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PRACTICING AND SAVING YOUR STORIES

ONE OF THE more interesting questions I asked procurement professionals was “What makes a sales pitch sound like a sales pitch?” The answers I got were telling.

Some had to do with the structure of the sales pitch. Specifically, I was told, conversations that begin “If I could show you a way to save X dollars a year, would you buy this today?” are universally met with disgust. Many find it both condescending and manipulative—a bit of verbal trickery to get them to commit to buying something before they even know what it is they’re being sold. Listening to buyers explain their reactions to this taught me more ...

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