Sales Gravy: Jeb Blount

Mastermind Group Incredible Asks Jeb Blount Their Toughest Sales Questions In this episode of the Sales Gravy Podcast, Mastermind Group Incredible asks Jeb Blount their real-life questions as he provides solutions to overcome their toughest sales challenges. Some of their questions include: standing out in a final round interview process, targeting and selling into larger accounts, losing to a competitor, and ways to contact hard-to-reach stakeholders on LinkedIn. Whether you’re a solopreneur, small business owner, sales professional, you’ll take away powerful strategies to advance your career, grow your business, or land your dream account. Small companies lose customers because they take them for granted and don’t address their concerns. To win big deals, put a wedge between the incumbent vendor and the customer and look for issues that can be addressed. Personalized service and attention are selling points for small companies managing accounts with larger competitors. The hardest thing to do when scaling a business is moving from where you are to the next place. To get big accounts, create a list of 10-25 dream accounts and target them specifically. When using LinkedIn, sending a voice message or using Vidyard for video messages can be effective. Layering on other parts of a messaging sequence, such as phone calls or handwritten notes, can increase effectiveness. Chat GPT can be a useful tool for writing proposals and creating sales messages, but it can also degrade the quality of written communication if used lazily. Q: How Do I Stand Out In The Final Round Of The Interview Process? To leave a lasting impression during a presentation in your final round of interviews, use a strategic approach. A useful tactic is to speak last, also known as the availability bias. In a final presentation interview, demonstrating ROI is crucial, especially in today’s economy. Use a business case to showcase the value you bring. Start by discussing what you discovered during the discovery phase, the problems you faced, and the future state after your program is implemented. Highlight values that are important to individual stakeholders, like personal outcomes and emotional outcomes such as peace of mind and trust in the vendor. Be sure to make your case using business language, not just marketing brochures, and support it with math. To provide a value framework, follow these steps: articulate the problem you discovered, make a recommendation to solve it, and describe the outcomes your recommendation will generate in terms of measurable business outcomes, personal outcomes, and emotional outcomes. Use the audience’s language and be specific. By following this structure, you’ll help the audience absorb information more effectively. Q: How Do I start Targeting Larger Accounts? Scaling up into larger businesses can be overwhelming, but the first step is to take action. While hitting singles may be easier, it’s important to pursue bigger opportunities to gain experience selling larger deals. However, it’s also important to not overlook the value of smaller deals and to have a consistent pipeline of singles, doubles, triples, and home runs. This helps de-risk your pipeline and income while providing opportunities for growth and a bigger income. To reduce risk in your pipeline, it’s crucial to have strong qualifying mechanisms and a solid understanding of a potential client’s fit with your company. Identifying decision-making roles and stakeholders is also essential. When pursuing a deal, it’s important to build an unassailable business case for why your company is the right choice. This involves mapping out every detail and identifying potential challenges and solutions. Finally, use murder boarding to identify potential obstacles and develop strategies to overcome them. By the time of the final presentation, you should feel confident that the client has already made the decision to do business with you. In summary, take action, carefully qualify leads, and focus on strategy for each deal. Surround yourself with knowledgeable individuals who can assist with awareness and strategy. With the right deals in your pipeline and discipline to work your strategy, success is achievable. Q: Why Did We Lose To A Competitor? Small companies often lose customers because they don’t value them enough. In fact, studies show that 70% of the time, when a loyal customer switches to another business, it’s because they felt unappreciated. Competitors use this as an opportunity to ask the right questions and find weaknesses in your business. If they discover mistakes or billing issues, the buyer may become defensive and turn to the competition. As a smaller company, it can be difficult to save the deal when you have limited resources and other priorities. Meanwhile, the competitor has already done the math and convinced the stakeholder group to switch. To win big deals, you need to create distance between the customer and the incumbent vendor. I recommend taking a course on Sales Group University called “competitive displacement selling” for guidance on how to do this. Start by assessing the strength of the incumbent vendor and look for ways to highlight any issues or concerns. Personalized service is a selling point for small companies, especially when competing against larger competitors. However, don’t take your customers for granted. There are always salespeople waiting for you to slip up. Stay in touch with your customers, even if it’s just once a month, to show them that you care. If you do make mistakes, apologize and be patient. It may take time to earn back their trust. Q: How Do I Get In Touch With A Hard-To-Reach Stakeholder? Video Will Help You Stand Out From The Crowd If you want to connect with a stakeholder and are struggling to capture their attention, there are a few steps you can take that will help you stand out. First, create a short video that explains how your skills or services can help them achieve their business goals. You can upload the video directly to LinkedIn. CEOs are primarily interested in making money, so be sure to emphasize how your approach can help them get from point A to point B. Snail Mail Still Works Next, follow up with a handwritten letter to their office. Reiterate the same points you made in the video in a letter format. Put the letter in an envelope, add postage, and send it. To make it more impactful, consider using an overnight mail service like FedEx. This way, when the CEO receives the envelope and sees that it’s important, they are more likely to read it. Handwritten notes are affordable and effective, so it’s worth incorporating them into your outreach strategy. Focus On Building A Relationship Over Time Avoid sending LinkedIn messages too frequently, but give yourself a year to engage with this person, as relationship-building is a long-term effort. Keep trying until you receive a definitive “no.” Remember, circumstances can change, and they may need your services in the future. If that happens, it would be a significant win for you and worth the effort. Hone Your Messaging With A Value Bridge Another thing to keep in mind is the importance of checking your message. If you’re not getting any engagement despite sending lots of content, people may lose interest. To grab their attention, start by showing that you can relate to them. Instead of beginning with something like, “Hey, I want to talk to you because…”, try starting with something like, “I can’t even imagine what it’s like to be the CEO of a software company in today’s world, where it’s hard to find people who can code at a high level.” This approach instantly captures their attention and shows that you’re thinking about their specific situation. After you’ve established a connection, make a value bridge that connects the problem or issue to how you can help them. For instance, you could say something like, “Here’s what I do in this situation – I help companies with this. I don’t know whether or not I’m a fit for you, but wouldn’t it at least make sense for us to get together so I can ask a few questions and learn more about you to see if it makes sense for us to keep talking?” Leverage An Omni-Channel Approach With High Priority Accounts Keep your goals in mind as you prioritize your outreach efforts. Identify a list of 10 to 25 dream accounts, which are your top priority prospects. Share this list with your team and start targeting them with a variety of tactics, such as monthly mailings. Adjust your plan every year as you learn what works and what doesn’t. It’s impossible to maintain the same level of intensity with every opportunity, so it’s essential to set priorities. Consider incorporating other parts of the sequence, such as phone, voice, video, and written messages in addition to LinkedIn. Handwritten notes or in-person meetings can also be effective, especially if the people you’re reaching out to are local. In-person prospecting is making a comeback and people are generally receptive to it. Join A Sales Gravy Mastermind Group A Mastermind Group is a peer-to-peer mentoring group where individuals come together to help each other solve their problems and improve their lives or businesses. It is a powerful tool for personal and professional growth. Sales Gravy Mastermind Groups are an excellent way to improve your sales skills, become a more effective leader, or solve problems. Our masterminds are facilitated by a Master Sales Trainer and include additional training resources to build on group discussions. You can learn more about Mastermind Groups and how they can help you reach your goals here. Looking to go beyond a mastermind group and get one-to-one personalized coaching? Well, we have a free guide to help you identify the right coach for you. Download HERE

Curiosity Is Your Key To Effective Cold Calling On this episode of the Sales Gravy podcast, Ulysses Price, filling in for Jeb Blount, interviews Chris Beall, CEO of ConnectAndSell. ConnectAndSell is a software service that helps salespeople initiate conversations with prospects. Beall explains how market dominance and the humble cold call are connected. His prospecting philosophy requires the salesperson to build trust and demonstrate curiosity, master the first few seconds of the conversation to create emotional buy-in, and avoid triggering psychological reactance. By breaking down the conversation and practicing each part in training, sales reps can improve their skills and conduct more successful sales conversations. Chris Beall connected the dots between market dominance and the potential impact of a humble cold call. Calibrated callers are comfortable using a psychological framework, playful curiosity, and confidence to create a clean read from potential customers and insist on a meeting. The seven-second rule is a technique for building trust in a cold call by demonstrating tactical empathy and competence to solve the problem of the caller being an interruption. The risk of B2B sales is a career risk, not a financial risk. B2B salespeople are necessary because buyers risk their careers when making buying decisions. Salespeople must gain the trust of potential customers to become the expert and be on their side. Sales reps must be able to make a clean read of a potential customer, understand their needs and interests, and provide value. Handle objections in a delicate and curious manner, stick to your guns, and position yourself as an expert to establish trust quickly. Gain Your Prospect’s Trust In Seven Seconds Cold calling is still one of the most effective ways of reaching potential customers, but it can be a daunting task for many salespeople, especially when you don’t know where to start. To start a conversation, we need to gain someone’s trust. Without trust, they won’t listen to us, and we won’t get far. When we make a cold call, the person we’re speaking with only wants to end the conversation while keeping their self-image intact. If they didn’t care about their self-image, they would just hang up. So we have a small window of opportunity to gain their trust— just seven seconds. In those seven seconds is to help the other party see that we see the world through their eyes. We call it tactical empathy. Secondly, we need to demonstrate to them that we’re competent in solving a problem they have right now. Their problem could be me, but I can always offer to go away in exchange for something. You want them to listen to you, so you make that offer. For example, you might open the call with a statement like: “I know I’m an interruption. Can I take 27 seconds to tell you why I called?” By saying this, you’re self-indicting right at the beginning. That’s what the other party is already thinking about you. You beat them to the punch. As a seller, it’s essential to establish trust with your audience, especially in B2B sales. Eventually, they have to trust you more than they trust themselves and view you as the expert. This is why the first seven seconds are crucial in establishing trust with your audience. Do it wisely, and they will trust you forever, but try selling to them, and you’ll lose their trust in an instant. Then comes the pitch: “We’ve made a breakthrough that eliminates the waste and frustration that hinder your best sales reps from being effective on the phone. My call today is to request 15 minutes of your time to share this with you. Do you have your calendar handy?” Sounds easy, right? But it’s not. The waste is economic, and the frustration is emotional. That’s because frustration triggers the part of our brain that causes us to lash out. Be careful not to trigger anger and instead, use a tone of voice that shows you understand what frustration means. You want to connect with your listener on an emotional level and build trust. Remember, your voice is more important than your words. Use it skillfully to deliver emotional information and show that you truly get them, their needs, and their challenges and want to help solve them together. What Is A Calibrated Caller? There are two things that make a calibrated caller. First, they become very comfortable using a psychological framework, which I’ll call a script framework. They get good at it and become comfortable with it. The framework consists of several steps: throwing yourself under the bus, making your voice playful, leading with curiosity instead of value, and insisting that the person take the meeting. The reps are trained to lead with value, but the resonance comes from leading with curiosity to see if somebody is curious enough to take a meeting. Insisting that the person take the meeting requires a kind of confidence and belief in the value of the meeting, which isn’t equal across all reps. You need somebody who can do the whole thing, who can throw themselves under the bus, make their voice playful, go to curiosity, and insist they take the meeting. A calibrated caller is somebody who has proven they can do all of that work in a cold call, which we call an ambush call, and they can do it in any topic or product area. They’re not dependent on the message, just a belief in the potential value of the meeting for the person they’re talking with. Live Calling Is The Best Way To Practice Learning to cold call can be really challenging. Cold calling is associated with several issues. One of the problems is that until you can use your voice effectively under pressure, it can be problematic. People on the other end can detect insincerity and uncertainty in the same way that wolves can smell fear. Therefore, it’s essential to overcome this hurdle. How can you do it? By practicing under pressure. Live calling is an excellent way to practice. It’s also important to keep the cycle time of practice in mind. Here are the four steps to learning how to make effective cold calls that convert. Learn How to Make Effective Cold Calls In 4 Steps The first stage is getting the opener right. This is where the seller needs to grab the prospect’s attention within the first few seconds of the call. Using a playful, curious tone encourages the prospect to want to hear more. The second stage is getting the curiosity message out. This is where the seller needs to pique the prospect’s interest and make them curious about what the seller has to offer. Using a storytelling approach will help you to build a narrative that will engage the prospect and make them want to learn more. The third stage is learning how to handle objections. As you well know, the best objection is the one you don’t get in the first place. Avoid objections by staying away from value-based statements that could make the prospect feel like they are not doing their job well. Instead, he suggests using a curiosity-based approach that focuses on the prospect’s needs and pain points. The fourth stage is asking for the meeting and sticking to your guns. This is where the seller needs to be confident in the value of the meeting they are offering. They need to deeply believe that the meeting will provide potential value to the prospect, even if they never do business together. By sticking to their guns and asking for the meeting, the seller can build trust with the prospect and establish a relationship that could lead to future business opportunities. This approach to cold calling focuses on building trust with the prospect and understanding their needs. By using a curiosity framework and deeply believing in the potential value of the meeting being offered, salespeople can master the art of cold calling and achieve great success in sales. Always Lead With Curiosity Mastering cold calling requires a well-thought-out approach that takes into account the prospect’s needs and unique challenges. According to Chris Beall, the purpose of a cold call is to establish trust with the prospect. This can be achieved by using a curiosity framework to build a narrative that will engage the prospect and make them want to learn more. By following the four-stage process outlined by Beall, salespeople can master the art of cold calling and achieve great success in sales. The first stage is getting the opener right, followed by getting the curiosity message out, learning how to handle objections, and finally, asking for the meeting and sticking to your guns. By using a curiosity-based approach and deeply believing in the potential value of the meeting being offered, salespeople can build trust with their prospects and establish a relationship that could lead to future business opportunities.

Building and Leading a Successful Sales Team On this episode of the podcast, Allison Walsh, Vice President of Business Development and Branding for Advanced Recovery Systems, a national behavioral healthcare company, discusses her experience in building and leading a successful sales team. Starting as the second employee of the company, she has been instrumental in its growth to a team of a thousand and counting. The organization offers inpatient substance abuse treatment, mental health treatment, and a mental wellness application called Nobu. Walsh shares insights on the importance of trust, relationships, and professional development in nurturing and retaining sales talent, as well as the challenges and opportunities of pivoting to virtual selling during the pandemic. Allison shares her experience of nurturing and developing sales talent, and her journey as a young leader managing more experienced team members. Trust, relationships, and professional development are instrumental in nurturing and retaining sales talent. Focus on personal and professional development instead of financial incentives. Showing extreme compassion and support for your team pays off in the long run for both company culture and retention. Create other career pathways for people to develop personally and professionally, even if they don’t want the responsibility of managing humans. Motions that leaders do to create relationship and trust with their people are the same behaviors that salespeople can emulate to build relationship and trust with their prospects. Allison shares how her organization pivoted to virtual selling during the pandemic and invested in video technology to communicate with their partners for a blended approach to sales. Discover the power of seeing, valuing, and hearing every employee and looking at the world from the perspective of “everybody matters.”

Sales Training Is An Investment In YOU In this episode of the Sales Gravy Podcast, Jeb Blount is joined by Sarah Browner, the Global Sales Enablement Manager at Adobe. If you are a sales leader, sales enablement professional, or training facilitator, you will want to tune in for their conversation about keeping learners engaged and using feedback to improve enablement initiatives. As for salespeople, you’ll find out why it’s critical to continue advancing your skills and investing in yourself throughout your sales career. Sales enablement is a critical investment for companies looking to increase sales. Sales skills, particularly soft skills, are perishable and need to be continuously developed. Taking advantage of free training opportunities is crucial for personal and professional development. Learning is never wasted, and even reviewing familiar concepts can provide new perspectives. Leaders and trainers should give learners options and ask for feedback to keep them engaged. Meeting learners where they are means providing information in a modality that works best for them. Increase Skills to Increase Sales As part of Sarah’s role, she is responsible for curating enablement for over 2000 individual contributing sales reps for Adobe, globally. She either finds or creates the information that their sales reps need to perform their jobs more effectively. Adobe, like hundreds of other companies that we work with at Sales Gravy, invest in sales enablement and training for one simple reason— to increase sales, sellers need to continually increase their skillset. Why Invest In Sales Enablement? Sales training and enablement isn’t just for new hires. Salespeople must not only master the basics and fundamentals of selling, but in order to see continued success and growth, it is crucial that they advance their skills— long after the onboarding process has concluded. One of the frustrations that sales enablement leaders face is hearing dissent from salespeople who think they know everything and don’t need to learn more. This way of thinking is dangerous. Sales as a profession is changing constantly, especially with the never-ending advances in technology. To make your number and stay ahead, you need to be adept with these new technologies and always be looking for opportunities to expand your knowledge when it comes to your product, your competition, and the selling tools at your disposal. There Is No Unused Learning You might be instructed or advised to join a team-wide training session or read a book as part of a team book club. And you might think, “There’s nothing new here.” The truth is, this cynicism is holding you back. Almost everything we learn, everything that’s presented to us, someone has already thought of. The important part of taking in information, even if it’s something you knew already, is the chance to reconfigure your thinking. In sales, we apply the fundamental basics of how we interact with people, from soft skills to how we develop our products, to different contexts and circumstances. Products, services, and software change, and we must learn to navigate those changes out of necessity. In training, you might learn a concept or hear a practical piece of advice you’ve heard before, but you can get a new perspective on existing knowledge because it’s presented or applied in a different context. Learning is never wasted. Never Turn Down Free Training Your company likely provides training opportunities, so it’s wise to take advantage of them. Workshops, even virtual ones, are delivered in a live format and watching a recording won’t provide the same benefit. Attending training sessions live or in person allows you to learn from your coworkers, share ideas, and expand your way of thinking. Investing in your education and training is important, because it makes a difference. At Sales Gravy University, we have 30,000 users, most of whom work for small companies that typically don’t have a significant training budget. These users are paying their way to get educated because they believe in the value of training. If you work for a larger company that pays for training, it’s already provided for you. It’s free, so why not take it? Even when you’re looking for a new job and a potential employer asks, “What have you done to advance your career?” answering “nothing” because you haven’t taken advantage of available training opportunities seems like a waste of time and effort for everyone, especially in sales. If you’re not improving, you’re wasting your time and effort. Passing on the opportunity to take company-provided training is self-destructive. So why not make the effort to improve yourself and your own personal bottom line? Sales Skills Are Perishable Investing in yourself is crucial because sales skills, especially soft skills, can deteriorate over time. Selling involves doing discovery, interacting with people, asking questions, dealing with rejection, handling objections, sales strategy, and adapting to change, all of which are perishable skills. Bad habits can develop, and even subtle changes can have an impact. Most sales training is designed to help you get back to the basics. If you work for a company like Adobe, where innovation and software changes happen frequently, knowing their products inside and out is essential. To effectively engage with your customers, you must be able to ask meaningful questions, understand what matters to them, and demonstrate how your solution aligns with their desired outcomes. Without knowledge of the product, your learning and expertise will be useless. Even if you have a deep understanding of the product, if you are unable to communicate its value to others, your knowledge will be wasted. It’s essential to know how to effectively communicate the information to others, as that is ultimately your job. How To Help Salespeople Develop The Right Learning Mindset It’s the responsibility of sales leaders, trainers, and enablement professionals to help salespeople build and maintain an open mindset towards continuing their learning. One of the best ways to approach this, especially for individuals who are particularly hesitant or even resistant to attending or participating in training, is by giving them options. Not everyone is going to have a naturally instilled drive to take every opportunity to learn something new and expand their skills. Truly meeting learners where they are means giving them the information in a modality that is most conducive to their preferred learning style, whether it’s through a podcast, a book, or in-person training. At scale, this could mean implementing a system where learners can subscribe to a class of their choosing, enroll, and stack and blend training in different ways. No matter how they want to consume the training, there’s something for everyone. Leaders And Facilitators— Ask For Feedback! To keep learners engaged in the classroom, they need to receive the kind of training and facilitation that works best for them. The only way to know what is working for some people and not working for others, is by asking for feedback. You or your organization may already do this in the form of surveys and assessments. These are a couple of examples of feedback in practice. However, this might prompt mostly negative reactions and comments that aren’t necessarily productive. If people don’t tell you what’s working for them, you won’t know. Instead of fielding complaints about why your salespeople “hate” being in training, studying materials, or taking assigned courses, ask them what they want to see more of. Ask learners what they like, or what their preferences are. Perhaps the content is rich, but too overwhelming and they would like shorter, video-based content because they learn better visually. Or for some learners, a workshop session would be more helpful for a chance to role play or ask questions in real time. Take this feedback with a grain of salt, but by opening the door to feedback, you will discover whether you’re meeting your audience’s learning preferences, and if not— how to get there. The innovative Sales Gravy University sales training platform gives on the go individuals and entire teams easy, affordable access to the world’s top sales trainers in both live and on-demand courses. Now you can learn how to win in sales anywhere, anytime, and on any device. 

Emotional Intelligence Is A Sales Superpower On this episode of the Sales Gravy Podcast, Jeb Blount sits down with Robin Hills, a business psychologist and expert in emotional intelligence from the UK. Emotional intelligence is the ability to combine thinking and feelings to make good decisions and build high-quality relationships. Emotional resilience is essential in sales, and it involves understanding and managing your own emotions to influence the emotions of others. Mental resilience is also important in sales, and it involves having a clear vision of what you want to achieve, being flexible and adaptable, and having a support network. Emotional resilience involves having a clear understanding of realistic optimism, which means having a clear vision of what you want to achieve, what outcomes you are looking for, and understanding that there is meaning in what you’re doing. It’s important to have a support network of people you can turn to for help, and to establish a relationship of trust with your manager. It’s important to interrupt negative self-talk and replace it with something positive, such as listening to a podcast or reading a book. Complaining can turn a support group into a negative space, and it’s important to have constructive conversations and avoid cynicism. Emotional intelligence is a concept that Daniel Goleman launched and popularized approximately 30 years ago. Robin began his career in sales in the 1980s and has been selling consistently ever since. Although he no longer holds the title of salesperson, he proudly wore that badge for well over a quarter of a century. Today, Robin’s company Ei4Change (Emotional Intelligence 4 Change) coaches and trains individuals and organizations on emotional intelligence, positive psychology, and neuroscience in the workplace. What Is Emotional Intelligence? Emotional intelligence is the ability to combine your thinking with your feelings in order to build high-quality relationships and make authentic decisions. While it is a simple concept, it can be difficult to execute, particularly in situations with intense emotions or pressure. Relationships and decision-making play a crucial role in this process. It is essential to have high-quality relationships with people you can turn to and say, “Hey, I’m having a bad day. Can we talk about something other than work? Or do something together that can take my mind off things and help me get back to it tomorrow?” This allows you to step away from the situation and take a break. Salespeople, in general, are mentally resilient and must demonstrate high levels of emotional intelligence in order to be effective. Field-based salespeople, who may not work in an office, often need to motivate themselves and have an inner drive to sell to their clients. Salespeople handle a lot from customers and clients, and have good and bad days like everyone else. Emotional intelligence in sales involves understanding and managing your own emotions to influence the emotions of others. You Choose How You React to Your Emotions Emotions are a natural reaction to our environment, and we cannot control their occurrence. However, we can choose how we respond to them. Emotions prepare our body mentally and physically for events, and the intensity of emotions compounds with each event. At a certain point, emotions can become so intense that making a simple, effective choice becomes difficult. Experiencing fear, for example, is not something that we can control or prevent. In such moments, we are faced with a choice: do we react irrationally to our fear and potentially put ourselves in danger, or do we use the presence of our emotions as information to assist us in productive, clear decision-making? We can choose to become immobilized, paralyzed, or act out in self-destructive ways. and we can choose to handle our emotions, turn them into something constructive, and create positive outcomes. This is where mental resilience comes into play. When under pressure and stress, mental resilience — the ability to go from setback to comeback — becomes essential. Why Having A Support Network Is Crucial Having the right relationships and support network is crucial, especially in sales when you are faced with difficult emotions like rejection, fear, and stress every day. When you need help, don’t hesitate to turn to your network for support. It’s also important to establish a relationship of trust with your manager during good times, so that you can have a discussion about handling challenges when necessary. In general, opening up to someone about a problem you are dealing with can be helpful. You may have heard the oft-quoted saying, “A problem shared is a problem halved.” Consider talking to your spouse, friends, or colleagues at work. Who in your network can provide support for you when you need it? Who can you provide support to in return? Think Before You Complain Having a support group of people to talk to is a great idea. It gives you a much needed space to have cathartic conversations because sometimes, it’s crucial to vent and express frustrations. Unfortunately, it’s easy for these groups to turn into complaining sessions rather than support groups. Complaining is like misery’s mating call. The more you complain, the more negative you become, and misery loves company. This is especially true on sales floors, where people can start to believe that all buyers are liars, leading to poor decisions in the sales process and more misery. When bad things happen, it’s important to talk about it and not hold onto it. However, it’s equally important to have constructive conversations about what happened and what the next steps should be. Know when to draw the line and redirect the conversation towards something positive. Don’t Allow Cynicism to Destroy Your Faith This is why you should turn to the people in your support network who can help you make good decisions, such as your manager who can remind you of your strengths as a salesperson. Don’t allow cynicism to destroy your faith in the systems and processes that, statistically speaking, will result in more wins than losses if executed consistently. We should view our emotions as something to be handled intelligently in order to build quality relationships and make authentic decisions. If you have a bad sales day, have coping mechanisms and practice in place to help rebuild your confidence so that you can make the next sale effectively. Remember that you wouldn’t have the job if you weren’t good at what you do. Reflect on what made you successful and identify how you can replicate that success. These are questions that only you can answer, but you can also seek support from people who can offer you the right guidance and encouragement. Manage Your Internal Messages When faced with a problem, our internal voice can start chattering away, often negatively, which can have a massive impact on our ability to stage a comeback. Affirmations may seem metaphysical to some people, but the important thing is to interrupt negative self-talk. Sometimes, you just have to accept that there will be times when you need to take a break. There may be nothing anyone can do or say. You just have to make the decision that enough is enough and get away from the situation. Other times, you may need to force yourself to keep going because you need to prove to yourself that you can do it and you’re strong enough to deal with the circumstances. In sales conversations and situations, the person who exerts the most emotional resilience usually has the highest probability of achieving their desired outcome. A breakdown in emotional resilience when things go wrong, or when you perceive that they are going wrong, can seriously impact your ability to make an income. Always Replace The Negative With A Positive Sometimes, when you are stuck in a negative headspace, it can help to say something nice to somebody. You have to change the words that you are saying and hearing in order to fix the little messages you are telling yourself internally. If you don’t manage that internal message, the words you say to yourself could be your worst enemy. They can break down your resilience and tear it apart more than anything else. Replacing your negative inputs with positive outputs can help you disrupt any spiraling and get you back on track, using your emotions in a constructive way. Jeb Blount’s bestselling book Sales EQ: How Ultra High Performers Leverage Sales-Specific Emotional Intelligence to Close the Complex Deal helps guide salespeople through the many hurdles that many struggle with in building authentic relationships with prospects. Download our free Sales EQ Book Club Guide HERE.

Great Sales Messaging Isn’t Rocket Science On this episode of the Sales Gravy Podcast, Jim Karrh, Ph.D. and Jeb Blount discuss the essentials of sales messaging, how poor communication skills damage your brand, the stories we tell ourselves and our prospective customers, and what the advent of automation tools like Chat GPT means for salespeople. You’ll learn how to translate marketing messages into effective sales conversations, whether in person, virtually, or over the phone.  Prioritize positioning and lead the conversation to close more deals CMOs and marketing teams must take ownership of the writing that their salespeople produce. This can be accomplished by incorporating writing development into sales training and coaching efforts Use empathy and insight to connect with prospects and ensure that you establish trust at the beginning of the sales conversation. Focus on the buyer’s problem and the urgency behind it, rather than just promoting the product’s features and benefits. Then, simplify messaging to get customers to say yes and move forward. Create a framework and sequence for conversations, especially in discovery and closing conversations. Use automation tools like Chat GPT to improve written communication, but remember that authenticity is key and phony, robotic messaging won’t close deals. Strategic Messaging Is Crucial For Any Sales or Marketing Organization In today’s market, it’s increasingly difficult to find and take full advantage of precious sales opportunities. That’s why it’s so important to prioritize positioning and lead the conversation to close more deals. At the University of Alabama, Jim Karrh, Ph.D. teaches coursework around innovative marketing and sales messaging. His curriculum is informed by his background in B2B consulting and his previous experience as a CMO for a private company. During his time as a CMO, Jim became frustrated with the sales team’s inability to effectively communicate the brand’s core messaging to both their direct sales team and independent distributors. This experience led Jim to focus on bridging the gap between marketing and sales in his consulting work with B2B sales teams. Now, Jim uses his understanding of communication and psychology to help improve the practical day-to-day realities of salespeople and sales leaders. Writing Ability Is Key For Clear Communication Salespeople, even those with a college education, often face challenges with writing. If you’re a leader and observe this trend within your organization, rest assured you’re not alone. Nonetheless, writing and communication skills hold immense value and should be seamlessly integrated into your sales training and coaching efforts. It’s common for individuals to believe they lack writing ability, but in roles like sales, management, or leadership, writing is an essential skill—and usually an untapped secret weapon. Writing compels you to structure your ideas coherently, enhancing focus on essential aspects, connecting concepts, establishing sequence, refining structure, and avoiding unnecessary wordiness. This process instills discipline, thereby fostering improved thinking and communication. Sadly, it’s a rare skill and discipline in today’s professional landscape. The importance of writing extends beyond mere formality; it reflects our value as professionals. Throughout the selling process and in the eyes of customers, how we sound and come across in writing can significantly influence judgments. Teams often need to revisit this aspect as people may not possess the ability to write naturally due to a lack of prior teaching or experience. By addressing this deficit and incorporating writing development into training, individuals can unlock their full potential as effective communicators and salespeople. Poor Written And Verbal Communication Is Killing Your Brand And Your Bottom Line If you’re a Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), your salespeople can damage your brand if you allow them to write poorly. The responsibility for this falls on you and your marketing organization. Marketing should not write everything for salespeople because that approach can be disastrous, but every time a salesperson interacts with a customer, they become the face of your brand, so it’s crucial that marketing monitors what salespeople write. This is because writing can make or break a deal. Sales are often won or lost by a small margin, and emotions play a significant role in decision-making. If your writing is sloppy, you’ll put yourself in a position to lose the deal. This is no different from showing up to a meeting looking unprofessional. If you’re a salesperson, leader, or trainer, you should spend time teaching people how to write for business. Verbal communication is also crucial because you’ll be presenting to customers. However, in most cases, someone else will read your written proposals. This person may be in middle management or have to seek approval from someone else. If they can’t understand your writing, you’ll lose the deal. CMOs and marketing teams must take ownership of the writing that their salespeople produce. By doing so, they can ensure that their brand is protected and that they have a better chance of winning deals. Salespeople, on the other hand, should focus on improving their writing skills to communicate effectively with customers. Your Message Should Be Easily Translated Whether it’s writing or speaking, it’s crucial to be clear and concise in your message. Salespeople, in particular, need to have well-structured messaging that not only gets the point across in the moment but can also be easily retold and shared with others. Sales messaging needs to be tight and well-structured, as buying teams are generally larger and more complex than ever before. Your message needs to be memorable and easily translated for someone else when you’re not around. This is what sets you apart from the competition and establishes your identity as a problem solver. Professionals communicate like human beings in an authentic conversation, walking the customer through how they will solve the problem and what the results will be. The ability to stand in front of another human being, tell a story, and connect with them on a personal level is a valuable skill for salespeople. However, relying too much on charisma can lead to suboptimal income and even harm your brand. As a salesperson, you can control and manage what comes out of your mouth and what you write. It’s important to take the time to structure your message effectively, so it can be easily remembered and shared. This is what will ultimately set you apart and make you a successful problem solver. How To Improve Your Sales Messaging For A Winning GTM Strategy Regardless of whether you’re responsible for revenue, on the sales team, a frontline manager, an individual rep, or working on the marketing or product side of things, all those involved in messaging and driving sales face challenges. Bringing together sales and marketing is consistently viewed as both a goal and a challenge. So what can we do about that? You mentioned the influence of chemicals in the brain and the importance of conversation structure. Let me unpack what you said. As a training development company, you probably have a conversation with companies that fit your ideal customer profile. You know which companies will be most valuable to talk to, and you focus on those that are committed to developing their people and have a track record of doing so. This means you’re having the right conversation with the right kind of organization. You also know that certain words can make a difference in that conversation, such as using “because,” “recommend,” and “options.” You’ve developed a discipline around the preparation and tactics of your message, including the stories you share, the questions you ask, and how you actively listen and reflect back to move the conversation forward. All of this comes together to create a finely honed discipline that everyone in the company needs to think through to make great sales messages and tailored conversations that are memorable, distinctive, and likely to bring value. Over time, this kind of discipline becomes more natural, but it is not our natural state as humans. We are built for comfort and pleasure. Human Brains Are Wired For Stories The human brain is wired for stories and follows a pattern throughout history. This applies to sales and messaging too. There are different types of messaging, such as prospecting, creating interest, and getting to the next step. The goal is to create a picture that makes someone feel unique. Messaging also builds your business case, outlining the challenge, recommendation, and outcome. When organizations don’t understand this, sales and marketing suffer. Simplify messaging to get customers to say yes and move forward. Understand messaging progression and how the human brain operates. Establish trust at the beginning to get more time with the customer. Follow the hero’s journey pattern, showing the customer a better place. The challenge comes with multiple stakeholders, each with their own outcomes. Tell stories that connect with each stakeholder based on what’s important to them. It’s important to simplify messaging and understand how the human brain operates to get customers to say yes and move forward. Our brains are not wired for selling conversations focused on the customer or prospect. We are wired for comfort and pleasure, and talking about ourselves. Understand the other person’s perspective based on research and work done. Use empathy and insight to connect with prospects. Establish trustworthiness through empathy and expertise. Conversation is where empathy is demonstrated, and where language is learned to reflect back in messaging. Listening is vital to make people feel significant. Repeat back what they say in your messaging to make them feel understood and trust you. How to Structure Your Sales Messaging In the beginning of a sales conversation, sellers must establish a sense of urgency and determine a need for change. Once they are able to identify what needs to change for the prospect and why now is the right time, they should seek to discover why their product or solution is the right one and why their competitor is not a viable alternative. However, many sales teams tend to answer that final “why me?” question first without connecting to the problem that the buyer has. This approach can be frustrating for the buyer because they don’t understand the value or use case of the product. Creating a false sense of urgency, such as cutting prices, bundling products differently, or offering a limited-time offer only exacerbates this issue. It may draw in some buyers, but likely for the wrong reasons and they may not fully commit to the solution. To avoid this, sales messaging should always focus on the buyer’s problem and the urgency behind it, rather than just promoting a product’s features and benefits. Messaging Is a Team Effort Between Sales and Marketing A structured process led by a leader is necessary for bringing together marketing and sales. This involves creating a framework and sequence for conversations, including the introductory, change, sense of urgency, differentiation, and closing conversations. It’s essential to have discipline in this process due to the turnover of people in sales organizations, role shifts, and territory changes. Without the right structure, discipline, and practice, there won’t be any improvements as a team or as individuals. Therefore, it’s important to naturally develop a conversational pattern by going through the necessary discipline. Start by relating to the person and building a bridge to their situation. For instance, for a business owner, it’s essential to take the time to understand who they are. Use a specific pattern of relating first, bridging, and then doing a takeaway. This process removes the reptile brain, which causes people to avoid risky situations. The issue is not just asking about pain points or presenting a pre-packaged solution. You need to show that you can relate to your prospect’s situation without immediately imposing a product or solution. How To Leverage Automation and AI Tools To Improve Your Sales Messages Salespeople often struggle with writing, but there are tools available to help. GPT-3 and GPT-4 are examples of brand new tools that are hitting the market and can help you be a better version of yourself if you use them the right way. These tools work from a set of patterns and may not be able to provoke an emotion in readers. Therefore, it’s important to go back and check your work and ensure that your message is authentic, innovative, passionate, and empathetic. While automation can be effective in raising the quality of writing, it falls short in terms of authenticity, passion, innovation, and empathy. It’s essential to use these tools to enhance your writing ability and become aware of your writing patterns. However, don’t rely solely on robots and make sure to add your own unique perspective and voice to your writing. In the case of sales teams, Chat GPT can help you find industry patterns and common pain points. However, it’s crucial to remember that no automation can be authentic to you, and verbal communication still holds more value than written communication. A pro tip for writing is to say the words out loud or have someone else say them to ensure that the writing sounds natural and conversational. The innovative Sales Gravy University sales training platform gives on the go individuals and entire teams easy, affordable access to the world’s top sales trainers in both live and on-demand courses. Now you can learn how to win in sales anywhere, anytime, and on any device. 

On this episode of the Sales Gravy podcast, Sales Mastermind Group “Awesome” asks Jeb Blount sales questions. If you’ve ever had a question you wanted to ask Jeb then you’ll love this episode. It’s free flowing, insightful, and informative. There is so much to learn from this episode including: – How to get more prospecting done in less time. – Building targeted prospecting lists and leveraging social proof to get engagement. – Keys to building better prospecting lists. – How to be more confident with your messaging. – How to be more consistent with Fanatical Prospecting Sequences. The sales lessons you’ll learn in this episode are so powerful that you’ll want to listen to it multiple times and share it with your entire team. Mastermind Groups: A Powerful Way to Start Selling and Leading Better A Mastermind Group is a peer-to-peer mentoring group where individuals come together to help each other solve their problems and improve their lives or businesses. Mastermind Groups are powerful tools for personal and professional growth. They can foster a sense of community and connection, help members overcome challenges, and facilitate significant progress towards their goals. The concept was popularized by Napoleon Hill in his 1937 book “Think and Grow Rich” who believed that the collective intelligence of a group is far greater than the sum of its parts. The members of a Mastermind Group are typically successful individuals who are motivated and dedicated to achieving their goals. They meet regularly (either in-person or virtually) to discuss their challenges, set goals, brainstorm ideas, and offer each other advice and support. In a Mastermind Group, the focus is on collaboration, growth, and mutual support. Each member benefits from the wisdom, experiences, and perspectives of the others. This dynamic leads to fresh insights, new ideas, and powerful motivation. Participants can hold each other accountable for their goals, offer encouragement, and provide honest and constructive feedback. A Mastermind Group can be focused on various topics, such as prospecting, time management, large account strategies, proposal and presentation skills, account management and retention, and more. They can be informal and self-organized or facilitated by a professional coach or mentor. Sales Gravy Mastermind Groups are an excellent way to improve your sales skills, become a more effective leader, or solve problems. Our masterminds are facilitated by a Master Sales Trainer and include additional training resources to build on group discussions. 7 Reasons You Should Consider Joining a Mastermind Group Knowledge Sharing: Mastermind groups can offer a wealth of shared experiences and insights. The diverse backgrounds and skill sets of the group can provide different perspectives on sales techniques, strategies, and approaches. Networking Opportunities: Mastermind groups often bring together professionals from various industries, offering the opportunity to build a strong professional network. These relationships can lead to business partnerships, referrals, or other collaboration opportunities that can help grow your sales. Problem Solving: You can bring your sales challenges to the group, and together, brainstorm and strategize solutions. The collective intelligence and creativity of the group can help you solve problems faster and more effectively than you might alone. Accountability: Setting goals is easy, but maintaining momentum and staying accountable can be challenging. In a mastermind group, members help hold each other accountable, which can be very motivating and contribute to better sales results. Emotional Support and Motivation: Sales can be a tough job with frequent rejections and setbacks. Being a part of a supportive group of peers who understand the challenges can provide emotional support, boost morale, and motivate you to keep going even during difficult times. Professional Development: Many mastermind groups bring in experts for talks (like Jeb Blount) or workshops, or provide resources for learning. This can give you access to high-level professional development opportunities that can refine your sales skills and techniques. Staying Current: In a rapidly evolving field like sales, it’s important to stay current with the latest trends, technologies, and methodologies. Being part of a mastermind group can help you stay up-to-date with the newest and most effective sales strategies, tools, and technologies. In short, a Sales Mastermind Group, will help you gain a competitive edge, build your knowledge base, advance your skills, and build support network and accountability partners that will help you navigate the many ups and downs of a your sales career. Looking to go beyond a mastermind group and get one-to-one personalized coaching? Well, we have a free guide to help you identify the right coach for you. Download HERE

When They Say No: Overcoming Rejection And Shifting Your Mindset Introduces Andrea and Richard’s new book, When They Say No, and provides valuable insights on overcoming rejection in sales. The fear of rejection has evolutionary roots, but it can be reframed to reach positive sales outcomes. Breaking the negative thought spiral that follows rejection is crucial and should be given due importance. The opening phase in sales, though often overlooked, holds significant value in establishing rapport and understanding customer needs. Learn practical strategies to effectively handle rejection and rewire the mindset for success. Salespeople should endeavor to embrace rejection as an opportunity for growth and relationship-building. When salespeople overcome the fear of rejection, they achieve lasting sales success. Your Fear of “No” Is Holding You Back Are you tired of feeling defeated by rejection in sales and find yourself avoiding potential opportunities because the fear of hearing “no” holds you back? It’s time to shift your mindset and embrace rejection as a stepping stone to success. In this episode of the Sales Gravy Podcast, renowned sales experts Richard Fenton and Andrea Waltz share valuable insights from their book When They Say No that will revolutionize your sales approach. The Power of Reframing Rejection Our fear of rejection is deeply rooted in our evolutionary history. Throughout human evolution, being accepted by the tribe was crucial for survival. Rejection meant being cast out and left to fend for oneself, facing increased vulnerability to predators and the loss of the collective support and resources provided by the group. Our brains developed a powerful instinct to avoid rejection at all costs. However, the good news is that we possess the ability to hack our brains and change our perception of rejection. Instead of automatically equating rejection with death or social isolation, we can actively reframe our thoughts. By recognizing that rejection in the modern world does not carry the same life-or-death consequences, we can replace our negative thoughts with more productive ones. We can remind ourselves that rejection is often subjective and influenced by various factors beyond our control. With this shift in perspective, we can approach rejection as a valuable learning experience, an opportunity to grow and improve rather than a definitive judgment of our worth. Breaking the Cycle of Negative Thoughts Salespeople, in particular, are often vulnerable to a dangerous spiral of negative thoughts following rejection. When faced with a rejection, it is easy to get caught in a downward spiral of worry, anxiety, and self-doubt. This negative cycle not only hampers our emotional well-being but also impairs our effectiveness in sales. The more we dwell on negative outcomes, the more our confidence wavers, and the less persuasive and motivated we become. Recognizing this pattern is crucial for breaking free from its grasp. By actively reframing our thoughts, we can disrupt the negative cycle and redirect our focus towards positive outcomes. Instead of dwelling on what went wrong or personalizing the rejection, we can shift our attention to the lessons learned, the potential for improvement, and the possibilities of future success. It is essential to understand that rejection is not solely a psychological problem but also a physiological one. The fear of rejection triggers stress responses in our bodies, which further perpetuate the negative thought patterns. By recognizing this physiological aspect and consciously choosing to reframe our thoughts, we can liberate ourselves from the chains of fear and propel ourselves towards success in sales and beyond. The Power of the Opening Phase The opening phase of the sales process is an aspect often overlooked in sales literature. Selling goes beyond pitching product features and freebies. It involves building rapport, asking questions, and understanding the customer’s needs. A strong opening early on in the sales process sets the stage for a successful close. The opening phase in sales is a critical juncture that is often overlooked or rushed through in the pursuit of closing a deal. However, this initial stage holds immense significance in building rapport, establishing trust, and gaining a deep understanding of the customer’s needs and desires. When sales professionals invest time and effort into creating meaningful connections with their prospects early on, they lay the foundation for a successful and mutually beneficial relationship. Building Trust Is Essential To Winning The Sale One of the key reasons why establishing connections with prospects during the opening phase is crucial is the building of trust. In any sales interaction, trust forms the bedrock of a successful relationship. By taking the time to truly listen to prospects, showing genuine interest, and demonstrating empathy, sales professionals can cultivate trust and credibility. When prospects feel understood and valued, they are more likely to open up about their challenges, goals, and pain points, which provides invaluable insight for tailoring the sales approach and offering relevant solutions. Prevent Objections Before They Arise Moreover, establishing connections early on helps curb objections that may arise during the sales process. When prospects feel a sense of connection and trust, they are more receptive to the sales professional’s message and less likely to raise objections or barriers. By investing time in the opening phase to understand the prospect’s motivations, concerns, and preferences, sales professionals can address potential objections proactively. They can align their pitch with the prospect’s specific needs and present compelling solutions that directly address their pain points. This personalized approach not only minimizes objections but also increases the chances of a successful sale. Furthermore, the opening phase allows sales professionals to gather vital information about the prospect’s decision-making process and the key stakeholders involved. By building relationships early on, they can uncover valuable insights into the prospect’s organizational structure, decision-making dynamics, and the specific criteria that influence their purchasing decisions. Armed with this knowledge, sales professionals can tailor their approach, navigate internal challenges, and present a persuasive case that resonates with the prospect and aligns with their unique context. The Opening Phase Sets The Stage Recognizing the importance of the opening phase in sales is crucial for building rapport, establishing trust, and gaining a deep understanding of the customer’s needs. By investing time and effort into creating connections with prospects early on, sales professionals can lay a solid foundation for successful relationships, mitigate objections, and increase their chances of closing deals. The opening phase serves as a valuable opportunity to establish a strong rapport, gather key insights, and pave the way for a fruitful sales journey. The innovative Sales Gravy University sales training platform gives on the go individuals and entire teams easy, affordable access to the world’s top sales trainers in both live and on-demand courses. Now you can learn how to win in sales anywhere, anytime, and on any device. 

Moving From A Culture of Efficiency to A Culture of Effectiveness Acting and improv skills are similar to soft skills in sales— leading with empathy and understanding your audience and your customer is paramount. Sales leaders need to build a strong sales culture and eliminate mediocrity, which starts with the willingness to invite, embrace, and accept feedback. Synchronous conversations are making a comeback. Whether you get coffee with a prospect in your own town or fly to your prospect’s city to close a deal, face-to-face interactions are invaluable. Sales isn’t an easy profession, and leaders should be honest and transparent with their teams about the work required to close deals. Efficiency does not equal effectiveness. Sales technology should focus on making people better, not just faster. Sales organizations need to adapt to changes in the market and rethink what’s working and what’s not. In this podcast, Mike Cabot and Jeb Blount discuss the challenges of sales in the current climate, including the impact of technology and the need for emotional intelligence when dealing with analytical stakeholders. They also emphasize the importance of celebrating small victories and providing feedback to improve performance. Sales Is Like Acting— Empathy Is Essential As a child, Mike Cabot and his sister starred in a local cable television show for seven years. Later on, Cabot gained acting experience both in theater and through featuring in commercials. In his sales career, he has been able to leverage the improv skills he learned from acting at an early age to connect, engage in deep listening, and show empathy to prospects and clients. The job of a sales professional isn’t just to sell a product or service, it’s to help people. And in order to truly help people, great sales professionals have to be great empathizers. The same can be said for actors. To tell a story convincingly, an actor must take on the character’s persona. She must step into their shoes and see the world through their eyes. Otherwise, it’s not authentic. Empathy is a critical skill for sales professionals, and acting is an excellent way to hone this skill by putting yourself in someone else’s shoes. This is what sets the best salespeople apart. They can quickly and easily see the world through someone else’s eyes and adjust their messaging, style, and strategy accordingly. The Show Must Go On Often, people make excuses for why they can’t sell, such as a lack of leads or poor marketing. As sales professionals, we must deliver for the audience in front of us, no matter what. Embracing this idea is crucial in building a strong sales culture. Mastering the same soft skills that improv actors use is critical because you must listen not only with your ears, but also with your eyes and intuition. On stage, if you weren’t paying attention, you wouldn’t know how to respond when something gets thrown back at you. Dealing With Analytical Stakeholders Buyers use emotions to make decisions. Tap into their emotions and stories to meet their needs. Engaging with analytical stakeholders in sales requires a thoughtful and empathetic approach. Understanding the different levels and roles within the stakeholder groups is crucial, as each individual has unique concerns and priorities. While these stakeholders are analytical by nature, it’s important to recognize that emotions play a significant role in their decision-making process. By tapping into their emotional needs and sharing relevant stories, sales professionals can connect with them on a deeper level and demonstrate how their product or service can help solve their problems. Building trust and showing the value of saving time or avoiding negative outcomes are key strategies for engaging with these stakeholders. Salespeople often encounter challenges when engaging with analytical stakeholders. The lack of immediate emotional response from these stakeholders can sometimes make salespeople feel insecure and lead them to overcompensate by talking too much. Developing emotional control and patience becomes essential in these situations. Sales professionals should maintain faith in their approach, asking the right questions, and genuinely trying to help. Over time, as trust is built and the salesperson demonstrates the ability to address the stakeholder’s concerns, these analytical stakeholders can become strong allies, paving the way for successful sales interactions. Mastering the art of engaging with analyzers opens doors to success in various sales scenarios. Celebrate The Small Victories Recognizing and celebrating small wins in sales is crucial for both individual salespeople and sales teams. It starts with transparency and setting realistic expectations, acknowledging that success requires effort. While closing deals is important, it’s equally vital to track other metrics like account outreach and pipeline generation. By highlighting these milestones, individuals are encouraged to keep going and find motivation in the journey. Celebrating every win, no matter how small, creates a positive and supportive environment, fostering desired behaviors and instilling a sense of accomplishment throughout the sales process. Viewing sales as a series of building blocks and acknowledging the value of each step taken before closing a deal reinforces the idea that consistent effort leads to success. By celebrating incremental achievements and focusing on building a strong foundation, sales professionals can stay motivated, sustain momentum, and achieve greater success. Feedback Is How We Grow Feedback plays a crucial role in personal and professional growth, regardless of one’s position within the organization. It’s a two-way street where both sales leaders and their sales team can benefit from open and candid communication. Offering feedback allows leaders to provide guidance and constructive criticism, while accepting feedback demonstrates a willingness to learn and improve. Feedback is valuable, no matter one’s position or authority. By creating an environment where feedback is encouraged, leaders can foster a culture of continuous improvement and learning, which benefits the entire organization in the long run. “Before And After” Coaching Routine Another effective practice in sales leadership is the “before and after routine”. This coaching routine involves setting objectives and targets before a sales call, discussing the strengths and successes afterward, and then openly discussing areas for improvement. By starting with the positives and creating a safe space for team members to voice their opinions, leaders can encourage collaborative conversation where everyone’s input is valued, regardless of their age or experience level. In the end, feedback is a vital component of growth and development in the sales profession. Both sales leaders and team members can benefit from actively seeking and providing feedback. By embracing feedback and incorporating it into routine coaching and reflection processes, sales organizations can create a culture of continuous improvement, collaboration, and success. The innovative Sales Gravy University sales training platform gives on the go individuals and entire teams easy, affordable access to the world’s top sales trainers in both live and on-demand courses. Now you can learn how to win in sales anywhere, anytime, and on any device. 

Human Connection Is Irreplaceable Dress appropriately for the situation and audience— it’s the little things that close the sale. Do research on who you’re trying to sell to and a personalized follow-up email after a demo or meeting that adds value to the conversation. Video messages following a meeting are a unique way to stay in front of your prospect and show them you truly care about helping them solve their business challenges. Use handwritten notes to show appreciation and make your communication more human. Taking the time to write a note to your prospect demonstrates your commitment to professionalism and helps built trust. Taking a personalized and phone first sales approach still matters, especially in a world taken over by AI. Leverage checklists to remember and systematize important tasks. Even surgeons and pilots use checklists to make sure that details don’t fall through the cracks. Sales is a contact sport. Leaders should train, drill, and reinforce the basics and fundamentals with their sales team every single day. On this episode of the Sales Gravy podcast, Jeb Blount and Will Yarbrough, VP of Sales at Fleetio, discuss what it means to be a human seller in the age of robots. Jeb and Will dive into the importance of having organic conversations versus over-engineering the sales process. In this conversation, you’ll learn the value of a good first impression, how to maintain engagement with a prospect following a demo, and why being coachable is a strength in sales. Selling In A Tough Industry Takes Grit— And Emotional Intelligence Industry experience— especially when selling to blue-collar workers out in the field who are more accustomed to turning wrenches than punching buttons on an app — can be a strength or a weakness for new sales professionals. Most sales organizations seek individuals who are good communicators, curious, and confident, but also have enough industry knowledge to be credible. And while industry knowledge is important is sales, the ability to deal with people is crucial. People with industry experience tend to want everything to be perfect before they can close a deal. As a result, they may take longer to ramp up in a sales organization than those without as much experience, but they can still be taught the right questions to ask. New sales professionals who don’t have much industry experience will be successful if they know how to ask the right questions, find opportunities for ROI, and learn how to close deals in the process. Taking a more human approach to selling means that experience pales in comparison to the importance of heart and mindset. The Sales Process Is Overcomplicated Too many sales organizations are guilty of over-engineering the selling process. The most important thing to remember is that you’re a human being having a conversation with another human being. Here are a few ways to simplify the sales process (that don’t require the help of a robot). Professionalism Builds Trust Buying is an emotional and deeply human experience. In order to close sales and maintain positive customer relationships, you need to keep in mind that prospects buy the person before they buy the product. The little things matter. It’s not about the outcome, but the steps that you take to get to that outcome. So if you choose not to wear a collared shirt on virtual calls, you put on a hat, decide not to shave, or don’t take care in making sure your video presence and audio quality are top-notch, you are taking a series of small risks. And those risks can greatly impact the velocity of the sale, getting the sale, or the trust that you build with your prospect. Present yourself in a professional manner, including your appearance, lighting, audio, and video quality. These details may seem small, but they can have a big impact on the trust and velocity of the sale. Remember, the little things matter. The Humble Checklist Pilots and brain surgeons implement a checklist for every task they must perform. They aren’t stupid; they have a lot to remember and many high-stakes elements that can slip through the cracks. Utilizing a checklist throughout the sales process can make it easier to remember and execute on important tasks, something that busy sales professionals often struggle to do. When you refer to a checklist every time you engage with a prospect, you’re more likely to remember and complete each necessary task to help you advance the sale. Personalization Over Systems One of the most effortless and foolproof ways to make a lasting impression with your prospect and create competitive differentiation is by sending a handwritten note or a personal video message thanking your prospect for their time after your meeting. It’s a small, but essential gesture that makes a difference. The best part is, you don’t need a system to write a note. Simply make it a habit to write and send a note right after conversations with your prospects. It’s a simple way to show gratitude that they will notice, appreciate, and remember. Remember To Engage In Real Conversation Especially in the world of data and systems, the human element of selling can get lost. Every sales team these days has five or more systems in their tech stack to support sales acceleration. With that comes a more robust playbook and guidance on how to sell and use those systems. However, one of the big pitfalls in modern sales is becoming too robotic. You might think, “I have to follow this process. I’m going to ask this discovery question, and this discovery question, and this discovery question,” and forget that you’re just having a conversation with someone. In doing so, you put undue pressure on yourself to follow the process and check every box, instead of just having a conversation like two human beings. Asking questions like, “What is the downstream impact of missing a preventative maintenance activity?” can help humanize the experience and encourage conversation. We lose credibility when we forget that we’re just talking to somebody and opt for asking a robotic, textbook question that should be on a form or a survey. Don’t Be Afraid to Lead It’s easy to take shortcuts, but investing time and effort in doing the little things right increases the chances of success. As a leader, it’s important to remind and educate sellers about the value of the basics and fundamentals. Athletic coaches understand the importance of drilling the basics and reinforcing muscle memory. Coaches and leaders must train, drill, and reinforce the basics and fundamentals every day because one bad habit or easy win can undo everything you teach. Accountability and Motivation Are Key Many leaders avoid conflict and fail to address problems because they are afraid to confront bad sales behaviors, which allows them to continue. In the past, it was not uncommon for sales leaders to directly confront you and tell you to stop doing something that isn’t effective. They would push you to improve. Today, some leaders lack the courage to lead sales in a more traditional way. Sales is a human endeavor that requires excellence, protection of the brand and the process, and achieving targets. It’s a survival of the fittest. You need to be good at your craft and be willing to learn from your mistakes. Leaders must have the ability to motivate their sellers when they’re doing well, provide constructive feedback when they’re not, and offer support when they need it. In his bestselling book, Fanatical Prospecting, Jeb Blount outlines his innovative approach to prospecting that works for real people, in the real world, with real prospects. Download your FREE chapters of Fanatical Prospecting here.