The Movable Middle: How to Elevate Your 60% w/ Kelly Ross

The Movable Middle: How to Elevate Your 60% w/ Kelly Ross

The movable middle — that 60% in the center of every sales team — is where leaders win or lose the year, and Kelly Ross joins Mark McGraw to unpack exactly how to elevate them. The movable middle is the 60% of your sales team that decides whether your year is great or just "okay." In Episode 62 of Building Your Sales Engine, host Mark McGraw sits down with Sandler enablement leader Kelly Ross to break down the 20/60/20 rule and how sales managers can systematically shift their middle performers upward. Kelly and Mark unpack why top performers show up bright-eyed to every training while the middle hides in the back of the classroom, the role noise and distraction play in stalling growth, and how assessments, one-on-ones, and proven playbooks remove the guesswork. They get tactical on strategic vs. tactical coaching, the danger of "death by PowerPoint," and why progress (not perfection) is the real metric. They also tackle a counterintuitive lever: addressing the bottom 20%. When managers tolerate underperformance too long, they give the middle permission to coast. If you're a sales leader trying to raise the average — or a seller ready to climb out of the middle — this episode hands you the framework. About Kelly Ross Kelly Ross is a longtime Sandler advocate and leader who runs Sandler's Oregon operations on the West Coast. With deep experience on the sales enablement side, Kelly specializes in coaching, training design, and helping sales teams turn frameworks into real behavior change. Kelly Ross LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellyannross/ Host: Mark McGraw — Building Your Sales Engine Marks LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmcgraw/ In This Episode The 20/60/20 rule and why the middle 60% is where leaders make or break the year Why top performers always show up — and what their mindset signals about hiring and retention The real obstacles holding the middle back: noise, distraction, and unclear priorities Why "death by PowerPoint" loses the middle and how engagement-first training wins them back Using assessments and surveys so sellers can't argue with their own data AI in coaching — useful, but never a replacement for the human one-on-one Strategic vs. tactical coaching: stop running every meeting on the next deal Identifying the one bottleneck in a seller's pipeline instead of rebuilding the whole process Playbooks beat "figure it out" — give sellers the system, then let them weave in their sauce Mindset, the stories we tell ourselves, and reconnecting with your "why" The counterintuitive move: addressing the bottom 20% to motivate the middle Eagles vs. ducks — what kind of team are you actually building? 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/ Kelly Ross on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellyannross/

AI Use Cases For Sales

A friendly, no-pressure tour of practical AI use cases for sales -- shared not by self-proclaimed experts, but by fellow learners passing along what's actually working. AI use cases for sales don't have to feel overwhelming. In this webinar-style episode, Mark McGraw opens up the toolbox and walks through a wide range of practical ways he and the Sandler Sales Engine team are using AI -- with one honest caveat up front: nobody here claims to have the world's knowledge of AI. The goal isn't to crown gurus or sell you on getting left behind. It's to give everyone an approachable entry point and a few ideas worth trying. Recorded live from one of our most popular workshops -- you'll see the audience chat pop up on screen throughout -- Mark covers tool-agnostic thinking, project folders, prompting fundamentals, recording and transcribing your calls, turning transcripts into LinkedIn posts, automating LinkedIn connections, stringing prompts into a prospecting workflow, pre-call planning, weekly briefings, AI role play, and creating decks and visuals. By no means all of it, but plenty to spark ideas wherever you are on the curve. Fun fact: the intro and graphics for this episode were created entirely with AI. As Mark puts it, you can't do everything -- but you can do one thing at a time. Pick the idea that fits your world and give it a try this week. Host: Mark McGraw -- Building Your Sales Engine In This Episode: Why you don't need to be an AI expert to start using it in sales The 84% stat: most people haven't touched AI, so showing up already puts you ahead George Carlin's "idiots and maniacs" and why everyone's at a different level Being tool-agnostic and thinking like an architect instead of chasing platforms Project folders: a simple, high-impact first step Adding skills/plugins and customizing a sales skill to Sandler methodology Five simple rules for writing better prompts Why you should record (almost) everything you can Matching and mirroring using a prospect's exact words from transcripts Tools worth knowing: Fathom, Plaud, and iPhone call recording Building a searchable "Virtual Mark" knowledge base from past calls Using AI to score sales calls, demos, and deal reviews Turning meeting transcripts into ready-to-edit LinkedIn posts Creating surveys and calculators that help prospects surface their own pain Automating LinkedIn connection requests with an AI-controlled browser Stringing prompts into a prospecting workflow (research → CRM → dialer) Pre-call planning and a weekly "chief of staff" briefing prompt Speeding up scope-of-work and RFP writing Practicing tough conversations with the Sandler AI Role Play Tool Why it all comes down to picking one thing and starting today 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/

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/