5 Hard Sales Lessons Most Reps Learn Too Late

What It Covers

Sales Gravy hosts Jeb Blunt Jr. and Ashley Blunt recap Q1's five hardest sales lessons, covering goal-setting discipline, multi-channel communication strategy, cold call sequencing techniques, learning resistance within close relationships, and leveraging Patrick Lencioni's Working Genius framework to build higher-performing enterprise sales teams.

Key Questions Answered

• •Goal-Setting Accountability: Writing goals on paper creates a physical manifestation of intent that holds sellers accountable in ways digital notes cannot. Expect minimal percentage gains in practiced skills like prospecting, but significant jumps in newly developed areas. Revisit written goals quarterly to catch drift early and recalibrate the process rather than abandoning targets entirely.
• •Communication Channel Selection: After a first appointment, directly ask prospects their preferred contact method — text, email, or phone — and build the entire follow-up cadence around their answer. Field-based buyers in manufacturing or trades rarely have access to video calls, so forcing that channel creates unnecessary friction and damages the relationship before a deal closes.
• •Cold Call Sequencing: A single email disappears in a crowded inbox, but a phone call followed by a voice message, then a LinkedIn InMail referencing that message, then an email, establishes a recognizable human presence. Track every touchpoint in the CRM so each subsequent contact builds on prior familiarity rather than restarting from zero with a cold introduction.
• •Qualifying Through Gatekeepers: Before accepting a transfer to voicemail, ask the gatekeeper one qualifying question — team size, budget authority, or current vendor status. A two-rep team in a different region disqualifies the account immediately, saving the full sequencing investment. This pivot skill separates ultra-high performers from average reps who treat every gatekeeper interaction as a dead end.
• •Working Genius in Team Selling: Map each team member's Working Genius profile — inventor, galvanizer, enabler, tenacity, discernment, wonder — before assigning enterprise deal roles. Pairing a galvanizer who drives early momentum with a tenacity-type who pushes details across the finish line prevents late-stage deal collapse. Misaligned role assignments, not skill gaps, cause most enterprise pursuit failures.