Sales Gravy: Jeb Blount Jeb Blount

Why Roleplay Should Be A Key Part of Your Sales Culture

In this podcast, Jeb Blount, Jeremy Olson, and Kristin Isaacson discuss the importance of role-playing in sales. They emphasize the need for leaders to create a culture of role-playing and accountability within their teams. They also highlight the benefits of roleplaying in helping salespeople improve their skills, gain empathy for the customer's perspective, and build confidence. They encourage individuals to find their preferred style of roleplaying and commit to regular practice, even if it feels uncomfortable at first.





Roleplaying in sales is a powerful tool that helps salespeople improve their skills, gain empathy for the customer's perspective, and build confidence. It allows them to practice and refine their sales techniques in a safe environment.

Leaders play a crucial role in creating a culture of roleplaying and accountability within their teams. By embracing and encouraging roleplaying, leaders can foster a collaborative and growth-oriented atmosphere that drives individual and team improvement.

Consistency and commitment are key to successful roleplaying. It should be a regular part of the sales process, rather than a one-time activity. Salespeople should make a commitment to practice regularly, even if it feels uncomfortable at first.

Roleplaying exposes weaknesses and areas for improvement. By simulating different scenarios, salespeople can identify their strengths and weaknesses, allowing them to focus on areas that need development and enhancing their overall performance.

Constructive feedback and coaching are essential for growth in roleplaying. Salespeople should seek feedback from their leaders, peers, or even trusted individuals outside the team. This feedback helps them identify areas for improvement and refine their approach.





Creating a Culture of Role-Playing

One key takeaway from this podcast episode is the role of leaders in fostering a culture of role-playing within their teams. By encouraging and embracing roleplaying exercises, leaders can establish an environment where individuals feel safe to practice and refine their sales techniques. This culture of accountability sets the stage for continuous growth and improvement.

Benefits of Role-Playing

Roleplaying allows salespeople to step into the shoes of their customers, understand their perspective, and develop empathy. By simulating real-life scenarios, sales professionals gain insight into the challenges and concerns their customers may face. This understanding enables them to ask the right questions, provide tailored solutions, and build stronger relationships.



Moreover, roleplaying serves as a platform for salespeople to enhance their skills and build confidence. Through practice and repetition, they can refine their pitch, overcome objections, and improve their overall sales performance. Roleplaying provides a controlled environment where individuals can experiment, receive feedback, and make necessary adjustments.

The Role of Consistency

Consistency is a vital component of effective roleplaying. Just as athletes train regularly to maintain peak performance, salespeople must commit to regular practice. Consistent roleplaying ensures that skills remain sharp, and individuals continue to grow. It is not a one-time activity but an ongoing process that drives continuous improvement.

Unifying the Team

Roleplaying has a unifying effect on sales teams. It establishes a shared language, understanding, and approach to sales. By engaging in roleplaying exercises together, team members develop a collaborative mindset and foster a sense of camaraderie. This collaborative atmosphere promotes knowledge-sharing, peer feedback, and mutual support, leading to a stronger, more cohesive team.

Overcoming Discomfort and Embracing Growth

Sales Presentation Skills That Get You To "Yes" Faster

In this episode of the Sales Gravy Podcast, Jeb Blount talks to renowned sales experts Richard Fenton and Andrea Waltz about their “Go For No” approach to embracing rejection in sales. They discuss how the fear of “no” sabotages sales presentations and what salespeople can do to deliver more successful and engaging presentations that get them to “yes”.





The fear of failure and rejection can sabotage sales presentations and affect performance.

Embracing rejection and understanding its value can lead to more successful sales presentations. The "Go for No" strategy involves intentionally increasing failure rate and using each "no" as valuable data for growth.

Preparation and structure are essential in delivering compelling sales presentations. Improvisation in sales presentations can come across as unprofessional or unprepared. Don't just show up and throw up.

Storytelling is a powerful tool to engage the audience and connect with them on a deeper level. Sharing stories about overcoming challenges and how your solution helped can capture attention and emotions.

Losing your place or stumbling over words during a presentation is common, but maintaining composure and smoothly continuing is key.

Well-prepared presentations instill confidence in the salesperson and engage the audience more effectively. But it's important to bring passion and authenticity to sales presentations rather than striving for perfection.





The Fear Of “No” Derails Sales Presentations

In the dynamic world of sales, where each presentation is an opportunity to forge valuable connections and secure vital deals, a formidable adversary often lurks in the shadows—the fear of failure and rejection. It's a sentiment that frequently courses through the veins of salespeople, affecting their confidence and ultimately their performance. This fear, while entirely human, can become an insidious obstacle to delivering compelling sales presentations.



But here's the paradox: it's precisely this fear, when understood and harnessed, that can catapult a salesperson from mediocrity to mastery. This podcast delves into the heart of this challenge, exploring why salespeople often grapple with the fear of rejection and failure, how it affects their ability to engage their audience, and most importantly, why embracing this fear can be a game-changer in the competitive world of sales.

What Is “Go For No” All About?

The concept of "Go for No" is about intentionally increasing your failure rate and intentionally hearing "no" more often. The idea behind this is that when you embrace rejection, it paves the way for more "yeses" to come.



However, this doesn't mean that you should simply keep hearing "no" without making any improvements or using the feedback from those rejections. It's important to treat each "no" as valuable data for growth. For instance, you can set goals based on the number of "no" responses you aim to receive, and actively seek out opportunities to hear "no."

Don't Show Up and Throw Up

In the world of sales presentations, there's a phrase that often rings true: "Don't show up and throw up." It's a cautionary mantra that reminds salespeople of the importance of preparation and structure in their interactions with potential clients. Showing up unprepared, with no more than a vague idea of what to say, can lead to a meandering and unconvincing pitch. Instead, successful sales presentations require careful planning.



Salespeople should have their notes ready to go, create a basic outline for the conversation, and prepare specific talking points. While improvisation might seem like a way to appear more "natural," it often results in coming across as unprofessional or unprepared. A well-prepared presentation not only instills confidence in the sa...

Delivering A Next-Level Customer Experience

In this Sales Gravy Podcast, Jeb Blount talks to Clare Dorrian, SugarCRM's CMO, about putting people first, building human connections, and prioritizing the customer experience in a saturated market.



Clare shares expert insights on outbound prospecting, multi-channel engagement, and building a strong sales culture.



Their conversation covers a range of topics, including the evolution of sales and marketing, the role of relationships in modern selling, and driving pipeline growth through real connection.





In a highly competitive market, differentiation is key. Sales organizations should prioritize customer service and engagement as a means to drive pipeline growth and set themselves apart from competitors.

Outbound prospecting is essential for building pipeline and requires a team effort, with every member of the organization contributing to pipeline growth.

Building a strong sales culture means aligning goals and KPIs across departments, and promoting a team sport mentality that encourages collaboration and communication.

By identifying customer challenges and demonstrating how a recommended product or solution can help solve them, sales professionals can build trust and create value for their customers.

Sales professionals must leverage multichannel, multilayer engagement for reaching decision-making committees.

Salespeople can deliver a next-level buying experience by meeting customers where they are and understanding their communication preferences.

Companies can differentiate themselves in a highly competitive market by prioritizing people, building strong relationships, and providing value to customers.

When sales organizations focus on the customer experience, build a strong sales culture, and promote collaboration and communication across departments, they can drive pipeline growth and set themselves up for long-term success.





Sales And Marketing Are Human Endeavors

Maintaining a focus on human relationships is a differentiating factor for sales organizations, especially in a world where technology seems to be pushing us further away from personal connection.



From a marketing standpoint, this emphasis on connection can be leveraged to generate leads and get more opportunities.



Ultimately, success in your sales organization depends on having the right people who not only understand what your product or service is designed to do, but also know its boundaries. In fact, this expertise is exactly what allows smaller sales forces to be nimble, show more appreciation for customers, and differentiate from their Goliath competitors.



This philosophy should be ingrained in your culture from top to bottom, from the way you recruit to the way you collaborate.



This focus on people is an important differentiator in marketing and go-to-market strategies, but when it is a key part of your DNA, competitors take notice.

Make It Easy For The Customer To Do Business With You

In terms of customer experience, It's not just about believing that the customer is always right, but rather prioritizing the customer above all else. This mentality should extend to sales professionals as well. It's important to remember that a prospect is not yet a customer, but their emotional experience during their journey with you is a consistent predictor of outcomes more so than any other variable.



Have you ever been on the receiving end of a sales pitch? We all have at some point in our lifetime.



But which pitches do you remember? You probably remember the ones where the salespeople had an emotional connection with you.



Of course, the price had to be right and the product had to fit your requirements. But what made the difference was when the experi...

A Great Modern Seller Leverages These 5 Skills

In this podcast, Jeb Blount and Amy Franko discuss the importance of modern sellers having strong business acumen and an ownership mindset. They emphasize the value of being able to provide insight to executives based on knowledge of their organization, rather than regurgitating information that can be found online. They also discuss the importance of discipline and habits in maintaining success as a salesperson, especially when working from home. Finally, they touch on the rebirth of field sales and the importance of building strong relationships with leadership.





Instead of simply regurgitating information that can be found online, sellers must have a deep knowledge of their clients' organizations in order to provide business insights that are truly valuable.

Ask provocative questions that create awareness of potential problems or opportunities within the organization.

Build strong relationships with leadership and even going as far as getting into the "bowels" of the organization to get a better understanding of what's happening.

Modern sellers must also have an ownership, or entrepreneur, mindset. They should look at their sales territory as a business, and make decisions based on the top and bottom line as well as weigh risks and opportunities.

Discipline and habits are also crucial for maintaining success as a modern seller. For instance, you should build a strong plan, set goals, track your activities and metrics, and adapt to changes in the sales landscape.

Building strong relationships with leadership and being able to adapt to changes in the sales landscape.





What Differentiates A Modern Seller?

The truth is that there are core basic activities that every salesperson must perform.



Modern sellers have elevated these skills, honing the craft of selling to rise above their competitors and sell differently - and better.



When Amy was doing research for her new book, The Modern Seller, she noticed a particular set of skills that stood out from the rest in terms of indicators of success for salespeople. There are the "everyday skills" of prospecting, presenting, negotiating, and closing. Then there are five skills that modern sellers consistently do better than others, and are clear differentiators.



Agility

Entrepreneurship

Holistic Sales Territory and Pipeline Management

Strategic Relationship Building

Ambassadorship



Through Amy’s career and observations, she has found that mastering these five skills is key to standing out as a top seller. Whether you are an individual seller or a leader building these skills in yourself or your team, these are skills that you should prioritize for the future.

Modern Sellers Are Masters Of Business Acumen

One of the biggest challenges for sellers today is the level of business acumen that they are expected to have. It's not just about having a feature-benefit-price conversation anymore. Instead, sellers must study the client's business and industry to have more in-depth, business-oriented conversations.



Modern sellers need to display a level of business acumen that other sellers may not possess, or they may need to focus on improving these skills. Ultimately, a modern seller is someone who truly differentiates themselves and stands out for their clients.



The best sellers out there cannot be separated from their product or service because they are a crucial factor in the equation of their client's success.



Business acumen is essential to connect with clients and demonstrate the value of your services or products in addressing their individual and unique business challenges, issues, and opportunities.



In longer cycle sales, where the complexity is higher,

If You Don't Take Action, You Won't Get Results

In this episode of the Sales Gravy Podcast, Jeb Blount and David Newman, author of Do It! Marketing and Do It! Selling, discuss exactly how to connect and engage with decision makers and avoid the "middle management trap". One of the most effective approaches that salespeople can leverage to close bigger deals is using interviews as a sales strategy to gather intelligence, build relationships, and connect with high-level decision makers. Through asking penetrating questions and providing valuable resources, consultants and salespeople can establish themselves as experts and earn the right to have pivotal conversations with their top prospects.





Strategic planning and research are paramount for sales and marketing professionals, including targeting a specific market, establishing credibility, using interviews as a prospecting channel, and planning for the future.

Target a specific market instead of trying to target everyone. Determine where to publish, speak, network, post, and participate in blogs, portals, forums, and communities to reach this audience.

Establish credibility in one industry before expanding into others. This requires deep-dive research on market forces, disruption, and compliance regulations. When you track where the money is going, you can prepare for unexpected events and pivot when necessary.

Using interviews as a prospecting channel to gather intelligence, build relationships, and connect with high-level decision makers. focusing on providing value rather than seeking approval or sounding smart during conversations with economic buyers.

To plan for the future, dedicate time to strategic planning based on research, conversations, and feedback from past clients. It's important to always have a plan B in place and be ready to shift gears and change direction when necessary.

By focusing on specific markets, establishing credibility, and using interviews as a prospecting channel, professionals can connect with high-level decision makers and achieve their business goals.





To Sell, You Have to Take Action

As a sales professional, you face a simple choice.



Stay put or go out and do something. Believing that "if you build it, they will come" is a fallacy.



Planning is essential, but without conversations, it won't lead to success. It's time to take action and start having those conversations.



Shake hands and create familiarity with your voice, face, and message. This way, when people see you, they will recognize you and remember your message. This is where serendipity happens.



The key message of David's new book, Do It! Selling is that without action, there will be no results. Leads do not come out of the blue. Sometimes these leads may seem serendipitous, but they actually result from the actions you take to create an environment conducive to generating leads.



If you consistently put in effort, the universe has a way of rewarding you, but it won't reward you for simply waiting for success to come to you. Waiting around for leads to come to you is a reactive approach.



Instead, you need to be proactive and actively seek fresh targets on a regular basis.

The 3 PR Game Plan: Personalized, Professional, Public Relations

For those who are a bit reluctant to sell, David presents a new definition for sales: 'Are you sending enough invitations to a conversation with enough of the right people about how you can help them?' This conversation may not always lead to a commercial relationship, but results in an introduction or referral.



Sometimes, the person may not be the right fit at the moment, but they may come back in the future with an opportunity to work together. Therefore, it's important to put fresh prospects on your radar daily by sending enough i...

Mastermind Group Incredible Asks Jeb Blount Their Toughest Sales Questions

In this episode of the Sales Gravy Podcast, Mastermind Group Incredible asks Jeb Blount their real-life questions as he provides solutions to overcome their toughest sales challenges. Some of their questions include: standing out in a final round interview process, targeting and selling into larger accounts, losing to a competitor, and ways to contact hard-to-reach stakeholders on LinkedIn. Whether you're a solopreneur, small business owner, sales professional, you'll take away powerful strategies to advance your career, grow your business, or land your dream account.





Small companies lose customers because they take them for granted and don't address their concerns.

To win big deals, put a wedge between the incumbent vendor and the customer and look for issues that can be addressed.

Personalized service and attention are selling points for small companies managing accounts with larger competitors.

The hardest thing to do when scaling a business is moving from where you are to the next place.

To get big accounts, create a list of 10-25 dream accounts and target them specifically.

When using LinkedIn, sending a voice message or using Vidyard for video messages can be effective.

Layering on other parts of a messaging sequence, such as phone calls or handwritten notes, can increase effectiveness.

Chat GPT can be a useful tool for writing proposals and creating sales messages, but it can also degrade the quality of written communication if used lazily.





Q: How Do I Stand Out In The Final Round Of The Interview Process?

To leave a lasting impression during a presentation in your final round of interviews, use a strategic approach. A useful tactic is to speak last, also known as the availability bias.



In a final presentation interview, demonstrating ROI is crucial, especially in today's economy. Use a business case to showcase the value you bring. Start by discussing what you discovered during the discovery phase, the problems you faced, and the future state after your program is implemented. Highlight values that are important to individual stakeholders, like personal outcomes and emotional outcomes such as peace of mind and trust in the vendor. Be sure to make your case using business language, not just marketing brochures, and support it with math.



To provide a value framework, follow these steps: articulate the problem you discovered, make a recommendation to solve it, and describe the outcomes your recommendation will generate in terms of measurable business outcomes, personal outcomes, and emotional outcomes. Use the audience's language and be specific. By following this structure, you'll help the audience absorb information more effectively.

Q: How Do I start Targeting Larger Accounts?

Scaling up into larger businesses can be overwhelming, but the first step is to take action. While hitting singles may be easier, it's important to pursue bigger opportunities to gain experience selling larger deals.



However, it's also important to not overlook the value of smaller deals and to have a consistent pipeline of singles, doubles, triples, and home runs. This helps de-risk your pipeline and income while providing opportunities for growth and a bigger income.



To reduce risk in your pipeline, it's crucial to have strong qualifying mechanisms and a solid understanding of a potential client's fit with your company. Identifying decision-making roles and stakeholders is also essential.



When pursuing a deal, it's important to build an unassailable business case for why your company is the right choice. This involves mapping out every detail and identifying potential challenges and solutions.



Finally,