AEs — Discovery meeting prep is not optional.
And no — scanning BDR notes or grabbing the BDR two minutes before the call doesn’t count.
Landing a single meeting can take hundreds of dials, emails sent, and connections made. The least you can do is actually prepare.
Here’s why it matters:
Your BDR ...
In the mid-’90s I worked at a screen printing shop in Phoenix.
No AC. 110°F outside. The shirt dryers ran at 300°F.
Some took salt tablets to avoid dehydration.
The pressmen worked hard. Eight hours a day, pulling ink.
Pedro was the best. Fast, precise. Almost never made a mistake.
His standard...
Want to stand out without needing talent? Be reliable.
Years ago, I was a new sales leader managing a team of eight.
I told the president I’d be in Texas with family for the holidays. He nodded and said, “Just make sure there’s coverage.” Meaning: at least one rep available for inbound calls betwe...
About 25 years ago, I was at a party and met a retired man who was still bitter.
He’d been laid off from a company he gave 35 years to.
The kicker? It had happened a decade earlier — and he was still seething.
Here’s the lesson:
It’s natural to want fairness. And yeah, layoffs suck. Especially w...
Several years ago, my daughter was working in a tough environment.
Lazy coworkers. Helpless leadership. She was doing the heavy lifting, getting none of the credit.
I told her: give it your all anyway.
She gave me a look.
Fair. It’s frustrating.
But here’s the thing—you don’t do it for them.
Y...
Sales conversations come with pressure. When that pressure hits, we tend to default to old habits — not the new skills we're trying to develop.
But learning a new skill takes time, repetition, and (yes) sleep. And it’s a whole lot easier in low-stakes situations.
Think about how we learn anything ...
When you’re learning a new process — whether it’s a sales motion, onboarding workflow, or even a cold call framework — go slow. Not sloppy slow. Deliberate slow. Thorough slow.
It’s like learning a new song from sheet music:
You don’t rush through it at full tempo from day one.
You play every not...
 The best Champions aren’t just cheerleaders.
They have internal clout, want you to win, and most importantly — they take real action to move your deal forward.
If you’re in Stage 3 of a deal, here’s how to test your perceived Champion:
- Will they commit to a go-live date?
- Will they build a wor...
Objections are a given when cold calling.
There are two types of objections you receive:
- Brush-offs. These are just ways to get you off the phone. They come almost immediately. “I’m in the middle of something…” “I’m running into a meeting…” “Not interested…” “send me an email…” and other phrases ...
My daughter is going to hate this post because I’m about to teach you how to use AI to write better. She thinks we should learn to write better on our own. She has a point. But I’m going to teach you anyway. (Sorry, Amber.)
As Seth Godin points out, AI is like an intern—it works hard, brings fresh ...
There’s a moment in every complex sale when you’re reviewing the numbers—whether it’s a business case or a pricing calculator—with a potential customer.
It’s easy to get nervous about the numbers and subconsciously avoid discussing them in detail.Â
You might default to a close-ended question like,...
In this episode of the Graphic Sales Stories* podcast, Peter and I explore the ups and downs, and downs, of cold calling. What drove the meaning and lessons behind the comic, "The Joy of Cold Calling" and why despite it all you should keep dialing. We also share quite a few tragic stories of our yea...
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