You know the drill. The quota clock is ticking, the pressure is mounting, and there's that relentless urge for a quick win. Every sales professional has felt that impulse to rush the process, to push for the immediate "yes," because, well, the numbers demand it.But here's the tough question you need to ask yourself: What if that very pressure is ac…

That's the question every sales leader, CEO, and HR department is wrestling with as AI tools flood the market with promises to automate everything from prospecting to closing deals.Meanwhile, salespeople are panicking, wondering if their jobs are about to disappear to some algorithm that can write emails faster than they can type "Dear Valued Custo…

Is there such a thing as natural sales talent? Are top-level sales professionals born that way? Do they possess a gift from God that powers their ability to close sales? On this Money Monday, I answer these age-old questions.For the Love of the GameWhen I was 9 years old, after going to the Masters tournament with my Dad, I cut a limb that was shap…

"I can't do that."How many times have you said those four words when facing a challenging sales situation? It could be picking up the phone to make that intimidating cold call. It could be asking for the close with a high-value prospect. If you say 'I can't do that,' guess what? You're absolutely right. You won't.But here's what’s surprising: The s…

Here's a question that exposes one of the most dangerous myths in modern sales: How do you set the right pipeline creation target to consistently hit quota?That's exactly what Maryellen Soriano from New Jersey asked when she called into Ask Jeb. After crushing 134% of quota in her first year selling EdTech solutions—transitioning from owning her ow…

Have you ever been working on a deal where you had this feeling, this intuition, this Spidey sense—something in the back of your mind telling you that this wasn't going to close? That you were going to waste your time?Maybe you had one of the stakeholders who was against you—an enemy. There was a naysayer who kept calling you out. Perhaps the stake…

Your sales team just closed a $50K deal. Marketing takes credit because the prospect downloaded three whitepapers. Sales takes credit because they nurtured the relationship for six months. Meanwhile, you're wondering why this kind of success feels so random—and why similar prospects are slipping away.Companies with misaligned sales and marketing te…

Here's a question that'll make your head spin: What do you do when your top performer is crushing quota but not hitting a required talk time KPI?That's the question posed by Josh Robich and Josh Nelson from Nashville. Josh Nelson ranked 18th out of 130 reps in his first full year at a new company, but he was consistently falling short of the compan…

If you are spending more time staring at your windshield instead of looking into your customers' eyes, you are doing field sales wrong. Over the past couple of years, there's been a resurgence in field sales. Businesses everywhere are adding field salespeople and sending representatives out into the territory to meet with customers face-to-face. An…

AI isn't here to replace you; it's here to boost your game. Used wisely, AI can be your secret weapon.AI is everywhere: in social selling, content creation, automation, to say the least. Here's the double-edged sword: If you're trying to outsource everything to AI, you won't last. If you're stuck in the old ways, refusing to adapt, you'll get left …

If you're in field sales, you know the reality: You spend hours every week sitting behind the windshield, staring at traffic that's moving at the speed of molasses. Whether you're dealing with Atlanta's notorious I-285 parking lot or any other major city's rush hour nightmare, that windshield time is either making you better or making you bitter.Re…

Most value propositions stink. They’re boring, generic, feature-heavy garbage that make buyers’ eyes glaze over. And the worst part? Most salespeople don’t even realize their value proposition messaging is hurting them.On this week’s Sales Gravy Podcast, Lisa Dennis breaks down her process for building value propositions that actually work—the kind…

Jon Buehler from Jacksonville asks: "How do you maintain the consistency and intensity with prospecting? I find myself doing these sprints to get momentum, but struggle to keep that momentum going for long, sustained periods of time."Jon's question gets to the heart of one of the most significant challenges in sales: maintaining disciplined, consis…

On Sunday, Scottie Scheffler won the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow. Looking at the final scoreboard, his five-stroke victory seemed like total domination. But I was there on the ground, and what I saw wasn't domination. It was something far more valuable for you as a sales professional and has everything to do with success.What I witnessed was a…

Sales is a trust game. Always has been; always will be. It’s not about features, price points, or flashy presentations. It’s about conviction. And conviction is born from trust: deep, unshakable trust across four critical fronts. Ignore even one, and you’re leaving deals on the table.The First Deal You Close Every Day is YOUBefore you ever make a c…

Brian Kemski wants to know how to stop prospects from ghosting him. He asks a question that plagues salespeople everywhere: "What can I do about prospects who go through the process, seem interested, and then disappear into the witness protection program after I give them my information?"If you've been in sales for more than a week, you know exactl…

Your quota doesn't take a summer vacation, so your pipeline-building efforts can't afford to either. This is a reality check. Summer is coming fast, and if you don’t get your pipeline positioned for success now, you’ll be scrambling come mid-July.The summer sales slowdown is a documented phenomenon across almost every industry. According to data fr…

Here’s a hard truth most salespeople never hear: The most dangerous thing you can do is think like an employee.On this week’s episode of the Sales Gravy Podcast, business consultant for entrepreneurs David Neagle says: “You've got to see yourself above the place that you actually want to accomplish.”The highest-earning reps? They think like owners.…

Tyler Goss, from Tampa, has two critical sales questions: 1) How do we achieve those "crazy" prospecting numbers I talk about in my books? 2) When should a lead become a pipeline opportunity?In this podcast, I break down these answers in plain English.When to Create a Deal: Finding the Sweet SpotThere's no shortage of opinions on when to create a d…

During a practice round at a major golf tournament recently, one of the players hit an exceptionally beautiful shot. A fan in the gallery exclaimed, "Man, I wish I could hit a shot like that!" The player walked over to the fan and said, tongue-in-cheek, "No, you don't."The fan looked confused. "What do you mean?"The player replied, "You don't want …

Here's the brutal truth: Self-awareness is the ultimate sales skill.We obsess over skills like closing techniques, objection handling, and prospecting cadence. But self-awareness is the real make-or-break. Self-awareness is the lever that separates ethical, high-performance sellers from out-of-touch order takers.If you’re not self-aware, you’re lea…

If you're doing any kind of cold calling or prospecting, you'll eventually hear this objection: "I'm in a meeting right now." Paul Wise, a heavy cold caller from Normandy, France, targets product managers at software companies and says that nine times out of ten when he gets a decision-maker on the phone, they claim to be "in a meeting."Three Ways …

Self-talk, what you say to yourself internally, manifests itself in your outward attitude and actions. As any elite athlete will tell you, the mental games you play with yourself between your ears will make or break you. When all things are equal, mindset is one thing that separates winners and losers.This is one of the reasons that I love golf so …

Let’s kill the myth: sales coaching isn’t just for newbies or underperformers. It’s for closers, leaders, and the ones who want more—more pipeline, more wins, more control over their career. If you're in sales, you need coaching. Period.This isn’t feel-good fluff. Sales is a performance sport. Every high-performance athlete has a coach, and every i…

Kyle, a field sales rep from British Columbia, is struggling with a common prospecting challenge: how to consistently prospect when you're constantly on the move.Kyle's situation likely resonates with many of you in outside sales. He described his typical day—starting at job sites at 7:30 AM, running between appointments, sending proposals from his…

On this Money Monday, we're going back to Augusta where Rory McIlroy finally won The Masters and in doing so gave us 5 lessons for chasing and achieving dreams. It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t clean. It was gritty, emotional, and one of the most unforgettable moments in sports history. Rory stepped onto the first tee looking calm, focused. Like a man w…

You crushed your quota. Commission check hits the account. Your first instinct? Celebrate! You earned it, right?Not quite. You’ve earned a reward, sure. But if every check disappears faster than a cold call prospect can hang up the phone, then you’re just renting a lifestyle.Here’s the truth: Top sales pros don’t just sell like professionals—they m…

Ross from Houston faces a common challenge in channel sales: how do you create brand preference for your product when you’re selling through distributors who carry multiple competing lines and competitors who undercut your price?His company builds industrial dust-collection equipment and ducting, but they don’t sell direct—meaning they rely heavily…

There is a big challenge in today’s marketplace that’s popping up left and right for sales professionals—Decision Deferment Objections.If you’re running into stakeholders who say, “Let’s just hold off a bit,” “We need more time,” or “We want to wait until the market settles,” then we're going to dive into why this is happening and, more importantly…

Everybody wants the hacks.The quick fix. The shiny new tool. The LinkedIn post that magically draws leads like moths to a flame.But let me give it to you straight: Sales isn’t won with hacks. It’s won with habits. And the habits that win are the ones most reps abandon the minute things get uncomfortable or boring.If you’re not hitting your number, …

Steve from Portland, Oregon, faces and an all-too-common consultative selling dilemma: how to sell to prospects who claim they already know everything, have already “done the research” and question what value he can bring. In this Ask Jeb episode we break down what true consultative selling entails, how to detach from “always be closing,” and why b…

We are coming off of a week that can only be described as a stock market bloodbath—amping up uncertainty and making selling even harder. As the new tariffs imposed by the US government were announced, kicking off what is expected to devolve into a global trade war, the Dow Jones plunged by over 2,200 points, the S&P 500 lost more than 10%, the Nasd…

All’s fair in love and war—and sales.At the end of the day, what really matters is whether the deal closed or if you were left holding the bag. Did you make quota this quarter? Did you crush your numbers? Or did you fall short?If you missed quota, chances are you played it too safe. You followed the so-called 'best practices'—the ones that average …

Dennis from Chesterfield, Missouri, wants to know if sales coaching truly moves the performance needle, especially when shifting from transactional approaches to more consultative selling.Below are the key insights from our conversation on why coaching matters, how it boosts sales and culture, and what leaders should do right now to make it happen.…

This is a very important Monday because this is the first Monday of the second quarter, and it’s time for a major gut check and assessment of where you are against your number coming out of Q1, and what you need to adjust and think about as we move into Q2.Start with setting aside a dedicated, focused time block of one to two hours for reviewing yo…

Great advice is everywhere, but most of it is fluff. In sales, you don’t need clichés—you need real strategies that help you win more deals.We’ve pulled together five of the biggest game-changing sales tips from the Sales Gravy Podcast so far this year. These are proven tactics from top sales pros who know what it takes to close deals, stay sharp, …

Wes from Flower Mound, Texas, has a familiar challenge: how to attract more qualified B2B leads and convert them before they slip away. He’s already tried a variety of channels, including inside sales, social media, and email, but is struggling to ramp up both volume and quality.Below are the key insights from our conversation, along with practical…

George Foreman gave us a masterclass in resilience, on never giving up. His pivots and comebacks from defeat were legendary. He was a force of nature and one of the greatest boxers, salesmen and personalities the world has ever known. His inspirational story matters to us because one of the most critical mental disciplines for sales professionals i…

Wherever you are in your sales journey, you need a mentor—now. If you’re serious about becoming a top performer or want to stay at the top of your game, you need more than just grit and determination. You need a guide. A mentor who’s been through the fire and who can help you avoid costly mistakes. Sales expert Tony Morris stands behind the power o…

Gaius, who runs an insurance brokerage in Ohio wants to know how to get his new sales agents cold calling and building pipeline earlier in their training cycle, without making them feel overwhelmed and sabotaging their confidence.If you’ve ever hired a sales class or tried to ramp up new hires in an industry with complex products or strict guidelin…

One of the most vivid memories from my childhood was the day I was bucked off of my pony. The pony’s name was Macaroni and I was six. We were in an arena where my mother was giving me my very first riding lessons. Macaroni was stung by a bee, and she reacted by bucking. I couldn’t hang on and I landed hard on my back. It knocked the breath out of m…

How many times have you gotten to the meeting but your pitch fell flat?You went in guns blazing, thinking the hard part was over and you’d land the deal—but instead you face-planted.It’s not your product or your pricing. It’s your messaging that’s failing you—and blocking you from a sale.A Framework to Tap Into Your Prospect’s PainSo what’s missing…

Cindy is struggling to set appointments and handle the "How Much Does it Cost?" objection. She recently switched from media sales to the home services industry. Suddenly, she finds herself making all her own cold calls—no marketing team, no pre-existing territory full of warm leads. And unlike her old desk-bound clients, these new prospects are lik…

No matter if you've had a great month, closed a big deal, or made it to the winner's circle at President's club, winning makes you more vulnerable to losing.A Winning Message for Sales WinnersLast week, I delivered a keynote at a large company's President’s club event. It was fun! Great hotel. Tropical destination. People were upbeat and happy beca…

You’re stalled. You’re stuck. You’ve plateaued.No matter how you put it, you’re seeing your sales hit a rut. And let’s face it, you’re in a rut, too.So, how do you pull yourself out of it? The answer: invest in yourself.https://youtu.be/odBObaiywlg?feature=sharedThe Power of Personal DevelopmentIn sales, it's easy to get caught up in the grind—call…

Matt from Grand Rapids says, “If I don’t make my cold calls, our pipeline will go dry.” He is juggling everything from operations to customer service escalations, all while trying to generate fresh leads through cold calls.Sound familiar? In this Ask Jeb segment of the Sales Gravy Podcast, I walk Matt through practical strategies to carve out time …

If you’ve hung around me for longer than five minutes, you’ve heard me say that sales is about talking with people. The fact is, the more people you talk with, the more you’ll sell. The good news is that there are lots of people to talk with to make a sale. The problem is, far too many salespeople have quit talking with people.Email Prospecting Has…

You nailed the pitch. The budget was there. The decision-maker was engaged. So why did the deal go cold?The problem might not be your process. It might be you. Before a prospect buys from you, they have to buy into you. Your professional presence sets the stage for every interaction. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELR-Mhzv7eAFirst Impressions Matt…

Caroline is dealing with a dilemma so many sales professionals face this time of year: How do you shake off a mid-winter rut and regain your momentum when it’s cold, dark, and everyone else seems to be dragging too?On this Ask Jeb episode, I offer practical, real-world strategies to help you thaw out from the winter freeze. Whether you’re fighting …

Three weeks ago it warmed up here in Augusta, Georgia, so I played hooky from work to take advantage of the nice weather and play a round of golf. While I was waiting for the group in front of me to clear the green my phone rang. I answered but I couldn’t hear anything on the other end so I hung up. Ten minutes later it rang again with a call from …