---
name: content-rules
description: Content generation rules — customer-as-protagonist rewriting, inflated language filter, precision targeting, sell results not products, and anticipatory selling material generation for sales Steps 5-7. Use when generating any content, reviewing drafts, or creating sales support materials.
type: skill
---

# Content Rules

## When to Apply
- Generating any marketing or sales content
- Reviewing drafts for quality
- Creating sales support materials
- When content feels generic or product-centric
- Preparing materials for pipeline Steps 5-7

## Core Framework

### Customer-as-Protagonist

The customer is the hero. The product is the tool that helps them succeed.

**Detection rule:** If content contains >30% "we" statements -> rewrite.

```
BAD (company-centric):
  "We built an innovative AI platform that revolutionizes..."
  "Our product features include..."
  "We are excited to announce..."

GOOD (customer-centric):
  "CTOs at seed-stage startups waste 10h/week on manual reporting.
   [Product] cuts that to 30 minutes."
  "Your sales team closes 3x more demos when..."
  "Imagine opening your dashboard Monday morning and seeing..."
```

### Inflated Language Filter

Detect and replace hollow superlatives with concrete value:

| Inflated | Replace With |
|---|---|
| "Revolutionary" | Specific improvement: "reduces report time from 10h to 30min" |
| "Game-changing" | Concrete outcome: "3x demo close rate" |
| "Best-in-class" | Comparative data: "28% response vs 8% industry avg" |
| "Cutting-edge" | Specific capability: "processes 10K leads in under 2 min" |
| "Innovative" | What it actually does differently |
| "World-class" | Specific benchmark or achievement |
| "Seamless" | Describe the actual experience |
| "Powerful" | Quantify the capability |

**Rule:** If you can't replace the adjective with a number or specific outcome, the claim is hollow. Remove it.

### Precision Targeting

Content must target a specific persona. Never "everyone."

```
BAD: "Perfect for businesses of all sizes"
GOOD: "Built for CTOs at 10-50 person B2B SaaS companies
       who don't have a dedicated data team"
```

**Test:** Can you name 3 specific people who fit this description? If not, the targeting is too vague.

### Sell Results, Not Products

Frame all messaging around customer outcomes, never product features.

```
BAD (feature): "AI-powered analytics dashboard with 50+ integrations"
GOOD (result): "Know exactly which channel drives revenue — in 2 clicks,
                not 2 hours of spreadsheet wrangling"

BAD (feature): "Automated email sequences with personalization"
GOOD (result): "Your prospects get messages that feel hand-written.
                You get 3 hours back every day."
```

### Anticipatory Selling (Steps 5-7 Sales Support)

Auto-generate 5 materials for pipeline Steps 5-7. Principle: "You're not selling to the buyer — you're arming them to sell internally."

**1. Competitive Comparison Table**
- Honest, not trash-talking
- Your strengths vs competitor strengths
- Use cases where each excels
- Price comparison (if public)

**2. 3-Year TCO Analysis**
- Total cost of ownership including hidden costs
- Implementation time and cost
- Ongoing maintenance and training
- Opportunity cost of alternatives

**3. Internal Proposal Template**
- Pre-written template the buyer can adapt
- Executive summary, problem statement, proposed solution
- Expected ROI with conservative estimates
- Implementation timeline
- Risk mitigation plan

**4. Objection Rebuttals**
- Top 5-7 objections with evidence-based responses
- Each rebuttal includes data source
- "Too expensive" -> Value Stick reframe
- "We can build it ourselves" -> TCO comparison
- "Not the right time" -> Cost of delay calculation

**5. Phased Implementation Timeline**
- 30/60/90 day milestones
- Quick wins in first 30 days
- Clear success criteria per phase
- Rollback plan (reduces risk perception)

## Decision Rules

1. **Customer-as-protagonist always** — >30% "we" triggers rewrite
2. **No inflated language** — every adjective must be replaceable with a number
3. **Persona-specific** — content targets named personas, never "everyone"
4. **Results over features** — lead with outcome, follow with how
5. **Arm the internal champion** — anticipatory materials help buyers sell internally
6. **Honesty in comparisons** — competitive tables are honest, not adversarial

## Anti-Patterns to Detect

| Anti-Pattern | Signal | Response |
|---|---|---|
| Company-centric copy | >30% "we/our/us" statements | Rewrite with customer as protagonist |
| Hollow superlatives | "Revolutionary," "game-changing" | Replace with specific numbers or outcomes |
| Generic targeting | "For businesses of all sizes" | "Who specifically? Name the persona." |
| Feature listing | Bullet list of product capabilities | Rewrite as customer outcomes |
| Missing sales support | Pipeline at Step 5+ with no materials | Generate anticipatory selling package |
| Adversarial comparison | "Competitor X is terrible because..." | Rewrite as honest, factual comparison |