Founder, DemandJen | Stop Losing Pipeline to Buyer Status Quo | Keynote Speaker + Sales Trainer for GTM Teams Selling Into Enterprise & Mid-Market
In :43 seconds, here's why I write, speak, and train sellers with the language of "we", not "you". My sweet little Christmas wish is that 2025 brings a retirement of "____ is dead" and "you're doing ___ wrong" LinkedIn hooks. And, that every shelter dog finds a loving home. Probably better odds of the 2nd one happening before the 1st.
There’s a list of maybe 20 things that are black/white do/don’t do’s in sales but nothing is dead or wrong otherwise - it’s simply what fits you, your authentic personality, and what you’re willing to gamble your success on. Take what you like and leave the rest - the magic of sales is that we can build the perfect mix of how we do things that make us uniquely successful.
Jen - Having had so many of these managers who I have jumped through crazy hoops for to create amazing results for only to be pulled up for a "typo" or not doing things the exact way they want, this is refreshing to hear. It's also the kind of leader I try to be when I do manage a team. There are a lot of folks in management positions who need a big ego check and to learn compassionate ways of feedback, especially in marketing.
99% of everyone sucks at this. Yes, you suck too. If you want to suck less, you need to listen to me, the one person in the world who doesn't suck. Sincerely, Person trying to get you to engage with me on LinkedIn by making you feel shit about yourself. (Someone told me this works so don't yell at me I'm just following a viral template.) 🤪
But the algo rewards people who boldly declare "telling people they suck at something is dead" and "you're telling people they're wrong wrong" so here's to 2025 being the year of people actually talking to other humans and not creating content for the machine. Also, amen to finding the shelter animals homes. (Yes, cats too. There I said it.)
The "we" language is so crucial when it comes to public speaking in any form. From a stage, in the board room, or 1:1. This is gold.
This is terrific, as always. You are fantastic in front of the camera, concise and always with effective info. It started me thinking of the importance of pronouns and how we use them. The you/we dynamic is an interesting one. On your topic of dealing with a negative it makes sense. And is generous and supportive. Some here have said using ‘you’ generally is more effective in training or sharing info. In my book I have used ‘we’ as often as it suits the text. I just prefer it as a stance, in all instances. 2025 the year of positivity here? Best we ignore those who don’t play nice until they pick a new sandbox.
"I never want to point out and make someone feel less than they already feel" Kyle Asay please watch this and respond accordingly.
Your last line is perfect, Jen. "This job is hard enough." Why make it harder?!
I love that this came up in my feed. It is true that sales is a hard job already - especially if you are driven and want to achieve great things. I hunt so some days could be looked at negatively (lots of not right now, no etc) but if we want to be successful we also need the internal tools to keep us standing upright and not get crushed by the negative responses or people without helpful solutions. Jen Allen-Knuth is a helpful solution and on the bad days, a light to help us climb out of the pit.
Founder, DemandJen | Stop Losing Pipeline to Buyer Status Quo | Keynote Speaker + Sales Trainer for GTM Teams Selling Into Enterprise & Mid-Market
1dFull interview on Devin Reed's "Reed Between the Lines" show here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JElEWiQJvgI&list=PLi_QIJUUagvABuuGpbK2um1a8fc3Og_mi&index=7&t=2790s (check out his other episodes, too - by far, my favorite content series of 2025)