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The real reason you’re speaking to everyone and reaching no one

A $5,000 message

Picture this:

The manager at your favorite wine bar offers you $5,000 if you can send one quick message to your friends and get at least half of them to show up for a wine tasting tonight.

Easy, right?

You already love the place. You know exactly why it’s great.

You start typing… and immediately run into a problem.

Michelle cares about organic, sustainable wines. Norma just wants easy parking and somewhere quiet. Lynn would love that it’s locally and women-owned.

You could list all of that.

But you already know what happens when you do.

It won’t work.

Because what each person needs to hear before they say yes is completely different.

So here’s the question:

Are you willing to risk getting the message wrong?

Why your message isn’t landing

Here’s the problem.

This isn’t because you don’t know what to say. You’re struggling because you’re trying to say it to everyone at once.

So the message turns into a greatest hits list.

A little bit of this. A little bit of that. Enough to sound relevant to everyone… and specific to no one.

That’s the tradeoff most people don’t realize they’re making.

In trying to appeal to everyone, you give no one a reason to move.

And that’s how you end up with a message that looks good on paper but doesn’t connect or earn trust.

That’s also exactly why one buyer persona isn’t enough.

Last week, we talked about why “CEO Suzie” isn’t helping you write better messaging. This is the next layer of that.

So, how many personas do you actually need?

I’m going to give you the most annoying answer possible.

It depends.

What I can tell you is this:

One isn’t enough. Ten is overkill.

You’re either oversimplifying your buyer or overcomplicating your message.

(Unless you’re navigating multiple markets or verticals, in which case you’re solving for something else entirely.)

The right number isn’t determined by how many people fit your audience. It’s determined by how decisions get made. The more layers in the decision, the more nuance your messaging needs to reflect.

There are two kinds of complexity

If you’re working with solo founders, you might be thinking:

“Okay, but they’re the decision-maker. Isn’t that just one persona?”

Not quite.

• Some are skeptical.
• Some are overwhelmed.
• Some are ready to invest yesterday.
• Some need to understand exactly how this pays off.

You’re still dealing with different ways of thinking.

Which brings us back to Michelle, Norma, and Lynn.

They don’t just want different things; they represent different ways people make decisions.

Michelle → values-driven

Norma → logistics-driven

Lynn → identity-driven

Each of them needs a different reason to say yes.

Now, if you’re selling into a team or organization, it gets more layered.

The person who finds you isn’t always the one who vets you. And the person who vets you isn’t always the one who approves the spend.

It’s one decision, but each role is looking at it differently.

And each of them needs something different before that decision gets made.

What this looks like in practice

Let’s take an organizational change consultant selling into a small to mid-sized company.

This is the kind of breakdown I do with clients before we ever touch a website or sales page.

A department leader might be the one who finds you.

They’re thinking:

We’re not aligned. Teams are moving in different directions. And it’s starting to impact progress on our goals.

They bring it to their CHRO.

Now the questions change:

Is this going to be another one-size-fits-all program? Are we going to be told what to do? Or is this actually tailored to how we operate?

Then it moves to the CEO.

Now it’s: Are my leaders going to buy into this? Will they feel supported or questioned? What’s the likelihood this actually sticks across the organization?

Same service.

But what needs to feel true changes at every step, because each person is asking a different question before they say yes.

What actually goes into a useful persona

Each of these people needs their own persona.

You need a real understanding of what they need to hear to feel confident moving forward.

Let’s take the CHRO.

At a high level, here’s what we know:

Goals:

• Improve alignment across teams
• Support department leaders without disrupting progress
• Drive change that actually sticks

Desires:

• A tailored approach that fits their organization
• Buy-in across leadership
• A smoother path to implementation

Fears:

• Rolling out another initiative that doesn’t land
• Being handed a cookie-cutter framework
• Losing trust with their team

Motivations:

• Creating consistency across the organization
• Strengthening leadership effectiveness
• Delivering on company-wide goals

It’s helpful, but not enough.

This is the point where my clients realize why what they’ve tried before hasn’t translated into messaging that reflects what their buyers actually care about.

A useful persona goes deeper. It also includes:

• What they believe the problem is
• What they’ve already tried
• What they’re skeptical of
• What objections are likely to come up
• What needs to feel true before they move forward
• The exact language they use to describe all of it
• The key messages they need to hear (and in what order)

This is the part that actually gives you enough to write from.

It tells you exactly what she needs to hear to make yes feel easy.

What this actually changes in your messaging

This doesn’t mean you need ten versions of everything.

It means you get clear on who you’re writing to before you start.

You’re not guessing or trying to cover everyone.

You’re deciding:

Who is this for? What do they need to hear? What needs to feel true for them to move forward?

That clarity shapes the message from the beginning.

Whether you’re writing it yourself, guiding your team, or handing it off to a copywriter.

And it helps after you write, too.

Because now you have something to check your work against.

You can look at what’s been written and ask:

Would this resonate with this person? Does this address what they’re actually thinking about? Or did it drift back into something broader and safer?

You’re not just creating content.

You’re creating it with intention—and a way to validate that it lands.

What ties this all together

This isn’t about creating a bunch of different messages. It’s about understanding what sits beneath them.

Michelle, Norma, and Lynn all needed different reasons to say yes.

But there’s still a through-line.

In this case, it might be something like community.

That’s the core idea.

What changes is how it connects.

On your website, that might look like a headline that speaks to community.

And then you show what that actually means in different ways:

• A commitment to sustainability
• A space that’s easy to get to and enjoyable to spend time in
• A locally, women-owned business people feel good supporting

It’s the same idea. You’re just making it relevant to the person reading it.

So… are you willing to risk getting the message wrong?

That $5,000 wine tasting scenario feels a little unrealistic.

But is it?

One client could be worth $5,000. $10,000. $15,000 or more.

And every time you put a message out there, you’re doing the same thing.

You’re trying to get the right people to say yes.

Not everyone.

The right ones.

But if you’re not clear on who you’re speaking to or what they need to hear, you don’t just risk getting ignored.

You risk blending in, being seen and passed over. You risk someone thinking: “This sounds good… but it’s not for me.”

Even when it is.

You’re already sending the message.

The question is whether it’s landing with the person it was meant for—or getting lost somewhere along the way.

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Until next time,

Stacy

Connect with me on LinkedIn

P.S. Not sure if your personas are hitting the right notes? Hit reply and send one my way. I’ll tell you what’s working and give you a quick win to make it even better.

When you’re ready…

1. Looking for the perfect place to use those customer insights? Earn trust with stories that sell. Grab my story-first case study guide.

2. Clarity call: Not sure what’s working? Get clarity on the problem that’s been spinning in your head. (One client called it “therapy for her brand.”)

3. Copy audit: Get a fresh set of eyes on your website, sales page, or key asset. You’ll walk away with a prioritized roadmap of what to fix first and how to fix it.

4. 1:1 positioning, messaging, & copy projects Curious if it’s a good fit? Let’s chat. (Don’t worry. It’s just a conversation. No pressure or hard pitch.)

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