Create a Culture of Courtesy in Your Business
In the best of times, etiquette can give you the edge over your competition. In difficult times, manners will set you apart. There are any number of companies that can offer the same services
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.
In the best of times, etiquette can give you the edge over your competition. In difficult times, manners will set you apart. There are any number of companies that can offer the same services
It only takes a minute to proof read your emails, and I’ll tell you now I’m always glad I did. I almost always make them better, and when I hit the send key I
Every so often, prospects will want to speak with someone who is using your products or services just to make sure they are making the right decision. And every so often prospects will use
Customers buy when they perceive that the value outweighs the cost of the investment. There are three components of value: economic, business and personal that all have an impact on the customer’s view of
Chances are you spend the first five to fifteen minutes of your sales presentation telling people why they should buy from you or giving them background on your company. This approach is one of
The best way to generate a positive ripple effect among your customers is to make a deliberate effort to increase the quality and quantity of the service you render. Unfortunately, shortsighted salespeople view customer
When was the last time you operated on the line, did the work of your assistant, or went back out to make sales? You may be amazed by what you could learn. Following are
The rich, the poor, the successful, the struggling – all manner of men and women the planet over are using this law or principle of being, and it has been this way since the
Granted, many purchasing agents do enjoy the thrill of securing a lower price, but that’s no different than you. As a salesperson, you enjoy the thrill of securing a new sale. Accept the fact
When it comes to your sales cycle the customer controls their sense of urgency of when they decide to purchase your products/services from you or your competitors. Our level of influence on their
Cross-selling begins with uncovering your customer’s needs and laying the groundwork for other specialists to assist you in the selling process. The best place to introduce your customer to the concept of cross-selling is
Today customers are more intelligent about solution offerings than ever before- thanks to the Internet. In today’s economy companies want immediate results and incredible response to their needs. The definition of P &
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
Philip is a character licensing agent in the Philippines. His job is to connect beloved brands, anime titles, video games, and comic properties to companies that want to put those characters on their products.
Summary LinkedIn hands salespeople more research than any other platform on earth, and most of them still send messages that get deleted on sight. This article covers the LinkedIn outreach mistakes I see constantly,
Caroline from Dayton, Ohio asked a question a lot of salespeople are wrestling with right now: How do you use AI efficiently without losing your human touch? It is a great question. And the
Here’s a question that cuts to the heart of what makes sales hard: What do you do when your commodity is identical to every competitor’s, the buyer knows it, and the only lever they
Buyers don’t experience your good intentions—they experience your process. In the age of AI, the sellers who win are the ones who remove friction and make buying effortless. Key Takeaways: How to Remove Friction
Let me ask you: What if the biggest thing standing between you and your next closed deal had nothing to do with your product knowledge, your pricing, or your pitch? What if it came
Here’s a question that keeps salespeople up at night: How do you build a powerful personal brand without stepping on your company’s toes? That’s the question Taylor Deadrick asked me during a recent live
Here’s a question that keeps salespeople up at night: How do you ask for more compensation when you’re getting competitive external job offers without sounding like you’re issuing an ultimatum? That’s the question posed
Here’s a problem that’ll make your head spin: What do you do when you can sell way more than your company can produce? That’s the question posed by Dylan Noah from Toronto. Dylan sells
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