Sales Gravy: Jeb Blount

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.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omnoVAopK8U

The Fancy Stuff Is Failing You

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.

What Actually Wins: The Fundamentals

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:

1. Phone Calls

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.

2. Discovery Questions

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.

3. Objection Handling

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.

4. Follow-Up

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.

5. Asking for the Sale

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.

Why Reps Quit the Basics

Three big reasons:

Ego. “I’ve been selling for years—I don’t need to practice this stuff.” Wrong. The minute you think you’re too good for the basics is the minute your numbers start tanking.

Fear. Fear of rejection. Fear of sounding pushy. Fear of failing. So instead of doing the work, you procrastinate with busywork.

Laziness. The basics aren’t sexy. They’re repetitive. They take discipline. So most reps quit—and that’s why most reps are average.

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

Go Pro or Go Home

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.

You don’t magically handle objections—you drill them.

You don’t get confident on the phone—you rehearse.

You don’t close deals consistently—you follow a process that’s been forged by reps, failure, and grit.

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.

Back to Basics, Back to Winning

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.

From Information Scarcity to Information Overload

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.

What True Consultative Selling Looks Like

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.

Four Steps of a Consultative Approach

Assess and Analyze: Listen, observe, and probe with specific questions. Gain clarity on how the business operates and where potential issues lie.

Design or Develop Solutions: Tailor ideas or strategies based on the actual problems your client is facing. No cookie-cutter templates here.

Integrate and Implement:Work with the client to fold your solution into their workflows. Show them the path forward, not just a list of theoretical bullet points.

Optimize and Operationalize: Stay engaged. Help the client refine and sustain the changes for long-term success.

The Power of Detaching from the Outcome

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:

It builds trust. You’re not rushing to pitch; you’re learning and diagnosing first.

It reveals the real issues. Prospects open up more when they sense you’re genuinely trying to see if you can help, not just bulldoze them into a sale.

It prevents the “sleazy” vibe. Instead of coming off like yet another sales rep bragging about your knowledge, you show you’re a collaborator ready to craft a solution if—and only if—it fits.

Being the Expert Without Acting Like a Know-It-All

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

Commit to ongoing learning. Read, watch, and listen to everything you can, including contrary opinions.

Embrace nuance. Real expertise means recognizing that not every trend or hack will work for every client.

Use informed questions. The best proof of your knowledge is the quality of the questions you ask. Clients can tell when your questions hit the root of their problem.

Addressing Distrust in Competitive Industries

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:

Focus on your prospect’s specific context. Don’t lump them into one-size-fits-all solutions.

Acknowledge the client’s prior experiences. They may have been burned by poor service or overhyped promises. Show empathy for their concerns.

Offer to walk away if it’s not the right fit. This willingness to say “no” boosts your authenticity tenfold.

When They Already “Know It All”

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.

The Full Pipeline Advantage

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.

Key Takeaways

Stop trying to prove you’re the expert. Prove you’re the right person to uncover their unique issues.

Detach from the outcome. Your job is to see if you can help, not to force a close at any cost.

Ask better questions. Use your ongoing research and pattern recognition to frame questions that reveal real pain points.

Stay curious. The information age isn’t slowing down, so never settle for “I’m already up to speed.”

Aim for trust, not just data. Even if a prospect has all the facts, they still need someone to interpret and guide them effectively.

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. 

Uncertainty and a Stream of Bad News

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 Uncertainty Buyers Start Scrutinizing Your Sales Behaviors

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. 

You Must Sell Better During Times of Uncertainty

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. 

There is No Sales Easy Button

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. 

Execute the Sales Process Perfectly

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.

Read or Listen to Selling in a Crisis

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.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDTi-bw6wtU

Be a Pattern Breaker

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.

Fanatically Prospect

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. 

Ruthlessly Disqualify; Pursue Those Who Will Buy

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.

Play the Long Game 

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.

Be Willing to Walk Away

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.

Strikeouts Don’t Matter

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.

Break the Rules. Win More Deals.

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.

Why Sales Coaching Is Essential

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.

From Knowledge Acquisition to Knowledge Application

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.

Leading, Managing, and Coaching: The Three Pillars of Leadership

Sales leadership has three core pillars.

Leading sets the emotional vision of where the team is headed. It's getting people emotionally connected to a future state.

Managing is driving the step by step processes that execute strategy.

Coaching is developing your people to execute at a high level. It is the force that keeps every member of the rowing in the right direction.

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.

Sales Leadership and Coaching Priorities

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.

Why Simply Showing Up Makes a Difference

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.

The Power of Being Side by Side

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.

The Culture Shift from Transactional to Consultative

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.

Effective Sales Coaching is Personalized

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.

Make time for real-time coaching. Recorded reviews are helpful, but nothing beats observing and intervening on the spot.

Remember that your physical presence boosts performance. Your reps behave differently just by knowing you’re there to guide and support them.

Treat each rep’s challenges as unique. Coaching is a customized process that addresses individual gaps in skill, mindset, or strategy.

Embed coaching into your culture with weekly one-on-ones, pipeline reviews, field visits, or inside call monitoring. Whatever your model, consistency is everything.

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:

Q1 Results

Current state of your pipeline

2025 goals & personal business plan

Evaluate Your Q1 Performance Against Your Sales Goals

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

You Crushed It – You had a killer quarter, blew away your goals, and you are walking on cloud nine. 

You Hit Quota – You're on track and right where you are supposed to be against your number

You are in trouble – You missed your number, are behind quota, and are feeling the pressure.

Incredible Quarter. Crushing It!

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.

On Quota. On Track.

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.  

Bad Quarter, In Trouble

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. 

Take Control of Your Time & Priorities

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. 

Avoid Shortcutting the Sales Process

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. 

https://youtu.be/gmf7YzzlPkQ?feature=shared

The Grind Gets You Gold

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. 

You Must Learn to Sell

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. 

Perfect Your Digital Profile

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.

Wasted Time is the Enemy

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.

Sell Hard—Step On Some Toes

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.

Hard Work Pays Off in Deals

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

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

Below are the key insights from our conversation, along with practical strategies to multiply your lead count and build a system that secures face-to-face meetings with the right buyers.

Why a Multi-Channel Strategy Matters

There’s rarely a single magic trick that opens the floodgates of perfect leads. In B2B lead gen often requires multiple touch points before prospects even see why they need to talk to you. A blend of outbound prospecting, inbound content marketing, and nurturing activities generally works best. The sum of these efforts can accelerate your pipeline more effectively than leaning on one channel alone.

Lead with Pain-Focused Messaging

If you expect busy decision-makers to respond, talk about their pain—not your credentials. It’s easier to draw someone in by asking a question they can’t ignore: “Is high turnover costing you millions in lost productivity?” or “Has rapid growth left your culture in shambles?” The goal is to make them nod in agreement before they realize they’re reading a marketing pitch. That’s when they self-select into your funnel and become receptive to a follow-up call.

Close the Speed-to-Lead Gap

Wes wanted advice on better leads, but high-quality leads can still go cold if your response lags. Once someone opts in or fills out a form, you have a limited window to capitalize on that interest. Even a 30-minute delay can drop contact rates dramatically.

Set strict targets for response time and measure them.

Make phone calls the first touch whenever possible, not a generic email.

Remind them that prospects seeking help have a pressing trigger event—act fast, or they’ll move on.

Enhance Leads With Thought Leadership Touches

Because B2B solutions aren’t often top-of-mind until there’s an obvious buying window, thought leadership and content marketing are critical. Position your business as a problem-solver. Short webinars, white papers, or case studies can showcase real transformations you’ve facilitated.

Offer timely webinars on pain points you see trending in your market.

Gate them with a simple registration form to capture new leads.

Follow up quickly, ideally within hours, to schedule a deeper conversation.

Stay Narrow on Your Ideal Customer Profile

Wes asked whether to target a handful of organizations deeply or go wide. In B2B, sales randomness is the enemy of effectiveness. Identify the types of companies—size, leadership style, growth trajectory—that consistently need your help. Zero in on those decision-makers who likely hold budget authority, whether that’s a CEO, COO, or line-of-business leader. Aim higher first and multi-thread down later, if needed.

Ace the Last Mile

It’s one thing to get leads in the door and another to turn them into appointments. That “last mile” is where your marketing spend either pays off or gets wasted. By the time leads get to you, they’re often aware of a problem. Your job is to connect that problem to a tangible path forward:

Coach reps to identify the pain, clarify it, and propose a next step.

Track and revisit call recordings or email exchanges to spot recurring objections.

If you see a pattern—like pricing concerns—equip your team with a fast, concise way to handle it without sinking the opportunity.

Keep Tweaking and Testing

Even the most robust strategy will fade if you aren’t iterating. Launch new ad campaigns in short sprints, measure cost per lead, and pivot quickly if the numbers don’t add up. Tweak email subject lines and social copy. Identify high-potential communities (like certain LinkedIn groups or niche events) where your target ICP congregates. Expect to experiment regularly to keep your funnel active.

Generating better B2B leads means speaking directly to your prospects’ pain, providing a fast path to get help, and ensuring your team engages the moment an opportunity appears. Avoid random broad strokes—focus on the segment where you repeatedly succeed. Combine outbound and inbound activities for maximum coverage. Most importantly, never let leads linger. Speed and empathy on the first call often mean the difference between closing a 90% prospect and watching them vanish.

If you have a question for me, head to salesgravy.com/ask and let me know what’s on your mind.

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

Foreman’s "In the Mud" Moment

The George Foreman most of us remember, the man with the big charismatic smile selling grills on TV, was a far cry from the young man growing up in poverty in Houston’s Fifth Ward, where lunch was often a mayonnaise sandwich. 

As a teenager, George was an angry, mean bully who stole from kids at school and was shoplifting and mugging his way through his neighborhood. He was living on the edge, one arrest away from landing in a jail cell and potentially a life behind bars.

One night, he was lying flat on his face in stinking mud, hiding from the police, when it hit him like a left hook that he was going nowhere like this. It was a moment of truth that changed the trajectory of his life.

Lying there covered in filth, he made a promise to himself to change his path. He realized that if he wanted to avoid going nowhere, he had to make a massive mindset shift. 

He enrolled in the Job Corps—a federal program that helps disadvantaged youth pick up real life skills—and soon after discovered boxing. And from that moment on, he replaced petty crime with gloves, replaced street fights with disciplined training, replaced despair with a sense of purpose. 

This type of mindset shift is exactly what resilience is about. Sometimes you’ve got to face the fact that your old excuses, old habits, or old environment aren’t working for you anymore. And when you decide to do something different—really decide—you set the stage for everything else that follows.

That stinking mud moment is where you get real about your situation. It’s where you decide that you’ve had enough and realize that the change you are looking for can only be found inside yourself because that’s where resilience comes from. 

Developing Resilience in the Face of Devastating Defeat

Once George got serious about boxing, he rocketed to stardom. He won gold in the 1968 Olympics, then tore through the heavyweight division. 

In one of his most famous fights, he defeated Joe Frazier in just two rounds, creating the iconic moment when Howard Cosell screams, “Down goes Frazier, down goes Frazier, down goes Frazier!” Foreman emerged from that fight as a heavyweight wrecking ball, the unstoppable champion of the world.

Then, he ran into a wall called Muhammad Ali. Millions of people tuned in to watch Foreman and Ali battle it out in what was hyped as the “Rumble in the Jungle.” 

Going into the fight, Foreman was the overwhelming favorite. But it was his overconfidence that lulled him into Ali’s famous rope-a-dope strategy. This led to a crushing and embarrassing defeat.

Ali knocked Foreman out in the eighth round, shocking the world and pulling off the upset of the century. Foreman was humiliated on the global stage. In that moment, he went from being the hardest hitting, baddest man on the planet to an also-ran. 

Sales and life can be the same way. You might have soared for months, hitting every goal. Then the bottom falls out. The real test isn’t whether you can ride success, but whether you can respond to defeat with resilience. The real question is, will you pick yourself up and make a comeback or fold up like a cheap lawn chair and quit. Will your failure become a tattoo or temporary bruise? 

Retreat and Reinvention — The Next Pivot

After that loss to Ali, Foreman was devastated. But he continued fighting until at the age of 28, he had a near death experience in Puerto Rico following a loss to Jimmy Young. It was one more lapse into overconfidence in which Foreman failed to prepare for the fight and was taken down by yet another underdog. 

Following the fight, Foreman collapsed in the locker room suffering from exhaustion and heatstroke. There, in that pivotal moment, after being revived, he became a born-again Christian, and retired from the sport to lead a life as an ordained minister. 

But sometimes that’s what you need—a chance to heal, refocus, and reconnect with what matters. Resilience doesn’t mean plowing ahead blindly. Sometimes it means taking a step away so you can come back stronger. And that’s exactly what George Foreman did.

Resilience and Comebacks 

Twenty years after losing to Muhammed Ali, Foreman faced a new challenge. His church was struggling to pay its bills and needed money to build a youth center. 

Broke and needing money, at 38 years old, he announced what would become one of the most stunning comebacks in sports history. He was returning to the ring

At his age, he was ancient by boxing standards. People scoffed. Critics laughed, fans were skeptical, but George believed he had another act in him.

Success didn’t come right away. He fought 30 comeback fights and lost titles to Evander Holyfield and Tommy Morrison.

But in 1994, Michael Moorer accepted a heavyweight championship bout with Foreman, seeing him as a washed up old man he could easily knockout. 

Ten rounds into the fight, Foreman—who was wearing the same boxing trunks he had worn when losing to Muhammad Ali 20 years earlier—landed a devastating blow to Moorer knocking him out to reclaim the heavyweight crown. 

Then George sank to his knees in the corner and prayed. He was 46 years old. 

It was an incredible full-circle moment of triumph and redemption that instantly made him a hero to people everywhere. The “washed-up” old man proved to millions that age is just a number. 

With hard work, faith, and unwavering perseverance, almost anything is possible. You’re never “too old” or “too washed up.” You can adapt, learn new tools, and surprise the doubters.

Young George Foreman relied on aggressiveness and raw power but overconfidence was his kryptonite. The older, wiser George Foreman flipped the script on his younger, overconfident opponents and fought smarter, pacing himself, patiently waiting for the right moment to land the knockout punch.  

Foreman’s Third Act

George Foreman’s three-decade boxing career ended with an incredible record of 76 wins, 5 losses and 68 KOs. But what is most remarkable is that’s not where the story ends.

After regaining the heavyweight title at age 46, suddenly, Foreman wasn’t just the champ—he was a beloved celebrity. He then leveraged this newfound love and trust along his trademark smile into something that transcended boxing entirely: the George Foreman grill. 

A whole generation—many who never saw him throw a single punch—came to know him only for that grill. He was on TV constantly—becoming one of the world’s most recognizable people. He even had a television sit-com. 

Over 100 million George Foreman Grills have sold worldwide, and it still outsells its competitors today. Foreman personally walked away with over $200 million from the endorsement deal (more than Tiger Woods earned from his deal with Nike). 

Get Out of the Mud

George Foreman was a onetime street kid growing up in poverty who hid in muddy filth to escape the police, a man who suffered humiliating defeats on the world stage, who came back at age 46 to reclaim the heavyweight title, and then became a household icon for healthier cooking and a beloved American hero. 

George Foreman’s amazing life is a testament to the unstoppable force of resilience.

If you’re lying in your own stinking mud, this could be your moment of truth. You might be one big pivot away from your own comeback story. But only you can make the choice to stay facedown in the mud or get up, clean up and jump back into the fight.

Always remember that when it’s time to go home, make one more call. That’s how you stay in the fight and that’s how champions are made.

Raise your game, unleash your potential, make the pivot to your next big thing with our FREE Goal Planning Guide

Wherever you are in your sales journey, you need a mentor—now. 

If you’re serious about becoming a top performer or want to stay at the top of your game, you need more than just grit and determination. You need a guide. A mentor who’s been through the fire and who can help you avoid costly mistakes. 

Sales expert Tony Morris stands behind the power of mentorship and the impact it can have on confidence in The Sales Gravy Podcast. Sales is about 80% confidence—you can’t afford to miss out.

The truth is, the best salespeople aren’t born—they’re built. And behind almost every top closer is a mentor who showed them the ropes.

https://youtu.be/QqXHY7ONs_k

Mentorship Means a Better You. Period.

Let’s imagine you’re new to sales. Or you’ve got some time under your belt. Or maybe you’re a seasoned vet.

What do you all have in common? You all need a mentor.

Most salespeople fail not because they lack talent, but because they try to figure everything out on their own. They treat sales like a solo sport when it’s really a team effort.

When It’s All Going Wrong, You Need Help

Take the case of Paul—fresh out of college and hungry to make a name for himself in sales. He had the energy and the drive, but he was missing something critical: guidance. 

Paul made call after call, sent countless emails, and chased leads relentlessly. But his close rate was abysmal. 

He’d get shut down early, lose deals at the negotiation table, and get ghosted by prospects who had initially shown interest.

But sales isn’t just about following a script—it’s about reading the room. 

Timing, tone, objection handling, and reading the prospect’s emotional state. That’s where a mentor comes in.

Advice from a Veteran is Key

After months of frustration, Paul finally got paired with Mark. Mark was a legend—consistently at the top of the leaderboard, always winning deals that seemed impossible. 

Mark had also been in the trenches. He’d faced every objection and lost more deals than Paul had even pitched.

Mark didn’t give Paul a playbook—he gave him a framework. He taught Paul how to listen instead of just hearing. He showed him how to control the flow of a conversation and ask better questions. 

Mark didn’t just give Paul advice. He let him shadow his calls, debrief after tough conversations, and sharpen his approach through roleplay.

Within three months, Paul’s close rate skyrocketed. Why? Because Mark showed him what works. Paul didn’t have to figure it out through trial and error—he had a shortcut.

Ask for Feedback

Positive or negative, feedback makes you a better closer. It cuts down your learning curve and sharpens your edge.

There’s constructive criticism: how to fix your call framework, how your because statement falls flat, how your questions didn’t draw out the prospect’s pain. How your buyer wasn’t in the room

Then there’s positive feedback—every salesperson’s favorite. What you’re doing right that you can lean into, continue to hone, and repeat. 

Three Edges a Mentor Gives You

Great sales mentors aren’t a dime a dozen. But the guidance they provide is invaluable. Here’s what a mentor gives you:

Pattern Recognition: The best mentors will point out where you’re consistently falling short—so you can fix it and move on.

Accountability: Mentors keep you on track because they’ll check your progress—and keep you focused on specific goals. When you slip into bad habits, they’ll call you out.

Emotional Control: Rejection stinks and it’s hard to get over—especially when you’re new to sales. A mentor helps you separate rejection from self-worth so you can bounce back faster.

Master The Game

Here’s the reality: You can figure sales out on your own. You can take your lumps, learn from failures, and eventually get better. 

Or you can bypass the struggle by finding a mentor who’s already walked that path.

Having a mentor isn’t just about getting better at sales—it’s about becoming the kind of person who wins consistently. A good mentor won’t just teach you how to close deals; they’ll teach you how to think like a closer.

That’s the difference between an average sales career and an elite one. You don’t have to go it alone. Find a mentor. Learn the process. Master the game.

Need help finding a mentor? We'll help you develop a personalized mentoring and coaching path that fits you. Set up a free assessment here: https://salesgravy.com/coach/