Your B2B Sales Content Screams AI and Your Buyers Know it.
- Matthew Earle
- Jun 6
- 6 min read
Updated: Jun 10
Reworked AI Content is Killing Your Credibility Before You Engage With Prospects
Your B2B Sales Content Screams AI And Your Buyers Know it.
As sellers within the B2B tech space, we all know that personal posts, blogs and sales insights are critical for informing prospects on the unique problems you (and only you) solve.
In the modern B2B sales world, buyers are overwhelmed with information. It's therefore critical to cut through that noise with relevant content and to resonate with your key personas.
Recent research indicates that B2B buyers are approximately 70% through their purchasing journey before they engage with a sales representative.
Buyers are already making informed decisions before you or your sellers even engage with them. This means trust, credibility, and relevance must be built through your outreach and "informing" activity.
However, AI generated content will kill that trust and credibility instantly. Your B2B sales content screams AI and your buyers know it.
"Mama, I just killed AI"
Ever seen the Queen Biopic "Bohemian Rhapsody"? From the start it felt like a Wikipedia article in movie form. Everything was chronological, nothing was really controversial (and considering some of the stories of Freddie, we know. there has to be some controversy somewhere). It felt like the writers had shoehorned all of the key parts of the story with no real narrative arc. Watching it now, it feels as if it was generated by AI.
What Are The Tell Tale Signs of AI in the B2B Tech Sales Space?
Bohemian Crap-sody
Thats right. AI content feels like a you're reading a bland Wikipedia article.
"Queen are a British rock band formed in London...."
"Sales is a vital component of any business...."
If I read anything with a first line like the above (even if it's been "edited" by a human or AI has been asked to make it sound less "AI") I can instantly tell that ChatGPT was the culprit. This is an instant no for me. And you can bet, for your B2B prospects too. Whatever great points or insights you were going to make, they will be lost forever, because of your reliance on ChatGPT.
Buzzword Bingo
If you've ever played the popular British past-time of "buzzword bingo" in a 3 hour meeting with marketing then you won't need Bletchley Park to break the AI code in any post or blog. My top 10 most hated buzzwords used liberally by AI are:
"Synergy" /ˈsɪnədʒi/ (noun) Used by 23 year old marketing graduates when referring to the unquantifiable force that justifies bad decision making (e.g., "Let’s leverage our synergies!").
"Leverage" /ˈlɛvərɪdʒ/ (verb) To use something (e.g, resources, relationships, or jargon) in a way that sounds impressive but often really isn't. (For example, "We need to leverage our core competencies to synergise cross-functional deliverables")
"Ideation" /ˌaɪ.diˈeɪ.ʃən/ (noun) To have an idea. In a group. Renamed to justify £10,000 brainstorming workshops (e.g. "Let’s schedule an ideation session to blue-sky this pain point.")
Great B2B sellers use real language.
When I first started my sales career many years ago, I was paranoid because it felt disingenuous to use these terms ("deep dive", "disruptive" FFS). That was until a very tenured and senior sales leader commended me for it.
I was being authentic, credible and demonstrating integrity. Not using them betrayed the confidence I had in my own language. Because of this very kind wisdom that was imparted on me back in the day, I am sensitive to meaningless buzzwords being used in lieu of good old fashioned language.
🔥 Words Are NOT Enough💪
When I see emojis, uppercase or unusual fonts in the first few lines of a blog or post, then I immediately click close and move on. By doing this, you are demonstrating to me, that:
You wanted to paint your post with lots of cartoons and colours to grab unwarranted and unearned attention. Probably because the message is not remotely compelling.
You've just found this amazing tool called ChatGPT and nobody will ever know. All you need to do is copy and paste and voila! You are now a master of your craft 😎
Although humour, and showing that you are human (irony?) is important, we are professional B2B sellers trying to solve serious problems for our customers. We are not sharing jokes about Boris Johnson with our mates on WhatsApp (although these will always be welcomed).
You Are Not In Any Way, Em-Dash-ing
Are you enjoying this blog - really enjoying it? Well you should - I'm a hoot at parties!
Good writers use dashes to support the flow of the story. But since being inundated with ChatGPT content, I have developed an irrational hatred for them. Even when I think they will compliment a sentence I am writing I will not use them. Ever. Humans vary their tone. AI sticks to the formula.
Americanism's, Americanism's Everywhere
Another pet peeve of mine is the language and tone used by the usual "American Sales Bros". You know who I'm talking about.
It blows my mind when I see a well crafted, insightful post, about something relevant and insightful that has 3 likes.
Meanwhile "Sales Bro #128" writes about how he's smashing it, its all about the hustle and that he's just ordered his new Ferrari (which you can have too by the way, if you sign up for this once in a lifetime talk).
AI sounds like every "Sales Bro" or guru you've ever had the misfortune to come across. And certainly to a Brit, is hugely inauthentic and an immediate turn off. Sales is all about trust, and if your tone even so much as whiffs of NFT salesperson, then your credibility is dust.
Good writing shows personality, great writing is clear and insightful, and AI is neither.
Repeating Words. A Lot. Often. Repeating Words A Lot. Often. Did I Just Say That?
Do this simple test. Jot down 2 or 3 points and then ask AI to create content based on them.
I bet you £1000* that the word count will be significantly higher than if you were to write the same thing yourself. You get a bonus point if you feel the narrative taking the long way round to reach a simple point.
Word count will not win you readers, build credibility or establish authority. Greats points, made concisely and to the point will.
*I will not pay
The Outcome
It doesn't matter how compelling or insightful the points in an AI generated blog or post are, the uncomfortable truth is, the reader will know that it was not written by you.
Therefore, it is untrustworthy.
Once in the land of insincerity, you will always be on the back-foot, trying to re-enter the nirvana of trust and credibility. And without trust there is no sale.
Buyers are more than twice as likely to recommend a company they trust and nearly twice as likely to pay a premium to continue working with them.
What You Must Do Instead
Write honestly, using your own language and style. Integrity is hugely important in tech B2B sales, particularly in complex deals where there are multiple stakeholders influencing the decision. The odd typo or grammar error, in an otherwise compelling and insightful article will always win out. It will always beat an AI generated "perfect" post.
Use real examples. Tell your story. They are so much more interesting to read.
They are more likely to captivate the reader than a litany of "Amercian-Bro-isms", buzzwords and gimmicks.
Through storytelling, information retention rates can soar from 5–10% to as high as 65–70%
Like The Beatles, be all killer and no filler. Why use 50 AI generated words when 10 of yours will get the point across in a more concise and believable way.
Always own and be accountable for anything written in your name.
Ready to Transform Your Sales Strategy?
If you’re serious about improving your team’s performance, The Selling Collective can help. Our problem-centered sales training equips B2B teams to build trust, generate pipelines, and close more deals.
Check out our free course, The Art of Problem-Centered Selling: Unlocking Sales Success or book your free sales audit to identify gaps holding back your sales team — and discover ways to fix them.
Connect: LinkedIn – The Selling Collective
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