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4 Levers of Negotiating w/ The Sales Historian Todd Caponi | Sales Gravy Podcast
Sales Gravy7 Aug 2026
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And that's why I go back to that phrase of, hey, true salesmanship is the science of service. That when we see our world and our responsibility as being that guide and that navigator and presenting the pros and the cons, here's what we're great at, here's what we're not. If I'm in your shoes, here's what I would love, here's what I wouldn't. “You build trust, you win fast, you lose fast.” But if you see the world through this idea, again, more information has never made it easier, it's always made it harder. And these words, buyers know more nowadays, you're going to keep seeing it, but that shouldn't be a threat to the good sales professional. Those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it. I haven't had that context before.
And then why does a salesperson who presents the perfect solution kind of give the flip side of that coin? Like, why is it actually detrimental? The pratfall effect in essence is basically sharing, you know, small humanizing errors and that sort of thing. What I advocate is more around that idea of, hey, buyers know more nowadays, and it's our “role to expose both the pros and the cons.” The transparency sale came from this idea that in my last role, I was the chief revenue officer of a company based in Chicago called Power Reviews. Now you've never heard of them, but you've used the tech and not realized it. You bought a pair of Crocs or sweater on vineyard vines or a thousand other retailers. You look at the product, you scroll down, there's reviews under it.