Stop Hiding from Your Buyers
Millions are spent on advertising and marketing yet some companies don’t realize that most sales transactions of any size result from human contact. While the first company avoided the cost of answering their phones,
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.
Millions are spent on advertising and marketing yet some companies don’t realize that most sales transactions of any size result from human contact. While the first company avoided the cost of answering their phones,
You can’t help seeing them on television. I’m talking about those fast-talking hucksters selling cheesy products that nobody needs but millions buy.Who can forget the Inside the Eggshell Scrambler? How about the Snuggie? The
Think about the tremendous advantage you would have as a baseball manager if you knew the opposing team’s signals and were able to anticipate their game plan. Obviously, your team would have a competitive
Recently a client called me and said, “Kim, my customers aren’t taking me seriously on the phone or in person.” My eyebrows went up. Then she said, “I’ve reviewed everything…my sales materials, my
For those of you who have either met me or watched me present a speech – you know I’m a little crazy and I absolutely shoot from the hip. Hey – I can admit
Nothing will disqualify you faster than a history of job hopping, or a history of staying at jobs for less than a year. Obviously, the reason this is a red flag for companies is
Being a new business owner is a lot like skydiving in the sense that you are taking calculated risks daily that run you through a flurry of emotions before landing on the ground
When you make that initial phone call or in-person door knock, you don’t know what you don’t know. Who says the greeter is not the CEO, or at least the husband, wife or brother
Successful sales people know the importance of persistence but the key is to change your approach or strategy with each prospect every time you contact them. You also need to consider the frequency of
Listening is the number one skill of Top 20% producers. Their listening goes far beyond just listening though, because top producers actually hear what is behind what their prospects are saying, and they know how
There was an old joke in my photocopier days when we in-person cold called door to door in downtown Chicago that we would say a prayer before every visit. It went something like
Since leaving the industry, I have learned that having a well established professional network of executives was critical to building my business and a great way to ensure career security. I strongly advise both
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 year was 1938. Families across America gathered, listening during the golden age of radio. On the eve of Halloween, a broadcast interrupted their evening: A live report claimed Martian cylinders had landed in
Here’s a question that’ll keep you up at night: How do you take a company from $300K in annual revenue to $1.5 million in 18 months, then scale to $3-$5 million within five years?
Every week, someone asks me: “Jeb, do I need Sales Navigator to prospect on LinkedIn?”My answer: No. But you do need a system. LinkedIn is the most powerful prospecting platform on earth. It’s a
You’ve probably heard it a hundred times lately—AI is coming for your job. Every week, there’s a new headline about another role being automated, another company replacing people with bots, another “AI agent” that
The buzz around “social selling” is deafening. Every guru, every pundit, every platform is screaming about its power. And yet, most salespeople are failing at it. Miserably. They log into LinkedIn. They dabble with
The gap between average salespeople and elite performers lies in process. While most reps chase quick wins and hope something sticks, top producers follow proven sales strategies that consistently deliver results. They’ve mastered the
Most salespeople are busy. Few are productive. They chase. They pitch. They get ignored. And the cycle repeats. Why? Because they’re committing one of the worst offenses in modern sales: They’re treating LinkedIn like
You’re on LinkedIn, but do you really know how to use it effectively? There’s no good reason to avoid mastering LinkedIn. Your prospects are on LinkedIn actively engaging, researching, and making decisions. LinkedIn is
Every day, your prospects are assaulted by a digital firehose of generic, AI-generated emails and connection requests. It’s an incessant barrage of noise, and as a survival mechanism, your buyers have learned to ignore
Here’s a question about sales territory disputes that’ll make your head spin: What do you do when overlapping territories and shared relationships turn your sales team into a collection of lone wolves fighting over
In 1960, two brothers scraped together $900 and bought a failing pizzeria in Michigan, launching what would become a cautionary tale about sales incentive programs gone wrong. Within months, one brother traded his half
The transition from closer to coach is where most new sales leaders struggle. You’ve put in the work, made the calls, and closed the deals. Your numbers speak for themselves. You were the rainmaker.
Here’s a question that’ll drive you absolutely crazy: How do you sell professional services without giving away everything for free? That’s the burning question from Laura and Adam, attorneys who are struggling with the
Gaius, who runs an insurance brokerage in Ohio wants to know how to get his new sales agents cold calling and building pipeline earlier in their training cycle, without making them feel overwhelmed and
Sales Leadership is a continuous journey of self-awareness, connection, and growth. By cultivating courage, emotional intelligence, and authenticity, leaders can navigate challenges effectively and inspire their teams to reach new heights. Through active listening,
Eric in Lewiston, Maine, asks how to use last year’s data to create and accurate sales plans and evaluate software tools (like CRMs and ZoomInfo) to make those goals happen. Sales planning is vital—without
In this episode of The Sales Gravy Podcast, Jeb Blount sits down with Andy Matheou from RHM Staffing to dive deep into the challenges and triumphs of selling in the staffing industry. Andy shares
On this episode of The Sales Gravy Podcast, Lucy Beth Adams sits down with Master Sales Trainer, Jessica Stokes to discuss her journey in sales, from her early days in cold calling to becoming