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
Growing up, I was easily the shyest girl in the room. Not just quiet—debilitatingly shy. I was so shy that I wouldn’t even ring the bell to get off the bus. I’d simply ride
“I can’t do that.” How many times have you said those four words when facing a challenging sales situation? It could be picking up the phone to make that intimidating cold call. It could
Here’s a hard truth most salespeople never hear: The most dangerous thing you can do is think like an employee. On this week’s episode of the Sales Gravy Podcast, business consultant for entrepreneurs David
Tyler Goss, from Tampa, has two critical sales questions: 1) How do we achieve those “crazy” prospecting numbers I talk about in my books? 2) When should a lead become a pipeline opportunity? In
Fear will kill sales and crush your chances of making quota. Hesitation, paralysis, and missed connections with prospects—that’s the consequence of fear. The truly trapped stop picking up the phone entirely. Fear hijacks your
During a practice round at a major golf tournament recently, one of the players hit an exceptionally beautiful shot. A fan in the gallery exclaimed, “Man, I wish I could hit a shot like
Here’s the brutal truth: Self-awareness is the ultimate sales skill. We obsess over skills like closing techniques, objection handling, and prospecting cadence. But self-awareness is the real make-or-break. Self-awareness is the lever that separates
You don’t want to be mediocre. You don’t want to be stuck in a rut of repeating last year’s performance. And you definitely want to smash your personal selling goals this year. In the
Steve from Portland, Oregon, faces and an all-too-common consultative selling dilemma: how to sell to prospects who claim they already know everything, have already “done the research” and question what value he can bring.
Data can do more than tell you facts about your own business. It also can reveal important information about what’s going on with your competitors in the marketplace. How to Be Data Savvy In