A few days ago, Scott Santucci posed a provocative question:
“Do your sellers need critical thinking skills?”
He wasn’t looking for a theoretical answer. He was challenging us to show what that looks like, in the real world, when the stakes are high.
This resonated deeply. Because what we’re seeing right now across go-to-market teams is not just turbulence—it’s the storm of the century.
What the Storm Looks Like
From the frontlines of sales and strategy, here’s what the weather map shows:
Markets are louder and less forgiving
Buyers are overwhelmed. Products blur together. Trust is low. There is no room for confusion, feature-speak, or ungrounded claims.
Revenue teams have lost message control
Internally, there’s a drift. CROs are under pressure. CFOs are demanding clarity. Sellers are still getting decks instead of decisions tools. What should be a unified message is splintered into functions.
The old way isn’t holding up
More tech, more training, more templates—it’s not moving the needle. What’s missing is the ability to think in the moment, to navigate ambiguity, and to co-create a clear path to change with the customer.
That’s what critical thinking really is. And it’s not optional anymore.
A Real Example of Critical Thinking in Action
At NCR, critical thinking wasn’t a slide—it was the difference between a $5M deal and a $27.5M outcome. That one shift launched Mike Saylor and hundreds of MicroStrategy sellers into financial security, and created a partnership that redefined an entire category.
You can read the full story here:
Finding a Deal – NCR & MicroStrategy, Vol. 3
This wasn’t luck. It was the result of structured thinking, bold reframing, and narrative alignment across buying and selling teams.
So What Now?
We agree with Scott: sales is a performance discipline. But too often it’s treated like a compliance exercise. If your GTM is less than watertight heading into this storm, now is the time to fix it—not next quarter.
The winners will be those who:
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Clarify their story at the buyer level
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Equip teams with frameworks, not fluff
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Create space for real-time, adaptive decision-making
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Measure the quality of the conversation, not just the conversion
Read Scott’s original post here:
Do Your Sellers Need Critical Thinking Skills?
We’ll be unpacking more of this in the coming weeks. Because weathering the storm starts with better thinking—and better stories.