Podcasts about salespeople

Website traffic is falling across the board, and it's tempting to read that as a marketing problem. It usually isn't. AI summaries now answer the generic top of funnel questions people used to click into your site to answer, so the casual browsers never arrive. The visitors who do show up are the ones already deciding whether you're a fit. That changes what a manufacturing website is for. A list of machines, materials, and certifications was fine when buyers were willing to dig. Now they want a specific answer to a specific question, and if your site makes them hunt for it, they'll go back to Google or ChatGPT and get an answer from a source you don't control. We talk with John Greeley of Navu about what shops should actually do about it, and a lot of it isn't what you'd expect. Old content that used to sit harmlessly on your site is now working against you, because LLMs read your whole site at once and stop citing you when they find pages that disagree with each other. Less content with more depth beats the old habit of publishing a page for every possible search term. The other half of this is labor. The questions landing in your info inbox are usually answered somewhere on your site already, and they're pulling SMEs and owners off the work that actually moves the business. John walks through a real buyer journey where the ninth question was a technical spec buried on page 193 of a PDF, and the tenth was how to talk to sales. Nobody on that team spent a minute on it until the lead was qualified. Brooke also joins us in the host seat for the first time and gives the Gen Z read on all of it, which mostly comes down to letting people find what they need before anyone tries to sell them something. What's Covered in this Episode (0:00) Brooke steps into the host seat, and John introduces Navu (6:38) Take your shop to the next level with DN Solutions (7:50) What a single line of JavaScript can tell you about visitor behavior (10:35) About 37% of users who eventually convert used the chat along the way (11:42) Why traffic is down but conversions aren't (13:26) How LLMs read your entire site at once and punish conflicting answers (16:17) Less content, more depth, and a ruthless pruning habit (17:35) Your site's unanswered questions as a canary in the coal mine (20:14) What buyers actually asked Mike when Hill rebuilt its site (22:15) Why the old pop up chatbots earned their bad reputation (24:42) More than 60% of buyers now start their research in a chat interface (26:16) Turning AI buzzwords into outcomes at the IMTS Industrial AI Conference (27:04) Labor savings is how most customers justify the spend internally (28:50) The landing page listings and a conversation about instant gratification (32:12) Quote response time as the number one factor in winning or losing work (35:13) The real user journey and the questions that you see (38:30) Brooke on why her generation would rather research than call (42:27) Salespeople querying the site mid call instead of chasing down an SME (44:31) Kennametal's Next Level Shop at IMTS 2026 (45:34) Get started and build a custom demo at navu.co/makingchips Resources Mentioned DN Solutions IMTS Industrial AI Conference, Wednesday September 16, South Building Check out the Kennametal booth at IMTS 2026, the Next Level Shop, booth 431800 in the West Building, level 3 Connect with John Greeley Email John Greeley: john@navu.co Navu Connect with MakingChips MakingChips.com On Facebook On LinkedIn On Instagram On Twitter On YouTube

This week on the Sales Transformation Podcast we have three doctors of sales in the building, as Phil is joined once again Dr Beth Rogers and Dr Jeremy Noad to discuss their new The Sales Professional's Handbook series of books.  These books broaden the scope of their previous work, Selling Professionally, to go beyond an apprenticeship curriculum and offer a practical guides, examples, glossaries and coaching questions that salespeople can use every day.   Highlights include: [14:32] AI is just another part of a salesperson's toolkit [21:59] Are your activities actually moving the customer journey? [25:53] Salespeople are too often expected to “sink or swim” with no training   The first two volumes in The Sales Professional's Handbook series, Building the Foundations for Professional Selling and Selling with Control, are available now: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0H9F481W2?binding=paperback&ref=dbs_dp_rwt_sb_pc_tpbk    Connect with Philip Squire on LinkedIn  Connect with Beth Rogers on LinkedIn Connect with Jeremy Noad on LinkedIn   Join the discussion in our Sales Transformation Forum group.  Make sure you're following us on LinkedIn and Twitter to get updates on the latest episodes! Also, take our Mindset Survey and find out if you are selling to customers the way they want to be sold to today. 

Here is a FAQ Video on the Courses: https://youtu.be/0F7imrzjXWs Here is a deep dive into which course is best for you: https://youtu.be/JM_jgS8M-iU https://www.b2bRevenue.com - Get Your Free E-Book on How Companies make Decisions. FAQ: 1 YEAR ACCESS, PAY MONTHLY OR ANNUALLY NOT A SUBSCRIPTION OFFICE HOURS EVERY  OTHER WEEK VIA ZOOM. 1 HOUR GROUP Q&A. UNLIMITED 1-ON-1'S  ARE FREE AS LONG AS THEY CAN BE SHARED IN THE COURSE. 1-ON-1 ARE FULL ACCESS ON DAY ONE - NOTHING IS GATED OR TIME RELEASED. ALL CONTENT IS VIDEO BASED AND SELF PACED I RECOMMEND TAKE COURSE ONCE WITHOUT NOTES OR APPLYING IT SO YOU UNDERSTAND THE BIG PICTURE FIRST. THEN TAKE AND APPLY IT STEP BY STEP. YOU START WHEN YOU WANT AND GO AS FAST OR SLOW AS NEEDED.   Email me additional questions: briangburns@me.com     — SAMPLE EMAIL TO EXPENSE THE COURSE MGR,   I have been listening to the brutal truth about sales podcast for X months and it speaks to the issues we face.   They currently offer a course that includes video instruction, group Q&A and One-on-One coaching. I'm committed to my own personal development and would like your help in expensing the course.   It would pay for itself if I closed only one new deal of $X value.   Please let me know by Friday if I can move forward with this 1 year course.   Thanks, ME Here are some student interviews from the courses:      ———————————————————————————————————— Audible 30 day Free Trial: http://www.audibletrial.com/BrutalTruth  

If your MedTech product isn't selling as quickly as expected, are more salespeople really going to fix the problem?When a MedTech launch underperforms, hiring more salespeople, recruiting another distributor or attending more exhibitions can feel like the obvious answer. But if the market hasn't been prepared and customers don't yet see a compelling reason to change, more sales activity won't solve the underlying problem. In this episode, Hakeem explains why successful MedTech commercialisation and export starts long before launch—and why understanding and preparing your market can save you from trying to force adoption later.In this episode you'll discover:Why MedTech commercialisation should begin months before your product launches, rather than after regulatory approval.Why adding salespeople or export distributors won't fix a market that isn't ready to adopt your product.How understanding what keeps your customers awake at night can help you create demand, prepare the market and accelerate adoption.ActionListen now to learn how to prepare your market before you commercialise or export your MedTech product, so your sales team can convert demand rather than having to create it from scratch.Book a 30min Healthcare Export Accelerator discovery callMessage me via DM on LinkedinThis podcast is for clinicians and solo founders feeling stuck in turning their medical devices into real businesses, with practical insight on go to market strategy, sales strategy, product launch, sales plans, business growth, exporting, selling internationally and how to scale up their international sales in MedTech.

What if the thing you think makes you better at selling is actually costing you deals? In this episode of Dealer Talk with Jen Suzuki, sales coach and trainer Jen Suzuki breaks down one of the most common habits she sees in dealership training, call recordings, and role plays: salespeople talking too much. A customer walks in and the salesperson immediately starts explaining inventory, incentives, MPG, warranties, pricing, features, colors and specials. It feels productive. It feels like selling. But there's one big problem: you haven't learned anything about the customer yet. The more you talk, the more you guess. I explain why high-performing salespeople don't try to control conversations by filling every second. They lead with curiosity. They ask better questions. They listen for clues. And they're comfortable enough to let silence do some of the work. You'll learn why customers often tell you exactly how to help them, if you give them enough room to talk and why silence after presenting numbers may be one of the most powerful moments in the entire sales process. You'll also hear a simple challenge you can immediately take back to the showroom: after asking a question, wait two seconds longer than feels natural. Because you don't get paid to talk. You get paid to understand. The more you talk, the more you guess. The more you listen, the more you win. When you master that, you stop pushing deals and start guiding decisions. Dealer Talk with Jen Suzuki brings practical sales, service, leadership and automotive training straight from the dealership floor designed to help automotive professionals grow their skills, confidence and results. Check out our sponsors! LotLinx.com is a VIN Management Platform that enables precision automotive retailing via /AI/ technologies that improves dealership profitability. Matador.ai, AI That Fully Automates Sales & Service Conversations For Dealerships.ZukiTalk.com helps service advisors by making clear, consistent MPI calls that educate customers and increase approvals. Dealer Talk with Jen Suzuki Podcast |  https://apple.co/38lmHM1  https://spoti.fi/3uQ2nd1 | Jennifer@edealersolution.com | 954-873-8029 | edealersolutions.com | Meet me! bit.ly/3J7011t  |  Loyalty-Based Selling Strategies on CBT News | https://bit.ly/3JlcXAx

Clients may forget exactly how much they paid, but they rarely forget whether the quality was excellent or disappointing. This is one of the most important lessons in sales. Price matters at the moment of purchase, especially when budgets are tight or procurement teams are involved. Over time, however, the emotional memory of the experience becomes much more powerful than the original invoice. A reliable product, a successful service and a supplier who acts with integrity create trust. Poor quality, broken promises and evasive behaviour create the opposite. The real question for salespeople is therefore not simply, "How do I defend my price?" It is, "How do I make the value and quality unforgettable?" Why do clients forget the price but remember the quality? The price is a short-term transaction, while quality becomes part of the client's long-term experience. Think about something you bought years ago that has continued to perform well. You may no longer remember whether it cost ¥50,000, ¥70,000 or ¥100,000. You do remember that it was dependable and that buying it was a good decision. The reverse is equally true. When a product fails, a consultant disappoints or a supplier does not deliver what was promised, the precise cost gradually becomes fuzzy. The frustration remains crystal clear. This applies across consumer purchases, professional services, B2B solutions and corporate training. Procurement may concentrate on the quoted price during negotiations, but the end users and decision-makers remember whether the solution actually worked. Do now: Stop assuming that the lowest number wins. Make the expected quality, outcome and client experience easier to understand than the price. Why is competing mainly on price dangerous for salespeople? When salespeople focus excessively on price, they turn their offer into a commodity and weaken their own professional brand. A salesperson who immediately discounts is teaching the buyer to believe there is little meaningful difference between suppliers. Once that happens, the conversation becomes a bidding contest. The damage can extend beyond a single sale. When clients believe they received poor value, they do not only reject the product or service. They may also decide that the salesperson is unreliable, lacks integrity or cannot be trusted to protect their interests. In Japan, where business relationships and reputations can develop over many years, this is especially dangerous. Dissatisfied buyers may quietly avoid the supplier rather than openly complain. They may also warn colleagues, industry contacts and future decision-makers. You are not only selling today's solution. You are building or damaging your name in the market. Do now: Protect your personal brand by selling a defensible result, not merely offering a cheaper price. What should salespeople do when something goes wrong? Clients can forgive a genuine problem, but they rarely forgive avoidance, excuses or a refusal to accept responsibility. Machines fail. People make mistakes. Supply chains are disrupted. Technology does not always work perfectly. Even respected organisations occasionally disappoint a client. The defining moment is what happens next. The client wants the supplier to acknowledge the issue, communicate clearly and fix it quickly. Attempts to justify the unjustifiable only make the situation worse. The salesperson who disappears, blames another department or debates whether the client should be unhappy destroys trust. A fast and honest recovery can actually strengthen the relationship. The client may forget the inconvenience and the original price, but remember that the supplier acted with integrity when it mattered. This is the difference between completing a transaction and becoming a trusted adviser. Do now: When a problem appears, take ownership, explain the recovery plan and keep communicating until it is resolved. Why do product specifications fail to communicate quality? Specifications describe what a product is, but quality is demonstrated by explaining how it solves the buyer's particular problem. Many salespeople mistake detail for value. They explain the size, weight, colour, functions, methodology, modules or technical capabilities of their offer. These details may be accurate, but accuracy alone does not make them persuasive. The buyer is thinking, "What does this mean for me?" A faster system may reduce processing time. A more durable component may lower maintenance costs. A leadership programme may improve communication, decision-making or employee retention. Until the salesperson connects the specification to the buyer's desired result, the presentation remains a product pitch. The quality conversation begins when the buyer can see a clear match between what they need and what is being offered. In B2B sales, this alignment is often more important than the number of features included. Do now: Translate every major specification into a practical business benefit that matters to this specific buyer. Why do Japanese salespeople often begin pitching too early? Many Japanese salespeople begin with a prepared explanation because both the salesperson and the buyer have been conditioned to expect a formal pitch. The salesperson arrives, exchanges business cards and opens the presentation. The buyer listens politely. Everyone follows the familiar pattern. The problem is that the salesperson may know almost nothing about the client's priorities, internal pressures, timing, previous experiences or decision criteria. Japanese corporate culture often rewards preparation, consistency and conformity. These qualities can be valuable, but they can also discourage a salesperson from departing from the standard presentation. Asking probing questions may feel risky, particularly when dealing with a senior buyer. Sales managers may repeatedly tell their teams to ask more questions, yet the old behaviour continues. Coaching must therefore happen in real client meetings, followed by specific feedback and repeated practice. Do now: Do not allow the presentation deck to control the meeting. Earn permission to investigate the client's situation first. What is the best opening question in a sales meeting? A powerful transition is: "To understand whether we can help, would you mind if I asked you a few questions?" The wording is simple, but the setup matters. First, briefly explain what your company does. Next, mention a relevant result you have achieved for a similar client. Then suggest that you may be able to produce a comparable result for this buyer. At that point, say: "In order for me to understand whether that would be possible in your situation, would you mind if I asked you a few questions?" Most buyers will agree because the request is logical and professional. You are not interrogating them or delaying the presentation. You are trying to avoid recommending something that may not fit. You can then explore their objectives, problems, priorities, urgency, stakeholders, budget expectations and definition of success. This is where genuine consultative selling begins. Do now: Practise this transition until it sounds natural, confident and client-focused rather than scripted. How can salespeople justify a higher price? A higher price becomes easier to accept when the salesperson proves that the quality, outcome and risk reduction are worth more than the difference in cost. Prices fluctuate because of competition, currency movements, energy costs, labour expenses and supply-chain conditions. Quality should be more stable. Salespeople need to show the commercial logic behind the price. That may include a longer product life, faster implementation, stronger support, reduced downtime, lower risk, better adoption or a more reliable result. The comparison should not be between two price tags alone. It should be between the total consequences of each decision. A cheaper supplier who fails can become extremely expensive. A higher-priced supplier who delivers the right outcome, responds quickly and protects the client's reputation may represent far better value. When quality is aligned with the client's needs, the price gradually fades from memory. The successful result remains. Do now: Help the buyer compare total value, business impact and risk—not simply the initial purchase price. Conclusion Clients do not remember every invoice forever. They remember whether the decision made them look smart, solved their problem and produced the promised result. That is why the strongest salespeople do not rush into a pitch or rely on product specifications. They ask questions, understand the buyer's requirements and connect their solution directly to the outcomes the client values. They also recognise that quality includes more than the product itself. It includes communication, responsiveness, accountability, problem resolution and personal integrity. Sell on price alone and the client may leave as soon as someone cheaper appears. Deliver memorable quality and the client has a reason to trust you, buy from you again and recommend you to others. Author Bio Dr. Greg Story, Ph.D. in Japanese Decision-Making, is President of Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training and Adjunct Professor at Griffith University. He is a two-time winner of the Dale Carnegie "One Carnegie Award" in 2018 and 2021 and received the Griffith University Business School Outstanding Alumnus Award in 2012. As a Dale Carnegie Master Trainer, Greg is certified to deliver leadership, communication, sales and presentation programmes globally, including Leadership Training for Results. He has written several books, including the bestsellers Japan Business Mastery, Japan Sales Mastery and Japan Presentations Mastery, as well as Japan Leadership Mastery and How to Stop Wasting Money on Training. His works have also been translated into Japanese, including Za Eigyō（ザ営業）, Purezen no Tatsujin（プレゼンの達人）, Torēningu de Okane o Muda ni Suru no wa Yamemashō（トレーニングでお金を無駄にするのはやめましょう）and Gendaiban "Hito o Ugokasu" Rīdā（現代版「人を動かす」リーダー）. Greg publishes daily business insights on LinkedIn, Facebook and X and hosts six weekly podcasts. On YouTube, he produces The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show, Japan Business Mastery and Japan's Top Business Interviews for executives and professionals seeking practical strategies for succeeding in Japan.

Mason poses a hot take out of nowhere, Daniel finds out he's illiterate, and Danny pitches a brilliant round of “Shart Tank”.

If you're a project manager, an engineer, or anyone else who ends up on customer calls without "sales" in your title, this one's for you. Bill lays out eight principles that separate a savvy, confident communicator of value from someone who accidentally talks their way out of a deal.You'll learn why your job isn't to convince the prospect they need help — it's to create the environment where they convince themselves. You'll hear why the problem a buyer states first is almost never the real problem, why status quo should always be on the table, and why people don't actually buy your solution — they buy the roadmap to it.Whether you're an accidental salesperson yourself, or a sales leader bringing non-sales teammates into strategy calls, these eight principles will get everyone speaking the same language before the next customer conversation.12 Bold Moves - Audiobook: Want to break free and soar to new heights? "12 Bold Moves" the Audiobook, is your gateway to a fearless reinvention of self and unlocking unprecedented sales success. Get your FREE copy now at http://12boldmoves.com/audiobook.Have a question for Bill or a topic you'd like him to discuss in a future episode? Email him at listener@caskeytraining.com.Schedule a Call: If you'd like to learn more about how Bill can help you or your team reach your potential, schedule a call at http://scheduleacallwithcaskey.com.

Michael Barbarita is the founder of Next Step CFO, strategic CFO, and author of Powerful Business Strategy. After more than four decades of helping businesses grow through smarter financial and business strategies, he's learned that the biggest pricing challenge isn't price—it's trust. In this episode, he reveals why buyers instinctively trust salespeople who aren't attached to the outcome, how transformational conversations outperform transactional ones, and the practical sales strategies that keep buyers focused on value instead of price.   Why You Have to Check Out Today's Podcast: Learn why buyers trust salespeople who don't appear desperate for the sale and how perceived indifference creates credibility instead of resistance. Discover how to shift price objections back to the buyer's transformation. Build stronger offers with upsells, cross-sells, and downsells that protect your value.   "The key is to be perceived as indifferent and transformational." — Michael Barbarita   Topics Covered: 01:40 – Why Business Owners Underprice. Why pricing based on your customer's wallet hurts your business. 04:05 – Sell Transformation, Not Transactions. Keep buyers focused on outcomes instead of products and price. 07:35 – Why Buyers Always Return to Price. The psychology behind price objections and buying decisions. 10:40 – Why Buyers Trust Indifferent Salespeople. How focusing on the buyer—not the sale—builds trust. 13:45 – Buyers Buy Futures, Not Features. Mark explains why customers pay for a better future, not product specs. 16:30 – Can CFOs Really Understand Value? Mark and Michael debate strategy, value, and finance. 19:50 – Finding What Customers Really Value.The questions that uncover why customers actually buy. 22:15 – Michael breaks down his sales framework: Captivate → Fascinate → Educate → Close. 25:30 – The Power of Upsells, Cross-Sells & Downsells. Capture more buyers without lowering your prices.   Key Takeaways: "You have to get on the same side of the table as your prospect." — Michael Barbarita "Packaging and bundling products and services together lets you add more value while increasing the price." — Michael Barbarita "No matter what you do, there's always going to be the price-sensitive people. Instead of losing them, have a downsell." — Michael Barbarita   Connect with Michael Barbarita: Website: https://nextstepcfo.net Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelbarbarita/ Book: Powerful Business Strategy (Free Download)   Connect with Mark Stiving: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/ Email: mark@impactpricing.com  

Tony Ianessa built BIG Construction to $100 million in revenue by year three. Then his own ego nearly destroyed everything he built. In this episode he shares the journey from a basement office to one of Chicago's Top 50 fastest growing companies, and what construction can teach every industry about relationships.Key takeaways:00:00:00 Introduction00:04:52Q: When should you leave your job to start a business?A: Tony Ianessa's mentor told him to start his own business. Rick later passed from cancer, but that conversation was the shove Tony needed at 29.00:12:54Q: How do you survive when revenue drops 60%?A: Tony Ianessa says COVID wiped out 60% of revenue. His sole priority: don't run out of cash.00:24:27Q: What is the biggest challenge going from founder to CEO?A: Tony Ianessa identifies his own ego. He wore the grind as a badge of honor, but it was the reason the company plateaued.00:28:11Q: How do you scale without being the bottleneck?A: Tony Ianessa says 6 to 10 people at 50% of his capacity makes the company "astronomically more successful" than him alone.00:49:21Q: How do you grow to $100M without salespeople?A: Tony Ianessa says BIG Construction has never had salespeople. They exist for the relationship, not the project.01:00:04Q: Does construction have a workforce problem?A: Tony Ianessa argues it has a marketing problem, not a workforce problem.Subscribe for real conversations with founders building businesses that run without them.

"Our gross profit margin is truly the battle we have to win in order to win all of the downstream wars." - Tracy Bech  Financial statements become useful when leaders can translate the numbers into decisions. Tracy Bech, founder and author of 60 Minute CFO, explains how business owners, managers, salespeople, and field professionals can develop financial fluency without becoming accountants.  Turn Financial Data into a Meaningful Scorecard  Tracy teaches finance through stories and relationships rather than isolated numbers. Revenue alone does not reveal whether a company is financially healthy. Leaders need ratios that show how efficiently the company earns money, whether it can meet its obligations, and how prepared it is to withstand adversity.  Her three foundational measures are gross profit margin, liquidity, and safety. Gross profit margin shows what remains after the cost of producing a product or delivering a service. If that margin is too low, the company may not have enough money to cover operating expenses and generate a net profit.  Liquidity compares current assets with current liabilities, revealing the company's ability to pay its bills. Safety compares debt with equity and helps leaders understand the company's financial resilience and capacity to obtain financing when needed.  Move From Historical Reports to Forward Planning  Tax preparation and year-end reports explain what already happened. However, financial fluency allows leaders to use that history to forecast what should happen next.  Tracy outlines three stages: learn the key ratios, understand the difference between cash and profit, and use historical results to develop forecasts. Instead of simply accepting the final score, leaders can establish financial targets and create specific marching orders for pricing, sales, expenses, hiring, and growth.  Give Teams Metrics They Can Influence  Financial planning should not remain confined to the executive team. Salespeople and technicians can provide valuable information about customer responses, operational friction, pricing, quality, rework, referrals, and service delivery.  However, Tracy cautions leaders against sharing financial information that employees cannot control. Teams benefit most from clear measures connected to their work, such as proposals won, project margins, pricing discipline, accurate service, reduced callbacks, customer reviews, and referrals.  Financial visibility also strengthens succession planning. Owners preparing to exit can improve their position by optimizing financial ratios, protecting the balance sheet, exploring future growth opportunities, and developing the next generation of leadership.  Understanding the story behind the numbers helps water treatment professionals evaluate risk, communicate priorities, and make decisions that support long-term stability.  Listen to the full conversation above. Explore related episodes below. Stay engaged, keep learning, and continue scaling up your knowledge!    Timestamps  02:20 — Trace Blackmore shares what listeners can expect during Legionella Awareness Month, including a weekly series addressing Legionella and other waterborne pathogens.  03:20 — Upcoming Events for Water Treatment Professionals: Trace highlights the 2026 AWT Technical Training, taking place November 11–14 in Frisco, Texas.  05:40 — Words of Water with James  08:40 — Interview with Tracy Bech, founder and author of 60 Minute CFO and business finance educator and strategist, about making business finance less intimidating and developing financial fluency.  11:30 — Tracy explains why business finance often feels overwhelming and how simple calculations and relatable stories make financial concepts easier to understand.  13:20 — Financial performance becomes a team scorecard that helps technicians and employees understand how their work contributes to the company's health.  16:40 — Finance terminology can create communication gaps, leaving otherwise successful owners uncertain about retained earnings, working capital, and cash flow.  21:50 — Tracy explains why profit is essential for serving customers, supporting employees, and keeping a business financially sustainable.  23:30 — Gross profit margin emerges as a critical measure because it determines whether enough money remains to cover operating expenses and generate profit.  25:50 — Liquidity and safety help leaders evaluate whether the company can pay its bills, manage debt, and withstand financial adversity.  33:10 — Tracy presents three steps toward financial fluency: learn the essential ratios, understand cash versus profit, and use historical performance to forecast the future.  35:20 — Leaders can improve execution by establishing a clear destination while allowing their teams to identify obstacles, opportunities, and necessary adjustments.  38:10 — Open-book management works best when employees receive financial metrics they understand and can directly influence.  40:00 — Field professionals affect financial results through accurate work, fewer callbacks, controlled expenses, positive reviews, and customer referrals.  41:10 — Business owners can begin improving their financial fluency by reviewing the previous month's income statement and balance sheet and confirming that the information is accurate.  44:00 — Understanding the numbers helps leaders balance growth and stability while making informed decisions about profit, debt, equipment, and owner distributions.  47:10 — Tracy explains how owners preparing for retirement can strengthen financial performance, protect the balance sheet, and develop future leaders.  50:30 — Tracy encourages business leaders to give finance another chance, discover the story behind their numbers, and recognize financial fluency as a learnable skill.    Quotes "Your business cannot exist without profits and you owe it to your customers and you owe it to your employees to have profits."  "But when you get your strategies and you understand why things went the way they went, now you actually create your forecast and your marching orders."  "The best time to plant the tree was 20 years ago, and the next best time to plant the tree is today."  "I think that honestly, this is easier than you think."    Connect with Tracy Bech  Email: tracy@60minutecfo.com   Website: 60 Minute CFO  LinkedIn: Tracy Bech | LinkedIn    Guest Resources Mentioned   60 Minute CFO  The Great Game of Business, Expanded and Updated: The Only Sensible Way to Run a Company by Jack Stack (Author), Bo Burlingham (Author)  Grow Up Fast: Lessons from an AI Startup by Zach Rattner (Author), Rita Sus (Illustrator)  Power vs. Force: The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior by Ph.D. Hawkins, david R., M.D. (Author)    Scaling UP! H2O Resources Mentioned  AWT (Association of Water Technologies)  AWT 2026 Annual Convention & Exposition  Scaling UP! H2O Academy video courses  Submit a Show Idea  The Rising Tide Mastermind    Words of Water with James McDonald  Today's definition means "water loving" and refers to substances that are attracted to water. Can you guess the word or phrase?   2026 Events for Water Professionals  Check out our Scaling UP! H2O Events Calendar where we've listed every event Water Treaters should be aware of by clicking HERE.    This episode made possible through our valued partners at: 

Key Outcomes:This podcast episode by Kyle Galaz (Poor to Pro Car Sales Training, Season 10, Episode 5) focuses on a critical leadership trap for sales managers: becoming too friendly with their sales team at the expense of accountability and results. The core message is that salespeople already have friends but lack strong leaders, and managers who prioritize being liked over being respected ultimately hurt their team's earnings and performance.Leadership over friendship: Managers must position themselves closer to the "serious/leader" side of the spectrum, not the middle.Respect is the primary goal; being liked is optional and secondary.To truly care for salespeople = make them more money, not be their buddy.Accountability dies when salespeople view their manager as a peer — they feel no consequence for goofing off or underperforming.Managers lose the ability to coach firmly after being overly friendly; switching to "boss mode" lacks credibility.Why managers fall into the trap:Miss the camaraderie after being promoted; leadership gets lonelier at higher levels.Lack of confidence in management skills — compensate by being likable.Fear of appearing "too corporate" after dealership buyouts.Overcorrecting against distant managers they experienced as salespeople.Stop joining gossip sessions — redirect energy toward calls, appointments, and productivity.Replace casual hangouts with structured one-on-ones: use downtime for walk-around practice, product knowledge, and closing drills.Create intentional distance from group hangouts; be visibly working from clock-in to clock-out.Set daily expectations, not micromanagement: assign goals (e.g., fresh ups logged, appointments set, social media updates), then check in mid-day.Hold everyone equally accountable — no favorites.Stronger culture: everyone understands their role and arrives ready to work.Higher standards: salespeople self-motivate to earn the manager's approval and recognition.Salespeople grow because someone finally holds them to a higher standard and targets (e.g., $20K/month)Manager gains more respect — not buddy-buddy texts, but genuine on-floor motivation to perform.Manager stops carrying the emotional weight of trying to be universally liked.How do managers navigate having a hard conversation with a close ally in the sales department who is underperforming without damaging the working relationship?Sales Managers: Reflect on whether friendship was chosen over leadership this month — identify 2–3 missed coaching moments.Sales Managers: Schedule structured one-on-ones during slow periods instead of defaulting to casual hangouts. 11Sales Managers: Set clear daily expectations for each salesperson and follow up mid-shift.Buy Kyle A Coffee☕️: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://buymeacoffee.com/poor2pro⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Strong sales conversations are built long before the pitch begins. In this episode, Dean Newlund and Glenn Poulos explore practical strategies for building trust, strengthening customer relationships, and creating memorable buying experiences in both in-person and virtual sales environments.   In this episode, Dean Newlund and Glenn Poulos discuss: Relationship-driven approaches to professional selling Adapting traditional sales practices for virtual environments Communication techniques that strengthen customer trust Career decisions, entrepreneurship, and business growth Lessons learned from decades of sales and leadership experience   Key Takeaways: Listening carefully, remembering people, and learning about their environment creates stronger trust than leading with product features. Instead of covering everything you offer, identify the customer's primary problem and build your presentation around solving it. Whether meeting in person or virtually, thoughtful preparation, genuine rapport, and attention to detail leave a stronger impression than a polished sales pitch. Working for strong, market-leading organizations can create greater career growth and reduce the effort spent defending your value. Recognizing what you do well, letting go of poor-fit pursuits, and building on your strengths leads to greater confidence and effectiveness.   "You only have one life to live, so you should always work for the best possible company.” — Glenn Poulos   About Glenn Poulos: Glenn Poulos is a three-time entrepreneur and seasoned strategist leading ProgUSA, a long-standing power industry supplier focused on equipment and tools supporting today's grid and tomorrow's data center power needs. He previously built and exited two successful companies, including Gap Wireless, which grew to more than $80 million in sales before its eight-figure exit. He is the multiple international award-winning author of Never Sit in the Lobby and is known for blending sharp sales discipline with a human, rapport-driven approach to leadership. Outside of work, Glenn is an in-demand charity DJ under the name Phossl.   Connect with Glenn Poulos:   Website: https://glennpoulos.com/ Book: Never Sit in the Lobby: https://glennpoulos.com/book/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@glennpoulos LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/glennpoulos/ X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/GlennPoulos Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/glenn.poulos/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/glenn.poulos/     See Dean's TedTalk “Why Business Needs Intuition” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEq9IYvgV7I Connect with Dean:YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgqRK8GC8jBIFYPmECUCMkwWebsite: https://www.mfileadership.com/The Mission Statement E-Newsletter: https://www.mfileadership.com/blog/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deannewlund/X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/deannewlundFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/MissionFacilitators/Email: dean.newlund@mfileadership.comPhone: 1-800-926-7370 Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.

Sales and marketing are supposed to work together, but in most companies, they don't. Not to the level your revenue actually needs. In this episode, I sat down with Mark Kapczynski, co-founder of Kontrol Media and author of Everyone Sells, to talk about practical, sometimes unconventional ways to get these two teams pulling in the same direction.Why Sales and Marketing Still Don't Work TogetherTraditional marketing was built around brand awareness, not revenue. That history still shapes how a lot of teams operate today.Marketing budgets are getting cut because leadership now expects marketing to prove its impact on revenue, not just visibility.Sales and marketing need to see each other as one team working toward the same goal, not two departments with separate scorecards.Give Sales and Marketing One Shared GoalMost companies still measure marketing on traffic and awareness, while sales is measured strictly on closed revenue.Mark says both teams need a shared goal tied to revenue, whether that's new logos, higher customer lifetime value, or overall revenue growth.Marketing pay structures need to change too. Straight salary with a small year end bonus doesn't give marketers the same stake in closing deals that commission gives salespeople.Meet on the Pipeline Two or Three Times a WeekSales and marketing can't just hand off leads and hope for the best.Mark recommends meeting regularly, two or three times a week, to review the pipeline together.These meetings should cover what made one lead higher quality than another, and what's holding up deals that are stuck.Track the Metrics That Actually MatterCustomer acquisition cost (CAC) and lifetime value (LTV) should be shared numbers between sales and marketing, especially for enterprise deals.Return on ad spend (ROAS) shows whether marketing's paid spend is actually working. Mark looks for four to five times return.Time to close and number of touch points are also worth tracking together.Let Marketing Support the Close, Not Own ItMarketing shouldn't be responsible for closing deals. Contracts, legal terms, and pricing sit outside their lane.But marketing can stay involved right up until the customer gives a verbal yes, supporting the salesperson the whole way.Use What Marketing Is Already Great AtMarketers are natural storytellers. Salespeople tend to be more transactional and want to close fast.Marketing can help build trust and consistency across every touch point, so a prospect hears the same story from sales, marketing, and leadership.Nurturing is another area marketing can own. Not every prospect is ready to buy today, and marketing has the tools and patience to stay engaged until they are.The Big Takeaway: Everyone SellsMark's core message ties back to his book, Everyone Sells. Every person in a company plays a role in the sales process, not just the sales team.When only one department is expected to carry the entire revenue goal, the business underperforms."Sales and marketing are peanut butter and chocolate. They have to work well together, otherwise you just have two silos going two different directions with two sets of goals." — Mark KapczynskiResourcesLearn more about Mark's company, Kontrol Media.Connect with Mark Kapczynski on LinkedIn.Check out Mark's book, Everyone Sells (Including AI): How to Influence Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime.Join our LinkedIn cohort and learn to prospect the right way.Keep track of your sales activity and boost your results with the Prospect Pro sales tool.Step up your sales game with Sales Mastermind. Get accountability, stay motivated, and tackle the blockers keeping you from hitting your goals.Visit Blue Mango Studios for help creating podcast production content.Sponsorship OffersThis episode is brought to you in part by Hubspot.With HubSpot sales hubs, your data tools and teams join a single platform to close deals and turn prospects into pipelines. Try it for yourself at hubspot.com/sales.This episode is brought to you in part by LinkedIn.Are you tired of prospective clients not responding to your emails? Sign up for a free 60-day trial of LinkedIn Sales Navigator at linkedin.com/tse.This episode is brought to you in part by the TSE Sales Foundation.Improve your connection on LinkedIn and land three or five appointments with our LinkedIn prospecting course. Go to the salesevangelist.com/linkedin.CreditsAs one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We'd love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are as follows: The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and produced by Brightseed and Hill.

What does it take to go almost 20 years in real estate without a single broke month? In this episode, Erin sits down with Dan Rochon — real estate veteran, founder of the Consistent and Predictable Income (CPI) Community, host of the No Broke Months podcast, and author of the new book Teach to Sell: Why Top Performers Never Sell — And What They Do Instead. Dan's story starts on his bathroom floor in 2005, the morning he got sober after nearly two decades of struggle. Two years later, a friend's question — "You ever think about real estate sales?" — set him on a path from waiting tables in D.C. to buying the Keller Williams brokerage he worked for, and to a track record most agents only dream of: no broke months since 2008. The best part? Dan insists there's no magic to it. He walks us through the exact framework: waking up every morning "unemployed," spending 1–3 hours a day finding business no matter how busy you get, the 11 activities that actually make you money, and his Teach to Sell method — guiding clients through predictable problems before they happen so you become trusted, wanted, and referred instead of chasing and convincing. If you're tired of the feast-or-famine rollercoaster, this conversation is your way off. Listen in as Erin and Dan discuss: Dan's rock-bottom morning in 2005, getting sober, and discovering real estate as his path to entrepreneurship Why he leaned into the 2008 crash — and how "there's always a reason to look at the suck" The 5 daily activities in your business, the 5 on your business, plus the one habit Dan never skips: visiting his money every morning How to break the feast-or-famine cycle: 1–3 hours a day, 5 days a week, no matter what The four pillars of a business owner — belief, finding business, leverage, and leadership What Teach to Sell really means: consulting clients through predictable problems before they happen (including the home inspection story every agent needs to hear) Why "the circumstances change, the technology changes, but the fundamentals never do" Where to grab Teach to Sell and unlock the four-pillar bonus course (formerly a $10,000 program) About Dan Rochon is on a mission to help 1,000,000 people sell without selling by teaching them how to think through Teach to Sell. Founder of the Consistent and Predictable Income (CPI) Community and host of the No Broke Months for Salespeople podcast, Dan is a master of human behavior, influence, and the psychology of success, and a certified practitioner of Humanistic Neurolinguistic Psychology and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP). Dan doesn't just teach theory — he lives it. Since 2008, he has maintained a flawless track record of No Broke Months in real estate sales, averaging ten sales a month, all while building and selling a Keller Williams brokerage he led as operating partner for a decade. He is the author of Teach to Sell: Why Top Performers Never Sell — And What They Do Instead and Real Estate Evolution: The Ten-Step Guide to CPI. A TEDx and keynote speaker, his expertise has been featured on The Nightly News with Brian Williams, The Today Show, CNBC, and The Washington Post. How to Connect With Dan Rochon Website: https://www.TeachtoSellBook.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danrochon Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danrochonx/ Podcast: No Broke Months for Salespeople — https://nobrokemonthspodcast.simplecast.com/ Recommended Resources Teach to Sell: Why Top Performers Never Sell — And What They Do Instead by Dan Rochon (released June 23, 2026) — get the book plus the free four-pillar companion course (a former $10,000 program) at https://www.TeachtoSellBook.com Happiness & Fulfillment Assessment: https://pursuingfreedom.com/happiness Pursuing Freedom Collective: https://pursuingfreedom.com/collective Get a copy of Pursuing Freedom on Amazon: https://amzn.to/46o7m7z Subscribe to the Pursuing Freedom podcast on Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pursuing-freedom/id1385086390) or Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/59YFf0QJ64o35Wc53JGcbi) for weekly inspiration and strategies.

Link Up w/The Morning Sickness Digitally All Over:Instagram: @hms_98_official, @bosskupd, @bretvesely, @dickToledoX/Twitter: @HMSon98, @DickToledo, @bretveselyFacebook: @HMSKUPDYouTube: @hmspodcast9320, @98kupdRequest/Call in/Wakeup Song line:(IN AZ) 602.585.9800More HMS: holmbergpodcast.com, 98kupd.comEmail: dtoledo@98kupd.com, bvesely@98kupd.com, bbogen@98kupd.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Claude Lemieux's son claims his dad relapsed into sex addiction prior to his death. Rover is shocked by the new salespeople. Old man slaps young guy in the back of the head after he didn't stand for the National Anthem. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Claude Lemieux's son claims his dad relapsed into sex addiction prior to his death. Rover is shocked by the new salespeople. Old man slaps young guy in the back of the head after he didn't stand for the National Anthem. 

What does the crew do after the show? Bride's best friend died at her bachelorette party in St. Barts. Would you move your wedding date if your best friend died? Claude Lemieux's son claims his dad relapsed into sex addiction prior to his death. Rover is shocked by the new salespeople. Old man slaps young guy in the back of the head after he didn't stand for the National Anthem. Cease and desist letter prank on Duji. An 8-year-old girl is distraught after no one showed up to her birthday party. Drivers are still using a bridge in Greece that was damaged due to storms rather than using a detour. MLB Athletics player is put on the injured list after he is hit in the genitals with a baseball. Leopard in a liquor store.

What does the crew do after the show? Bride's best friend died at her bachelorette party in St. Barts. Would you move your wedding date if your best friend died? Claude Lemieux's son claims his dad relapsed into sex addiction prior to his death. Rover is shocked by the new salespeople. Old man slaps young guy in the back of the head after he didn't stand for the National Anthem. Cease and desist letter prank on Duji. An 8-year-old girl is distraught after no one showed up to her birthday party. Drivers are still using a bridge in Greece that was damaged due to storms rather than using a detour. MLB Athletics player is put on the injured list after he is hit in the genitals with a baseball. Leopard in a liquor store.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is AI replacing salespeople? Not according to Damian Wisniewski. In this episode of Sales Lead Dog, Christopher Smith sits down with Damian Wisniewski, Head of Sales at GitKraken, to discuss how AI is transforming sales leadership, CRM strategy, and revenue teams. Damian explains why the biggest opportunity isn't letting AI sell for you. It's using AI to become a smarter sales leader, coach teams more effectively, analyze customer conversations, and make better decisions faster. The conversation also explores the future of CRM, AI agents, Model Context Protocol (MCP), sales hiring, and why successful sales professionals must adapt instead of resisting change. These themes are reflected throughout the conversation transcript. What You'll Learn • Why AI won't replace great salespeople • How AI can coach sales teams at scale • The future of CRM in an AI-first world • Why sales leaders should rethink how they use data • How to build repeatable sales processes with AI About Damian Wisniewski Damian Wisniewski is the Head of Sales at GitKraken, a developer tools company helping software teams manage AI coding tools and enabling engineering leaders to measure the ROI of AI investments. He specializes in building and scaling high-performing sales organizations for startups and established technology companies launching new products. With a strong technical background, Damian combines sales leadership with deep product knowledge to help teams grow efficiently in an AI-driven world. Connect with Damian Wisniewski LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/damianwisniewski/ Learn more about GitKraken: https://www.gitkraken.com/ About Sales Lead Dog Sales Lead Dog is hosted by Christopher Smith, CRM technology and sales process expert, and founder of Empellor CRM. Each episode features sales leaders who have separated themselves from the rest of the pack, sharing how they achieve success with their teams and their CRM strategy. Unless you are the lead dog, the view never changes. Connect and Learn More All episodes and show notes: https://empellorcrm.com/salesleaddog/ If this episode brought you value:

Link Up w/The Morning Sickness Digitally All Over:Instagram: @hms_98_official, @bosskupd, @bretvesely, @dickToledoX/Twitter: @HMSon98, @DickToledo, @bretveselyFacebook: @HMSKUPDYouTube: @hmspodcast9320, @98kupdRequest/Call in/Wakeup Song line:(IN AZ) 602.585.9800More HMS: holmbergpodcast.com, 98kupd.comEmail: dtoledo@98kupd.com, bvesely@98kupd.com, bbogen@98kupd.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How many opportunities are lost because "not interested" is accepted as the final answer?In this episode, Ace randomly pulls up an old sales call during a team training session to break down what happened and what could have been done differently. To prove a point about mindset and follow-up, he calls the same prospect back over a year later.What happens next is a powerful reminder that timing, persistence, and the right conversation can completely change the outcome.If you're in sales, this video will challenge the way you think about rejection, follow-up, and creating opportunities where others see dead ends.Topics Covered:• Sales mindset• Handling rejection• Follow-up strategies• Cold calling• Building confidence• Sales communication• Creating opportunitiesSupport the show⚡READY TO BUILD A REAL CAREER IN SALES, MORTGAGES, OR LEADERSHIP?Apply here and choose your track. Already happy with your career? Grab the standalone products and trainings anytime inside the shop.

Who should train your big-ticket salespeople? The sales manager. And systems make it even easier. Find more resources at www.7powercontractor.com. Notice to listeners: The information in this book, along with the forms and structures provided, are meant to serve as a helpful reference guide for the plumbing, heating, cooling, electrical, and other contracting industries. The host of and contributors to this podcast take no responsibility for compliance with the laws or regulations that govern your specific business. The responsibility for making sure everything is compliant (among other things) is 100 percent yours. Before you implement any new information or forms, please check with your own trusted business advisers, including your own attorney, to make certain that the forms and the information you plan to implement will comply with all relevant laws, customs, and regulations.

Plus - Meta now alerts parents if their teen discussed suicide or self-harm with its AI chatbot; Stripe and Advent reportedly offered to buy PayPal Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

At 24, Marlyn Schiff was making beaded jewelry at her kitchen table with no business plan and nothing to lose. Today, Marlyn Schiff Jewelry is a seven-figure wholesale brand with staff who have stayed 18 years, a price point under $150 that cracked Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus, and a growth strategy built entirely on passion over pressure. For more on Marlyn Schiff and show notes click here Subscribe and watch Shopify Masters on YouTube!Sign up for your FREE Shopify Trial here.

GOT A TOUGH TIME RECRUITING?  WE'VE GOT A NEW IDEA THAT MIGHT HELP…STICK AROUNDIS THE  COMCAST SPLIT  A PRELUDE TO MORE “PREMATURE CERTAINTY?”CUMULUS UPHELD BY COURT AGAINST NIELSEN -  BUT THE DAMAGE IS EXTENSIVE.Media Insultant is produced each Wednesday as Jackson Dell Weaver & Keith Samuels offer comments, ideas and sometimes snarky comments about the current media landscape. They focus on radio and TV primarily - but also any media that is relevent or beneficial to media sales and management.  Videos are under the Media Insultant Showcase on Vimeo.  Comments are always welcome at jackson@intownmedia.com  Thanks for listening!  

AI isn't replacing great salespeople—it's exposing average ones. In this solo episode of Sales & Cigars, Walter Crosby explains how to use AI to improve your sales process while doubling down on trust, judgment, and authentic human connection. Episode Overview Artificial intelligence is changing sales—but not in the way most people think. In this solo episode of Sales & Cigars, Walter Crosby shares why AI isn't the threat many sales professionals believe it is. Instead of replacing great salespeople, AI is raising the standard by eliminating excuses and exposing those who rely on shortcuts instead of skill. Walter explains why trust, judgment, curiosity, and meaningful conversations remain the true competitive advantages in complex B2B sales. He also introduces the new Sales Integrator Community, a free resource created to help salespeople and sales managers continue developing their craft through coaching, practical tools, and ongoing discussions. Whether you're a salesperson worried about AI, a sales manager coaching your team, or a CEO building a sales organization, this episode offers practical advice on how to embrace technology without losing the human advantage. Episode Highlights Why AI isn't replacing salespeople—it's exposing average ones Introducing the new free Sales Integrator Community Why great salespeople don't automatically become great sales managers How AI should be used as a tool—not a replacement Why personalization isn't the same as genuine connection Building trust through conversations, not automation How AI can improve preparation, research, and consistency Why judgment is becoming one of the most valuable sales skills Coaching salespeople to make better decisions Why authentic human relationships will become even more valuable as AI evolves Key Takeaways AI raises the standard—it doesn't eliminate salespeople. The future belongs to sales professionals who learn to leverage AI while continuing to build trust and solve complex business problems. Average performers who rely on automation instead of relationships will struggle. Trust can't be automated. AI can generate emails, summarize information, and prepare research, but buyers still choose people they trust. Authentic conversations remain the foundation of complex sales. Judgment creates competitive advantage. Knowing when to ask another question, when to challenge a prospect, and how to interpret information requires experience and critical thinking that AI can't replace. AI belongs in preparation—not persuasion. Use AI to research companies, organize information, write first drafts, summarize meetings, and automate repetitive tasks so you can spend more time having meaningful conversations. More activity doesn't mean better results. AI makes it easy to send more emails and create more content, but quantity without relevance simply creates more noise in an already crowded marketplace. Managers still have to coach. Technology cannot replace coaching. Sales managers develop judgment by asking better questions, helping reps think critically, and creating opportunities for continuous improvement. Being human is becoming more valuable. As AI-generated content becomes more common, authenticity, empathy, curiosity, and genuine relationships become stronger differentiators. Who Should Listen This episode is especially valuable for: B2B sales professionals Sales managers coaching growing teams Entrepreneurs building scalable sales organizations CEOs concerned about AI's impact on revenue Salespeople looking to use AI more effectively Anyone who wants to stay competitive as sales continues to evolve Links & Resources Helix Sales Development Sales Integrator Community Claude AI Walter Crosby   The Sales Integrator Community Walter created the Sales Integrator Community exclusively for salespeople and sales managers looking to sharpen their skills and continue growing. Inside you'll find: Sales coaching insights Practical sales tools and resources Real-world strategies from over 40 years of experience Ongoing discussions and Q&A Blog content and training materials Tips shared directly from Walter's coaching sessions Free forever. The first 250 founding members receive a special Founding Member badge. Join the community here: https://helix-community.circle.so/join?invitation_token=8b6622d942c852339d856b2af3504123cf9476e2-8b78b151-d94f-46df-a26b-ec4a6df24460   Continue the Conversation How are you using AI in your sales process? Are you using it to automate busy work—or to become a better salesperson? Join the conversation inside the Sales Integrator Community and learn alongside other sales professionals committed to improving their craft.   Subscribe to Sales & Cigars Sales & Cigars is hosted by Walter Crosby, founder of Helix Sales Development. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. The only smoke we blow is from cigars.

Mike talks with Peter Smith about why selling stays “Essentially Human” even as AI and short-form content reshape how people pay attention. Along the way, we pull practical lessons from stories about music, used cars, pricing, and resilience that help you sell with more clarity and less anxiety.Send us Fan Mail Send feedback or learn more about the podcast: punchmark.com/loupe Learn about Punchmark's website platform: punchmark.com Inquire about sponsoring In the Loupe and showcase your business on our next episode: podcast@punchmark.com

In this episode of the Get Out of Debt Guy podcast, Steve Rhode and Damon Day dig into one of the biggest emotional traps people face when they are drowning in debt: the idea that bankruptcy is somehow a moral failure.Steve and Damon talk about debt settlement sales tactics, why sales quotas can lead to bad advice, how shame keeps people from making smart financial decisions, and why bankruptcy may be a legal, practical, and sometimes life-changing option instead of a last-resort disaster.They also cover tax debt in bankruptcy, the danger of relying on commissioned debt relief salespeople for “advice,” and why having a strategy matters just as much as choosing between debt settlement, bankruptcy, credit counseling, or trying to pay everything back.You can find more debt help and consumer debt information at https://getoutofdebt.orgDamon Day can be reached at https://damonday.com

Your Best Customers Are Quiet-Quitting. Here's the Proof with Ethan Giffin   Find Rocky Lalvani @ www.ProfitComesFirst.com  or email  him at rocky@profitcomesfirst.com Make more, work less video: https://youtu.be/   You haven't lost the account. The customer still picks up the phone. But somewhere in the last 18 months the reorder volume dropped, and nobody flagged it because the relationship still looks fine. That's how B2B quiet quitting works. Your customers don't cancel and don't complain. They just route their consumables to whoever made buying easiest, while keeping your account open for the orders that still need a conversation. By the time it reaches your revenue line, the relationship has already moved. Ethan Giffin has spent nearly two decades inside mid-market manufacturing and distribution watching this happen. In this episode, he and Rocky break down how to find it in your own data, why most digital fixes fail before they launch, and the one alignment conversation that changes the outcome.   In This Episode: How to find B2B quiet quitting in your order data before it hits your revenue The $5 vs. $50 order-processing gap and how to calculate your exposure Why the five-team alignment failure kills most digital projects before launch The hero vs. arsonist dynamic and why your most indispensable people may protect the friction Private equity's playbook for modernizing legacy manufacturers and capturing the multiple The three-year sequence from zero to a digital channel customers actually use Why AI makes things worse without clean operational systems first   Key Takeaways: Pull your top 20 accounts and look at order frequency, not just revenue. Frequency drops first. A call center order costs about $50; a portal order about $5. Run that across your volume. Salespeople don't lose when customers self-serve. Quotas rise, territory grows. Start with the SKUs customers actually reorder, not the full catalog. Test your own buying process. You don't know how hard it is until you do.   About Ethan Giffin: Ethan Giffin is the Founder and CEO of The B2B eCommerce Agency and author of Closing the Digital Revenue Gap. Since 2007, he has worked with mid-market manufacturers and distributors across the U.S., helping executive teams find the structural leaks in their revenue, modernize how their customers buy, and build digital systems that actually get used. He also hosts The B2B eCommerce Summit, an annual gathering of operators shaping the future of B2B commerce.   Ethan's approach focuses on three things most digital projects skip: sequence, alignment, and adoption. His book and consulting work give executive teams a practical blueprint to protect margins and build buying experiences that keep customers coming back. Away from the agency, he performs as DJ Opie, producing nonprofit galas across Baltimore since the age of 16, helping charitable organizations create events that raise more money and leave a lasting impression on donors.   Links: Website: https://ethangiffin.com/   https://b2becommerceagency.com/   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ethangiffin/   https://www.linkedin.com/company/b2becommerceagency/   YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@B2BeCommerceAgency   Podcast: TheB2BeCommercePodcast  Free Copy of the book: https://b2becommerceagency.com/free-consultation/     Profit Blueprint Calculator I Profit Comes First: https://lp.profitcomesfirst.com/profitblueprintcalc-page   Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@profitanswerman Sign up to be notified when the next cohort of the Profit First Experience Course is available! Free Copy of the Profit Blueprint Book: https://lp.profitcomesfirst.com/landing-page-page  Monthly Newsletter signup: https://lp.profitcomesfirst.com/newsletter-signup Relay Bank (affiliate link): https://relayfi.com/?referralcode=profitcomesfirst Profit Answer Man Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/profitanswerman/ My podcast about living a richer more meaningful life: http://richersoul.com/ Music provided by Junan from Junan Podcast Any financial advice is for educational purposes only and you should consult with an expert for your specific needs.     

Send us Fan MailWhat's really happening in your sales offices when you're not there? Leah Turner, national sales coach and trainer at Melinda Brody & Company, is back on the show for the 40th anniversary year of one of the most unique research studies in new home sales. In this episode, she and Anya Chrisanthon dig into the 2025 Annual Benchmark Report - and what the data reveals about where sales teams are winning and where they're still leaving sales on the table. Listen to a previous episode with Leah here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/secrets-to-successful-realtor-engagement-with-leah/id1602564768?i=1000623849874What video mystery shopping actually looks like Shoppers walk into your sales office with a hidden camera. The full interaction is recorded, scored, and sent to the sales manager. But what makes Melinda Brody & Company different is the one-on-one call before the shop - where the shopper is briefed on the specific challenges that sales manager wants to address. It's not a gotcha. It's a baseline.The builder story gap - still Only 49% of sales associates shared the builder story in 2025. Leah says the problem isn't awareness - it's the introduction. Salespeople don't know how to bring it up naturally. Her fix: start with "Have you ever built a new home before?" and let the answer lead you in. And whatever you do - say the builder's name. One associate described the warranty, the quality, and the energy efficiency for several minutes and never once said who the builder was.The model demo jump From 84% to 95% in one year. The biggest shift Leah has seen: top producers are bypassing the sales office entirely and taking buyers straight into the model. Into the kitchen. Let them walk. Join them. The forced "sit down in the sales office first" approach was raising everyone's anxiety - including the salesperson's.Closing is not a moment - it's the whole presentation Closing sits at 52%. Leah's take: salespeople treat closing like something that happens at the end, which makes it terrifying. If you ask "what's important to you in a home, a homesite, a builder, a community?" upfront - and customize everything around those answers - the close at the end is just a natural next step. You've earned the right to ask.The buyers walking in today are already qualified Buyers use technology to disqualify. If they made it through the research phase and walked into your sales office, they are interested. They are a hot lead. As Leah puts it - they're more like a B-back than a first-time visitor. Treat them that way.Follow-up jumped from 51% to 67% Technology and CRMs are helping. But Leah's warning: generic follow-up is worse than no follow-up. If your message is "thanks for coming out, call me if you have questions" - don't bother. Make it specific. Make it memorable. Reference something real from the presentation. Better yet - shoot a 30-second video of yourself.The cringiest things caught on camera Smoking cigarettes on the home site. Painting fingernails. Eating lunch. Not standing up when a prospect walks in. And the shift Leah has seen over the last ten years: top performers now ask to be video shopped. They want to see themselves. They want to improve.Connect with Leah: leah.turner@melindabrody.com Connect with Ben Marks: ben.marks@melindabrody.com Melinda Brody & Company on LinkedIn and FacebookAbout Anewgo Anewgo is an all-in-one new home sales and marketing platform. We equip builders with AI-ready homebuilder websites, interactive design tools, floorplans, sitemaps, AI Sales Assistants, and data analytics to create personalized buyer journeys. Learn more at anewgo.com or find every episode at anewgo.com/podcast.Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/anewgo-of-new-home-sales/id1602564768

Salespeople in Japan often face a delicate balancing act. Push too little and they become passive farmers who protect the client but fail to grow the business. Push too hard and they risk looking aggressive, annoying, or culturally tone-deaf. The real answer sits in the middle: become a trusted partner who helps the buyer succeed while still representing your own company's commercial interests. In Japan, professional selling is not about being timid. It is about being appropriately persistent, value-focused, and visibly committed to helping the client improve. When is sales persistence too much in Japan? Sales persistence becomes too much in Japan when the buyer feels pressured, disrespected, or treated like a target rather than a partner. The goal is not to copy an American-style hard sell; the goal is to build trust while still moving the business forward. Japanese buyers often value patience, relationship continuity, risk reduction, and internal consensus. That does not mean salespeople should collapse at the first sign of hesitation. It means they need to read the room, ask better questions, and keep the conversation focused on value. In B2B sales, professional services, training, technology, and recruitment, the best salesperson is not passive and not pushy. They are persistent with purpose. Do now: Push for clarity, not pressure. Keep advancing the conversation, but make every follow-up useful to the buyer. Why are some Japanese sales teams too passive? Many Japanese sales teams become too passive because they prioritise keeping the buyer happy over creating value for both sides. They are good farmers, but weak hunters. Clients often tell sales leaders that their teams bend over backwards for customers and behave almost as if they work for the buyer. That sounds noble, but it can damage revenue, margins, account growth, and new business development. Farming existing accounts matters, but hunting for new buyers and expanding current relationships matter too. Post-pandemic Japan has made prospecting harder, with fewer spontaneous networking opportunities and more digital gatekeeping. Passive salespeople cannot simply wait for the phone to ring. Do now: Train salespeople to protect relationships while still asking for introductions, proposing next steps, and expanding the account. Why is discounting dangerous in Japanese sales? Discounting is dangerous in Japanese sales because a low opening price often becomes the ceiling, not the floor.Once buyers secure a discount, they may expect that price as the new baseline. Weak salespeople discount because they cannot explain value. They would rather win the client at a painful price than risk losing the deal and having to find a new buyer. The problem is that Japan's B2B buyers, procurement teams, and corporate decision-makers remember concessions. A "special one-time price" may not be treated as special next time. It becomes the anchor for future negotiations. Australian, American, and European suppliers entering Japan often make this mistake by offering their "best price" too early and then spending the rest of the negotiation defending it. Do now: Sell value before price. Explain outcomes, risk reduction, implementation support, and long-term impact before discussing concessions. How should salespeople network without damaging their reputation? Salespeople should network with energy and discipline, but never with desperation, deception, or disrespect. In Japan's close business community, especially among foreign executives in Tokyo, reputation travels fast. Networking at chambers of commerce, industry associations, embassy events, trade groups, and professional gatherings can produce valuable leads. It can also produce bruising moments. Some people reject business cards, complain about follow-up emails, or accuse active networkers of being too visible. Salespeople need thick skin. Most critics are not responsible for finding new clients and may not understand how difficult prospecting really is. Still, there is a line. Integrity, relevance, and respect must guide every approach. Do now: Network consistently, but make it buyer-centred. Follow up with relevance, not spam. Be memorable for value, not volume. Should sales leaders personally prospect? Sales leaders should personally prospect because they cannot credibly demand hunting behaviour from their team if they refuse to do it themselves. Leading from the front builds trust, accountability, and standards. A sales leader who attends events, starts conversations, asks for meetings, follows up, and handles rejection demonstrates the behaviour expected from the team. This matters in Japan, where hierarchy and role modelling influence organisational behaviour. If the boss hides behind dashboards and only lectures the sales team about pipeline, credibility collapses. When the leader shows grit, the team has fewer excuses. Prospecting is hard. Rejection stings. But nothing happens until someone sells something. Do now: Model the behaviour. Make calls, attend events, ask for introductions, and show your team what professional persistence looks like. How can salespeople protect the brand while being persistent? Salespeople protect the brand by operating with integrity, helping clients succeed, and avoiding patterns of behaviour that many people would describe as aggressive or annoying. One critic is noise; repeated complaints are a warning signal. In Japan, bad news moves quickly. Among multinational executives in Tokyo, the community can feel like a small village. A damaged reputation can follow a person, company, or sales team for years. That is why persistence must be anchored in values. If the market sees you as passionate, helpful, and commercially serious, occasional criticism will bounce off. If many people describe you as pushy, rude, or unreasonable, the brand has a problem. The difference is intent and behaviour. Do now: Track market feedback. Stay bold, but watch for repeated complaints about tone, pressure, or follow-up frequency. Conclusion: what is the right level of sales pressure? The right level of sales pressure in Japan is professional persistence built on trust. Too little pressure produces passive account managers who avoid difficult conversations, discount too quickly, and fail to grow business. Too much pressure damages the relationship, reputation, and brand. The sweet spot is disciplined, value-based selling. Salespeople should be proud to hunt for new buyers, expand existing accounts, and keep the wheels of industry turning. The key is to do it with integrity. Help the buyer succeed, protect your company's commercial interests, and keep showing up. Critics will always exist. Clients who value your work are the audience that matters most. FAQs Is hard selling effective in Japan? Hard selling is rarely effective in Japan because it can damage trust and create resistance. Japanese buyers usually prefer professional persistence, clear value, patience, and relationship-building. Are Japanese salespeople too passive? Some salespeople in Japan can become too passive when they over-focus on keeping the client happy. Good salespeople protect the relationship while still asking for growth, next steps, and decisions. Why should salespeople avoid heavy discounting? Heavy discounting weakens value perception and can reset the buyer's expected price permanently. In Japan, a low price can become the ceiling for future negotiations. How do I know if my prospecting is too aggressive? Your prospecting may be too aggressive if multiple people complain about your tone, frequency, or lack of relevance. One critic may not matter; repeated feedback deserves attention. What should sales leaders do to encourage hunting? Sales leaders should model hunting behaviour themselves. Attend events, prospect visibly, follow up professionally, and show the team how to be persistent without being pushy. Author bio Dr. Greg Story, Ph.D. in Japanese Decision-Making, is President of Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training and Adjunct Professor at Griffith University. He is a two-time winner of the Dale Carnegie "One Carnegie Award" and recipient of the Griffith University Business School Outstanding Alumnus Award. As a Dale Carnegie Master Trainer, Greg is certified to deliver globally across leadership, communication, sales, and presentation programmes, including Leadership Training for Results. He has written several books, including three best-sellers — Japan Business Mastery, Japan Sales Mastery, and Japan Presentations Mastery — along with Japan Leadership Mastery and How to Stop Wasting Money on Training. His works have been translated into Japanese, including Za Eigyō（ザ営業）, Purezen no Tatsujin（プレゼンの達人）, Torēningu de Okane o Muda ni Suru no wa Yamemashō（トレーニングでお金を無駄にするのはやめましょう）, and Gendaiban "Hito o Ugokasu" Rīdā（現代版「人を動かす」リーダー）. Greg also publishes daily business insights on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, and hosts six weekly podcasts. On YouTube, he produces The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show, Japan Business Mastery, and Japan's Top Business Interviews, followed by executives seeking success strategies in Japan.

Summary In this episode, Chad Burmeister interviews David Kilzer, an engineer with 50 years of experience in automating operations. They discuss the transformative impact of AI on sales and customer experience, the misconceptions surrounding AI, and the ethical considerations that come with its implementation. David emphasizes the importance of an open mindset for leveraging AI effectively and shares insights on the future of AI in various industries. The conversation also touches on the skills needed to thrive in an AI-driven world and concludes with David's work in helping engineers and salespeople collaborate on innovative solutions. Takeaways AI enhances the customer experience by enabling detailed research before conversations. Salespeople must value the time of their clients and present solutions effectively. AI levels the playing field for smaller firms against larger consulting firms. Humans possess the unique ability to imagine beyond AI's capabilities. Misconceptions about AI taking jobs stem from a lack of understanding of its role. AI can help automate dangerous and dull jobs, enhancing productivity. The future of AI is optimistic, with potential improvements in quality of life. Different AI tools excel in various areas, necessitating a tailored approach. Ethical considerations in AI require transparency in decision-making processes. An open mindset is crucial for leveraging AI to its fullest potential. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to AI in Sales and Engineering 02:16 AI Transforming Customer Experience 08:59 The Future of AI in Business 10:40 Misconceptions About AI 13:55 AI's Impact on Workforce Dynamics 17:37 Emerging AI Technologies 20:21 Ethical Considerations in AI 23:50 Skill Sets for the Future of Work The AI for Sales Podcast is brought to you by BDR.ai, Nooks.ai, and ZoomInfo—the go-to-market intelligence platform that accelerates revenue growth. Skip the forms and website hunting—Chad will connect you directly with the right person at any of these companies.

In this episode, Scott Becker shares a humorous story about feeling overlooked at a spine conference.

In this episode, Scott Becker shares a humorous story about feeling overlooked at a spine conference.

In this episode of Sales & Cigars, Walter Crosby sits down with Reed Nyffeler to talk about entrepreneurship, leadership, discipline, and what it takes to build opportunity for the next generation. Reed shares how entrepreneurship runs through his family history—from his great-great-grandfather immigrating to America and farming land in Nebraska, to his own early experiences selling gum in school and building lofts for college dorm rooms. The conversation explores why entrepreneurs are essential to the American economy, why self-discipline matters more than ideas, and why the next generation needs new models of ownership that match how they want to work and live. Reed also breaks down his approach to franchising, leadership development, and identifying the people who have the language, focus, and courage to become successful entrepreneurs.   Episode Highlights Why entrepreneurship is deeply connected to America's growth Reed's family history of immigration, farming, ownership, and opportunity The early lessons Reed learned from selling gum and building dorm lofts Why owning your job comes before owning a business How coming alongside an owner teaches entrepreneurial thinking Why the next generation wants autonomy before opportunity Reed's vision for building app-driven franchise opportunities Why fear and lack of focus are the two biggest threats to entrepreneurs How language reveals whether someone is ready to own a business Why small bets matter before taking big risks   Key Themes & Takeaways Entrepreneurship starts with ownership. Before someone owns a company, they need to learn how to own their work. Value gets noticed. When people create value, the right leaders recognize it and reward it. Autonomy is changing entrepreneurship. Younger generations want control over how, where, and when they work. Fear and focus determine success. Entrepreneurs either get stuck because they are too afraid to move forward, or because they cannot focus long enough to win. Language reveals mindset. How people talk about responsibility, blame, and opportunity often reveals whether they are ready to lead. Risk should be calculated. Entrepreneurs do not avoid risk. They make smaller bets first and learn before firing the cannonball. Letting people go can create opportunity. Keeping the wrong person in a role can hold back both the company and the person who could thrive somewhere else.   Who Should Listen This episode is especially valuable for: Entrepreneurs thinking about the next generation of ownership Young professionals who want to build something of their own Business owners hiring or developing future leaders Franchise leaders looking for better ways to evaluate candidates Salespeople who want to think more like owners Anyone interested in discipline, risk, and entrepreneurial growth   Links & Resources The Next in Leadership https://thenextinleadership.com Reed Nyffeler Transform Through Purpose by Reed Nyffeler Lead Exponentially by Reed Nyffeler   Continue the Conversation If this episode made you think differently about ownership, discipline, sales, or what it really takes to build something, join the Sales Integrator Community. It's built exclusively for salespeople and sales managers who are looking for an edge—and for professionals who want support getting their questions answered by someone who has learned the hard way over 40 years. Free forever. Special founding member badges are available for the first 250 members. Join here: https://helix-community.circle.so/join?invitation_token=8b6622d942c852339d856b2af3504123cf9476e2-8b78b151-d94f-46df-a26b-ec4a6df24460   Subscribe & Follow Sales & Cigars is hosted by Walter Crosby of Helix Sales Development. The only smoke we blow is from cigars. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen.

Host Alyson Stanfield makes the case that your best salespeople are already in your life, just waiting to be asked to help. This episode isn't just for artists with collectors. If anyone has ever responded enthusiastically to your work, it applies to you. Alyson reveals: Who counts as a potential advocate Why these people genuinely want to help Why the relationship has to come first How to make it easy with tools whether they are tangible, in-person events, or digital tools When and how to make the ask, and what it doesn't look like If the follow-up is a weak link for you, join Alyson for Follow Up Already: Don't Let Good Opportunities Go Cold. Read more, get links, and see featured artists on the companion post. Email me to discuss strategic consulting for your long-term career goals. Think you'd make a good guest on The Art Biz? Read This The Art Biz is recorded on the traditional land of the Cheyenne, Arapaho and Ute tribes.  

Here is a FAQ Video on the Courses: https://youtu.be/0F7imrzjXWs Here is a deep dive into which course is best for you: https://youtu.be/JM_jgS8M-iU https://www.b2bRevenue.com - Get Your Free E-Book on How Companies make Decisions. FAQ: 1 YEAR ACCESS, PAY MONTHLY OR ANNUALLY NOT A SUBSCRIPTION OFFICE HOURS EVERY  OTHER WEEK VIA ZOOM. 1 HOUR GROUP Q&A. UNLIMITED 1-ON-1'S  ARE FREE AS LONG AS THEY CAN BE SHARED IN THE COURSE. 1-ON-1 ARE FULL ACCESS ON DAY ONE - NOTHING IS GATED OR TIME RELEASED. ALL CONTENT IS VIDEO BASED AND SELF PACED I RECOMMEND TAKE COURSE ONCE WITHOUT NOTES OR APPLYING IT SO YOU UNDERSTAND THE BIG PICTURE FIRST. THEN TAKE AND APPLY IT STEP BY STEP. YOU START WHEN YOU WANT AND GO AS FAST OR SLOW AS NEEDED.   Email me additional questions: briangburns@me.com     — SAMPLE EMAIL TO EXPENSE THE COURSE MGR,   I have been listening to the brutal truth about sales podcast for X months and it speaks to the issues we face.   They currently offer a course that includes video instruction, group Q&A and One-on-One coaching. I'm committed to my own personal development and would like your help in expensing the course.   It would pay for itself if I closed only one new deal of $X value.   Please let me know by Friday if I can move forward with this 1 year course.   Thanks, ME Here are some student interviews from the courses:      ———————————————————————————————————— Audible 30 day Free Trial: http://www.audibletrial.com/BrutalTruth  

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In Episode 352 of The Business Development Podcast, Kelly Kennedy sits down with Rob Durant, CEO of U.S. Operations for the Institute of Sales Professionals, founder of Flywheel Results, and author of The Social Enablement Blueprint. What follows is a powerful conversation that challenges everything most people think they know about sales. Rob shares his unexpected journey from customer service to sales leadership and explains why the best salespeople are not focused on convincing, pressuring, or closing. Instead, they focus on understanding problems, building trust, and helping people make informed decisions. Together, Kelly and Rob explore why so many entrepreneurs struggle to sell their own products and services, how personal beliefs often get in the way of growth, and why asking for the sale is often the most helpful thing you can do.The conversation also dives into relationship building, personal branding, social enablement, and the future of sales in an increasingly digital world. Rob explains why success is not about what you know or even who you know, but who knows you for what you know. From LinkedIn strategy and networking to sales ethics and long-term business development, this episode is packed with practical insights for entrepreneurs, sales professionals, and business leaders looking to build meaningful connections and create sustainable growth. If you want to become the person people think of first when they need help, this is an episode you won't want to miss.Connect with Rob DurantRob Durant is the CEO of U.S. Operations for the Institute of Sales Professionals, founder of Flywheel Results, author of The Social Enablement Blueprint, and a passionate advocate for ethical, relationship-driven sales.

Wondering if you should fire a salesperson? Use this episode to make some decisions: Coach or Fire? For Sales Managers and Salespeople. Sales managers can use this to make some decisions on how their team is doing. Salespeople can use this to learn what the indicators are and improve what might get them fired.

In this episode featuring producer Eric, Travis Chappell breaks down the psychology behind effective sales and marketing language, explores common persuasion tactics, and shares lessons learned from years in direct sales. From pricing strategies and scarcity marketing to the importance of honesty in sales conversations, Travis explains why trust—not manipulation—is the foundation of sustainable business growth. If you're an entrepreneur, salesperson, or business owner looking to improve your sales process without sacrificing integrity, this episode delivers practical insights you can apply immediately. On this episode we talk about: The psychology behind pricing and why $999 often outperforms $1,000 Scarcity and urgency tactics in marketing and when they actually work Why language matters in sales conversations and marketing copy The dangers of fake urgency, false scarcity, and misleading prospects How honesty and transparency create more referrals and repeat business Top 3 Takeaways Trust is your greatest asset in sales. Being honest about what you don't know builds credibility and strengthens long-term customer relationships. Marketing language can influence buying decisions, but it should enhance a good offer—not compensate for a bad one. Salespeople who focus on serving customers rather than closing deals create more repeat business, referrals, and lifetime value. Notable Quotes "The fake stuff is what irritates me more than anything." "It's a vote in the trust column when you admit that you don't know something." "Don't make short-term decisions because you think they might cost you a deal." Connect with Travis Chappell: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/travischappell Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/travischappell Other: https://travischappell.com A Word from Our Sponsors: - Are you ready to start your own creatorjourney and make it big? Visitwww.fanvue.com today and launch yourcareer! - To learn more about Mode Mobile and its investor community, go to https://invest.modemobile.com/travismakesmoney -Travis Makes Money is made possible by High Level – the All-In-One Sales & Marketing Platform built for agencies, by an agency.Capture leads, nurture them, and close more deals—all from one powerful platform.Get an extended free trial at gohighlevel.com/travis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you’re in sales, you understand the drive to “close the deal,” and meet your quotas. Salespeople of every industry are under great pressure to perform! Fortunately for Christians, that’s NOT the case when it comes to telling others about God! Pastor Mike Fabarez gives us good news about the Good News!

In this episode of the #DoorGrowShow, property management growth experts Jason Hull and Sarah Hull discuss the launch of the Door Machine, DoorGrow's new growth-focused program designed to help property management companies scale faster by handling the hiring, training, support, and systems behind business development and sales. Breaking down why most property management companies struggle to grow, the biggest mistakes owners make when hiring salespeople, and how having the right systems, accountability, targeting, pricing, and support can completely transform a property management business.   You'll Learn [00:01] Introduction to the Door Machine  [03:20] Why Most Sales Hires Fail  [08:10] The Systems Behind Property Management Growth  [14:40] The Three Keys to BDM Success [21:30] Fixing Targeting, Pricing, and Offers  [31:20] How the Door Machine Partnership Works Quotables "If you have a system that's working, you really don't have a problem." "If you take a good salesperson and plug them into a broken system, it's going to break." "At best, if you're running a company and you are the salesperson, you will always be a shitty part-time salesperson at best." Resources DoorGrow and Scale Mastermind DoorGrow Academy DoorGrow on YouTube DoorGrowClub DoorGrowLive Transcript Jason Hull (00:01) Five, four, three, two, one. All right, we are Jason and Sarah Hull, the owners of DoorGrow, the world's leading and most comprehensive coaching and consulting firm for long-term residential property management entrepreneurs. For over a decade and a half, we've brought innovative strategies and optimization to the property management industry. At DoorGrow, we are on a mission to transform property management businesses, the business owners and their businesses. We want to transform the industry   eliminate the BS, build awareness, change perception, expand the market, and help the best property management entrepreneurs win. Now, let's get into the show. All right, so in today's episode, we're gonna be chatting a little bit about the new offer. I think we mentioned it previously, I don't know, on an episode, but we're gonna be talking about the door machine. It's evolved a little bit since then, but we're gonna talk about the door machine, our new offer, our new program for property management business owners that want to grow.   So we had teased in the previous episode, we chatted briefly about it, we never really dug into details. And now we're ready to do that because the door machine is officially live. So if you are interested in growing your property management business and you want growth to just magically happen for you, if you ever think   Jeez, it'd be so nice if I could just miraculously get to like 500 doors, 800 doors, 1200 doors, whatever that number is in your head, and you wanna get there, it would be awesome if it would just like poof and happen. You know the magic wand? Like if you had a magic wand, you could just snap your fingers and have the business of your dreams at whatever size or count that's going to be, then this is for you.   This is going to be for you. Cool. So basically the simple idea of the door machine is we are looking for businesses to basically partner with that we can help grow and scale their business. We will add the doors, you manage them. It's that simple. And we will also help you to be able to keep up with the growth by giving you access to our super system level of our mastermind as part of this deal. So   So the way this works is if you're one of our clients that's gone through the process of cleanup and the rapid revamp and all that then you're probably meet the prerequisites. You've got healthy branding, you've got a healthy website, you've got the right pricing model, we have a very innovative three-tier hybrid pricing model that we install in clients' businesses. You've got maybe financial health going in the business, profit first. ⁓ Some of these, there's some prerequisite basics.   If you do not have all that, you have not been part of our program, we will come out for two days. Two days? we will come in, on how messy your business is, but we'll come out for two days and we will basically rehab your business. We will help redo your branding. We will redo your pricing. We will redo your website. We will redo your, like the whole front end of the business so that we have a really good   program and offer to sell if we're selling people on your property management business. And so we have this launch intensive that we will come out and do. It is not inexpensive, but it is, I believe, ridiculously cheap for the value that we offer at the present because we're because it pays for itself as well. Easily pay for itself. So we will come out and do the process that a lot of our clients do over the first quarter with us. We will do it.   rapidly with you and you need to be open to making changes if you're the right fit for this, but we will come out and do this launch intensive with you at your location. and I will come out. After we get that done, we will then build out the hiring mechanism and we will get a salesperson and the salesperson is going to work for DoorGrow. We will train, coach, support this person in your local market.   and help them to be able to build their own sort of little business, growing your business. And so this is kind of, it's a win-win-win for all three parties. It's a win for this person that's going to build this sort of business, creating growth for your business. It's going to be door grow, being able to manage this relationship and maintain the quality level with this business development manager, this BDM or salesperson and the business owner.   we will coach and support the business owner yourself in making sure that the business can remain scalable as we start adding 100, 200, 300 doors a year to your business so that you don't break. Because this is a big challenge and we've helped a lot of people with this. So how does this work? Well, normally, if you're gonna hire a salesperson, how would this look? So if you do it the right way, then usually you start with creating a...   you create your RDoC, is just a fancy word for job description. You will do some sort of job post somewhere, indeed LinkedIn, wherever that ends up going. Then you start getting applications and you start screening applications. Well, let's skip to the financials because we don't need to tell them the whole process of what we'll do. We're going to. Okay. All right. Here, continue. Then you get to do a bunch of interviews.   and then you bring someone on, you onboard them, you train them, and then you continuously and every single day support them. And that's where, well, in all of that, at various stages, most people fail. Yeah, somewhere. So sometimes they never even create their company culture documents, and then they wonder why they can't hire the right person. Yeah. Sometimes they don't create the right job description, and they wonder why they can't hire the right person.   They don't know how to properly interview and screen candidates. Or when they have the right person and everything has worked out and then they hire this person, then they just kind of throw them in the fire and they go, all right, go do sales. I hope you can figure it out. And there's a little bit of training, but there's really not a system that you can just plug this person into. This salesperson has to figure out and go build a system.   and most of times they don't know how to do that. And then it's not working out and the business owner is upset and the person that got hired is upset because no one is winning and no one is making money. Both parties are frustrated usually with the other one. The person who got hired is upset because they're like you like have nothing. This is a whole   guessing game and nothing is working and I don't know what to do and you also don't know what to tell me to do. And then the sales person or the ⁓ business owner is upset with the sales person because they're going, well, geez, I hired you to be able to figure all of this out and you didn't figure it out. And now I wasted a whole bunch of time and money. And that's why usually it fails. So you can do that. You can absolutely figure it all out yourself. Everything is figured out.   if you learn enough and know enough and figure out, know, if you, if you waste enough time, you can figure it all out eventually. Absolutely. Yeah. Yes. You certainly can. Yeah. Most people don't really have a good system for hiring and definitely not for training because we've seen it again and again where people will hire someone who is great for a sales position and then it doesn't work out.   And then they go, this isn't working. I think I to let this person go. How do I have that conversation? Like, what should this look like? And when should I do that? And why, you know, do I, what do I tell them? Like, why am I making this decision? And usually that's the end result that they get. And then they kind of get to go back to the beginning and they get to reassess and they go, okay, should I try this whole thing all over again?   Or should I just do something different so you can absolutely do that if you know how to do this by all means go do it or You can just push the easy button and let us handle all of that for you including the training and including the support and that's where a lot of people they Just don't want to do it. They don't have a system. That's already built to put a salesperson into   they bring on that salesperson and expect them to build the system. And most salespeople aren't good at building systems. They're good at selling, but they're not good at building a sales system. So if you take a good salesperson and plug them into a broken system, it's going to break. But there's a big disconnect there. So we build the system. We will do the recruiting.   the screening, the interviewing, the onboarding, the initial training, the ongoing training, and all of the support, daily support for these salespeople so that they will consistently learn and grow and get better and sharpen their skills and figure out what is working and what isn't working and how do I double down or triple down on the things that are working so that I can get results as quickly as possible because they're motivated, they want to make money.   Salespeople, they like winning. They want to make money. That's how they win is when they close deals. So the easiest way to like deflate a sales team is to make it almost impossible to close deals. That's what we've noticed. So then we decided to just fix all of those issues on the back end. And instead of leaving it to business owners who are already busy, who if they had the system for growth, they would probably not need a salesperson.   because they already have the system. If you have a system that's working, you really don't have a problem. But a lot of times they don't have a system and they don't have someone who is going to consistently do sales. They usually have somebody who's kind of dabbling in it. Usually it's them. Sometimes they have somebody who's part-time or they have like a real estate agent looking to make some extra bucks on the side. But there's not a real system and there's not real dedication to sales.   And the ones that have a system and the ones that have actual dedication to sales, those are the companies that you see that get two, four, six, a thousand doors. That's why you see that. So that was something that we noticed is, hey, this ends up being complicated for some people and actually probably the majority of people to do. So we just built this system and that is what the door machine does.   So we will handle all of that work for you so that all you need to do is manage the doors that we give you. All right, so let's talk about why this is hard for people. So Sarah brought up several good points about getting a salesperson. We focus on hiring. First, if you're gonna do this yourself, you've gotta make sure you get the right person. That's the first problem to figure out. And the right person has to be the right   They culture fit for the business, otherwise you're not going to trust them. They have to be the right personality fit for the role, otherwise they won't be good at this. They have to be the right skill fit or intellectual fit to be able to develop the skill or talent to be able to do this job. So that's hiring. If they're not all three, they're going to fail. Always do. And if any team members you have right now are not all three, you have to let them go. It's inevitable.   Your business will never be able to grow if you have bad people. The next piece, assuming you get all three of those nailed and you have as good of a hiring system as we do, then the next piece is the BDM or salesperson has to have three key ingredients to BDM success or they always fail. Fail means they aren't making enough money so they quit or they're not making you enough money so you fire them or they're not.   kept, they're too comfortable, so they get lazy. Either way, it's not working, and so they will either quit or you will fire them. And this happens all the time. The issue is not going to companies and getting somebody to help you with hiring. Lots of people help you hire BDMs, but they still fail. And the failure after the hiring piece, if that was done well, is it's not because they didn't have the right personality, it's not because they don't share your values, and it's not because they don't have the skill to do it.   Those companies will usually show them or train them or whatever. It's because of you. That's the tough love. So here's how this works. You have to have these three ingredients. They have to have the right training and strategy. That's number one. If they're doing stupid stuff, if they're focusing on cold leads, digital marketing stuff, all the stuff that you probably are gonna heap on them, you are holding them back and you're giving them low level garbage stuff to deal with, cold crappy leads.   they are not going to be able to grow quickly your business or scale and they're not going to be able to win. So they have to have the right training and the right growth engines that we would help them install. Second, they have to have the right comp structure. If they don't have the right compensation, compensation is incentive. Compensation is motivation for the right candidates, people that don't hate money, that are salespeople.   And if the comp structure is off, they will either get lazy and comfortable because you paid them too well, or they will get lazy and uncomfortable because they'll just get unmotivated because it's not working. ⁓ Or they just won't do the leading activities because you're trying to just make it commission only. There's so many mistakes with compensation and there is a formula for making this work. And we've seen this fail over and over and over again.   They are not motivated, but they are the right personality for this. You designed the role incorrectly, and you probably designed the financial compensation wrong, and that's on you. The third thing you have to get dialed in is accountability. They have to be accountable. If they're not accountable, if you're not, if you are not able to guide them and see where they're stuck and where there's drop-off in their sales flow or in the pipeline, if you can't see it,   They probably aren't seeing it either. And so they will keep doing the same dumb stuff, getting the same dumb result, and you will both be frustrated. And they will give up on this idea of selling property management, and you will give up on the idea. And there's, even before we get to all of these challenges, the three fits for hiring, the three keys to BDM success, there's some fundamental, foundational ingredients for the business that we help clean up that come even before that, where you have to have the right target audience,   A lot of property managers don't have this dialed in. They don't have the right target, which means they're targeting people incorrectly. means probably they're doing digital cold lead marketing, they're doing ads, they're spending a bunch of money. And most companies spend 20 to 30 % of their top line revenue just to bring in leads. And so they're wasting money there and have bad strategy there. The other piece to this is ⁓ you have to have the right   You have to have the right product. A lot of you think you're selling property management and nobody gives a shit about property management. Nobody wants to buy it. Nobody wakes up in the morning and says, man, I'm so excited to buy something today. And somebody says, what is it? What is it, Jason? my gosh, I'm so excited to go buy property management today. You are selling the wrong product. And if you're selling to the wrong audience,   and attracting the wrong owners and the cheapos and the accidentals and all the owners that you don't want because you're doing the wrong tactics and then you're selling the wrong product. Then the third thing is you also probably have the wrong offer and the wrong pricing. And so this is stuff we have to get dialed in. It's foundational. I've never had somebody come to me that had those three ingredients dialed in. We have to get those three dialed in first. Then we dial in the three fits.   Then we dial in the three keys to BDM success. This is the stuff we would come out and help you get done. And we can do it fast because we've done this hundreds of times. We could do this. I've been running DoorGrow for a decade, almost two decades now, almost two decades, over a decade and a And we have expertise in helping people get this stuff dialing quickly. So,   That would be the first part of this. Now, if you're gonna go out and do this yourself, you're then gonna, you get a BDM. All of these things are dialed in. For some reason, you magically figured this all out on your own through trial and error. The next piece is now you've got to pay this person a commission, some sort of commission. And then you're gonna have to spend money on some sort of base. And you've got all of these different things that you've gotta get dialed in correctly. And if you have this done, then you'll probably be adding doors and then,   It'll be working. Here's what how we set up the door machine so that we can take over all this for you. So you'll pay door grow, you'll pay door grow a commission, you'll pay for each door that's added off the first month's rent. You'll pay ⁓ base salary or base dollar amount to door grow ⁓ each month. And as part of that base, we offset   a good portion of that by giving you access to our super system level of our mastermind, which includes all the systems you're going to need in order to scale your business. call the super system and you get access to the in-person events and the cohort and all the amazing people that are in our program. You're then also going to pay instead of paying, spending money on marketing, because you're not going to have to pay for leads and do stupid digital, cold lead, whatever advertising.   Our salesperson is going to be trained in doing this effectively and we'll be generating warmer leads that have a higher close rate. We will handle all that. so DoorGrow residualy will get 20 % of the management fee. Instead of spending 20%, 30 % like a lot of businesses do on your top line revenue, just to acquire new customers and to do digital marketing or ads, you'll spend 20 % of the management fee, which is way less.   For a lot of you, might be if average rent's 2K in a lot of areas throughout the US, your management fee maybe is 10%, which is, or worse, which is typical. ⁓ We'll help you install a better pricing model than that. But you're doing something like that and you're probably getting then $200 on the door. You're making a lot of money on other things, maintenance, whatever, but $200 for the management fee and then door grows, percentage would be 40 bucks, it'd be 20%.   And so $40 and originally designed this so we grow as you grow and this is, you know, a partnership is forever, but we put a cap on it to make this even more enticing. It drops off each door in the door machine that you add that 20 % dies or drops off. So you get a hundred percent of it at the 36 month mark. So three years in it drops off. So that puts a cap on what door grow can make with you depending on how much the BDM can add each year.   And so that caps our upside, which is better for you to make this even sweeter. And so there's a relationship. There's more details to it than that. We'd be happy to send you the offer doc if you're interested in this offer. ⁓ Really who we're looking for generally are 500 or plus companies that have a healthy team, healthy culture, will help you get these initial things cleaned up. You'll pay. ⁓   Okay, we won't mention all the specifics on the dollar amounts, but this is how this works financially. Same thing you would probably have to pay towards a BDM. You'll pay the door girl and we will take care of this for you and growth. This is a good fit for those of you that you have the money right now to go hire somebody and spend money, maybe five grand, six grand a month on a person ⁓ to hire somebody, then financially you probably could afford to do this and it would make sense. If that's not you right now,   and then this is probably not a fit for you. Anything else you want to say about the Dormachine?   So don't just...   if you can afford five or six.   to that. Sure. one. Number two.   No, it's not only this may be a fit for some smaller companies as well. So doesn't mean hey, you know, don't have 500 doors yet. Therefore, I can't do it. You can still do this. It might be a fit for you. I would see if you would benefit from a conversation with our sales team on that to just kind of learn more about it, get more information, get   some of the specifics of the numbers and see, know, hey, what is pressing the easy button on growth actually worth for you? Because your role in this, we handle all of the front end of your business. So growing the business is no longer something that you need to think about or worry about at all. And if you're not sure if this is a fit for you,   if you're wanting to get those first three foundational things dialed in with us, which is the targeting, the product, and the offer. And if you wanna meet with us, we have a three session thing where we will work with you one-on-one, help you get these three things dialed in over three sessions, which is the foundation, and help you figure out what your roadmap and plan might be. It might be joining one of our   different tiers of our mastermind. It might be getting some help with hiring. It might be getting into this door machine. But we have a small, inexpensive offer for that where we will help you get those three things dialed in and help you roadmap the future to figure out what would be the best fit moving forward. We call that the PM Growth Leak Audit, where we audit the leaks that you have right now that are preventing your growth and help you see some of the blind spots that you can't even see   in your business right now, which is why it's been so hard for you to grow. And then we'll help you figure out what the next steps might be that would make the most sense based on what your constraints are related to budget, related to time, investment, whatever. And so reach out to us and just say, hey, I'd be really interested in that audit that Jason mentioned on the podcast. Cool. Anything else we should add? That's it.   this might be for you, it's probably worth at least a...   also say that this will not be for everyone or this will not be for you right now. It might be a later thing instead of a now thing. It might be an everything. You might be able to handle everything all yourself and that's okay. ⁓ What I would also say too is keep in mind that a lot of times people kind of peter out on doing sales after a while.   This is something that will continue to grow the business for you because it doesn't depend on you at all. aren't involved in it. The reality is a lot of our clients, once we help them figure out growth and we get stuff out of them, they start growing stuff themselves. They realize and figure out eventually they either don't enjoy doing the sales or it's creating a really strong constraint in the business. At best, if you're running a company and you are the salesperson, you will always   be a shitty part-time salesperson at best. You don't have full-time bandwidth. And if you don't have a growth problem, then this isn't even relevant to you at all. So if you're having some challenges, then reach out to us. We have a proven track record. We're the best in the world at helping people do this. We've been doing this for almost two decades now. And we can help you get this dialed in. And we want to see you win. We're looking for really good, awesome people.   and humans to be part of our stuff, especially for the door machine and the cohort really of the caliber of people that we've already gotten into the door machine. These are going to be the coolest people. So the cohort aspect of this is another plus. think it's probably the best upside is that you get to be around other people that are experiencing the door grow magic and they're buying, they're growing and they're scaling.   and they're doing things in a different way than the entire industry. And that's what we bring to the table at DoorGrow. So if you want to get your company to not have all the same blind spots and constraints and you want to start innovating your business, reach out to us at DoorGrow. You can check us out at doorgrow.com, schedule a call with us, have a chat. If you'd like a free training on how to get unlimited leads for free, text the word leads to 512-648-4608.   Also join our free Facebook community just for property management business owners by going to doorgro club.com. And if you want tips, tricks, ideas, and to learn about our offers, subscribe to our newsletter by going to doorgro.com slash subscribe. And if you found this episode even a little bit helpful, don't forget to subscribe and leave us a review. We'd really appreciate it. Until next time. Remember the slowest path to growth is to do it alone. So let's grow together.   and you can do that with the door machine for sure. All right, bye everyone.

Prospecting is not something you need to apologize for. Art Sobczak, renowned author of 'Smart Calling,' joins Mark Hunter to debunk overused prospecting myths and challenge sales professionals to rethink their openers, mindset, and every touchpoint. Art draws on his decades of experience to reveal why apologetic cold calls and "numbers games" are sabotaging results.  Together, they explore the psychology behind first impressions, the real impact of leadership on sales teams, and how identity shapes success. This episode is packed with new perspectives and candid stories that will inspire listeners to upgrade their approach to outbound calls without relying on shortcuts or sleazy tactics.

We put someone on the moon in 1969. We didn't put wheels on suitcases until 1972. The problem was: Nobody had stopped to notice the problem existed in the first place. That gap - between the problems people will tell you about, the ones they'll only admit after a drink, and the ones they don't even know they have - is exactly where Maz Farrelly operates. In this bonus conversation with the executive producer behind Big Brother, The X Factor, and Celebrity Apprentice, we get into the practical mechanics of walking into a meeting and already having the room on your side before you've said a single word. If you have a pitch coming up - for an idea, a budget, or yourself - this episode has something useful in it for you. Maz and I discuss: The "warming up the room" technique Maz uses at the start of every pitch meeting, and why it works How she used reverse psychology to make network executives desperate for the idea she told them she wasn't going to pitch Why the smartest operators don't sell — they make themselves buyable The three layers of problems your clients have, and why cracking the third layer is where the real opportunity lives The suitcase story: why solving problems people don't know they have is the most valuable thing you can do in any industry Why Maz brought too much cake to a Microsoft meeting, and how it made her go viral inside the building without spending a cent on advertising What "sticky information" is, and why it determines whether anything you said in a meeting actually matters Key quotes "The smart money doesn't sell. The smart money is bought." "Hope is not a strategy." And if you haven't listened to the main episode with Maz yet, start there. It's all about how to make yourself impossible to ignore. Listen to the main episode here. Connect with Maz Farrelly on Instagram, LinkedIn, and her website. My latest book The Energy Game is out on July 7, 2026. You can order a copy here: https://amzn.to/48ID29M Connect with me on the socials: Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanthaimber) Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/amanthai) If you are looking for more tips to improve the way you work and live, I write a weekly newsletter where I share practical and simple to apply tips to improve your life. You can sign up for that at https://amantha.substack.com/ Visit https://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes. Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.au Credits: Host: Amantha Imber Sound Engineer: The Podcast Butler See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Sales & Cigars, Walter Crosby sits down with John Golden, Chief Marketing Strategy Officer at Pipeliner CRM and host of Sales Pop, for a sharp conversation about sales leadership, self-development, business acumen, and what it really takes to stay valuable in sales. John shares why SPIN Selling remains one of the most important sales books ever written and why great salespeople are still defined by their ability to ask better questions, listen deeply, and resist the urge to jump into solution mode too quickly. The conversation also dives into one of John's biggest pieces of advice for sales professionals: invest in yourself. Don't wait for your company to train you. Don't complain that no one is developing you. Your career is your responsibility. From coaching and mentorship to business acumen and sales-marketing alignment, this episode is a reminder that the best salespeople never stop learning.   Episode Highlights Why SPIN Selling still matters in modern sales The difference between hearing and active listening Why silence after a good question is powerful How salespeople can stop rushing into solution mode Why every salesperson should learn a sales methodology John's advice to invest in yourself before blaming your company The ROI of hiring a coach or finding a mentor Why sales, sales leadership, and CEO roles can feel lonely The importance of business acumen in today's sales environment How salespeople can bring value through insight, not just products Why a great sales call should be valuable enough to pay for   Key Themes & Takeaways Great salespeople ask better questions. The best reps do not rush to pitch. They slow down, listen, and dig deeper. Silence is part of the process. When a prospect pauses after a strong question, don't interrupt. Let them think. Your career is your responsibility. If your company is not investing in your development, invest in yourself. Coaching pays for itself. A good coach or mentor can challenge your thinking, expand your goals, and accelerate growth. Sales can be lonely. Whether you are carrying a bag, leading a team, or running a company, you need people who can challenge and support you. Business acumen matters more than ever. Salespeople need to understand how businesses operate, how decisions get made, and how their solution impacts the whole organization. Value starts before the deal closes. A sales conversation should help the buyer think differently, even before they buy anything.   Who Should Listen This episode is especially valuable for: Salespeople who want to take ownership of their career Sales leaders trying to develop stronger, more independent reps CEOs and entrepreneurs who want better sales conversations Teams looking to improve discovery and active listening Revenue leaders focused on sales and marketing alignment Anyone who wants to become more valuable in every business conversation   Links & Resources SPIN Selling by Neil Rackham Pipeliner CRM https://pipelinersales.com Sales Pop https://salespop.net John Golden on LinkedIn   Continue the Conversation If this episode made you think differently about sales, leadership, or how to take ownership of your career, join the Sales Integrator Community. It's built exclusively for salespeople and sales managers who are looking for an edge—and for professionals who want support getting their questions answered by someone who has learned the hard way over 40 years. Free forever. Special founding member badges are available for the first 250 members. Join here: https://helix-community.circle.so/join?invitation_token=8b6622d942c852339d856b2af3504123cf9476e2-8b78b151-d94f-46df-a26b-ec4a6df24460   Subscribe & Follow Sales & Cigars is hosted by Walter Crosby of Helix Sales Development. The only smoke we blow is from cigars. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen.

Here is a FAQ Video on the Courses: https://youtu.be/0F7imrzjXWs Here is a deep dive into which course is best for you: https://youtu.be/JM_jgS8M-iU https://www.b2bRevenue.com - Get Your Free E-Book on How Companies make Decisions. FAQ: 1 YEAR ACCESS, PAY MONTHLY OR ANNUALLY NOT A SUBSCRIPTION OFFICE HOURS EVERY  OTHER WEEK VIA ZOOM. 1 HOUR GROUP Q&A. UNLIMITED 1-ON-1'S  ARE FREE AS LONG AS THEY CAN BE SHARED IN THE COURSE. 1-ON-1 ARE FULL ACCESS ON DAY ONE - NOTHING IS GATED OR TIME RELEASED. ALL CONTENT IS VIDEO BASED AND SELF PACED I RECOMMEND TAKE COURSE ONCE WITHOUT NOTES OR APPLYING IT SO YOU UNDERSTAND THE BIG PICTURE FIRST. THEN TAKE AND APPLY IT STEP BY STEP. YOU START WHEN YOU WANT AND GO AS FAST OR SLOW AS NEEDED.   Email me additional questions: briangburns@me.com     — SAMPLE EMAIL TO EXPENSE THE COURSE MGR,   I have been listening to the brutal truth about sales podcast for X months and it speaks to the issues we face.   They currently offer a course that includes video instruction, group Q&A and One-on-One coaching. I'm committed to my own personal development and would like your help in expensing the course.   It would pay for itself if I closed only one new deal of $X value.   Please let me know by Friday if I can move forward with this 1 year course.   Thanks, ME Here are some student interviews from the courses:      ———————————————————————————————————— Audible 30 day Free Trial: http://www.audibletrial.com/BrutalTruth      

Disclaimer: Today's episode is sponsored by Gelt. Content is for educational purposes only. Not advice. Results discussed have not been vetted. Claims made by the guest have not been verified. The views expressed by the guest do not reflect those of the host or this show.—