Five Sales Lessons Learned from a Recession
Picture yourself in the executive office, perhaps a VP of Sales or Marketing. Until last year you could approve any purchase under $20,000. Now, you need to get approval from a purchasing committee for
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.
Picture yourself in the executive office, perhaps a VP of Sales or Marketing. Until last year you could approve any purchase under $20,000. Now, you need to get approval from a purchasing committee for
There is a tendency for some sales reps to cookie-cut the needs analysis process and pigeonhole people rather than take the time to fully personalize their recommendations. Find out what’s important to them… what
I’ve seen very successful marketing strategies that worked because they suited the marketer’s style really well and happened during better economic times. In fact, I’ve tried a number of them in my own business.
Today we have access to innovative tools such as the Internet, cell phones, faxes and voice mail all designed to enhance our communications and support us in selling more effectively. Nevertheless, even with all
Leave a voicemail? Don’t leave a voicemail? This is a question that sellers are passionate about. Many suggest not, but isn’t that a missed opportunity?I always leave a message because how else will they
Prospecting for new business is critically important and for the majority of salespeople, it is the most challenging and stressful aspect of their profession. Successful sales reps are proactive and recognize the importance
I find events to be one of the most effective strategies to uncover qualified leads. The people who participate choose to come because they’re interested in your topic. You get to share your perspectives
Have you ever been in a closing situation that seems to have stalled, where your prospect isn’t really objecting, but they sure aren’t going where you want them to go? Sometimes during a close
Suppose your client is at extension 3245. You’ve made a few calls at different times and you suspect that call display is killing the opportunity. Try calling extension 3244 or 3246 and see what
The end of the year is always a time of reflection, and what I’ve learned to do over the years is to identify the things that had the biggest positive impact on my business,
Few people seem to hold back for fear of committing a faux pas. Nevertheless there are rules regarding toasting and if you want to be the polished professional at the office party or the
Knee jerk objections occur for two reasons. First, you are an interruption. The prospect wasn’t expecting your call and you’re taking him away from the task at hand. Second, the prospect is worried about
Opening, rather than closing, is the most important phase of selling because it’s binary. It’s akin to doing science without Newton’s first law or acknowledging gravity. It’s like trying to be a fighter but
What I love about Jeb is his charismatic ability to weave personal stories from his time in the trenches into his material. He has a great sense of humor, no nonsense approach and always
Sales Gravy CEO Jeb Blount joins Tim Martin on this episode of the Success Is Voluntary podcast to discuss two of Jeb’s bestsellers: Fanatical Prospecting, and his most recent release, Objections. From establishing micro-commitments, to
There are two types of sellers – Rain Barrels and Rain Makers. One waits for leads to show up, the other gets after it and makes it rain. On this podcast episode, Jeb Blount,
It’s easy to get overwhelmed with prospecting. Where do you even start? In this short video, Jason Eatmon, who is a Sales Gravy master trainer and author of BOSS, teaches you how to take
The Four Types of Sales Objections Jeb Blount explores strategies and techniques for effectively skipping past the 4 types of sales objections. On this episode, I have a conversation with Chris McDonough. He’s a
The difference between average salespeople and UHPs is, more often than not, their mindset about prospecting and pipeline.
In this podcast, Jeb Blount tells the real truth about why you suck at prospecting and gives you the tips, tactics, and techniques you need to keep your sales pipeline full.
On this podcast, Jeb goes head to head with the great Jeffrey Gitomer on some of the toughest objections faced by sales professionals.
Summary A LinkedIn social selling strategy works when sellers show up with authenticity, not automation. The biggest mistake sellers make today is using AI to generate posts and messages in bulk, then publishing without
Summary The easiest way to spot a fake sales guru on LinkedIn is to ask one question: are they selling you something before they’ve proven anything? Fake gurus manufacture credibility through aesthetics and urgency.
Summary How do you know what sales advice to trust? Look at who’s giving it. Credible sales advice comes from people who are actively selling today, have a verifiable track record across years and
Most salespeople are wired for now. The quota is now. The pipeline review is now. The pressure to close is always right now. And that urgency is exactly what gets in the way when
Summary: The leading indicator of sales success is not calls made, emails sent, or LinkedIn touches. It is the First Time Appointment (FTA) — a net-new meeting with a prospect you have never spoken
Buyer resistance is at an all-time high and has reached a tipping point. Two emotional intelligence competencies separate sellers who push through from those who back down. Key Takeaways: Using Emotional Intelligence to Break
Quick Summary Q1 surfaced a consistent theme across our best podcast conversations: the reps who win consistently are the ones who treat the fundamentals (goal setting, communication, prospecting discipline, and self-awareness) as non-negotiable. In
Quick Summary: The most effective way to rehearse a sales pitch is to practice out loud in front of real people until you own the story, not just recall it. When you reach that
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.
The best way to measure sales productivity is with leading indicators—the KPIs and metrics that predict future revenue and let you fix problems before sales dry up.
Most sales team meetings fail because they aren’t actually about selling. Mike Weinberg says the fix is simple: stop running status updates and start running meetings that make your team more aligned, more energized,
Jumping in to save a rep’s deal feels like leadership, but it trains your team to call you instead of solving problems themselves. Real sales leadership means coaching the rep, not closing the deal
If you want to know how to scale a sales team, document your sales process and prove your close rate before you add headcount, then decide whether your next hire is a leader or
Most sales forecasts fail for a reason no CRM can fix. Sellers stop telling their leaders the truth the moment honesty starts costing them something.
Summary The most effective sales compensation strategy for getting a small team focused on high-value complex deals is to layer a significantly higher reward on those deals without reducing incentives on transactional ones. Pair
Summary When the market shifts, your salespeople are not going to figure it out on their own. That’s your job. As a sales leader, your responsibility is to see the change coming, get ahead
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
Summary: Q1 is feedback, not failure. Top-performing sales teams use a Q1 sales strategy review to assess whether they have an execution problem or a focus problem, then make targeted adjustments heading into Q2.