Manage the Exceptions: Build the Right Sales Dials w/ Chris Blum
Building Your Sales Engine
How to build validated sales dashboards, manage exceptions, and make better decisions—without flying by gut feel. To find our handout for this episode, click . Static reports are lagging. In this conversation, Mark McGraw and Chris Blum (EH Blum Company) walk through moving from canned outputs to interactive, validated dashboards. Start simple (revenue, mix, low-margin drivers), manage the exceptions, hunt the 1% margin gains, and use leading vs. lagging indicators to forecast. Chris shares a private-pilot “six dials” framework (trust instruments, not feel), how to...
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How to Use Assessments to Hire & Coach Sales Teams w/ Rachel Chang
Building Your Sales Engine
How to hire, place, and coach sellers with assessments—so you avoid hunter/farmer mis-hires and reduce burnout. Assessments aren’t paperwork—they’re how you hire better, place smarter, and coach faster. Mark McGraw and Rachel Chang break down using work style/DISC, personality, sales capacity, and object reasoning assessments to prevent bad hires, align roles with natural strengths, and target training where it moves the needle. Interviews show experience; assessments reveal potential and capacity. 🔗 Download exclusive sales resources at: Guest: Rachel Chang — Project and...
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How to Manage Change with Heather Martin
Building Your Sales Engine
How to lead sales teams through change with KPI discipline, psychological safety, clear cadence, and a risk register so signal beats noise. Change doesn’t break sales—silence and guesswork do. In this episode, Mark McGraw and guest Heather Martin lay out a practical playbook for leading teams through change: build a KPI foundation before you pivot, create psychological safety so truth flows up, communicate like a sales cycle (even when the update is “I don’t know yet”), and use a risk register to prioritize signal over noise. In this episode: • Sales and pipeline are lagging...
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Mastering Long Sales Cycles wth Brian Hayes
Building Your Sales Engine
Long sales cycles aren’t a patience test—they’re a process. In this episode, Mark McGraw and guest Brian Hayes break down how to win 12–24-month capital deals without rushing: speak the buyer’s language, use curiosity to find context, and build momentum through meaningful next steps instead of shortcuts. In this episode: Why speed kills deals (and how context saves them) Capital buying reality: budgets, board approval, and timing Cost of delay as a lever to align urgency The Italy negotiation story: delivery date > everything else Stakeholder mapping: “Who else is...
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Be Elite: From Mindset to Technique w/ Rob Vaka
Building Your Sales Engine
Elite selling isn’t hype — it’s standards. In this episode, Mark McGraw talks with sales leader and master connector Rob Vaka about how to link mindset to technique so you sell with clarity, qualify fast, and build trust that lasts. In this episode: The connector mindset: be more interested than interesting Curiosity that leads to real discovery (not interrogation) Up-Front Contracts (UFC): agenda, time, outcome — clarity that reduces pressure Fit-first qualification: why “we may not be a fit” builds credibility Situational fluency: get in more rooms, play up, learn...
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How to Reframe Stress to Improve Sales Performance With Rebecca Heiss
Building Your Sales Engine
Stress isn’t the enemy — it’s energy. In this episode, Mark McGraw talks with Dr. Rebecca Heiss, stress physiologist, keynote speaker, and author of Springboard, about how a simple mindset shift can transform performance in sales, leadership, and life. Rebecca explains why believing “stress is bad” is linked to worse outcomes, why “calm down” fights your biology, and how to reframe stress into focus, service, and action. You’ll hear practical, science-backed tools you can use before your next presentation or sales call. In this episode: The “stress mindset” and why the...
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Pivot Like a Pro: What to Do When the Sales Call Goes Sideways w/Emily Yepes
Building Your Sales Engine
In this episode of Building Your Sales Engine, Mark McGraw sits down with Emily Yepes to explore the tension between sales theory and real-world execution. They dive into four core concepts—upfront contracts, pricing, demos, and decision-making—and reveal how the best salespeople adapt when things don’t go by the book. Whether you’re navigating internal power dynamics or figuring out how to tailor your message to an analytical buyer, this episode is a masterclass in pivoting with purpose. Topics covered: The difference between breaking the rules and earning the right to break them ...
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How to Build Trust and Sell More with Reflective Listening with Matt Detjen
Building Your Sales Engine
In this episode of Building Your Sales Engine, Mark McGraw welcomes Matt Detjen—North American Training Manager at Michelin and author of 'REFLECT: The Art of Powerful Sales Communication.' Matt shares the mindset shifts and practical frameworks that help sales professionals move beyond surface-level rapport and into deeper, more effective communication with their clients. They explore how to build real rapport, the importance of reflective listening, and how to navigate emotional conversations that lead to trust and results. Matt breaks down how better listening unlocks sales...
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Why Sales Teams Fail at Cross-Selling (And How to Fix It) With Matt Martella
Building Your Sales Engine
Mark McGraw sits down with Matt Martella, a seasoned executive with over 30 years of experience in tech, media, and digital advertising sales. They dive into the real-world challenges and strategies of cross-selling in B2B environments—from compensation misalignment to fear-based mindsets. This episode is a practical deep dive for sales leaders and sellers alike, packed with insights on how to build trust, align sales behavior with corporate strategy, and increase revenue by unlocking the full potential of your portfolio. To find our handout for this episode, click . Matt outlines how...
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How to Have a Tough Conversation (And Why We Avoid Them)
Building Your Sales Engine
Mark McGraw shares the four steps for having a tough conversation with someone. He explains why most of us avoid conflict, how fear distorts reality, and what happens when we wait too long to speak up. To find our handout for this episode, click . Tune in to hear a powerful mindset shift, a simple 4-step conversation framework, and the surprising formula that will change how you approach confrontation forever. Mark explains how most of us struggle with confrontation. He admits he’s not naturally wired to lean into conflict, which makes it easy to avoid hard conversations. Over...
info_outlineMark McGraw sits down again with Josh Pitchford to break down the 7 biggest lies that keep salespeople stuck—and how to replace them with a winning mindset. They discuss ways to qualify better, protect your pricing, and stop wasting time on unwinnable deals.
To find our handout for this episode, click here.
Tune in to hear what really drives buyers to say yes and how to overcome the 7 lies most struggling salespeople tell themselves.
- Mark and Josh break down the 7 biggest lies salespeople tell themselves.
- #1 Lie: My job is to educate the prospect
- Mark and Josh both agree—your job is not to teach buyers. They’ve already done their research. Your job is to qualify them. If you must give away information, get something valuable in return.
- #2 Lie: I have to win every deal.
- Salespeople are super competitive, and they believe every deal is winnable. According to Josh, not every deal is worth your time. Smart sellers focus on winnable deals.
- Mark says time is like ammo. If you chase every deal, you’re wasting ammunition shooting at the wrong targets, so pick your battles wisely.
- #3 Lie: I have to discount in order to win
- Mark explains how a 10% discount can mean you need to sell 50% more to break even.
- For Mark, discounting is lazy—it’s the easiest thing for buyers to evaluate your deal. If you’re always competing on price, you’re losing.
- Learn how to handle price objections like a pro.
- Sellers need to set price aside and focus on real value. You can win on price, but you can also lose on price because there will always be other sellers willing to go lower than you.
- #4 Lie: It’s a Bad time to call.
- Salespeople love to justify not making calls. But Mark and Josh agree that there’s never a bad time to reach out.
- Instead of sitting there justifying to yourself why it's not a good time to call, develop a mindset where you believe that it’s always a good time to call.
- #5 Lie: I’m not ready.
- Josh shares a Sandler rule: It’s not how I feel that determines how I act—it’s how I act that determines how I feel. You’ll never feel ready. The secret is to take action first, the confidence will follow.
- If you struggle with taking action, start small. Tiny, achievable goals make taking the next steps easier. Over time, this builds confidence and makes you unstoppable.
- #6 Lie: I have to do everything the buyer asks.
- Mark warns against being a "sales golden retriever"—fetching everything a buyer asks. Buyers don’t just want a friendly sales rep, they want someone who brings real value.
- Josh believes that buyers don’t need to like you to buy from you. They need to respect you because you bring value.
- Mark and Josh talk about relationships and why salespeople need to stop trying to be the buyer’s best friend.
- Value trumps relationships 9 times out of 10.
- #7 Lie: People buy on logic, not emotion.
- People think they buy on logic. But Mark and Josh agree that every purchase starts with emotion. Logic just justifies the decision later.
- Learn how to trigger emotions and close more deals.
- Josh explains why sales is about qualifying, not convincing. If you spend all your time trying to win every deal, you’ll burn out fast.
- Every deal you chase has an opportunity cost. Mark and Josh explain why spending time on the wrong deals can mean losing the right ones.
- Josh covers why you need to stop wasting time on dead-end prospects.
Mentioned in This Episode:
BuildingYourSalesEngine.com/follow
BuildingYourSalesEngine.com/sandler
Josh Pitchford on LinkedIn