If you communicate clearly, you win.

In this episode, Lee Brumbaugh sits down with Donald Miller, CEO of StoryBrand and bestselling author of Building a StoryBrand, to break down why clear messaging is the ultimate competitive advantage in sales and marketing.

Donald explains why customers tune out most marketing, how the human brain is wired for survival, and why short, repeatable, zero cognitive load messages outperform clever or complex language every time.

Together, Lee and Donald connect the dots between marketing clarity and sales execution, from subject lines and calls to action to sales enablement, AI, and owning a single problem in the marketplace.

Key takeaways:

• Why customers only pay attention to messages tied to their survival
• How to create zero cognitive load messaging that sales teams can actually use
• How marketing should warm leads before sales ever gets involved

Episode highlights:

(00:00) Introduction

(01:11) Why buyers tune out most marketing messages

(02:05) How survival language cuts through noise

(04:14) Writing emails buyers actually open and read

(07:30) Why clarity wins attention in any market

(11:53) Turning marketing clarity into sales momentum

(17:47) Where AI helps and where it hurts sales and marketing

(20:43) What StoryBrand is focused on next

(26:33) Using clear language at work and at home

(29:35) One focus every SMB needs to grow

(32:47) Owning one problem to drive scalable sales

Connect with the team:

Donald Miller on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donald-miller-storybrand/
Explore StoryBrand: https://storybrand.com/

Explore Building A StoryBrand 2.0: https://storybrand.com/building-a-storybrand-book-new/

Lee Brumbaugh on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lee-brumbaugh-7835512b/

Sales Xceleration on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sales-xceleration/

Explore Sales Xceleration: https://salesxceleration.com/