Stop being vague when specificity is your profit filter.

Vague language is not inclusive, it’s a tax you pay for fear of commitment.

“I help leaders learn to lead with impact, master their craft, and drive success.”

This was the tagline when I was reviewing a new coaching website recently

My first thought: This is strategic paralysis disguised as marketing.

I know why people do this. They’re afraid of being “too niche.” Afraid of missing out on the one potential client who doesn’t fit the box. But here’s the reality: A non-specific offer makes it impossible for the right clients to see themselves, guaranteeing you speak to no one.

You are paying a vagueness tax.

The Vagueness Tax

When you try to appeal to everyone, you are actually implementing a low-leverage sales process. You end up wasting time on discovery calls with clients who are not a fit, and you dilute your value proposition until it means nothing.

Working with a client, their tagline was: “I help SaaS companies grow their revenue.”

It doesn’t work:

“SaaS companies” could mean anything from two guys in a garage to a billion-dollar public company.
“Grow their revenue” is meaningless noise. Grow from what to what? How?

“SaaS companies” could mean anything from two guys in a garage to a billion-dollar public company.

“Grow their revenue” is meaningless noise. Grow from what to what? How?

The result? Everyone could look at that and wonder, “Am I the person this is for?” The answer was always maybe, and maybe never pays.

Specificity is the Ultimate Filter

Over time, I learned the only thing that matters: The ideal client should feel like you’re reading their mind. Everyone else should immediately disqualify themselves.

The refined tagline became:

“I help early-stage SaaS companies in the healthcare space scale from $1M to $10M with proven growth playbooks.”

See the difference?

Clear Stage: Early-stage.
Specific Industry: Healthcare space.
Exact Revenue Range: $1M to $10M.
Concrete Solution: Proven growth playbooks.

Clear Stage: Early-stage.

Specific Industry: Healthcare space.

Exact Revenue Range: $1M to $10M.

Concrete Solution: Proven growth playbooks.

Suddenly, 90% of visitors could disqualify themselves in three seconds, and we avoided wasting time on calls that went nowhere. But the 10% that were a perfect fit? I won almost every deal. Specificity turned a maybe lead into an inevitable client.

Your Two Questions to Kill Vagueness

Want to figure out if your offer is specific enough? Ask yourself these two questions. If the answer to either is “No,” you are paying the vagueness tax:

Can people easily tell exactly who this is for?
Can people easily tell exactly what measurable outcome they’ll achieve?

Can people easily tell exactly who this is for?

Can people easily tell exactly what measurable outcome they’ll achieve?

Let’s apply this to the generic coaching tagline: “I help leaders learn to lead with impact, master their craft, and drive success.”

Who is a “Leader”? The CEO of IBM? A middle manager? A flower shop owner? The audience is too scattered to connect.
What is “Success”? A raise? Better team morale? Sharper knives? The outcome is meaningless noise.

Who is a “Leader”? The CEO of IBM? A middle manager? A flower shop owner? The audience is too scattered to connect.

What is “Success”? A raise? Better team morale? Sharper knives? The outcome is meaningless noise.

The magic happens when you get ruthlessly specific. Your perfect clients should read your offer and think, “This person is talking to me.” That’s exactly what you want.

Stop trying to appeal to everyone. Because the wider you cast your net, the fewer fish you’ll catch. Be so specific it almost feels uncomfortable. That uncomfortable specificity is what attracts the high-value deal flow.

Onward.

Relevant

Specificity Is the Hidden Conversion Multiplier Your Marketing Is MissingThis Entrepreneur article breaks down why laser‑specific messaging wins attention and conversions showing that vague broad messages don’t grab prospects’ minds, whereas precise language builds perceived expertise and boosts conversion rates.

The Power of Niche Targeting: How Marketers Win by Thinking SmallThis piece explains why broad audiences don’t buy and micro‑targeted messaging does: by tailoring content to a specific group’s values, interests, and frustrations you build stronger emotional alignment and better ROI.

New Competitive Advantage: Why Specificity Lets You Charge More and Lose LessRecent analysis shows that businesses with specific value propositions earn higher prices and deeper trust because prospects feel understood and see lower risk — echoing your point that specificity disqualifies the wrong leads and attracts the right ones.

Mindset

“No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness.”

— Aristotle

Hot Takes

Practical tools you need as a founder

Feel free to forward this on to someone who might benefit.

Thanks for reading.- Jason

p.s. When you’re ready, here’s how I can help. Ready to stop working so hard in your business? I help growing companies break free from unpredictable revenue, founder bottlenecks, and manual processes that kill competitive advantage. Using the exact same frameworks from my 8 and 10-figure exits, I build complete operating systems that generate predictable growth, eliminate your dependency, and deploy AI where it actually matters. The goal isn’t just bigger revenue, it’s systematic growth that works whether you’re there or not.Connect with me on Linkedin, X, or through my blog.