The Journey
Make the message in tune and in time
"Follow the leader" - Rakim
The journey is where relevancy meets timing.
You've locked in the people. Now the question is when and how the message lands. Your audience moves through a lifecycle – from first awareness to active advocacy – and every moment demands a fresh message. "That makes sense" is not the same as "this is making a huge difference for us." One earns a meeting. The other earns expansion.
But most will message to strict stages through the lens of a funnel. The craft treats messaging as a lifecycle. Your audience is always in motion – discovering, adopting, expanding, advocating. Each moment needs a different message for a different reason. Codify the lifecycle and the machine keeps relevancy in the motion.
MENTAL MODEL
wow at every stage
Awareness needs "that's a real pain point." Adoption needs "this is making a huge difference." Each stage has a different unlock. Design for the specific feeling you're trying to create.
track the decision path
Who's involved at each stage? What triggers the move forward? Understand how decisions actually get made so your message lands with the right person at the right moment.
watch the stage shifts
Priorities change, budgets move, champions leave. When your audience moves, your message has to move with them. Stay tuned to where they are, not where you left them.
MESSAGING TIPS
aim for the walk away feeling
What do you want them thinking after each touchpoint? "I need to look into this" is different from "I need to get my boss on a call." Name the feeling first, then write toward it.
layer the value
Early stages, lead with the problem and your POV. Middle stages, show the approach and proof. Late stages, make the outcome undeniable. Don't dump everything at once – feed them what they need when they need it.
align the progression
Read your messaging in sequence. Does it build? Does each piece earn the next? If any stage feels like a repeat or a jump, the journey has a gap.
TROPES TO AVOID
tacky hooks
Personalization that doesn't connect to value is just noise. If the hook doesn't ladder to relevancy, skip it.
vague outcomes
Just saying, 'Drive better results' lacks meaning. Each stage needs specificity. What outcome, for whom, by when? If you can't say it clearly, they won't feel it.
same as it ever was
One pitch for every conversation. One email for every persona. Lazy messaging treats the journey as static. Your audience knows when they're getting something generic.
OPERATING MODEL
know what message goes where
Have a clear view of which message you're using at each stage. If you can quickly pull the right deck, the right email, the right talking points for where someone is in the journey, you have a working machine.
listen for the stalls
When conversations lose momentum, the message is usually off. Either it's not landing where they are, or it's not pulling them forward. Diagnose which stage is breaking and fix it there.
follow the message through
Track how messaging performs at every stage, from first touch to expansion. The machine work best when you see the whole picture.
All Revenue Design Method Pillars
Design a Narrative
The Scenario
surface the forces reshaping your audience's reality
Design a Narrative
The Inflection
Reveal the turning point that makes acting now the only option
Design a Narrative
The Advantage
Own the market position only your unique approach can hold
Design a Movement
The Space
Shape the domain into a direction you can lead
Design a Movement
The Moments
Guide your audience on the path towards conviction
Design a Movement
The Reason
Convert true champions into industry advocates
Design a Machine
The People
Stay dialed in to the tune of your audience
Design a Machine
The Journey
Make the message in tune and in time
Design a Machine
The Proposition
Measure the message against realized value