How to Scale a Two-Person Sales Team Into Something Bigger
If you want to know how to scale a sales team, document your sales process and prove your close rate before you add headcount, then decide whether your next hire is a leader or
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.
If you want to know how to scale a sales team, document your sales process and prove your close rate before you add headcount, then decide whether your next hire is a leader or
To prioritize prospects effectively, evaluate every opportunity using three variables: lead temperature, sales cycle timing, and deal size. Together, these factors show which prospects deserve immediate action, which need ongoing nurturing, and which belong in automation. Key Takeaways Why do so
Most sales forecasts fail for a reason no CRM can fix. Sellers stop telling their leaders the truth the moment honesty starts costing them something.
AI works for sales when the purchase is simple and low risk enough that a buyer feels comfortable clicking a button without talking to anyone. The moment a deal gets complex, expensive, or risky,
Field sales reps who blended virtual and in-person outreach during the pandemic consistently outperformed those who relied solely on in-person contact. The most efficient field sellers use virtual tools for prospecting, qualifying, and maintaining
The best pitch I’ve ever heard about didn’t have a single slide. It had an ax, an elevator, and a crowd that had no idea what was about to happen. The sales storytelling techniques
Stalled deals are rarely a follow-up problem — they’re a process problem. When you’re selling to risk-averse, consensus-driven buyers, deals die in the middle of the pipeline because the decision-making process was never defined
Sales complacency is the silent performance killer that sets in after winning — and the only defense is returning to the fundamentals that built your success in the first place. Key Takeaways When Success
Summary The most effective sales compensation strategy for getting a small team focused on high-value complex deals is to layer a significantly higher reward on those deals without reducing incentives on transactional ones. Pair
Quick Summary Reading buyer signals means recognizing the behavioral and psychological cues prospects send before they ghost you, and using that information to keep deals moving toward a real decision. Key Takeaways Listen to
AI call screeners are blocking more sales calls every day — and most salespeople are making it worse by leading with the wrong message. Getting past AI gatekeepers comes down to one thing: relevance.
When results drop and motivation fades, the fix is to increase your prospecting activity above your normal baseline, not wait until you feel ready. More calls create more conversations, more conversations create more opportunities,
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?
Sales prospecting can be tedious, intimidating, and terribly discouraging. Yet, it still has to be done. Why not make a game out of it and get past the boredom? You’ve probably heard the saying
Sales is a process, especially when it comes to consultative selling and the process only works when you don’t skip steps. Staying in touch with prospects, following up in a timely and mindful manner
On this podcast, Jeb Blount, Founder and CEO of Sales Gravy, discusses his bestselling book Fanatical Prospecting with Gina Lynch. Gina and Jeb focus on what start-up founders and entrepreneurs must do to accelerate
The fourth quarter is prime time for sales teams. Manage Q4 well and you’ll make your number and more. Manage it poorly and you’ll pay for your mistake well into the new year. There
The problem is that most managers and other figures of authority — Directors, V.P.’s, and even Business Owners — have never been taught how to properly exercise authority and command respect as leaders. Sales
The Question Every Sales Leaders Must Asnwer Do your people understand what they are accountable for? Most people will answer, “yes,” yet most of the time people make mistakes or fail to meet expectations
Great managers lead by example. They start off each day by making sure everybody is ready to do business. They start with a daily meeting making sure that they have a positive attitude, set
Your team wants to feel the energy and belief, as a Sales Leader work on this emotional transfer. Being a leader and having vision and communicating emotional is a Critical Success Factor in Sales
First of all, I don’t enjoy gambling; and second, I really don’t know how to read a horse racing program. When it comes to betting on a horse race, I tend to look at