Sales is NOT a Dirty Word

You just got off a great discovery call. You can already see everything you could fix, every opportunity they’re missing, and the massive result you could create together. So you put all of it into a $100,000 or $150,000 proposal, present your big vision, and wait for them to say yes. Instead, they disappear. The problem isn’t necessarily your pricing or the value of your work. A brand-new prospect simply doesn’t know if you’re full of shit yet.  So, asking them to commit to a massive engagement before you’ve delivered anything means asking them to take on a level of risk most buyers aren’t comfortable with. In this newest episode of Sales is NOT a Dirty Word, I’m breaking down why ambitious proposals often stall, why emailing the proposal makes it even easier for prospects to ghost you, and how to create a smaller first offer that gives the client a real result without devaluing your expertise. Because the goal is a long term client and a big proposal - and that’s more likely to happen when you earn trust first.  Listen in to discover:  Why a prospect can believe in your solution and still reject the proposal What buyers are really evaluating when you ask them to approve a large investment How to create a smaller first offer without discounting or diminishing your work The discovery questions you need answered before structuring your proposal Why a well-designed first engagement can lead to longer and more profitable client relationships If your proposals keep stalling after you email them over, you probably don’t need a more persistent follow-up sequence. You need to understand what’s making the initial decision feel too risky.   Book a sales call audit call with me, and we’ll find out where your sales process is losing the deal: https://calendly.com/aleasha/salesteam-levelup You can also take the Sales Personality Assessment to uncover your natural sales strengths and learn how to use them instead of forcing tactics that don’t fit you: https://assessment.aleashabahr.com/salespersonality Key Timestamps 00:00 – Why I don’t email sales proposals 01:40 – The mistake behind $100K and $150K proposals 02:10 – Why new prospects are afraid of getting burned 02:35 – Selling one small win that can stand on its own 03:15 – Why retention and upselling beat constant client acquisition 04:40 – The two definitions of success your proposal must address 06:00 – Why giant proposals keep great service providers from getting hired 06:25 – Making the first investment easier to say yes to 07:00 – What a valuable standalone offer can look like 08:00 – Building an intentional upsell process 08:25 – Why simple proposals convert better than buzzword-heavy decks   #SalesIsNotADirtyWord #BlackSheepSales #SalesProposal #ProposalStrategy #B2BSales #SalesStrategy #SixFigureSales #ClientAcquisition #ClientRetention #Upselling #ConsultativeSelling #SalesConversion #SalesCoaching #ServiceBasedBusiness #EntrepreneurPodcast

“Let me think about it” has probably launched more awkward follow-up emails than any other sentence in sales. You leave the call not even knowing where to go after that because there wasn’t an obvious objection to work through. How do you follow up with that - ask them what they need to think about? How long do they need? Neither.  The answer is to get curious - yes - but in a different, more specific way.  People rarely arrive at hesitation out of nowhere. There’s usually something underneath it: a question they haven’t asked, a concern they haven’t named, a detail that still feels fuzzy, or a very legitimate reason that moving forward today would be the wrong decision. And yes, sometimes that reason is absolutely valid. You don’t know until you do some digging though.  In this episode of Sales Is Not a Dirty Word, I’m pulling apart what can actually be happening when a promising sales conversation ends in “let me think about it” and where you should start looking when you hear it.    Listen in to discover: What signals to spot when a prospect hesitates at the end of a conversation The questions buyers can have without quite knowing how to articulate them Why curiosity gets you further with an objection than trying to convince or overcome How to discern when hesitation deserves more conversation and when someone genuinely needs more time If you’ve ever experienced the paralyzing uncertainty that can happen in the face of this nebulous objection - listen to the full episode before you send another “just checking in” follow-up.   Curious why your own sales conversations are converting less than 50%? Book your sales audit with me and let’s find out what’s happening inside your process: https://calendly.com/aleasha/salesteam-levelup Take the Sales Personality Assessment to leverage your own unique strengths here: https://assessment.aleashabahr.com/salespersonality   01:15 — The real reason it happens: something wasn't uncovered earlier 02:10 — Why prospects don't ask the questions they actually have 03:05 — Client story: when "I need to regroup" was really about the offer, not the price 04:20 — Not a fit yet versus not a fit ever, and why the difference matters 05:10 — What "let me think about it" is really hinting at 06:00 — Why bringing up objections yourself builds trust instead of planting doubt 07:05 — What happens when you skip this question, and why prospects ghost instead of answering 08:00 — Telling prospects exactly when your offer doesn't work 09:00 — The last resort line to use when someone says they'll think about it    #SalesIsNotADirtyWord #BlackSheepSales #SalesObjections #LetMeThinkAboutIt #SalesTraining #SalesTips #SalesStrategy #SalesCoach #SmallBusinessSales #B2BSales #EntrepreneurPodcast #SalesPodcast #ConversionRate #SalesLeadership #AuthenticSelling #SalesSkills #TrustBasedSelling #WomenInSales #BusinessGrowth #SalesMindset 

I'm closing out our five part Sales Personalities series with the one I think gets misread the most: the Chatty Charmer. This is the person who has never met a stranger - they’re warm and easy to talk to. I could put a Chatty Charmer on a call with a prospect for forty five minutes and that prospect would walk away saying, "I really like that person." And then never buy. I see this get mistaken for sales talent constantly. Charm and connection do not equal sales - but they can with the right structure added in.    In this episode, I break down: Why being liked and being trusted are two entirely different currencies, and only one of them results in sales The real reason Chatty Charmer calls run long, in multiples, and still stall out The anchor phrases I teach this personality type to gently rein a conversation back in without losing the warmth that makes this personality magnetic in the first place The overlooked skill of asking what's actually behind a prospect's question, instead of just answering it at face value The surface level where sales die, and what going two or three layers deeper actually sounds like The organizational habit most Chatty Charmers skip that costs them never ending follow up    If you've ever finished a sales call feeling like it went beautifully, only to get ghosted, or if you manage someone whose calendar is full of "great conversations" that never convert, this episode will show you  I what's missing and how to fix it without losing the very warmth that makes this personality so good with people to begin with. Every sales personality, including yours, has sales strengths that convert when leveraged correctly. That’s what this series is all about.    Take the Sales Personality Assessment here: https://assessment.aleashabahr.com/salespersonality   Curious why your own sales conversations are converting less than 50%?  Book your sales audit with me here and let's find out how to fix it.   01:35 — Introducing the Chatty Charmer and how it differs from the Passionate Persuader 02:45 — Why likability creates the illusion of sales skill 03:15 — The real symptoms: long calls, rabbit holes, and inconsistent results 04:15 — Likable versus trustworthy, and why only one gets you paid 05:00 — How I build anchor phrases that rein the conversation back in 06:20 — The habit of answering questions without understanding what's behind them 07:45 — A real example from a client's sales rep and what almost got missed 08:45 — Why surface level is where sales die 09:15 — The organizational gap that costs follow up without anyone noticing until it's too late 10:00 — What a Chatty Charmer looks like once these tools are in place #SalesIsNotADirtyWord #BlackSheepSales #SalesPersonality #ChattyCharmer #SalesTraining #SalesTips #SalesStrategy #SalesCoach #SmallBusinessSales #B2BSales #EntrepreneurPodcast #SalesPodcast #ConversionRate #SalesLeadership #AuthenticSelling #SalesSkills #TrustBasedSelling #WomenInSales #BusinessGrowth #SalesMindset 

For decades, the passionate persuader was the only personality sales that most training was built for.  This person is confident, direct and high energy. It’s usually the person everyone pictures the moment they hear the word "salesperson." So naturally, they must be the most successful, right? No. This personality does not always mean an amazing salesperson you should hire.  In part four of our five-part Sales Personalities series, we're unpacking the Passionate Persuader: the type who believes so deeply in what they're selling that they're already three steps ahead, envisioning the prospect's entire transformation before they've actually done any discovery. Many times it isn’t manipulation. It's genuine conviction outpacing genuine discovery. And it creates blind spots that rarely get called out, because everyone assumes that's simply what a salesperson is supposed to be like and it’s a numbers game - some people will say yes and some will say no.  There can be many more people who say yes when this personality becomes aware of their blind spots and improves them.  In this episode, you will discover:  Why this personality skips discovery without even realizing it, and what that costs them The follow-up statistic that should alarm anyone who only chases the sale ("are you going to buy my thing?" energy) Why their natural charm can actually make prospects trust them less The one thing to include that will skyrocket close rates  How "commission breath" happens even to genuinely good people with genuinely good intentions How to slow down and go from a good salesperson to an exceptional one If you've ever been told you're a "natural" at sales and still felt confused when some people didn’t buy - this is for you.  If you manage a high-energy, relentless rep and can't figure out why their numbers aren’t stronger - this episode is for you.   Being the "classic" sales personality doesn't mean there's nothing left to refine. It just means no one has told you what to refine yet. That's precisely what the Black Sheep Sales Method exists for: a system built around who you actually are, not the loudest voice in the sales training room. Take the Sales Personality Assessment here: https://assessment.aleashabahr.com/salespersonality Curious what sales personalities you actually have inside your team, and whether a Passionate Persuader on your team is leaving revenue on the table without realizing it? Book your complimentary sales audit with me. 👉 https://calendly.com/aleasha/salesteam-levelup [01:00] The classic "built for this" sales personality, and why that's a double-edged sword [02:00] The shadow side: transactional, steamrolling, skipping discovery entirely [03:00] The follow-up gap: why 80% of sales happen in the follow-up, and they miss it [04:00] "Are you gonna buy my thing?" Why chase-style follow-up repels instead of converts [05:00] The real strength: unshakeable confidence buyers can borrow [06:00] Why faked charisma backfires, and why theirs is genuine (until it isn't) [07:00] The trust-killer: omitting when it doesn't work, and why buyers sense it anyway [08:00] Pitch-weaving as the fix for skipping rapport entirely [09:00] Turning rapport into smarter, more personalized follow-up [10:00] The plateau: why "good enough" keeps this personality from becoming unstoppable [11:00] Take the assessment, identify your gaps, episode close  #SalesIsNotADirtyWord #BlackSheepSales #SalesPersonalitySeries #PassionatePersuader #SalesTraining #B2BSales #SalesLeadership #FollowUpMatters #SalesMindset #EmpathyInSales #CommissionBreath #SalesTeamBuilding #HighPerformingSales #AuthenticSelling #SalesConversion 

A DISC profile test looked my husband in the eye (well, on paper) and told him: you can never be in sales. Too quiet. Too detailed. Too precise. Too introverted. Not the loud, aggressive, "natural" closer type the test was built to reward. He ignored it. Fifteen years later, he's been the top performing salesperson at every single company he's worked for, selling air compressors and steel to engineers and skeptics who smell a slick pitch from a mile away and shut down the second they feel rushed. Here's the thing mainstream sales training will never admit: there is no one right way to sell. There's only the way that's actually you, and the buyers who've been waiting for exactly that. In part three of our five part sales personality series, we're breaking down the Analytical Perfectionist, the detail obsessed, thorough, "I'd rather say nothing than say it wrong" personality that gets written off as "not cut out for sales" more than any other type. And they couldn’t be more wrong! Because when this person slows down and gets specific instead of smooth and high level, it's a total pattern interruption for a buyer who's been burned before. They expect pushy. They get taken seriously instead. That builds trust and no sales happen without trust.  But this personality has a kryptonite, and if you're managing (or being) one without knowing it, you're setting up your best people to flounder in a system built for someone else entirely. In this episode, you'll hear: Why "you're not cut out for sales" might be the most expensive lie in sales hiring The exact moment this personality freezes up and how to fix that  Which buyers will ghost a smooth talker but lean in for someone thorough Why mirroring your prospect's pace beats any script  What the "star" aggressive closer could actually learn from the quiet one If you've ever been told you're not "sales material" because you're not the loudest voice in the room, or you're leading a team and wondering why your most careful, detail driven person isn't hitting numbers, this episode is for you.  You're not broken. You just haven't been given a system built for who you actually are. That's the whole point of Black Sheep Sales: it's built for your offer, your personality, and the people you were meant to sell to. Take the assessment test here: https://assessment.aleashabahr.com/salespersonality Curious what's actually happening inside your sales team's personality mix, and where the mismatch is costing you deals? Book your complimentary sales audit with me. 👉 https://calendly.com/aleasha/salesteam-levelup   [01:00] Why silence and structure matter more to this person than charm [01:30] The DISC test that said "you can never be in sales" [02:00] How he became a top rep selling air compressors anyway [02:45] Why engineer minded, skeptical buyers distrust the "typical" salesperson [03:15] The pattern interrupt: thoroughness as a trust building superpower [03:45] The kryptonite: no structure equals no confidence [05:00] Where this personality dominates (finance, high stakes, high detail sales) [05:30] Cautionary tale: the "dog with a bone" rep who doesn't work [06:00] Mirror your buyer's pace instead of forcing your process [06:45] What the aggressive extrovert could learn from the quiet closer [07:45] The must ask questions this personality needs to feel confident [09:00] Recap and next up: The Passionate Persuader #SalesIsNotADirtyWord #BlackSheepSales #SalesPersonalitySeries #IntrovertSales #AnalyticalPerfectionist #DISCProfile #SalesTraining #B2BSales #SalesLeadership #HiringSalespeople #SalesTeamBuilding #QuietConfidence #SalesMindset #EmpathyInSales