Workshop Sell Email Scorer — Skill

Purpose: Score a draft workshop sell email against a golden example (Taki Moore's Salesless™ Email 2) When to use: Before sending any email in a workshop sell sequence Not a style guide. This measures specific, countable elements from the golden example.

How to Score

Read the draft email. For each element below, count or measure what's there. Compare to the golden example benchmarks. Score each element 0-2:

• 0 = Missing or fundamentally wrong
• 1 = Present but weak compared to golden example
• 2 = Matches or exceeds golden example quality

Total possible: 20 points. Ship threshold: 16+

The 10 Elements

1. Daily Reality Depth (0-2)

What to count: How many specific moments/scenes does the email paint? Not abstract descriptions — specific situations with enough detail that the reader sees themselves in it.

Golden example benchmark: Taki paints 4 distinct scenes:

• Monday morning: posting content, working DMs, booking one call maybe two
• Thursday afternoon: 5 calls booked, 2 no-shows, 1 reschedule, 1 unqualified, 1 says "let me show my wife"
• Hiring a sales team: managing setters, sucking up to closers, listening to them complain leads are crap
• Marketing vs sales blame cycle

Scoring:

• 0 = No specific scenes. Abstract descriptions only ("you're busy," "things fall through the cracks")
• 1 = 1-2 specific scenes but lacking the detail that makes someone wince
• 2 = 3+ distinct scenes with specific enough detail that the reader thinks "that was my Tuesday"

2. The Reframe (0-2)

What to measure: Is there a single sentence or moment where the reader's understanding of the problem shifts? Not a gradual explanation — a sharp turn.

Golden example benchmark: "You're trying to get more clients through a process that makes it harder for people to buy." One sentence. The thing you think is the solution IS the problem.

Scoring:

• 0 = No reframe. The email just describes the problem and offers the solution.
• 1 = There's a shift but it takes multiple sentences to land, or it's more observation than reversal
• 2 = One sentence that reframes the entire problem. Could be pulled out and quoted.

3. Before/After Contrast (0-2)

What to count: Is there a specific, numerical before/after that makes the result undeniable?

Golden example benchmark: "9 salespeople making 9 sales a month → 45 sales a month with NO salespeople and NO sales calls." Two numbers. One contrast. Unforgettable.

Scoring:

• 0 = No before/after. Just "I built systems."
• 1 = There's a result but it's vague ("found hidden revenue") or only has one number
• 2 = Specific before number → specific after number in one sentence. Reader can repeat it from memory.

4. Framework Naming (0-2)

What to measure: Is the framework named, punched, and sticky? Could someone remember it after reading the email once?

Golden example benchmark: "Doc. Deadline. Demand." Three words. Each one gets its own explanation. The name IS the framework.

Scoring:

• 0 = Framework not named or buried in description
• 1 = Named but not punched — mentioned once, not repeated or emphasized
• 2 = Named, bolded or set apart, each piece explained, reader could repeat the name after one read

5. Sentence-Per-Line Format (0-2)

What to count: What percentage of the email uses one sentence per line? Count the lines.

Golden example benchmark: 90%+ of lines are single sentences. Paragraphs of 2+ sentences are rare and intentional.

Scoring:

• 0 = Traditional paragraph format throughout
• 1 = Mixed — some single lines, some paragraphs
• 2 = 80%+ single sentence lines. Reads like a conversation, not an article.

6. Personality (0-2)

What to count: How many moments of humor, self-deprecation, unexpected analogies, or personality breaks are in the email?

Golden example benchmark: Taki has 5+ personality moments in Email 2: "Yay.", newborn giraffe, TikTok dances, "great" (sarcastic after the wife comment), "you're not really coaching — you either work in a call centre or manage one"

Scoring:

• 0 = Zero personality. Could have been written by anyone.
• 1 = 1-2 moments of personality but they feel inserted, not natural
• 2 = 3+ moments that are organic to the story and sound like the actual writer

7. CTA Placement and Casualness (0-2)

What to measure: Where does the CTA appear and how does it read?

Golden example benchmark: CTA appears at the very end. "Tickets are just $100, and you can grab your seat here." Casual. Almost an afterthought. The email did all the selling.

Scoring:

• 0 = CTA is aggressive, appears multiple times, or reads like a sales pitch
• 1 = CTA is at the end but reads stiff ("Register now for The Build")
• 2 = CTA is casual, appears once at the end, reads like "here's the link if you want in"

8. Problem Escalation (0-2)

What to measure: Does the problem get progressively worse as the email continues? Not just "here's the problem" — it compounds.

Golden example benchmark: Taki escalates from "booking calls is hard" → "calls don't convert" → "you hire a team and it's worse" → "marketing and sales blame each other" → "you're managing a call centre, not coaching." Each level is worse than the last.

Scoring:

• 0 = Problem is stated once and then the solution is offered
• 1 = Problem is described in depth but stays at one level — doesn't compound
• 2 = Problem escalates through 3+ levels, each worse than the last, building pressure for the solution

9. Self-Contained (0-2)

What to test: Could someone read ONLY this email — having never seen Email 1 or any other email — and understand the problem, see the solution, and want to buy?

Golden example benchmark: Taki's Email 2 works completely standalone. No reference to Email 1. No "as I mentioned yesterday." Everything needed to understand and buy is in this one email.

Scoring:

• 0 = References other emails or assumes context from previous sends
• 1 = Mostly standalone but has one or two references that require prior context
• 2 = Completely standalone. Reader could forward this to a friend and it would still sell.

10. The Sign-Off (0-2)

What to measure: Does the sign-off add personality or is it just a name?

Golden example benchmark: "Taki 'Cheetah' Moore" / "Taki 'Salesless' Moore" / "Taki 'They're still in the cupboard' Moore" — the nickname changes every email and references something from the email content.

Scoring:

• 0 = Just a name. "— Kathryn"
• 1 = Name with a fixed tagline that doesn't change
• 2 = Name with a contextual nickname/reference that ties back to this specific email's content

Score Sheet Template

Email: [name/number]
Date scored: [date]
Scored against: Taki Salesless Email 2

1. Daily Reality Depth:      _/2  Notes:
2. The Reframe:              _/2  Notes:
3. Before/After Contrast:    _/2  Notes:
4. Framework Naming:         _/2  Notes:
5. Sentence-Per-Line:        _/2  Notes:
6. Personality:              _/2  Notes:
7. CTA Placement:            _/2  Notes:
8. Problem Escalation:       _/2  Notes:
9. Self-Contained:           _/2  Notes:
10. Sign-Off:                _/2  Notes:

TOTAL:                       _/20

Ship threshold: 16+
Below 14: Rewrite before sending
14-15: Fix the weakest elements, then send
16+: Send

Important Notes

• This scores Email 2 (The Problem) only. Other emails in the sequence have different jobs and need different scoring criteria. Email 1 (Teaser) shouldn't be scored on daily reality depth — it's 3 lines.
• Personality must be authentic to the writer. Taki uses Australian humor and absurdist analogies. Kathryn's personality is different — direct, pattern-revealing, dry. A 2 on personality doesn't mean "be Taki." It means "sound like yourself, not a marketer."
• Run copy-qc.md separately. This skill scores against the golden example structure. Copy QC catches AI patterns. Both must pass before sending.
• The golden example is Taki's Salesless Email 2 (April 8, 2026 — "What if the call is the problem?"). The full text is stored in business-aos/inspiration/ as a PDF.

Built from Taki Moore's Salesless™ Email 2 — the workshop sell email that converts a warm list into buyers.