Leverage the PASTOR Pitch to Sell More
How many times have you gotten to the meeting but your pitch fell flat? You went in guns blazing, thinking the hard part was over and you’d land the deal—but instead you face-planted. It’s
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.
How many times have you gotten to the meeting but your pitch fell flat? You went in guns blazing, thinking the hard part was over and you’d land the deal—but instead you face-planted. It’s
Confidence can make or break your sales success before you even open your mouth. Whether you’re about to make a high-stakes call, step into a big pitch, or lead a meeting, your mindset is
Cindy is struggling to set appointments and handle the “How Much Does it Cost?” objection. She recently switched from media sales to the home services industry. Suddenly, she finds herself making all her own
No matter if you’ve had a great month, closed a big deal, or made it to the winner’s circle at President’s club, winning makes you more vulnerable to losing. A Winning Message for Sales
You’re stalled. You’re stuck. You’ve plateaued. No matter how you put it, you’re seeing your sales hit a rut. And let’s face it, you’re in a rut, too. So, how do you pull yourself
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.
You nailed the pitch. The budget was there. The decision-maker was engaged. So why did the deal go cold? The problem might not be your process. It might be you. Before a prospect buys
Caroline is dealing with a dilemma so many sales professionals face this time of year: How do you shake off a mid-winter rut and regain your momentum when it’s cold, dark, and everyone else
Everyone has been there. You’ve spent months working on a deal only to find out that you were talking to the wrong person. After conducting three discovery meetings and a demo, the stakeholders level
Three weeks ago it warmed up here in Augusta, Georgia, so I played hooky from work to take advantage of the nice weather and play a round of golf. While I was waiting for
In sales – especially in product knowledge training – we’re taught from day one how to pitch, how to present, and how to overcome objections. We rehearse our spiels, memorize talking points, and perfect
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
Memorable Sales Presentations Always Win Selling is all about memorable performances – especially in person. Don’t Be Forgettable While watching an incredibly boring episode of American Idol, one of the judges critiqued another generic
Can introverts sell? Jeb Blount author of Sales EQ, and Mathew Pollard author of The Introvert’s Edge, break down the myths about introverts and selling. In part one of this series, you’ll learn why
A well-directed, thoroughly researched cold call with valuable content will always be a key component of an excellent sales kit and help your sales team to become an indispensable part of your prospect’s business.
With all the technology and social media we have at our fingertips, it only makes sense that connecting with our customers & prospects and blowing out our numbers is a piece of cake, right?
Start by asking yourself the question: “What problem needs a solution?” What Can We Learn from the Ventures of Elon Musk? It wasn’t enough that Elon Musk founded and later sold PayPal (for $1.5
Negotiation is a fundamental part of being a sales professional. No matter who you are and what you sell, you are going to be required to negotiate with buyers. Every author of every book
Many of the same principles that are fundamental to elite athletes are also critical to ultra-high sales performers. I’ve always been in awe of professional athletes’ ability to maintain composure without sacrificing intensity. Whether
Most of us are easily sidetracked by distractions disguised as work activities. Dick had wandered down the hallway and found me at my cubicle desk. Other than the morning DJ’s we were the only
This year, ask yourself daily if you are being busy or productive. Get off the sales treadmill with the endless loop to nothing. It’s first quarter and you have 12 months to achieve your
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.