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  • Harvard Business Review (website)

Why ‘Tell Them Something They Don't Know’ Is Bad Advice in B2B Sales

By: Frank V. Cespedes and Tracy DeCicco
  • Format:Electronic
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Abstract

Common advice in sales is to provide insights to customers during sales calls. But this advice generally stays at the level of “tell people something they don’t already know” and results in sales conversations littered with many irrelevant factoids. This article provides examples of how salespeople develop and deliver resonant insights in customer conversations and why the framing of insights depends upon to whom they are talking and when in the sales cycle.

Keywords

Sales; Interpersonal Communication; Communication Strategy

Citation

Cespedes, Frank V., and Tracy DeCicco. "Why ‘Tell Them Something They Don't Know’ Is Bad Advice in B2B Sales." Harvard Business Review (website) (August 19, 2019).
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About The Author

Frank V. Cespedes

Entrepreneurial Management
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More from the Authors
  • Linking Growth and the Frontline By: Frank V. Cespedes, Jay Galeota and Michael Wong
  • Linking Value and Price By: Frank V. Cespedes
  • Belden and Digital Transformation: From Product Sales to Solutions Sales By: Frank V. Cespedes and Amy Klopfenstein
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