Buy Lunch for a Salesperson

If you're a copy or content writer, and you're not talking to the sales team, you're making a big mistake.
 
Think about it:
 

• They talk to customers and potential customers every single day. They know first hand about those customers' needs, pain points, goals, and desires.
  
  
• They can tell you which assets you have written are useful, and which ones don't resonate. And why.
  
  
• They are the kings and queens of objection handling. They know what kind of barriers stop people from buying - and how to overcome those barriers.
  
  
• They know the words customers use when they say, "Yes", when they say "No", when they describe whey they bought, when they detail why they didn't, when they decide to repurchase or upgrade, and when they decide to switch to a competitor.
  
  
• They can give you frank feedback on the leads you're sending them. .

 
So book a meeting with a salesperson. Or take them out for a meal. Or beer. Or coffee. Or whatever. And make it a regular thing.
 
Your copy will be stronger for it.
 
And then head over to customer service. For pretty much the same reasons.

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Follow Up

When I brought this up at a seminar, I was asked, "How do you approach people in these other departments?"

I made a joke about approaching them as you would any other human, but then offered some specific questions to help get the information flow going:

• How aware are the customers of the problem we solve?
  
  
• What words to they use to define the problem?
  
  
• What are their biggest complaints and what words do they use most often in these complaints?
  
  
• Why, in their words, did they decide to buy our offering?
  
  
• What, in their words, did they specifically like about buying from us?
  
  
• When they have a problem or misunderstanding, what do you say to make them say, "Got it. Thanks!"