LinkedIn Guru's vs Real Sales People: Spotting the Fakes.

Every time I scroll LinkedIn, I see another “sales influencer” explaining how to prospect, negotiate, or close a deal. The problem? A worrying number of them have never actually done any of it. They’ve never carried a quota, sweated over a quarter-end, or had to justify discounting to a CFO who can smell weakness a mile away.

Here’s a simple test to spot the fakes:

1. Have they carried a number? If their income has never depended on hitting a sales target, they don’t know the pressure you’re under. Advice without context is just noise.
2. Have they closed real deals? And I mean closed - not “helped influence pipeline.” I’m talking PO in hand, contract signed, champagne (or instant coffee) opened.
3. Do they talk in buzzwords or stories? “Leverage synergies to maximise prospect engagement” is corporate wallpaper. “I lost a six-figure deal because I ignored procurement” - that’s a lesson you can actually use.

Sales is messy, unpredictable, and human. It’s not a perfectly optimised LinkedIn carousel. You only learn the game by being in the trenches: making the calls, building the relationships and losing deals you thought were nailed on. Any good sales person has plenty of lost deal war stories to share!

So before you hit like, comment, or share on a guru’s post, ask yourself: Would I trust this person to walk into my biggest prospect meeting with me? If the answer’s no, stop giving them your attention.

Practical Tip of the Week: Find one person in your network who’s carried a quota and has the scars to prove it. Take them for a coffee and ask them about their worst lost deal. You’ll learn more in that hour than from a month of influencer “content.”