--- title: Words to Live By: It’s easier to sell aspirin than vitamins description: Selling based on pain compared to the promise of future benefit. Understand, probe and unpack implications of the problem then close the deal image: https://www.crossoppartners.com/hubfs/Pain%20pill%20bottle-4.png --- [Skip to content](https://www.crossoppartners.com/cross-operating-partners-blog/words-to-live-by-its-easier-to-sell-aspirin-than-vitamins#main-content) [![ARR focused Operating Partners](https://www.crossoppartners.com/hs-fs/hubfs/New%20COP%20Logo-1.png?width=952&height=524&name=New%20COP%20Logo-1.png)](https://www.crossoppartners.com/) - [About](https://www.crossoppartners.com/about) - [Services](https://www.crossoppartners.com/services) - [Case Studies](https://www.crossoppartners.com/case-studies) - [Blog](https://www.crossoppartners.com/cross-operating-partners-blog) Open main navigation Close main navigation - [About](https://www.crossoppartners.com/about) - [Services](https://www.crossoppartners.com/services) - [Case Studies](https://www.crossoppartners.com/case-studies) - [Blog](https://www.crossoppartners.com/cross-operating-partners-blog) - [Contact us](https://www.crossoppartners.com/contact-us) [Contact us](https://www.crossoppartners.com/contact-us) [All posts](https://www.crossoppartners.com/cross-operating-partners-blog/all) March 18, 2026 # Words to Live By: It’s easier to sell aspirin than vitamins ![Picture of Zach Cross](https://www.crossoppartners.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Zach%20Headshot.jpeg?width=50&name=Zach%20Headshot.jpeg) By  [Zach Cross](https://www.crossoppartners.com/cross-operating-partners-blog/author/zach-cross)  ·  1 minute read   They’re simple. Memorable. Effective. Not controversial. And far easier said than done. This is our next blog in the *Words to Live By* series, where we explore phrases and philosophies we’ve seen change behavior inside PE-backed companies. From our experience, when teams truly live by them, execution improves and outcomes follow.  **It’s easier to sell aspirin than vitamins.** Everyone would generally agree vitamins are good for you. Longevity, prevention, performance. And yet, many of us don’t consistently take them. Why? Because “I can always start next week.” But when I have a pounding headache and a calendar stacked back-to-back, I will pay the price of 200 aspirin for a measly 2 at an airport Hudson News. Immediate pain wins. Over the past 20 years selling pricing performance solutions, we learned this the hard way. Selling future upside sounds great on paper. While some buyers will lean in, most will not prioritize benefits they hope to appear a few quarters from now. What dependably moves deals is pain. We could consistently deliver a 10x ROI within twelve months of implementation. We even offered a no-strings-attached, money-back guarantee. It still paled in comparison to alleviating pain. As we scaled, our approach evolved to identify, understand, unpack, and apply pressure to pain. From initial awareness messaging to deep discovery and implication-driven questions, probing pain became our secret to gain. In an agentic AI world, it’s easier than ever to create new “solutions.” The questions not enough people are asking are some of the most foundational: what pain is this actually solving? How often does it occur? How much does it hurt? And what does life look like when it’s finally relieved? The promise of future benefits might get you a conversation. Solving persistent pain gets you a contract. Aspirin before vitamins. 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Brace for a Tsunami of Sloppy SaaS…](https://www.crossoppartners.com/cross-operating-partners-blog/tired-of-ai-slop-brace-for-sloppy-saas-) [![ARR focused Operating Partners](https://www.crossoppartners.com/hs-fs/hubfs/New%20COP%20Logo-1.png?width=952&height=524&name=New%20COP%20Logo-1.png "ARR focused Operating Partners")](https://www.crossoppartners.com/) [linkedin-in icon](https://www.linkedin.com/company/cross-operating-partners) [Follow us on Facebook](mailto:info@crossoppartners.com) - [About](https://www.crossoppartners.com/about) - [Services](https://www.crossoppartners.com/services) - [Case Studies](https://www.crossoppartners.com/case-studies) - [Blog](https://www.crossoppartners.com/cross-operating-partners-blog) - [Contact Us](https://www.crossoppartners.com/contact-us) Copyright © 2026, Cross Operating Partners ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Zach Cross", "url" : "https://www.crossoppartners.com/cross-operating-partners-blog/author/zach-cross" }, "dateModified" : "2026-03-18T13:26:48.545Z", "datePublished" : "2026-03-18T13:17:42.000Z", "headline" : "Words to Live By: It’s easier to sell aspirin than vitamins", "image" : [ "https://www.crossoppartners.com/hubfs/Pain%20pill%20bottle-4.png" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://www.crossoppartners.com/cross-operating-partners-blog/words-to-live-by-its-easier-to-sell-aspirin-than-vitamins", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://www.crossoppartners.com/hubfs/New%20COP%20Logo-1.png" }, "name" : "Cross Operating Partners " } } ``` ```json { "@context" : "http://schema.org", "@type" : "Article", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : [ "Zach Cross" ], "url" : "https://www.crossoppartners.com/cross-operating-partners-blog/author/zach-cross" }, "datePublished" : "2026-03-18T13:17:42+0000", "description" : "Selling based on pain compared to the promise of future benefit. 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