Why You Need to Become Obsessed With Process Goals (Money Monday)
Ben Hogan, who was arguably the greatest ball striker the game of golf has ever known, taught that if you wanted to improve your swing you should focus on the cause rather than the
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.
Ben Hogan, who was arguably the greatest ball striker the game of golf has ever known, taught that if you wanted to improve your swing you should focus on the cause rather than the
You know the drill. The quota clock is ticking, the pressure is mounting, and there’s that relentless urge for a quick win. Every sales professional has felt that impulse to rush the process, to
That’s the question every sales leader, CEO, and HR department is wrestling with as AI tools flood the market with promises to automate everything from prospecting to closing deals. Meanwhile, salespeople are panicking, wondering
Growing up, I was easily the shyest girl in the room. Not just quiet—debilitatingly shy. I was so shy that I wouldn’t even ring the bell to get off the bus. I’d simply ride
Is there such a thing as natural sales talent? Are top-level sales professionals born that way? Do they possess a gift from God that powers their ability to close sales? On this Money Monday,
“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
Instead of wasting time figuring out an impressive response, spend time understanding what caused the objection in the first place. Identify what you are doing, or not doing that triggered the money objection in
As a call screener, my job is to protect the time of the decision maker that I work for – so I need to make sure I’m not passing through calls that are going
What is the real objection to buying your product? The “price is too high” is usually just a smokescreen to some other objection. Ask the right questions and you’ll get the answer. Do they
What you’re trying to do is isolate and uncover what the objection or stall is going to be at the end so you can position yourself to deal with it and advance the sale.
Objections are not deal killers. Sometimes, they are deal enablers, helping the salesperson to understand the buyer’s real needs and requirements. Zig Ziglar was the best-known sales trainer in the world. The man from
No matter your industry or deal size, mastering how to negotiate in sales comes down to seven rules that protect your leverage and win more profitable deals.
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
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.