Root cause: the pitch trains people to ignore you. Ely says people send salespeople to voicemail and avoid “book a call” offers because a strategy session has become, too often, a long sales pitch. The problem isn’t the channel; it’s what’s being sent through it.

Misconception: email is dead. The back of Ely’s book answers it: “email’s not dead, your emails just suck.” His client had more than 5,000 people on his list and poor open rates, not because email failed but because the messages were hypey and pitchy.

Strategic shift: lead with value and let the sale come last. Ely’s emails share a book, an idea, or “something cool,” so when he does have an offer, people pay attention, and even those who aren’t ready reply to say so.

Practical method: write the way you talk. Most people write the way their English teacher taught them, Ely says, which creates no emotional reaction. He ghostwrites and coaches clients to put their personality, stories, and quirks into their words.

Business consequence: buyers arrive on their own schedule. A man who heard Ely speak in Scottsdale on July 3, 2010, emailed him on September 16, 2020, asking for help with his son’s new construction company. Follow-up is about staying the first person someone thinks of whenever they are ready.

Measurable outcome: changing the language changed the revenue. Over about six months, Ely says, a client went from roughly $30,000–$35,000 a month to about $110,000 a month, and his weekly workshop went from struggling to seat 30 to a bad week of 75, after he knocked out a wall to hold 100. A second client’s one re-engagement email led to over $12,000 in sales by that Friday.