332 What Rattlesnakes Outside My Front Door Taught Me About Sales
The Art of Sales with Art Sobczak
Release Date: 08/25/2026
334 "Daddy, is that man sad?"
The Art of Sales with Art Sobczak
A four-year-old boy looked at me on an airport train and asked his dad, “Daddy, is that man sad?” I wasn’t. But apparently, that’s what I was communicating. And that’s the point: You can’t NOT communicate. In this episode, I share that airport wake-up call and what it teaches us about sales conversations. Your facial expression, posture, energy, attitude, and even what you’re doing while you talk can affect what people hear in your voice and how they react to you. You’ll get 11 simple, practical ways to become more aware of what you’re projecting, sound more engaged and...
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333 How to Answer "Just send me information"
The Art of Sales with Art Sobczak
“Send me some information.” Those five words have probably killed billions of dollars in potential sales. Because too many salespeople hear them, happily agree, send off a deck, case study, or PDF... and then spend the next month chasing a prospect who never wanted the information in the first place. But sometimes they DO want it. So how can you tell whether “send me something” is legitimate interest or simply a polite way to get you off the phone? In this episode, you’ll learn the specific questions to ask when you hear an information request, including one of my all-time favorites:...
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332 What Rattlesnakes Outside My Front Door Taught Me About Sales
The Art of Sales with Art Sobczak
Twice in fifteen years of desert living, I've walked out my front door and found a rattlesnake curled up in the corner. That fear taught me something about persuasion that a famous psychology experiment proved decades ago. Dr. Albert Bandura cured severe snake phobics not with facts, and not by forcing them to confront the snake directly, but by having them watch someone else do it first. He called it vicarious experience, and it's the exact same reason your best sales stories work better than your best data. In this episode: why a group of MBA students trusted a story about an old wine maker...
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331 GUEST: What 20,000 Phone Hours Taught Him About Prospecting and Sales, with Justin Michael
The Art of Sales with Art Sobczak
Most cold call advice you see celebrated on LinkedIn has one thing in common — it starts with an apology. "You're going to hate me, but this is a cold call." "Did I catch you at a bad time?" "I'll be honest with you — this is a sales call." Justin Michael has spent 20,000 hours on the phone and written 10 books disagreeing with all of it. And in this episode, he makes the case — backed by brain science — for why permission-begging openers kill your status, trigger the wrong response in the prospect's brain, and actually cause the rejection salespeople are trying to soften. Justin...
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330 GUEST- Debunking the Myths of Sales with What is Actually True, According to Science and Research, with Dr. Lorenzo Bizzi
The Art of Sales with Art Sobczak
What if everything you believed about sales was wrong? Art Sobczak sits down with Dr. Lorenzo Bizzi, professor at Cal State Fullerton and author of Myths Versus Science of Selling, to challenge the conventional wisdom that has dominated sales training for decades. From "always be closing" to "people buy on emotion" to "extroverts make the best salespeople" — Dr. Bizzi has spent years collecting academic research that tells a very different story. And he's not just here to tear down the myths; he's here to make you think. In this episode, you'll discover: Why emotional influence tactics...
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329 GUEST Joe Dalton- You Don't Have a Closing Problem, You Likely Have This Instead
The Art of Sales with Art Sobczak
What if your biggest sales problem isn’t closing… but everything that happens before it? In this episode, Art Sobczak sits down with sales trainer, speaker, and author Joe Dalton to break down what truly separates professionals from amateurs in sales. Joe shares how he went from “just talking to people” to mastering a proven sales process, and why he now views selling as a craft, not a transaction. You’ll discover: • Why most “closing problems” are actually discovery failures • The simple shift from selling to letting people buy • How curiosity instantly transforms your...
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328 Why Prospects Quickly Decide to Get Rid of You, and What to Say Instead to Fix That
The Art of Sales with Art Sobczak
You know that kid in the produce aisle who has no idea where the dill is? The one who starts apologizing and wandering around while your brain checks out? That's what most prospecting calls sound like in the first 20 seconds. In this episode, Art breaks down exactly what's happening in your prospect's brain the moment they pick up the phone, why most common openers actually trigger the resistance you're trying to avoid, and the simple 4-part framework that makes prospects lean in instead of push away. You'll hear two side-by-side versions of the same call, one that sounds like the apple...
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327 What to THINK to Avoid Saying the 26 Banned Sales Words and Phrases
The Art of Sales with Art Sobczak
Last episode I banned 26 sales words and phrases. But the truth is… banning the words isn’t the solution. Because the words aren’t the problem. They’re the emotional “cover” salespeople use when they don’t feel confident—apologies, permission-begging, softeners, and filler phrases that are designed to make the seller feel safer. Unfortunately, they do the opposite for the buyer. In this episode, I’ll show you how to eliminate insecure language by fixing the thinking behind it—and I’ll give you a simple pre-call checklist that will change how you show up on every call....
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326 The 26 Sales Words and Phrases I'm Banning in 2026
The Art of Sales with Art Sobczak
Salespeople don’t struggle because they lack tactics. They struggle because of the language they use—often without realizing what it reveals about how they’re thinking. In this episode, Art Sobczak shares 26 sales words and phrases he’s banning in 2026. Not because they sound bad—but because they quietly lower status, create resistance, and sabotage confidence before the conversation ever begins. You’ll learn why phrases like “Sorry to bother you,” “Just checking in,” “Thoughts?” and “This is a cold call” don’t just hurt response...
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325 GUEST: Lee Salz: Why Discovery Calls Must Die (And What to Do Instead)
The Art of Sales with Art Sobczak
Too many salespeople celebrate getting the meeting… and then blow it with a stiff, self-serving “discovery call” that prospects secretly dread. In this episode, Art sits down with sales differentiation strategist and bestselling author Lee Salz to rethink that critical first conversation—and turn it into a client-centric consultation that buyers actually value. Lee shares how to deliver meaningful value in the first meeting, why “discovery” language and agendas instantly signal “this is about me, not you,” and how to use stories and emotion (not just logic) to move prospects...
info_outlineTwice in fifteen years of desert living, I've walked out my front door and found a rattlesnake curled up in the corner. That fear taught me something about persuasion that a famous psychology experiment proved decades ago. Dr. Albert Bandura cured severe snake phobics not with facts, and not by forcing them to confront the snake directly, but by having them watch someone else do it first. He called it vicarious experience, and it's the exact same reason your best sales stories work better than your best data.
In this episode: why a group of MBA students trusted a story about an old wine maker more than they trusted charts and figures, why "my cousin's neighbor" can beat a mountain of seatbelt statistics, and the real reason people can repeat a story I told them fifteen years ago but forget everything else from that same training. Plus, why the guys who get bitten by rattlesnakes usually aren't the ones who leave them alone, they're the ones who go after them with a shovel. There's a lesson in that for how you handle a skeptical prospect too.
You'll walk away with a simple exercise to build your own story bank from prospects you've already won over.