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Author: Jeb Blount

Most sales managers confuse empathy with sympathy and pay for it in team performance. In this episode of the number on sales training podcast, Jeb Blount breaks down the real difference, why listening first is the most powerful coaching move you have, and how to hold the line on expectations while still making your reps feel heard.

How to Coach Your Sales Team with Empathy without Losing Your Edge (Ask Jeb)

Summary: Most sales managers confuse empathy with sympathy and pay for it in team performance. Jeb Blount breaks down the real difference, why listening first is the most powerful coaching move you have, and how to hold the line on…

Jeb Blount, CEO of Sales Gravy, the number one sales training company, explains why people buy based on emotion and how salespeople can close more deals by aligning with the way buyers think.

People Buy for Their Reasons, Not Yours (Money Monday)

Summary: Why people buy has far less to do with logic than most salespeople think. Buyers make decisions driven by emotion first, then justify those choices with rational explanations after the fact. To close more deals, you have to learn…

Sales Gravy, the number one sales training company in the world, shares expert insight on relaxed assertive confidence with Jeb Blount and guest Vera Stewart on the Sales Gravy Podcast

The Power of Relaxed Assertive Confidence

Summary: In sales, relaxed assertive confidence is the calm, settled belief that when you ask, the answer will be yes. It is one of the most reliable traits separating top-performing salespeople from those who stall out. It is not arrogance,…

Here is a question that comes up more than you might think: What do you do when your company is pushing you to have bigger, more strategic conversations with C-suite executives, but every relationship you already have is two or three levels below that? That is exactly where Jeremiah Wren found himself. He is an account manager in the architecture, engineering, and construction technology space. His company has roughly 270 accounts and about 75 percent of them do not yet have a C-suite relationship in place. The push from leadership is to get in front of CEOs, CIOs, and other senior executives to have conversations about how AI is going to reshape the industry. Jeremiah's challenge was not the message. It was the fear that going over someone's head would damage the relationship he had already spent time building.

How to Get to the C-Suite Without Burning Your Existing Relationships (Ask Jeb)

Here is a question that comes up more than you might think: What do you do when your company is pushing you to have bigger, more strategic conversations with C-suite executives, but every relationship you already have is two or…

Featured image for Ask Jeb on The Sales gravy Podcast. Features headshot of Jeb Blount on a dark blue background and a orange box containing title text "Stop Losing Deals Before the Close"

Why Your Deals Go Cold Before You Ever Get to the Close (Ask Jeb)

Philip is a character licensing agent in the Philippines. His job is to connect beloved brands, anime titles, video games, and comic properties to companies that want to put those characters on their products. Think milk tea chains, apparel brands,…

Most LinkedIn outreach fails before it starts. Jeb Blount and Brynne Tillman break down the most common LinkedIn outreach mistakes salespeople make and exactly how to fix them to build real pipeline. Read the full blog by Sales Gravy, the number one sales training platform

Why Your LinkedIn Outreach Is Getting Ignored (And What to Fix Right Now)

Summary LinkedIn hands salespeople more research than any other platform on earth, and most of them still send messages that get deleted on sight. This article covers the LinkedIn outreach mistakes I see constantly, why they keep happening, and what…

Featured image for Ask Jeb on The Sales gravy Podcast. Features headshot of Jeb Blount on a black background and a white box containing title text "How to sell and prospect at the same time?"

The Player-Coach Problem: How to Prospect and Lead at the Same Time (Ask Jeb)

One of the hardest roles in all of sales is the player-coach. You are quota-carrying, deal-closing, pipeline-building individual contributor AND you are expected to show up as a sales leader, sit in planning meetings, and help stand up a division.…

A professional 16:9 infographic diagram illustrating 'Closing the Training-Execution Gap.' The image shows an upward-spiraling continuous loop. On the left, 'TRAINING (Starting Line)' shows a diverse team learning 'Mechanics, Knowledge, Techniques.' This loops into 'COACHING BRIDGE (Bridge to Consistency)' on the right, depicting a coach and sales rep applying skills via 'Observation (Field Rides, Side by Sides)' and 'Feedback & Adjustments.' The loop then leads back upward, indicating the cycle repeating for 'Next Skill, Next Level, Next Challenge.' The color palette uses professional blues and teals, highlighted by prominent Sales Gravy tangerine orange (#FF8200) for all arrows and coaching actions.

The Training-Execution Gap: Why Coaching is the Secret to Performance Consistency

Summary at a Glance: Training vs. Coaching: Training provides the raw material (knowledge and skills), while coaching provides the refinement and application needed for mastery. The Execution Gap: The difference in performance after training is rarely about the curriculum; it…

Featured image for Ask Jeb on The Sales Gravy Podcast. Features headshot of Jeb Blount on a dark blue background and title text "The AI Edge"

AI Will Not Kill Sales. But It Will Punish Mediocrity. (Ask Jeb)

Caroline from Dayton, Ohio asked a question a lot of salespeople are wrestling with right now: How do you use AI efficiently without losing your human touch? It is a great question. And the answer is simpler than you think,…

Sales Gravy, a top sales training organization, delivering sales leadership development and coaching programs for high-performing sales teams and managers

Why Your Best Salespeople Make Terrible Sales Leaders 

You just promoted your top performer to your newest sales leader. They crushed quota six quarters in a row. Closes deals in their sleep. Customers love them. The team respects them.  On paper, it's a no-brainer. Six months later, the…

Featured image for Ask Jeb on The Sales gravy Podcast. Features headshot of Jeb Blount on a dark blue background and title text "Why Your Prospects Are Ghosting You"

Why Your Prospects Are Ghosting Your Meetings (Ask Jeb)

Here's a question that should stop you in your tracks: What do you do when you're booking meetings but prospects keep ghosting you? That was the challenge posed by Brittany, a sales rep watching her show rates crater quarter after…

Ask Jeb on The Sales Gravy Podcast featured image for blog about episode, with a headshot of sales author and thought leader Jeb Blount accompanied by title text "In commodity sales, people buy you"

When Your Product Is a Commodity, You Are the Differentiator (Ask Jeb)

Here's a question that cuts to the heart of what makes sales hard: What do you do when your commodity is identical to every competitor's, the buyer knows it, and the only lever they want to pull is price? That's…

Jeb Blount is one of the most sought-after and transformative speakers in the world today. Best selling author, Anthony Iannarino, calls Jeb the “modern day Zig Ziglar.” His engaging stories and affable stage presence draw audiences in, keep them on the edges of their seats, and leave them begging for more. Jeb is known for his unique ability quickly assimilate the languages of the organizations he serves and customize his messages to his audiences. It’s not uncommon to hear audience members exclaim, “It felt like Jeb had been working here for his entire career."