
How to Build Relevant Rapport
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
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.

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

Having difficulty making call objectives for a sales call is a sign you’re in trouble. Your job is to bring value to your customers. Another greeting by a smiling face is not a source

How do you think a buyer prepares for your sales call? Some do more than you know. One buyer’s work on rating suppliers’ sales calls gives us insight into how other buyers are scrutinizing

Enter with an open mind, ready to hear what your customer has to say about his business and job. Even though we know what we want to say in our selling message, we have

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I was overly confident that all thinking people would make the same decisions as me. But, the truth is that people’s experiences and values are the lenses through which they view life and it makes

While money is certainly an important ingredient in any incentive program, it should by no means be the only tool in a manager’s motivational toolbox. If money by itself were a sufficient motivation, salespeople
Matt from Grand Rapids says, “If I don’t make my cold calls, our pipeline will go dry.” He is juggling everything from operations to customer service escalations, all while trying to generate fresh leads
If you’ve hung around me for longer than five minutes, you’ve heard me say that sales is about talking with people. The fact is, the more people you talk with, the more you’ll sell.
The best salespeople spend hours rehearsing sales calls, because statements, and meeting pitches so they know exactly what to say when they finally get a prospect on the line. The best know that practice,
WARNING: This Monday’s message will be one of the most powerful hacks you’ll ever integrate into your life—because it’s simple, easy to put into practice, and it works. It has the potential, over the
As humans, we naturally fear rejection and do everything possible to avoid it. We’re social creatures at our core, and being rejected feels like we’re being shunned, banished, or kicked out of the group.
Ron wants to know how to get CEOs to actually answer his cold calls (or at least respond). He runs a recruiting firm and finds that his cold calls to top executives often go
I’m hearing sob stories from leaders and individuals everywhere who are waking up to the cold, hard truth that they are staring down the barrel of a thin or empty pipeline. If you are
In this episode of The Sales Gravy Podcast, discover how Alex Niswander used the Fanatical Prospecting framework to maximize outreach and build meaningful client relationships. Learn about creative touchpoints, High-Intensity Prospecting call blocking (HIPs),
Persistence is the Key to Fanatical Prospecting Excellence Other than not prospecting all together, giving up too soon is the primary reason salespeople are failing at prospecting on an epic scale. Three weeks ago,

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,
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.

So what’s your team’s Sales EQ? Here are three emotional intelligence skills to look for in your next hire. You’ve met this person. They are brilliant. Their ideas are creative. Yet no one wants

For leaders, nothing is more important or critical than trust. If people do not trust you, they will not follow you.

On this podcast episode learn the keys to leading and coaching ultra-high performance from respected sales thought leaders, Jeb Blount and Alice Heiman.

On this podcast episode, Jeb Blount and sales leadership guru, Ken Thoreson, discuss how and why modern sales management has changed and where sales leaders need to place their focus to be successful.

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