--- title: Why the Context of Your Sales Conversation Matters | The Sales Blog description: Context matters. Where you start a conversation with your dream client matters a great deal. How and where you begin is going to create an impression image: https://www.thesalesblog.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/pencils-in-formation.jpg --- ### [Now booking SKO meetings for 2026/27! 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How and where you begin is going to create an impression and set the stage for who you are, the value you create, and whether or not you are relevant—and if you prove you are, lead to another meeting. The reason you need to delete the first eight slides of [your PowerPoint presentation](http://thesalesblog.com/2013/06/19/no-one-wants-a-powerpoint-presentation/) is that opening with your company’s history, your global or national footprint, the logos of all the big, well-recognized clients you’ve won, and your service offerings, is that you establish a few things that don’t serve you or your prospective client. First, by leaning on your company for credibility, you come across as the “Is my company the kind of company you want to do business with” kind of salesperson. What you are telegraphing is that you don’t have the credibility to belong in a conversation about value, that your credibility comes from your company. Not only do you lean too heavily on your company, by listing all the companies you are doing business with, you are providing further proof, should there be any doubt about your bona fides. Second, and maybe worse, by talking about your products and services, you give your client the impression that your product and service is how you create value for them and their organization. You may aspire to be a trusted advisor, but your product and service is not advice, making all of these things the wrong context for a conversation. The context in which you create value is one in which you provide ideas, insight, experience, and direction about what has changed and the implication of those changes for your prospective client. The context for your conversation now needs to be about the strategic outcomes you can help your client generate, how you help move them from their current state to a better future state—one they don’t even know is available to them. This is the context in which you can establish yourself as someone with the ideas and experience to make you a likely candidate to be your dream client’s strategic partner and not a salesperson with too little value to be worth their time. ###### Tags: [Sales](https://www.thesalesblog.com/blog/tag/sales) [2018](https://www.thesalesblog.com/blog/tag/2018) Post by [Anthony Iannarino](https://www.thesalesblog.com/blog/author/anthony-iannarino) on August 13, 2018 Written and edited by human brains and human hands. ![Anthony Iannarino](https://www.thesalesblog.com/hubfs/ai-blog-profile-crop.jpg) Anthony Iannarino is an American writer. He has published daily at [thesalesblog.com](https://www.thesalesblog.com) for more than 14 years, amassing over 5,300 articles and making this platform a destination for salespeople and sales leaders. Anthony is also the author of four best-selling books documenting modern sales methodologies and a fifth book for sales leaders seeking revenue growth. His latest book for an even wider audience is titled, The Negativity Fast: Proven Techniques to Increase Positivity, Reduce Fear, and Boost Success. Anthony speaks to sales organizations worldwide, delivering cutting-edge sales strategies and tactics that work in this ever-evolving B2B landscape. He also provides workshops and seminars. Connect with Anthony on LinkedIn, X or Youtube. 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What we’re doing right now **is working**, even in this challenging economy. **Would you like some help?** [![Solve for Sales](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/2922376/d3a4938b-2008-4a27-8b44-7b2223f6d035.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/2922376/d3a4938b-2008-4a27-8b44-7b2223f6d035) ### Join my Weekly Newsletter for Sales Tips Join 100,000+ sales professionals in my weekly newsletter and get my *Guide to Becoming a Sales Hustler* eBook for FREE! --- ```json { "@context" : "http://schema.org/", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Anthony Iannarino" }, "dateModified" : "2024-03-01T6:19:03 PM", "datePublished" : "2018-08-13 22:51:10", "description" : "Context matters. Where you start a conversation with your dream client matters a great deal. 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