
Three Tips: From Nervous to Natural
One simple phrase can strike fear into the hearts and minds of professionals around the world: “Public Speaking.” Imagine you just found out that you have to deliver a presentation to a group of
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.

One simple phrase can strike fear into the hearts and minds of professionals around the world: “Public Speaking.” Imagine you just found out that you have to deliver a presentation to a group of

You may assume that because the information you deliver is routine, or because you work with the people in your audience, that you don’t have to build a strong connection with them while presenting.

As the economic downturn continues, so do budget cuts and time constraints. In situations like this, it is always difficult to get new recommendations approved. Chances are you’ll have to pitch your recommendation to

The truth is that financial presentations can be exciting and eye-opening if you prepare your content correctly. When you use the following tools for presenting financial information, you make it easy for people to

I was among fifty unsuspecting passengers who boarded a small commuter plane bound for Cincinnati where many of us had connecting flights. We had one of those infamous “on time” departures. It was a

The #1 problem I run across when working with companies is an unreachable, unrealistic revenue goal set by the owner that has no real buy in by the sales manager. It is this disconnect

Remember, your prospects have a need they are looking to you to help them fulfill, and the more they feel you understand their needs and can help them, the more likely it is they

During a face-to-face conversation, first impressions are based primarily on appearance. While on the other hand, first impressions created over the phone are based on brevity, vocal quality, and attitude. An upbeat mental attitude

There’s one type of customer that many salespeople lack on their target lists. Salespeople can work so hard at selling that they forget about creating this unique sales relationship. It’s a proven method for

Who wants to hear one more example of what they’ve been doing wrong? It’s stressful for you and your customers when you focus only on the negative outcomes of what you’re doing. Instead, take

THE PROBLEM “I’m sorry, I’m out of my office. Would you please leave your name and number and I’ll return your call as soon as I can.” How many of us are still waiting

How do you show your customers you appreciate them? Lunches are fine, but everyone does them. What else could you do that sets you apart that also builds rapport with your customers? When you

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.

Rejection points you in the right direction. It toughens you up and makes you stronger. It tells you when you are on to something big!

The Social Proof Heuristic is a powerful way to minimize fear. On this podcast, you’ll learn how to leverage it to make it easy for your buyer to move forward.

On this podcast episode Jeb Blount answers the number one question we get about prospecting and gives you the secret to timing your telephone prospecting calls.

One of your goals going into any sale is to deal with the potential of inaction. Risk is a big factor in sales, and there are many ways to manage, mitigate and maneuver risk.

On this episode of the Sales Gravy podcast, Kendra Lee and Jeb Blount discuss cold email prospecting techniques. Kendra Lee is the author of The Sales Magnet and one of the top experts on

Talking comes easily for most sales reps, but getting others to listen is a bigger challenge— and a critical element to your long-term success. Many sales reps have convinced themselves (and try to convince
Short Answer What is priming in sales? Priming in sales is exposing your buyer to specific words, images, stories, and questions that shape their emotional state before you ask for the sale. Buyers who

Steal this trial close technique and exact scripts to motivate buyers to make decisions and act without making big price concessions.
Salespeople fail at cold calling for five common reasons. Fix them and the phone starts producing appointments again.
Most salespeople are looking for the secret edge that will move them to the top of the sales ranking report. The truth though is that there isn’t just one thing that separates top performing
Short Answer How honest should you be in sales? Completely. The moment a customer catches you in even a small lie, like fudging how long a meeting will run, they have every reason to
The best pitch I’ve ever heard about didn’t have a single slide. It had an ax, an elevator, and a crowd that had no idea what was about to happen. The sales storytelling techniques
Sales complacency is the silent performance killer that sets in after winning — and the only defense is returning to the fundamentals that built your success in the first place. Key Takeaways When Success

Quick Summary Reading buyer signals means recognizing the behavioral and psychological cues prospects send before they ghost you, and using that information to keep deals moving toward a real decision. Key Takeaways Listen to
When results drop and motivation fades, the fix is to increase your prospecting activity above your normal baseline, not wait until you feel ready. More calls create more conversations, more conversations create more opportunities,

If you truly want to do more with the same amount of time each and every day, then begin by developing those self-leadership skills necessary for personal success. Can we agree that: A minute

These 8 keys can help you unlock your sales training and development programs so that you get “the most bang for your buck”. Sales training will be one of the few training and development

Part of the reason so many small business owners are crazy busy is because they are not 100 percent forward-thinking leaders. “We don’t have a budget as much as we need to take this

How frequently in business do we continue to ride dead horses? From ineffective marketing to misaligned operational systems to poor management, all continue to exist even though they are, simply speaking, dead horses. Years

Often, when a sales rep knows the right way to ask for the sale, they’ll be more inclined to do so! This common error costs more sales than most sales leaders are willing to

Sales managers are all around us; those in the selling game have likely encountered multiple. Like salespeople themselves, they have a wide range of qualifications, personality traits and work ethics, but the role of

Early right actions make it easier to accomplish future critical milestones and prepare the team for unforeseen issues that arise later. Do you sometimes wonder how they do it? You know who I mean

Just as there is a set of best ways to paint a room, so there are sets of best ways to ask a question, seek an appointment, build rapport, make a presentation, close the

If you ask and they have found good examples, you have an opportunity to collect more stories and the new hire quickly learns what will be rewarded. If you ask and they have found