Podcasts about money monday

SummaryIn this episode of Money Mondays, Benjamin Lee discusses the concept of opportunity cost, emphasizing its importance for both children and adults. He explains how opportunity cost affects financial decisions and offers practical advice on managing money wisely. The conversation covers the significance of pausing before making purchases, the value of accountability partners, and the idea that money is meant to be spent wisely. Benjamin encourages listeners to consider future opportunities when making financial choices.TakeawaysOpportunity cost is a crucial concept in financial decision-making.It's important to teach children about opportunity cost.Adults also need to understand opportunity cost in their spending.Hitting the pause button can help in making better financial choices.Having an accountability partner can provide valuable perspective on spending.Money should be spent wisely, not hoarded.Consider future opportunities before making impulsive purchases.Planning and budgeting can prevent unnecessary debt.Understanding the value of money can lead to better financial habits.Financial literacy is essential for all ages.Chapters00:00 Introduction to Money Monday and Opportunity Cost03:16 Understanding Opportunity Cost in Financial DecisionsBooks, Blogs, and Podcast at https://benjaminlee.blogFor all my episodes visit https://icandopodcast.comBooks mentioned in EpisodeSmart Money Smart Kids by Dave Ramsey and Rachel Cruze

Looking for the best NBA, CFB & NFL picks, predictions, and betting tips for Monday, December 15, 2025? Tune in to Profit Picks with expert handicappers Hakeem "Skee" Profit and Rob Veno as they preview today's biggest matchups with sharp insights and actionable advice.

What factors are driving nine months of labor force growth in Arizona? And what makes Phoenix one of the best cities in the country for startups? It's another Monday which means its Money Monday. Evan Taylor, University of Arizona Associate Economics Professor joined the show to discuss the biggest local and national money stories. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you've been looking for a way to hit or exceed your annual quota, qualify for President's Club, or simply earn a bigger paycheck or bonus, focusing on helping business owners reduce their tax burden by investing in your product, service or software in the final weeks of the year can give you the edge you need get more sales closed. Business Owners are Motivated to Reduce Taxes In the United States there are millions of SMBs and the vast majority of these businesses are what we call pass-through organizations for tax purposes. This means that the owners or partners in these businesses report the profits on their personal tax filings. Unlike big companies, small companies don't have the luxury of rolling profits over to the next year. So whatever they made this year, they have to pay taxes on. As the calendar winds down business owners are often motivated to invest in products, services, and software solutions in order to reduce taxable income. In other words, if a business has shown strong profits throughout the year, its owners might be keen to spend some of that money on improving their operations, expanding their capabilities, or streamlining their processes—right now—rather than hand over a large chunk of their profits to Uncle Sam come tax season. Business Owners Hate Paying Taxes To understand why this year-end period is so critical, let's get into the mindset of a small or medium-sized business owner. Unlike large enterprises with multiple departments and complex accounting strategies, SMB owners are often personally invested in the company's financial results because those results are essentially their income. It's how they pay their mortgage and put food on the table. For this reason, they watch their revenue and expenses closely. As the year comes to an end, they're looking at their bottom line and thinking about the upcoming tax bill. For many of these business owners, profit is a double-edged sword. Don't get me wrong, they want to make a profit. But at some point, too much profit triggers a much higher tax bill. If there is one thing I know about small and medium sized business owners its that they hate taxes. They are always looking for ways to legally minimize their tax liability. One easy and productive way to do this is to make fully or partially depreciable investments in the business before December 31st. That could mean buying new equipment, software, training packages, or services that will not only improve the business long-term but also reduce taxable income for the current year. An Urgent Need to Spend As a salesperson, the key takeaway here is that your prospects have a natural, time-bound incentive to spend. If you can position your product or service as the right investment at the right time, you might find it easier to close those deals that seemed just out of reach during the rest of the year. And by the way, if you are dealing with decision-makers who are pushing off decisions to next year, this is a great way to get past that objection. Framing Your Business Case I want to be clear though that most businesses are not going to spend money for the sake of spending money. Savvy business owners want to reduce taxes and do the right thing for their company. Therefore, you can't just be transactional. You still must follow the sales process and build a bridge to the value of tax savings AND business improvement when making your business case. It's all about framing your product or service as a strategic investment rather than a mere expense. For example: If you sell software tools that improve operational efficiency, make the case for how your solution will help them save on labor costs, reduce errors, and streamline workflows. If you're selling advertising, highlight how a year-end launch of a new campaign will lead to immediate results that set the stage for a strong Q1. If you sell capital equipment walk them through how the new equipment will make them more productive and help them expand their business in the new year. The key is to connect the value of your offering directly to the timing. Consider messaging like: “This is an opportune moment to upgrade your systems, so you'll enter the new year with a competitive edge and potentially lower your tax liabilities this season.” “By getting your campaign locked in before the year closes, you can reap immediate tax benefits while ensuring your advertising starts generating leads in January when you need them the most.” If we get the equipment ordered now it will be delivered in Q1 giving you plenty of time to get a high ROI next year. When you can tie the ROI of your product to both tangible improvements and the financial perks of year-end spending, the business case becomes much more compelling and you will sell more. Tailor Your Approach While the end-of-year tax incentive is a common denominator, not every SMB is identical. Some might be profitable but cash-constrained, while others have capital burning a hole in their pockets. Some may be in sectors that had a booming year, while others are just recovering from a difficult market. The more you understand the unique challenges and goals of each prospect you're targeting, the better you can tailor your approach. Before you pick up the phone, walk through their door, or send an email, do some research. Check out their recent announcements, whether they're hiring or expanding. Look into trends in their industry. Understanding these nuances will help you fine-tune your messaging. If you know a business is tight on cash, emphasize flexible payment plans or financing options. If the business is flush with profit, reinforce the immediate tax advantage and the strategic value of reinvesting those funds. Empathy and relevance are your allies here. Show that you understand their position and that your solution aligns perfectly with their current goals. That personal touch, combined with the natural urgency of year-end, is a powerful recipe for closing the deal. Lead With Urgency: Clear, Direct, Compelling I don't want to sweep under the rug how important timing and urgency are with this tactic. While you don't want to be completely transactional, you do want to be direct. As we approach the end of the year, many SMB owners have a long to-do list: Finalizing paperwork, inventory checks, reviewing vendor contracts, preparing for holiday promotions, and on and on. They're busy. They have limited time to spend on sales pitches. This means your outreach needs to be respectful of their schedule and also clear, direct, and compelling. Say right away: “I'm reaching out before the year ends because I have a solution that can help you maximize your tax benefits this year and help you grow your business next year." Being direct and to the point respects their time and sets the context immediately. If you need more help with direct and to-the-point messaging, grab your copy of my book Fanatical Prospecting and review Because Statements. It's crucial that you create and maintain a sense of urgency. Not the aggressive, pushy kind, but a natural urgency rooted in a real calendar event: The year-end. The clock is ticking, and if they don't make their purchase by December 31st, they miss out on the potential tax advantages. This deadline isn't artificial—it's a reality. Use it to frame your conversations. Urgency helps prospects prioritize your offer over other distractions in their busy schedule. Handling Objections You might encounter objections like: “We're too busy to consider new solutions right now,” or “We don't have enough budget.” In these cases, it's wise to highlight the cost-saving and tax benefits again. Stress that investing now can actually put them in a better position financially. Remind them that waiting until next year could mean missing out on an opportunity to reduce this year's taxable income. If time is an issue, propose a quick and efficient implementation plan. Show them that you can be agile and help them integrate the solution without massive downtime. If budget is a concern, consider promotions, discounts, or favorable financing terms. Sometimes, offering a small year-end incentive can tip the scales in your favor. The Five Keys to Selling More to SMBs at the End of the Year SMBs have a natural incentive to invest before year-end: They want to reduce their taxable income and set themselves up for a strong next year. Frame your product as a strategic investment: Highlight the value, ROI, and tax benefits that come with a year-end purchase. Avoid being transactional: Follow the sales process and position yourself as a partner who can help them navigate this critical period. Tailor your approach to each SMB's situation: Research their needs and adjust your prospecting message accordingly, showing empathy and relevance. Create urgency with a real deadline: The calendar itself is your ally; emphasize that the benefits come from acting before December 31st. Here's the deal though. Do not wait. Start this process now. The low-hanging fruit is out there but it will rot on the vine if you fail to pick before the sand runs out of the hourglass this year. Check out the BRAND NEW Jeb Blount Ultimate Sales Success Box Set. It's the perfect gift for the sales professional in your life!

Unlock the secrets to turning distressed properties into profitable investments!

Unlock the secrets to turning distressed properties into profitable investments!

Looking for the best NBA, CFB & NFL picks, predictions, and betting tips for Monday, December 8, 2025? Tune in to Profit Picks with expert handicappers Hakeem "Skee" Profit and Rob Veno as they preview today's biggest matchups with sharp insights and actionable advice.

With mortgage rates being down for a second week in a row, will you be able to capitalize? Also what's this we're hearing about Arizona having the 2nd best unemployment figures in the country? What's helping Arizona rise to the top for opportunities? Sounds like these are questions we'd ask on Money Monday; and indeed it is Money Monday so our favorite Associate Economics Professor, University of Arizona's Evan Taylor, joined the show to help us kick off the week with economics questions.  

What Does a Perfect Bowling Game Have in Common With Top-Performing Sales Reps? Walk into a bowling alley on a Friday night, and you'll see a scene that looks like pure recreation. The crash of pins, the rumble of conversation, the squeak of shoes on the approach. But beneath all that noise is something far more serious: discipline, repetition, emotional control, and the relentless pursuit of mastery. That's the real game. And it's the exact game top performers play in sales. Selling rewards consistency, mental toughness, and the willingness to execute the fundamentals long after everyone else has checked out. When you break the sport of bowling down frame by frame, it mirrors what we teach every day at Sales Gravy. Fanatical Prospecting. Emotional control. Owning your process. Staying steady under pressure. Winning one shot at a time. Each frame reveals a truth about the way elite sellers think and operate. Frame 1: The Approach — Fanatical Prospecting In bowling, the shot starts before the ball ever moves. The routine is deliberate: same steps, same breath, same commitment. That's where consistency begins. In sales, your approach is prospecting. It's the moment you decide whether you're a professional or a hobbyist. Pros don't wait for a pipeline crisis. They build a non-negotiable daily rhythm of fanatical prospecting, exactly the way Jeb teaches it. “One more call. One more conversation. One more connection.” That mindset is your approach. That's the discipline that separates a bowler stepping onto the lane with purpose from the one sitting at the bar making excuses. You pick a target, commit, and move. Frame 2: The Lane — Owning Your Sales Process A lane looks the same every time, but it rarely plays the same. Oil patterns shift. Friction changes. Conditions evolve. Your sales process is no different. You can't control a buyer's internal politics or shifting priorities, but you can control how you move through your process. You can control your cadence, your discovery, your follow-up, and your commitment to advancing every opportunity with intention. Average sellers blame the lane. Pros read it. They ask better questions. They recognize where deals stall. They adjust without abandoning the fundamentals. The arrows exist to guide the ball; your process exists to guide you. Ignore it, and you drift straight into the gutter. Frame 3: The Ball — Your Message and the Triangle of Trust A bowler's ball is drilled to fit their hand, weighted for their style, and chosen for the conditions. Your ball is your message—your story, your questions, your ability to connect what you sell to what the buyer actually cares about. When you balance logic, emotion, and values, the ball rolls true. Most sellers throw the same generic pitch at every buyer. Pros tune their message. They refine their openings. They speak the buyer's language. Hit with too much emotion and no substance, you lose credibility. Hit with pure logic and no emotional relevance, you miss the pocket of influence. The goal is simple: strike emotion first, let logic clean up the rest. Frame 4: The Pins — Prospects, Objections, and Physics Pins obey physics. They aren't out to get you. Prospects are the same. Some fall quickly. Some require finesse. Some need a second shot. This is where many sellers unravel emotionally. They take objections personally. They turn one “no” into a story about themselves. Objections aren't judgment. They're feedback. “We're happy with our current vendor.” “Call me next quarter.” Objections are indicators, and tell you where your angle is off. Pros adjust. Ask a different question. Reframe the problem. Bring a story that hits harder. Then take another shot. The frame isn't over until you quit. Frame 5: The Shoes — Mindset and Emotional Control No one bowls in street shoes. You'll slip, lose balance, and go down hard. Your mindset is your pair of bowling shoes. Without emotional control, every call feels unstable. Every objection knocks you off center. Every tough moment spirals. Pros prepare their mind before they prepare their day. They visualize tough conversations. They decide how they'll respond to setbacks before they happen. They choose composure over reaction. A confident mind produces a confident delivery. Buyers feel both. Frame 6: The Equipment — Tech as an Amplifier, Not a Crutch Pros carry multiple balls, tape, tools—gear that helps them adjust and stay consistent. None of it bowls for them. Sales is full of tools too: CRMs, AI, sequencing engines, dialers. But tools only multiply effort. They never replace it. Weak sellers hide behind technology. Pros use it to increase conversations and stay organized. Tools help you understand the “oil pattern” of your territory. But at the end of the day, it's still you, a buyer, and a conversation. No technology closes deals for you. Frame 7: The Team — Culture and Accountability Bowling looks individual, but leagues win seasons. Behind every high average is a team pushing each other, challenging complacency, and celebrating progress. Sales is the same. Great cultures are built around coaching, accountability, and emotional safety. Teams share insights, review calls, and collaborate on tough deals. When someone hits a strike, everyone feels the lift. When someone struggles, the team rallies. You're competing, but you're not competing against each other. You're competing against your potential. Frame 8: The Scoreboard — Metrics and Truth The scoreboard doesn't lie. It doesn't care how busy you felt. It only reflects execution. Your sales scoreboard measures the same: dials, conversations, opportunities created, conversion rates. These numbers are feedback tools. High performers study them. They adjust mechanics, behavior, and cadence based on the data. You can't manage what you don't measure. Frame 9: The Follow-Through — Closing with Composure A bowler's follow-through is controlled and deliberate. The ball is gone, but the motion stays disciplined. Closing requires the same composure. Many sellers execute well early in the cycle. Then, at the moment of truth, they flinch. They rush. They soften.  Pros stay steady. They recap value clearly. They ask directly and confidently. They handle final concerns without panic. Closing is the natural output of a disciplined process. Frame 10: The Final Frame — Finishing Strong with Follow-Up The tenth frame separates casual bowlers from champions. Tired, under pressure, and out of margin for error, pros sharpen their focus. In sales, the tenth frame is follow-up. It's the week after the demo. The stalled proposal. The buyer who goes quiet. Most sellers mentally check out and tell themselves the wrong story: “If they wanted it, they'd call me.” Pros don't buy that lie. Deals are won in the follow-up—professional, relevant, value-driven persistence. That's where reliability is proven. The Game That Never Ends Sales doesn't have a perfect 300 game every time. Some days everything strikes clean. Some days you grind for spares. Some days the ball finds the gutter no matter how good your form feels. The separator is what you do next. Pros study the lane. They adjust their feet. They breathe. They get back on the approach and commit to the next shot with the same intensity as the first. So as you head into your day, think like a bowler playing the long game. Lace up your mindset. Respect your process. Choose your message with intention. Read your buyers the way pros read the lanes. Lean on your team. Track your scoreboard. And never cheat the follow-through. The pins are set. The lane is open. You've always got one more frame. Step up with purpose. Roll with confidence. And when in doubt, make one more call. Ready to take your sales game to the next frame? Build discipline, track your process, and crush your goals with the FREE Sales Gravy Goal Guide. Start mastering your results today.

Your prospects know when you're waiting for your turn to talk. They can feel when you're performing instead of partnering. And the moment they sense you're treating them like a transaction, you've already lost the sale, or at least the loyalty that comes after it. The difference between good salespeople and unforgettable ones isn't about closing techniques or fancy proposals. It's about becoming the trusted sales advisor your buyers can't imagine doing business without. It's about evolving from vendor to linchpin—the person who holds everything together. What Does It Mean to Be a Linchpin? A linchpin is the small pin that holds a wheel on its axle. Remove it, and everything falls apart. In sales, being a linchpin means you're more than someone who takes orders or delivers quotes. You're the trusted sales advisor buyers turn to for guidance, validation, and expertise. They don't just buy from you; they believe in you. They want your opinion. They rely on your consistency. And when things get messy, they know you'll help them make sense of it all. But most salespeople never reach linchpin status. They stay stuck in the vendor zone: quoting, pitching, following up, moving on. It's safe. It hits metrics. But safety doesn't create loyalty. Why Most Sellers Stay Vendors The vendor zone is comfortable. You know what to do. You have a process. You check boxes. But here's the problem: your prospect can feel when you're focused on yourself instead of them. They know when you're running through a script or waiting to launch into your pitch. And that feeling—that sense of being just another number—kills trust before it ever has a chance to grow. Being a trusted sales advisor requires something different. It requires you to slow down, tune in, and genuinely care about the person across from you. That's where the magic happens. Build Emotional Connection Through Reading the Room The best salespeople don't take behavior at face value. They interpret it. When a buyer seems distracted or cold, linchpin sellers pause and ask themselves: What's really happening here? Is this person overwhelmed? Skeptical because of a bad past experience? Or just thinking deeply because they need time to process? Here's how to sharpen your ability to read buyer emotions: Match and mirror. Notice their pace, tone, and energy, then subtly align with it. People feel safer with people who move at a similar rhythm. Say what you're thinking. Use your inside voice as your outside voice. Try: "It sounds like this project has a lot of pressure behind it" or "You seem hesitant—can I ask what's causing that?" Naming emotions and behaviors politely opens doors. Embrace the silence. Silence doesn't mean rejection. It means your buyer is thinking, absorbing, processing. This is where most salespeople blow it. They open their mouths too soon because they can't handle the quiet. Five extra minutes of patience is often what stands between winning and losing a deal. Reading people is empathy in motion. But it takes work. And most salespeople don't take the time. Lead With Curiosity Curiosity is the trait that rarely gets enough attention in sales training. But when you're genuinely curious about what makes your buyers tick—what drives their decisions, what matters most to them, what keeps them up at night—you move past small talk and into real conversations. When you show up to serve instead of showing up to sell, curiosity becomes natural. You ask questions to understand what your customers actually need. You build solutions together. And that's the moment you become essential to solving their problems. Here's how to leverage curiosity as a trusted sales advisor: Ask one more question. When your buyer answers, don't jump into your pitch. Say, "Tell me more about that" or "What else is behind that concern?" That extra question is where the truth often lives. Replace judgment with wonder. When a prospect makes an odd request, don't think "That's ridiculous." Think "I wonder what's driving that?" That mindset shift changes your energy completely—and they can feel it. Prep curiosity prompts before each meeting. Write down three open-ended questions that start with "how" or "what." Questions like "How will this impact your team's workload?" or "What happens if nothing changes?" uncover real motivation. The phrase "I'm so curious about..." has become a game-changer in discovery calls. It opens doors to deeper conversations. Most buyers will jump right in, and the conversation flows naturally. Your job is to listen, take notes, and get even more curious as they open up. Evolve Into an Indispensable Consultant Most salespeople understand the concept of being consultative: asking questions, offering insights, guiding decisions. But the best take it further. They become so valuable that their clients' success feels harder to imagine without them. When you become indispensable, things don't function properly without you. People need you, not just want you. You bring unique value that can't easily be replaced, because nobody is you. Here's how to go beyond helpful and become essential: Diagnose before you recommend. Don't rush to fix. Take time to fully understand the client's situation. Ask deeper questions. Look for patterns. Confirm what really matters before offering solutions. You'll gain trust faster through understanding than urgency. Teach through insight. Help your clients see their business from a new angle. Bring context, data, or perspective they haven't considered. When they walk away from a meeting thinking differently because of you, you're no longer just a vendor—you're a resource. Lead with consistency and integrity. Show up when it's easy, but also show up when it's not. Be steady, dependable, and transparent, especially when outcomes are uncertain. Indispensable consultants don't disappear when things get complicated. They stay close, communicate clearly, and make it easier for clients to move forward with confidence. When you understand deeply, teach clearly, and lead consistently, you become more than a salesperson. You become part of your clients' strategy. You become the trusted sales advisor they call first. People Buy You First Being a linchpin isn't about what you sell. It's about how you show up for the buyer. When markets shift or leadership changes, your product might change—but your presence shouldn't. People will always buy you first. Show up curious. Listen for meaning, not just for answers. Teach what you know. Stay steady when others panic. This approach moves you from being one of many to being the one they call first. That's how you go from vendor to linchpin. Ready to master the techniques that turn you into the trusted sales advisor your buyers can't live without? Download the FREE Sales Gravy Book of Play by Gina Trimarco and get the tools, tactics, and techniques to become a more effective and agile communicator in spontaneous sales conversations.    

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brian talks with Christopher Smitherman to hear the Smithervent, Money Monday with Brian James of Allworth Financial plus KRC Cares with Chris Klug of the Cincinnati VASee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is a very special Monday because it's Thanksgiving week here in the United States. This is the week we pause to express gratitude for the people in our lives, for what we've been given, and for what we've accomplished. But gratitude isn't just a feel-good emotion reserved for the holidays. It's also a performance- and life-enhancing routine that can give you sales superpowers. Gratitude Builds a Strong Mindset Sales is a mental game. Your mindset, attitude, and beliefs have more impact on your sales outcomes and ultimate success than any technique, script, or strategy ever will. This isn't soft psychology. This is neuroscience. Gratitude activates the parts of your brain associated with reward and emotional regulation. It releases dopamine and serotonin, neurotransmitters that make you feel good, leading to increased happiness and decreased anxiety and stress. Your confidence rises, your mind clears, you gain emotional control, and you make wiser decisions. Gratitude fundamentally rewires how your brain processes the world around you. When you practice gratitude consistently, your brain shifts from focusing on what could go wrong and starts seeing what could go right. Gratitude and insidious self-pity cannot coexist. Instead of dwelling on the deal you lost, the prospect that rejected you, or the leads you don't have, you appreciate the lessons you've learned and the opportunities still in front of you. But it goes deeper than just feeling better. Gratitude Builds Resilience In sales, you face rejection constantly. Bad weeks, tough months, prospects who ghost you after months of work, and deals that fall apart at the last minute, even though you did everything right. In this brutal profession, the salespeople who survive and thrive are the ones who bounce back faster from these inevitable setbacks. One of the key traits of highly successful people is an enduring belief that everything happens for a reason. When you can find something to appreciate even in difficult situations, you maintain your emotional stability. You don't spiral into negativity. You don't let one bad call ruin your entire day. Instead, you process the setback, learn from it, and move forward. Abundance vs Scarcity Thinking When you focus on what you do have—your skills, your relationships, your opportunities, your resources—you shift from scarcity thinking to abundance thinking. Scarcity thinking is the mother of negativity. It says: "I don't have enough leads. I don't have enough time. I don't have enough support. I'm going to miss my number." Abundance thinking is a mindset of opportunity and potential. It says: "Look at the skills I've developed. Look at the customers who trust me. Look at the opportunities in my pipeline. Look at what's possible." When you operate from gratitude and abundance, you become more creative, more energetic, more persistent. You stop fixating on limitations and start exploring possibilities. You show up differently. You bring positive energy. And people feel it. They want to work with people who are confident, positive, and focused on what's possible rather than what's impossible. Cultivating an Attitude of Gratitude But here's the thing. You don't wait to feel grateful. You choose to practice gratitude. The feelings follow. Every morning, you are empowered to make a conscious choice about where to focus your attention. You can focus on what's missing, what's wrong, who's against you, and what's hard. Or you can focus on what's present, what's working, what's possible. Both perspectives contain truth. But only one moves you forward toward the success and happiness you are seeking. Here are some practical ways to build gratitude into your daily routine: Keep a gratitude journal. Every morning or evening, write down three things you're grateful for. My friend Eric, who suffered from a severe brain injury, does this, and the impact it has had on his recovery is nothing short of a miracle. Thank someone every day. Send a text, an email, or better yet, make a phone call. Thank a customer. Thank a colleague. Thank a team member. Express genuine appreciation for something specific they've done. People naturally gravitate toward those who express genuine appreciation. When you thank a customer for their business, when you acknowledge a colleague's help, when you recognize someone's support, you strengthen those relationships. It makes you someone people want to work with, buy from, and help succeed. Mentally acknowledge the good. During your day, when something positive happens, pause for just a moment and mentally acknowledge it or say a prayer of thanks. Don't let it pass by unnoticed. Reframe challenges. When something goes wrong, ask yourself: "What can I learn from this? What opportunity might this create? What's the hidden gift in this situation?" This isn't about pretending problems don't exist. It's about looking for the lessons and possibilities within them. Start your week with gratitude. Every Monday, give thanks for the week ahead and the opportunity you've been given to make a difference in your life, for your family, company, and customers. The beautiful thing about gratitude is that it is like a muscle; it gets stronger with exercise. My Gratitude to You Before wrapping up, I want to take this opportunity to pause and express my gratitude to you. I'm grateful to you for listening to the Sales Gravy podcast. My team and I pour our hearts into producing this show, and your support means everything to us. Your comments, your reviews, your messages telling us how the podcast has helped you, fuels us. I'm thankful for the fans of my books. Writing is one of my greatest joys in life, and you make that possible. Every time someone tells me that "Fanatical Prospecting," or "Sales EQ," or "The LinkedIn Edge" changed their career, it reminds me why I do this work. I'm grateful for the companies around the world that trust Sales Gravy to train their teams. You let us into your organizations, trust us with your people, and give us the opportunity to make a real difference. That's a privilege we never take for granted. I'm grateful for the sales professionals who invest in themselves through Sales Gravy University. Your commitment to getting better inspires us to keep creating better content. And most of all, I'm grateful for the amazing people who choose to work at Sales Gravy. We are blessed with an incredible team that wakes up every morning focused on serving you and making a difference. They're the reason we can do what we do. Thank you for allowing us to be part of your professional journey. Reflecting on Gratitude So as we head into Thanksgiving week, I'll leave you with this simple reflection: Be thankful that you don't already have everything you desire. If you did, there would be nothing left to reach for, no reason to dream, no horizon pulling you forward. Be thankful that you don't know everything. It means life still has mysteries to reveal and lessons waiting to shape you. Be thankful for the difficult times. It's in these seasons that you grow stronger, wiser, and more resilient. Be thankful for your limitations. They remind you that there is still room to stretch, improve, and become more than you are today. Be thankful for challenges and obstacles. They forge your strength, your courage, and your character. These are the things that truly endure. Be thankful for your mistakes, because each one is a teacher guiding you toward better choices and deeper understanding. Be thankful for what you've been given. Every gift is proof that someone cares, someone believes in you, someone has invested in your journey. Be thankful for the people who push you, support you, frustrate you, and inspire you. Each one plays a role in shaping the person you are becoming. Be thankful for beginnings, endings, and every transition in between. They are the chapters and seasons of a life story still being written. Be thankful for Monday, because Monday brings new possibilities. And at the end of the day, when you are tired and weary, when you've stopped and made one more call, be thankful because it means you've made a difference. An attitude of gratitude changes how you approach your day—and your prospects. My new book, The LinkedIn Edge, shows you how to leverage that mindset to build genuine connections, engage with your network, and create opportunities that actually convert.

For this weeks "Money Monday" segment, Evan Taylor, Associate Professor of Economics at U of A, joins Arizona's Morning News to talk about what an $100,000 salary used to look like just a few years ago. Evan also discusses the posibility of us entering a recesssion.

A few years ago, I was on a desperate search for a dining table. My favorite from my old place was a gorgeous, single-piece antique that mathematically wouldn't fit in my new home. I loved that table, and losing it felt like losing a member of the family. So I started the hunt for a replacement, a piece worthy of its memory. I found a potential candidate at a high-end furniture store: a stunning cherry table.  I ran my hand along its smooth, cool surface, picturing it loaded with platters of food, surrounded by the people I love. But then I saw the price tag. It was prohibitively expensive. My wallet slammed shut. I knew it was perfect, but I just couldn't bring myself to pay for it. I walked out, resigning myself to a life of settling. In the end, I found a mass-produced, joined-piece from a department store. And for the next six months, I was miserable. My kitchen table was just … a table. It was functional, but it had no soul. I griped about it constantly, and every time I looked at it, I was reminded of what I'd given up. Discovering Sweat Equity Finally, out of options and patience, I took the advice of an antique store owner. "Go see a woodworker," she said.  I drove to the address, a dingy, dark garage on the southside of town that smelled of sawdust and varnish. Here, in this dusty, disorganized space, I found the most beautiful tables of every shape and size imaginable. A gruff man with calloused hands appeared. I told him about my predicament and my budget. He gave me a direct response: “I can't build you a table for that price.” Just as I was giving him an obligatory thanks and turning to leave, he hit me with an unexpected question: “Are you interested in learning how to make one? It might cost you less than what I've already made.” He wasn't selling me a table. He was selling me an experience. A partnership. Becoming a Co-Creator And so, we began. He showed me the design software. We walked through different scenarios, from Christmas dinner to my kids doing their homework. We chose the wood, figured out the curves for the legs, and decided on the thickness for the top. Every line was to my specifications. I was a co-creator, not a consumer. When he finally showed me the quote for materials and his lessons, it was 30% more than the expensive showroom table. And yet, the decision was simple. I looked at the plans, the time we'd invested in the design, the conversations we had shared, and I said, "Let's build this." I picked out the perfect piece of maple. He taught me how to cut it, sand it, and shape it. How to use a router to create decorative edges. How to apply gloss for a perfect shine. And when we were done, I paid that higher price gladly—despite all its imperfections (I am not a professional carpenter.). This was my table, built with my sweat, crafted with my hands. I'd earned it. One leg was a half-inch too short.  The decorative edges I'd spent hours on didn't quite match. And the lacquer? Let's just say it had a certain, unique texture. This table was, objectively, flawed. And yet, I loved it more than any piece of furniture I had ever owned. When I brought it home, I was so proud. I invited people over just so I could show it off. Every time I looked at it, I found myself thinking how perfect it was, even with its flaws. That slightly askew table wasn't just furniture; it was a blinding flash of the obvious and a lesson in the concept called The IKEA Effect. Applying the Principle in Sales Not long after my dive into woodworking, I found myself in a similar situation with a prospect. We were selling a sales training program, and the decision-maker leveled with me in our proposal meeting: "I love what you're proposing, but your competitors are beating your price. We're on a budget." I was about to chalk the deal up to closed-lost when the memory of that woodworker's shop flashed through my mind. “How about this,” I said, "I know our price is higher, but I think we—you and I—can design something perfect for your team. What if we work together to craft a custom solution, one that covers all your needs and fits into your company culture?" He was skeptical, but he agreed. So we began our own version of a woodworking project. Instead of sawdust and maple, we worked with spreadsheets and shared documents. We spent hours in meetings, outlining their team's specific pain points, the obstacles they faced with pipeline hygiene, and the skills they were lacking. We designed a plan with the right workshops, the right coaching, and the right support for their specific problems. When I finally presented the final proposal, it included a fee that was 20% higher than the competition. But it wasn't a surprise. We had built it together, every step of the way. He saw not just a list of services, but a reflection of his own team's needs. He had invested time, effort, and insight, and had a sense of ownership. How Co-Creation Wins the Deal With our co-created plan in hand, the client happily paid our higher fee. We'd edged out the competition not because of our price, but because we had triggered The IKEA Effect. This behavioral economic principle states that people place a disproportionately higher value on things they have helped to create. Every frustrating moment, every small victory when we are building something creates what behavioral economists call "effort justification." Your brain can't accept that all that work you put in was for something ordinary, so it reframes the result as extraordinary. It's the same reason my handmade table, with its slight wobble and imperfect edges, felt more valuable to me than the flawless, expensive showroom piece. And it's exactly why that prospect was willing to pay a premium for our sales training. By involving him in crafting the solution—by making him a co-creator rather than just a buyer—we triggered the same psychological principle. He didn't just purchase a program; he helped design it. The Lesson: Ownership Matters When people build something—whether it's furniture, solutions, or relationships—they don't just create the thing itself. They create ownership. Here's how you can apply this to your own sales process: Discovery is the new co-creation. Your discovery calls shouldn't be a simple Q&A. It should be a collaborative workshop. Use tools like a shared whiteboard or a live-edited document to build the solution with your prospect in real time. Frame it as, "Let's figure this out together." Your proposal is a project plan, not the final word. Think of your proposal as the culmination of shared work, not a final document you deliver. Refer to it as "our plan" or "the solution we designed." This language reinforces the joint effort. Make it their idea. The more effort your prospect invests in the process—even just by providing a little bit of input—the more they'll value the outcome. Ask open-ended questions that require them to provide genuine insight. Say things like, "Help me understand...," or "What would the ideal outcome look like for you?" When they tell you, it's their vision, and you're helping them bring it to life. The Big Takeaway The IKEA Effect is far more than a psychological quirk; it's a strategic weapon for every salesperson who wants to stop losing on price. The truth is, your customers aren't buying a product or a service—they're buying the feeling of a win.  When you empower your prospects to become co-creators in the sales process, you don't just solve their problem; you make them the hero of their own story.  You don't need to be the low-price leader to get the business. You just need to have the courage to ask them to build a solution with you. Hear more insights based on real-life business successes and flops on Jeb Blount Jr.'s podcast 30 Minutes or Less: How Flawed Sales Incentive Programs Cost Domino's $78 Million, part of The Sales Gravy Podcast.  

The Consumer Price Index for October was not released due to the government shutdown. Will the report ever see the light of day? And are there ways to calculate Valley inflation that don't involve this report? Sounds like it's Money Monday once again, and Associate Economics Professor Evan Taylor of the Universtiy of Arizona joined the show to break down these questions. He joins every Monday for Money Monday at 5:45  am. 

Looking for the best NBA & NFL picks, predictions, and betting tips for Monday, November 10, 2025? Tune in to Profit Picks with expert handicappers Hakeem "Skee" Profit and Rob Veno as they preview today's biggest matchups with sharp insights and actionable advice.

Has it been a long year for you too? 2025 is concluding, but regardless its Monday, which means its Money Monday. Will inflation increase in 2026? How about wages? will they grow? We talk to U of A Associate Economics Professor Evan Taylor and ask him to give economic projections for 2026. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We are moving into the most dangerous time of year for sales professionals . . . the holidays.  From now until the first week of January, you're going to face a perfect storm of distractions, excuses, and temptations that can absolutely destroy your year end number and your first quarter production next year. Sadly, most salespeople don't even see it coming. It's not until the end of December that they realize they're in trouble, but by then, it's too late.  The Trouble With the Holidays The trouble typically starts Thanksgiving week in the United States and continues as we move into the first week of December. That's when distractions start flooding in. You've got company parties, family obligations, shopping to do. All of which knock you off of your routine causing your daily prospecting and follow up activities to drop. And let's be honest, you've been grinding hard for the entire year and you're ready to let your guard down and coast a bit before the end of the year.  By the second and third week of December many of the opportunities in your pipeline that you were counting on closing start to ghost you or tell you that their pushing decisions off to next year. And by now you're so mentally checked out that you're barely doing any prospecting at all.  Once we move into the Christmas and New Years weeks your office is a ghost town, the phones are silent, your pipeline is stalled, you've missed your forecast and you convince yourself there's no point in even trying.  And just like that, you've lost an entire month of selling.   My book The LinkedIn Edge gives you the master blueprint for turning LinkedIn into an optimized, revenue-generating sales engine—whether you're deploying Sales Navigator or not. Learn to work LinkedIn like a professional with step-by-step, immediately actionable tactics that supercharge your presence on the world's largest networking platform. Get it today wherever books are sold.       Holiday Sales Math But here's the brutal truth: You didn't just lose a month. You lost three months. Because all of those prospects that pushed off decisions until the new year are not coming back; and that empty pipeline you're staring at, as you move into January, is going to haunt you through March and potentially, through the entire year.  Your average sales cycle is probably 60-90 days. That means deals you put into the pipeline over the next two to three weeks are crucial for a good January. Likewise, the ones you add in December are the key to delivering a solid February and March.  But if you allow the Holidays to take you off of your game, you might not recover until April or May. Your entire first quarter is shot.  This is the killer and how so many promising sales careers end prematurely. I've witnessed far too many salespeople get fired in March for pipeline problems that started in November when they let their discipline slip during the holidays. Do Not Allow Active Deals Stall and Die The deals currently in your pipeline are more vulnerable right now than at any other time of year. Your prospects have the perfect excuse to push decisions.  When deals sit idle for a month, bad things happen. Stakeholders change. Budgets get reallocated. Priorities shift. Your champion gets distracted by seventeen other initiatives. Your competitors slip in while you're eating fruitcake and drinking eggnog. I've watched salespeople lose six-figure deals that they thought were "locked up" in November, simply because they took their foot off the gas during the holidays.  I've said this before and I'll say it again. Pipeline opportunities that push into the new year are not coming back. Do not count on them. Do not allow yourself to be delusional about them. If you don't get forecasted opportunities closed by the end of the year, consider them dead! For this reason, you must be vigilant with follow up, assertive with your communication and do whatever it t...

Looking for the best NBA & NFL picks, predictions, and betting tips for Monday, November 3, 2025? Tune in to Profit Picks with expert handicappers Hakeem "Skee" Profit and Rob Veno as they preview today's biggest matchups with sharp insights and actionable advice.

With tech companies and data-centers expanding their footprint in the Valley, our energy needs are expectd to increase. What sort of preparations are we making to meet the energy demands of the near future? It's Money Monday and Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Arizona Evan Taylor joined the show to divulge how the utilities are preparing for increased demand. 

Looking for the best NBA, CFB & NFL picks, predictions, and betting tips for Monday, October 27, 2025? Tune in to Profit Picks with expert handicappers Hakeem "Skee" Profit and Rob Veno as they preview today's biggest matchups with sharp insights and actionable advice.

It's a Monday! And like all Mondays it is Money Monday! The latest inflation numbers are out, and Social Security recipients will receive a cost of living increase of 2.8%.  Associate Professor of Economics at the Univeristy of Arizona Evan Taylor joined Arizona's Morning News to break down what you need to know on Money Monday. 

It's Monday, so that means it Money Monday! A survey shows workers feel that their income is not keeping up with inflation. Evan Taylor, Associate Professor of Economics at the UNiversity of Arizona joined Arizona's Morning News to discuss worker sentiment and what a delayed CPI report may say about the economy. 

I've been intrigued by all of the LinkedIn posts lately from sales professionals, leaders, and experts proclaimings the phone is back! Even the “phone-is-dead” evangelists seem to have had a change of heart and are encouraging salespeople to “phone a customer.”  My favorite posts are from salespeople who took this advice, called a customer, and were surprised—even stunned—to discover that their customer actually wanted to talk. It's more proof that buyers are starving for real, authentic, human-to-human conversations with their sales reps and account managers.  When Sellers Make Their First Call in Years I saw one post yesterday from an account manager who said that, for the first time in years, he had picked up the phone and called a customer. In his post, he described how rewarding it was to have a real, live conversation—as if this was some new revelation. He said that even though the phone was “old school,” he had given it a try because his customers weren't responding to his emails anymore.  Although I'm super pleased to see that salespeople are rediscovering the power of the humble phone, I was bothered by this particular post because it is an indictment of just how far the sales profession has fallen over the past few years. It also exposes the malpractice of this guy's leadership team. Seriously, how is it possible that his leaders and company allowed him to avoid having actual conversations with his customers for years?  Pick Up the Phone and Talk to Your Customers Account managers who are not talking with their customers, the ones who keep their customers at digital arm's length and send random “just checking in emails,” are swinging the door open and inviting competitors in. When you fail to proactively manage relationships—when you don't talk with your customers—those customers end up talking to your competitors and considering other options. Nearly 70 percent of customers are lost due to neglect. Not prices, not products, not the economy, not aggressive competitors. Neglect! They feel the sting of being taken for granted. If you've ever been taken for granted (and I bet you have), you know that it makes you feel unimportant, small, and resentful, which can lead to the feeling of contempt. Resentment and contempt are the two most powerful negative emotions in the pantheon of human emotions. They are the gangrene of relationships, festering below the surface, slowly rotting away the connections that bind people together until the relationship is destroyed. The good news is the secret to defending accounts is completely in your control. It's simple. Pay attention to your customers. And guess what? A simple, regular  phone call can make all the difference. Just pick up the phone, dial their number, and ask or say: How are you doing? What can I do to help you? I have an idea for you.   Have a great weekend. Thank you for your business. Regular telephone contact ensures that you are top of mind with customers. Hearing your voice lets them know that you care. It doesn't need to be anything particularly special. You don't need to schedule it on their calendar. You don't need a reason to tell your customers that you appreciate them.  Pick up the phone and say “hello” because it doesn't cost a thing to pay attention to your customers. A “How AI Will Replace You” Reality Check But it's not just that account manager and his company. Rather than picking up the phone and talking with people, sales professionals everywhere have replaced this beautiful, synchronous sales communication tool with email. This aversion to talking with people by phone has become so acute that at least half of Sales Gravy's training and consulting engagements have focused on one thing: Teaching and compelling salespeople to pick up the damn phone and just have real-time human conversations.  So, let's start with a reality check: The telephone is not old school. 

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 can do the work of ten humans in half the time. And if you spend too much time reading those headlines, it's easy to start wondering, What happens to me? What happens to salespeople like us in a world where machines can do almost everything we used to do? AI is Here to Stay You can't escape the truth. AI is going to change everything and impact almost every part of our lives. The train has left the station, and it will not be turning back. AI is going to displace a lot of people and jobs, but it's not going to replace everyone. Because no matter how smart machines get, they can't feel or connect the way you and I can. Sales is, and always will be, the ultimate human profession. It's the one job built entirely on human emotion, human judgment, and human connection. What You Can Do That AI Can't Just think about it: AI can write words. But it can't create belief. It can predict who might buy. But it can't build trust. It can score a lead. But it can't lead a human being through uncertainty, fear and doubt while giving them confidence to make the right decision in complex situations.  That's what you do. That's what we do. That's what salespeople have always done—long before there was technology, long before there was AI, and long before algorithms tried to simulate emotion. In sales, it's not about the product. It's about the person. People buy you. What you sell might get you to the door, but it is how you sell that determines whether they let you in.   Every sale is a transfer of emotion from one human being to another. It's the transfer of  belief and confidence and trust. When a customer says “Yes,” they're not just saying yes to a proposal or a price. They're saying 'Yes' to you. No matter how powerful technology becomes, that moment—that human moment—will never be replaced by a line of code. As modern sellers, what we need to understand is that AI isn't the end of selling. It's just the next leap forward in our incredibly resilient profession.  Keeping it Real AI will replace some salespeople, so we need to keep it real. There are reps who are lazy, transactional, and just go through the motions and never bother to think, adapt, or grow. Those reps will get left behind. So AI will not make sales professionals less valuable, but it will absolutely make the gap between poor and exceptional salespeople wider and more pronounced.  But the top performers—the ones who combine human empathy with AI-powered insight—will be unstoppable. Because when you merge the intelligence of machines with the intuition of a human being, it becomes a force multiplier.  How to Become Irreplaceable with AI Right this moment, top sales professionals and high-earners are elevating their performance with AI tools that do the grunt work. It'll build your lists, do your research, automate your follow-ups, and write every sort of draft.  It will give you more time for human-to-human connections: to listen, discover, develop creative solutions, persuade, and see the emotional context behind the data. The question isn't whether AI will replace you. The question is whether you'll use AI to become irreplaceable. It's simple. AI can give you the right words to say. But only you can make someone feel something when you say it. AI can pull the data, do the research, and build your presentation. Only you can look someone in the eye and say “Trust me. We can solve this together.” and close the sale.  Your Emotional Intelligence Seals the Deal That's The AI Edge. It's not about the tools. It's about using the tools to amplify your humanity. In the age of AI, your #1 competitive advantage is emotional intelligence. It's your ability to understand how people feel,

Will the government shutdown effect Arizona more than other states in the country? Evan Taylor, Associate Professor of Economics at University of Arizona joined the show to answer this question and tell us how Wall Street is reacting to the continued shutdown. 

Shaun hates a crooked copper. PLUS, Tom Fortino, Founder & Principal of Alpha Wealth Group, tells Shaun the truth about gold, discusses the political destruction of our economy, and what you can do to protect your money. And ICYMI: Scott "The Cow Guy" Shellady and Shaun solve the financial problems of the world! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Here is an undeniable truth: The No. 1 reason for failure in sales is an empty pipeline, and the No. 1 reason you have an empty pipeline is that you are not doing enough prospecting. In sales, everything rests on putting qualified opportunities in your pipeline. Prospecting is the beginning and the end, alpha and omega. If you don't prospect, you will fail. That is a guaranteed truth. Each and every sales day, you must connect with prospects, engage them in meaningful conversations, and convert them into pipeline opportunities.  It's a Noisy World The problem is that we live in a noisy world in which those same prospects are being inundated with prospecting messages from dozens of other salespeople who are also attempting to get their attention.  So, if you don't stand out, you lose.  But I doubt I'm telling you anything that you don't already know. It's freaking hard to get attention when prospecting, and it's not getting easier. There are days when it feels like you could be jumping up and down in front of your prospect in a pink bunny suit while throwing hundred-dollar bills in the air, and they'd still ignore you.  The Sledgehammer Approach Is Dead One of the key reasons so many salespeople fail to break through is that their entire prospecting strategy is pounding away at prospects through a single communication channel—typically a series of automated emails sent through a sales engagement platform like Outreach or SalesLoft.  Sadly, this sledgehammer approach just doesn't work anymore. Recent data reveals that salespeople are sending as many as eight times more emails today than they did five years ago and getting just a tenth of the results.  A big reason prospects are tuning out is that AI-powered sales automation tools have scaled email prospecting activity to an extraordinary level.  In the past, writing a prospecting email involved strategic thought and taking time to craft a message that was unique to each prospect. It was a slow process, which meant salespeople sent fewer but better prospecting emails. Today, AI engines can pump out hundreds of cold email variations in seconds with shallow, and often cringeworthy, personalization that, more often than not, turns prospects off. And as AI-generated prospecting emails flood inboxes, the sheer volume of this outreach has eroded any impact from the improved efficiency.  Constant exposure to this irrelevant, repetitive AI-generated crap has left business executives exasperated. They are overwhelmed and have tuned out, turned off, and are ignoring all prospecting messages—good or bad, human or AI-generated. Break Through the Noise Most sales professionals today are desperate to find new techniques to help them break through the noise and get attention when prospecting so that they can engage in more meaningful conversations.  Most salespeople want a bigger, stronger pipeline filled with qualified opportunities. Yet many overlook one of the most powerful prospecting tools right at their fingertips: LinkedIn. Why LinkedIn, Why Now It can be argued that the moment the sales profession changed forever and the door opened to modern selling as we know it was when Alexander Graham Bell said on the very first telephone call, “Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you.” The telephone's impact on the sales profession was profound and lasting. Then, as now, the phone remains the most efficient and effective means for conducting real-time, synchronous human-to-human conversations with prospects. Bell made his call to Mr. Watson 150 years ago. Since then, only a handful of pivotal technologies have advanced the sales profession with such impact: The automobile gave sellers the freedom to cover wider regional territories more efficiently. Air travel literally gave sales professionals wings, expanding their reach nationally and globally. The internet put unimaginable data at the fingertips of both sales professionals and buyers.

Cicero once said, "Cultivation of the mind is as necessary as food to the body." Sales is fundamentally a mental game. Your capacity for understanding your prospects at a deeper level and developing creative solutions that solve their problems – that's your winning edge. In a profession where you need to outwit and out maneuver your competitors in order to win,  your ability to think, to truly contemplate and reflect, might be the most underutilized competitive advantage in your sales arsenal. Always Responding. Never Reflecting. Yet most salespeople these days are starving their minds. They're constantly in motion, constantly busy, constantly doing, constantly in front of screens – but rarely thinking.  We've created a culture where being busy equals being productive. Most salespeople spend their days reacting – to emails, to phone calls, to urgent requests, to the latest fire that needs to be put out. We are always responding, never reflecting. Always moving, never thinking strategically about where we are going. Noise Kills Your Ability to Think William Penn wrote, "True silence is the rest of the mind; it is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment." Think about that for a moment. You wouldn't dream of going weeks without sleep because you know your body would break down. But you regularly go weeks, maybe months, without giving your mind the silence and space it needs to just think and function at its highest level. We live in the age of noise. Constant noise. Digital noise, physical noise, mental noise. Your phone is buzzing with notifications. Your email is pinging every few minutes. Your CRM is demanding updates. Your manager wants reports. Your prospects are texting. Your colleagues and customers are interrupting.  We have so many things going on at once and so much noise in our lives that it has become almost impossible to think. All of this noise is killing your ability to think clearly, to make good decisions, to see the big picture, to be the creative and thoughtful professional you were meant to be.  Schedule Thinking Time That's exactly why scheduling thinking time is so important. Most people don't take the time to think because they don't feel like they can afford to. Sitting quietly and thinking doesn't feel like work. It feels like you're being lazy. Our culture has programmed us to believe that if we're not visibly doing something, we're not being productive. Likewise, constant stimulation has become a drug. Silence feels uncomfortable because we've forgotten how to be alone with our thoughts. I passionately believe that we must schedule, on our calendars, for thinking. No distractions, no music, no TV, no laptop, no phone – just you and your thoughts, alone. Notice I said "schedule" it. If you don't put it on your calendar, it won't happen. You'll always find something more "urgent" to do. Thinking Time Taking time to just think is powerful. It slows you down, helps you relax, and frequently generates incredible ideas and inspiration.  Thinking time isn't meditation, though it shares some similarities. It's not prayer, though some people find it spiritual. It's simply dedicated time for your mind to process, reflect, and contemplate. The beauty of thinking time is that it can take many forms.  The Quiet Corner Think  Find a quiet space – your office with the door closed, a park bench, your car in an empty parking lot, or a corner of your home. The location doesn't matter as much as the lack of distractions. Start with just 15 minutes. Don't try to go for an hour right away. Build the habit first, then extend the time. The Walk and Think This is my personal favorite. Take a long walk – alone, without music, podcasts, or phone calls. There's something about the rhythm of walking that unlocks creative thinking. Steve Jobs was famous for his thinking walks. Many of his best ideas came while walking around Apple's campus or thro...

It's Money Monday! As usual Associate Professor of Economics at University of Arizona Evan Taylor joined Arizona's Morning News to discuss the increase in personal consumption expedenitures and other recent shopping trends. 

It's Money Monday! Yay! As always on Monday we spoke with UofA economics professor Evan Taylor about poverty rates declining in the Valley and the economy being “K shaped”. 

Get the latest financial news from Allworth Financial's Brian James

Brian talks with Chris Smitherman to hear his Smithervent, Money Monday with Brian James, Ryan Walters of Empower U and his seminar on September 23rd on President Grover Cleveland plus your calls.

Welcome to Grind Season. This week, we enter the most pivotal period of your entire sales year. From now until mid-December, how you choose to invest your limited time will determine whether you end your year strong, hit your income goals, make it to the winner's circle at President's Club, and start next year with a full pipeline OR wallow in mediocrity, miss your number, and damage your career.  Write Your Sales Comeback Story If you're ahead of your goals, this is your time to build an insurmountable lead and give yourself an unfair advantage as you enter next year. Do not rest on your laurels and coast. Grind it out and build a massive next-year pipeline. If you're on track, this is your time to accelerate, finish strong, and propel yourself into the President's Club.  If you're behind, this is the time to shift from being defense to offense. Most salespeople who are going to miss their annual quota already know it by now. They can feel it. See it in their pipeline. Sense it in their gut. But what separates winners from losers is that winners use this moment as a wake-up call, not a death sentence.  Stop making excuses about market conditions, difficult prospects, or bad luck. Start taking complete ownership of your results and your future. Stop thinking like someone who's behind. Start thinking like someone who's about to write their own sales comeback story.  Your energy and confidence level will directly impact your results during Grind Season. If you show up defeated and desperate, prospects will sense it. If you show up confident and focused, prospects will respond in kind, and you will sell more. But whatever your situation, this is not the time to coast. This is the time to get serious about finishing the year strong. The Grind Season Mindset "Grind Season" is more than just a motivational catchphrase – it's a winning mindset grounded in the unglamorous, but essential, embrace of this crucial period with intense focus, hard work, discipline, and consistent, intentional activity.  It's about ignoring distractions, drowning out the noise, being stingy with your time, and using every moment of your sales day to put new opportunities into the pipeline and actively advancing those deals through the pipeline. This isn't about activity for the sake of activity. It's about deliberately and proactively getting back to the basics and fundamentals of prospecting and sales at a time in the sales year when it matters.  Your Pipeline Reality Check Here's the key gut-check question you must look into the mirror and answer right now: Where do you stand relative to your year-end number, and based on that answer, what will be your next move? To fully answer that question, begin with a pipeline reality check. Your current quota attainment tells you where you've been. Your pipeline tells you where you're going. Far too many sales professionals look at their pipeline and see what they want to see, not what's actually there. This is especially true at this time of year when we allow baggage from the first half of the year to remain in our pipeline, hoping that somehow we might close it. But here's the deal, during Grind Season, hope is not a strategy.  The truth is, those deals have been dead for a long time. The stakeholders are ghosting you; they never commit to next steps, and most haven't returned your calls in months. In the words of Sales Gravy University trainer and author Kristie K. Jones, “stalled” is not a step in the sales process.  So start by getting brutally honest and ruthless with your current pipeline. First, clean house. Go through every opportunity and ask yourself: "If I had to bet my own money on whether this deal will close by the end of the year, would I take that bet?" If the answer is no, move it out of your active pipeline and replace it with something else. Stop lying to yourself and counting on it for this year's numbers. Second,

I had intended for this Money Monday to be something powerful, a new message that would get you fired up for this week and this season. But last week, while delivering training to an amazing group of young salespeople with wide-open minds, I learned that Charlie Kirk had been assassinated. It disturbed me deeply and I feel compelled to deliver this message. The Assassination That Shook America On Sept. 10, 2025, Charlie Kirk was fatally shot while addressing an audience at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. A young man, thirty-one years old with his whole life ahead of him, was killed for no other reason than someone disagreed with him. After learning about the assassination, I found myself incredibly disturbed that a person in the public square could just be shot and killed like that—murdered right in front of everyone. So I did what I always do when I want to understand something: I started learning. I watched hours and hours, dozens and dozens of Charlie Kirk's videos to learn more about the man, his message, and why someone would think it would be okay to assassinate him. I still haven't found the answer to that last question. This Isn't About Politics Before I go any further, let me be crystal clear: This is not a political message. This is not a religious message. It is about how we treat each other as human beings. If you know me, if you've been to my events or training, you know I never talk about politics or religion. If you look at my social media feeds on any channel, you won't find much that would help you understand what my politics or religion are. Do I have convictions? Yes. Do I believe certain things? Yes. But they're my beliefs, and I keep them to myself because my job is to train salespeople. I'm a sales author, trainer, expert, and consultant. That's my lane. I train salespeople no matter what they believe. I train salespeople no matter what their religion. I train salespeople and help salespeople no matter where they're from or what their walk of life is. I don't care where you come from because my entire purpose, my reason for being on earth, is to help you sell more, help you gain confidence, and to help you with your biggest sales questions and challenges. What Charlie Kirk's Example Taught Me What I discovered in watching those videos was something that transcends political beliefs. Charlie Kirk's example was his willingness to go sit down face-to-face with people who disagreed with him, sometimes vehemently, and just have a conversation. And do it respectfully. I noticed something remarkable in his videos: More than once, he said, "You know what, I stand corrected." Someone would come to him with a different set of facts, and he would say, "Okay, that sounds right. I agree with you." In many cases, he would shake the person's hand after a debate. He was respectful. It was never about the person. It wasn't personal. He didn't hate the person. He had conversations about their ideas. How Charlie Kirk disagreed mattered. That is what we need to get back to. Not someplace in the future—today, right now. The Human Cost I watched his wife's, Erica's, message to the world, and I found myself on an airplane as a grown man with tears streaming down my face, trying not to let everyone see that I was crying. It was heartbreaking watching her pain. She has two kids; they are one- and three-years-old. That assassin changed their lives forever. I can't imagine when one of them gets older and either finds the video of their daddy getting assassinated or someone puts it in front of them. If you step into that frame for just a moment with your human empathy, it will make you hurt. Charlie's children will be raised with stories instead of memories, photographs instead of laughter, and silence where their father's voice should have guided and loved them. The Conflict We All Face Everywhere in our lives with other people, we have disagreement. Everywhere in our lives,