How do I align sales, marketing, and leadership messaging?
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You thought everyone was on the same page....until you actually heard them speak.
Marketing called your product a “productivity multiplier.”
Sales said it’s a “digital transformation accelerator.”
Leadership pitched it as a “workflow automation tool.”
Product? “Task orchestration infrastructure.”
Same company. Same product.
Four different narratives.
That’s what we call quiet chaos.
And it’s not just confusing—it’s expensive.
In this episode of The Storyteller’s Edge, Ginger Zumaeta (3x Emmy winner, author of Deckonomics®, and messaging strategist to the sharpest teams in business) dives deep into the silent messaging drift that slows momentum, fractures strategy, and makes your product sound like four different startups wearing the same logo.
What We’re Covering:
The Hidden Cost of “Quiet Chaos”
This isn’t about nitpicking taglines.
It’s about the fact that language shapes behavior.
If every team describes your product differently, you’re not just confusing buyers—you’re splitting your strategy in pieces.
(Hint: those different messages are usually masking different business strategies.)
The 3 Layers of Messaging Alignment
Most teams fixate on the surface stuff (like making everyone say the same tagline).
But real alignment goes deeper.
Here’s the model we walk through:
1. STORY – What game are we actually playing?
(Hint: If you can’t answer “What do we solve, for whom, and why now?”—you’re winging it.)
2. EXPRESSION – How does this story sound in each team’s native language?
(Sales isn’t going to use the same words as Marketing—and they shouldn’t.)
3. DISTRIBUTION – Where does this story live and how do people use it?
(Because if your core message lives in a Google Doc graveyard, it’s not alignment—it’s archaeology.)
The One-Sentence Test That Exposes Drift
Most teams need a moment of truth. And this sentence gets you there:
“We help [WHO] solve [WHAT], because [WHY IT MATTERS NOW].”
Try it.
If you ask 5 people and get 5 versions?
You’ve just spotted the leak.
Bonus Tool: Your Messaging Alignment GPT Prompt
Prompt:
I’m giving you three short excerpts that came from our company:
• a sales email
• a marketing post
• a note from leadership
Tasks (answer in bullets):
- In one sentence each, say what story you think Sales, Marketing, and Leadership are telling.
- List the two biggest differences you notice between the three versions.
- Identify the single core idea they all almost share.
- Point out one detail that’s missing or unclear in every version.
- Suggest one small wording change that would make all three feel like they came from the same company.
Here are the excerpts:
–---------------------
[PASTE SALES EMAIL]
–---------------------
[PASTE MARKETING COPY]
–---------------------
[PASTE LEADERSHIP NOTE]
LINKS & RESOURCES
Watch: What a Messaging Playbook Is (and Isn’t)
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