On today’s episode, I’m digging a little deeper into the concept of transparency in sales leadership after last week’s interview with Todd Caponi.

As I was getting ready to write this week's piece, I came across my friend Sam McKenna's LinkedIn post from Saturday morning. I have great respect for the work she does, but I've been particularly inspired by the way she runs her business.

Todd Caponi is the author of The Transparency Sale and The Transparent Sales Leader. He’s speaker, a sales trainer, and someone I wholeheartedly refer to as a sibling in sales. He’s also a total nerd for sales history, and uses the wisdom of the past to reflect on current events.

Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to present to a group of salespeople my go-to framework for handling sales objections. It got such a response I thought it was completely appropriate to share it with you here.

There’s a lot of talk about introverts and extroverts in sales. It’s commonly believed that most salespeople are extroverts, but in my experience, the very best sellers I’ve ever worked with are introverted.

Professional selling was an enigma to me when I was getting started. I was out on my own on a daily basis: no bullpen, no sales floor, and no water cooler. Through the unfortunate timing of some circumstances, my onboarding experience wasn’t exactly robust. “Go get ‘em, kid!”

Naturally, I looked for books to read (this was before social media was a thing). I was regularly listening to audio programs from Nightingale Conant (30-day trials made it like a remote library), and while I learned a lot about what it meant to be in business (Harvey Mackay had a profound impact on me), there wasn’t a lot available at the time that was strictly about selling.

Jason Bay is a sales trainer and coach and the founder of Outbound Squad. He helps sales reps turn complete strangers into paying customers. He also happens to be a great friend and one of my favorite people in the world.

Growing your business does not have to be complicated.

With the right structures in place, the path to growth lights up in front of you.

Every stereotype comes from somewhere, but it’s about time you think about whether stereotypes in sales are helping you or holding you back. You don’t have to try and fit into a mold that just doesn’t feel right.

Selling is not an instruction manual to be followed, it’s a problem to be solved. When you embrace your own strengths, talents, and expertise, you’re capable of doing your very best work.

“I’m not trying to sell you anything. I just want to build a relationship.”

This is a trap, and you’re setting it for yourself.

It’s a bait and switch, and it shows a lack of integrity.

Leslie Venetz is a consultant and advisor that helps build commercial teams that can meet the needs of the modern B2B buyer. She spent 15 years selling to the C-Suite in enterprise sales and has been Head of Sales 3 times. 

Leslie is also fiercely passionate about DEIB initiatives, and we touch on that a little bit in our conversation today. She also hosts a business book club on Patreon, where I’ll be her guest in October.

“You’re not wrong…”

I got excited when I heard her say this. Even though it came with a skeptical eyebrow and half a smile, I knew I had my prospect exactly where I wanted her…

Thinking.

You know those people who tell great stories? They’re magnetic and captivating. They hold the attention of an entire room and make time stand still. Those are special people, and you don’t have to be one to tell great stories.

I used to think that I wasn’t a good storyteller, and then a couple of people told me exactly the opposite, and I started thinking differently about the concept.

If your sales team isn’t crystal clear on three things, then I promise there is dysfunction and revenue is being left on the table. These concepts are often taken for granted, and leaders are afraid to broach these conversations.

That’s not leadership, and your performance is suffering as a result.

Ravi Rajani helps B2B sales teams captivate their customers, build trust, and sell more by unlocking the power of story. Ravi is here to help you craft stories that sell and deliver sales presentations that convert.

The number one key to opportunity creation is making your prospect believe that you’re someone worth talking to and that you have something worth talking about. That’s it. That’s the bar you’re trying to clear.

In order to make someone else believe it, then you’d best believe it too. 

Most salespeople have terrible definitions of what it means to succeed and what it means to fail. The lack of perspective sets the bar way too high for most people to see exactly how well they’re actually doing.

Harriet Mellor is a sales coach for small to medium sized businesses and individuals. She’s also the host of the Sell Like You Podcast.

We’re hearing a lot about ChatGPT these days. The technology is either thrilling or terrifying, depending on your point of view. The idea that there are infinitely efficient brains out there doing the same work we’re doing is quite a proposition.

I was asked recently about how I think it can/will affect the work that salespeople do. I haven’t played with the tool enough on my own, and it’s still way too early in the game to make definitive statements, but it’s clear that AI is a force to be reckoned with. It’s not going away, and it’s only going to get better.

Selling is necessarily not a tangible “thing.” There are so many right ways to do it, that what is wrong for someone might be perfect for someone else.

The sales process is rigid, as I’ve mentioned before. That’s the science of selling. Your sales methods are fluid, and they represent the artistry behind what we do. Art is subjective, therefore so is selling.

I want you to stop trying to follow the rules, and realize that you can make them up.