Your B2B marketing content must hold prospective buyers captive.
Not indefinitely—just for a few moments. Surely, that’s all it takes to embed a powerful idea into their mind.
In a noisy, attention-starved Internet, maybe this kind of extreme focus is exactly what’s needed.
Buyer’s attention: what are we trading?
The world is literally flooded with content but finite attention.
Microsoft famously asserted that our attention spans have shrunk, likening us to goldfish.
That was TEN years ago.
“Every second of attention we give costs us something valuable—time, focus, energy.”
Alas, it's a myth that has been debunked but still persists. Attention hasn’t disappeared; it’s evolved, becoming more selective and task-dependent.
Now, as with the tragedy of the commons, too many hooks into our attention can lead to fatigue.
Ad-blocking, intro-skipping, and low energy for traditional advertising aren’t signs of shrinking attention spans—they’re market corrections for irrelevant content. Attention isn’t fleeting; it’s selective. To earn it, your content must feel valuable and justified in the moment.
This dual nature of attention requires a fresh perspective. It’s not just about capturing attention; it’s about balancing duration and intensity.
Negotiation tactics in B2B content strategy
This is where the art of negotiation meets B2B content marketing.
With so much vying for limited focus, your content must prove its value. Techniques like tactical empathy, mirroring, and calibrated questions help you justify every second you ask for.
Drawing from Chris Voss's "Never Split the Difference," you can adapt FBI-grade negotiation techniques to hold and deepen the connection with your prospective buyers.
Let’s blend this with the idea that attention is currency and see how both worlds combine.
Disclaimer about PMF and Market size:
While these negotiation techniques can greatly enhance your content strategy, success is never guaranteed. The effectiveness of these methods depends on achieving Product-Market Fit (PMF) and the size of your target market. This strategy is most powerful when your offering aligns with a genuine market need and a solid growth opportunity. Without those foundations in place, even the best techniques can only go so far. But when those stars align, this approach could help unlock new levels of engagement and buyer conversion.
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1. ‘Tactical Empathy’ in client case studies
Case studies are a powerful tool for building trust with potential buyers, but too often they focus on the solution rather than the emotional journey of the customer.
By incorporating tactical empathy, you can show that you truly understand the struggles your prospects face. This goes beyond stating facts; it requires digging into the emotional weight of their challenges—frustration, fear, and uncertainty—and then demonstrating how your solution provided relief.
Tactical empathy helps your content resonate on a human level, making it informative and deeply relatable.
The Technique:
Tactical empathy focuses on deeply understanding and validating your prospect's emotions and concerns.
Why It Works in B2B SaaS:
Content that mirrors your audience’s emotional state holds their attention longer. It shifts their focus inward—toward their pain points and your solution.
Example:
- Before: "Company X wanted a solution to streamline operations."
- After: "Company X felt overwhelmed by manual processes. Deadlines loomed, and frustration mounted. Our software simplified their workflow, easing their stress and increasing efficiency by 33%."
2. ‘Mirroring’ in client testimonials
Testimonials often fall flat because they feel generic or overly polished. Mirroring elevates this content by echoing your client’s own words, reflecting their unique experience and making it feel authentic.
When your prospects see testimonials that sound like their own challenges and aspirations, it creates an instant connection. This approach subtly reinforces that your product or service has a proven track record of solving problems that are just like theirs.
Mirroring transforms testimonials from hollow endorsements into tools of relatability and credibility.
The Technique:
Mirroring involves using the prospect’s own words to reflect their thoughts and emotions back to them, fostering a sense of understanding.
Why It Works in B2B SaaS:
Mirroring validates your prospect's experience, creating content that feels personal and engaging.
Example:
- Before: "Reav's solution helped us improve sales pipeline."
- After: "We were stuck in beginner-mode, feeling like we’d never resonate. Reav’s solution changed that, just like they promised. Now, we’re igniting real sales conversations."
3. ‘Calibrated Questions’ in blog posts
A great blog invites dialogue. Calibrated questions, which start with "what" or "how," shift the tone of your blog posts from rhetorical to conversational.
These open-ended prompts encourage your prospects to think about their own pain points, naturally positioning your solution as part of their thought process. By engaging prospects in this way, you move them from passive consumers of content to active participants in solving their challenges.
Calibrated questions make your content feel less like a sales pitch and more like a collaborative problem-solving experience.
The Technique:
Calibrated questions begin with “what” or “how,” encouraging prospects to explore their own challenges and see your solution as a potential answer.
Why It Works in B2B SaaS:
By inviting introspection, you transform passive browsers into engaged participants.
Example:
- Before: "Here are five ways our software improves payouts."
- After: "What are the biggest challenges with your payroll workflow? How could a new perspective help you hit your goals faster?"
Attention as a ‘Two-Axis’ strategy
So, yes, Microsoft’s “shorter attention spans” narrative oversimplifies things.
Attention isn’t shrinking—it’s evolving. It varies along two axes: duration (how long someone stays engaged) and intensity (how deeply they focus).[1]
Low-attention processing (like billboards or peripheral ads) still works—but only if attention is captured for a duration, however brief. Online ad-blockers disrupt this entirely, reinforcing the need for conscious attention strategies.
Your content must:
- Respect the cognitive “cost” of attention.
- Balance intensity and duration to create meaningful connections.
Crafting your attention strategy
Incorporating Voss's negotiation techniques into B2B content could bridge the gap between buyer skepticism and trust.
Paired with a thoughtful attention strategy, these techniques can most likely improve your marketing impact:
- Build trust with tactical empathy.
- Reflect customer experiences through mirroring.
- Spark engagement with calibrated questions.
When applied across case studies, testimonials, blogs, or videos, these tools not only hold attention but create lasting bonds in a world of fleeting impressions.
And remember: attention is not a renewable resource. Make every second count. Respect their focus, and you’ll earn their trust.
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RESEARCH NOTES
[1] Yakob, Faris. “Axes of Attention.” LinkedIn Pulse
In this article, Faris Yakob explores the dual nature of attention in the modern content landscape, breaking it down into two axes: duration and intensity. He argues that effective communication requires a nuanced understanding of attention strategies, emphasizing the importance of balancing cognitive cost with meaningful engagement. Yakob's insights provide a framework for marketers to rethink how they capture and sustain attention in an increasingly distracted world.
