Why telling people isn't enough to change behaviour

Sales organisations spend millions every year on training, yet many still struggle to see lasting improvements in performance.

In this solo episode, Fred Copestake explores one of the biggest misconceptions in sales development: the belief that training and coaching are the same thing.

Using questions supplied by Bec Turton from My Sales Coach, Fred shares his approach to diagnosing sales performance, explains why "one and done" training rarely works, and introduces a simple distinction that can transform how organisations develop their people.

If you're responsible for leading, developing or coaching sales teams, this episode offers practical ideas for creating learning that actually changes behaviour—not just knowledge.

In this episode you'll learn

• Why product-focused teams often struggle to have commercial conversations
• The first thing Fred looks for when working with a new sales team
• Why "One and Done" training rarely delivers lasting results
• The simple difference between training and coaching
• Why coaching creates faster behavioural change than many leaders expect
• How to align learning with real customer opportunities
• Why sales development should focus on implementation, not information
• The importance of quick wins in building coaching momentum
• Why meaningful improvement always requires consistent effort

Key Takeaways

✔ Great salespeople solve problems before they explain products.

✔ Training puts information in. Coaching pulls potential out.

✔ The best development programmes combine learning with real-world application.

✔ Coaching conversations should focus on results, not activity.

✔ Lasting improvement comes from consistent practice—not one-off events.

✔ There are no shortcuts to commercial excellence.

Product vs Problem Thinking

Fred explains why many technical sales teams already know their products exceptionally well - but become significantly more effective when they learn to lead conversations with customer problems instead.

The Coaching Difference

Rather than simply transferring knowledge, coaching uses questions to unlock thinking, helping salespeople discover better solutions for themselves while remaining focused on measurable business results.

Why Training Doesn't Stick

Too many organisations invest in isolated training events without embedding the learning into day-to-day customer activity. Fred explains why implementation is where real development begins.

No Magic Wand

There are no shortcuts to becoming commercially stronger. Sustainable improvement comes from deliberate practice, coaching and putting new skills to work with real customers.

Connect with Fred

https://www.linkedin.com/in/fredcopestake

Subscribe to Sales Today - New episodes every week

If you enjoyed the episode, please subscribe and share it with your network.

Watch this episode on YouTube: ttps://youtu.be/weTzIHaeNXM

Watch Fred's FREE YouTube Course: Sales Mastery for Engineers: https://bit.ly/Sales-Mastery-For-Engineers

Why Quarterly Business Reviews should be about customer value, not sales pitches

Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) are supposed to strengthen relationships, demonstrate value and identify future opportunities. Too often, however, they become little more than product presentations.

In this episode, Fred Copestake is joined by Celia Sanchez Garcia (Celia SGAR), Founder of Vendor Manager Hub, to discuss why many QBRs fail and what salespeople can do differently.

Drawing on over 16 years of supplier and vendor management experience, Celia shares why customers should often take the lead in QBRs, how suppliers unintentionally damage trust, and the framework she uses to ensure every review focuses on delivering outcomes rather than promoting the latest products.

Whether you're an account manager, customer success professional or sales leader, this conversation offers practical ideas for building stronger, longer-lasting customer relationships.

In this episode you'll learn:

• Why many QBRs fail to deliver value
• The biggest mistake salespeople make during customer reviews
• Why customers often lose trust during supplier-led meetings
• The difference between operational meetings, QBRs and executive reviews
• How Customer Success and Sales can work together more effectively
• A proven QBR agenda that keeps conversations focused on customer outcomes
• Why improvement opportunities should come before innovation discussions
• How active listening creates better commercial relationships
• Why making life easier for customers is often your greatest competitive advantage

Key Takeaways

· Customers don't buy products. They buy outcomes.

· Great QBRs review value already delivered before discussing anything new.

· Customer Success often understands how to maximise existing value better than Sales.

· Trust is lost when suppliers ignore what customers have asked for.

· The best account managers bring insight, not just information.

· Continuous improvement creates future sales naturally.

· The easiest way to become a strategic supplier is to make your customer's life easier.

Resources

Vendor Manager Hub

Helping organisations build stronger supplier relationships through better vendor management.

Vendor Score It

A platform for measuring supplier performance, scorecards and KPIs.

Connect with Celia SGAR

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/celiasgar

Vendor Manager Hub: https://www.vendormanagerhub.com

Vendor Score It: https://www.vendorscoreit.com

About Fred Copestake

Fred Copestake helps organisations create commercially stronger conversations through Trust First Selling and the VALUE Framework.

His work focuses on helping salespeople move beyond products and features to create better buying decisions through trust, curiosity and commercial thinking.

Connect with Fred

https://linktr.ee/fredcopestake

Take the Free Collaborative Selling Scorecard

How collaborative is your sales approach?

Take Fred's free Collaborative Selling Scorecard and discover how your current approach compares with today's buying environment.

https://collaborativeselling.scoreapp.com

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/gu85qPEOccA

Watch Fred's FREE YouTube Course: Sales Mastery for Engineers: https://bit.ly/Sales-Mastery-For-Engineers

Take the free Collaborative Selling Scorecard https://collaborativeselling.scoreapp.com/

Winning new customers is only half the story.

The real commercial advantage comes from helping customers achieve the outcomes they were promised, long after the contract has been signed.

In this episode of Sales Today, Fred Copestake is joined by customer success expert Anika Zubair to explore what sales professionals can learn from one of the fastest-growing disciplines in modern business.

Together they discuss why customer success isn't simply account management, why discovery remains the most valuable commercial skill, and how focusing on outcomes rather than products creates stronger customer relationships and longer-term growth.

Whether you work in sales, account management or customer success, this conversation is packed with practical ideas you can apply immediately.

In this episode you'll discover:

• What Customer Success really means and why it is much more than post-sales support

• Why keeping existing customers is often far more valuable than constantly chasing new ones

• The importance of selling outcomes rather than features and functionality

• Why discovery remains the foundation of every successful commercial conversation

• How customer success teams proactively create value instead of reacting to renewal opportunities

• Why executives don't buy products, they buy business improvement

• How "value amnesia" causes organisations to forget why they purchased solutions in the first place

• Why connecting the dots is one of the most valuable commercial skills today

• How sales and customer success should work together to create better customer experiences

• Why AI makes human curiosity and commercial conversations even more valuable

One idea worth remembering

Customers don't wake up thinking about your product.

They wake up thinking about their business.

The organisations that consistently win are those that help customers understand their problems more clearly before explaining their solutions.

About Anika Zubair

Anika Zubair is the CEO of Customer Success Pro, an international customer success consultant, coach and podcast host. She helps organisations improve customer retention, drive growth and build customer success teams that create measurable business value.

Connect with Anika

· LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/anikazubair

· Website: https://www.thecustomersuccesspro.com

Follow Fred: https://linktr.ee/fredcopestake

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Ja_mTyZjTCQ

Watch Fred's FREE YouTube Course: Sales Mastery for Engineers: https://bit.ly/Sales-Mastery-For-Engineers

Useful resources

• Take the Collaborative Selling Scorecard – free Check how well your sales approach fits today's buying environment https://collaborativeselling.scoreapp.com/

Free Collaborative Selling Scorecard

If you would like to assess how your sales approach aligns with today's buying environment, you can take the free Collaborative Selling Scorecard: https://collaborativeselling.scoreapp.com/

In this final episode of the Sales Today mini series, Fred brings the threads of the series together and explains the deeper issue sitting underneath many of the challenges explored in the previous episodes.

Deals stall. Price becomes the focus. Conversations stay too low in the organisation. Teams struggle to engage senior stakeholders. Sales training makes sense, but behaviour doesn't really change.

At first glance, these can look like separate problems.

Fred argues they are not.

They are symptoms of one core issue:

Misalignment between how we sell and how customers buy.

In this episode:

• Why so many common sales frustrations are connected
• The hidden cost of misalignment in B2B and engineering sales
• How stalled deals, price pressure and low-level conversations often share the same root cause
• Why "this is how we do things around here" can quietly hold teams back
• What it means to realign your sales approach to the customer's buying journey
• How the five core elements of selling work together
• Why customers buy outcomes, not products

Key Insight

Across the mini series, Fred has explored a range of common sales problems:

• entering the conversation too late
• getting trapped in tenders and RFPs
• allowing value to sit too low
• stalled deals that never quite say no
• struggling to engage senior stakeholders
• overwhelming customers with expertise instead of creating clarity
• sales training that never really sticks

The key point in this final episode is that these are not isolated issues.

They all stem from the same gap:

a mismatch between the way sales teams are operating and the way customers are actually making decisions.

The Real Opportunity: Realignment

If the issue is misalignment, the opportunity is not to do more.

It is to realign.

Fred explains that this means stepping into the customer's world earlier, understanding what is driving their need, and shaping your sales approach around how they think, decide and buy.

The Five Core Elements of Selling

Fred frames this through five connected elements:

• The right opportunities
• The right research
• The right conversations
• The right solutions
• The right outcomes

Each one builds on the next.

When you focus on the right opportunities, you can do better research. That leads to better conversations. Those conversations shape better solutions. And better solutions create the outcomes the customer actually wants.

Key Takeaway

Customers do not buy products.

They buy outcomes.

They are trying to move from where they are now to somewhere better.

When sales teams start from that point — rather than from product, process, or internal habits — everything becomes more aligned:

• conversations become more relevant
• value becomes clearer
• decisions become easier
• sales feels less forced and more natural

Questions to Consider

• Are the challenges in your sales process actually separate issues, or symptoms of one bigger problem?
• Are you aligned to how your customers buy, or expecting them to align to how you sell?
• Are your opportunities, research, conversations and solutions all connected around customer outcomes?
• Is "this is how we do things around here" helping or limiting progress?

Connect with Fred

https://www.linkedin.com/in/fredcopestake

Subscribe to Sales Today - New episodes every week

If you enjoyed the episode, please subscribe and share it with your network.

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/5mxHxtT4VxM

If you would like to assess how your sales approach aligns with today's buying environment, you can take the free Collaborative Selling Scorecard: https://collaborativeselling.scoreapp.com/

In this episode, Fred explores a frustration shared by many engineering and technical businesses:

You've invested in sales training.

The team enjoyed it.

The ideas made sense.

But six months later… very little has actually changed.

Fred explains why the problem is rarely the quality of the training itself. More often, it's the gap between understanding new ideas and applying them in real sales situations.

In this episode:

• Why good sales training often fails to create lasting behaviour change
• The difference between understanding and application
• Why engineers naturally revert to technical expertise under pressure
• How deeply embedded habits influence sales conversations
• Why classroom learning rarely survives real customer situations on its own
• The importance of connecting learning to live opportunities
• How practical application turns knowledge into lasting behaviour

Key Insight

Most sales training doesn't fail because the content is poor.

It fails because people understand the ideas…

…but never truly apply them.

Real customer conversations are unpredictable, complex and constantly changing.

Without practical application, people naturally fall back to familiar habits.

Why Engineering Teams Are Different

Engineering professionals are trained to:

• Solve problems
• Demonstrate expertise
• Explain technical detail

These are valuable strengths.

But when introducing a more collaborative sales approach, those existing behaviours often take over during real customer conversations.

The result?

The training is remembered.

The behaviour stays the same.

Key Takeaway

Information creates awareness.

Application creates change.

Real improvement happens when new ideas are connected directly to live opportunities, allowing people to see:

"This works here."

"This works now."

Because when people experience success, they gain confidence.

And when confidence grows, new behaviours begin to stick.

Questions to Consider

• Does your team understand collaborative selling… or are they actually applying it?
• Are sales conversations changing, or simply the language used to describe them?
• Is learning connected to real customer opportunities?

Connect with Fred

https://www.linkedin.com/in/fredcopestake

Subscribe to Sales Today - New episodes every week. If you enjoyed the episode, please subscribe and share it with your network.

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/y9STF2STmUg

Watch the full mini series playlist here

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxxcms2Z3FxOjuzT83uI08ZQdVIFq36tJ

Watch Fred's FREE YouTube Course: Sales Mastery for Engineers: https://bit.ly/Sales-Mastery-For-Engineers

Free Collaborative Selling Scorecard

If you would like to assess how your sales approach aligns with today's buying environment, you can take the free Collaborative Selling Scorecard: https://collaborativeselling.scoreapp.com/

In this episode of the Sales Today Podcast, Fred explores one of the most important moments in any sales conversation.

It's not when the customer agrees to a meeting.

It's not when they ask for a proposal.

And it's not when they say yes.

It's that subtle moment when they pause and say:

"Ah... right, that makes sense."

Fred explains why this seemingly small moment represents a major shift in the customer's thinking and why creating clarity is often far more powerful than trying to persuade.

In this episode:

• Why great sales conversations create clarity rather than pressure
• The significance of the customer's "Ah..." moment
• Why more information does not always create better decisions
• How explanation mode can actually slow progress
• The difference between helping customers think and trying to convince them
• Why uncertainty creates delay in sales opportunities
• How clarity leads naturally to confidence and action

Key Insight

Customers are often trying to work out:

• What's really going on?
• What matters most?
• What should we do next?

When those questions remain unanswered, progress slows down.

Adding more information rarely solves the problem.

Creating clarity does.

The Journey of Understanding

Fred describes the progression many customers go through:

Nah → Okay → Ah → Wow

The breakthrough doesn't happen because the product changes.

It happens because the customer's thinking changes.

And that is where great sales conversations create value.

Key Takeaway

The role of a salesperson is not to persuade.

It is not to pressure.

And it is not to overwhelm customers with information.

The role of a salesperson is to help customers think.

Because when customers gain clarity, decisions become easier.

Questions to Consider

• Are your conversations creating clarity or simply adding information?
• Are you helping customers think more clearly?
• How often do you hear that "Ah, that makes sense" moment?

Connect with Fred

https://www.linkedin.com/in/fredcopestake

Subscribe to Sales Today - New episodes every week

If you enjoyed the episode, please subscribe and share it with your network.

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/PIh8vkDutYg

Take the Collaborative Selling Scorecard: https://collaborativeselling.scoreapp.com

In this episode of the Sales Today Podcast, Fred Copestake explores a pattern he often sees in engineering-led sales organisations:

What he calls The Engineering Super Ego.

Despite the provocative name, this isn't a criticism of engineers. In fact, it comes from one of their greatest strengths: deep expertise, technical excellence, and the ability to solve complex problems.

The challenge is that, in sales conversations, this strength can sometimes become a weakness.

Fred explains why customers don't necessarily need more information, more detail, or more technical depth. What they often need is clarity.

In this episode:

• What the "Engineering Super Ego" really means
• Why technical expertise can sometimes create distance in customer conversations
• How sales discussions unintentionally become demonstrations of knowledge
• Why customers often nod politely without truly moving forward
• The difference between informing customers and helping them think
• Why clarity creates more value than complexity
• How to use expertise as a guide rather than a showcase

Key Insight

Customers rarely buy because they have been overwhelmed with information.

They buy because they understand:

• What is happening
• Why it matters
• What they should do next

The real value of expertise isn't demonstrating how much you know.

It's helping customers make sense of their situation.

Key Takeaway

Technical expertise remains incredibly important.

The shift is not to remove it.

The shift is to use it differently.

Instead of asking:

"How can I explain this better?"

Ask:

"How can I make this easier to understand?"

Because customers value clarity far more than complexity.

Questions to Consider

• Are your sales conversations helping customers think?
• Are you simplifying or complicating?
• Are you using expertise to clarify or to impress?

Connect with Fred

https://www.linkedin.com/in/fredcopestake

Subscribe to Sales Today - New episodes every week

If you enjoyed the episode, please subscribe and share it with your network.

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/SMkOTBIws94

Connect with Fred: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fredcopestake

Watch Fred's FREE YouTube Course: Sales Mastery for Engineers: https://bit.ly/Sales-Mastery-For-Engineers

Watch the full mini series playlist here

Take the Collaborative Selling Scorecard: https://collaborativeselling.scoreapp.com

Connect with Fred: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fredcopestake

Watch Fred's FREE YouTube Course: Sales Mastery for Engineers: https://bit.ly/Sales-Mastery-For-Engineers

Watch the full mini series playlist here

In this episode of the Sales Today Podcast, Fred Copestake tackles a challenge that many engineering and B2B sales teams face:

Why is it so difficult to engage senior stakeholders?

The common assumption is that senior decision-makers are simply too busy, too difficult to reach, or unwilling to engage.

But what if the real issue isn't access at all?

Fred explores why many sales conversations naturally sit at an operational level, while senior leaders are focused on entirely different concerns. The result is a disconnect between what sales teams are talking about and what senior stakeholders are actually thinking about.

In this episode:

• Why access to senior stakeholders is often a relevance problem, not an availability problem
• How operational conversations limit who engages with them
• What senior decision-makers are really focused on
• Why conversations about cost, efficiency, and features rarely gain executive attention
• How strategic concerns trigger many buying initiatives
• Why sales teams often become disconnected from where the original thinking started
• The subtle shift that helps conversations reach higher levels of the organisation

Key Insight

Senior stakeholders are not avoiding conversations.

They are constantly making decisions, evaluating opportunities, assessing risks, and considering the future direction of their organisation.

The question is not: "Can we reach them?"

The question is: "Are we relevant to them?"

Key Takeaway

If your team struggles to engage senior decision-makers, don't start by focusing on access.

Start by asking:

"Are we talking at the right level for the people we want to engage?"

Because when conversations align with the priorities, concerns, and outcomes senior leaders care about, access often becomes much less of a barrier.

Free Collaborative Selling Scorecard

If you would like to assess how your sales approach aligns with today's buying environment, you can take the free Collaborative Selling Scorecard: https://collaborativeselling.scoreapp.com/

Connect with Fred

https://www.linkedin.com/in/fredcopestake

Subscribe to Sales Today - New episodes every week

If you enjoyed the episode, please subscribe and share it with your network.

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/xLx9AmjYU2Y

Take the Collaborative Selling Scorecard: https://collaborativeselling.scoreapp.com

Connect with Fred: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fredcopestake

Watch Fred's FREE YouTube Course: Sales Mastery for Engineers: https://bit.ly/Sales-Mastery-For-Engineers

Watch the full mini series playlist here

Most engineering businesses already have strong products, strong expertise, and strong technical capability.

So why do so many opportunities still fail to convert?

In this 5th episode of the Sales Today Mini Series, Fred explores one of the biggest misunderstandings in modern B2B sales:

A strong solution does not automatically create buying confidence.

Customers are not simply evaluating products in isolation.

They are trying to understand:

• Does this help us move forward?
• Does this solve the right problem?
• Is this the right direction?
• Can we commit to this confidently?

And when those answers are unclear, decision-making slows down - even when the technical solution is excellent.

Fred explores the growing gap between:

• Technical capability and Customer clarity

He explains why modern sales conversations are no longer just about presenting products, but helping customers make sense of their situation, their priorities, and the outcomes they actually want to achieve.

Fred also introduces the idea of the salesperson as a "sense maker" - someone who helps customers:

• Understand what is really going on
• Clarify the real problem
• Define what a good outcome looks like
• Connect the solution to meaningful business impact

Because understanding how something works is not the same as understanding why it matters.

In this episode:

• Why strong products alone do not guarantee sales success
• The difference between capability and customer confidence
• Why technical detail is often overused too early
• The role of sales conversations in helping customers think clearly
• Why customers buy clarity as much as capability
• How engineering businesses can improve conversion without changing the product
• The importance of communicating value in the customer's context

Key Takeaway

Customers do not buy technical capability alone.

They buy confidence in a direction, confidence in an outcome, and confidence in a decision.

And that confidence is created through better conversations.

Free Collaborative Selling Scorecard

If you would like to assess how your sales approach aligns with today's buying environment, you can take the free Collaborative Selling Scorecard: https://collaborativeselling.scoreapp.com/

Take the Collaborative Selling Scorecard: https://collaborativeselling.scoreapp.com

Connect with Fred: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fredcopestake

Watch Fred's FREE YouTube Course: Sales Mastery for Engineers: https://bit.ly/Sales-Mastery-For-Engineers

Watch the full mini series playlist here

In this episode of the Sales Today Podcast, Fred Copestake explores one of the most frustrating realities in modern B2B sales:

The deals that never actually say "no" - but never really move forward either.

The pipeline looks healthy. The conversations seemed positive. The proposal was submitted.

And then… nothing.

Fred explains why stalled deals are often misunderstood. In many cases, the issue is not rejection, poor timing, or even stronger competition. Instead, the customer is still trying to make sense of their own situation.

In this episode:

- Why "stuck" deals are often incomplete rather than lost

- The hidden mismatch between sales momentum and customer clarity

- Why customers delay decisions when their thinking is unresolved

- The danger of applying pressure before clarity exists

- Why chasing harder can sometimes create more friction

- How uncertainty inside the customer organisation slows progress naturally

- The subtle shift that helps conversations move forward again

Key Insight

Many sales teams assume: "We've presented the solution, so the deal should progress."

But customers are often still trying to answer deeper questions internally:

- What exactly is the problem?

- What does a good outcome actually look like?

- Is now the right time to act?

Until those questions are resolved, momentum naturally slows down.

Key Takeaway

Instead of asking: "How do we move this deal forward?"

Ask: "What is the customer still trying to work out?"

Because clarity - not pressure - is usually what unlocks progress

Mentioned in this episode

The Collaborative Selling Scorecard - a free tool to assess how aligned your sales approach is with modern customer buying behaviour.

https://collaborativeselling.scoreapp.com/