How a Solo Salesperson in Their 50s Stopped Struggling with Document Structure
I am a company employee in my 50s. I work for a manufacturer and am the only salesperson in my assigned area. I don't have any subordinates, but I am still expected to deliver results.
I used to get stuck on the 'structure' every time I made a document
When creating proposals or presentation materials, the first place I would get stuck was the structure.
Where to start. What order to speak in. Where to put the data.
I would open PowerPoint and my hands would stop at the first slide.
'Should I start with an introduction to my company?' 'Should I start with the client's issues?' 'Should I present the proposal content right away?'
I didn't know the right answer. Because I didn't know, I would just start writing. I'd write something and it would feel off. I'd swap the order. It would still feel off. I'd start over from the beginning.
This cycle sometimes meant I spent an hour just on the structure.
When you're running an area by yourself, there's no one to ask, 'Could you take a look at this structure?' So, I would just keep going in circles in my own head.
Don't you have this too? That feeling of your hands stopping at the structure stage every time you make a document.
The reason for struggling with structure is that the 'goal is not decided'
Why do I get stuck on the structure? I thought about the cause in my own way.
The reason the order of the slides wouldn't get decided was that 'what I wanted to achieve with this document' was vague.
I knew I wanted to 'get the proposal accepted.' But I wasn't specific about 'how far I wanted to advance things in this business meeting.'
Do I want to take it all the way to an order in the first proposal? Is it enough just to get them interested? Do I want to provide materials to help them move forward with internal consideration?
Depending on this goal, the structure changes completely.
If I want to take it to an order, I beef up the pricing and implementation benefits. If I just want to get them interested, I focus on raising issues and case studies. If I want them to move to internal consideration, I provide the numbers they can use for the approval process.
Because I think about the structure while the goal is still vague, multiple patterns come to mind and I get lost.
As a salesperson in my 50s, I have enough experience that I can see too many options, thinking, 'There's that pattern, and there's this pattern.' That, conversely, was what created the hesitation.
When I used AI as a sounding board in the order of 'goal -> structure,' it was decided in one go
I stopped struggling with structure because I changed the 'order' of my brainstorming sessions with AI.
Previously, I would just ask, 'Please think of a structure for this proposal.' This would only result in a generic structure that didn't fit my specific sales meeting.
Now, I start by inputting the 'goal' first.
For example: 'Proposal for Company A tomorrow. The goal is to get them to move to internal review. The decision-maker is the department manager, but I'm meeting with the section manager tomorrow. I want to provide materials that make it easy for the section manager to explain to the department manager. Their issue is cost reduction. My proposal is to switch to an alternative material.'
The AI then replies like this:
'If the goal is to provide materials that make it easy for the section manager to explain to the department manager, here is the structure: Slide 1: Summary of their current costs. Slide 2: Cost reduction effect (figures) when switching to the alternative material. Slide 3: Case study (competitor). Slide 4: Steps and timeline for the switch. Slide 5: Preview of the next proposal. I recommend limiting each slide to one message so it's easy for the section manager to use when explaining to the department manager.'
Because the goal is clear, the structure is decided in one go. There is no hesitation.
I used to spend an hour just on the structure. Now it takes 10 minutes.
Moreover, the perspective of 'making it easy for the section manager to explain to the department manager' might not have occurred to me on my own. By brainstorming with AI, it became clear 'who the material is for.'
It's not that salespeople in their 50s lack structural skills. As long as the goal is clear, we can choose the optimal structure based on our experience. The problem was that I started working on it before verbalizing the goal.
By simply being forced into the 'goal first, structure second' order through brainstorming with AI, the time I spent worrying about structure has disappeared.
I hope this story reaches others who are stuck at the structure stage of their materials.
To you who have read this far: If you thought, 'Deciding from the goal, that really should come first,' I would be happy if you could let me know with a like or a follow.
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