Building Your Sales Engine

How to Win at Team Selling

In this episode of Building Your Sales Engine, I sit down with Josh Pitchford to discuss the intricacies of team selling. We delve into strategies for managing the chaos that often arises when multiple team members participate in sales calls. Learn how to effectively prepare through pre-call planning, ensuring each member knows their role and how to contribute. We explore the importance of maintaining balance in team presence, avoiding overwhelm, and the necessity of clear communication. Additionally, we emphasize the value of debriefing after meetings to capture lessons learned and ensure everyone is aligned on next steps. Join us for insights that can elevate your approach to team selling and enhance your overall sales effectiveness.

Driving Adoption of Initiatives Through Sales Organizations w/Steve Popp

In this episode of Building Your Sales Engine, I sit down with Steve Popp to delve into the critical topic of driving adoption within sales organizations. We explore the challenges sales leaders face when implementing new initiatives and the importance of prioritizing effectively. Steve shares his insights on how to engage team members, crowdsource ideas, and establish a culture of buy-in for new training programs. We discuss the necessity of having influential advocates within the sales team to champion initiatives and the role of strategic planning in ensuring successful execution. If you’re looking to enhance your organization’s ability to adopt new strategies and drive revenue, this episode is packed with actionable insights you won’t want to miss.

One Question From the Truth: Fix Your Sales Forecast With Clear Futures

Discover why sales forecasts miss the mark -- and how curiosity, skepticism, and clear future commitments can fix your pipeline accuracy for good. Happy ears have ruined more sales forecasts than bad markets ever will. In this episode, Mark McGraw and Josh Pitchford break down the real reasons sellers miss their forecasts -- starting with the dangerous habit of hearing only what they want to hear when a prospect gives them positive signals. Josh shares his go-to rule -- "curiosity and skepticism is the antidote to hope and happy ears" -- and explains why sellers are always just one question away from the truth. The conversation dives into the concept of clear future commitments: knowing exactly what's next, who's involved, and what the anticipated outcomes are, rather than settling for vague promises like "give me a call next Tuesday." Mark adds the manager's perspective, introducing the Eeyore-to-Tigger continuum for calibrating whether reps are sandbagging or over-projecting. The episode also tackles why forecast accuracy matters far beyond making the boss look good -- from resource planning and inventory to cashflow and staffing -- and how pipeline meetings should be coaching opportunities, not checkbox exercises. If your forecast feels more like a weather prediction than a business tool, this episode will show you how to fix it. Host: Mark McGraw -- Building Your Sales Engine Co-host: Josh Pitchford -- Building Your Sales Engine In This Episode: Why happy ears are the number one forecast killer "Curiosity and skepticism is the antidote to hope and happy ears" The danger of taking positive buyer signals at face value Why sellers stop asking questions when they hear good news Beware the positive prospect -- and the positive salesperson Risk mitigation: always asking "where could this go wrong?" The optimistic-realistic-pessimistic dial for forecast calibration The Eeyore-to-Tigger continuum for reading your reps What "clear future commitments" really means vs. vague next steps Knowing date, time, participants, agenda, and anticipated outcomes Why "I'm supposed to give them a call Tuesday" is not a clear future How missed forecasts reveal that a seller doesn't know their account Why forecast accuracy matters: resource planning, inventory, cashflow, staffing Think a level or two above where you are The importance of giving sellers permission to tell the truth Setting upfront contracts with your team around honesty Why end-of-quarter deals get weaponized by trained buyers Pipeline meetings as coaching opportunities, not checkbox exercises Using group pipeline reviews to keep the whole team learning Links: Sandler: https://www.Sandler.com Episode page: https://www.BuildingYourSalesEngine.com/ Show links: https://linktr.ee/buildingyoursalesengine Mark on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmcgraw/ Josh on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-pitchford-6163274/

Desire vs. Commitment: Why Your Sales Goals Are Failing You

"If you're not committed to doing the work to get to a goal, don't set the goal. Because all you do is hurt your self-esteem and hurt your confidence." Discover the critical difference between desire and commitment -- the two ingredients of the will to sell that determine whether your sales goals drive you forward or drag you down. Every sales manager has seen it: a rep who knows what to do but won't do it consistently. In this episode, Mark McGraw and Josh Pitchford unpack why desire without commitment creates a dangerous gap -- and how managers can uncover a salesperson's compelling why without becoming a persecutor in the relationship. In this episode, you'll learn: The real difference between desire and commitment in sales Four types of motivation -- and why only one is sustainable How to uncover your (or your rep's) compelling why The 1-to-10 commitment scale for honest goal conversations Why caring more than your rep makes YOU the problem The pilot light test: how to know if someone has the drive Why setting uncommitted goals destroys your confidence Host: Mark McGraw -- Building Your Sales Engine Co-host: Josh Pitchford -- Building Your Sales Engine Links: Sandler: https://www.Sandler.com Episode page: https://www.BuildingYourSalesEngine.com/ Show links: https://linktr.ee/buildingyoursalesengine Mark on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmcgraw/ Josh on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-pitchford-6163274/

Stop Winging It: Why Every Seller Needs a System

"If you don't have a system, it's backyard football, after Thanksgiving dinner, everybody go out there and get open. You score touchdowns every now and then, but there's too much on the line to play backyard football." Discover why having a proven sales system beats winging it -- and how it transforms results for sellers and managers alike. Most salespeople default to the buyer's process without realizing there's another option. In this episode, Mark McGraw and Josh Pitchford break down the real benefits of systematizing your sales approach -- from creating predictability and shortening sales cycles to recognizing patterns, combating fear in the moment, and getting to "no" faster. The conversation then shifts to the manager's lens: how a shared system improves forecast accuracy, makes pre-call planning and debriefing actionable, and gives your team a common language for team selling. In this episode, you'll learn: - Why predictability is the #1 benefit of a sales system - How to shape the sales process instead of being shaped by it - The "start with no" mindset that takes all the pressure off - The GATE process: Goals, Actions, Tools, and Exit criteria - How the 10-80-10 concept applies to manager-rep sales calls - Why the most important upfront contract is between seller team members - How a documented system accelerates new rep onboarding 🎙️ Host: Mark McGraw — Building Your Sales Engine 🎤 Co-host: Josh Pitchford — Building Your Sales Engine 👇 Timestamps below 👇 ✅ Like + Subscribe for more expert sales insights 🎙️ Full podcast episodes: buildingyoursalesengine.com **Links:** Sandler: https://www.Sandler.com Show links: https://linktr.ee/buildingyoursalesengine Website: https://www.BuildingYourSalesEngine.com Mark on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmcgraw/ Josh on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-pitchford-6163274/