Thinking Small: Define Your Target Market
When we have something to focus on we can create a very targeted, specific message that can be heard by that audience. When we keep our outreach broad we dilute our message and no
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.
When we have something to focus on we can create a very targeted, specific message that can be heard by that audience. When we keep our outreach broad we dilute our message and no
Pay attention and adapt your style to that of your prospect and customer. I work with great salespeople and the most successful know how to connect with a variety of buyers. Salespeople are taught
When you’re in combat or arguing with a client, you are automatically pushing them away, regardless if you’re right. When you’re in conversation, the buyer is staying engaged with you. Are your client and prospect conversations often
Characteristics of a resilient, sustainable business include leadership that understands the difference between working “for” and working “with” their employees. Consider these glum facts: Only one in eight workers worldwide are engaged at work,
Making the choice to build a spiral pipeline for your sales starts with engaging three core activities in your organization. And continuing these three core activities every day. Don’t Settle for Living in a
Stop thinking your job is done when the contract is signed. Stay on the ground. Remain active even after the deal is closed. Redefine Closing the Sale It’s time to reframe how we think
Make sure your testimonials are “impact” testimonials. Distrust in sales and marketing messages has skyrocketed over recent years. Not surprising when you see some of the ridiculous unsubstantiated claims made in e-mails. Buyers may
Salespeople and sales managers are caught up in their own version of Ground Hog Day. They keep using the same approach, having the same conversations, which are leading to the same outcomes. Sales Ground
In order to strike a balance between no theme and full-on theme park, it’s important to understand how to choose a theme that’s right for your presentation and your audience. A group of flight
Some of us aren’t even aware that we talk negatively to ourselves. Take some time today to think about what you say to yourself. If you find yourself doing this, it is time to
To create true sales predictability (and avoid Sales Whiplash), it’s critical to consider both independently, and to have your pipeline numbers influence your forecast output. Drastically Refine Your Sales Pipeline This Year Understanding that
As you work to make sales, it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking you know what your clients want and need. However, it’s likely that you have overlooked some of your clients’
How To Open A Prospecting Call Besides being very busy, your prospects probably get a lot of sales calls every week, and many of them from your direct competition. So why would they want
Email or Telephone: Which one do you use more for prospecting? The question should not be the number of people you can contact. The question we need to be asking is, “What is the
Cold Calling C-Level Executives When calling into the upper “C” suites, assess their mood and circumstances at the time of the call quickly and match it with your tone and conversation. This will give
Build Relationships With Gatekeepers Tricks or tactics to “bypass the gatekeeper” may get you some surprise face time, but it’s often at the expense of the deal. Winning over a gatekeeper can often be
Your Prospect Is Stalling. Now What? Top producers know a weak prospect when they hear one, and they would much rather know ahead of time who is leading them on and not likely to
Why You Should Start Reversing Objections Reversing objections is counter-intuitive, highly effective, and requires superior preparation and courage. You must consider the response that requires the most confidence, preparation, quick-thinking, understanding, and sales talent.
How To Sound Natural Over The Phone If you sell for a living, sooner or later you have to pick up the phone for prospecting, follow up, and sales calls. To be effective, you
The Dreaded “I Am Not Interested” Objection Nothing, absolutely nothing, cuts a conversation with a prospect shorter than a brusque, “I am not interested.” Knowing how to respond to this objection can make selling
On cold calls, to grab attention your message and approach needs to be relevant. There are 5 questions to answer before you make that cold call that will help you develop a message that
Salespeople sometimes treat LinkedIn like just another cold prospecting tool, and they end up engaging their prospects in a pretty abrasive way. A few weeks ago, I received a LinkedIn message from a user
Ah, the life of a salesperson. Perpetually condemned to sleazeball status, pushing unneeded or unwanted services on prospects who have no interest in those wares, only to run off into the sunset with briefcases
“I’m not sure if I have the right people and I am not sure if they’re doing the right things.” — Every Leader I’ve heard this from countless CEO’s, Sales Leaders, and Business Owners over
Understanding how to create an impression that stands out is the way to close the sale in 10 seconds or less. Actually, great sales people can do it even faster IF they make a
In this economy, asking whether you need to sell online or in person is like asking which came first, the chicken or the egg. I was keynoting at a conference last week, when a
Here are some of my favorite screw-ups. Those funny stories that I have seen many of my fellow sales professionals make – me included. Ever realize how much you can learn from watching other
If you don’t invest the time and effort in your projects, you will not enjoy exceptional results. Doesn’t your business deserve the most impressive product possible? Have you ever made spaghetti sauce from scratch
In a world that’s getting noisier by the day, the longer you wait to reveal yourself, the likelier it is that you’ll find yourself stuck in the visibility vacuum. For months (or maybe even
To be spectacular is to be different. Do you encourage your employees to be different, to do different? Are you encouraged to be or do different? There is great honor in being the first
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.