Sales Propaganda: Using the System Without Being Used by It
When people hear the word propaganda, they imagine wartime posters or political slogans. But as Jacques Ellul pointed out more than 60 years ago, propaganda is rarely loud or obvious. It’s the invisible fabric of a system. It doesn’t just tell people what to think - it quietly shapes what feels normal, rational, and inevitable.
Look around modern B2B sales and you’ll see the same thing. AI-powered prospecting. Bullet-point scripts for every stage of the funnel. Dashboards overflowing with KPIs. None of these are bad. In fact, they create clarity in a messy job. They give rookies confidence and managers visibility. But here’s the catch: once they stop being tools and start being truths, they become our propaganda.
The danger isn’t that these systems exist - it’s that we stop questioning them. We follow the script instead of finding our own voice. We rely on AI’s version of personalization instead of our own. We chase the metric instead of the meaning. And in doing so, we confuse the foundations of selling with its essence.
The mature Rep sees this. They don’t reject the system. They use it - but with lucidity. They know when to lean on the checklist and when to throw it away. They know AI can prepare the ground, but only their personality can win the room. They know KPIs matter, but customer trust matters more.
The Seduction of the Script
Scripts are comforting. They turn chaos into bullet points. They tell you exactly what to say, when to say it, and how to pivot. For someone starting out, they’re a lifeline.
But here’s the problem: once you master the basics, clinging to scripts makes you predictable. Buyers can feel when you’re reciting lines instead of listening. Scripts teach you the form of selling but not its soul.
And it’s not just in sales calls. Look at LinkedIn. Post after post: “5 things every Rep should do,” “10 habits of top performers,” “3 bullet points to win any meeting.” Read one, and you’ve read a thousand. It feels like insight, but it’s really repetition. When was the last time you read something that contradicted the mainstream idea, instead of recycling it?
The expert Rep knows the script is scaffolding, not the building. It’s there to get you started - but you’re supposed to throw it away once you’ve learned to stand on your own.
AI as the New “Technical Progress”
Ellul argued that modern societies present technology as inevitable. Not just useful -inevitable. That’s exactly how AI shows up in sales today. To question it feels foolish, even backward.
And to be clear: AI is useful. It cleans data, drafts outreach, suggests next steps. But the very efficiency that makes it powerful also makes it dangerous. If every Rep uses the same AI-driven template, personalization becomes mass-produced. Everyone starts to sound the same.
AI should be your assistant, not your identity. It should save you time so you can add the one thing it can’t: your judgment, your curiosity, your quirks. That’s where trust is built - and trust isn’t something an algorithm can fake.
KPI Obsession and the Data Mirage
Sales runs on metrics. Pipeline coverage. Conversion ratios. Forecast accuracy. They give managers a sense of control, a way to compare, a way to decide.
But let’s not confuse precision with truth. KPIs are only as good as their inputs. Garbage in, garbage out. And when numbers become the story, Reps adjust their behavior to fit the metric, not the customer. The dashboard starts managing the Rep, instead of the other way around.
Scroll through LinkedIn and you’ll see endless charts, dashboards, and “data-backed” lists of what top Reps supposedly do. Different colors, different logos, same message: trust the numbers. But numbers don’t close deals - people do.
Take CRM. In theory, it’s “Customer Relationship Management.” In practice, it’s whatever the dominant power in the company wants it to be. If Finance leads, CRM becomes a reporting tool. If Legal leads, it’s compliance. If Sales Ops leads, it’s activity tracking. Rarely is it truly about managing customer relationships. (See CRM – the Heart and Backbone of Your Organization for more)
And here’s the subtle danger: a system that looks neutral is never neutral. CRM doesn’t just track reality - it defines it. The fields you’re asked to fill, the reports you’re told to generate, the dashboards managers stare at - none of that emerges naturally. It reflects the values and priorities of whoever designed the system.
That’s the real trap of metrics: they don’t just measure your sales - they quietly shape the way you sell.
From Rookie to Expert: Cultivating Lucidity
Ellul’s conclusion was sobering: you can’t escape propaganda, but you can cultivate lucidity. You can learn to see the system for what it is and refuse to be entirely absorbed by it.
That’s exactly what separates the rookie from the expert in sales. The rookie depends fully on the system: the playbook, the AI, the KPI dashboard. The expert still uses those tools, but they use them consciously. They know when to follow - and when to deviate.
That ability to step outside the script, to recognize the narrative for what it is, is the essence of maturity in sales. It’s the Rep who doesn’t just “use the system,” but learns how to use it without being used by it.
Closing
Propaganda, Ellul said, isn’t an exception to modern life - it’s the infrastructure that keeps it running. The same is true in sales. AI, scripts, and KPIs aren’t going away. They will keep shaping what feels like common sense.
The real difference between rookies and experts isn’t whether they use those tools - it’s how. The rookie treats them as gospel. The expert treats them as scaffolding. The rookie follows. The expert filters, bends, and sometimes breaks.
For companies, having Reps follow the script is convenient. It creates uniformity and makes people easily replaceable. For Reps, that’s the trap: if you only follow, you turn yourself into a commodity. At the start, scripts and KPIs are essential - they build your foundation. But if you want to rise above the crowd - if you want to be the Rep your company can’t afford to lose - you need to step beyond them.
Ellul’s warning was clear: you don’t escape propaganda, but you can choose how consciously you live within it. The same goes for sales. Your freedom doesn’t come from rejecting AI, scripts, or dashboards - it comes from refusing to let them define you.
Lucidity is the last freedom we get in a system built to condition us. And in sales, that lucidity is what separates the Rep who repeats the story from the one who rewrites it.