Recently, Seth Godin said:

“The mistake most blogs and books make: they are about the writer, not the reader.”

A few weeks earlier, Jason Fried of 37 Signals said:

“Most copywriting on the web sucks because it’s written for the writer, not for the reader. Write for the reader. That is all.”

Both observations were simple, obvious, and profound – and have a clear parallel to sales. The salesperson that empathizes with the customer and the customer’s needs (along with their goals, hopes, and desires) will almost always win (especially in the long term).