Sales Gravy: Jeb Blount

Ron wants to know how to get CEOs to actually answer his cold calls (or at least respond). He runs a recruiting firm and finds that his cold calls to top executives often go unanswered, and it’s driving him nuts. He wants to know if there’s a better way to break through all the noise—or if he just needs to buckle down and make more calls. On this Ask Jeb podcast episode I give Ron specific strategies for connecting with hard-to-reach prospects like CEOs.   Why Sales Feels Harder Than Ever Let’s face it: sales is tough, and it’s not getting any easier. With an explosion of AI-driven messages and automated outreach, our prospects—especially C-suite executives—are tuning out more than ever. We call this phenomenon the “great ignore.” If you don’t stand out from the torrent of spam, you will get lost in the shuffle. Ron’s question—“Do I just need to make more calls, or is there some next-best method?”—is a dilemma many of us face. The short answer? It’s both. You do need volume, but you also have to differentiate. If you’re just another voice in the crowd, you’ll be ignored, no matter how many dials you make.   Tactic #1: Multi-Threading (Don’t Just Call the CEO) A key point I shared with Ron is the power of multi-threading. That means calling multiple people in the organization—not just the CEO. While the CEO might be the ultimate decision-maker, other stakeholders, like the COO or HR director, might be easier to reach. These people can also give you valuable intel on hiring needs, budget constraints, or timing. Call the CEO: Leave a compelling message or send a short, punchy email. Call Other Stakeholders: Dig for inside info on immediate hiring needs or open reqs. Use That Intel: Let the CEO know, “I’ve spoken with your COO; you’re looking for a VP of Sales. I have a candidate you need to meet…” This top-down, bottom-up approach helps you gather context, build rapport, and earn the right to talk to the CEO by proving you’re not just randomly dialing.   Tactic #2: Leave Voicemails—But Make Them Count Ron admitted he’s not always sure whether to leave voicemails. Most of us have left hundreds of voicemails and gotten very few callbacks, so it’s tempting to skip them. But here’s the thing: in today’s world, voicemail transcripts often end up in a prospect’s email inbox or text messages. Keep It Short: No more than 30 seconds. Make It Compelling: Name-drop a role you know they’re hiring for or highlight your unique solution in a single sentence. Use a Teaser: “I’ve got the perfect candidate for your open VP of Sales position—let’s talk.” Even if they don’t call back immediately, they’re hearing your name and your pitch. Over time, that repetition can pay off—especially if you combine voicemails with other forms of outreach.   Tactic #3: Build Sequences That Tell a Story The real magic is in creating a multichannel sequence over 30 to 60 days. It’s not just “call once and cross your fingers.” Instead, plan multiple touches that tie together: Voicemail #1 Follow-Up Email (within 24–48 hours) LinkedIn Connection Request or DM Voicemail #2 (referencing your email) A Handwritten Note or Card (really stands out) Voicemail #3 (referencing the note) Be creative. Use each step to reinforce the last, rather than just repeating the same “Hey, it’s me again!” message. Tell a story or highlight different benefits at each step. Show them you’re genuinely interested in their business—not just cold-calling from a script.   Tactic #4: Know Your Prospect’s Buying Window Sometimes the CEO won’t respond because there’s no immediate need for your product or service. For Ron, if they’re not hiring, they won’t care about a recruiter. That’s okay—it doesn’t mean you should vanish. Keep Dripping: A low-frequency sequence keeps you on their radar. Listen for Signals: Maybe they just received funding or they’re expanding into a new market.

Here’s an important question: Are you coachable?  Now, before you jump to answer that, I want you to pause and really think about what being coachable or coachability really means. "Coachability" is essential for top performance in sales - and for that matter ANY endeavor. It simply describes how receptive you are to feedback and guidance; AND, how willingly and effectively you apply coaching to improve your performance.  Coachability is an open mindset—being flexible, adaptable, the willingness to learn and consider different perspectives, and inviting criticism and critique—without getting defensive.  It’s about keeping yourself from slipping into the “I already know it all” or “There’s nothing new here” trap or deciding flatly that you don’t need help because you’re just that good.  Mindset and Self-Awareness True coachability begins with a belief that you can improve and a deep seated desire to grow. This belief opens the door to being more receptive to feedback and coaching.  It also requires self-awareness. It's about recognizing and being honest about your strengths, weaknesses and areas where you can improve. It is the vulnerability and the courage to look in the mirror at your imperfections.  Where there is self-awareness there is the opportunity for transformation—even, by the way, when you already feel that you are at the top of your game. The truth though is, most of us, at one point or another, are not coachable. We get stuck in our own heads, resist change, and bristle at feedback—especially when it challenges what we believe about ourselves.  Coachability is the Hallmark of Ultra-High Performers But here’s the kicker: coachability is the hallmark of ultra-high performers. Look at any elite athlete, and you’ll find a coach nearby. Many of them have an entire team of coaches. I’m a huge golf fan. Golf, for me, is more than a sport; it’s a metaphor for sales and life. It’s hard, humbling, and mastering it is an infinite game.  The best golfers in the world spend a ton of money on coaches. They’ll have a swing coach, a putting coach, and even a mental coach to keep their head in the game. Why? Because coaches can see what they cannot.  When I’m working with my own golf coach it sometimes hurts to have him stand there and critique my swing - especially when I think what I’m doing is right. But when I swallow my pride, take it in, and apply it, I see results. I get better, I score lower, and I have more fun. A Great Coach Exposes Your Blind Spots Sales is no different. It’s tough, it’s competitive, and it seems impossible to ever reach “perfection.” A sales great coach exposes your blind spots. They can help you see what you’re doing right (and need to do more of) and what you’re doing wrong (and need to correct).  The challenge is, so many salespeople resist the feedback. They sit in training sessions or roleplays with their arms crossed, telling themselves that they don’t need this.  Veterans, in particular, get stuck in their ways, acting like they’ve got nothing left to learn. But I also see the opposite problem with rookies or young reps who can’t handle any criticism without interpreting it as a personal attack. Both groups end up shutting down, pushing their coaches away and missing an opportunity to grow. Coaches Invest in You Because They Care The fact is, coaches are investing time in you because they care about you and want to see you succeed. That doesn’t mean they won’t be tough on you, but it does mean they have your best interests at heart. Early in my career, I was blessed with a fantastic sales coach named Bob Blackwell. He pushed me hard—probably harder than anyone ever had—and at first, it rubbed me the wrong way. I’d go home, complain to my wife about how he was criticizing me. I was convinced that he was intentionally picking on me.  One day I was complaining about Bob to my dad—who knew a little something about life. He said,

Sales leadership demands the ability to adapt, motivate, and guide teams toward consistent, high-level performance. In this episode of The Sales Gravy Podcast,  Jeb Blount is joined by Charley Bible of KaTom to discuss key strategies for sales leaders, focusing on teamwork, skill refinement, and the power of effective coaching. These insights bridge the gap between individual development and team success, offering actionable takeaways for anyone in sales leadership. Key Takeaways: - Team Collaboration Creates Wins: Focusing on the team rather than individual achievements builds a culture of collaboration and shared purpose. Sales leaders who emphasize collective success foster environments where everyone contributes, elevating overall performance and morale. - Energizing Through Friendly Competition: Workplace challenges—like those inspired by sports or creative competitions—inject energy into teams. Sales leaders can use these lighthearted activities to foster camaraderie, engagement, and a sense of fun that drives motivation and productivity. - Reflection Drives Growth: Reviewing past results and analyzing setbacks is essential for improvement. Just as athletes study game footage, sales leaders should encourage their teams to evaluate performance trends, pinpoint mistakes, and strategize better approaches moving forward. - Sales Is a Skill-Based Craft: Sales isn’t just about personality; it’s a disciplined profession requiring constant development. Leaders must instill a growth mindset in their teams, encouraging training and practice to refine techniques, build confidence, and maintain a competitive edge. - The Power of Fundamentals: When performance dips, returning to the basics can help sales teams regain their footing. Leaders should coach their teams on foundational skills like effective communication, active listening, and prospecting to rebuild momentum and confidence. - Coaching as a Leadership Tool: Sales leaders play a pivotal role in their teams’ success by offering real-time coaching and feedback. By identifying blind spots, providing encouragement, and correcting missteps, leaders can significantly impact their team’s performance and professional growth. - Self-Awareness Is Key: Encouraging sales reps to recognize and address performance dips is crucial. Leaders should teach their teams to pause, assess their approach, and implement small adjustments to get back on track. Building this habit can prevent minor issues from becoming major roadblocks.  - Discovery Conversations Open Doors: Strong sales leaders emphasize the importance of discovery—asking thoughtful questions and listening carefully to uncover client needs. This approach not only builds trust but also reveals opportunities that can lead to larger, more impactful deals. - Consistency Beats the Rollercoaster: The “desperation rollercoaster” can plague sales teams—periods of intense effort followed by complacency. Leaders should emphasize the importance of consistent daily effort, reminding teams that resilience and steady focus yield long-term results. - Celebrate Hard Work and Achievements: Acknowledging milestones, whether through personal rewards or team recognition, reinforces the value of persistence. Sales leaders should celebrate wins to inspire continued effort and show their teams the tangible benefits of dedication. https://youtu.be/3SOtxMRWpmA Team Success Over Individual Glory Prioritizing team achievement fosters collaboration and a sense of unity. Sales environments that emphasize collective wins over individual accolades create a culture where everyone thrives. Collaboration fuels creativity, encourages accountability, and leads to stronger overall performance. In sales, success often hinges on the strength of the team rather than the brilliance of a single contributor. Energizing with Friendly Competition Healthy competition sparks energy and enthusiasm within teams.

Eric in Lewiston, Maine, asks how to use last year’s data to create and accurate sales plans and evaluate software tools (like CRMs and ZoomInfo) to make those goals happen. Sales planning is vital—without a roadmap, you’re just hoping your revenue targets magically come to life. If you haven’t defined clear performance metrics—like call activity, lead generation, conversion rates, or daily prospecting targets—then you don’t really have a plan. You have a wish list. Looking Back at Last Year: Which Metrics Matter? Eric wanted to know which metrics from the previous year he and his team should be analyzing to inform this year's targets. The short answer? All of them, if they are metrics that matter to your business goals. Consider: Conversion Rates from Inbound Leads Speed to Lead (How fast are you following up?) Outbound Touches vs. Opportunities in Pipeline Opportunities-to-Proposal Ratios Proposal-to-Closed Deals Ratios Upsells, Cross-Sells, and Expansion Deals By mapping out how each step in your funnel converts to the next—calls to first appointments, first appointments to proposals, proposals to closed deals—you can see exactly where to focus in the new sales year. Maybe you need more first appointments. Maybe you need to tighten up your proposals so more of them convert. Or maybe you’re missing upsell opportunities with existing clients. Data points you to the gaps. Pro Tip: Once you understand your ratios, you can decide if you’re aiming to improve them by, say, 25% (a stretch goal) or if you’re reaching higher. However, be careful not to “fix” one area and inadvertently break another. Success in sales is about balance across the entire funnel. Choosing the Right CRM: Beware of Overkill Eric also mentioned his team’s struggle with an outdated CRM that’s not built for strong tracking. As they look ahead, they’re weighing big guns like Salesforce. But here’s the deal: Salesforce is an excellent platform—if you’re a larger organization with the bandwidth, budget, and complexity to justify it. For smaller teams (like Eric’s with just two salespeople), adopting a massive enterprise CRM can be overkill. Zoho, Pipedrive, Nimble, and HubSpot are great alternatives for small-to-midsize sales teams. They’re user-friendly, more cost-effective, and far simpler to deploy. The rule of thumb? Choose a CRM that matches your current size and selling process. The last thing you want is to waste months configuring a powerhouse system that nobody uses because it’s too big or too confusing. Making Sense of “Big Data” Tools Like ZoomInfo Eric’s final question was about whether to invest in a data-intelligence tool (e.g., ZoomInfo, Apollo, LeadIQ) to identify new leads and tap into “intent data.” My take: ZoomInfo: This is what we use at Sales Gravy, and we love it. It delivers reliable data, helps us expand into new verticals, multi-thread inside target accounts, and dramatically speeds up our list building. Intent Data: Tools like ZoomInfo can show you who’s actively looking for solutions like yours. While it’s not perfect, it can be a game-changer for prioritizing outreach to the prospects most likely to buy. Beware the Shelfware Trap: If you invest in a high-end data platform, make sure you have a solid plan (and the discipline) to use it consistently. It’s easy to drop serious money on software and then let it collect dust. Pro Tip: Start with a limited number of “power users” on your team who will commit to mastering the tool. Then expand usage as you integrate it into your sales workflow. How We Made It Work: A Cautionary Tale We’ve been using ZoomInfo for years. Early on, we blew through a lot of money because we didn’t fully implement it. It wasn’t until we got serious—trained our people, integrated it with our CRM, and held each other accountable—that we started seeing results. Today, ZoomInfo is essential to how we prospect, grow pipeline,

I’m hearing sob stories from leaders and individuals everywhere who are waking up to the cold, hard truth that they are staring down the barrel of a thin or empty pipeline. If you are in this situation and don’t have enough pipe to cover your number—either for this month or the first quarter—then you need to take action now to close that gap because  getting behind your number at the beginning of the year means loads of stress and chasing your tail - for the rest of the quarter or the entire year if you get too far behind.   Your Empty Pipeline Started Last Month Stepping back for a moment, the reason your pipeline is empty today can usually be traced back to your sales activity in November or December. Some teams get tunnel vision in the fourth quarter. They focus on closing deals and finishing the year strong but fail to balance that with prospecting activity for the future. Other folks just get distracted by the holidays and let the final weeks of the year slip by without prospecting to fill the pipe with enough new opportunities to cover January. In other cases, the pipeline opportunities that you were counting on this month—the ones that pushed decisions until after the holidays - have suddenly gone silent and are ghosting you. You’re finding out the hard way that it is very, very difficult to reignite these deals once you’ve allowed this much time to pass. I’m not going to sugarcoat this because the truth is the truth. No matter what got you to this point, you need to get to work right now to turn this around. So the question is, how do you do this?   Block Time for Prospecting One of the biggest pitfalls I see is that when pipelines are empty, salespeople get overwhelmed and paralyzed. They don’t know where to begin, so they waste time worrying and “getting organized.” They "plan to plan to plan" to prospect but don’t get any actual prospecting done. There’s an old saying that goes, “When you’re in a hole, stop digging.” Likewise, the first rule of an empty pipeline is: When have one, start prospecting. That’s it. There’s no magic to it. It's a blinding flash of common sense. Therefore step one is to block one to two hours at the start of your day specifically for prospecting. Close your email and company chat, put devices on do not disturb, and place a singular focus on picking up the phone and calling potential customers. Put these morning blocks on your calendar as an immovable meeting. No excuses, no last-minute changes. Keep this time sacred for outbound prospecting. Why first thing in the morning? Because that’s when you’re fresh, your prospects are fresh and neither of you have gotten buried in your day yet. And the truth is, if you put off prospecting until the afternoon, your willpower is often depleted and you are more likely not to do it.   Fast vs Slow Prospecting Next you need to focus on the right kind of prospecting. This isn’t the time for a slow, meandering approach in which you cultivate long-term opportunities on LinkedIn and through networking. While building the future through slow prospecting activities is important, right now you need to move fast. You need to target, engage, interrupt and convert prospects that can move into your pipeline as viable opportunities, right now. By “interrupt,” I mean dialing the phone, knocking on doors, sending personalized emails, text messages, video messages and direct messages —whatever it takes to get attention and engage in conversations with high potential, high probability prospects.   5 Sources for Targeted Prospecting Lists When I say target, I mean not random. Randomness is the enemy of effectiveness. At this moment in time, spray and pray will not turn your pipeline around. You need a rifle rather than a shotgun approach. The key is building a targeted list because the better your list you, the better your prospecting outcomes. There are five sources for building a targeted prospecting list,

In this episode of The Sales Gravy Podcast, Jeb Blount, Jr. is joined by Deb Sellinger to explore the power of resilience and adaptability in entrepreneurship. Hear Deb's inspiring story about overcoming challenges, building businesses that align with personal values, and creating a clear vision for sustainable success. Key Takeaways - Resilience as a Skill: Resilience is not innate. It can be cultivated through intentional practice and perseverance, even in the face of significant challenges. - Impact Over Income: Prioritizing making an impact over chasing financial rewards can lead to greater fulfillment and long-term success. - Adapting After Loss: Balancing personal grief with professional responsibilities requires courage and discipline to maintain stability for those relying on your leadership. - Reinvention of Business Models: Adapting or reinventing a business model to align with personal values or market changes can drive growth and create operational efficiencies. - Facing Judgment with Integrity: Leaders may face criticism for prioritizing their team or clients over personal interests, but integrity and resilience ensure a focus on long-term goals. - Importance of Succession Planning: Establishing a succession plan provides stability for employees and clients, ensuring continuity during transitions. - Clarity in Leadership Vision: Refining a business's focus can align its trajectory with the leader’s strengths and values, driving sustainable growth. - Leveraging Team Strengths: Recognizing the unique contributions of team members fosters collaboration, strengthens culture, and supports growth. - Navigating Rapid Growth: Managing fast-paced growth often requires tough decisions to streamline operations and recalibrate priorities. - Building for the Future: Involving teams in planning for the business’s future creates shared success and loyalty. https://youtu.be/CPYTTet0CUM The Importance of Resilience in Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship demands resilience. It’s a skill, not a fixed trait, developed through intentional practice and persistence. Whether managing personal loss or professional setbacks, resilient entrepreneurs navigate challenges with focus and adaptability. This mental toughness enables them to push forward, align their business with their values, and create a lasting impact. Balancing Grief and Professional Responsibilities Personal loss doesn’t pause professional obligations. Entrepreneurs often face the challenge of balancing grief with the demands of running a business. For some, maintaining commitments like showing up for a client meeting or fulfilling an obligation becomes a pathway to healing. These moments underscore the duality of leadership: staying present for others while navigating personal struggles. Turning Challenges into Opportunities Every challenge hides an opportunity for growth. A leader who maintained a client relationship during a particularly difficult time discovered that vulnerability and perseverance can deepen trust and create new opportunities. It’s often the toughest moments that forge the strongest connections. Adapting to New Realities Stepping into unfamiliar territory like inheriting a business or pivoting to a new market requires courage and adaptability. One entrepreneur, faced with an industry they knew little about, redefined their business’s focus and implemented a sustainable model. This reinvention not only stabilized the company but positioned it for future success. Aligning Business with Personal Values Success without alignment can feel hollow. When one entrepreneur’s wellness business scaled rapidly, they found themselves disconnected from their original mission. By simplifying operations and returning to their hands-on approach, they built a business that resonated with their values and fostered deeper client relationships. Leading with Responsibility True leadership shines in tough times.

Welcome to a new segment of the Sales Gravy Podcast called Ask Jeb! I believe sales professionals are the heartbeat of the economy. You’re the ones generating revenue for your organization and fueling innovations that keep businesses thriving. Without your hustle, your company doesn’t move forward—and, frankly, neither does the global economy. You’re the elite athletes of the business world. Ask Jeb is about you and your real world challenges. It's your agenda and you are in control. On this Sales Gravy Podcast segment, I answer your burning questions on driving revenue, growing your pipeline, leading your teams, and staying ahead of the competition. If you want to get on the show with me and ask your question, sign up HERE Question One: Cutting Through the Noise When Prospecting  Bob from Tullahoma, Tennessee (whom we affectionately call “Outbound Bob” because he’s been to our Outbound Conference so many times!) asked a critical question: “Moving into next year, what prospecting advice, piece of technology, or technique would you offer that could apply across all sales organizations and industries? What’s our ‘silver bullet’—even if it doesn’t really exist?” No Silver Bullet, But... I’m the first to say there’s no magic wand in sales—no easy button that instantly books appointments or closes deals. What we do have is the reality of AI-generated “crap” flooding our inboxes and social feeds. This onslaught of automated noise means salespeople must stand out more than ever. Embrace Deep, Differentiated Sequences My top recommendation is to lean heavily into deep, multichannel prospecting sequences. Use everything at your disposal: Telephone (still the fastest way to close deals) In-person visits (yes, face-to-face still works—and people love seeing a real human) Email (but make it personal and relevant) Direct Messaging (LinkedIn, Messenger—wherever your prospect is, be there) Snail Mail (because physical mailboxes are shockingly empty) Networking & Referrals (the original social media) It’s not just about persistence; it’s about persistence plus differentiation. If you’re simply bombarding prospects with a bunch of generic touches, you’re just adding to the noise. Instead, craft messaging that proves you understand their world. Messaging That Speaks to Them Good news: the tsunami of poorly written AI outreach actually helps you stand out if your message is empathetic, clear, and focused on the prospect’s key interests. Take the time to truly step into their shoes. Know their persona, their industry, and how you solve their burning issues. Show them you’ve done your homework. Think of It as One Extended Conversation Each touch—voicemail, email, text, or social message—should flow logically from the last. You don’t want to leave the same voicemail three times in a row or send “Just bumping this to the top of your inbox” emails day after day. Instead, let your communication build a case for why a conversation is worthwhile. And remember: the number of touches needed to break through keeps rising (15+ touches for warm prospects, 50+ for cold). So, buckle up, play the long game, and keep your messaging sharp. Question Two: Targeted vs. Personalized Messaging After Bob’s question, we tackled another big one from a Sales Gravy Coaching client who wished to remain anonymous: How to handle short-burst prospecting and whether it helps to call businesses that share something in common, like location. Short-Burst Sprints I’m a fan of high-intensity prospecting sprints. Carve out 10–15 minutes, chop wood as fast as you can, then take a break. This approach keeps your energy up and your head in the game. Narrow Your Lists Whenever possible, focus on a list of prospects that have something in common—same industry, similar role, or even the same town. That way, your messaging can be targeted, speaking directly to a collective pain point or shared experience.

Happy New Sales Year! This is the first Monday of the year. The slate is clean. The opportunity to excel, to level up, to make this your best year ever is yours for the taking. The world is your oyster. It’s time to shake off distractions, get focused, and execute. As we look forward to the next twelve months, there are only three things you control. Your actions, reactions, and mindset. Actions You have absolute control over your actions. These are the choices you make about how you spend your time, what you prioritize, and where you focus. Choose the right actions and you are going to have a great year; the wrong actions, not so much. And when it comes to choosing how and on what you invest your time, commit to being ruthless about what you prioritize.Do the things that have the greatest impact on revenue generation, hitting your sales numbers, and achieving your personal goals. Reactions You have control over how you react and respond to the many challenges you will face over the next twelve months. And trust me, there will be lots of challenges and roadblocks. One of those challenges will be dealing with all of the people and distractions that steal your time and pull your attention away from your priorities. It will take discipline to respond to these things with a polite no and stay on course. Remember that discipline is sacrificing what you want now for what you want most. Therefore, you can better manage your responses by keeping your eyes on the prize. Leverage Mindfulness When you face emotionally challenging situations, one way to manage your reactions is through mindfulness. I always thought mindfulness was some frou frou yoga crap until a learned what it really means and how especially powerful it is for managing emotional reactions when you face conflict with another person. Which is important because sales is full of conflict. Mindfulness is simply the gap you leave between something happening to you and when you respond to it. In this gap you have the opportunity to exert control over your emotions and response. And let's be clear: you have complete control of when you respond, how you respond, and if you respond. The way I activate mindfulness is through a simple mental exercise in which I answer the question: Do I want this or do I want that? For example, if I get into an argument with my wife and my emotional reaction is to dig in and fight for my point of view,  before I do, I’ll ask myself: Do I want to be happy or do I want to be right? If you are dealing with a tough customer who is pushing your buttons and you really want to give them your mind, you might stop and ask yourself "Do I want to hit my sales number or do I want to tell this jerk what I think about them? Mindset And finally, you control your mindset - your attitudes and beliefs. Of the three things you control, mindset is the most important. Sales is a mental game. It is a truth that 90% of your success is going to be determined by what goes on between your ears. There are two prevailing mindsets among salespeople in the world today. My good friend and co-author of The AI Edge Anthony Iannarino labels these the rain barrel mindset and the rainmaker mindset. Rain Barrel Salespeople Think for a moment about a rain barrel. What does it do? The rain barrel sits in the backyard rusting waiting for rain. This is exactly what rain barrel salespeople do. They sit around waiting for something to happen to them. Hoping for a lead to come their way. Waiting for their prospect to do the work and close the sale themselves. Rain Barrels are defined by their circumstances. They complain and whine but take no action to change them. When it doesn’t rain, they blame everything and everyone except for themselves. The rain barrel resides in mediocrity and never reaches their potential. Rainmakers Then there is the rainmaker mindset. Rain makers believe in themselves and their ability to make things happen....

Discover the secrets to lead follow up and conversion after trade show, conference, and events. On this episode of The Sales Gravy Podcast, Harriet Mellor shares proven strategies for maximizing trade show ROI with personalized outreach, leveraging CRM tools, and building lasting relationships that convert leads into valuable long-term customers. Key Takeaways: - Follow-up Touchpoints: An eight-touchpoint follow-up strategy is recommended, with touchpoints spread over a 12-week period, incorporating multiple communication methods like email, phone, social media, and video. - Importance of Patience: Building relationships and converting leads into customers takes time. Long sales cycles, such as 20 months for some deals, highlight the need for persistence and patience. - Consistent Outreach: Regular and consistent communication helps ensure that leads don’t forget about the company or its offerings. - Tracking Interactions: Meticulous tracking of every touchpoint and interaction provides insight into what strategies work, enabling continuous refinement. - Personalization: Customizing outreach efforts, such as referencing personal details from interactions, enhances engagement and builds rapport. - Variety of Channels: Using diverse communication platforms, such as phone calls, emails, video, and social media, increases the likelihood of connecting with leads. - Value-Driven Engagement: Sharing valuable resources like podcasts, webinars, or helpful information adds value to the relationship and builds trust with leads. - Utilizing CRM Systems: Leveraging CRM tools aids in organizing, tracking, and automating follow-up activities, ensuring efficiency and consistency. - Planning and Strategy: Having a clear plan and a structured system for follow-up ensures effectiveness and prevents a disorganized approach. - Positive and Authentic Interactions: Being genuine and enjoying the process of building relationships can positively influence the success of follow-up efforts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjGI-z-AA3c The Value of Patience With Lead Follow Up Following up with leads requires patience. Many deals do not happen overnight, especially in industries with long sales cycles. For instance, a lead might take 20 months to convert into a customer due to factors like contract timing or budget availability. Despite the wait, these deals can be significant, justifying the costs of attending the event. Patience allows salespeople to build meaningful relationships with prospects over time, which often leads to successful outcomes. The Importance of Outreach Consistency Consistency in follow-ups is crucial for staying on a lead’s radar. Without regular communication, potential customers may forget about your business, especially if they have interacted with multiple vendors at the event. A consistent approach ensures that your company remains top-of-mind when they are ready to make a purchase decision. Sequence Multiple Channels for Lead Follow Up Effective follow-ups involve reaching out through various channels. Email, social media, phone calls, and video messages all offer opportunities to connect with leads. Different people respond to different methods, so using a mix increases the likelihood of engagement. Video, in particular, can add a personal touch and help stand out in a crowded inbox. Track Every Interaction Trade Show Tracking all touchpoints with leads is essential for evaluating what works and refining your approach. This includes keeping detailed notes in your customer relationship management (CRM) system. For instance, noting personal details like a lead’s hobbies or recent activities can make follow-ups more personalized and engaging. These small details can help spark meaningful conversations and demonstrate genuine interest in the lead. Create a Structured Trade Show Lead Follow Up Plan A well-structured follow-up plan ensures that no leads fall th...

Your personal goals are the aspirations that drive you, inspire you, and push you through the tough days. As you'll learn in this Monday Money podcast episode and article, these goals are essential to helping you maintain sales discipline throughout your sales year. Personal Goal Buckets When developing personal goals, I break them down into three buckets: To-Have Goals These are the things you want to acquire or buy. For example, this year, I set a goal to purchase a new home—and I did. Whether it’s a house, a new car, or building up your savings, to-have goals are about acquiring something that enhances your life. To-Be Goals These are about evolving into the person you want to become. Maybe you want to be a sales manager, or if you’re a manager, you want to be a director or VP of sales. You might want to go back to school for a degree or an MBA. Or you want to be a better spouse, a better leader, or a better peer. Maybe you want to be a President’s club winner or be recognized as an expert in your industry—whatever it is, to-be goals help you level up as a person and a professional. To-Do Goals These are experience goals. My wife and I had a big one a couple of years ago: going on a horseback trek across the Masai Mara in Kenya. It was a massive, life-changing adventure we saved for, planned for, and worked toward. Think about experiences that create lifelong memories—maybe you want to travel somewhere special or take on a meaningful project or hobby you’ve always dreamed about. Four Reasons Why Personal Goals Matter Number one, goals massively increase the likelihood that you’ll actually achieve the things you want. Speaking your goal out loud, writing it down, and being intentional about it has a powerful psychological effect. Number two, goals make life meaningful. It’s unbelievably fulfilling to look back and see what you accomplished—how far you’ve come over the course of a year, five years, or a decade. Number three, we work in a tough, competitive profession, and it’s just plain satisfying to put your commission checks, bonuses, and hard-won earnings toward something that improves your life or the lives of the people you love. But the biggest reason to set goals—especially in sales—is that the sales profession is hard work and it can be brutal.  It’s loaded with rejection. At every turn, we face potential “nos,” whether it’s prospecting calls, asking for next steps, pushing to level up to a decision-maker, or closing the deal. We even face internal rejection when we try to sell a complex deal internally to our own company or get approval for special pricing. Rejection is everywhere, and the fear of rejection—or avoiding it—is the number one reason salespeople fail to perform. Add to that the grind: making call after call, stuffing data into the CRM, pushing through proposals, handling endless follow-ups and selling becomes tedious, hard, rejection dense work. For this reason it requires discipline to stay on track and keep grinding day after day and month after month over the course of the sales year. But here’s the rub: discipline can wane, especially if we’re not hyper-focused on a bigger prize. The Real Definition of Discipline I want you to pay attention to this next part because understanding the real definition of discipline it’s critical.  Discipline is sacrificing what you want now for what you want most. Human nature wants easy. We’d rather that customers call us than having to chase them. We’d rather deals close themselves than investing hours into multi-step follow-ups. We don’t want to face that “no.” But in success in sales is paid for in advance with facing rejection and hard work. Therefore If you don’t have a clear, compelling reason—something you want most—it’s easy to cave in and take the easy route instead of doing what really needs to be done. This is the reason why having a strong set personal goals is crucial for sales professionals.

In this episode of The Sales Gravy Podcast, take a look back at the best insights from the year. These moments aren’t just memorable, they’re actionable advice that sales professionals can take into 2025 to thrive in an ever-evolving landscape. Key Takeaways: This year reinforced a crucial truth: the fundamentals of sales never go out of style, but adapting to the environment around you is key. Buyers are sharper, busier, and more discerning, which means the best salespeople need to work smarter and harder to stay ahead. Here’s what stood out from our conversations this year: – Objections Are Opportunities: Objections aren’t something to avoid, they’re invitations to build trust. When a buyer pushes back, it’s a sign they’re engaged. Instead of sidestepping concerns, lean into them. Acknowledge the issue, ask thoughtful questions, and use the conversation to demonstrate your understanding of their needs. – Relentless Prospecting Wins Deals: The deals you close tomorrow start with the work you do today. This year, we discussed the importance of consistent prospecting and how staying disciplined with your outreach pays off. Whether it’s calls, emails, or social touches, keeping your pipeline full is the foundation of success. – Empathy Drives Connection: In a crowded marketplace, standing out often comes down to how well you connect with your prospects. Leading with empathy and emotional intelligence helps uncover the real problems you can solve. Listening, not just to respond, but to understand, creates trust and sets you apart from competitors. – Simplify the Process: A complicated sales process creates unnecessary barriers for your buyers. Instead, focus on making every step clear and straightforward. Simplify presentations, eliminate unnecessary details, and provide actionable next steps. Buyers are more likely to move forward when it feels easy to do so. – Consistency Is King: Talent might get you started, but consistency is what keeps you winning. Showing up daily, sticking to your routines, and doing the small things consistently makes a big difference over time. Success in 2025 will be about maintaining that focus, even when motivation dips. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9k2hJ3pyNBU Thriving Under Pressure with a SEAL’s Strategy In high-stakes sales situations, maintaining composure is crucial. Drawing from his extensive military experience, retired Navy SEAL Master Chief Stephen Drum emphasizes the importance of preparation, adaptability, and mental resilience. By implementing a structured approach—commit, prepare, execute, and reflect—sales professionals can enhance their performance under pressure. This method enables individuals to stay focused, adjust to changing circumstances, and continuously improve their strategies. Physical Fitness Fuels Sales Success Josh Hulsebosch dives into how physical fitness directly impacts sales performance by enhancing energy levels, mental clarity, and resilience. Maintaining a "proud posture," standing tall with shoulders back and chest open, not only boosts confidence but also improves breathing and communication, essential for effective selling. Prioritizing regular exercise, proper nutrition, and adequate sleep equips sales professionals to handle the demands of their role, leading to increased productivity and success. It’s Not About You—It’s About Them The moment you realize sales isn’t about you is the moment you start winning. Too many salespeople and entrepreneurs fall into the trap of making their pitch the center of the conversation, focusing on their product, their needs, or their numbers. But here’s the truth: your prospects don’t care about you—they care about themselves. Success comes when you shift your mindset and make everything about the customer. Carole Mahoney discusses how to ask better questions, listen deeply, and focus on their pain points, goals, and dreams. When you solve their problems and make them the hero of the ...

For me, the last full week of the year has always been the chance to pause, take a break from the grind of selling, and really think about what happened over the past year—the good, the bad, and the ugly. If you are anything like me and do the same, there are two ways to look back on your last twelve months. You can do so with regret or reflection. These two opposing lenses are vastly different in the way they affect your view of where you’ve been and where you are going. Regret Let’s start by unpacking regret. Some of you are already feeling regret about goals you missed, deals you lost, opportunities that slipped through your fingers, or the people in your life you may have let down. Regret is that feeling you get when you look back on something you did (or didn’t do) and wish you could change it. In many ways, regret is similar to worry, except it’s focused on the past instead of the future. Worry is about what might happen; regret is about what already happened. That’s a big distinction. Although you can turn worry into action and change the future, you cannot rewrite the past. No amount of regret changes history. All it does is create a feedback loop in your mind where you keep reliving your mistakes, misses, and failures over and over again.   Stuck in the Endless Loop of Regret   I’ve observed so many people get stuck in this endless loop of regret. They keep lamenting, "If only I had . . ." "made that call,” “handled that prospect differently,” “taken that chance,” “been there or done that.” Those “if only's” can paralyze you. They sap your energy, crush your confidence, and keep you from moving forward. On one hand, regret can push you to change—you don’t want to feel that kind of pain again, so you work hard to avoid repeating the same mistakes. On the other hand, regret can become a debilitating emotion that drags you into an exhausting and useless mental loop of “would’ve, could’ve, should’ve.” But no matter how many times you complete that loop, it doesn’t change the outcome. It becomes an emotional anchor that weighs you down as you start the new year. Reflection Reflection, on the other hand, is entirely different—and far more productive. When you reflect, you detach from your emotions with objectivity to look at your entire body of work from the past year. You’re asking the questions, “What went well? What didn’t go so well? What did I learn?” You consider the wins that made you proud and the moments you’d rather forget. You figure out why you won so you can repeat those winning behaviors. You extract value from the lessons of failure. Reflection isn’t about punishing yourself for what went wrong. It’s about gaining clarity on why it went wrong—and what you can do about it next time. Reflection Creates Awareness Reflection also helps you find gratitude in unexpected places. Maybe there’s a hidden lesson in overcoming an obstacle or perhaps you gained a new perspective because a challenging person came into your life. It’s important to realize that each decision you made over the past year shaped your present circumstances. But you are not defined by these circumstances, only by how you respond to them. Reflection creates awareness. Where there is awareness there is the potential for change. Awareness is like the sun, anything it touches has a tendency to transform. The bottom line is that reflection is about learning, growing, and transforming. Regret is stagnation. Why Reflection Matters at Year-End The reason I’m talking about the impact of reflection as we close out this year is because, for most of us, the slate really does feel clean come January 1st. In the sales world, we get a brand-new quota and brand-new targets. There’s an air of possibility as we think, “This year is going to be different. “This year, I’m going to crush my numbers.” “Hit my income targets.” “Make it to President’s club.”

In this episode of The Sales Gravy Podcast, discover how Alex Niswander used the Fanatical Prospecting framework to maximize outreach and build meaningful client relationships. Learn about creative touchpoints, High-Intensity Prospecting call blocking (HIPs), and actionable tips to fill, move, and close your sales pipeline effectively. Key Takeaways: – Multiple Touchpoints for Better Engagement: Combining weekly calls, text messages, and video messages in a month-long sequence creates many cell phone interactions, helping to maintain visibility with prospects. – Text Messaging as a Follow-Up Tool: Texting becomes effective later in the process, especially after leaving voicemails or sending emails, as it creates a softer approach to earning a prospect’s time rather than jumping in and selling immediately. – Personalized Video Messages: Video messages create an opportunity to add a human touch to prospecting by showing prospects there’s a real person behind the outreach. – Call Blocking to Maximize Productivity: High-Intensity Prospecting (HIP) sessions involve short, focused sprints of 15-30 minutes dedicated to making as many calls as possible, ensuring consistent and impactful outreach. – The 90-Day Prospecting Payoff: Prospecting efforts often show results after 90 days, emphasizing the importance of daily consistency to maintain a steady pipeline of opportunities. – Building Respect Through Personalization: Small gestures, like sending photos or handwritten notes, help prospects feel valued, making them more likely to engage and build trust with the salesperson. – Balancing Sales Activities: Effective prospecting balances three essential activities—filling, moving, and closing the pipeline—to ensure steady progress and avoid periods of downtime or overwork by planning your time effectively. – Fundamentals Still Deliver Results: Basic strategies, like leaving business cards or sending physical mail, remain effective over time.  – Creativity in Prospecting: Unique and memorable approaches, such as sending coffee with a note, can differentiate outreach efforts and leave lasting impressions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzhdC4YwflA The Power of Multiple Touchpoints When it comes to prospecting, repetition, and persistence are the name of the game. A well-structured outreach plan includes multiple touchpoints, particularly through cell phone communication. Over a month, combining calls, text messages, and video messages can result in many meaningful interactions. Each touchpoint serves to maintain visibility with prospects and gently guide them toward engagement. Using Text Messaging Effectively Texting has become a more accepted form of communication, especially post-COVID. While it may not be appropriate for the first interaction, texting later in the process can be effective. The goal of these messages is to earn a prospect's time rather than immediately sell a product or service. For example, following up on a voicemail with a polite and informative text can soften the approach and make the interaction feel less intrusive. Video Messaging for a Human Touch Video messaging is another way to connect with prospects. Including a short, personalized video message in a text or email can make outreach more human and relatable. It doesn't require additional content, recording and sending a video version of a voicemail can have a significant impact. Video messages show prospects that there is a real person behind the communication, which can increase the likelihood of securing a meeting. Expanding Communication Channels Relying on emails or LinkedIn messages limits opportunities to engage with prospects. A diverse approach, including calls, texts, and even creative methods like mailing physical items, increases touch points and keeps the process dynamic. For instance, sending a photo of yourself outside your prospect’s local franchise location or mailing a small,

Over the past two months, the team at Sales Gravy has been working hard on our business plan for next year. Like so many other companies, we build an annual business plan because we need to know where we’re going and how to get there.  We’re not leaving our fate to chance. Our business plan is the compass that helps us navigate and stay on track to reach our goals.   Randomness is the Enemy of Effectiveness But what about you? Have you ever stopped to think that you need the exact same thing for your upcoming sales year? Without a plan, it’s easy to drift and fall into randomness—just waking up every day and hoping something good happens.  But here’s the deal: Randomness is the enemy of effectiveness.  If you don’t set a clear direction, you’ll never hit the target you’re aiming for. You’ll be like a boat without a rudder—drifting and, eventually, ending up someplace you never intended to go.  Yogi Berra said it best: “If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll end up someplace else.”  Trust me, “someplace else” isn’t where you want to be at the end of next year. Adopt a CEO Mindset The difference between average salespeople and top performers often comes down to one key mindset: top performers don’t act like employees; they think like entrepreneurs. The moment you start treating your territory as if it’s your own business, your mindset changes. You stop feeling like a cog in the wheel and start seeing yourself as the driver, not the passenger. Your company shoulders the big financial risks—providing you with the product, the brand, and the support. But you own your market, solve the problems, and build relationships that turn into revenue. You own your time and results. That’s the entrepreneurial mindset.  Creating Your Personal Business Plan Starts With A Vision To create your personal business plan, you start your vision.  Where do you want to be a year from now?  What do you want to accomplish in your territory or area of responsibility? What income do you want to earn? What awards do you want to win?  What does winning look like?  Define it. Get crystal clear. Then think about your values.  What do you stand for?  What kind of impact do you want to make? What kind of relationships do you want to build?  How will you show up for your clients, team members, and company every single day? Once you’ve nailed this down, put your strategy in place.  Break your territory into logical quadrants so that you know where you’ll be investing time each day.  Identify the industry verticals that have the highest potential. Pinpoint your ideal customers.  Segment your prospects and customers into High Potential, Medium Potential, and Low Potential.  Create a list of your top ten dream accounts, 25-50 conquest accounts, and 100-500 high-potential and medium-potential targeted accounts. This will help you attack your territory with a targeted vs random approach.  Identify your key competitors and do an analysis of each of their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Then do the same for yourself. Define your daily battle rhythm, disciplines, and activities that drive pipeline growth.  Get intentional about your priorities and how you manage your calendar. After all, time is your greatest asset and as the CEO of you, your time is money.  Once you have clarity on your vision and strategy, get granular. A vision without action is just a fantasy.  Break Your Personal Business Plan Into Small Steps to Success Break your plan down into achievable goals. I’m a fan of activity-based metrics because you can control them. This is about setting standards that become non-negotiable habits. The key is to choose metrics that move the needle on revenue and are fully within your control You can’t always control who picks up the phone or who says yes, but you can control how many doors you knock on, how many calls you make,

In this episode of The Sales Gravy Podcast, Jeb Blount, Jr. welcomes Kirk Richardson, author of Craft Beer Country, to dive into the world of craft beer, exploring trends, challenges, and the rise of IPAs. Discover how the craft beer industry has blended innovation and tradition to become a cultural phenomenon. Key Takeaways: – Resilience in Craft Beer Market: Despite challenges in the beer industry, craft beer gained a 13% increase in market share in 2023, weathering the storm better than large-scale breweries. – Significance of Hops: Hops, a core ingredient in beer, play a vital role in flavor, aroma, and shelf life. Varieties include aroma, bittering, and dual-purpose hops, each contributing to unique brewing profiles. – Historical Roots of Sours: Sour beers trace their origins to Belgium, where open fermentation with wild yeast created distinctive flavors, making them one of the oldest beer styles still enjoyed today. – Seasonal Beer Preferences: Beer choices often align with the seasons, with lighter options like sours and lagers favored by many in warmer months and darker stouts and porters during colder seasons. – Challenging Stereotypes: While there is often some misconception around craft beer enthusiasts, the craft beer experience is accessible and welcoming, offering something for everyone regardless of expertise. – Cultural Significance of Brewing: Brewing dates back thousands of years, with craft beer continuing traditions like those of ancient Egypt, where beer was used as both sustenance and currency. – Breweries as Social Hubs: Breweries cater to diverse personalities, providing spaces for extroverts to socialize and introverts to enjoy solitude, fostering connections and memorable experiences. – Storytelling in Craft Beer: The industry thrives on the stories of its people, from the challenges of sourcing ingredients to the inspirations behind unique brews, enriching the craft beer community. – Navigating Supply Challenges: Craft brewers often face supply chain hurdles, particularly in sourcing specific hops, yet their creativity and adaptability in dealing with these issues are often what drive the industry forward. – Craft Beer’s Universal Appeal: With its wide range of styles and flavors, craft beer continues to bring people together, celebrating diversity in taste and creating lasting bonds through shared experiences. https://youtu.be/r_7XsernY7Y?feature=shared The Role of Craft Beer in Modern Culture Craft beer holds a unique place in today’s beverage market, offering a blend of tradition, innovation, and community. With its roots deeply embedded in history and its appeal growing across diverse audiences, craft beer has become more of a cultural experience than just a drink. Craft Beer’s Market Growth and Resilience The beer industry has faced significant challenges in recent years, from shifts in consumer preferences to economic pressures. Despite this, craft beer has demonstrated resilience, gaining a 13% increase in market share in 2023. While larger breweries have struggled, craft beer’s ability to innovate and connect with its audience has allowed it to thrive. The Essential Role of Hops Hops, one of beer’s four primary ingredients, are integral to the brewing process. They contribute to the beer’s flavor, aroma, and longevity. Brewers use different types of hops (ex. aroma, bittering, and dual-purpose) to craft a wide range of styles. However, the supply chain for hops can be unpredictable, with shortages and oversupply cycles creating challenges for brewers. A Historical Perspective on Sour Beers Sour beers, one of the oldest styles of beer, have a storied history dating back to Belgium. These beers were traditionally made through open fermentation, allowing wild yeast to develop their signature tart flavor. Today, sours remain popular for their unique taste and connection to brewing’s historical roots,

Learn how to sell more at the end of the year by helping small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) reduce their tax bill while making strategic investments in their company on this Money Monday episode of the Sales Gravy Podcast. If you’ve been looking for a way to hit or exceed your annual quota, qualify for President's Club, or simply earn a bigger paycheck or bonus, focusing on SMBs in the final weeks of the year might give you the edge you need. SMBs are Motivated to Reduce Taxes In the United States there are millions of SMBs and the vast majority of these businesses are what we call pass-through organizations for tax purposes. This means that the owners or partners in these businesses report the profits on their personal tax filings. Unlike big companies, small companies don’t have the luxury of rolling profits over to the next year. So whatever they made this year, they have to pay taxes on. As the calendar winds down SMB business owners are often motivated to invest in products, services, and software solutions in order to reduce taxable income. In other words, if a business has shown strong profits throughout the year, its owners might be keen to spend some of that money on improving their operations, expanding their capabilities, or streamlining their processes—right now—rather than hand over a large chunk of their profits to Uncle Sam come tax season. Business Owners Hate Paying Taxes To understand why this year-end period is so critical, let’s get into the mindset of a small or medium-sized business owner. Unlike large enterprises with multiple departments and complex accounting strategies, SMB owners are often personally invested in the company’s financial results because those results are essentially their income. It’s how they pay their mortgage and put food on the table. For this reason, they watch their revenue and expenses closely. As the year comes to an end, they’re looking at their bottom line and thinking about the upcoming tax bill. For many of these business owners, profit is a double-edged sword. Don’t get me wrong, they want to make a profit. But at some point, too much profit triggers a much higher tax bill. If there is one thing I know about small and medium sized business owners its that they hate taxes. They are always looking for ways to legally minimize their tax liability. One easy and productive way to do this is to make fully or partially depreciable investments in the business before December 31st. That could mean buying new equipment, software, training packages, or services that will not only improve the business long-term but also reduce taxable income for the current year. An Urgent Need to Spend As a salesperson, the key takeaway here is that your prospects have a natural, time-bound incentive to spend. If you can position your product or service as the right investment at the right time, you might find it easier to close those deals that seemed just out of reach during the rest of the year. And by the way, if you are dealing with decision-makers who are pushing off decisions to next year, this is a great way to get past that objection. Framing Your Business Case I want to be clear though that most businesses are not going to spend money for the sake of spending money. Savvy business owners want to reduce taxes and do the right thing for their company. Therefore, you can’t just be transactional. You still must follow the sales process and build a bridge to the value of tax savings AND business improvement when making your business case. It’s all about framing your product or service as a strategic investment rather than a mere expense. For example: If you sell software tools that improve operational efficiency, make the case for how your solution will help them save on labor costs, reduce errors, and streamline workflows. If you’re selling advertising, highlight how a year-end launch of a new campaign will lead to immediate result...

In this episode of The Sales Gravy Podcast, Jeb Blount interviews Keith Peiris, CEO of Tome, to discuss how AI is transforming sales, from prospecting and building lists to crafting personalized emails and uncovering hidden opportunities. Key Takeaways: – Understanding Strategic Alignment is Key: Successful enterprise sales go beyond impressing with technology. It is essential to understand a prospect’s business strategy and align solutions with their key initiatives. – Effective Discovery is More Important than the Demo: Sales success hinges on understanding what the prospect cares about and tailoring the conversation around their needs. – Vetting Opportunities Saves Time and Resources: It's not enough to have an excited champion. The real question is whether the solution aligns with the company’s strategic goals and can gain executive buy-in. – Develop a Point of View (POV) Before Outreach: Instead of waiting for a meeting, develop a POV on why a prospect needs your solution and use that to guide outbound efforts. – Human Relationships Still Matter Most: AI can accelerate research and help craft messaging, but building trust and making prospects feel understood and valued remain the most consistent predictors of sales success. – Outbound Prospecting Must Be Consultative: Hunting effectively requires approaching prospects with a well-researched, consultative mindset rather than relying solely on automated, impersonal outreach. – Over-automation Leads to Diminished Trust: Prospects can easily detect AI-generated emails, and overuse of automation can lead to being blocked by potential clients. – Sequencing Tools Must Be Used Thoughtfully: Sequencing tools are valuable when used for multi-touch, multi-channel strategies, but they should complement, not replace genuine human outreach. These tools can be effective if used for synchronous and strategic touches, like personalized emails, calls, and handwritten notes. – Slow Prospecting Wins: AI has accelerated email prospecting, but the resulting automation flood has led to blocking and decreased trust. Personalized, thoughtful prospecting, where each touchpoint is meaningful, stands out, and builds credibility. – Sales Leaders Are Banning AI-Generated Emails: Sales leaders are increasingly banning AI email tools and automated SDR platforms due to the damage they cause to domain reputation and customer trust. Thoughtful, human-crafted communication is becoming a necessity. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIsMpNvHYqo The Balance Between Technology and Human Connection The sales industry has evolved significantly over the past few years, and a major driver of this change is artificial intelligence (AI). Tools that automate prospecting, communication, and customer insights have become a standard part of the sales process. While AI offers immense advantages, it's not a magic bullet. Success in sales still requires a balance between leveraging technology and maintaining human connection. As companies race to adopt AI-powered tools, many salespeople have fallen into a common trap: over-automation. The temptation to let AI handle everything, from prospecting to follow-ups, is strong. After all, these tools can send hundreds of emails, automate responses, and even draft messages that mimic human speech. However, over-reliance on automation has led to new challenges. The Pitfalls of Over-Automation One of the biggest issues with over-automation is the flood of generic, AI-generated emails and messages. These communications often lack personalization and fail to connect with prospects on a meaningful level. The result? Prospects are increasingly blocking or ignoring automated outreach. In some cases, entire domains are being flagged as spam, cutting off communication entirely. Sales leaders are starting to recognize the dangers of this trend. Many have banned the use of AI-generated emails and automated outreach tools altogether.

In this episode of the Sales Gravy Podcast, I highlight a key sales opportunity as we approach the final stretch of the year. There is no doubt that this has been a strange year, right? With the election, inflation, and so much uncertainty a lot of businesses held back on spending – even though, as a whole, the economy was pretty good.  Now that the election is over, these same businesses have a budget left over that they need to spend before the end of the year. Buyers are in a Good Mood The good news is the executives and owners who run these businesses are suddenly in a very good mood.   Over the past few weeks, I’ve been in multiple states and cities asking business leaders how they are feeling now that the election is over. The responses have been overwhelmingly positive. People are feeling good. Many are enthusiastic about the economy. Most tell me that their sales are up following the election.  How to Look for Unused Budget With a Simple Question I’ve also had my sales team calling our customers and asking specifically about the unused budget that needs to be spent by the end of the year. The strategy is working. We have the largest pipeline we’ve had in years and have inked more big deals in the last three weeks than we have in the last three months with more to come.  Last week, I was out with a field sales rep, and we called on one of his large conquest accounts. The rep was frustrated because every proposal he’d given them had stalled in the pipeline. He said, “I just can’t get them to pull the trigger and make a decision.”  Before walking in I coached him to ask his contact, “How do you feel about business now that the election is over?”  After asking this question, his contact, the director of operations lit up—business was booming he said. Many of his customers who’d had their hands tied by budget constraints were now spending.  Four hours after our visit the contact called to say that his boss had given him a budget to spend by the end of the year and placed an order for almost a million dollars. Prime Time for Unused Budget So here’s the deal: if you’re in sales, now is prime time. What you need to do is pick up the phone, call your existing customers, your inactive customers, and even your closed/lost deals from earlier this year, and simply initiate a conversation. So, here’s the moral of this story. If you’re in sales or a business owner, now is the time to reach out to your customers. Engage them in a dialogue about how they’re feeling post-election, and find the money that's out there and needs to be spent by the end of the year.  Keep it Simple Don’t overcomplicate this. Initiate the conversation by asking about their post-election outlook. This will naturally lead to discussions about their immediate needs and leftover budget and how your product, service, or software can help them utilize their remaining budget effectively. Move fast because the clock is ticking. Once this year is over, today’s leftover budget will be gone forever. ACE your next sales conversation with our FREE guide to buyer communication skills. Download Here

In this episode of The Sales Gravy Podcast, Jeb Blount Jr. sits down with sales guru Kristie Jones as she shares her secrets to success, including powerful mindset shifts and strategies to unlock your full potential. Key Takeaways:  – The Importance of Positivity in Decision-Making: Positive decisions about entering a sales role, rather than trying to escape a current job, can lead to more fulfilling outcomes. Sales success often comes when you're focused on going toward something, not just getting away from something else. – The Power of Financial Transparency: Open conversations about money and commissions lead to better financial decisions. Early exposure to financial planning, like saving for retirement, gives a long-term advantage in wealth-building.  – Understanding Your Sales Superpower: Knowing yourself is key to excelling in sales. The first step is to identify your sales superpower—your unique strength that sets you apart in the sales process. Once you understand this, you can match it to the right product, industry, and role. – Self-Awareness is Crucial: True self-awareness, including recognizing strengths, weaknesses, and natural abilities, is critical in achieving success. You need to ask yourself and others about your strengths to identify your superpower, which helps guide career decisions. – Leveraging Your Secret Weapon: A secret weapon is a strategy or skill that, while not always obvious, can turn the tide in a difficult situation. It’s the “ace up your sleeve” you can use when you need to close a deal, much like leveraging your unique strengths at the right moment to get results. – Leveraging Your Strengths: Focus on identifying and doubling down on what you're naturally good at, especially in negotiations and closing deals. Emphasizing your strengths allows you to excel in areas where others may struggle. – Mindset Matters: A positive mindset is crucial for success. Self-talk plays a significant role in shaping this mindset. Avoid statements like "I'm bad at sales" or "I'm not a good negotiator" and instead focus on positive actions, such as "I made a mistake, but I'm not a failure." – Challenge Negative Self-Talk: Negative self-talk is natural but can be countered. Recognizing when it's happening and replacing it with affirmations or positive phrases like "I'm the winner" helps refocus your mind and combat doubt. – Visualization for Success: Mental visualization is a powerful tool for success. Visualize achieving your goals—whether that's winning a tennis match or closing a deal. This helps your brain work towards these outcomes even when you're not actively working on them. – Proactive Career Management: Don't be reactive about your career. Be proactive, conduct research, and approach potential employers with a tailored message, showing why you're the right fit even when no job is advertised. This sets you apart from others who take a more passive approach. – Intentional Job Search: Treat your job search like a search for a life partner, not just a "job." A career should align with your long-term goals, and you should actively seek out companies and positions that match your vision. A more intentional, tailored approach is more effective than just applying everywhere. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laJlmjse754 Negotiation: A Key to Unlocking Opportunities Negotiation is often seen as a key skill in sales, and rightfully so. However, what if negotiation could be viewed as a superpower, a tool that could unlock countless opportunities and elevate one's sales game? In many ways, getting an appointment or making the initial connection is already a negotiation in itself. By shifting the mindset to view negotiation as a strength, it opens up a world of potential. Instead of focusing on weaknesses, one can use what they excel at to create better outcomes in sales. This mindset can be incredibly powerful, particularly in a competitive field where every advantage...

In this lively episode of The Sales Gravy Podcast, Jeb Blount welcomes Patrick "Pops" Garrett, Founder & Chief Drinking Officer of DrinkCurious, to explore the unique intersection between bourbon tasting and sales engagement. Key Takeaways: – Virtual Tastings as Sales Hooks: Virtual bourbon tastings became an effective "hook" to attract attendees to sales demos, webinars, and client meetings, increasing engagement and helping to break through typical sales communication noise. – Engagement and Word-of-Mouth: The interactive and educational nature of DrinkCurious’s tastings fostered memorable experiences that spurred word-of-mouth promotion, leading to increased client requests. – Holiday and Retention Use: Drink tastings are popular not only for prospecting but also for employee rewards, client retention, and holiday gifting, with options for virtual events that clients can record and revisit. – Bourbon as Cultural and Historical Icon: DrinkCurious incorporates bourbon’s cultural history into tastings, educating participants on bourbon’s evolution, production, and how it has influenced American culture over decades.  – Gamification in Tastings: To increase engagement, DrinkCurious includes gamified elements where clients guess the bourbon or earn rewards, which can further connect the tasting to the client’s sales objectives. – Event Flexibility: DrinkCurious provides both virtual and in-person tastings, including options for trade shows, private gatherings, and post-conference events, accommodating various client needs. – Building Client Connections: Tastings help establish rapport between clients and sales teams, providing a memorable, relationship-building experience that offers a strong foundation for ongoing conversations. – VIP and Exclusive Gatherings: DrinkCurious organizes exclusive, high-end tastings for VIP clients, offering a tailored, premium experience that enhances client relations and creates unique business opportunities. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdxWUVM0fDE The Power of Experience Sales teams today face an ever-increasing challenge to capture the attention of their clients and prospects. In a world filled with automated emails, digital advertising, and competing messages, it’s easy for outreach to get lost in the noise. DrinkCurious, a unique company specializing in bourbon tastings and whiskey experiences, has found a way to break through this clutter. Founded in early 2021, DrinkCurious uses virtual and in-person bourbon tastings to help sales teams engage with clients in a memorable, personal way. By blending education, entertainment, and a bit of gamification, DrinkCurious provides a creative, impactful solution to the challenges of modern sales outreach. Origins of DrinkCurious DrinkCurious originated as a bold step from its founder, who left a traditional advertising career to pursue something he was passionate about: whiskey. With a mission to create deeper, more meaningful interactions between companies and clients, he developed a strategy to use bourbon tastings as a hook to draw in clients and keep them engaged. These tastings are more than just sampling different spirits—they’re interactive experiences that teach clients about the history, culture, and science behind bourbon. By helping people understand the product, DrinkCurious creates a shared experience that builds rapport and leaves a lasting impression. The Virtual Tasting Solution One of DrinkCurious’s primary offerings is the virtual tasting, which became a popular option during the pandemic. Many companies were looking for new ways to engage clients when in-person meetings and events weren’t possible. The virtual tasting quickly became a solution to this problem. By offering clients and prospects a fun, interactive experience that could be enjoyed from anywhere, DrinkCurious helped sales teams keep relationships strong even during a time when in-person interactions were limited.