by Paul van Hattem
Co-founder Sync
The more you know about your product, the harder it becomes to sell it. Sounds strange, but it’s one of the biggest blind spots we see in commercial teams. The Curse of Knowledge means you’re so close to your own story that you forget what it’s like not to know it.
When expertise turns into overload
It happens in every organisation. The deeper you are in your domain, the harder it gets to explain what you do in a way that feels clear, relevant and human. That’s why so much sales material misses the mark: presentations filled with jargon, one-pagers that try to say everything, and proposals built around internal logic instead of customer value. They make sense to you. But not to the person you’re trying to convince.
What’s actually going on
Researchers call it the Curse of Knowledge: once you understand something deeply, your brain assumes others do too. You skip steps in your explanation. You use words that feel normal internally, but mean nothing outside your team.
And that’s where you lose your audience.
Not because your story is wrong, but because it’s told from the inside out.
The inside-out trap
We see it all the time: teams so focused on what makes their solution great, that they forget how it lands with someone who doesn’t have the same context. The result?
Too much detail, too early
Internal terms no one outside understands
Stories that explain instead of convince
Your prospect doesn’t see a clear solution — they see complexity.
How to break the curse
Flip your perspective. Start with what your customer knows, feels and needs to understand next.
That means cutting through your own assumptions and choosing clarity over completeness. Not everything you know needs to be said. Not everything is relevant at every stage of the deal.
Lead with the customer’s problem, not your product.
Use simple, visual language.
Test your story with someone outside your company.
Keep asking: What should my customer think, feel or do after this?
The strongest sales stories don’t show how much you know. They show how well you understand.
Stay in Sync.
Subscribe to our LinkedIn newsletter for more practical insights on sales storytelling and enablement.