...Alone
With AI tools like ChatGPT readily available, it’s easy to think you can handle content creation yourself. Why wouldn’t you? It’s fast, easy, and costs next to nothing.
If you don't know me, here's a fun fact: I'm a big fan of DIY. My dad is a contractor, so I grew up learning a lot of do-it-yourself skills. He always taught me to do what you can on your own, but to hire out what you're not good at. For example, my dad is great at construction, but he won’t touch electrical work—because that’s not something you want to monkey around with if you don't know what you're doing.
And that’s the thing with AI content: relying solely on it to write your sales emails or marketing messages could end up costing you a lot more in the long run than you think.
A prospect recently asked me, “Why should I work with you when I can just use ChatGPT to write my sales email templates?” It’s a great question, and one I want to dive into because the answer reveals the difference between “checking the box” and winning business.
1. Why DIY AI Content Falls Short
Sure, using ChatGPT is cheaper than hiring a consultant or an experienced VP of Sales. But what some people don’t realize is that AI-generated content is essentially built on what's already out there. The result? Your content ends up sounding like a remix of what your competitors are saying.
AI models like ChatGPT weren’t trained by sales or marketing experts—they were trained, by programmers, to generate plausible text based on existing data. That’s why Forrester predicted that 70% of B2B buyers will have a degraded buying experience this year due to thinly disguised, generic AI-generated content. So, while you might think you’re saving time and money, you could actually be blending into the noise. And in a competitive market, blending in is the quickest way to get ignored.
When your prospects ask, “Why should I use you over your competitor?” they need to see a clear difference. Without that clear differentiation, buyers will always gravitate toward the lowest price. And remember: today's buyers are doing most of their research independently before they ever engage with a salesperson, so your content has to do the heavy lifting and set you apart.
2. The Power of Human Expertise in Sales Content
I’ve spent years working directly with sales teams, marketing departments, and buyers, and I’ve also been on the receiving end of countless sales pitches. I know what works, what doesn’t, and—more importantly—I can spot generic, ineffective content a mile away.
The biggest difference between what AI generates and what I create is that AI tends to rely on overused sales jargon and clichés. Sure, it might help you check the box of writing a blog or sending an email, but it’s not going to connect with your buyer. I focus on crafting client-centric content that addresses specific business challenges, weaving in real success stories that show buyers what's possible and highlight what makes my client unique. The result? The message feels consultative, not sales-y. It opens a conversation, and that’s where real B2B sales happen—building a relationship, not just ticking a task off your list.
If you follow my work, you know I’m a huge AI fan. So what’s the disconnect? Let me explain.
3. My Custom GPT: A Powerful, Targeted Tool
I run my practice as a solopreneur, which means I wear all the hats. And if you’re a founder, I bet you remember that stage. To help manage my workload, I created a custom GPT—a personalized AI assistant loaded with my foundational documents, sales philosophies, research, and anonymized client work samples. It’s basically like having my brain uploaded into a robot.
And that's the thing. AI is great and powerful AND it's jut a tool. Like email, PowerPoint, Zoom, Excel, and anything else installed on your computer or phone - It's there to help you get your work done, not to do your work for you.
Getting back to my custom GPT, my new favorite tool. What’s the difference between my GPT and ChatGPT itself? A fair question. My GPT is hyper-focused on my work. It pulls from my foundational document, research and work samples, not random data scraped from across the internet. It’s targeted and helps me brainstorm new ideas, analyze data, edit content, and keep projects moving faster. But—and this is important—even my custom GPT doesn’t replace human expertise. It helps with tasks like research and editing, but it’s my experience that drives the strategy, refines the messaging, and ensures content is aligned with what works in the market.
4. Real-World Example: Combining AI with Expertise
Let’s look at a real project I worked on with a small financial services company. We needed an introductory email to send to contacts we were reaching out to. Most of the time, we hit voicemail, so we needed an email that would grab attention and get responses.
I used my custom GPT to perform background research on competitors and industry trends. Then, I compared this to my client’s Ideal Client Profiles and Buyer Personas, paying special attention to why their clients chose them and what their testimonials revealed. From there, I crafted questions aimed at the challenges their potential buyers faced, followed by a success story to build credibility.
I passed the draft through my GPT for final editing and clarity. It helped with sentence structure and offered tweaks, but the real heart of the message—connecting with buyers through relatable, client-centered stories—was built from my experience. AI couldn’t create that level of connection on its own. And AI can't write personal stories.
5. The Cost of DIY vs. The Cost of Lost Sales
Here’s where I want you to stop and think: Sure, you could use ChatGPT to save money now. I get it—I use ChatGPT for tasks like research and idea generation too. But here’s the thing: I don’t outsource strategy to AI. In fact, I work with a human advisor who costs significantly more than my AI subscription, and he’s worth every penny.
This isn’t about saving hard costs—it’s about making strategic decisions. What happens if your DIY content doesn’t generate leads or close deals? Are you creating content just to check off a box, or do you want that content to produce real results?
Forrester’s prediction isn’t just about a degraded buyer experience—it’s about lost sales. If your content blends in, you’re leaving money on the table. When your message doesn’t stand out, buyers default to the only thing they can compare: price. And I don't imagine you want to win a race to the bottom.
6. Stand Out With AI + Expertise
In a competitive market, the only way to win is to stand out. A colleague of mine says, “AI helps you automate the mundane so you can focus on the extraordinary.” Is your business growth strategy a mundane task? I don’t think so. Your business is extraordinary, and the best growth strategy is to put your success stories front and center to attract more of the right clients.
Picture this: What if you worked with an experienced strategist who leveraged AI to get more done in less time? For a recent SaaS client, I customized a sales strategy, customer experience plan, sales process, consulted with their CMO on the buyer’s journey, leveraging and analyzing their data to inform the strategies—all in only 20 hours. Work that could have taken 6-8 weeks without AI. Now that’s a smart way to use AI—without compromising strategy.
7. Thought-Provoking work samples
Before we wrap up, let me show you a comparison of the output from free ChatGPT, ChatGPT Pro, and my custom GPT. You'll see a clear difference as we progress through the samples, but the real magic happens when AI and human strategy work together. The prompts and results are below:
Prompt: I work as a salesperson for [company name], [company name] is our main competitor. I am calling the contacts in our database and most often reach voicemail. Write me a cold outreach email that I can send to generate interest in our service.
Before I show you my email, do you see the emails getting progressively better? I have finally trained my GPT that "I hope this email finds you well" is not a good way to start any email.
Now here's what we can do when we combine human experience and strategy with an AI model - me working with my GPT instead of having it do the work for me.
Prompt: I have written the following cold email to send to contacts that the salesperson calls, but does not reach. The intent of the email is to connect with the recipient and compel them to respond and agree to a quick chat. Act as my copy writer and suggest ways to improve the email, without changing the tone.
See the difference? This doesn't even mention the company name because that's unnecessary, it's in the signature, and this is designed to be client-centric. And for the record, I did not take all of the suggestions my GPT gave me because like an employee, my AI assistant suggested things that didn't make sense or were counter to my strategic vision.
Full disclosure: This project was done this week, so we have yet to test this email and measure results. I did this project and ON THE SAME DAY got that question/objection from a prospect, so I was compelled to do the message experiment and share the output results. I will refresh this blog once we have results to share.
Ready to See What's Possible?
Ready to create content that truly stands out? Let’s talk about how we can use AI and human expertise to grow your business and win more deals.
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AI Transparency: WIX AI created the blond robot image. ChatGPT helped me improve the post by suggesting different flow and some sentence structure. Obviously, AI generated two of the sample emails used in this post.
Rise of Us is a practice run by Summer Poletti, specializing in revenue growth: sales, strategic partnerships, customer success, marketing alignment. We generally work with financial services and SaaS companies from $2MM - $20MM ARR and help them plan and execute for their next stage of revenue growth. We concentrate on strategy, coaching, and organizational alignment.
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