Telling the Hard Truth is the New Path to Successful Sales
Improving Your Leadership Skills As a leader in your company, there comes a time when you will have to convey a truth that isn’t easy to hear or say. Whether you’re telling a prospect
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.
Improving Your Leadership Skills As a leader in your company, there comes a time when you will have to convey a truth that isn’t easy to hear or say. Whether you’re telling a prospect
3 Tips For Selling to Your Prospect’s Brain You’ve heard many sayings when it comes to selling, such as customers buy emotionally and then back up their decision with logic. Or, how about, “you
Instead of getting older and losing strength, stamina and flexibility, you can actually reverse this and become “functionally younger” next year than you are right now. You can actually change the decline curve that
Just what actions ARE you taking right now to accomplish your goal? Do you have a sales coach or have you joined a mastermind group to support you and give you the tools you
Do you lie to yourself? You may not think so but I suggest that you probably do. Here’s what I mean… Sales Lie #1: “I could reach my quota if my company lowered their
When an attendee visits your booth but you realize he either doesn’t match your personal reasons for participating (so you don’t want to chat with him) or your focused area of expertise (so you
Achieving “unachievable” revenue goals If there’s a universal truth in sales, it’s that the start of a new year means everything starts over. Whether you had a terrific year or not, whether you create
Demonstrate your credibility by what you say and by how you conduct yourself. Have the courage to ask tough questions, and have fierce, honest discussions. Seven Steps to Building a Solid Client Relationship
A new year for your customers usually means a new budget cycle and now is the time to stimulate their interest and get ahead of the curve. You’re not discounting your products and services,
The lack of business etiquette skills runs the gamut from polite dining, professional dressing to such simple acts as saying “Thank you” to a customer or an employee. Very few people bother with expressing
You’ve heard Albert Einstein’s famous definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Here’s my corollary: Focus on new ideas and actions and expect better results. Sales
Unless you are replying to a message marked urgent, there is no need to send an instant response. Your e-mail is a representation of you personally and professionally. E-mail Errors That Can Cost You
Can’t stomach cold calling? Steal Jeb Blount’s 13 proven alternatives to picking up the phone that build real pipeline and actually work.
When should you ask questions on a cold call? Questions come after you’ve earned the right, when you’re gathering information and qualifying, and they lead the conversation only when the prospect contacted you first.
To prospect for new clients, stop making random touches and run a consistent five-step system. Work this system every day and you gain control of your pipeline, along with the peace of mind that
Salespeople fail at cold calling for five common reasons. Fix them and the phone starts producing appointments again.
Email response rates are collapsing because decision maker inboxes are stuffed with automated, AI-written slop. This is exactly why the phone is more powerful today than it was ten years ago.
Quick Summary Cold calling anxiety is not a symptom of weakness. It’s human and natural to feel fear when you cold call. You are interrupting a stranger who was not expecting you, and everything
Fear of the phone is quietly draining sales pipelines, and the reps who win are the ones willing to stop hiding behind email and LinkedIn and simply make the call.
Salespeople seek a magic window that makes cold calling easy. When prospects answer happy, say yes without a fight, and book the meeting themselves. So, is there a best time to call?
Short Answer Yes, you can make cold calling fun, and it is worth doing, because the reps who enjoy the phone are the ones who stay on it. Fun is not a personality trait
The sales player-coach — carrying a personal quota while also helping build and lead a team — is one of the hardest roles in sales, and most people in it burn out quietly. Surviving
Key Takeaways When people leave training, why don’t they all perform at the same level? Training and coaching occupy different positions in the development process. One without the other leaves the job half done.
You just promoted your top performer to your newest sales leader. They crushed quota six quarters in a row. Closes deals in their sleep. Customers love them. The team respects them. On paper, it’s
I spent an afternoon at Ramsey Solutions in Tennessee with Jason Williams, Vice President of Sales for the EntreLeadership Division. What stood out wasn’t the size of the operation or the fancy building. It
A book of business that isn’t growing is dying. When your team drifts into “farmer mode” and stops hunting new logos, it’s on leadership to make prospecting non-negotiable again. Key Takeaways: How to Get
“You know, at the core of Working Genius, what it does is it allows us to avoid guilt and judgment—guilt about ourselves and judgment of others.” That’s Patrick Lencioni, bestselling author and organizational health
Quick Summary Founder-led sales teams struggle to scale because the entire sales system lives in the founder’s head. Major clients only trust the founder, reps can’t replicate instincts they were never taught, and every
“That chip on my shoulder made me less empathetic, more rushed, too eager to solve things too fast, and less thoughtful. That chip built me, but then it started to tear me down.” I
“You can’t be more committed to somebody’s success than they are.” That insight comes from Colleen Stanley, author of Be the Mentor Who Mattered, during a recent conversation on the Sales Gravy Podcast. It’s