Following up on my last post about The Reality Gap – that growing chasm between what philosophers debate and what technologists are building – let’s talk about how to actually bridge this gap as sales professionals.
Because here’s the uncomfortable truth: Most salespeople are selling like it’s 2012.
Your pipeline management, discovery calls, and closing techniques all assume a world that’s rapidly disappearing in the rearview mirror.
Where Opportunity Actually Lives
Remember how I mentioned that the most profitable opportunities live where mindsets and investments diverge? Let me drill deeper on this.
Right now, there are executives making billion-dollar bets on technologies that most of your prospects haven’t even considered. This creates three distinct zones:
- The Consensus Zone: Where everyone agrees. Low profit, high competition.
- The Bleeding Edge: Where only the tech zealots live. High risk, limited market.
- The Reality Gap: The sweet spot between consensus and bleeding edge.
That third zone? That’s your goldmine.
Example: While everyone argued about whether AI could translate copy, companies like DeepL were already building unicorn valuations by actually delivering it to customers.
The people who spotted that gap early made fortunes. The ones waiting for consensus? They’re now fighting for table scraps.
Getting Uncomfortable with Your Data
When’s the last time you actually tested your market assumptions?
Too many sales teams operate on outdated beliefs:
- “Our customers aren’t ready for X”
- “This industry always buys through channel”
- “Nobody will pay more than $Y for this capability”
These comfortable assumptions are killing your growth potential.
Here’s a real story:
One of my teams insisted MedTech buyers would never adopt self-service purchasing for our solution. “They need hand-holding,” the veterans said. We tested it anyway.
Guess what? Medical Technology Managers loved having autonomy to develop customized products for their specific scenarios while taking responsibility for safety, team introduction and training. Previously, we averaged six units sold per quarter, but faced high customer acquisition costs from traveling to clinics for consultations. After adding the self-service option, more than 50 units converted in the next six months through the digital channel at a lower CAC. The Reality Gap exposed a massive opportunity our assumptions had hidden.
The Three Bridges You Need to Build
So how do you actually capitalize on the Reality Gap? You need to build three bridges:
1. The Information Bridge
Most sales teams have shockingly poor intelligence on emerging technologies and methodologies. You’re selling today’s product to yesterday’s understanding of tomorrow’s problems.
Action step: Create a “Future State” brief for each major account that outlines:
- Technologies they’re investigating but haven’t deployed
- Capabilities their competitors are developing
- Emerging regulations they’ll need to address
When you walk into a meeting armed with this insight, you’re no longer pitching a product. You’re consulting on their future.
2. The Experiential Bridge
Telling prospects about the future is weak. Letting them experience it is powerful.
Action step: Develop micro-experiences that let prospects feel the Reality Gap:
- Side-by-side comparisons of old vs. new approaches
- Simulations of near-future states
- Tangible demonstrations of capability evolution
One team I worked with created a “two years from now” simulation for enterprise prospects. CFOs could literally walk through and interact with both the current state and future state of their content operations. Revenue grew by over 300%.
3. The Risk Bridge
Here’s the thing about the Reality Gap: It involves uncertainty. And uncertainty breeds fear.
Action step: Develop explicit risk-bridging mechanisms:
- Phased adoption paths with clear exit ramps
- Outcome-based pricing tied to gap-crossing metrics
- Shared investment models that align incentives
Remember: If you’re not helping prospects manage the perceived risk of crossing the Reality Gap, you’re asking them to make the leap alone. Most won’t.
The Three-Question Reality Gap Assessment
Before your next important sales call, ask yourself three questions:
- What technological reality are my prospects operating from? (Not what they say, but what their actual operations reveal)
- What technological reality are the most forward-thinking companies in their industry already building toward?
- How wide is that gap, and what keeps them from crossing it?
The wider that gap, the bigger your opportunity – if you know how to bridge it.
Why Many Salespeople Will Miss This Opportunity
Let’s be brutally honest: Many salespeople won’t adapt to this approach. Why? Because it’s harder. It requires:
- Actual technological understanding (not just feature knowledge)
- Comfort with selling futures that aren’t fully proven
- Willingness to challenge customer assumptions
- Ability to navigate uncertainty
It’s much easier to keep selling the same way to the same buyers with the same pitch.
But the revenue of tomorrow won’t flow to those taking the easy path. It will flow to those who can spot Reality Gaps and build bridges across them.
Your Reality Gap Opportunity
- Identify the three biggest technological shifts affecting your customers’ industry.
- For each one, determine: Where along the adoption curve are your prospects? Where are the industry leaders?
- Calculate the gap. This is your opportunity space.
- Design one “gap bridge” for your highest-potential account.
As the world splits between what should be and what will be, your job is becoming more valuable – if you position yourself at the crossing point.
Remember: In a world of Reality Gaps, the most successful salespeople are closing perception gaps.