CMO at Consumer Reports | Marketing & Communications Executive | Community Builder | Brand Transformation Expert
I get pitched by vendors 15–20 times a week — and I only understand about 20% of those pitches. Lots of sales people are doing editorial gymnastics (with a little too much help from ChatGPT) to jam in “AI” and “data” while promising vague outcomes like “productivity” and “profitability.” The result? I have no idea what you’re actually selling. Here’s some free advice for sales folks trying to reach marketing decision-makers like me: 1. Do your homework. Reference relevant use cases or current customers in my industry. 👩🏻💻 2. Position yourself in layman’s terms. Tell me who you compete with or typically displace. Context helps. 👯♂️ 3. Map to the right team member. I’m a full-stack CMO. Who do you usually work with: growth, brand, ops? Help me make the right intro. 🕵🏻♂️ 4. Know your audience. If you don’t understand the difference between B2B and B2C, you’ve got bigger problems. 😬 Clear > clever. Every time.
Well said and clarity, context and connecting the dots are key in these types of conversations!
Wait, I'm feeling personally attacked 😂
Great advice, relevant for cold calls too... Simple, direct, to the point. Not feature dumping or trying to go from 0-100 too fast.
Great advice! I’d add that simplicity, consistency, and intentionality in your messaging are crucial—but none of that works if you don’t start with truly knowing your audience. As a presentation design expert, I see firsthand how understanding the audience’s challenges and language is the foundation for clear, impactful communication. Without that, even the simplest pitch can miss the mark. Thanks for highlighting this!
Great insights! Clarity really does make all the difference in communication. 😊
and kudos to you for your willingness to even take the calls. you are a good one. despite the mumbo jumbo.
I believe this is the key: "Know your audience." Many who are crafting the actual copy don't understand the underlying business, products, or customers. I've seen it firsthand. If your marketing team hasn't "lived and breathed" the problems and use cases, they really need to get down and dirty with real customers, unfiltered by the sales team, to understand the real problems customers are trying to solve... in their own words. And, you have to deeply understand those use cases and how your product works and solves them. Without a product marketer to fill those gaps, demand gen folks are usually too busy with writing and digital plumbing to dig in deep. Without these steps, you're left with vague, "me-too" language -- "powered by AI," of course. Devon O'Rourke, I bet you have something to add here.
100% agree. And a shout out to #2 in particular.
The fastest way to lose a decision-maker is making them guess what you do. Khalid El Khatib
Brand & Communications | EliseAI | ex-Brainly
2moSame! Having said that, a few of the best cooperations I had over the years started with a good cold email from a vendor.