What separates the world’s top 1% of sales professionals from everyone else?

It’s not luck. It’s not charm. And it’s definitely not a one-size-fits-all script. The truth is, elite salespeople earn their results through lessons forged in the trenches—sometimes painful, sometimes unexpected, but always transformative.

In this edition of Expert’s Corner, we’ve gathered 11 of the most powerful, real-world lessons from some of the brightest minds and boldest performers in sales.

These aren’t recycled tips you’ll find in a textbook. These are stories of risk and reward, setbacks and comebacks, and insights that can only come from decades of lived experience.

Read on and you'll discover how:

• A daring sales rep turned a six-foot cardboard cutout into a multi-year university contract.
• One sales leader discovered that the biggest goldmine wasn’t new leads—it was hidden in existing relationships.
• A rookie sales rep’s brutal first cold call led to a lifelong lesson in preparation and humility.
• A seasoned professional learned the hard way that silence can be riskier than speaking up.
• Others revealed how resilience, coachability, and curiosity consistently separate top performers from the rest.

Whether you’re just starting out or already leading the pack, these powerful sales lessons are designed to sharpen your skills, reshape your mindset, and remind you why sales is the greatest profession on earth.

So let’s dive in—the top 1% is ready to share what it really takes to win…

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How Understanding, Not Persuasion, Became My Most Powerful Sales Tool

Expert Contribution by: Ryan Mattock (CommissionCrowd)

Ryan's Bio: Ryan is the Co-Founder of CommissionCrowd, the world's fastest growing B2B commission-only sales network.

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Early in my sales career, I made the same mistake most people do — focusing heavily on features and benefits, expecting the prospect to have that “aha!” moment and just buy.

I believed enthusiasm and product knowledge were what closed deals, but quickly discovered that they rarely do.

When we launched CommissionCrowd, I assumed the advantages would speak for themselves — access to experienced, independent B2B sales professionals with established networks, and companies only paying commission once deals close. On paper, it sounded like a no-brainer.

But I quickly learned that even when you know you have the perfect solution, your prospect can't always see it.

Real sales isn’t about convincing; it’s about understanding. When you truly understand your prospect and their needs, that’s when you’re able to serve them best.

My focus is never on making the sale — it’s on discovering whether the prospect is a genuine fit for our service and setting them up for success long before they ever become a client.

Ninety percent of my call time is focused on discovery: asking questions, listening, and consulting. It's not about us, it's about them.

Because if we simply sold on features and benefits, then moved on, many companies would join CommissionCrowd unprepared for success.

For example, a company might understand the value of partnering with B2B commission-based sales reps but it's likely they don't know how to structure their sales commission plan or how independent sales professionals expect to be supported / treated once they start representing a brand. That lack of readiness almost always leads to frustration and failure down the line, regardless of the connections we help them make.

Taking a consultative approach changes everything. It allows me to help companies before they’ve even paid us — educating them, setting expectations, and guiding them toward creating a genuinely attractive sales opportunity that resonates with the right people.

Some come into the conversation initially looking for cheap or free labour, but by the end, they understand that professional, commission-only reps are well connected entrepreneurs who choose their partners based on trust, partnership, and commercial potential — not just the size of the commission.

If, during the discovery process it becomes clear they’re not ready or able to offer what independent reps are looking for, we don't take their business.

That decision not only saves them from wasting time and money, but also strengthens the quality of our network — benefiting both the businesses and the sales professionals who rely on CommissionCrowd.

And here’s the added benefit: when you take this approach, you naturally become the trusted advisor — the expert prospects turn to for guidance. While others chase quick wins, you’re building authority, credibility, and long-term relationships that continue to pay off long after the initial call.

I’ve also learned that strict sales targets can create pressure to close every deal. But the tighter you cling to outcomes, the less control you have.

When you let go of the need to “win” the sale and focus on helping, something powerful happens. You attract the right type of clients, deliver better results, and earn more referrals from people who genuinely value your guidance.

Great salespeople don’t chase transactions — they create transformations. They listen, guide, and help prospects make the best possible decisions — even when that decision isn’t to buy.

And that’s exactly what keeps your pipeline full for years to come.

Key Sales Insights:

• The best sales process is consultative. Focus on discovery, not persuasion. Ask questions, listen deeply, and guide rather than convince.
• Fit first, sale second. Only work with clients you can genuinely help — that’s where long-term success and mutual value come from.
• Lose the fear of losing. When you stop chasing every deal and focus on alignment, you attract better clients and deliver stronger outcomes.
• Educate, don’t pitch. Help prospects understand their industry and what true readiness looks like before they buy.
• Preparation creates success. Setting companies up for success before they pay protects both your brand and your customer relationships.
• Consultation builds authority. When you provide insight rather than pressure, you’re seen as a mentor — someone that people return to for guidance.
• Relaxed confidence wins. The less you cling to quotas or outcomes, the more natural, trustworthy, and effective your conversations become.
• Quality compounds. Working with the right clients improves results for everyone — in our case, the company, the reps, and the platform itself.

Connect with Ryan on Linkedin

How Nurturing a Sales Goldmine Turned Existing Relationships into 15 New Customers in 3 Weeks

Expert Contribution by: Wanda Allen (Follow Up Sales Strategies)

Wanda's Bio: Wanda Allen is an international speaker, coach, and corporate trainer, and the author of Follow Up Savvy and Follow Up Sales Strategies.

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I used to think more leads meant more sales. But that’s not necessarily true. You can also make more sales with the goldmine that you’re already sitting on.

What’s a sales goldmine? It’s the people you know, the relationships you have and the connections you’ve made.

I would bet the bank that you’re sitting on a huge sales goldmine. In the sales world, the common practice is to always look for the next new lead, prospect and client, forgetting about the relationships you already have.

Looking for new is always good but shouldn’t be the be all and end all for lead and sales generation. The truth is your next sale could very well be sitting in your goldmine just waiting for your attention.

To benefit from your goldmine, it must be ripe and robust. How? Very simple…by staying in touch…aka relationship management. You can’t have a good relationship with someone if you’re not staying in touch…impossible!

Relationship management is a terribly neglected part of business today which is why so many have a dry and dormant goldmine. I experienced firsthand just how powerful a goldmine is when it’s ripe and robust. One of my first sales job was an independent sales rep for a greeting card company.

The owner of the company changed the pricing on the packages. He emailed all the reps on a Friday and told us to roll out the new pricing, he was going to challenge us to get five new customers the following week.

One had to be the top package and the other four could be any of the other packages. We had 1 week to get 5 new customers. How many prospects would that take? 20, 50, 100, who knows? Depends on my closing ratio. Let’s go with the low number and say it would take me 20 prospects to get 5 new customers.

I didn’t have time to go find 20 new prospects. I only had 1 week so I decided to prospect in my goldmine. These were comfortable calls me for me to make because I stay in touch. What would have made these calls uncomfortable is if they hadn’t heard from me in six months, a year or longer and now I’m reaching out and asking for something…not a good look.

Fortunately, I didn’t have that issue and by the end of the week, I got my five new customers. The owner emailed all us reps again on the Friday the challenge ended for the first week and told us he was going to put the challenge out again: get five new customers next week.

Same as in week 1, one had to be the top package and the other four could be any of the other packages. I dug deeper into my goldmine and got my five new customers. The owner emailed us again on the Friday the second challenge ended and told us he was going to ask us to do it one more time.

The story was the same: get five new customers the following week, one being the top package and the other four any of the other packages. This made the overall challenge to get 15 new customers in three weeks.

That last week, the challenge ended Friday night at 9:00. At 5:00 I had my four customers at the lower packages, but still needed to get one at the top package.

When you prospect, you’ll be told no, you’ll be ignored, and you’ll hear ‘I’ll think about it.’ I went through a lot of noes, ignores, and I’ll-think-about-its to get to my 14 yeses.

Since it was so close to the deadline, my mindset was I don’t have time for another no, ignore or I’ll think about it. I needed to find someone who would be willing to do me a $500 favor.

Previously, I had a 25-year corporate career and stayed in touch with many of my clients after leaving corporate America. One mistake I don’t make is basing my relationships on what I do, or by product, project or transaction.

I had the person in mind to do me this favor and it was time to make the call. His name is Bill, and he was one of my previous corporate clients. Because I stayed in touch with him post corporate America, I was comfortable asking.

At 5:00 I called him. He answers and I tell him I’ve been in a challenge for three weeks and I’m one person away from hitting the mark. I asked if he would be open to doing me a favor and getting the program to put me over the “finish line.” He said yes but asked me to call him back at 7:00 because he was at a wine tasting event.

At 7:00 I called and got his voicemail and left a message. Time was ticking away: 7:30, 8:00, 8:30 and no returned phone call. So many salespeople give up when a prospect doesn’t respond because they start making assumptions.

This is a time when it would have been easy to start assuming. The assumptions would look like this:

• He doesn’t really want to get the program for me.
• He just said yes to be nice and now he’s avoiding my call.
• He’s having fun at a wine tasting event and doesn’t want to be bothered.

I could have also had rationalizing thoughts that looked like this:

• You tried
• You called him twice; what more can you do?
• You should be proud of yourself; you got 14 new customers in three weeks.
• You were just one away from completing the challenge.
• You’re tired.

There’s a lot of work involved in servicing 14 new customers in three weeks. I’m not even talking about the prospecting part. Just servicing 14 new customers in that short timeframe was demanding.

I was exhausted. If you make assumptions and let rationalizing thoughts convince you why it’s ok not to take further action, you’re cutting yourself off from success. I made the decision to focus on what I knew and that was he told me he would do it.

By allowing only the facts into my thought process, it made the phone easier to pick up. In my mind, I had only one option and that was to try again. I picked up the phone at 8:30 and this time he answered.

All I had to do was say, “Hi Bill, this is Wanda.” He jumped in from there and said, “I’m sorry I haven’t called you. I came back to the restaurant, and it’s been crazy busy.” He owned a restaurant, and it was a Friday night so of course the restaurant was busy.

He then said, “so what do you need?” I told him I needed his credit card information and in two minutes we were done. It was no big deal to him, but do you see how I could have made it a big deal with my assumptions and rationalizing thoughts?

Bill told me afterwards that his office manager liked the card program and they would be using it. Win, win for both of us. I found out the next week that out of over 100,000 reps in U.S., Canada and Australia, only 15 hit the challenge for all three weeks.

We received a lot of local and national recognition and accolades. We were recognized at the annual conference and when we were on stage, it was then that I realized a goldmine is the most important asset a salesperson has and should never be neglected.

Please take care of your people because if you don’t, there’s someone out there who will. Relationship management is important work and should be a daily priority. It’s as important as lead generation and follow up.

At the end of the day, business is about relationships and the better relationships you have; the better business is going to be. Wishing you much success!

Key Sales Insights:

• Don’t overlook your existing network—your next sale is often hiding in relationships you’ve already built.
• Stay in touch consistently so outreach never feels forced or opportunistic.
• Avoid assumptions when prospects go quiet—stick to the facts and follow through.
• Treat relationship management as a daily priority, not an afterthought; it’s just as critical as new lead generation.

Connect with Wanda Allen on Linkedin

How Top Sales Performers Break Out of a Slump and Reignite Momentum

Expert Contribution by: Colleen Francis (Engage Selling Solutions)

Colleen's Bio: Colleen is an award-winning writer, consultant and bestselling author of popular sales books including the recent Right on the Money. Colleen Francis arms her clients with innovative and proven sales strategies that deliver results.

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The Antidote to a Sales Slump Every seller hits a slump at some point. It’s frustrating, it rattles your confidence, and it can be tough to stay positive. But here’s the reality: taking action always beats waiting for motivation.

I see this often with clients. A few reps suddenly find themselves stuck, worried about performance, and wondering why nothing seems to be working. Sometimes, these slumps are self-inflicted caused by neglecting prospecting. Other times, they happen for reasons outside your control.

Either way, the important thing is this: you don’t have to stay there. Here are four proven strategies to pull yourself (or your team) out of a slump.

1. Reconnect with your best customers - spend time talking to the clients who already value you most. Ask them why they bought from you, how they’re using your solution, and the results they’re achieving.

Not only will you uncover valuable success stories, but you’ll also remind yourself of the impact you create. Hearing directly from customers who are thriving because of your work shifts your mindset from “woe is me” to “I deliver real value.” That boost in confidence is exactly what you need to reignite momentum.

2. Shadow top performers - every sales organization has someone who’s on a winning streak. Find them. Listen in on their calls or join them in the field.

You’ll see firsthand what’s working right now, and chances are you’ll pick up new techniques to apply in your own territory. Just as important: you’ll surround yourself with positive energy and success stories—both of which are contagious.

3. Invite your manager along - I know, I know. Many reps dread this idea.

You worry your manager will take over the meeting, critique your every move, or derail the call. But here’s the truth: when you bring your manager along and ask them to observe, they can spot patterns you might not see yourself.

Give them direction such as “watch how I position our value,” or “help me uncover what I might be missing” and then debrief after each call. This coaching in the field often reveals the small adjustments that make the biggest difference.

4. Prospect first thing every morning whether you caused the slump or it landed on you, there’s no better way out than filling the top of your pipeline. Start each day with focused prospecting with calls, emails, outreach. Block an hour or two before distractions creep in. Don’t fall into the trap of waiting until you “feel motivated.” Motivation doesn’t come first - action creates motivation.

By consistently adding new opportunities, you’ll shift the cycle and move out of the slump faster than you think. Bottom Line Slumps happen, but they don’t have to last. Re-engage with happy clients, learn from peers, leverage your manager, and commit to daily prospecting. When you take consistent action, you’ll not only climb out of the slump, you’ll come out stronger on the other side.

Key Sales Insights:

• Slumps are inevitable—what matters is how quickly you take action to break them.
• Reconnect with your happiest customers to boost confidence and uncover success stories.
• Learn from others: shadow top performers and surround yourself with positive momentum.
• Don’t avoid coaching—invite your manager to observe and give targeted feedback.
• Start each day with prospecting first—consistent activity creates motivation, not the other way around.

Connect with Colleen Francis on Linkedin

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How a Brutal First Cold Call Taught Me Humility and Launched a Top Sales Career

Expert Contribution by: Bill Guertin (Connect on Linkedin)

Bill's Bio: Bill Guertin is known as "The 800-Pound Gorilla of Peak Performance". His virtual sales training company, ISBI 360, provides virtual training, ticket sales and recruitment services to the pro sports industry.

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It was my very first day as a sales rep, and I couldn't be more excited. I had just graduated college and had been hired to sell radio advertising for the station that I had worked at as a fill-in DJ for the previous four summers.

I was given a desk, a phone and an area to sell where no one had actively sold advertising on our station before. (Translation: Cold territory.) I was enthusiastic about selling a product I truly believed in -- but I had a problem.

I was cocky about my selling ability. Unfortunately, it came across in my voice, and I was about to find out the hard way. My first phone call was to a popular Italian restaurant I was familiar with.

An older gentleman answered with a smile in his voice; I could tell he was in the back of the kitchen with a lot of metal chef's equipment banging around. I started in on my sales patter. "Hi, my name is Bill Guertin, and I'm with WBYG Radio. I was wondering if the owner was available." His voice instantly turned gruff.

"You're with who?" "WBYG, at 99.9 FM. The album rock station? We've got some great advertising packages that I think would be perfect for your restaurant." I was still naive enough to think that everyone knew who we were, and that all our packages were 'perfect' for everyone.

He was angry. He got angrier with every word he spouted off through the phone. "Young man, I don't know who you are, and I don't care what radio station or newspaper or whatever you represent.

But you've just proven to be what kind of a sales rep you are. You're LAZY. By making this call like this, you're already telling me that you're too lazy to come to me and earn my business!" He went on for another 3 minutes, and with every paragraph his voice got louder and more defensive.

After that 3 minutes, he hung up on me, saying something like, "I'm going to get on with my busy day, and I hope you figure out what you did wrong here." I sat there staring at my phone in stunned silence. What just happened? What was the name of the truck that just ran over me?

It affected me so deeply that I don't remember what I did the rest of the day. Right then and there, I vowed to do two things: to learn how never to be yelled at like that again, and to learn who the owner was at that restaurant and redeem myself by selling him on an ad package.

Fortunately, my sales manager talked me off the ledge and told me what I could improve on in my initial few words on the phone with someone. I applied what she taught me, and eventually became the top sales rep in the office. As for that restaurant owner, I finally got to meet Harry D'Ercole, the owner of Enrico's Restaurant in Frankfort, IL and introduced myself in person.

After I told him what an impression he had made on me and how I took his advice to heart, we had a good laugh -- and he did eventually become a good client and advertiser on our station.

Key Sales Insights:

• First impressions matter—avoid sounding scripted or overconfident, especially with new prospects.
• Don’t assume prospects know you or that your product is “perfect” for everyone—do your homework first.
• Negative experiences can become defining lessons if you’re open to feedback and willing to improve.
• Resilience pays off: the same prospect who rejected you harshly can eventually become a client if you learn, adapt, and persist.

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How Getting Fired Taught Me That Silence Is Riskier Than Speaking Up

Expert Contribution by: John Barrows (JB Sales)

John's Bio: John is the CEO of JB Sales, a sales training company focused on elevating the people and profession of Sales.

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The Biggest Learning Lesson of My Career One of the most defining lessons of my career came when I was fired for the first time.

At 23, I was the fifth employee at a self-funded startup a few high school friends and I built. Over seven years, we scaled to 85 employees, $12M in revenue, and became the fastest-growing company in Massachusetts three years running.

Eventually, Staples acquired us. As part of the acquisition, their executives interviewed each leader. We were coached to stick to scripted answers so we didn’t “mess up the deal.” For someone like me, who values honesty and transparency, that felt unnatural. Afterward, I was told the head of Staples’ contract division didn’t see me as “the right guy.”

My CEO defended me, but the seed was planted. The following year working at Staples was a disaster. I struggled with politics, red tape, and the feeling that nothing I did landed. I wanted badly to have a candid conversation with that executive, but my CEO warned against it. Eventually, I was pushed out.

After digesting what had happened to me, I reached out to that executive and asked if he would be open to meeting with me and giving me feedback for my own personal and professional development.

To my surprise, he gladly met with me. That hour was basically my MBA. I learned more about business and myself in that hour than I ever learned in college. When I asked if he would have been open to a direct conversation like this when I worked for him, he looked at me and said: “What’s the risk?” That hit me like a ton of bricks.

If I had spoken up back then, one of two things would’ve happened: He might’ve reacted badly and I would have known early that I didn’t want to work for him anyway. Or, we might have built the relationship I was looking for, and my year at Staples would have been very different. Either way, the real risk was staying silent and not being true to myself. Since that moment, I’ve reframed risk.

My guiding principle shifted from “Always have a plan B” to “Be OK with Worst Case Scenario.” If I’m ok with worse case scenario then I usually do it. If I’m not, I think of other options. When my intent is genuine and focused on doing the right thing, the risk of speaking up is almost always smaller than the cost of silence. This mindset also shows up as it relates to Sales.

Some examples include: pushing back when a customer is making a bad decision, escalating to an executive when I know it’s the right move, or experimenting with a new approach to handle objections. Instead of hesitating, I ask myself: What’s the risk? That question frees me to take the bold action that often makes the difference between winning and losing.

My take-aways form this learning lesson are: Silence is often riskier than speaking up. If your intent is to help, say what needs to be said. Be OK with worst-case scenarios. If you can live with the downside, the upside is worth pursuing.

Transparency builds trust. Scripts and surface-level answers rarely create lasting relationships. Boldness creates opportunity. The best deals, and careers, are built by those willing to respectfully challenge. Ask yourself the same question I now ask every day: What’s the risk?

Key Sales Insights:

• Silence is often riskier than speaking up—honesty builds stronger relationships than scripts ever will.
• Reframe risk: if you can live with the worst-case scenario, the upside is almost always worth it.
• Boldness creates opportunity—don’t be afraid to push back, escalate, or experiment when it’s the right move.
• Transparency and candor foster trust, while avoidance and silence erode it.

Connect with John on Linkedin

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How Playing the Long Game Turned a Lost Deal into Lasting Sales Success

Expert Contribution by: Spiros Kakos Connect on Linkedin

Spiros' Bio: A sales strategist who loves helping businesses design scalable sales systems. My career began in the U.S. and has taken me across international markets, from the UK to the Nordics, Greece and beyond, where I’ve led teams and built sales operations from scratch.

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A few years into my sales career, I spent months nurturing a promising prospect. After multiple attempts (and I do mean a lot!), I finally managed to book a demo (not with a decision maker) which was followed by another demo (finally with a decision maker...), then another call to walk through some more questions they had, and a lot of back and forth after that.

I was there every step of the way, answering every question and providing support during their decision-making process. I was pretty confident we were going to close the deal, eventhough deep down I knew, the timing could be better for them. In the end, they decided not to move forward.

The timing, as predicted, just wasn't right. I was disappointed, but instead of walking away, I decided to play the long game. I added them to a personal follow-up cadence, reaching out every few months with valuable insights about their industry and educational content about how our solution could help, without any hard-sell.

I even sent a few personalised messages on holidays and their birthdays, not as a salesperson, but as Spiros. Eventually, I left the company I was working for and moved on. About six months later, my phone rang.

It was that prospect (the decision maker). The timing was now right for them, and they immediately thought of me. They hadn't forgotten the consistent value and personal touch I provided. Even though I was no longer with the company, they wanted to buy from the team I had built that reflected the same values. I didn't make the sale myself, but that call was one of the most powerful successes of my career.

This experience confirmed my preference in consultative sales, but also taught me that the sale isn't the finish line, but a milestone in a relationship. True success in sales isn't just about closing a deal. it's about building a reputation and a relationship so strong that clients will seek you out personally, even after you've moved on.

I learned that your personal brand and the trust you build are more valuable than any single commission. Today, I've completely shifted my mindset from being a transactional hunter to a strategic partner.

I prioritise building a pipeline of relationships, not just a list of prospects. I consciously invest time in nurturing a "long-game" list of contacts who may not be ready to buy now but could be in the future.

I focus on providing value and being a trusted resource, knowing that my reputation will open doors far into the future. *Be a person first, a salesperson second. Building genuine, human connections can bypass traditional sales barriers and create lasting loyalty. *Invest in your personal brand.

Your integrity, persistence, and helpfulness are the most valuable assets you own. People will remember how you made them feel long after they forget the details of your pitch. *The sale is not the end goal.

Think of every interaction as a way to build a relationship, not just close a deal. A "no" today doesn't mean "never."

Key Sales Insights:

• A “no” today doesn’t mean “never”—stay visible with consistent, value-driven follow-up.
• Build a personal brand of trust and helpfulness—clients remember how you made them feel long after the pitch.
• Treat the sale as a milestone, not the finish line—your real goal is the long-term relationship.
• Shift from being a transactional hunter to a strategic partner—the payoff comes when timing aligns.

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How a Self-Taught Sales Professional Overcame Adversity to Become a Top Producer

Expert Contribution by: Elinor Stutz (Smooth Sale)

Elinor's Bio: International bestselling and Evergreen author. Top sales blogger.

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Self-Taught Sales Professional Looking back on my childhood, the only friend I had was my reflection in the mirror. I would take the cruel statements heard to weigh the pros and cons, all the while viewing my facial expressions and body language.

The best instruction I've ever received was from my father: 'Never give up, find a better way.' Women were supposed to be secretaries or stay-at-home wives, but I wanted to be in sales. Upon cornering the Sales Director into hiring me, I was told 'You are a stupid female, and it will be a waste of money to train you.'

Those words gave me the green light to do things my way. I enrolled in a Dale Carnegie public speaking class that taught me to share stories with prospective clients and enjoy the laughter. Unhappy at corporate, I spent most of my time in the field, during the days of 'cold calling territories.' I made friends with the smokers outside, the guards with guns, the receptionist, and the people in the basement.

I handed out miniature candy bars wherever I went, which ultimately led to me landing appointments. Sharing stories with prospects was the highlight of each day. And the laughter had them walking me into the Executive Suite to finalize the sales.

I became the top sales producer by the fourth month of employment, despite knowing nothing about the unknown brand of copier I was selling against Xerox! My first year, I outsold the men and embarrassed management.

The reward for being the top producer of the year was to have my hard-earned accounts given to the men (Fortune 100 companies included), and my quota tripled for the following year. The same occurred eleven years in a row. Ultimately, sales saved my life.

I finally took a day off, and while I was stopped at a red light, someone slammed full force into the back of my car. I could feel my brain swaying in my head. I was in dreadful pain for ten years. Thankfully, on a rainy night, as a passenger, the car skidded into a lamp post, and I said, 'You better call an ambulance.'

A miraculous near-death experience of mine indicated that I was to become a speaker and serve communities. As a sales professional, I wholeheartedly agreed, but in my mind, I said, 'To give my best, I need to walk out of the hospital on my own.' A blink of a gold light let me know I would recuperate.

The entire staff visited my room after surgery, referring to me as 'The Walking Miracle.' The Smooth Sale Blog serves readers by sharing insights on how to advance careers and businesses. I transitioned from a highly competitive to a collaborative approach, and Smooth Sale stands out as the highlight of my career.

The name stands for 'Earning a returning and referring clientele.' Three of my mottos became: ‘Believe, Become, Empower’ Never give up, find a better way Tomorrow is blank, create your future today.’

Key Sales Insights:

• Adversity can fuel success—use rejection and doubt as motivation to prove yourself.
• Differentiate through connection: small gestures (like candy bars or stories) can open big doors.
• Sales isn’t solely about product knowledge—it’s about the ability to build rapport, persistence, and creativity.
• Transitioning from competition to collaboration builds a career that’s sustainable and fulfilling.
• Remember: “Never give up, find a better way”—a mindset that applies to both sales and life.

Connect with Elinor on Linkedin

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How Curiosity Closes More Deals Than Pitching

Expert Contribution by: Jeff Goldberg (Jeff Goldberg & Associates and The Sales Confidence Lab)

Jeff's Bio: With almost 50 years of experience in sales, I've trained, coached, managed, and mentored 10s of thousands of salespeople all over the world.

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Almost 50 years ago I went to work for Encyclopaedia Britannica. For those of you who are too young, those were books! They offered a great training program that taught me how to sell the books.

It wasn't great sales training, but it was great sales training for this particular product. You see, the way we sold Britannica was with a flip binder presentation. It was a notebook that had a stand and it was filled with pages that we read to the prospect while they looked at the notebook.

It did all the selling for me...and I sold LOTS of sets of encyclopedias. When I left Britannica and got into the world of professional sales I came to learn that reading a presentation to a prospect is NOT typically the way to close business, and the presentation was all about TELLING people why they needed a set of $2000 encyclopedias, when they could send their kids to the library to use them for free.

I learned, and now teach, this important lesson: Sales is NOT about your presentation or your close. It IS about asking the right questions, listening actively to the answers, and telling great stories.

If you want to serve more people (close more business) GET CURIOUS! My belief is this: If you ask the right questions, and listen actively to the answers, your prospect will tell you everything you need to know in order to help them choose to do business with you. Stop pitching. Start asking better questions, and watch your sales grow.

Key Sales Insights:

• A polished presentation isn’t what closes business—curiosity and questions do.
• Active listening reveals exactly what prospects need to buy with confidence.
• Great salespeople don’t pitch—they guide prospects through discovery.
• Storytelling builds trust, but only after you’ve listened deeply and understood the client’s world.
• Want to sell more? Stop talking. Start asking.

Connect with Jeff on Linkedin

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How Rapport and Asking Questions Close More Sales Than Presentations

Expert Contribution by: Dave Kurlan (Kurlan & Associates)

Dave's Bio: A Top-Rated Keynote Speaker at conferences like Inc. Magazine's Conference for Growing the Company, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine Conference, Fortune Sales & Marketing Summit, Inbound, and hundreds of industry conferences and events in the USA, Canada, and Europe, as well as virtually across the globe.

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How I Learned to (Really) Sell - I learned to sell from my very first mentor, Bob Jiguere, a career cookware salesman, who was one of the top sellers at WearEver™ Aluminum from the 1940s through the 1960s.

By the time he took me under his wing in 1974, Bob was in his early sixties, and I had been with the company for just over a year, eleven months longer than most of us who began selling Cutco knives to people in their homes. I will never forget the very first sales call I witnessed, because it was the complete opposite of how I had been taught to focus on the features and benefits of the product.

We walked up to the third floor of a six-unit apartment building in Lowell, Massachusetts. We were calling on an eighteen-year-old girl who lived in the four-room apartment with her mother. Back then, girls who chose to work instead of attending college often purchased kitchenware for their hope chests.

As we entered the apartment, I noticed that Bob didn’t have his samples with him but I figured he wouldn’t need them, because this girl could not possibly afford a $250 (1974 prices) set of knives—never mind cookware, flatware, or china. I was certain that she and her mother were destitute.

The four of us took our seats at the kitchen table, an old gray, plastic-topped table with metal legs. Although Bob did talk with the girl, he spent most of his time talking with her mother. He asked her to make coffee, then cookies, and then complimented her baking. What a lesson in rapport building.

At that point I had no clue how important that was! We had been in there for about 45 minutes, and if it were my sales call, I would have been back in the car.

But Bob hadn’t even started! He finally got around to speaking with the girl, but I didn't understand why he was asking those questions.

“Would you ever like to be married?” “Would you ever like to have a family?” “Will you want nice things?” “Have you started putting things away?” “Do you have a hope chest?” “What’s in there?” “Are you helping her, Mom?” “If you found something really special and you really wanted it, could you put aside $10 a month?”

I had been taught to present and build value by asking if a prospect was impressed with what I was showing them. I didn’t understand where he was going with his questions. Finally, he sent me to the car to get the samples.

He opened them but didn’t demonstrate anything, didn’t explain anything, didn’t “build value,” or tell any knife stories. He simply opened the display and sat there looking at the knives as if they were gold bullion.

Just then there was a knock on the door. It was the girl’s boyfriend, coming over to visit. I figured he was fairly possessive and jealous, because his first question was, “Who are they and what are they doing here?” The girl nicely replied that “these boys are showing me some beautiful knives for when we get married.” “You don’t need that shit,” he said.

I knew where this call was going. We were about 10 seconds from being back in the car and going to our next sales call. Bob turned to her mother and said, “These punks are all the same. All they want to do is get in your daughter’s panties.” I thought I was going to die.

I didn’t think it could get any worse, but her mother said, “You’re right! I want you out of my house!” The punk replied, “Baby, you gonna let her talk to me like that?” The girl said, “She’s right.

Get out!” Up to this point, I had been 100 percent wrong about everything that had happened. As I began to sense that Bob actually knew what he was doing, I couldn’t have predicted what would happen next.

Mom said, “I don’t know how much you sell those knives for, Bob, but I’d like to get a set for my daughter—and another set for me.” Bob said, “Of course. You are one sharp cookie and a hell of a baker, too.

The two sets come to just $500. Do you have that under the mattress?” The mother said, “Oh, Bob. You know me like a book. Come into my bedroom and I’ll show you where I keep the money.” He followed, she lifted the mattress, took out a wad of cash, peeled off $500, pinched his cheek, thanked him for coming, made us finish the cookies, and wished us well.

Ninety percent bonding and rapport, a dozen or so qualifying questions, no presentation, and he sells two outrageously priced sets of knives to a mother and daughter with no creature comforts or possessions to their name. If you were on that call, would you have sat up and taken notice? I sure did.

Selling would never be the same again! That was my first exposure to what I would later understand was a consultative approach to selling. In just two hours, I learned how to build rapport, develop a relationship, do discovery, ask qualifying questions, and close, without a presentation.

That was a B2C sale but I spent the last 40 years in B2B sales and while the sale is more complex and more expensive, the premise is the same. Selling is much less about what you are selling and much more about who you are helping to buy from you.

Key Sales Insights:

• Rapport isn’t small talk—it’s the foundation of trust that opens the door to sales.
• Great selling isn’t about features and benefits—it’s about asking smart, qualifying questions.
• Don’t assume what prospects can or can’t afford—listen first, sell second.
• The consultative approach works in both B2C and B2B: focus less on what you’re selling and more on who you’re helping to buy.
• Sometimes the most powerful sales calls involve no presentation at all—just connection and discovery.

Connect with Dave on Linkedin

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Why Being Coachable Is the Secret Skill That Separates Top Sales Performers

Expert Contribution by: Dave Davies (Connect with Dave on Linkedin)

Dave's Bio: CEOs, Sales, and Marketing Leaders seek me out. I support CEOs and Sales Leaders to build a rock-solid strategic sales framework. Together, we forge the tools to build, develop, and scale sustainably world-class businesses.

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Be more coachable. Be the different. Being coachable is highly under-rated, both in sales, and in, life. Ego gets in the way. It is a developable skill though. Being coachable is about seeking feedback, actively seeking opportunities to gain experience. It requires the Coachee to be open, present, ready to listen, absorb, execute, share experiences, and provide feedback. It requires humility.

A willingness to discard Ego. Professionals understand that their growth is not linear. Professionals understand the quickest way to get better is to learn from those who have gone before, walked the same path, experienced the realities. Sales is tough. There is no tougher role in any business.

Top performers embrace, no… crave, feedback. They look to Leaders for an honest assessment of where they are, how they are performing, where they are heading, and what it will take to get there. They seek out new techniques, new approaches, new philosophies, new coping mechanisms.

They treat every interaction as a chance to learn and develop. They tear down their defences. They don’t react; they listen with the intent to hear and understand what they are hearing. They are curious and release emotional attachments.

To be truly coachable, self-awareness is key. You must recognize your “blind-spots” and be ready for change. They take “feedback;” never hearing “criticism.”

They see this “feedback” as “fuel;” never as “friction.” It’s what drives them. Coachable people attract the best coaches towards them. Those Coaches invest willingly their time, knowledge, and insight. People are rarely born “coachable.” It’s a choice, a mindset, a way of being (or at least becoming).

And as a choice, it’s one of the most important professional choices you will ever make. In this way, we can begin the journey to being “the different.”

Key Sales Insights:

• Being coachable is a choice, not a trait—you decide whether to seek feedback and grow.
• Ego blocks progress; humility opens the door to faster learning and improvement.
• Treat feedback as fuel, not friction—the best performers crave it, they don’t resist it.
• Self-awareness is essential: identify your blind spots and be willing to change.
• The more coachable you are, the more mentors and leaders will invest in your success.

Connect with Dave on Linkedin

How a Creative 10-Touch Sales Campaign Won a Multi-Million University Contract

Expert Contribution by: Dale Dupree (The Sales Rebellion)

Dale's Bio: My name is Dale Dupree, formally known as The Copier Warrior. I spent 13 years selling the infamous and dreaded "copy machine" in one of the most competitive markets in the US. I have been everything from an individual contributor and full cycle sales rep to a VP of sales and now the owner of my own company, The Sales Rebellion.

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Back in 2011, I heard about a big University that might be in the market for new print and copy hardware. They are a top 50 University recognized globally... Not small peas to any extent.

I knew for certain, many people would be calling on this account and asked the question - why would they even give me a shot?

I worried that my outbound efforts would be met with silence or the dreaded "thanks but we are all set" brush-off that so many of us salespeople are used to.

So, I created a 10 touch campaign sequence that I started in November and planned to run through March of the following year.

The first touch, a 6-foot cardboard cut-out of myself stabbing a copy machine with a sword and the text "Every morning, this man wakes up believe that this is his job." What happened next? I had a call on my cell phone from an unknown number about 2-hours after dropping it off.

"Hello?" I answered eagerly. "Is this the copier warrior?" Said the voice on the other line. It was the prospect I had just left my first of ten touches with... I did not expect that!

The prospect then informed me that they renewed with their current provider (long term contract too) but were interested in getting to know me and my company. For the next 4 years, I used the remaining 9 audacious marketing drops to nurture and cultivate a strong relationship with these folks.

By the time the contract expired, I had been awarded the new one. Additionally, it is important to know that... I was the 3rd highest price on the public bid release. So, not only did I win this deal (it was a life changing commission check also), I did it without having to play the typical games that most sales organizations play.

Instead, I took a big bet, a bigger risk, and I was rewarded with a loyal and new partnership.

Key Sales Insights:

• Big accounts are rarely won with a single pitch—map out a multi-touch campaign that keeps you front of mind.
• Creativity gets attention: use bold, memorable outreach that your competitors won’t dare to try.
• Play the long game: nurture relationships even if the timing or contract isn’t right today.
• When the opportunity opens, trust and persistence outweigh price—you don’t always need to be the cheapest to win.

Connect with Dale Dupree on Linkedin

How Losing Three Big Deals in a Row Changed the Way I Sell Forever

Expert Contribution by: Steve Hall (Executive Sales Coaching on Linkedin)

Steve's Bio: Steve Hall is an executive sales coach who helps his clients sell more & better to senior executives. He has sold over $100 million in his 33 year sales career and helped his clients sell much more.

As Oscar Wilde didn’t quite say, to lose one deal may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose two looks like carelessness. And to lose three, each worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, is, at best, a painful learning experience. Especially when buyers are in a feeding frenzy.

Yet that's exactly what happened to me in 1998, a year that, for people like me selling ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems, was more fertile than a rabbit farm.

ERPs aren't exactly an impulse buy. They're critical to the running of a company, expensive and cause massive disruption when you're implementing them. If anything goes wrong, it can send you straight to the poorhouse. So companies normally hang onto them for grim death and are (in theory) super careful when moving to a new one.

But in the late '90s, the spectre of the dreaded Y2K bug had companies frantically searching for a new ERP to replace their old software.

Many of these systems had been designed in-house, had dates hard-coded, ran on old mainframes and were full of customised features cobbled together over the years. Come January 1, 2000, they simply wouldn't work. The urgency to find a replacement was off the charts.

From my perspective as a sales executive for a small Australian ERP vendor, specializing in book publishers and consumer electronics distributors, this was not a bad thing. In fact, I signed several new customers in 1997 and 1998, made a heap of commission and sold enough IBM hardware to make their partner Gold Club.

But as I said, I also had three expensive “learning opportunities” where I messed up. Fortunately, two of these were ultimately salvageable. One was not.

Pioneer: The Lay Down Misere That Fell Flat

I'd been talking to Pioneer for three or four years. They had an old, heavily modified package supported by a major consulting firm and they hated it (and them).

They loved that our package, Powermaster, was designed specifically for consumer electronics distributors, that it included essential modules like spare parts and rebates, and that several of their competitors already used it. It should have been a lay-down misere. They loved it, they liked me and they needed it.

But they got cold feet. The hated consultancy managed to persuade them that we couldn't install our package within two years. Pioneer then paid an arm, a leg, and several other limbs to get the existing package Y2K compliant.

Panasonic: The CEO Who Didn't Care

The second was Panasonic, another Japanese company. My predecessor had lost a deal to them years ago for their spare parts division because he unwisely held out for more money. I'd been talking to them regularly and it seemed like a case of "when," not "if," they would purchase Powermaster for their finished goods.

Every three months, I'd call or visit. They assured me they wouldn’t do anything without speaking to me. Then, I called back four months later and they said, “Oh, our CEO thought it would be too hard for you, so we asked the vendors of our spare parts system to modify it for finished goods.” They hadn’t thought to call me. Why? Because I hadn’t been talking to the right people.

Sanyo: The Double Whammy

The third, Sanyo, was the most frustrating. When we first talked, I asked their CFO what was most important thing when choosing a new system. His answer was safety. Their old system couldn’t be modified, and they absolutely had to be live by January 2000. This was great for me; we could install our ERP pretty much out of the box (if it came in a box, which it didn’t) with few or no modifications.

It wasn’t so great for their young, ambitious IT manager, to whom the decision was delegated. He wanted a “name” system on his resume. Powermaster, from an Australian company with 35 employees, wasn’t a “name.” SAP was.

Despite our close fit and their desire for safety, he chose SAP. At the time, it ran on the new, sexy (but untried) Windows NT, unlike Powermaster, which ran on the old-fashioned (but proven and reliable) IBM AS400.

I pointed out that SAP was notoriously difficult to implement, often ran years overdue, and would cost roughly the GDP of Panama. He countered that they’d found a consultancy with a new “install SAP quick and cheap” methodology. I failed to change his mind.

Three months later, he called back. They had discovered SAP would, in fact, take several decades to implement and cost the same as the GDP of Mexico (I may be exaggerating slightly here). They had sacked the consultants and wanted to talk.

They talked to us and JD Edwards (JDE). JDE was a serious competitor. Their distribution software was solid, they were a big multinational. It could more or less do the job and it’s existing system, which also ran on the IBM AS400, was a serious competitor.

What I hadn’t anticipated was the IT manager choosing JDE’s brand-spanking-new untested One World system, designed to run on—you guessed it—Windows NT.

I went to the CFO and told him that this was a massive risk didn't fit his key criteria of being safe. He replied, “It’s his decision and if he screws it up, it’s on his head.” As it would also be on Sanyo’s head, I didn’t think it was a very responsible decision, especially for a CFO but my hands were tied. Almost.

So I lost this deal to an obviously unsuitable competitor - twice.

In a final attempt to untie my hands I sent the CFO a letter saying, roughly, “While I think this is a dangerous decision, I hope it works out. But if it doesn’t, remember we can get you up and running quickly.”

In February 1999, we got another call. “HELP!” they said. JDE’s One World was missing critical functions and they wouldn’t be available until 2001. Out they went and in we came.

This time, there were no demonstrations, no negotiations, no haggling. They signed the contract in a week at full list price and we had them up and running in November 1999.

The Other Happy Ending

The Pioneer story had a happy ending, too. They managed to go live before 2000 with their old software after paying a motza to get it heavily modified. But in 2001, when the Australian government introduced a 10% goods and services tax, their rickety system couldn’t handle it. It was too old and rickety to change again, so they called us and bought Powermaster without talking to a single competitor.

Sadly, Panasonic never came back. But I learned a ton of lessons.

You need to know who the real decision-maker is. I was relying on the IT manager and the CFO at Panasonic without understanding the CEO’s role or his concerns.

Don’t believe everything prospects say. They care about themselves, their colleagues, customers, careers and their own bonuses and KPIs—they don’t give a hoot about you and what you want. Unless you can help them get what they want.

Fear and existing vendors are powerful influencers. Pioneer taught me not to underestimate the influence of existing vendors and the fear of change.

Listen for what's not being said. Sanyo taught me that what people tell you is important isn’t always true. Different people have different motives and sometimes, they put their own selfish interests above those of their company.

Executives sometimes pass the buck. Some executives are ruled by excessive caution and want to avoid making a career-limiting decision. This is why people hire expensive consultants—if things go wrong, there’s someone else to blame.

Talk to everyone, listen carefully. Above all, I learned to speak and listen to more people and to include all involved parties—including the C-suite—to uncover their unsaid concerns and reservations.

They were expensive lessons (the Panasonic loss cost me about $60,000 in commission) but they’ve served me and my clients very well since then.

Final Thoughts: Putting These Expert Sales Lessons Into Action

The world’s top 1% of sales performers didn’t get there by chance—they got there by turning hard-earned lessons into daily habits. Now it’s your turn to take what they’ve learned and apply it to your own sales game.

Here are some of the most powerful actions you can start implementing into your daily sales strategy to make a huge difference to your bottom line:

• Audit your outreach strategy – Are you relying on one-and-done emails or calls? Map out a multi-touch sequence (like Dale Dupree’s) that’s creative and consistent.
• Mine your goldmine – Take 20 minutes this week to reconnect with past clients or dormant leads. Strengthen those relationships before chasing the next new lead.
• Beat the slump proactively – Block time for prospecting first thing each day so your pipeline stays healthy and momentum never stalls.
• Refine your first impression – Record yourself on a cold call and critique it. Does it sound cocky, rushed, or scripted? Adjust to sound confident but curious.
• Reframe risk – Before your next tough conversation with a client or manager, ask yourself: What’s the real risk if I speak up? Often, it’s far less than staying silent.
• Think long game – Start a “future opportunities” list of prospects who said “not now.” Create a light-touch nurture plan that positions you as a trusted advisor, not just a seller.
• Elevate your coachability – Ask your manager or mentor for one piece of honest feedback this week. Treat it as fuel, not criticism.
• Stop pitching, start asking – Prepare five high-quality discovery questions before your next sales call. Focus on listening more than talking.
• Invest in your personal brand – Share a client success story on LinkedIn, write a short article, or post your reflections. Your reputation is your most valuable sales asset.
• Stay resilient – Remember that every rejection, mistake, or setback can become a story that shapes your career—if you choose to learn from it.