SALES with ASLAN

Motive is ultimately transparent, and it can make or break your influence in sales and in life.

In Truth #2 of ASLAN’s “30 Truths” anniversary series, Tom Stanfill and Tab Norris unpack why people can sense your intent, even when your words sound right. From “commission breath” to the subtle facial cues that give you away, they explore how motives show up through posture, questions, listening, and the next step you push for.

You will learn how to “reset the compass” before high-stakes conversations, shift from trap questions to curious questions, and step into the identity of a trusted partner who represents the customer, not the product.

If you want more receptivity, more credibility, and better outcomes, this one is a must-listen.

This episode kicks off a special year for Sales with ASLAN as we celebrate 30 years in business by revisiting the most important truths we have learned along the way.

Tom and Tab start with the most foundational and most counterintuitive insight of all: the customer’s willingness to listen matters more than your ability to communicate.

From early days making cold calls to conversations with Fortune 100 leaders, from leadership teams to marriages and parenting teenagers, this truth shows up everywhere. When someone is not receptive, even the best message fails. When they are, influence becomes possible.

In this conversation, Tom and Tab unpack why traditional persuasion often backfires, why modern buyers are more resistant than ever, and what it really takes to create fertile soil before planting the seed.

Only a day after training, most teams forget half of what they learned. By the end of the week, nearly all of it is gone. Not because the content was bad, but because the human brain is wired to forget.

That is the Forgetting Curve, and it exposes a deeper issue in sales enablement. Too many organizations measure success by recall instead of change. Memory is easy to test. Behavior is harder. But behavior is the only thing that drives results.

At ATD Sell 2025, ASLAN VP of Training Jesse Rome tackled this challenge head on. He explored why traditional training metrics fall short, why the gap between enablement efforts and real capability keeps widening, and how AI can either add noise or accelerate what actually works.

This episode reframes the goal of sales training, from helping reps remember more, to helping them become different in the moments that matter.

In this episode, Tom, John, and Tab explore how an abundance mindset shapes performance, relationships, and results, especially under pressure. They unpack the difference between scarcity and abundance, why fear quietly sabotages peak performance, and how gratitude creates the psychological safety needed to operate in a state of flow.

John explains how survival instincts and outcome attachment limit connection, whether in leadership, sales, or life. The conversation connects abundance to service, highlighting why focusing on others rather than controlling outcomes leads to stronger relationships and better results.

From mindset shifts to practical self-regulation habits, this episode offers a grounded, real-world look at how abundance, gratitude, and intentional focus unlock growth.

Year-end pressure, big presentations, quota conversations, it all amplifies one thing: fear.

In our latest Sales with ASLAN, long-time friend and team member of ASLAN, John Cequeria, unpacks how survival instincts hijack performance, and how gratitude, service, and abundance can bring you back to your best self.

After his life-altering experience in the Twin Towers on 9/11 and 15 years in sales transformation, John became a student of unlocking barriers to change and performance, and of developing a mindset that brings us fulfillment.

If you want your team to sell with emotional intelligence, stay present under pressure, and get back into flow, this one is worth sharing.

Welcome to another episode of Sales with ASLAN! Today, weare back in our spotlight series called ASLAN at home, where we talk about maintaining influence in the relationships that matter most. Our CEO Tom Stanfill is joined by his daughter and ASLANS podcast producer, Tindell Baldwin, as theytalk about one way we might not realize we are losing influence, our anger. Tom and Tindell always bring in a story from Tindell’s home as she parents four kids from elementary to teens. This week, we are talking about how to identifyyour anger triggers, how to stop yourself from losing your temper, and why anger is a flawed strategy for influence.

In part four of our series, Moving from Sales Manager to Sales Catalyst, we dive into the pivotal role of coaching in transforming teams and organizations. Tom and Tab break down why coaching is more than just a conversation; it’s about developing capabilities, driving performance, and creating lasting change.

From structured frameworks and observation techniques to the power of practice and the growing role of AI coaches, this episode covers:

• Why coaching is the hardest (and most important) part of leadership

• The three elements of effective coaching: Diagnose, Align, and Develop

• How structured coaching builds engagement, productivity, and capabilities

• The mindset shift needed for reps to embrace coaching

• Real-world examples of how observation uncovers blind spots

• The difference between coaching and managed sessions

• How AI is revolutionizing skill development

Whether you’re a frontline leader or an executive looking to elevate your team, this episode equips you with practical strategies to coach for real transformation.

In this episode of Sales with ASLAN, Tom Stanfill and Tab Norris explore one of the most misunderstood concepts in sales leadership: productivity. While many managers believe that tracking activity, including calls made, emails sent, and meetings logged, equals productivity, Tom and Tab reveal why this mindset often backfires. True productivity, they argue, is about outputs: meaningful customer events that create opportunities, move deals forward, or deepen loyalty. 

Tune in to part three to hear how to truly define productivity and set your team up for success. Discover how to focus on outputs that actually drive results, why reps must own their plans, and how frontline managers can become catalysts for change.

In this episode of Sales with ASLAN, Tom Stanfill and Tab Norris dive into the first dial every sales leader must master: desire. Change doesn’t happen in workshops or dashboards; it happens one-on-one - when frontline managers know how to connect change to what reps truly want.

From extrinsic vs. intrinsic motivation to tackling ego, relationships, and competing beliefs, Tom and Tab unpack why “action, not attitude, determines desire” and how leaders can spark lasting change.

Tune into the full series for more wisdom that will change how you approach your role in sales.

As the sales landscape shifts under the pressure of AI, buyer behavior, and economic uncertainty, traditional sales roles are being redefined. But while most organizations focus on training reps to adapt, they often overlook the true agent of transformation: the sales manager.

In our latest Sales with ASLAN podcast, Tom Stanfill and Tab Norris explore how frontline leaders can stop simply managing and start becoming catalysts for change.