't know they have a problem. Others know the problem but not the solution. Others know both but don't know you exist. Your message HAS to match their awareness level or it bounces off. 3. The most sophisticated markets buy based on mechanism, not results When markets mature, everyone promises the same outcomes. Weight loss, more revenue, better productivity…boring. Sophisticated buyers want to know HOW you deliver those results differently. They're buying your unique mechanism, not your generic promise. So, if you’re in a mature market, spend more time refining the HOW instead of the WHAT. 4. Amplify existing beliefs instead of changing them It's easier to amplify what people already believe than to change their minds. If your audience believes "networking is everything," don't try to convince them otherwise…show them how your product amplifies their networking. If they believe "content is king," position yourself as the kingmaker. Swim with the current of their existing beliefs, don't fight against it. --- When it comes to books, I typically look for old ones, especially if they're still popular in inner circles. They're usually founded on principles, and principles never change. While everyone's reading "AI Marketing for 2025" and "TikTok Growth Secrets," the fundamentals haven't budged in decades. Some other books worth reading: 1. Made to Stick - Chip & Dan Heath 2. Scientific Advertising - Claude Hopkins 3. Contagious - Jonah Berger 4. The Copywriter's Handbook - Bob Bly 5. Oversubscribed - Daniel Priestley 6. Obviously Awesome - April Dunford 7. Tested Advertising Methods - John Caples 8. Thinking Fast & Slow - Daniel Kahneman 9. Purple Cow - Seth Godin 10. The Brain Audit - Sean D'Souza What else would you add? 👇

Your audience is smarter than you think I once read a SaaS landing page that explained what a calendar was. Not the product. A calendar. By the third sentence, I had already lost trust. That’s the trap so many companies fall into. But here’s the truth. Your audience is: - Intelligent - Busy - Already exposed to a hundred pitches They know when you are filling space instead of saying something useful. And the second they feel talked down to, you lose them. The copy that works takes a different approach. It: 1. Respects the reader’s context 2. Speaks to what they actually care about 3. Makes them feel understood instead of lectured If you want your copy to resonate, try this checklist: 1. Lead with insight, not fluff 2. Talk about real challenges, not surface-level symptoms 3. Use specifics because vague always fades away 4. Edit for clarity, not cleverness Prospects do not need to be convinced. They need to feel understood. So write as if you are speaking to someone smart across the table. Because you are.

FP&A is bad at storytelling, but it's a key skill and you must get better. Here's how you can tell compelling stories: Example 1: Analyzing budget variances Don't just say: "Marketing expenses are 20% over budget this quarter." Instead, tell a story: "Our strategic shift in marketing spend has driven significant results. While we're 20% over budget, this investment has yielded a 35% increase in qualified leads. Our customer acquisition cost has dropped by 15%, and the sales cycle has shortened by 10 days on average. This translates to a projected revenue increase of 25% next quarter, far outweighing the initial overspend." Example 2: Proposing a financial system upgrade Go beyond: "The new ERP system will cost $2M but save us $500K annually." Paint a bigger picture: "Investing $2M in this ERP upgrade will transform our financial operations. We'll reduce month-end close time from 10 days to 3, freeing up 280 hours monthly for value-added analysis. Real-time reporting will improve decision-making speed by 40%. The system's advanced forecasting capabilities are projected to improve our cash flow management, potentially unlocking $5M in working capital over the next two years." Takeaway? Find patterns in your data that tell your company's story. Bring numbers to life through narrative. Storytelling moves you from number cruncher to strategic partner.