Sales Gravy: Jeb Blount

How do you actually know someone can sell before you've hired them, trained them, and found out the hard way?
In this episode of Ask Jeb on the Sales Gravy Podcast, Jeb Blount answers two hiring questions from Ramesh: how to find and hire the right salespeople, and whether that approach changes for a small company versus a large one.
Jeb's answer: he's made the same hiring mistakes every leader makes, even after building a career on turning struggling sales teams around. Hiring is part process and part gut, there is no magic formula to get it right every time. The good news is you can stack the odds heavily in your favor with the right approach.
What You'll Learn:
How whether a role is heavy hunting, heavy account management, or a hybrid should shape who you hire
Where assessments fit into the hiring process and why
How to build an assessment stack depending on the complexity of the role
How to ask situational interview questions tailored to pushed past rehearsed answers
Why bringing multiple people into the interview process catches what one person reviewing candidates alone will miss
How a candidate's energy in an interview can mislead you if you don't weigh it against other signals
Why small companies face higher hiring stakes than large companies, and how to protect yourself from a costly bad hire
How a long hiring cycle can cost you strong candidates to competitors who move faster

Whether you're building your first sales team or creating a hiring process at scale, this episode gives you a practical framework for making better hiring decisions.
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Submit your question: salesgravy.com/ask
Purchase Jeb Blount's new book: 90 Days to Level Up Your Sales Skills
Grab your tickets for OutBound Conference
Follow Jeb Blount on LinkedIn

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Plaud AI and use my code JEB for a great deal: https://www.plaud.ai/jeb
* Check out TruDiagnostic and use my code SALESGRAVY for 20% off your entire order: https://www.trudiagnostic.com
* Go to https://OmahaSteaks.com and use promo code BEEF at checkout for $35 off. Minimum purchase may apply.

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Admitting your company needs sales leadership is one of the hardest calls a founder makes, and one of the smartest. Duff Tucker walks you through seven critical signs that your company has outgrown founder-led sales, from reps getting check-ins instead of real coaching to a forecast that's become a guess instead of a weekly discipline. Duff breaks down what each sign actually looks like and how to spot it in your own company. Showing even one of the seven warning signs is reason enough to consider bringing on a fractional sales leader.

🖋️ Read When to Hire a Fractional Sales Leader: 7 Signs Your Company is Ready
🧑‍💼 Learn more about Sales Gravy’s Fractional Sales Leadership Solutions
💻 Enroll in Sales Gravy University Courses with Duff Tucker
🔗 Follow us on LinkedIn!

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Plaud AI and use my code JEB for a great deal: https://www.plaud.ai/jeb
* Check out TruDiagnostic and use my code SALESGRAVY for 20% off your entire order: https://www.trudiagnostic.com
* Go to https://OmahaSteaks.com and use promo code BEEF at checkout for $35 off. Minimum purchase may apply.

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It sounds unusual, modeling an entire sales methodology off the principles of therapy. But it’s exactly what Jack Frimstone and Zac Thompson did, and it works. Jack and Zac, co-founders of the UK sales consultancy We Have a Meeting, sat down with Jeb Blount Jr. to break down this idea, which they discuss in their book, Sales as Therapy. They go over prospecting techniques that uncover real, often personal stakes behind a buying decision. They also discuss two tools that get more guarded prospects to open up.

📖 Purchase Jeb Blount's book, 90 Days to Level Up Your Sales Skills
👉 Download our free A.C.E.D. Buyer Style Playbook for Sales Professionals
🔗 Follow us on LinkedIn!

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Plaud AI and use my code JEB for a great deal: https://www.plaud.ai/jeb
* Check out TruDiagnostic and use my code SALESGRAVY for 20% off your entire order: https://www.trudiagnostic.com
* Go to https://OmahaSteaks.com and use promo code BEEF at checkout for $35 off. Minimum purchase may apply.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

What do you say when a prospect tells you "we already have someone who does that"?
In this episode of Ask Jeb on the Sales Gravy Podcast, Jeb Blount tackles this objection with Rob, an outside sales rep who runs into it constantly while prospecting door to door.
Jeb's core message: the real problem is who you're talking to. When you lead with an offer like a free quote or free inspection, gatekeepers default to sending you to procurement, and procurement is where your sales dreams go to die. Change what you open with, and you change who you end up in front of.
What You'll Learn:
How asking the right questions leads you to the actual decision maker
Why procurement is where deals stall and how to avoid ending up there
Why leading with "free" anything triggers defensiveness and routes you straight to procurement
How a short morning call block can turn cold door knocking into scheduled appointments
How to turn a local, relationship-driven value proposition into your strongest differentiator against larger competitors
A script for handling the "we already have someone" objection once you're in front of the right person

Whether you're selling compliance services, B2B solutions, or anything where a gatekeeper stands between you and the real decision maker, this episode gives you a practical way to change who you're talking to before you ever have to overcome an objection.
-
Submit your question: salesgravy.com/ask
Purchase Jeb Blount's new book: 90 Days to Level Up Your Sales Skills
Grab your tickets for OutBound Conference
Follow Jeb Blount on LinkedIn

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Plaud AI and use my code JEB for a great deal: https://www.plaud.ai/jeb
* Check out TruDiagnostic and use my code SALESGRAVY for 20% off your entire order: https://www.trudiagnostic.com
* Go to https://OmahaSteaks.com and use promo code BEEF at checkout for $35 off. Minimum purchase may apply.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Even the top sales reps can find themselves on the downward side of a spiral. Jeb Blount’s seen it happen many times, because he’s been there himself. Letting yourself fester in a sales rut can affect your attitude, your motivation, your team, and your job. In this episode, Jeb Blount explains how introspection and self-awareness can refocus your mindset and reroute your rut. He shares a time when his investment in himself brought him out of his rut and put him back on top of the team in just three months. 

📖 Purchase Jeb Blount's new book, 90 Days to Level Up Your Sales Skills
👉 Download Our Free Goal Planning Guide for Sales Professionals
🔗 Follow us on LinkedIn!

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Plaud AI and use my code JEB for a great deal: https://www.plaud.ai/jeb
* Check out TruDiagnostic and use my code SALESGRAVY for 20% off your entire order: https://www.trudiagnostic.com
* Go to https://OmahaSteaks.com and use promo code BEEF at checkout for $35 off. Minimum purchase may apply.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy