Blog

Articles that will change your game

What Makes You Different - red figure in a crowd of black figures

What Makes You Different?

Unveiling Your Unique Value: What Makes You Different at What You Do?   What do You do for a Living? We all wear different hats and bring something different and unique to the table. Whether it’s a...

Gap Sell Keenan 59 Banner: Process Questions Can Only Take You So Far - Selling to Problems Vs Outcomes

Gap Sell Keenan 59: Problems Vs Outcomes

Why Focusing on Problems vs Outcomes, Drives Sales Success   The Dangers of Outcome Selling If you’ve been tuning in to the Gap Sell Keenans for a while, you’ve surely notice how much Keenan loves to ask,...

Gap Selling vs Sandler Sales Training - woman holding apple and orange, making comparison

Gap Selling vs Sandler Sales Training

All Sales Training Is the Same, Right? Sandler Sales Training has been a staple of the sales training world for decades. What was once a prominent methodology, the Sandler methodology has lost a step or two as...

Sales Tools: Why You Must Be Cutting-Edge to Succeed

Your sales strategy needs the latest sales tools. The Importance of Sales Tools For any professional, their tools are the heart and soul of their craft, allowing them to executer their work with precision....

business man running up stairs avoiding obstacles representing 9 Painful Actual Stages of the Sales Process

9 Painful Actual Stages of the Sales Process

One of the first things that’s taught to new sellers is the stages of the sales process. Many new hires walk through the door and the first question they’re asked is what are the 7 stages of the...

The Value of Trust in Sales Processes - climbers holding each other over a cliff

The Value of Trust in Sales Processes

The value of trust in sales processes cannot be underestimated. Relationships are a key factor in the business world. The sales world has been captivated by the notion of how relationships affect sales success...

Can You Pass The Question Test

Can You Pass The Question Test?

Would you like to take a question test that measures your ability to ask questions and improve your chance to win the sale?   Can you have a conversation by only asking questions? Do you think you...

sales strategy plans help sales teams reach their goals

Sales Strategy Plans: 10 Must Have Elements

If the account vision is the compass of account management, then sales strategy plans and account plans are the ship. Sales strategy plans are where the execution happens. It’s the engine to successful account...

Intellectual Curiosity and The Why in Sales

Intellectual Curiosity and The Why in Sales

If you’re going to become successful at Gap Selling you need to start asking why. Getting to the why in sales is a crucial skill of a talented Gap Seller.   Why?   Kids are great at asking why. They...

Account Vision: The Key to Growing Your Accounts

Account Vision: The Key to Growing Your Accounts

The secret to successful account management lies in developing the account, not just selling to it. At the center of that development is account vision.   Unlike hunting and territory management, the...

Trust the Process 5 Benefits of a Sales Process

Trust the Process: 5 Benefits of a Sales Process

Do you track everything and make adjustments constantly? You should be. Personal and professional growth increases exponentially when you have specific goals you’re working towards. To reach those goals...

Buyer's Motives Get Inside Your Buyer's Head

Buyer’s Motives: Get Inside Your Buyer’s Head

Change is at the center of selling — period! No change, no sale. I’m on the record of saying this a thousand times. There will be no sale without a motivation to change. Therefore, to understand selling and to...

How to be a Better Seller Give a Shit

How to be a Better Seller: Give a Shit

If you want to learn how to be a better seller, start here: give a shit! This is the story about a salesman who missed one crucial aspect of selling – he put his needs and wants before his clients....

Selling in a Recession Shrink Your ICP - updated

Selling in a Recession: Shrink Your ICP

Look, selling in a recession is tough. Every salesperson in the world is looking at their quota and trying to figure out how they’re going to hit their numbers when companies are tightening their budgets....

Recession Proof Feature Dumps are Useless - updated

Recession Proof: Feature Dumps are Useless

Selling in a recession is hard. Period. Companies are becoming extra cost conscious, they’re evaluating every aspect of their business for things to cull. Becoming recession proof requires you to stop...

How to Sell in a Recession

How to Sell in a Recession – What You Need to Know

Learning how to sell in a recession is hard. Unfortunately, when it comes to selling during a recession conventional wisdom is failing most salespeople. Much of the advice is hollow and not useful to achieving...

Grow Sales By Identifying Your Prospect’s Problem

Grow Sales By Identifying Your Prospect’s Problem

Do you know what problems your customers might have, probably have or most certainly have? When you reach out to a customer or prospect, do you have a good idea what problems they are challenged with BEFORE...

4 Must Have Elements of a Sales Coaching Cadence

4 Must Have Elements of a Sales Coaching Cadence

Sales coaching is the most valuable element of a sales team. If you don’t buy into this, you can stop reading. This post is about getting the most out of coaching your people, why sales coaching is important,...

Social Selling - How To Use LinkedIn Properly

Social Selling – How To Use LinkedIn Properly

Last week we talked about why it’s vital to not use LinkedIn as a cold selling platform. A bunch of you didn’t agree and wanted more on the right way to use LinkedIn and social selling to further your sales....

The 3 Key Elements to Effective Sales Coaching

The 3 Key Elements to Effective Sales Coaching

Sales coaching has one purpose and that is to make the salesperson better. It’s that simple. Coaching is about analyzing what a salesperson is doing in order to enhance their skills and improve their...

The 5 Sales Leadership Styles

The 5 Sales Leadership Styles

There is nothing more important than the sales leader when it comes to driving revenue and creating successful sales organizations. Sales teams live and die on the strength and ability of its leaders. There...

Discovery Fatigue is Real

Discovery Fatigue is Real

I want to talk about something I’ve seen a lot of and I want to set the record straight. Discovery fatigue.   The other day I was reading a LinkedIn post where someone was talking about you must...

Gap Selling Lessons From Wolf of Wall Street

Gap Selling Lessons From Wolf of Wall Street

Gap Selling Lessons From Wolf of Wall Street: At this point most, if not all, of us have seen this scene from Wolf of Wall Street. It’s cheesy, sleazy, gross, manipulative, pick an adjective. But, there...

How To Know When A Deal Is Ready To Close

How To Know When A Deal Is Ready To Close

I’ve spent a lot of time with a lot of sales people and one of the biggest problems I see is rarely, too rarely, do sales people know when a deal is ready to close.   Unfortunately, sales people rely on...

coaches don't play

Coaches Don’t Play

This one is real simple – Coaches don’t play. Coaches coach, players play.   Back in 2011, the New England Patriots and New York Jets were scheduled to meet in the playoffs. In the week...

Sales Culture Needs to Change

Sales Culture Needs to Change

Listen up we need to change the sales culture. It’s a complete shit show.   I had a dude reach out to me the other day and he said something like “I don’t know you but I’ve been following you,...

Enough! You’re Not An Entrepreneur

Enough! You’re Not An Entrepreneur

I’ve gotta get this shit of my chest. You’re not an entrepreneur.   I fucking love all the opportunity that is out there today. It has NEVER been a better time to start a business, to go out on your...

How To give Value In your Cold sales Emails

How to Give Value in Your Cold Sales Emails

Your cold sales emails, cold calls, and outreach suck. Here’s why and here’s how to fix it.   I’m gonna give you guys some homework to go home with this weekend and you’re gonna...

How to Handle a Price Objection in Sales

How to Handle a Price Objection in Sales

I want to take a second to talk pricing, price objections, dealing with pushback, and dealing with negotiation on price.   Listen, you don’t owe your buyer a price. I know a lot of times buyers come...

How To Be More Buyer-Centric In Your Discoveries

How To Be More Buyer-Centric In Your Discoveries

I often get asked by people – how do I get better at understanding my buyers? How do I become more problem-centric? How do I become more buyer-centric? How do I get the information that helps me do...

8 Reasons Great Leaders Let People Fail

8 Reasons Great Leaders Let People Fail

Sales leaders – do you let people fail? How comfortable are you letting failure happen? Are you OK letting your sales manager make a mistake? Are you OK letting the sales rep lose a deal? What do you do...

Budget Vs. Affordability - Know The Difference

Affordability Vs. Budget – Know The Difference

There’s a difference between affordability and budget. To be a good salesperson, sales team, or sales leader you must know the difference.   af-ford-a-bil-i-ty – noun — the state of being cheap...

The Best Sales Training

5 Keys to the Best Sales Training

The Best Sales Training or Just Sales Training? Sales training has been around for about 75-100 years. In spite of its longevity, the jury is still out, as many organizations wonder does sales training...

The #1 Most Common Sales Mistake

The #1 Most Common Sales Mistake

I’m going to share with you why salespeople are losing the deals they’re losing, why the deals get stuck, why they can’t overcome objections, and why they don’t close. I’m going to...

What a Killer Deal Strategy Looks Like

What a Killer Deal Strategy Looks Like

Getting your prospect engaged, getting them on the proverbial hook is critical to selling. Prospecting is the holy grail of sales and it get’s a lot of attention as it should. To most of us, finding and...

Order Takers Vs. Order Makers

Order Takers vs. Order Makers

In sales there are order takers and order makers.   Order takers are reactive. They listen and respond to customers requests. They respond to RFP’s. They give the customer what they ask for.   Order...

Sales Myths - Likability

Sales Myth – People Buy From People They Like

Sales myths and catch phrases are thrown around in trainings and casual conversations constantly.   If another person marches out the tired old sales myth “people buy from people they like.” I’m going to...

Best Sales Books

The 8 Best Sales Books

Best Sales Books Whether you’re new in your sales career or in search of fresh content to up your game, picking a solid sales book can be just the thing to get you back on track. Since there are endless...

good buyer

Be a Good Buyer (Note to Buyers)

I’m going to flip the script today. This blog normally helps sales people and sales leaders be better. This post is gonna go a different route. Today, I’m gonna help the buyer be a good buyer....

WHAT TO DO WHEN A PROSPECT GOES DARK

What To Do When a Prospect Goes Dark

There is nothing more frustrating to a sales person than when a client goes dark. Your last conversation was killer, you both agreed that your solution made sense. The prospect said they needed to share it...

bookings vs revenue

Bookings vs. Revenue in Sales

So many salespeople think there is no difference between booking and revenue. Many may not even have heard the word “bookings.” For most transactions, there is no difference. Bookings and revenue...

scale a sales team

How to Scale a Sales Team in the 21st Century

Growth is what it’s all about in the world of business, especially in SaaS and technology. But growing effectively is key to successfully scale a sales team.   We all want to get big. We all want to...

Tell Your Customer "No"! During Prospecting

Tell Your Customer “No”! During Prospecting

Here’s the deal. When you’re prospecting, leads can be demanding, They will ask for a lot, but it doesn’t mean you have to say yes every time.   Can you tell your customer or prospect...

11 THINGS GREAT SALESPEOPLE DON’T DO

11 Things Great Salespeople Don’t Do

The Habits of Great Salespeople: What They Don’t Do There always seems to be lots of ideas and discussion around what great salespeople do. I think it’s just human nature to evaluate success and...

Sales Training for Cyber Security & Insurance

Sales Training for Cyber Security & Insurance

The Problem with Traditional Sales Training for Cyber Security & Insurance When it comes to problem-centric sales training for cyber security and insurance, traditional sales training methods and companies...

skill of learning

The Skill of Learning

Today, I want to talk to you about is learning. Just to cut to the chase – not enough time is spent on breaking down the skill of learning. Yes, learning is a skill. If you think learning happens...

SALESPEOPLE_ DON’T BE THE CUSTOMER’S BITCH

Salespeople: Don’t Be the Customer’s Bitch

You are not the customer’s bitch. You are a great sales person.   A great sales person isn’t a go-fer, they are keenly in-tune to a customer’s problems and how to solve them. A great...

GAP SELLING VS SANDLER SALES TRAINING

Gap Selling vs Sandler Sales Training

All Sales Training Is the Same, Right? You’ve experienced it. It’s the same old tired approaches to the same old sales challenges, with each company attempting to add their own little...

Gap Selling: The End of Average

End of Average: Average Value is No Value

As Gap Selling has crossed the milestone of 50,000 copies sold, we are highlighting some of our favorite books to compliment your Gap Selling journey.     Today’s book highlight goes to The End of...

lucidchart

Lucidchart and Gap Selling – Boom!

Lucidchart and A Sales Growth Company teamed up to help layout the Gap Selling process and make it easier to leverage with your sales team.   Using Lucidchart’s amazing tool, it’ even easier to...