It's human nature to revert to our routines when under pressure. If you've been taught to sell or position value, then you've grown accustomed to defaulting to your expertise when pressured by the prospect. You lead with competency in hopes the prospect will eventually "get" your point. Unfortunately, this doesn't work as often as we'd like, and it often leaves us feeling disconnected and chasing the prospect for a decision.

On this episode of Breaking Sales, Dan sits down with management consultant veteran Kirsten Markley to explore how she uses curiosity to learn and build trust, and take share of wallet away from the better well known competitors in her space.

Explaining why your product, service, or expertise is a better alternative isn't enough. Decisions are not made based on benefits alone. There might be many "pros" in your prospect choosing to do business with you, but it's the perceived risks, discomfort, and hurdles that will hold them back.

In this episode of Breaking Sales, Dan and Pam continue their exploration into the psychology of decision-making. They share some personal experiences that have helped them better understand why it's human nature to rationalize and avoid change, and provide examples of questions you can ask to slice through your prospect's decision biases.

The purpose of any traditional sales conversation is to help the prospect objectively assess and debate how or if they should make a change to your product, service, or expertise. This requires enough self-awareness to minimize their biases, identify their attachments, and control their fears. Does your current conversation process and strategy account for this? In this episode of Breaking Sales, Dan and Pam discuss the psychology behind decision-making and explore how human beings approach and debate difficult choices. We'll explore how facts alone are rarely enough to form a decision, and that it's most often the relationship between perceived risks and gains that determine your fate.

In a world filled with endless distractions, willpower is our first line of defense against procrastination, and one of the greatest tools we have to accomplish our goals. But is willpower a finite resource, or one that we can learn to manage, grow, and expand?

In this snippet, Pam shares how she uses willpower to manage distraction, and offers an approach to discipline that you can use to stay focused and achieve your goals. To hear the full episode, scroll back to Episode 78: "Stress or Freedom—the Many Perspectives of Discipline."

What you achieve, create, or experience in your professional and personal journey is reflective of your mindset. When decoding the world around you - your thoughts follow a thinking pattern. This routine dictates the actions you take, or don't take. So if you want to achieve, create, or experience something more or different - strengthen your mindset. Gratitude is a simple and powerful place to start.

In the final part of my conversation with Chris Schembra, a gratitude expert and the author of Wall Street Journal bestseller Gratitude Through Hard Times, we explore the connection between gratitude and how we think and the actions we take. As well as the impact of negative biographical experiences, and how to shift them to positive.

Is gratitude simply an altruistic way of thinking? Does it have a tangible impact on the challenges we face, and the relationships we attract and build each day?

The answer - yes! It strengthens you and those around you.

In this episode of Breaking Sales, Dan sat down with Chris Schembra, a gratitude expert and the author of WSJ bestseller Gratitude Through Hard Times to discuss. Chris shares how and why you should begin your gratitude journey, and how a gratitude practice will strengthen your connection with prospects, clients, teammates, family, and friends.

Rejection, self-doubt, imposter syndrome, or simple uncertainty—any one of them can cause anxiety, hesitation, and frustration. All of them reside in your mindset, and it's often very difficult to consistently shake them.

Enter gratitude.

Whether preparing for a big sales call, leadership moment, or family dynamic, gratitude is a practice that can calm your nerves, instill conviction, and strengthen courage.

Meet my guest, Chris Schembra, a gratitude expert and the author of "Gratitude and Pasta," along with his latest book, "Gratitude Through Hard Times." In this episode of Breaking Sales, Chris enlightens us on how practicing gratitude can reshape one's mindset to foster resilience and help us become more resolute in our actions.

When in a conversation, the process of seeking to understand the other person is core to building trust.

In this Snippet, Pam and Dan discuss how to use questions to help your prospect become more objective as they evaluate your value and expertise.

To hear the full conversation, scroll back to Episode 91—Your Mindset Impacts Your Results Pt 2.

Changing your mindset is essential for growth, and yet it remains a vague process and destination for so many. Yes, the word is overused and misused.

It's the absolute determining factor in how you perform and the trust you build in a conversation. It's the crucial difference between the same results you've always experienced and moving into a realm of higher performance. In this episode, Dan continues his conversation with commercial real estate professional and Lappin180 client Jeff Vertun to explore what it took for him to analyze and evolve his mindset. They also look at how changing his mindset translated to the real world by breaking down a meeting that Jeff recently had between his team and a prospect.

Theory, methodology, ideology: life's full of intriguing concepts, but in the end, success comes down to the risk (and reward) of taking action.

In this episode, Dan speaks with commercial real estate professional and Lappin180 client Jeff Vertun to explore what it means to change your mindset, and how this directly impacts your ability to connect with your prospects by being curious (instead of hiding behind your competencies).