As for youngsters deconstructing the pitch – isn't this just a sign of the age old practices of not being very experienced at something and mocking the establishment? And hiding your inexperience with parody or sarcasm? I think we only have to watch TV shows like The Apprentice to see what younger professionals think of pitching.

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Do customers today really expect to be schmoozed by salespeople? How about in the course of this schmoozing, the salesperson will at least pretend to take an interest in them as individuals. They expect to be asked a few questions about their situation and their individual needs. Then the product presentation begins, perhaps with a demonstration, and guess what? The customer's individual needs are forgotten as the demonstration turns into a canned sales pitch that addresses all the glories of the product with no regard to which features this person actually might care about. That's like throwing darts in the dark, hoping something will hit the target.

Schmoozer vs. Partner
If you really want to distinguish yourself, here's how: Conduct sales calls in which the focus on understanding customer needs never goes away. Act as if you're a trusted partner.

In any relationship, sales or otherwise, it's not much of a meaningful relationship unless you take the time to fully understand your customer's world even if the "customer" is your friend. And how can you fully understand without the use of the open-ended question? If you want to gain your customers' loyalty and trust, behave like a business partner instead of an ordinary vendor. How would you feel about a "partner" whose concern for your actual needs suddenly evaporated while he gave you a canned product demonstration? If your focus on the customer's needs comes and goes, you're just another vendor, and the customer knows it. A partner is committed to the customer's success. And that focus doesn't waver.