Selling Isn’t Life or Death But It Does Require Commitment
As you go about your day today, remember that selling isn’t life or death. However, if you prepare and have commitment, your approach is based on solid core values, and you execute and work
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.
As you go about your day today, remember that selling isn’t life or death. However, if you prepare and have commitment, your approach is based on solid core values, and you execute and work
Several years ago, I read a fascinating article about a body language experiment that was conduced by a group of marketing students attending a major university. The experiment was designed to measure the impact,
Call me a referral snob if you will, but if we’re going to ask for referrals, spend precious time following up on them, and then work them with due diligence, don’t we deserve
Some people love meetings and others dread them. Despite having the reputation as sleep enhancers, meetings are actually an opportunity for you to network with management, fellow employees, clients and vendors. You may be
Attending meetings is a lot like going to class. Where you sit in class can affect your grade, and where you sit in a meeting can affect your career. Business meetings are opportunities for
Keep your emotions in check. Road rage is on the rise. While it ought to be avoided simply on the basis of safety, a display of temper behind the wheel could also cost you
Get ready by being clear on your message. Know what it is you want to say. Have three to five points to make regardless of what you are asked. Learn by watching politicians. They
Ask yourself: Ever had a prospective client request a discount, postpone an order, or worse, cancel purchasing from you or your salespeople? Well then it’s a good bet they don’t understand your offerings true
One of my rules for Champion sales people is that nobody buys anything unless there’s a gap between where they are and where they want to be. To effectively sell value, sales people need
In today’s fast- paced business world where too many people claim that they don’t have time to be nice, it’s easy to overlook the details that can help you grow your business, increase your
Now, for those of you who are wondering how one goes about becoming a motivational speaker, it’s pretty much the same as developing any other business. You need to develop your product and brand,
The point is that most people spend time worrying about not hitting their goal and concentrate a lot of time thinking about the things that could go wrong, while Top Performers in any industry
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
In a recent sales productivity study we conducted for one of our clients, we learned that while their sales reps spend more time on selling activities compared to the external benchmark, they spend a
If you rely on the features and benefits of your product or service to create differentiation… good luck! Start differentiating through the quality and relevant value of your daily interactions with your customers and
Consider how much time and effort you and your sales team spend preparing RFPs. What if you could do this faster and improve your success rate? What Are the Three Most Critical Success Factors
A professional actor would never walk out onto a stage without warming up their instrument to make sure they are communicating at their best. What is your most powerful sales tool? Your website? Video
Just as there is a set of best ways to paint a room, so there are sets of best ways to ask a question, seek an appointment, build rapport, make a presentation, close the
If you’re going to bypass mid-level gatekeepers, you have to be strategic, and you also have to use the right tone & pace, so you can be perceived as someone who truly cares about
Whether you are just learning the language of sales or improving your game as an already successful SalesMaker, there are six timeless principles to keep in mind. The sales industry has changed dramatically over
I’m not ready to just toss voice mail out into the sales-o-sphere — there’s still hope and opportunity for it to hold a prime spot in the sales mix. But that will require a
Today’s sellers need to be agile and actively looking for problems and opportunities they can help their buyers address or capture. Have you ever thought about the type of sales role you are in?
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