Words that make you sound like a vendor
The words and phrases that make a services firm sound like one more vendor to a senior buyer, and what to write instead so you sound like a peer.
3 min read
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Writing in your firm's voice, not a template's
Why outreach templates make every services firm sound the same, and how to write openers that sound like your firm and the people in it.
3 min readCalls or messages for senior buyers
When to call a senior buyer and when to write, why the written message usually goes first, and how a call fits once the hypothesis has landed.
3 min readPut the first meeting agenda in the reply
Why the reply that confirms a first meeting should carry a three-line agenda built on the buyer's own words, and how that one change raises show rates.
3 min readThe meeting ask that doesn't feel like one
Why a cold note should end with a question about the buyer's problem instead of a meeting request, and how that question earns the meeting anyway.
3 min readWhat to do when they say you're wrong
When a buyer says your hypothesis is wrong, the next note decides everything. How to take the correction, ask the right question and earn the meeting.
3 min readTurning a correction into a meeting
When a senior buyer corrects your hypothesis, you're one reply away from a meeting. How to answer a correction so it turns into a real conversation.
3 min readWhy compliments in openers backfire
A compliment in the first line of a cold note signals that a pitch is coming. Why senior buyers tune it out, and what to open with instead.
3 min readPersonalization that isn't flattery
Real personalization is about the buyer's problem, not the buyer. How to tell the difference and write an opener that's specific without flattering.
3 min readOwning every send. Why a human approves
Why every outbound note to a senior buyer needs a person to read and approve it before it goes, and what that person should check before hitting send.
3 min readResearch that takes ten minutes, not two hours
How to run account research in ten minutes without cutting corners, by capping each source at three facts and stopping the moment the hypothesis is clear.
3 min readBuilding the market panel of a 3x3
How to build the market panel of a 3x3, using competitors, peers and the voices a buyer follows to find pressure the company itself won't name.
3 min readThe 3x3 for a private company
How to run a 3x3 research pass on a private company with no filings, where to find public record, social context and market facts that hold up.
3 min readHypotheses for modernization services
How to write a misery hypothesis for modernization work, with the problems buyers really face and an example opener that invites correction.
3 min readWriting for the CFO
How to write a Hypothesis Opening a CFO will read, built on their own filings and the numbers they answer for, with no ROI claims or buzzwords.
3 min readWriting for the technical lead
How to write an opener for the technical lead, the person on the committee who judges whether your firm can do the work and quietly vetoes it if not.
3 min readWriting for the champion, not the buyer
The champion sells your work inside the company. Here's how to write openers and follow-ups that give them the words to carry the case up.
3 min readLinkedIn or email first
Whether to reach a buyer on LinkedIn or email first depends on where they show up and what you found. Here's how to choose and use both well.
3 min read