Sales Gravy: Jeb Blount

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 manage their money like professionals. They know the high of a commission check can’t replace long-term financial freedom.

I’ve got the financial low-down.

When a big check hits, it’s tempting to splurge. New watch. Fancy dinner. Extra drinks on you.

But here’s the catch: commission highs come and go. Quarters fluctuate. Markets shift. Now more than ever, you can’t treat every paycheck like a lottery win.

Try this instead:

Living below your means is how you avoid feeling broke—even during dry spells.

Sales is high-risk, high-reward. One quarter, you’re crushing it, the next you’re staring down a dry pipeline and a mortgage payment.

Enter your emergency fund.

This isn’t optional—it’s survival. Ideally, you want 3–6 months of living expenses saved in a separate account, untouched unless it’s a true money emergency.

Having this cushion keeps you from making desperate decisions when things get tight—and keeps your mind clear to prospect fanatically.

Credit cards. Car payments. Student loans.

Debt is a silent killer of long-term wealth. And the more you make, the more it sneaks in. Why? Because it’s easy to think, “I’ll just pay it off with my next check.”

Then the check comes. And goes.

Start taking control:

Freedom means having money that belongs to you—not a credit card company.

It’s easy to feel invincible when you’re 25, 30, 35—closing deals, stacking checks.

But time moves fast. And if you don’t start investing for the long haul, future-you will be making cold calls at 70.

Start with your 401(k) if your company offers one—especially if there’s a match (that’s free money). If not, look into IRAs or Roth IRAs. Even small monthly contributions grow massively over time thanks to compounding interest.

The earlier you start, the easier it is. The later you start, the harder it gets.

You wouldn’t wing a sales call with a high-value prospect, right? The same goes for your finances.

You need a plan.

Sales success without financial structure is just noise. You work too hard to have nothing to show for it in the end.

This isn’t about deprivation. It’s about choice.

When your money’s right, you can:

The people who look rich often aren’t. The people who stay rich? They play the long game.

You already know how to grind. You already know how to win.

Now it’s time to build a life where that effort creates lasting freedom—not just fleeting dopamine hits. Take control of your finances like you take control of your pipeline.

Don’t just close deals—build wealth.

Make your financial goals part of your sales goals. If you don’t know where to start, download our FREE Goal Planning Guide!

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 on distributors, contractors, and engineers to choose their brand over cheaper alternatives.

Below, you’ll find key insights on how to drive more “pull-through” sales to your channel partners and convince every stakeholder—from designers to installers—to pick your product.

When you sell through distribution, you lose a lot of direct control. Your product is on the shelf (literally or figuratively) alongside competitors, and the distributor or contractor can often steer buyers toward any brand they choose. Pull-through happens when the end user, contractor, or engineer specifically requests your brand—making your distributor the middleman who fulfills the preference you created.

Ross’ sales team already does lunch-and-learn sessions with engineering firms. Those engineers create the specs that contractors must follow, so if your product is “baked in” early, that’s a massive advantage later when the contractor goes shopping. But the real test comes when the contractor or installer sees a cheaper alternative on the distributor’s line card.

Key Steps:

The toughest hurdle for a premium brand is the classic price objection. If the competitor’s line undercuts you, how do you prove your extra value?

You can do all the contractor or engineer training you want, but if the distributor’s inside salesperson steers a buyer to a cheaper product, you still lose. That’s why building the distributor relationship is non-negotiable.

Action Items:

One pitfall in channel sales is that your rep can become just a “help desk” for the distributor—always fixing problems instead of actively driving new deals. But a proactive approach can turn that support into a competitive edge:

To truly differentiate your product, marketing must work hand-in-hand with sales. You need targeted content—white papers, case studies, videos, ROI calculators—that highlight your product’s unique benefits. Ensure your sellers share these assets during lunch-and-learns, in prospecting emails, or at trade shows.

Possible Tactics:

Ultimately, it’s about controlling the narrative and making sure every stakeholder sees the bigger picture. You’ve got to hammer home: “Sure, there’s a cheaper widget over there. But ours wins on performance and total cost of ownership.” If you can get that message across in channel sales early—before anyone starts price shopping—then you’ll have a far easier time at the final point of sale.

Building pull-through demand in a channel sales environment requires a multi-pronged approach. You must:

When done right, this synergy creates a ripple effect. Engineers specify your line, contractors request it by name, and distributors become your ambassadors. Follow this playbook consistently, and watch how quickly “we’ll consider your product” turns into “that’s the only product we’ll consider.”

If you’re facing a sales or leadership problem and have a question for me, head over to to salesgravy.com/ask and we’ll get you on the show.

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, how you can handle these sales objections with confidence and skill.

The market is swinging like a pendulum on steroids, and it’s making everyone skittish. You’ve got tariffs, trade wars, and a spike in economic uncertainty.

Buyers read The Wall Street Journal or check their news feeds, and the headlines scream “Turmoil!” They panic. So they defer decisions, walk away from deals, or play the “wait and see” game.

Decision deferment objections are a natural consequence of fear. People want to avoid making the wrong move. It’s easier to hit the pause button than to commit to something they’re not 100% sure about. That fear, in many ways, is irrational. But it’s a brick wall that will shut down your deal if you let it.

So how do you avoid letting hesitation, stalling, and decision deferment kill your deals during market uncertainty?

It starts with a fundamental truth: to succeed in this environment, you must sell better. Because when people are fearful, indecisive, or uncertain, how you sell matters far more than what you sell.

In uncertain and volatile times, mistakes come with severe penalties. A stakeholder who chooses the wrong vendor, invests in the wrong technology, or commits resources too soon might put their entire business or career at risk.

So they freeze. They put it off. They say, “We’ll need a little more time to think about it,” or “We need to run the numbers again,” or “Let me talk to my boss.”

If you haven’t uncovered real fears, addressed them, and methodically advanced the deal, you’ll hit a wall of deferment decision objections at maximum force. That’s why I often sound like a broken record—but repetition is the mother of skill. The basic steps to closing in an uncertain market are fundamental:

A lot of sales reps treat the close as one magic moment—like flicking a switch. But in reality, closing is a series of micro-commitments that happen throughout the sales process. Every time you get a commitment to a next step, your buyer to leans in just a bit more, and you set the stage for a final “yes.”

When times are normal, a halfway-decent rep can skip a few steps and still get deals across the finish line. But in a crisis or uncertain market, that sloppy approach falls apart.

You must consistently get micro-commitments and keep advancing—because if you let the ball drop even once, you’ll give your stakeholders an opening to stall or back out with objections like “We going to hold off,”  or “We’re just going to stick with what we have until the economy gets better.”

For this reason, if you are getting hammered at the close with brutal objections, it usually means you made mistakes earlier in the process.

So instead of obsessing over how to wordsmith your objection rebuttals, you might need to re-examine how you qualified and sold from the get-go. Tough objections at the 11th hour are typically a symptom of an earlier problem.

So, what do you do?

That brings us to one of the most important sales tactics in uncertain times like these. It is absolutely crucial that you get buyer worries, fears, and potential objections out in the open and on the table as soon as possible. That means you need deeper discovery and the courage to ask tough questions like:

It takes confidence and tact to get your stakeholders talking openly about concerns—and yes, you’ll risk hearing truths that might scare you or them. But the alternative is to bury your head in the sand and get blindsided at the last minute when they say, “We’re gonna wait till next quarter.”

Asking the hard questions is where many reps falter. Let’s be honest: nobody likes conflict. And direct questions can feel confrontational. We worry, “What if they shut me down or I push them away?” So we back off, we tiptoe around real issues, we avoid pressing them on timelines or next steps. That might keep the conversation calm, but it sets you up for a big heartbreak later.

The biggest agony in sales is pouring time, energy, and emotion into a deal—only to lose it at the finish line when a stakeholder reveals an objection that, had you known about it weeks ago, you could have handled.

This is why you must push through your own discomfort and bring hidden fears to the surface early. It’s infinitely less painful to deal with them upfront than to discover them at the worst possible moment.

There’s a quote I love from philosopher Julian Baggini: “If you believe you are right, then you should believe that you can make the case that you’re right. This requires you to deal with serious objections properly.”

I can’t think of a better summary of what it takes to handle decision deferment objections. If you truly believe your offering is the best path forward, it’s your duty to address your buyer’s fears, hesitations, and perceived alternatives.

You’ve got to want them to put every worry on the table so you can tackle it head-on. Sure, you’ll get your nose bloodied sometimes. But if you’re truly confident in your solution, you’ll find a way to show your buyer why moving forward makes sense—even in choppy waters.

Most of the objections you’ll face during times of uncertainty are decision deferment objections like:

The reality is that they are afraid so they’re stalling. They’re not saying “no” outright; they’re saying “maybe,” “later,” or “we’ll see.” And that’s the tricky part. Because “maybe” can feel like a small open door, but it’s actually a massive speed bump that can drag your deal out indefinitely if you accept it and walk away.

That’s why when buyers hit you with decision deferment objections, you need a systematic approach to help them break through their fear. Use this five-step framework:

Start with empathy. This isn’t about agreeing with their reasons, but acknowledging them as a human. “I get where you’re coming from, and it’s smart to be cautious.” That’s it. No discounting their worry, no jumping into a debate. Just letting them know you’re listening.

Why? Because they’re braced for you to argue or push. By empathizing, you lower their guard and show you’re on their side. It also buys you a moment to compose yourself and think strategically before responding.

You want to make sure there aren’t multiple hidden objections. If they say, “Let us think about it,” is that the only issue, or are they also worried about budget, timelines, or a preference for a competitor? Gently probe: “Aside from needing more time, is there anything else holding you back?” The last thing you want is to solve one problem only to be ambushed by a bigger one later.

Never assume you know exactly what they mean. Always take a moment to clarify their objection.  When they say: “We need to run the numbers.” Maybe they really do need a cost breakdown, maybe they doubt the ROI, or maybe they’re afraid of something else. Ask open-ended questions: “When you say you need to review the math, how do you mean?” Good clarifying questions unearth the real meaning behind the words.

Now that you know the real deal, you want to minimize their fear by reconnecting them to their desired outcomes. Remind them of the pains they wanted solved, the benefits they hoped to gain, and how your solution addresses that. Show them the math if needed, demonstrate ROI, and paint the brighter future. By focusing on what they stand to gain—and the cost of doing nothing—you shrink the size of their fear while maximizing the benefit of moving forward.

Finally, ask again. Your buyer won’t do the job for you. The key is asking with relaxed, assertive confidence because your confidence gives them confidence to push past their fear and make the right decision.

Look, times are unstable. Buyers are jumpy. They’d rather punt than make a risky call. But you’re a sales professional, and that means you stand in the gap—helping them navigate doubt and find a solution that actually benefits them. Don’t shy away from the “We need more time” or “We’re going to hold off.” Expect it, be ready for it, and use it as an opening to get real issues on the table.

In volatile times, it is hard to sell. Yet, you are still under the same pressure to make your sales number. This is why you’ll want to download our FREE Selling in a Crisis workbook today.

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, it’s probably not because you need better leads, better tech, or better timing.

It’s because you’ve drifted from the basics.

We see it all the time—salespeople hiding behind automation tools, social selling gimmicks, and relationship-building fluff. They talk a big game on Zoom, but when it’s time to dial the phone or ask for the sale, they freeze like a deer in headlights.

Let’s call this what it is: avoidance.

You’re avoiding real sales conversations because they’re uncomfortable. You’re hoping your sequence will “nurture” your prospect into buying without you having to actually sell. But automation doesn’t close deals. YOU do.

The truth? Most salespeople would rather look productive than be productive. Fancy decks, CRM tagging, and custom email flows feel like progress—but they don’t get the contract signed.

Top producers know: The tools support the basics. They don’t replace them.

If you want to win more, stop searching for better tactics and start doing the boring stuff better. Because these five basics are still undefeated:

Cold calls. Warm calls. Follow-up calls. Call blocks. Whatever the flavor, the phone remains your fastest path to building pipeline. And yet it’s the most avoided.

Most reps send five emails and give up. Not top performers. They make the call. Because conversations close deals—period.

Stop pitching. Start digging. The best reps are curious, not convincing. They lead with questions that uncover pain, urgency, and decision dynamics. And they clam up long enough to actually listen.

You don’t earn trust by explaining. You earn it by understanding.

If objections scare you, it’s because you don’t practice. It’s because you haven’t made a habit of practicing.

Objections aren’t stop signs—they’re buying signals. But if you’re caught off guard every time someone says, “I need to think about it,” you’re not preparing. You’re winging it. And amateurs who wing it get smoked.

Here’s the truth: the sale is almost never made on the first call. Or the second. Or even the fifth. 80% of sales happen after the 5th touch, but most reps quit after two. Why? Emotion.

They feel rejected. Embarrassed. “I don’t want to bother them.” Bother them? You’re solving a problem they can’t fix alone. Follow up until they buy or you find them a better solution.

Most reps are afraid to ask. Why? 

Because they’re afraid of hearing no. But here’s the thing: no is part of the process. If you’re not hearing no, you’re not asking enough.

You’re a consultant. You’re a closer. Your job isn’t to make the prospect feel warm and fuzzy—it’s to guide them to a decision. And that means asking with courage and confidence.

Three big reasons:

Want to stand out? Don’t be like most reps.

Top athletes don’t get bored of running drills. They know repetition sharpens instinct. They know that under pressure, you don’t rise to the occasion—you fall to your level of training.

Same with sales.

Pros don’t “kind of” practice. They live in the fundamentals. Over and over. Because muscle memory wins when pressure hits.

If you want to be great in sales, stop trying to be creative. Start being consistent.

Let’s be real—if your pipeline’s dry, your quota’s slipping, or you feel like you’re spinning your wheels, the answer isn’t out there. It’s in your calendar.

It’s in your call blocks. Your follow-ups. Your prospecting power hours. Those script reps. The boring, brutal, beautiful habits that build champions.

Because when you do the basics better than anyone else, you don’t have to be flashy. You just win.

Here’s your challenge:What habits have you been avoiding lately? Make it your priority today. Practice it. Drill it. Master it.

Because sales success isn’t about finding something new.

It’s about doing what works—relentlessly.

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 being a genuine expert is more vital now than ever.

Not long ago, salespeople had the upper hand simply by having more data or insight than their prospects. Today, everyone has a blog, video, or TikTok to help them “figure it out.” This can leave a buyer believing, “I know just as much as you—so why should I trust your approach?” That’s where consultative selling comes in, but only if you do it right.

Consultative selling isn’t about showing off your expertise. It’s about guiding the customer to understand the real nature of their problem—often one they didn’t fully realize or that’s more complex than they initially thought.

Consultants by definition don’t barge in declaring, “Here’s the solution.” They start by asking informed, open-ended questions and listening for patterns. They bring a sense of curiosity—an acknowledgment that they can’t help until they deeply understand the client’s unique environment.

When you’re obsessed with “the close,” you risk pushing your own agenda rather than uncovering the client’s real challenges. Buyers can smell desperation a mile away. Detachment works with consultative selling because:

In today’s age of surplus information, it isn’t enough just to learn a skill once. You have to remain curious and update your knowledge constantly. That’s especially true in fields like digital marketing, sales tech, or AI—areas that can evolve daily. You’ll be more credible when you

In spaces like digital marketing, where so many agencies promise miracles, skepticism runs high. By entering a conversation with a consultative mindset, you set yourself apart from the noise:

If a buyer has read every blog post or watched every video, your role isn’t to arm-wrestle over knowledge. Instead, demonstrate the value of personalized guidance that no quick Google search can replicate.

AI-driven search might be the buzz, but how does that apply to a real, live company’s marketing funnel? That’s where your on-the-ground insight matters. If you’ve tracked trends across dozens of client accounts, you can spot patterns or pitfalls a do-it-yourselfer misses.

None of this is easy if your pipeline is empty. Desperation kills consultative selling because you can’t afford to walk away from a deal that isn’t a good match. That’s all the more reason to stay on top of your prospecting game—so you can approach each interaction with calm, genuine curiosity.

Consultative selling in an information-saturated world requires humility, expertise, and the courage to say, “Maybe this isn’t right for you.” Yet when it does match, the value you provide extends far beyond what any self-guided research can deliver. If you’re ready to transform how you engage clients, let consultative selling lead the way—stepping in with curiosity, listening intently, and building solutions that align with real problems.

Got a question or challenge for me? Head over to salesgravy.com/ask to share what’s on your mind. We might feature your question next and help you refine your approach to sales—consultative or otherwise.

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 Nasdaq entered into a bear market and more than $6.6 trillion dollars were wiped from the US stock market in two days. These losses compounded in markets all across the globe.

If you were brave enough to take a peek at your 401k, I have no doubt that you felt this pain and at least a twinge of the fear that raced through business communities across the globe. 

In an instant, everything changed.

Starting today, selling just got even harder. Your buyers are facing uncertainty and a relentless stream of bad news; and where there is uncertainty, your prospects and customers will put off making decisions and doing anything that they perceive as risky.  

The penalties for making mistakes can be severe. Mistakes can put their business, company, career, finances, or family at risk. This is why, for buyers, doing nothing–making no decision–is often the emotionally safe choice, even when staying put is illogical.

In an environment of uncertainty, when buyers feel even the tiniest bit of unease about you, they will not buy from you. 

This is the human negativity bias: Negative perceptions have a greater impact than positive perceptions when it comes to decision making. 

Buyers will be scrutinizing your every behavior, word, and action. They will not be looking for what you are doing right, they will only see what you do wrong. Anything negative will stick out like a sore thumb. 

Their negative perceptions about you cause distrust. Your good intentions don’t matter because buyers are judging you based on their intentions, not yours. If they don’t trust you, they will not buy from you. 

To win consistently, during times of uncertainty you must sell better. You need to bring your A-Game into every sales conversation. 

You must commit to executing the sales process as perfectly and faithfully as humanly possible. No mistakes. No shortcuts. No mediocrity. 

You must sell as if there is no margin for error. When the stakes were lower, buyers may have given you the benefit of the doubt and agreed to move forward even when they are still unsure. But not now. To close the sale, you must be perfect. 

Of course, with the suddenness of this massive economic disruption it is human nature to seek out Jedi mind tricks to make things easier.

I’ve got some harsh news for you. There isn’t anything easy about selling in a crisis of uncertainty. Nor are there mystical Jedi mind tricks that will help you set appointments on prospecting calls, handle objections, or close the deal in this environment. 

If that’s not what you wanted to hear, I’m sorry. Money Monday is a no-pander zone. Here you’ll only hear the brutal truth. 

And the truth is that no technique, no move, no play, no gambit will save you from failure should you get lax with the basics and fundamentals of selling. 

When you show up and throw up, rush headlong into sales calls without planning, pitch rather than discover, challenge before understanding, fail to build emotional connections with stakeholders, and ask for the sale without earning the right, you’ll hit the brick wall of objections at maximum force–and people will not buy from you. 

If you take shortcuts in the sales process, you will experience stalled deals, prospects will ghost you, and competitors will eat your lunch. Your income will drop along with your reputation which can put your career at risk when the stakes for failing are highest. 

Sales outcomes in this environment are predictable based on how you leverage, execute, and advance opportunities through the sales process. 

When you faithfully execute each step of the sales process, you create certainty for your buyer, lower the risk of moving forward, set yourself apart from competitors and bend win probability in your favor. You will close more deals, make more money, and succeed in this uncertain economic environment. It’s the truth, and it’s a guarantee.

Jon Kabat-Zinn once said, “You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.”

What I want you to do right now is read my book Selling in a Crisis. It is available in hardback, kindle, and audio. I wrote and recorded this book to be your companion and help you stay motivated and sell more in moments like this.

Selling in a Crisis gives you 55 short, easy to consume lessons that will help you will find the inspiration and confidence to rise above all of this negativity, catch your wave, and take control.

Remember that no matter what’s happening in the economy you are always in control of your actions, re-actions, and mindset.

After you purchase your book, download the FREE Selling in a Crisis Workbook. It will help you navigate the lessons and put them into action.

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 reps cling to.

Top performers don’t just follow the playbook. They know when to bend the rules, take calculated risks, and do what it takes to win.

The greatest don’t stick to rules and expectations. They forge their own path in a sea of conformity.

They constantly reinvent themselves and their practices to push boundaries and find new ways to win.

What you won’t see is an elite sales rep following the same script day after day and struggling to escape mediocrity.

As venture capitalist Mike Maples Jr. put it on this week’s Sales Gravy Podcast, “People who are winning are the ones who change the rules and tell people how to think about it.”

Now’s the time to shake up your own sales routine and adopt the practices of Ultra High Performers.

You don’t have an option—prospect every day, or get left behind. The pipe is life. If you’re not feeding it, you’re starving.

Fanatical prospectors don’t just carve out time—they demand it. Every single day. You make calls, period. Distractions? They don’t exist. 

But too many sales reps think they need to follow traditional suggestions: Prioritize research over calls; call when you think your prospects will be available; warm leads up with social touches and emails.

These “rules” are screaming to be broken.

There’s no room in sales to avoid cold calling. The telephone is still the single most powerful weapon you have when it comes to selling.

Sure, the norm is to hate cold calling, avoid the phone, and send out dozens of emails because it’s easy. Rule breakers don’t do easy—they’re on the phone every day.

The best reps value prospecting and know that—even when they’re closing deals—they need to be watching out for tomorrow. Mediocre reps make fewer calls, qualify fewer prospects, and close fewer deals.

Don’t be mediocre. 

Never waste your time on a prospect who simply won’t pull the trigger. There are lots of tire kickers out there who will intentionally or unintentionally waste your time.

Recognize early the deals that will never be done.

Most sales reps chase every lead because they’re told to ‘always be closing.’ The best reps break that rule by disqualifying early.

Be intentional in your discovery; ask all pertinent questions before spending precious time wooing a lead. 

You don’t have time to find out weeks down the road that your prospect wasn’t the decision maker or that there’s no budget for the deal.

You can even disqualify before you start prospecting.

When generating cold calling lists, zero in on a subset of your market that is most likely to buy—don’t squander energy parsing through every single business simply to tell your boss you called everyone. 

Jerome, a media rep in Texas, covered all of Austin. Instead of cold calling tens of thousands of businesses, he zeroed in on the ones most likely to be in the market for his services and who could afford them.

He weaned out businesses that weren’t strictly his target demographic and saved himself thousands of useless calls. 

Break the norm by cutting deadweight fast.

Mediocre reps make useless calls and let the fear of annoying prospects sabotage their follow up game. 

Forget the outdated advice about not being ‘too persistent.’ Elite pros break that rule and keep showing up until they hear ‘yes’ or ‘no.’

They bend the rules of social niceties (i.e. don’t annoy your prospect) and keep calling, no matter how long it takes. Xant found that 50% of sales happen after the 5th follow-up, but most reps stop at 2. 

But it can take 20+ touches to engage a cold prospect. And great reps don’t stop there.

While most sales reps give up after a few attempts, rule breakers defy conventional wisdom by relentlessly pursuing prospects, knowing that success often comes after many touches.

I once picked up a call from a rep on the 73rd time he called. I admired the persistence. Had he stopped at 72, all he would have gotten was my voicemail and a missed opportunity for my business.

The lesson? Don’t let the rules of polite society stand in your way when prospecting or following up. Be the interrupter that you are and keep interrupting until you get in front of or back in front of your lead.

Don’t limit yourself to only calling either. 

Break out your social prospecting skills with LinkedIn connections, comments and notes. Send emails. Send snail mail. 

Find your way to a conversation—and potentially a deal.

Prospects can smell your misery. And they won’t respond when you’re overly eager, pushy or driving the deal too fast.

Top reps master the ‘takeaway,’ knowing when to make it seem like the deal might no longer be available. It’s about leveraging the fear of loss to make the prospect more eager to move forward.

If you approach a deal knowing you’re behind on your quota and lagging at the end of the quarter, you’re doomed because desperation stinks.

Sometimes ‘never take no for an answer’ and ‘always be closing’ just won’t work—rule breakers know when to execute the takeaway, forcing the prospect to make a decision and potentially flipping the deal in their favor.

Rule breakers won’t push endlessly for a deal with someone who can’t make a decision. They’ll walk away knowing it will force a choice that could land in their favor.

Rule breakers aren’t concerned with closing every deal. Sure, that’s the ideal. But the best reps know that strikeouts don’t matter.

You’re going to swing and miss the majority of the time in sales. That’s a fact. The best reps close just 15%-20% of the time.

It’s the grand slams that really count.

Most reps play it safe, always sticking to small deals and quota-chasing. But rule-breakers hit singles and doubles week in and week out—and go after whales.

Winners know not to let a big deal slip by just because it’s hard, going to take extra time, or might not pan out. 

Elite sales reps know when to go big at the bat. You should, too.

Keep swinging until you knock one out of the park.

Sales isn’t about playing it safe—it’s about playing to win. The best reps break the rules that hold them back and push past the limits of “how it’s always been done.”.

They prospect fanatically, refuse to waste time on dead-end leads, and chase big deals without fear of striking out. They don’t let outdated processes or hesitation slow them down.

At the end of the day, the scoreboard doesn’t care how well you followed the rules—it only cares about results. So step up, take bold swings, and keep breaking the norms that don’t serve you.

There’s still time to work on your Q2 goals. Check out our Goal Planning Guide for tips on how to crush your numbers this quarter.

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.

Sales is a skill position. Even the best reps lose their edge if they’re left on their own for too long.

Much like elite athletes, sales professionals need ongoing input to fine-tune their mechanics, recharge their motivation, and keep small errors from turning into big problems.

Coaching can be the difference between a rep who has plateaued and one who keeps climbing—because it provides immediate, personalized feedback when it counts most.

Training is vital for learning new strategies, product details, and selling techniques, but it doesn’t guarantee that anyone will actually use those ideas. That’s where coaching comes in.

A coach helps each individual absorb and adapt those lessons to their unique style, role, or territory. Research shows that simply sending people to training without one-on-one follow-up leads to a big dip in retention and performance. But when coaching supports training, skill application soars—along with results.

Sales leadership has three core pillars.

Think about it this way. 90% of strategy (leading) is execution (managing) AND 90% of execution is people (coaching). Everything depends on people which is why you can’t afford not to coach.

Leaders who prioritized weekly one-on-ones, real-time one-to-one coaching, and rigorous sales pipeline reviews consistently deliver better results and productivity.

One of my top clients reconfigured its leadership approach with inside sales reps, focusing on call-by-call coaching in real time. While the broader industry shrank, this company grew by over 20%.

The common thread? Leaders were present. They weren’t waiting for problems to surface; they intervened early and often, guiding reps through each challenge.

Leaders sometimes fear that sitting with their reps will feel intrusive, yet just being there raises performance.

When a coach or manager listens in on a sales call or rides along on an outside sales appointment, reps immediately sharpen their focus. They’re more likely to use proven techniques and avoid shortcuts.

Even better is when the leader offers coaching in the moment—helping the rep pivot if the call starts going sideways. Catching issues before they snowball is how reps maintain a consistently high standard of performance.

One sales organization I work with discovered, after a big dip in sales productivity, that none of its sales managers were spending time on the floor. Rather than spending time on the sales floor coaching, the leaders were in their offices, behind closed doors grading calls.

As soon as the managers started actively coaching—right next to their people, live—the entire team’s win-rates rose sharply. True coaching works best in real time, because your rep can implement what they just learned to get better on the next call.

When a coach is on the floor or in the car, they can see how a rep handles difficult questions, responds to objections, or frames value to a hesitant buyer. This immediate feedback helps sellers move beyond rote “scripts” to deeper conversations about the client’s real needs.

Over time, that consultative style becomes the team’s default approach. The rep’s confidence grows and the client feels genuinely heard leading to higher win-rates and a better buying experience. That shift can’t be taught in a one-off session; it must be nurtured call after call, meeting after meeting.

Ongoing coaching is the lever that prevents skills from slipping and helps each rep adopt best practices in a way that feels authentic.

Like a golf pro practicing with a swing coach at the range before a major tournament, a dedicated sales leader who invests in day-to-day coaching can bring out the absolute best in each team member—and transform the entire organization’s culture in the process.

When you, as a leader, close your computer and get away from the dashboards and reports to spend time on the sales floor or out in the field with your people, you’re showing them that you care about them and value their growth as much as you value hitting the numbers. 

And that belief, investment, and attention, tends to come back around in the form of higher motivation, better relationships, and more wins.

Coaching also turns mistakes into momentum. You catch a slip in the moment, you fix it, and—boom—your rep is back on track for the rest of the day.  Without coaching, a single bad call or awkward client meeting can spiral into a week of self-doubt. 

So if there’s one takeaway I hope you’ll remember, it’s this: Your direct presence and real-time feedback are the secret sauce that keeps your sales engine humming, your people engaged, and your culture thriving.

If you have a question for me or want help working through a challenge or roadblock head to salesgravy.com/ask

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 your:

Begin with an honest evaluation of your Q1 sales performance. It’s likely that your performance falls into one of three scenarios: 

If You Crushed It, and you’re on the top of the ranking report: Congratulations, this is exactly where you want to be at the end of Q1. Being ahead of your number now is an insurance policy against unforeseen setbacks in the future. 

It also can make life much easier if your sales plan and quota gets bigger in the back half of the year as many do. 

The most important thing you can do right now is conduct a deep dive analysis of your pipeline. It’s not unusual to work hard to close so many deals at the end of the quarter that you start off in a weak position at the beginning of the quarter. 

Get your calculator out and do the math on how much you need in your pipeline to crush your Q2 number. Then get to work immediately building the pipe you need to hit that goal. 

Do not wait to do this. With a great quarter behind you, the temptation will be there to take a breather and take your foot off of the accelerator. After all, you deserve it. But be very careful because if your pipeline needs work, the failure to take immediate action will come back to bite you. 

If you feel a bit burned out from working so hard to deliver such a great quarter, it might make sense to take a few days off to rest, recover, and recommit to your goals or raise the bar with stretch goals.

You’ve set the foundation for what could be a massive year and a trip to the President’s Club. Take advantage of what you accomplished in Q1 to get even better in Q2.

If you hit your quota in Q1 and ended up right where you should be: Nice job! Quota isn’t easy to achieve. You’ve executed and done exactly what your company asked you to do. You’ve kept your promise. 

Your biggest challenge now is that it’s not going to get any easier as the year progresses. You’ll need to keep executing and keep grinding. 

For you, this is a good time to step back and take a look at what is working well for you, where you can improve, and where you might have gotten off track. It’s a good time to reacquaint yourself with the basics and fundamentals that create success in both sales and your industry. 

Of course, after battling it out in Q1 you may need to refill your tank. This is the perfect time to double down on investing in yourself. With so much volatility in the market place at the moment, I highly recommend listening to my book Selling in a Crisis on Audible or Spotify or taking my courses on Selling During Uncertainty on Sales Gravy University. 

I’ve always found that investing in myself and learning gives me a boost of energy and motivation when I need it the most.  

If you had a bad Q1 and you are behind your number, then you are likely in trouble and are feeling the pressure. You might already have been put on a plan, which is not fun. The good news is that this is survivable, if you choose to survive.

I know this isn’t where you want to be. No one tanks their sales number on purpose. But where you are now is almost always a result of small slips in discipline that added up over the course of the quarter and led to the hole you are in now. And the first rule of holes is when you are in one, stop digging. 

If you are honest with yourself, over the past three months, you haven’t managed your time well or focused on the right priorities. So if you want to survive the predicament you are in, this is exactly where you want to start. 

Success in sales comes from a relentless focus on putting new opportunities into your pipeline and advancing them through it. Everything else is academic. Sadly, when salespeople get behind the eight ball, it is almost always because they are spending their time on everything else. 

Therefore, if you want to make a comeback in Q2, you need to sit down with your calendar right now. Start with creating non-negotiable time blocks on your calendar at the beginning and end of the day during which you will dedicate focus to prospecting. Every single day. 

Then continue blocking time so that every moment of your prime selling time (golden hours) is dedicated to activity that is either adding new deals to your pipeline or moving them through your pipeline. Nothing else matters. Anything else needs to be removed from your calendar or done before or after the golden hours. 

The process of re-prioritizing your calendar, day, and activities can be very challenging—especially when you are under pressure. If you struggle with this, ask your sales leader for help or seek out a coach. If you don’t have a coach, my coaches are standing by to give you a hand. Just go to SalesGravy.com/coach to schedule a free assessment and consultation. 

As you work to pull yourself out of your hole, it is crucial that you avoid taking short cuts and skipping steps in the sales process. When you are under pressure it is natural to want to speed up and get a win. In this emotional state you come off as pushy, pitchy, insecure, and desperate to buyers—rather than relaxed and confident. 

People don’t buy from desperate salespeople. Therefore, no matter how impatient you feel, slow down and execute each step of the sales process. That’s the real key to improving your win-rate. 

Love Money Monday? Follow the Money Monday Playlist on Spotify.

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, and dominate the competition.

If you want to crush your numbers, start here. 

You won’t become a sales expert overnight. 

But you can practice your way to excellence and then—one day—reach elite levels of selling.

As sales guru Tony Morris said, “You get out what you put in. … You don’t have to be the greatest; you’ve got to be the hardest [worker].”

In other words, be ready to roll up your sleeves and get in the trenches.

Everyone sees the skills of great athletes, but not everyone considers all the consistent work it took to hit that home run or make that perfect golf swing. Sales success is no different—it’s the result of countless daily reps, not just the big wins.

Top performers make it all look fluid—like a dance that should be easy to learn. But it’s not. Developing sales acumen takes time and massive effort, plus dedication to the grind.

You have to dedicate time every day to getting better—no matter what. Practice is an integral part of the grind. Drill your frameworks. Roleplay with mentors. Ask for feedback.

You have to pick up the phone and make calls no one else will—that’s how you win.

Don’t give up before you see results. 

Once you’ve learned the basics, the grind perfects them. But you better start with some solid foundational skills.

Sales strategist Dawnna St. Louis puts it this way: “The first thing you need to do is learn to sell.”

Because trying to sell without knowing how to sell is an uphill climb that most never finish.

Learn to sell, or risk losing everything. It’s an ultimatum that no sales rep can afford to ignore.

Even the best subject matter experts fail without sales skills. 

Take courses and identify a mentor—a seasoned veteran who can provide feedback on your calls and negotiation techniques. Find a personal sales coach to teach you the ropes. 

Stick to the simple; nix the jargon. As Breaking B2B Founder Sam Dunning says, “Does it pass the Caveman Grunt test?” 

Given a few seconds, could a caveman successfully grunt what you do based on your website—or your social media presence—alone?

If not, you’re in trouble. No one is going to buy from you if they don’t understand what you do or your expertise. 

A website is the online lobby of a business—the introduction to your service or product for potential digital customers. 

But take Dunning’s advice one step further and apply it to your Linkedin profile and social media accounts that are your lobby to your potential customers.

Lean into the basics: Who are you? What do you do? Why should a customer pick you?

The quality of your messaging can encourage prospects to reach out to you or establish you as a trustworthy source of business.

Create content that positions you as a thought leader and advisor. 

Otherwise? Your social presence is useless.

Time is the one commodity that you can’t replenish. Once it’s gone, it’s gone.

That’s why you must dedicate time to filling your pipeline every week. Protect your Golden Hours at all costs and then use that time wisely to make as many calls as you can.

Whether you’re in the same building or your team includes remote workers, pick a mutual time and start dialing numbers.

As best-selling author and sales expert Jeb Blount put it in a recent Ask Jeb, “Pick a period of time and say ‘We’re going to run call blocks.’ … Be ready with your list and we’re going to chop wood.” 

Eat the frog—carve out specific time to focus on your hardest task of the day. Pull out your pre-prepared call sheet and run it through without distractions. 

And always, commit to one more call.

KaTom Executive Sales Leader Charley Bible put it best: “If you’re not stepping on each other’s toes occasionally, then y’all aren’t dancing hard enough.”

Territory and prospect disputes among sales reps will happen—if you’re doing your job right.

Don’t miss out on opportunities by being too much of a stickler for territorial details. 

Sure, a rep is covering one market, but that shouldn’t stop inbound prospects from connecting with the first salesperson in line.

Healthy competition drives performance and prevents complacency. It’s the best way to stay sharp and motivated. 

If a prospect reaches out, engage immediately rather than worrying about boundaries. Challenge your teammates, but never at the expense of the customer‘s experience. 

Push harder, be more present, and win the business.

Success in sales isn’t about luck—it’s about execution. 

The reps who commit to the grind, sharpen their skills, and stay disciplined will always outperform those who wing it.

If you’re not refining your approach, protecting your time, and pushing yourself to improve, someone else will—and they’ll win the deals you should have closed.

It’s time to get crystal clear on your messaging, commit to learning (and keep learning), put in the work, and go all in.

And of course, keep listening to The Sales Gravy Podcast!

The sales game rewards those who play to win.

Map out your quarter’s next steps with our FREE Goal Planning Guide