Writing Product Descriptions That Sell

Your prospects are lying to you. Not about budget.... About what's really stopping them from buying. Most sellers spend 90% of their time convincing people why they SHOULD buy. But completely ignore why they WON'T. It's like Eminem in 8 Mile. Remember that final battle? He called out every single reason someone could use against him. Took away their ammo. Left them speechless. That's exactly what you should be doing in sales. The Unspoken Objections (The Real Reasons People Don't Buy): Fear - "What if this doesn't work and I look stupid?" - what do you think your prospects are afraid of with your product, get ahead of it. Pain of Change - "Learning something new sounds exhausting" - how hard do your prospects believe the change process will be? Uncertainty - "I don't trust that this will actually deliver" - Have they ever done something like this before? Past Experience - "We tried something like this before..." Ego/Commitment - "Admitting we need help means I've failed" Being Wrong - "What if I pick the wrong solution?" Things are OK - "We're not dying, so why rock the boat?" Lack of Understanding - "I don't even know what this does" Most reps pray these never come up. Winners address them before they're even thought. The 8 Mile Approach to Selling: Instead of: "Our product increases productivity by 47%" Try: "I know you're probably thinking 'another tool to learn' - here's why this one's different..." Instead of: "We have 500 happy customers" Try: "You've probably been burned by vendors before. Here's what we do differently..." Instead of: Hoping they don't bring up price Try: "Yes, we're expensive. Here's why companies still choose us..." When you proactively address the unspoken objections: 1. You build massive trust (they think "wow, they get it") 2. You control the narrative 3. You eliminate their escape routes 4. You sound like a peer, not a pitcher The uncomfortable truth? People don't buy because of what you tell them. They don't buy because of what they tell themselves. And if you're not addressing what they're telling themselves, you're just another rep making noise. Stop selling features. Start dismantling fears. Your close rate will thank you. Sit down. Map these out in the messaging process (this applies to outbound just as much as it does demos) Get to work. Now everybody from the 313...

A brochure gets ignored. A story inspires action. Which is your brand creating? “If your stories are all about your products and services, that’s not storytelling. It’s a brochure.” – Jay Baer The best marketing doesn’t sell a product; it tells a story. But too many brands fall into the trap of brochure writing, thinking it’s enough to drive action. Here’s the thing: Your audience doesn’t want a sales pitch—they want a story that resonates. Why storytelling matters: ↳ Stories engage emotions, inspire action, and create lasting impressions. ↳ They transform your brand from just another seller into something people remember. The problem with brochure marketing: ↳ It’s all about YOU, not your audience. ↳ It lists features instead of benefits. ↳ It lacks emotional depth, leaving your audience unengaged. Here’s how to make your stories resonate: 1️⃣ Put the customer in the spotlight ↳ Instead of “Our app saves time,” say, “Mike spends evenings with his kids, thanks to our app.” 2️⃣ Focus on transformation, not transaction ↳ Show how your product solves problems or fulfills dreams—create impact. 3️⃣ Use relatable characters ↳ Real customers, fictional personas, or even your team can bring a human element. 4️⃣ Create an emotional hook ↳ Make them laugh, cry, or feel inspired. “How Sarah overcame stress and built her dream home.” 5️⃣ Keep it authentic ↳ Forget the jargon and speak the language your audience trusts. The difference between a brochure and a story? ↳ A brochure says, “Here’s what we do.” ↳ A story says, “Here’s why it matters.” ✨ Your turn: Think about your last campaign—did it inspire or just inform? 💬 Let me know your thoughts in the comments! ♻️ Share this with someone who needs to hear it. ✅ Follow Tom Wanek for weekly tips on storytelling and marketing strategy.

Here’s a sales myth. You must present your product in the best light possible. The problem? When you only mention positives, people become skeptical. Why? If you only talk about the upside, it can feel like you're hiding the downside. Nothing is perfect. Example for Spirit Airlines: “30 one-way tickets to major cities across the US. Seat selection, checked bags, carry-on bags, water, and snacks — will cost you extra.” Real estate: “This property backs up to a train track. The train runs twice daily for 5 minutes, at 10 am and 4 pm. It’s part of the reason it’s been sitting this long. However, if you’re looking to get into this neighborhood under $200,000, it might be an option.” Software: “Here are the benefits, and here and the drawbacks.” Being transparent builds trust. And trust is why people choose you. Flaunt your flaws.

I've been in the copywriting space for 10 years and have generated $100’s of millions of dollars for clients.  Here are the 9 most profitable copywriting lessons I've learned along the way: 1. Most Copy Follows the Same Pattern: Headline → Lead → Body → Offer → CTA. Use this structure for every piece of copy: sales pages, emails, ads—everything. Try this today: Take an existing sales page and rearrange it to follow this flow. Notice how it improves clarity. 2. Stop Selling to Everyone: A hungry niche is far more valuable than a big, lukewarm audience. Identify your top 2–3 customer personas and speak directly to them. Try this today: Rewrite one of your marketing emails to address a single, specific persona’s biggest pain point. 3. Your Headline is King: 80% of your effort should go into writing a headline that stops the scroll. Without a powerful headline, no one reads the rest. Try this today: Write 10 variations of a headline for the same offer. Pick the strongest one (or split-test them). 4. Write First, Edit Later: Separate the creative process (writing freely) from the critical process (editing). More words during writing; fewer words after editing. Try this today: Draft an email or ad in one sitting without stopping yourself, then cut it down by 30%. 5. Make it a Slippery Slope: Headline sells the subheadline → subheadline sells the lead → lead sells the body → body sells the CTA → CTA sells the click. Each section teases the next. Try this today: Structure each element on your landing page to create curiosity for the next. 6. People Care About Themselves: They want to know: “What’s in it for me?” Focus your copy on how your product solves their problems or satisfies their desires. Try this today: Count how many times you say “you” versus “I/we” in your copy. Aim for at least a 2:1 ratio. 7. Embrace the Rule of One: One product, one big idea, one CTA per piece of copy. Avoid confusing your reader with multiple offers. Try this today: If you have multiple CTAs in an email or ad, eliminate all but one to see if conversions improve. 8. Be a Friend, Not a Salesman: Show your personality: use relatable language, humor, empathy. Give value first, then ask for the sale. Try this today: Add a personal anecdote or inside joke in your next email to build rapport and trust. 9. Never Start from Scratch: Use proven frameworks (PAS, AIDA, FAB, etc.) to save time and improve results. Frameworks guide your thinking and help you hit the emotional triggers your audience needs. Try this today: Pick one framework (e.g., PAS) and outline your next sales email before filling it in with copy.

If your story doesn't hit in the first 5 seconds It's Over You don’t get minutes to earn attention anymore. You get moments. That’s why the best ads today don’t start by selling. They start by storytelling, fast. Take this campaign: It opens like a zombie thriller. Not a product demo. Not a stat dump. Not a polished brand shot. But a story that grabs your brain before it even knows what it's watching. So why does it work so well? 📌 It uses genre to create instant tension Within seconds, we’re in a world. It’s not just an ad, it’s a scene. A story. One you can’t look away from. 📌 It anchors emotion before explanation We feel before we understand. That’s what powerful stories do 📌 It educates through narrative By the time we realize the message (synthetic materials take 200+ years to decompose), we’re already emotionally invested. 📌 It aligns cause with creativity This isn’t preachy. It’s precise. The storytelling is the message. The product is the punchline. Want to build content that hits like this? Here’s a storytelling framework to try: 1️⃣ Hook with conflict Every good story starts with tension. Show us something broken, scary, or just plain weird. Make us lean in. 2️⃣ Introduce transformation What changes? What insight or solution comes next? Keep us moving through the arc. 3️⃣ Reveal your message last Don’t start with “what”, start with “why care.” Let the product or idea emerge from the emotion. 4️⃣ Make it feel cinematic Use sound, visuals, pacing, not to show off, but to bring your audience into the moment. 5️⃣ Keep it short, sharp, and story-first We’re in the TikTok era. But attention spans haven’t died, they’ve just gotten pickier. Stories still win. Always. The best storytelling doesn’t sell the product. It sells the belief behind the product. And if you want your brand to rise above the noise Stop pitching. Start telling better stories. #storytelling #branding #sellwithstories #marketingtips I share storytelling and creativity to help you and your company sell more and grow. Let's Connect! 1. Try my other course on LinkedIn Learning: https://lnkd.in/gTh8R5Mc 2. Join 10,000 others learning weekly growth tips at: https://lnkd.in/eCDKabp2 Use the 3-Act E.P.I.C Structure to turn stories into sales: https://lnkd.in/e9_eczTG 3. 3 Ways To Grow Guide: https://lnkd.in/gZaq56hT (no sign-up needed)

PagerDuty made one change that took them from "just another tech startup" to a billion dollar player. 👇 Most companies lead with features when they pitch their product. PagerDuty started the same way. Impressive technology, fancy demos, all the bells and whistles. But they were getting lost in a crowded market of digital operations tools. Prospects weren't biting. Then their CEO, Jennifer Tejada, made one critical shift. She stopped talking about what PagerDuty could do and started focusing on what customers were struggling with. Her team conducted in-depth interviews with prospects. They mapped out pain points. They listened to the real problems businesses were facing. 👉 What they discovered changed everything. Companies weren't looking for another digital operations tool. They were drowning in costly downtime and inefficient incident responses. So Tejada shifted the entire messaging strategy. Instead of talking about features, they talked about outcomes. Faster response times. Reduced downtime. Streamlined operations. And what those outcomes meant for their customers. The difference was immediate. Prospects stopped seeing PagerDuty as just another vendor and started seeing them as the solution to their biggest headaches. Without this shift, PagerDuty could have remained lost in the noise. They would have competed on features and price instead of value. They would have stayed just another option instead of becoming the obvious choice. 📌 Here's the lesson: Your value proposition isn't about what you built. It's about what problem you solve. When you lead with customer pain points instead of product features, everything changes. You stop selling and start solving. ✨ Enjoyed this post? Make sure to hit FOLLOW Leslie Venetz for daily posts about B2B sales, leadership, entrepreneurship and mindset.

A year ago, I was that guy—writing copy that sounded like a university thesis. Buzzwords, jargon, and enough fluff to fill a pillow factory. My readers? Confused. My conversions? Nonexistent. Then I stumbled upon brands like Moosejaw and BarkBox. Their copy felt like a friend texting me, not a robot pitching me. That’s when I realized: conversational copy isn’t just “casual.” It’s strategic. It builds trust, makes you memorable, and (most importantly) gets results. Here’s how brands like these taught me to write copy that clicks with people: Conversational copywriting is all about writing like you're talking—no jargon, no sales-y pitch. But how do you nail it? Here’s a guide based on brands that get it right. Thread 🧵 1/ Moosejaw Fun and quirky copy that hooks you instantly. Examples: ✔️ “We love NFTs (Nacho Fun Times).” ✔️ “Remember to season your concrete after shoveling snow.” ✔️ “No, our website isn’t powered by hamsters in wheels… yet.” Takeaway: Don't be afraid to let your personality shine—it’s what makes people remember you. 2/ BarkBox What do they sell? Adorable joy for dogs. ✔️ They use relatable humor + 100% satisfaction guarantees. ✔️ They speak their audience's language—dog parents, not just dog owners. Takeaway: Know your audience. Write for them, not at them. 3/ Innocent Drinks Natural products, natural tone. ✔️ They use ultra-specific details like “botanical” to emphasize quality. ✔️ They lean on transparency to eliminate buyer anxiety. Takeaway: Be real, and get specific—your audience will trust you more. 4/ OkCupid DTF? They redefine it. ✔️ Their copy flips expectations. ✔️ They invite users to define their version of dating. Takeaway: Play with cultural norms to create an emotional connection. 5/ Gymit Copy that feels like a casual gym chat. ✔️ They make gyms approachable—not intimidating. ✔️ The honesty in their tone makes them relatable to everyone, not just fitness buffs. Takeaway: Use language that removes barriers for your audience. 6/ Lego Timeless yet relevant. ✔️ Nostalgia meets values. ✔️ One ad paired a retro toy with a modern message about equality. Takeaway: Tie your brand’s history with current values to create powerful storytelling. Conversational copy isn’t magic—it’s empathy. Think: What would your audience actually want to hear? Then say that.

Here’s a B2B SaaS product marketing play you can steal. It’s called “The Objection Smasher.” Create a public facing landing page and list out the brutally honest 5-10 reasons customers don’t buy your product and why they churn. Every buyer is working through 2-3 vendors and hundreds of features. But they all know they are being sold to. Of course everything you say about your product is going to be glowing. But that’s what everyone is doing. You can shift the conversation to you by earning trust and credibility from sharing the top reasons people don’t buy. Help them buy. Plus: I’d rather have a chance at sharing our POV on the reasons why people don’t buy and controlling the message vs letting them wonder and maybe never even talk to us. Handle the objections upfront before you even get to a sales call and then your sales team isn’t playing defense right from the first call. Sit down with your sales, customer success, and product leaders. Take insights from each team and handle those objections in advance. This could also easily start with a blog post or a LinkedIn post too. Why do this: 1. Addressing your flaws upfront creates trust and credibility - we don't believe in perfect ratings, perfect reviews. I don't like when the waiter tells me everything here is good. That can't be true! 2. Have you seen the movie 8 Mile? "Here! Tell these people something they don't know about me."

Don’t say things like: “This design is high-quality.” “This design is easy to navigate.” “This design is in line with design standards.” “This type of design is popular in the industry.” Instead, say things like: “This design will lead to higher user satisfaction because…” “This design will decrease abandoned checkouts because…” “This design will increase newsletter subscriptions because…” “This design will reduce user questions and complaints because…” Generic language isn’t convincing. Specific, benefits-focused language with supporting explanations performs much better. Understand that and adjust accordingly.