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Whose chest are you looking at?

The pun is intended. It's actually about sales
June 16, 2026 by
HiNT d.o.o, Dragan Vukosavljević
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Short track races are always full of energy. The tension is felt even before the gun that marks the start of the race. They've all shed blood, tears and sweat over the years to show their best in, say, less than 10 seconds. Then again, probably subconsciously, when passing through the finish line, the one "by a whisker" often looks at the chest of his opponent to make sure that he is the one who won.

Professional teams working with runners develop self-reflection skills over time. What was good, what can be done better next time, etc.

How are things in sales and are we just looking "in the chest" of our competitors?


A long time ago, I had an insight into some research that says that most sales professionals know the competition better than their own products/services. Since it was a long time ago, I will not manipulate that data but will rely on my own experience working with B2B sales teams. 

A large percentage of salespeople have a good knowledge of competing products and services. Also, they are able to make comparisons of their solutions in terms of features/functionality, and only the best ones and the difference in value.

The conversation about the competition is most often initiated by the prospect, but I have rarely seen in practice sales people who initiate the conversation about the competition in order to understand how many competitors they have and how far the prospect has progressed in their buying process with the competition.

This article isn't really about how to stand out from your competitors, but to point out another aspect of the current business environment where 61% of lost business is due to customer indecision, not competition. (source Membrain "State of B2B Sales", April 2026)

Namely, the research notes that the sales process is lengthening and the success rate is decreasing, which I wrote about in my recent LinkedIn post.

Why are buyers hesitant?


One of the important factors is lack of trust. Another thing I want to address in this article is the size of the buying committees. A large percentage of respondents say that they work with 3-5 decision makers, a small percentage say that the number of committee members has increased, but the research also records one piece of information that will be shocking for some. In the enterprise environment, buying committees currently consist of  11-22 participants.

The key sales skill of 2026 is no longer persuasion. It is facilitation. 

Ability to help a group of individuals that make a buying decision navigate internal dynamics, build consensus, reduce perceived risk, and actually make a decision. It's a skill that separates the best salespeople from the rest.

The key topic of sales conversations should be internal competition: projects, changes, investments, restructuring, priorities... everything that happens in the organization of the potential customer that helps you understand mutual dependencies and how they are connected, or in conflict, so that you can manage your most important resource - time and direct the dialogue.

Opening up these topics, with the facilitation skills of such a large number of participants allows you to not only focus on one decision maker, but to understand the group, to understand the factors that influence them to feel safe while accepting risk, and how to lead the group to consensus rather than indecision.

It's time to look at your own chests and where they are in relation to the finish line. The competition is certainly around, not to mention hot on our heels...

Dragan Vukosavljević

Sales Development Consultant



HiNT d.o.o, Dragan Vukosavljević June 16, 2026
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