Default Sales Approach

The Sales-centric Lie is the delusion that sales-centric strategy and technique, technology, and automation, will compensate for delivering a Buying Experience the Buyer hates. This approach pushes salespeople into hyper-spamming Buyers, which triggers Buyers to disengage or quit. When sales teams repeatedly push their agendas, prioritizing their needs over the Buyer’s, they transmit opposing priorities which alienates the Buyer and worsens results. Over time, these poor outcomes lead to Sales Burnout. Sales Burnout occurs when salespeople lose the motivation or capacity to continue activities that they know are ineffective and unappreciated by Buyers. This is particularly common among Sales Development Representatives (SDRs)—the front-line workers forced to execute toxic, sales-centric tactics—which is why SDRs have the highest attrition rate.

Being Sales-centric prioritizes closing the deal above all else, viewing the Buyer primarily as a means to that end. The focus is on leveraging Buyer interest to sell more, faster, and at the highest possible margin. Incentive compensation motivates salespeople to maximize revenue—if the Buyer makes a large, full-margin purchase quickly, the salesperson benefits directly. While salespeople need to aim for profitability and strong sales numbers, this approach often clashes with the Buyer's priorities. Buyers typically want to take their time, first learning why a solution is the best fit for their problem before making an informed decision.

Buyers hate being given the sales-centric treatment, so the Default Sales Approach depends upon the use of manipulative methods to overcome natural Buyer resistance triggered by sales-centric selling. Pricing is hidden, questions are objections to be handled, requests are terms to be negotiated, and reluctance is met with hard closing. Holding back desired expertise is the drip-feeding, constraining, and withholding of the expertise the Buyer is seeking, to force them or bait them into compliance with the stages of the sales process.

The sales-centric, technique-reliant, Default Sales Approach depends upon constraints to function effectively. For the sales-centric seller to sell this way, they need help constraining the Buyer. Historically, the most effective Buyer constraint has been the in-person meeting. Therefore, restrictive in-person selling holds that the in-person selling meeting should be opted for whenever possible regardless of Buyer preference, to secure the constraints required by the Default Sales Approach.

The confrontational nature of the Default Sales Approach is celebrated in the sales-centric lexicon, full of it's sales-is-war analogies. Sellers are told to be courageous, to fearlessly break through Buyer defenses, to overcome objections, to fight for the deal, to win at all costs. In the end, the valiant Seller defeats the rebellious Buyer, claws the order from their grasp and stands over them, victorious! Ugh.

Sales-centric Sellers are often taught to build rapport by flattering the buyer, believing that being "liked" will lead to a sale. The idea is that inviting the buyer for coffee, lunch, or a ballgame will strengthen the relationship and potentially influence their decisions. While buyers may enjoy these outings, this approach wrongly assumes that personal connection alone can sway them to act against their best interests. In reality, buyers appreciate hospitality but base their decisions on solving their problems, not on the relationship itself or a friendly gesture. Their priority is making informed choices that serve their mission.

The Sales-is-a-numbers-game mentality suggests that success comes from making more calls, running more cadences, and sending more emails. While consistent sales calls and follow-up are essential to building business, this approach often leads Default Sales Approach salespeople to rely on sheer volume rather than meaningful engagement. They keep moving from one rejection to the next, hoping to eventually find a buyer desperate enough to respond to the spam that defines their strategy. This scattershot method—filled with tactics like "Thoughts on my last email...?"—produces more frustration than results, as it fails to align with what Buyers truly value.

Sales Own Words is the sales-centric misconception that Buyers place great importance on the salesperson’s words, assuming they will eagerly champion the solution within their organization based on the salesperson’s advice alone. This belief overlooks the Buyer’s need for a thorough, data-driven evaluation of the solution and careful alignment with their organization's strategic goals, budget constraints, and long-term objectives before making any purchasing decisions. Buyers prioritize solutions that clearly demonstrate value and fit within their broader decision-making framework, not just persuasive sales rhetoric.