Vendors are selling urgency. Here's how to buy clarity instead.

There's a pattern in enterprise AI sales right now that every IT leader should recognise.

The pitch starts with a market share slide. Then a competitor fears a slide. Then, a roadmap that makes it look like waiting six months means falling irreversibly behind. Then a "limited availability" close.

It works because the pressure is real. Boards are asking about AI strategy. Leadership wants answers. And vendors know that urgency is their most powerful tool.

The antidote isn't scepticism — it's specificity. The moment you ask a vendor to map their solution to your specific workload, your specific data architecture, and your specific TCO model, the pitch either gets sharper or falls apart.

Good vendors welcome specific questions. They've been waiting for them.

Bad vendors redirect to another slide.

That's your filter. Not the benchmark. Not the logo wall. The quality of their answer when you ask something they didn't prepare for.