Anyone who has ever undertaken sales training will have heard of the expression ‘sell the sizzle, not the sausage’. This is a reference to the need to emphasize a product or service’s benefits, not just its features. A prospective client needs to know the positive outcomes, not just the mechanics of what is being sold to them.

Likewise any manager, who has to put proposals forward to their team or senior staff, will equally be keen to push and promote the best angles. If it’s a proposal that you believe in passionately, then your personal pride will be on display when you lay things out for people to consider.

Controversial as it may seem, both the manager and the salesperson would sometimes benefit from looking at things from the other side. This is not just a question of having a prepared strategy or set of answers for any objections that may rise.

A clever strategist will know the weaknesses of their argument, and ought to be bold enough to lay them out on the table in the early stages. If you can show your audience that you know about any difficulties or weakness in your proposal, have considered them, and have come up with a strategy to minimise their impact, you are much more likely to win.

Give them not just the sausage, but the sizzle, and be prepared to let them know about the washing up.