Everyone seems to agree that salespeople should be “authentic.” Yet the moment you ask what that actually means, the answers become vague: Do what feels right for you. Sell in your own way. Be yourself.
That’s exactly where my discomfort starts.
Because taken literally, this idea implies that anything can work in sales as long as it feels authentic. And that simply isn’t true. Sales works because humans work in certain ways. Psychology, attention, trust, perception—these aren’t personal preferences. They are shared mechanisms.
This tension between universal sales principles and individual authenticity was at the heart of a long conversation I had with Sabrina Schenardi—one of the most passionate and successful sales operators I know.
What follows is not a tidy framework. It’s the essence of a real debate.
The First 10 Seconds: Where Authenticity Is Not Optional
Sabrina’s starting point is brutally practical.
In cold calling, nobody knows you. Nobody asked for your call. You don’t have trust, attention, or permission. What you have is seconds.
In that moment, tone, voice, energy, and delivery matter more than wording. The prospect isn’t evaluating your offer. They’re asking themselves silently:
Is this person competent?
Is this worth my time?
Do I trust this voice?
This is where Sabrina pushes back against purely tactical thinking. A perfect script delivered without confidence sounds robotic. A flawless structure spoken without energy creates resistance.
And she’s right: people feel uncertainty immediately.
But here’s the crucial nuance—confidence does not replace technique. It emerges from it.
Scripts, Technique, and the Confidence Paradox
One of the most important points in the conversation is also one of the least controversial—and yet often ignored.
At the beginning, everyone sounds inauthentic.
New sales reps read scripts. They sound monotone. They feel stiff. That’s not a personality flaw—it’s a learning phase. Nobody improvises well before they understand what they’re doing.
The paradox is this:
Confidence doesn’t precede structure. It follows it.
Scripts, talk tracks, and tactical rules are not the enemy of authenticity. They are the precondition for it. Once the content is internalized, the voice relaxes. Variation appears. Presence emerges.
Authenticity here is not about starting natural.
It’s about becoming natural through mastery.
Universal Tactics Exist—Whether They Feel Authentic or Not
This is where the real friction appears.
Some things simply work better than others, regardless of personality:
Speaking with variation instead of monotone delivery
Giving the other person control early in the conversation
Acknowledging the reality of a cold call instead of disguising it
Turning a pitch into a dialogue
These are not stylistic preferences. They are psychological levers.
Take mirroring, for example—matching pace, tone, and rhythm to the other person. Sabrina uses it deliberately, even though it costs her energy because it doesn’t match her natural style.
Is that inauthentic?
Her answer is important: mirroring is adaptation, not faking. Humans naturally synchronize when they connect. Mirroring accelerates that process consciously.
It becomes inauthentic only when it’s exaggerated or mechanical—when it turns into manipulation rather than alignment.
That distinction matters.
Where Authenticity Actually Lives: Values, Not Tactics
As the discussion unfolds, something becomes clear.
Authenticity is not located at the tactical level of sales.
It lives one layer deeper—in values.
Sabrina doesn’t reject tactics. She rejects salesiness. She dislikes exaggerated agreement, artificial enthusiasm, and performative persuasion. Others thrive with that style—and some are very successful with it.
Both can work.
What doesn’t work is pretending to hold values you don’t actually believe in.
That’s why authenticity clashes don’t show up in scripts first. They show up in energy drain, discomfort, and emotional exhaustion. When values don’t align, conversations feel heavy—even if the technique is correct.
Energy: The Constraint Nobody Likes to Admit
Energy became the most uncomfortable topic of the conversation.
High energy creates perceived competence, passion, and credibility. Low energy often signals uncertainty—even when that’s unfair.
Can energy be trained? To a degree, yes. Smiling while speaking, posture, breathing, gestures—all of these help.
But personality traits set real boundaries.
Extroverts can lower their intensity for a while. Introverts can raise theirs temporarily. But forcing the opposite long-term leads to exhaustion—and eventually inauthenticity.
The mature move is not to deny this, but to design roles, handovers, and coaching around it.
So What Is Authenticity in Sales?
After nearly forty minutes of debate, the conclusion isn’t ideological. It’s practical.
Authenticity in sales is not:
Doing whatever feels good
Ignoring proven techniques
Rejecting structure in the name of personality
Authenticity is:
Applying universal sales principles consciously
Adapting communication without faking identity
Operating in alignment with personal values
Building confidence through mastery, not avoidance
In other words:
Authenticity is not the absence of technique.
It is technique that has been internalized, aligned with values, and expressed through a real human being.
That distinction matters—not just for sales reps, but for anyone coaching them.
Thank you for listening and reading.
Best regards
Patrick
