The Alter Ego Advantage of Top Performers
“I can’t do that.” How many times have you said those four words when facing a challenging sales situation? It could be picking up the phone to make that intimidating cold call. It could
Welcome to the Sales Gravy blog, where salespeople and sales leaders get better every week. We publish new sales training articles and podcast episodes three times a week, covering prospecting, cold calling, objections, negotiation, and leadership, written by Jeb Blount and the Sales Gravy trainer team.
“I can’t do that.” How many times have you said those four words when facing a challenging sales situation? It could be picking up the phone to make that intimidating cold call. It could
Here’s a question that exposes one of the most dangerous myths in modern sales: How do you set the right pipeline creation target to consistently hit quota? That’s exactly what Maryellen Soriano from New
It’s almost that time of the year again. The weather is warming up, and the social calendar—not your sales meeting calendar—is filling up—beach with the family, boats on the lake, and burgers in the
Have you ever been working on a deal where you had this feeling, this intuition, this Spidey sense—something in the back of your mind telling you that this wasn’t going to close? That you
Your sales team just closed a $50K deal. Marketing takes credit because the prospect downloaded three whitepapers. Sales takes credit because they nurtured the relationship for six months. Meanwhile, you’re wondering why this kind
Here’s a question that’ll make your head spin: What do you do when your top performer is crushing quota but not hitting a required talk time KPI? That’s the question posed by Josh Robich
Most people assume sales start when you have a product to sell. Mine started when the only thing I had was myself—and a dream nobody else believed in. A Dream and Not Much Else
If you are spending more time staring at your windshield instead of looking into your customers’ eyes, you are doing field sales wrong. Over the past couple of years, there’s been a resurgence in
AI isn’t here to replace you; it’s here to boost your game. Used wisely, AI can be your secret weapon. AI is everywhere: in social selling, content creation, automation, to say the least. Here’s
If you’re in field sales, you know the reality: You spend hours every week sitting behind the windshield, staring at traffic that’s moving at the speed of molasses. Whether you’re dealing with Atlanta’s notorious
Most value propositions stink. They’re boring, generic, feature-heavy garbage that make buyers’ eyes glaze over. And the worst part? Most salespeople don’t even realize their value proposition messaging is hurting them. On this week’s
Jon Buehler from Jacksonville asks: “How do you maintain the consistency and intensity with prospecting? I find myself doing these sprints to get momentum, but struggle to keep that momentum going for long, sustained
3 Key Elements of Sales Fitness To reach peak performance and productivity, sales professionals need to be physically fit, because mental energy is limited by physical energy. Here are three steps you can take
Snail Mail Isn’t Dead When it comes to making connections with hard-to-reach decision-makers, gaining familiarity with a prospect, and maintaining a relationship with your past and current clients, snail mail can’t be beat. Here’s
Video Messaging Works The simple truth is that video messaging works. Even a 60-second video can get you and your team right to the people who matter the most. Prospecting Isn’t Easy I was
The Magic of Silence By practicing tactical patience, you will be able to connect to your prospect and fulfill their insatiable human need to feel important. These two discovery calls show the impact of
Fishing Tips for Salespeople There are many things in life that can be metaphors for the sales process, and fishing is definitely one of them. In this article, I share 15 of the most
Do You Suck At Selling Real Estate? If you sell real estate, you know you eventually end up with buyers who make you think: “I’ve shown you 26 houses. Just make an offer and
Most People Hate Cold Calling – Here are Four Alternatives Some people think there is only one approach to prospecting, but there are alternatives to cold calling. John was a managed services provider looking
How to Reduce Cold Calling Anxiety It’s natural to feel anxiety when cold calling. Calling and interrupting strangers can easily strike fear in your heart. When cold calling, you have only seconds to grab
Finding The Right Time To Prospect The best part of weekend warrior prospecting is that prospects tend to be more relaxed without distractions. Here’s why you should set aside a block of time on
How To Survive A Summer Sales Slump It can be disconcerting when summer sales are slow. Especially if you feel that you are in a sales slump. These five tips will help you survive
Sometimes, The Best Sales Tactic Is Silence As salespeople, we must resist the urge to satisfy our own instinctive need to feel important by talking too much. Here’s a WWII story about how, in
There are Only Two Objectives of Initial Sales Meetings It’s important to understand that there are only two objectives of initial sales meetings: qualify the opportunity and create enough interest to compel your stakeholder
The Magic of Silence By practicing tactical patience, you will be able to connect to your prospect and fulfill their insatiable human need to feel important. These two discovery calls show the impact of
Fishing Tips for Salespeople There are many things in life that can be metaphors for the sales process, and fishing is definitely one of them. In this article, I share 15 of the most
Give Them A Reason To Lean In There’s no magic trick that will convince someone to connect with you, engage with you, or like you. You have to be authentic and give them a
Do You Suck At Selling Real Estate? If you sell real estate, you know you eventually end up with buyers who make you think: “I’ve shown you 26 houses. Just make an offer and
Most People Hate Cold Calling – Here are Four Alternatives Some people think there is only one approach to prospecting, but there are alternatives to cold calling. John was a managed services provider looking
On this episode of the Sales Gravy Podcast, Jeb Blount and Michelle Rockwood teach you how to avoid coming across as pushy and desperate and instead compel people to lean into you by leveraging the
The glaring gap in your hiring process is that you are hiring salespeople with no prior experience in lead generation. Are You Tired Of Hiring Bad Salespeople? You may have seen this movie before.
How can you enjoy sustainable and predictable revenues? Here are three ways that can make you the right kind of leader of the sales pack. It’s the second quarter of the year and revenues
Our interpersonal skills and our selling styles often influence buying decisions more than our products or services do. Sales training is great, but, we cannot expect sales training to sustain our success. Think about
People do not need to like you in order to follow your lead and work hard for you or with you as part of a team. Often, our best lessons are learned through stumbling
The cost of a bad hire extends beyond the physical hiring, from running the advertisement to interviewing. If this decision is made in error, other areas of the small business are affected as well. Many
In today’s world, people have a very strong belief in their weaknesses and an even stronger belief not to “brag” about their strengths. Yet, winning teams win because of the strengths of all team
As individual contributors top Sales Professionals have the luxury of only thinking about themselves. They can selfishly protect their own interests, act as lone wolves, and win at the expense of others. But as
What would happen if existing and future leadership programs were centered around a results-based model of leadership instead of a competency-based one? Think for a moment of a leader you appreciate or admire. Then
It’s not a question of if you should spend money on training, the question is how much will you spend on training. While you’re planning the budget for your organization don’t forget to include