Sales Gravy: Jeb Blount – Details, episodes & analysis

In the competitive world of sales, adopting the right mindset is crucial for success. On this episode of the Sales Gravy podcast, Jeb Blount Jr. sits down with Dre Baldwin, a former professional basketball player in the NBA turned business guru to discuss why sales professionals who adopt an opportunistic mindset have greater long-term success. Key Takeaways  - Importance of Personal Initiative: Personal initiative is crucial for success. It involves taking proactive steps, like attending events or reaching out to potential opportunities, to create paths where none existed. - Mindset Tools: The mindset tools that lead to success—such as discipline, confidence, and mental toughness—are universally applicable, whether in sports, business, or any other area. - Role of Discipline: Discipline acts as the "steering wheel" that keeps you on course, while motivation serves as the "gas" that drives action. Discipline ensures consistent effort, even when motivation wanes. - Cold-Calling and Selling Yourself: Selling yourself is key, especially in scenarios like cold-calling. Being able to present yourself credibly and persuasively is crucial to securing opportunities. - Long-Term Thinking: Adopting a long-term mindset is valuable. It's important to think beyond immediate goals and consider where your actions will lead in the future. - Finding Opportunity in Opposites: There's often opportunity in doing what others are not. Thinking differently and looking for opportunities in unconventional places can lead to success. - Playing the Long Game: Success is a long-term effort. Cumulative actions and consistent effort over time are more important than short-term gains. - Value of Asking the Right Questions: Career transformation often begins with asking the right questions. Reflecting on how to combine your skills into a sustainable career can lead to significant growth and success. - Building a Personal Brand: Building a personal brand is important. Your experiences and successes can establish your credibility and open new opportunities, helping to build trust and expand your influence. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tvi5ARbDLsQ The Power of Personal Initiative Success is a journey built on a series of steps that anyone can take if they’re willing to put in the effort. It’s about creating opportunities for yourself, rather than waiting for them to appear.  Success often begins with a simple decision: the decision to take action, even when the outcome is uncertain. Personal initiative means doing what others might not—like attending events to network, cold-calling potential employers, or pursuing opportunities that seem out of reach. These proactive steps can open doors you didn’t even know existed. The Role of Discipline and Confidence Discipline is the backbone of success. Think of it as the steering wheel that keeps you on track, while motivation is the gas pedal that gets you moving. Motivation might start your journey, but it’s discipline that ensures you keep going, especially when the road gets tough. Confidence isn’t something you’re born with; it’s something you build over time. Every time you take initiative or tackle a challenge, you’re building a little more confidence. This confidence then fuels your ability to take even more initiative, creating a positive cycle that propels you forward. The more you step out of your comfort zone, the more confident you become. This newfound confidence helps you tackle bigger challenges, creating a solid foundation for future success. The Importance of Long-Term Thinking While it’s easy to focus on immediate goals, true success often requires thinking ahead. Where do you want to be in five or ten years? The most successful people make decisions today that will benefit them in the long run, not just in the moment. Asking yourself questions like, “How can I combine my skills to create something sustainable?

On this episode of The Sales Gravy Podcast, Jeb Blount Jr. sits down with Dayna Williams to discuss cutting-edge strategies for sales success. She gives expert insights on how to develop a winning sales culture, boost your team's performance, and leverage the power of Sales Gravy University for unparalleled training opportunities. Key Takeaways - Shift from Episodic Training: Traditional sales training has often been episodic, focused on reactive, one-time events that don't drive long-term behavioral change. This model is outdated and ineffective. - Importance of Reinforcement: Learning and development must go beyond the initial training event. Without sustained reinforcement, any skills or knowledge gained are quickly forgotten, leading to little long-term impact. - The 3 P's: Master persona, practice, and product knowledge to transform your team's effectiveness. Build a capability development plan that addresses these critical areas. Hoping for a change without a plan won't cut it. - Four-Step Learning Process: A robust learning and development strategy should follow four steps: strategic planning, design and pilot, sustained reinforcement, and outcome measurement. Skipping any of these steps, particularly reinforcement, diminishes the effectiveness of training. - Cultural Change Required: To move away from episodic training, organizations need to embed learning into their culture, ensuring that training is seen as an ongoing process rather than a one-off event. - Proactive vs. Reactive Learning: Many organizations fall into a reactive mode, responding to immediate needs rather than proactively planning for long-term capability development. This approach limits the effectiveness of training. - Overcoming the Forgetting Curve: Without intentional reinforcement, the majority of what is learned during training is forgotten. Effective learning programs must include strategies to counteract this forgetting curve. - Cross-Functional Collaboration: Sales enablement and training should address the entire sales process, including the often-overlooked handoffs between departments like marketing and sales, where breakdowns frequently occur. - Getting a Seat at the Table: Learning and development teams need to better communicate the value of their work to business leaders. This requires stepping out of their comfort zone and understanding the business's operational challenges and goals. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiamtIdNDCQ The Secret to Mastering Your Craft It’s easy to fall into the trap of seeking shortcuts and instant success. We often hear about “overnight sensations” or those who seemed to have made it big with minimal effort. But the truth is, most of these stories don’t tell the whole picture. Behind every “overnight success” is usually years of hard work, dedication, and persistence. Success doesn’t come from cutting corners or avoiding the tough parts of the job. It comes from embracing the hard work, from putting in the effort every single day, and from being willing to do what others won’t.  The Role of Hard Work in Sales When we talk about hard work in sales, we’re not just talking about working long hours. It’s about working smart, being strategic, and continuously improving your skills. Hard work is doing the research before making a call, understanding your client’s needs, and finding the best solution for them. You have to follow up, stay organized, and be persistent even when you don’t see immediate results. Sales isn’t easy. It’s a profession that requires resilience, adaptability, and a thick skin. You’re going to face rejection, sometimes daily. You’re going to encounter clients who don’t want to hear from you, who are happy with their current providers, or who simply don’t have the budget. But if you’re willing to push through these challenges, you’ll find that the rewards are worth it. The Myth of Natural Talent

On this episode of the Sales Gravy Podcast, Jeb Blount, the author of People Love You: The Real Secret to Delivering a Legendary Customer Experience, sits down with Talroo's Vice President of Success and Enablement Barry Klein to discuss why a focus on customer retention is crucial for revenue growth. Jeb and Barry explore and focus on the strategic importance of customer success, the value of human interaction, and the role of company culture in shaping customer experiences and relationships. Customer Success as a Priority: Emphasizing the importance of customer success in maintaining and expanding business relationships. Retention Over Acquisition: Highlighting the significance of retaining existing customers as a more sustainable and profitable strategy compared to acquiring new ones, especially in challenging economic times. Human Interaction: Despite advancements in technology, the conversation underscores the irreplaceable value of human touch in customer relationships. Proactive Engagement: The need for businesses to proactively engage with customers to understand and adapt to their evolving needs. Impact of Company Culture: A company's culture, particularly one that values ethical behavior and respect, can significantly influence customer success strategies and outcomes. Adaptability and Responsiveness: The importance of being adaptable and responsive to customer needs as a way to ensure customer satisfaction and loyalty. Long-term Relationships: The focus on building long-term relationships with customers rather than short-term transactions. Customer Retention is at The Heart of Business Growth When it comes to growing a business, the real magic happens long after the sale is made. Think about your own experiences: every time you buy something, that's just the beginning of your journey with that brand. And if they treat you right, you're not just going to come back—you're going to become a loyal fan, maybe even spend more over time. That's the secret ingredient to business growth. It's not about constantly chasing new customers; it's about keeping the ones you already have coming back for more. The Power of Customer Retention Finding new customers is hard work and expensive. It's like throwing a party and hoping people you've never met will show up. Now, think about the friends who already love your parties. You don't need to convince them to come; they're already on board. They might even bring along a few friends of their own. That's the beauty of focusing on your existing customers. You've already won them over once; now it's about making sure they feel valued and continue to enjoy what you offer. A satisfied customer is your best advocate. They become ambassadors for your brand, sharing their positive experiences with others. This word-of-mouth is invaluable. It's authentic, powerful, and best of all, it's free. Every happy customer is a potential win, not just for another sale, but for bringing in new customers who've already heard good things about you. Building a Community At its core, keeping customers happy is about more than just good business sense; it's about building a community around your brand. It's about creating a space where people feel valued, heard, and connected. This community isn't just loyal; they're engaged. They're not just buying a product or a service; they're buying into an experience, a relationship. One of the keys to keeping customers close is listening to them. It's about being open to feedback, even when it's tough to hear. Every piece of feedback is a gift, an opportunity to improve and to show your customers that you're invested in their satisfaction. It's about continually adapting and evolving to meet their needs. The Long-Term View The relationship with a customer doesn't end at the sale; that's where it begins. It's about the follow-up, the check-in, the unexpected delight that shows them they're more than just...

On this episode of the Sales Gravy Podcast Jeb Blount (People Follow You) and Kristie Jones discuss the trials and tribulations of building and sustaining a sales accountability culture. You'll learn that without accountability your sales team will generate inconsistent results and devolve into the wild, wild west. Kristie: How I Developed My Passion for Creating a Sales Accountability Culture I actually started in SaaS sales leadership back in 2000. As I progressed through my career, I started to work for some VC-backed companies, and I got that VC-backed startup bug. Accountability is so critical when you're dealing with people who have given you money and expect a return on the investment. Early-stage startups and fast-growing startups are all about urgency and results. I was working as a VP of Sales and it was clear that those environments needed to have a sales accountability culture. We needed to create and maintain one. In about 2016, I left the W2 world and started my own sales consultancy. I'm passionate about helping early-stage tech startups build their sales teams and formalize their process. I spend a ton of time doing executive coaching on accountability culture. I'm still walking into companies and talking to them about accountability culture after really not seeing it. That includes everything from not having firm quotas, to not dealing with “accountability dodgers”. Jeb: Too Much Money, Not Enough Leadership In some cases, there’s zero leadership, too much money, and people run wild. In other cases, you've just got a founder who is trying to put everything together. There's an inflection point where if you don't create some accountability, it's a disaster. What advice do you have for a business, no matter where they fit on that spectrum, for sales leaders or executives, to shift into an accountability culture? Kristie: Expectations Are The Foundation Of A Sales Accountability Culture It starts with setting expectations and putting those in writing. In the middle of this pandemic, it’s more important than ever. There's more uncertainty than ever before, which also means that sales reps need accountability more than ever before. They need to understand: “What will cause me to lose my job?” Everybody's worried about that. They need to understand the circumstances around that. A sales accountability culture starts during the interview process. During the interview process, I'm already starting to set expectations just by the behavioral-based interview questions that I'm asking to ensure that people will walk their talk and that people will fall on the sword when they need to. During the start of COVID-19, I went back to all of my clients and former clients and wrote a little how-to menu and said, “You have to create accountability around the work schedule because the work schedule is not eight-to-five anymore. You have to understand what you can expect from them, even from a work schedule standpoint.” Also, expectations are a two-way street. As a leader, I can't just sit down with you and say, "Here are my expectations, let’s negotiate them and put them in writing." I also need to say, “Here's what you can expect from me.” And then, at the end of our expectations meeting, I ask, “What do you want me to do if you don't hold up your end of the bargain?” I let them set their own consequences. Why would I wait until it's gone south on me, just to go back to fix it in a way that may not work for the rep? I hear everything from, “I need a gentle reminder,” to, “I need you to take me out to lunch, clearly something's going on and I need some one-on-one attention.” I hear a lot of different answers to that question, but I write those down on the document, too. And so it's so much easier for me to go to a rep who's not walking their talk and say, “We had this conversation and this is what we discussed. This is what you told me to do if you weren’t holding yourself accountable. I think we're at that place,

On this inspiring episode of the Sales Gravy podcast, Jeb Blount (Virtual Selling) talks to Brian Knox, owner and founder of B Knox Photography. This young entrepreneur leveraged Fanatical Prospecting to quickly ramp up his successful and fast-growing photography business that he started this year. This conversation about sales and entrepreneurship is both educational and inspirational. Sales and the things that we do in sales matter, wherever we are in life. And we can all chase and achieve our dreams if we just make the decision to take action.     Listen all Sales Gravy Podcast episodes here. Brian: Why I Started My Business I was in corporate life from the time I graduated college in 2000, all the way up until 2020, and the last four jobs that I had in the corporate world were inside sales and customer service. Then between 2013 and 2015, I moved into more of a pure sales role where I was cold calling.  Our training was basically watching a guy do it for two days. Then they hand you a computer and a phone and you're kind of on your own. There wasn't a lot of sales training. That was when I first found your material, because I was honestly trying to ease the pain of, “How do I sit here for eight hours a day and drum up business?” I was averse to it. Then, I moved into a sales coaching role with a local plumbing, air, and electric company where I was teaching their technicians some of the basics of sales psychology, and going out in the field, and helping them with their sales process. After that, I was in development at Habitat for Humanity of Greenville, which was essentially a sales role. That's where I put into practice what I had learned in those first few years, and what I was teaching the guys on the field, in order to bring in donations for Habitat for Humanity. I finally left that job to start the photography business full-time in February of this year. Brian: What Photography Means to Me I got my first digital camera in 2004 or 2005. My dad was into photography. He didn't train me, but I was at least exposed to him having a camera. When I got my own digital camera, that kind of launched it for me. It was very simple to make art by just going out and clicking a shutter. I did it as a hobby and on the side. I started picking up initial gigs, which were typically family. I chugged along making a little money for about ten years. But then I began to apply sales techniques to what was my side hustle, at that point. I started to get traction with that and then I went through six months of wrestling with the question, "Do I quit and go full time with this, or do I just kind of keep it as a side thing?" I felt that it was more of a contribution to society and to the world to take my skill and talent and give that in the form of photography, as opposed to being in the sales trenches.  Jeb: On Entrepreneurial Journeys I remember when I first started Sales Gravy 13 years ago, we were in the middle of the Great Recession and I had to make a pivot in my career. I decided that at that point in my life, I was either going to be an entrepreneur, or not. I always wanted to run my own business. Because I was good at selling and great in the corporate world, there wasn't a lot of incentive until I found myself on the street trying to figure out what I was going to do. But for about three years, I was constantly terrified that I was going to fail. I would wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. Like, am I going to make it, am I going to have to crawl back and beg for a job? What was it like when you first started? And are you still in that place of, "Do I let go of what I'm used to"? Brian: If You Try, You Can't Fail It's gone really well this year, but I definitely have those same concerns. I also remember waking up in the middle of the night and wrestling with things like, "Well, what if it rains that whole next day? Then I can't do the outdoor construction shoot,

Sales Myth: You Have to Sell Yourself Most of us, at one time or another in our careers, have heard some trainer or manager exclaim, “You have to sell yourself.” “If you want to get that job, son, you have to sell yourself.” “The real key to sales is your ability to sell yourself.” “If you want others to like you, you’ll have to sell yourself.” The Sell Yourself Cliche This philosophy is prevalent in business culture. A while back, I was at an Ivy League University for a speech by a successful businessman to a group of MBA students from the top business schools in the world. The speaker was so well respected that when he walked into the room there was a hush. The audience members were on the edge of their seats in anticipation. And what was the message? What was the secret of success that this revered businessman offered? “Never forget how important it is in business to first sell yourself.” The entire audience nodded in unison. For this wise man and many others, the phrase sell yourself  has become an easy-to-use cliche´. It just rolls off the tongue. Like the audience at the speech I attended, most people will nod their heads in agreement to the statement as if some prophet on a hill had just read it from stone tablets. People Buy You for Their Reasons, Not Yours Sales expert and bestselling author Jeffrey Gitomer teaches a simple philosophy, “People love to buy but they hate to be sold.” In other words, most people prefer to buy on their terms. They do not want or appreciate a hard pitch or a features dump. They buy for their reasons not yours. Yet daily salespeople across the globe, on the phone, video calls, email, social media, and in person, sell to their customers by dumping data, pushing their position, or simply trying to talk their way into a sale. They sell themselves to anyone else they can get to stand still for more than five minutes. But it does not work, because people like to buy, they don’t like to be sold. When You Try to Sell Yourself You Push People Away The harder you try to sell yourself to others, the more you push them away. A conversation where the other person tells you all about themselves, their accomplishments, and how great they are is a turnoff. It is a features dump. Think about it, the most unlikeable human in the world is the person standing in front of you talking about themself. You don’t walk away from that conversation thinking how much you would like to spend more time with them. Instead you think, “What a jerk,” or “How boring,” or “Wow,  that guy is full of himself.” We Love to Talk About Our Favorite Person Still, we do love the opportunity to sell ourselves. Most of us, if given the opportunity, will talk for hours about our favorite person, oblivious to the negative impact it has on how we are viewed by others. When pressed, experts who are quick to tell you to sell yourself, are unable to explain exactly how to do it. Sure, they will offer tips, but it's mostly hyperbole. Here is the brutal truth: You cannot sell yourself to others; you have to get others to buy you on their terms. You're Talking, They Aren't Buying Even if you are preceded by a great reputation and others are anticipating meeting you, your attempts to sell yourself can backfire. I learned this lesson at a speech I gave to a large dinner group. One of the audience members was such a big fan of one of my books, that he lobbied the meeting organizer to be seated right next to me. During dinner he asked me questions, and I talked and talked and talked—about me. A few days after the speech, I called the meeting organizer to follow up and offer my thanks. I thanked him for seating Daniel next to me and asked him if Daniel had had a good time. He hesitated for a moment and finally said, “I’m telling you this because I like you; but Daniel did not come away with a very good opinion of you.” It was like being punched in the gut!

The Fine Art of Blending Text Messaging Into Your Account Management Process I love blending text messaging into my account management process. As a communication tool, it’s fast, efficient, less formal than email, and allows for arm’s-length, nonintrusive, synchronous communication that still feels personal.  There are two reasons why blending text messaging into your account management process works: It’s mobile. Text messaging is integrated into the mobile and wearable devices that are attached to us 24/7. These are the primary communications devices in our lives and businesses. Everyone has a mobile phone, and for Apple users, text is integrated across all devices and desktops.   It’s treated as a priority. One of the key reasons why text messages work so well is that most people feel compelled to read and/or respond to them immediately.   Text is a Versatile For Account Management Text messaging is extremely versatile virtual communication channel. You can attach videos, images, voice messages, and links to articles and resources. And, when the person you are texting is not available, texting shifts from synchronous to asynchronous communication.  For account management and communicating with customers text messaging is a tremendous tool. It helps you nurture and maintain relationships, keeps customers updated, and allows you to quickly respond to concerns from anywhere.  It's for these reasons that text messaging is the perfect virtual communication channel to blend into your account management system and process. Text messages are an easy way to:  Check the pulse of your accounts Show appreciation Send account updates and data. Send insight and educational resources. Keep key contacts apprised of shipments and order information. Be proactive with solving issues. Send offers and specials. The real key to blending text into your account management process is ensuring that your text messages are intentional, systematic, and part of an account management plan The Truth About Why You Really Lose Accounts A brutal truth is that most customers are lost because of neglect. Not prices, not products, not the economy, not aggressive competitors. Neglect! Neglect happens slowly. It creeps up on customer relationships.  Salespeople delude themselves into believing that if their customers are not complaining, they must be happy. So, they spend all of their time putting out fires and dealing with squeaky wheels, all the while ignoring accounts that that don’t raise their hand.  Wrapped up in this warm blanket of delusion, salespeople swing the door open and invite competitors in. Assume Every Account is At Risk Aggressive competitors don’t miss an opportunity to displace salespeople who neglect their customers. When you fail to proactively anchor your customer relationships, those competitors slip through and encourage buyers to consider other options.  This is exactly why you must never lose sight of the long-term consequences of neglecting accounts.  Relationships matter and must be protected against an onslaught of competitors. You must not take any relationship for granted. Assume that every customer and every relationship is at risk.  I’m not saying this is easy. One of the hardest things to do is keep your fingers on the pulse of your customer base.  Quarterly business reviews and other formal meeting are time consuming. You probably have a large account base and you can’t possibly meet with everyone. Every single day you are putting out fires and dealing with immediate customer service issues.  Pay Attention to Your Accounts The good news is the one secret to defending your accounts is completely in your control. Pay attention to them.   A simple, regular, inexpensive check-in by text message can make all the difference. It doesn’t need to be anything particularly special. You don’t need a reason to tell your customers that you appreciate them.

Sales Follow Up Superpowers On this Sales Gravy Podcast episode Jeb Blount (Virtual Selling) and Jeff Shore (Follow Up and Close the Sale) discuss the two sales follow up superpowers: Speed and Personalization. The brutal truth is that salespeople have a big problem with follow up and it is holding them back. The good news, is this is a problem that is easy to fix. On this episode you'll actionable tips and tactics that will instantly improve your sales follow up skills. BONUS: Download our FREE How to Manage Your B2B Sales Team From Home guide to get the scoop on how top sales leaders are getting more productivity from their remote sales teams.  

On this episode of the Sales Gravy podcast,  Jeb Blount (Virtual Selling) and Alex Goldfayn (5 Minute Selling) discuss the massive impact of small actions, done a little bit, every day. Listen to the other episodes in the series: Part One | Part Two | Part Three Jeb – Does Faith Matter in Sales? Alex, I've got a question for you about faith. This is not a religious question. It's a faith question.   You are very convincing human being. You say that sales can be done in 5 minutes a day. Talk to people, call old customers, run the system. It works.  So, I do it one day. Nothing happens. Then do it the next day and nothing happens. I do it the next day and still nothing happens. Then by the 4th day I'm like, “Alex told me to do this stuff, and I made these phone calls, but I didn't sell anything. So, I’m going back to sending emails because that’s easier.”  How important is faith in the system, over a long period of time, to actualizing the five-minute selling process?  Alex – On Faith in Yourself Great question. Faith is a great word in sales.  Faith in the system is really about faith in yourself.   This is important because, in sales we deal with failure and overcoming failure is the key to success.  Faith is continuing to do the right things even when they're not working as well as you would like, because they are still the right things.    In the book I have a two-week challenge: Give me 5-minutes a day for two weeks - that's 50 minutes over 10 days. That is just five proactive outbound prospecting calls a day.   If you do that for two weeks, you will find more open opportunities and more close opportunities. It’s just two weeks of faith and here is no way that you won't improve your sales position.   Jeb– On The Cumulative Impact of Small Actions It's all about cumulative impact. The cumulative impact of small actions every day. Over time, these small actions add up to real numbers.   But this requires faith because you can't prospect for a day, you can't do follow up for a day, you can’t do anything for a day and expect everything to suddenly change. It just doesn't work that way. You've got to do a little bit every day and keep doing it over time.   Now let me give you the flip side of this question. What happens when it starts working?  Salespeople have a bad habit of quitting the things that are working. Let's just say that I give you the two weeks and then it starts working. Then suddenly my pipeline is a little bit bigger, the deals in my pipeline start to move. Suddenly people are actually spending time with me and we’re having conversations.   What happens then? I get busy and then I quit. How do I make sure that I don't stop doing what's working?  Alex – Staying On Track With Small Daily Actions You're totally right. Salespeople are busy. They're not sitting around. Therefore, the answer is you must schedule proactive, outbound sales calls into your day.   Mark Twain said, “if you're gonna eat a frog, you might as well eat it first thing in the morning 'cause it's not gonna taste any better later in the day.”   Firstly, do it first thing in the morning - at 8:00 or 8:30 or at 9:00. By 10:00 o'clock you want to be long done with this.   Second, what do you do if you miss a day? The next day you come back to it and you get right back on track.   It's like if you have a bad eating day. I've been trying to lose some weight. Yesterday was my wedding anniversary. My wife and I went out to eat and celebrate 19-years. We had a gigantic meal, and a huge dessert. I ate like a jerk, but it was awesome - a fabulous meal.   So, my weight loss effort over? Am I done? Am I just going to give up and go back to the to the chips and the and the Donuts? nNo, I woke this morning and got back in the saddle.  The easy way to do this is to use a timer. Set it for five minutes. When the Clock is running, you're doing your proactive work. You're making your calls.

On this episode of the Sales Gravy podcast,  Jeb Blount’s (Virtual Selling) and Alex Goldfayn (5 Minute Selling) offer a simple strategy for overcoming your natural fear of rejection by breaking it into doable doses. Jeb On Breaking the Fear of Rejection Into Doable Doses Human beings fear rejection. We hate and avoid rejection at all costs. But, in Sales, your job is to go out and find rejection and bring it home.   However, when you break your fear of rejection into doable doses, it gets easier to handle because, over time, when you face a fear repeatedly, you gain obstacle immunity.   Alex On Using the Phone Yesterday I had a video call set up with prospect. It was at the end of a long day of video calls. You know, where everybody is a little box on the screen, right? My brain was tired of being on camera, I just wanted to walk around with my phone - just put my feet up and not be on a camera.   In some cases, I feel like there's more dimension and depth to a phone call as compared to a video call.  If you can get good at the telephone you will put so much distance between yourself and the 95% of sales people who don't do well on the telephone, that they will never be able to catch up with you.   That's how important the telephone is right now.  Jeb On Blending It’s about blending. Salespeople need to get used to the word blending because, blending is how we will be selling going forward. With Virtual Selling, it is about meeting the buyer where they are. You should use the communication channel that is right for the moment.   But salespeople are not having synchronous conversations – especially by phone – because they are afraid of being rejected.   This is exactly why I think your 5 Minute Selling System is powerful. If you just do it a little bit every day – even five outbound calls per day – you reduce these fears to a small part of your day. But, as you start facing that fear, a little bit every day, it will get easier for you to handle the rejection.  And basically, what you start doing, is building a chain of days in a row where you're investing in conversations with customers.  Think about it, 30-days of five minutes a day talking to your customers. What happens to your pipeline? Your business? Your income? What happens inside of you?   Alex On Asking More Often In baseball, if you fail 70% of the time, you go to the Hall of Fame. For salespeople, if you're failing 80 to 90% of the time, you're doing damn good!  So, when we try to avoid every single no, we don't give ourselves the opportunity to get the yeses that make us successful.  The salespeople who get the most no's, the ones who get the most rejection, are the ones who are most successful. Because, they're the ones who are asking the most.  It's simple. If you get the most no's you get the most yeses.   Thomas Edison said that many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.  So, if you've already been rejected eight times by this prospect, the ninth rejection is literally no worse. It's the same. There is no difference.  Jeb on High-Intensity Prospecting Sprints I'm working with a group right now and we are running high-intensity prospecting sprints. We're doing 10-minute phone blocks. It’s a simple cadence: 10-minutes, 10 dials, with a goal to set one appointment.   It's just so easy for people to rip off 10 dials. Leveraging this methodology allows them to get a whole lot prospecting done in a short period time with better outcomes. Because we break rejection into doable doses (10-minutes at a time) it’s easier for them to remain motivated and focused.   On Accomplishment in Small Doses And it makes you feel more confident and accomplished because you're having positive interactions! You’re going to feel better about yourself.   You connected with someone. You feel positive and that's a much better feeling than avoiding the p...