Sales Gravy: Jeb Blount

On this episode of the Sales Gravy podcast,  Jeb Blount (Virtual Selling) and Alex Goldfayn (5 Minute Selling) discuss the massive impact of small actions, done a little bit, every day. Listen to the other episodes in the series: Part One | Part Two | Part Three Jeb – Does Faith Matter in Sales? Alex, I've got a question for you about faith. This is not a religious question. It's a faith question.   You are very convincing human being. You say that sales can be done in 5 minutes a day. Talk to people, call old customers, run the system. It works.  So, I do it one day. Nothing happens. Then do it the next day and nothing happens. I do it the next day and still nothing happens. Then by the 4th day I'm like, “Alex told me to do this stuff, and I made these phone calls, but I didn't sell anything. So, I’m going back to sending emails because that’s easier.”  How important is faith in the system, over a long period of time, to actualizing the five-minute selling process?  Alex – On Faith in Yourself Great quest

On this episode of the Sales Gravy podcast,  Jeb Blount’s (Virtual Selling) and Alex Goldfayn (5 Minute Selling) offer a simple strategy for overcoming your natural fear of rejection by breaking it into doable doses. Jeb On Breaking the Fear of Rejection Into Doable Doses Human beings fear rejection. We hate and avoid rejection at all costs. But, in Sales, your job is to go out and find rejection and bring it home.   However, when you break your fear of rejection into doable doses, it gets easier to handle because, over time, when you face a fear repeatedly, you gain obstacle immunity.   Alex On Using the Phone Yesterday I had a video call set up with prospect. It was at the end of a long day of video calls. You know, where everybody is a little box on the screen, right? My brain was tired of being on camera, I just wanted to walk around with my phone - just put my feet up and not be on a camera.   In some cases, I feel like there's more dimension and depth to a phone call as compared to a video call.  If

On this episode of the Sales Gravy podcast,  Jeb Blount's (Virtual Selling) and Alex Goldfayn (5 Minute Selling) teach you how to eliminate cold calling by talking with people you already know. Jeb: On Why Talking to People You Know Can Eliminate Cold Calling “Welcome back to part two of my conversation with author Alex Goldfayn about 5 Minute Selling Skills. On this episode, we discuss one of the greatest sources of new pipeline opportunities.    It's the people that you already know. Talking with the people you know is an easy way to eliminate cold calling.” Alex: On Planning Who You Will Call  "I feel like we don't call people because we don't know who to call, right? Unless you're using a CRM perfectly, it's not going to tell you who to call. It's a list of names and numbers.   At the beginning of the week for five minutes, write down who you're going to call that week. For example, customers that just made an order with you. Right now, try thinking of five customers you haven't talked to in three mont

On this Sales Gravy podcast episode Jeb Blount (Virtual Selling) and Alex Goldfayn (5 Minute Selling) discuss why text messaging is not a substitute for talking with people. This is Part One in our series on 5 Minute Selling - how to get a massive amount of sales activity done, a few minutes at a time. Just Texting It In On this episode Jeb tells the story of a lazy sales rep who lost his business that because he began "texting it in" rather than interacting by phone. "A year earlier, text became his primary channel. Where we used to talk, now he never called. He was no longer blending texting into his account management process; texting had become his account management process. If he had an upsell or special offer, he sent it via text. When it was time to restock, he sent a text. Soon, I started to feel that he was taking me for granted, like he felt he no longer needed to make an effort in order to keep my business. Sadly, for this account manager, one of his competitors called me. She invested in the r

On this Sales Gravy Podcast episode Jeb Blount (Virtual Selling) and Anthony Iannarino (Eat Their Lunch) get down and dirty about why salespeople need to adopt a phone first approach to outbound prospecting sequences. Three Reasons Salespeople Default to Email for Outbound Prospecting There is no tool in your sales arsenal that is more powerful than the phone. None. Yet sales professionals across the spectrum have abandoned the phone for spamming prospects with an endless stream of email. Fear of the Phone In many cases this destructive behavior has its origin in fear. These salespeople are afraid of rejection and therefore avoid talking to people. Email allows them to keep people at arms length. Ignorance of the Power of the Phone in Outbound Prospecting In other circumstances, it is a case of ignorance. Salespeople have been blasted with the false message that the "phone no longer works." They've been lead to believe that the only way to effectively prospect is by email. Therefore, they stuff outbound pros

Mastering the "Yes - And" Sales Improv Framework Ever been caught flatfooted when a buyer throws an unexpected objection at you? It turns out that improv can help you handle it and increase sales. On this Sales Gravy Podcast episode, Jeb Blount (Virtual Selling) and Gina Trimarco engage in a fun discussion on how to increase sales with improv. You'll learn how developing the same skills comedians and actors use on stage, can help you in front of buyers during sales conversations. Improv is the art of off-the-cuff, un-scripted comedy in which the actors respond to cues from each other rather than reading from a set script. The most important keys to effective improv are listening, accepting, and leveraging the "yes-and" framework. Sales improv helps you increase sales by: Becoming more confident Being present and in the moment Building sales conversation organically Asking better questions Being a better listener Keeping buyers engaged Detaching from outcomes During the podcast, Jeb and Gina d

Starting a B2B Podcast is a Smart Virtual Selling Strategy On this episode of the Sales Gravy podcast, Jeb Blount (Virtual Selling) and James Carbary (Content-Based Networking) discuss how starting a B2B podcast can elevate your personal brand and build familiarity. Familiarity Leads to Liking In Sales, familiarity is powerful because familiarity leads to liking. When people are familiar with you, the more likely they'll be to engage on prospecting calls and feel comfortable with you on virtual sales calls. Familiarity is virtual selling lubrication. It takes the friction out of virtual communication and makes everything easier. The lack of familiarity is why you get so many objections. When people don’t know you, it’s much harder for them to trust you. To build familiarity, you must make a direct investment in improving the awareness of your name, expertise, and reputation. Starting a B2B podcast is such an investment and, one that will pay huge dividends. The Virtual Selling Book Virtual Selling is hot

Open yourself up to new opportunities It's difficult to see new possibilities during this crisis. It seems like we've been in this pandemic for years rather than months. Secretly, most of us have been living with the hope that the coronavirus pandemic would be over quickly and that we'd get back to normal. With the new surge in cases, what is becoming clear is that everything has changed, that there is no going back, and that the only thing we can count on is new possibilities. In Coronavirus Talk #8, I discuss why it is important that you shift your mindset now so that you are looking though the windshield rather than in the rear view mirror. Adapting to A New Reality The last time I came to you with a Coronavirus talk, it was way back in April. We were talking about gratitude. And a lot's happened since April. One of the things that happened to me was that I wrote an entire book, an 85,000 word book on Virtual Selling. And it's something that normally takes me 18 to 24 months. And I was able to focus my at

Shifting Initial Sales Meetings From Face to Face to Video Calls One of the most effective points in the sales process to leverage video sales calls and virtual selling skills is the initial meeting. The initial meeting is first step in the sales process. It is the appointment you (or your sales development rep) set during outbound prospecting or from an inbound lead. The objective of the initial sales meeting (often the first step in the discovery process) is three-fold: Make a great first impression and develop an early emotional connection with the stakeholder(s) Fully qualify the opportunity to determine if it makes sense for you to move to the next step with the prospect. Generate enough interest with the stakeholder(s) to motivate them to advance to the next step in the sales process. Effective Initial Meetings An effective initial meeting should be about 30 minutes in length and no more than sixty. Your primary goal is to close for the next meeting (based on the complexity and length of your s

On part five of this Sales Gravy podcast series on sleep and sales performance, Jeb Blount (author of Sales EQ) and Jeff Kahn (CEO of Rise Science) discuss how sleep can help you deliver better sales presentations. You'll learn the same technique that Jeff uses to help athletes lock in practice, improve memory, and reach peak performance. More Episodes of Sleep and Sales Performance Listen to Part One of Sleep and Sales Performance Listen to Part Two of Sleep and Sales Performance Listen to Part Three of Sleep and Sales Performance Listen to Part Four of Sleep and Sales Performance

On part four of this Sales Gravy podcast series on sleep and sales performance, Jeb Blount (author of Sales EQ) and Jeff Kahn (CEO of Rise Science) discuss the two laws of sleep. Jeb and Jeff explore: Sleep Debt Circadian Rhythm Sleep Procrastination Techniques for battling insomnia More Episodes of Sleep and Sales Performance Listen to Part One of Sleep and Sales Performance Listen to Part Two of Sleep and Sales Performance Listen to Part Three of Sleep and Sales Performance

On part three of this Sales Gravy podcast series on sleep and sales performance, Jeb Blount (author of Sales EQ) and Jeff Kahn (CEO of Rise Science) discuss the bad things that happen to you when you don't get enough sleep. Scientists have been studying sleep and health for over 100 years. They have proven that without enough sleep your health, motivation, passion, and cognitive abilities deteriorate. The good news is you can instantly feel and perform better by simply getting enough sleep. Listen to Part One of Sleep and Sales Performance Listen to Part Two of Sleep and Sales Performance

On part two of this Sales Gravy podcast series on sleep and sales performance, Jeb Blount (author of Sales EQ) and Jeff Kahn (CEO of Rise Science) discuss the impact of sleep on emotional intelligence and positive mindset. You will be surprised to learn that the lack of sleep makes it more difficult: to control your emotions perceive the emotions of others effectively manage sales meetings build relationships Jeff says that walking into a sales meeting without enough sleep is the same as going in drunk. You'll learn that the sleep you get tonight is the beginning of your performance tomorrow. Listen to Part One of Sleep and Sales Performance

On part one of this Sales Gravy podcast series on sleep and sales performance, Jeb Blount (author of Sales EQ) and Jeff Kahn (CEO of Rise Science) discuss how sleep impacts sales performance. Listen to Part Two of Sleep and Sales Performance

In every sales conversation, the person who exerts the greatest emotional control has the highest probability of gaining the outcome they desire.

On this bonus Selling in a Crisis Daily Sales Briefing, Jeb Blount and and Jeffrey Gitomer discuss what you should be doing now to get ahead of the curve and read for recovery on the other side of the coronavirus shutdown.

On this episode of the Sales Gravy podcast, Jeb Blount discusses entrepreneurship, self-reliance and why sales professionals need to view themselves as entrepreneurs with Duct Tape Marketing's John Jantsch, the author of the new book, The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur.

On this Selling in a Crisis Daily Sales Briefing, Jeb Blount discusses what salespeople need to be doing now to prepare to accelerate once the recovery begins.

In an economic crisis, retaining customers is job number one. You need to do whatever it takes to keep competitors at bay and work with your customers to ensure that they remain your customers. You will need them when the crisis is over.

In this crisis, when working and selling from home, it is easy for small distractions to have big consequences on your sales day. To be at your best and be productive, you must take steps now to protect the golden hours, block your time, and set a daily battle rhythm.