When was the last time a prospect booked a meeting because you mentioned their dog, favorite sports team, or hometown pizza joint?
Probably never.
Most reps confuse personalization with connection.
They’re not the same thing.
Here’s the truth:
👉 Personalization flatters. It’s about them — their hobbies, alma mater, and weekend life.
👉 Relevance resonates. It’s about value — the business pain they feel and how your solution fixes it.
People don’t buy because you remembered their dog’s name.
They buy because you understand their problems before they explain them.
Why Personalization is Overrated, and Relevance Wins Deals
People don’t respond to flattery. They respond to recognition.
When you tell someone you liked their podcast or saw their new puppy, it lights up their ego for a moment, but it doesn’t trigger action.
Their brain categorizes that as “social approval.”
Nice? Sure. Relevant? Not really.
But when you identify a problem they’re actively trying to solve, something entirely different happens.
It triggers the reticular activating system (RAS), the brain’s internal “signal scanner” that filters information based on immediate priorities.
If your message mirrors their current pain or goal, the RAS flags it as important.
That’s why a simple, business-focused message like “I noticed you’re hiring five new SDRs. Are you scaling outbound capacity?” gets attention. Not because it’s personal, but because it’s psychologically relevant.
Relevance tells the brain, “This helps me now.”
Personalization just says, “This person noticed me.”
And between the two, only one opens wallets.
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BEFORE YOU CLOSE THIS TAB
Most reps chase attention.
Few earn alignment.
Flattery gets you noticed for a moment.
Relevance gets you remembered for much longer.
Because in sales, connection isn’t about knowing someone’s world, it’s about understanding what moves it.
It’s the quiet art of saying the one thing that makes a stranger stop scrolling, lean back, and think:
“Finally… someone gets it.”
Every message you send either adds to the noise or cuts through it.
Personalization adds color, but relevance adds clarity; and clarity is what the brain craves when it’s drowning in information.
The best messages don’t feel like outreach; they feel like recognition.
And recognition is powerful, because people don’t buy when they feel impressed.
They buy when they feel understood.
So here’s the thought I’ll leave you with:
If every message you send is a mirror of your prospect’s world.
Are you showing them who they are… or who you assume they are?
Cheers
— The Sheriff in Town
