Beyond the occasional short post grumble, I have been wanting to write about this topic for some time, but I have refrained from doing so because it is a longstanding pet peeve of mine. When I say ‘longstanding,’ I am referring to a period of forty years.
Obviously, I will not reveal any names or specifics, but I will share with you the following email exchange, after which I will provide some data to you.
ProcureTech Exec:
I see the two questions but it just feels like too much guessing and overkill for an initial outreach. The document is already 20 pages.** For example, we don’t know if they are happy with (existing supplier) and would want to augment in P2P, use our solution in parallel for different categories, or replace. Very different message based on that and would require discovery to understand. Ultimately I would leave to sales team but my guess is that they will think this is too much guess effort just to have a conversation.
**For clarity, I conducted the research and provided a 20-page overview based on my investment in understanding the practitioner’s needs. All the salespeople had to do was review it – by the way most of it was tables and graphs with bullet point explanations, and answer a couple of questions.
My Response:
I am preparing this document and assessment for a practitioner contact – they are as much my client as you are. Do you understand that?
As for too much effort. How much time do I spend on the practitioner side of my business to ensure that their time isn’t wasted? That’s why they come to me. Besides, these are fundamental questions – if your salespeople are experienced, they should already know, or have some idea based on their experience, how to answer these questions. And if they can’t even respond to these pre-qualification questions, then why would I introduce them?
I am going to be blunt, based on what I have seen so far, your salespeople want to be fed names, or let your marketing material open the doors for them. After 40-plus years in high tech and procurement, that doesn’t work for long.
The Reason For My Response (The Data)
What percentage of ProcureTech salespeople simply want to be provided with leads and have the marketing materials open doors for them?
Estimated Percentage
60% to 75% of ProcureTech salespeople rely heavily on marketing-generated leads and brand-driven awareness to open doors rather than independently developing strategic relationships.
Key Contributing Factors
Factor
Impact on Sales Behavior
Complexity of procurement buying cycles
Salespeople rely on marketing to simplify messaging and initiate contact
Lack of domain knowledge
Many reps struggle to engage with practitioners beyond surface-level needs
Compensation structure
Incentivizes short-term wins over long-term relationship building
Overdependence on analyst rankings
Use Magic Quadrants and Wave reports to validate presence, not insight
Low practitioner trust in “pitch-first” reps
Reduces direct outreach effectiveness, increasing reliance on marketing
Contrasting Minority: Strategic Sellers (~25% to 40%)
Can build narratives without over-relying on PDFs or analyst charts
Engage practitioner-to-practitioner through insight-led conversations
Why This Matters
CPOs and procurement leaders often filter out marketing-speak.
Sales teams that fail to “earn the right” to have strategic conversations lose to quieter, more informed competitors.
Those that rely on content over conversation often struggle to convert or sustain relationships.
TODAY’S TAKEAWAY
ProcureTech initiative failure rates range between 60% and 80%. I can’t help but think that today’s post marks the beginning of the problems.
There is a general feeling that most solution providers struggle to or are reluctant to strike a balance between meeting revenue targets and maintaining a consultative and knowledgeable sales process, as described above.
30
BONUS COVERAGE (WHAT DO THE GRAPHS TELL YOU?)
the
The bar chart compares:
Average ProcureTech Sales Rep Tenure: ~18 months
Average Enterprise Deal Closure Time: ~15 months
This highlights a critical challenge: many salespeople exit before completing a full enterprise sales cycle, impacting continuity, trust-building, and deal success.
Procurement Insights 
Most ProcureTech Salespeople’s Motto: Shut-up And Feed Us Names!
Posted on June 6, 2025
0
Beyond the occasional short post grumble, I have been wanting to write about this topic for some time, but I have refrained from doing so because it is a longstanding pet peeve of mine. When I say ‘longstanding,’ I am referring to a period of forty years.
Obviously, I will not reveal any names or specifics, but I will share with you the following email exchange, after which I will provide some data to you.
ProcureTech Exec:
I see the two questions but it just feels like too much guessing and overkill for an initial outreach. The document is already 20 pages.** For example, we don’t know if they are happy with (existing supplier) and would want to augment in P2P, use our solution in parallel for different categories, or replace. Very different message based on that and would require discovery to understand. Ultimately I would leave to sales team but my guess is that they will think this is too much guess effort just to have a conversation.
**For clarity, I conducted the research and provided a 20-page overview based on my investment in understanding the practitioner’s needs. All the salespeople had to do was review it – by the way most of it was tables and graphs with bullet point explanations, and answer a couple of questions.
My Response:
I am preparing this document and assessment for a practitioner contact – they are as much my client as you are. Do you understand that?
As for too much effort. How much time do I spend on the practitioner side of my business to ensure that their time isn’t wasted? That’s why they come to me. Besides, these are fundamental questions – if your salespeople are experienced, they should already know, or have some idea based on their experience, how to answer these questions. And if they can’t even respond to these pre-qualification questions, then why would I introduce them?
I am going to be blunt, based on what I have seen so far, your salespeople want to be fed names, or let your marketing material open the doors for them. After 40-plus years in high tech and procurement, that doesn’t work for long.
The Reason For My Response (The Data)
What percentage of ProcureTech salespeople simply want to be provided with leads and have the marketing materials open doors for them?
Estimated Percentage
Key Contributing Factors
Contrasting Minority: Strategic Sellers (~25% to 40%)
These are the consultative reps who:
Why This Matters
TODAY’S TAKEAWAY
30
BONUS COVERAGE (WHAT DO THE GRAPHS TELL YOU?)
the
The bar chart compares:
This highlights a critical challenge: many salespeople exit before completing a full enterprise sales cycle, impacting continuity, trust-building, and deal success.
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