Inside the Mind of Top Salespeople with Tim Geisert
Release Date: 05/29/2025
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 with Tim Geisert to break down how to be a great salesperson in today’s ultra-competitive market.
To find our handout for this episode, click here.
Tim shares practical strategies for building trust, navigating complex deals, and identifying top performers—not just by talent, but by the competencies they bring to the table. Learn how to avoid the “happy ears” trap, why checklists are a salesperson’s best friend, and what really separates modern sales winners from the rest.
- Tim shares how a near-accident during a crosswind, caused by an old knee injury, forced him to retire from flying.
- Mark believes that if sales carried the same penalties as flying an airplane without a checklist, we'd all be more disciplined about following our processes.
- Tim highlights that just like pilots rely on checklists to survive, salespeople need structure to avoid fatal missteps, because forgetting one small detail can cost you everything.
- Tim warns that “happy ears” have killed more deals than any objection—assuming rapport or shared background equals a win can be a fatal assumption in sales.
- Tim explains that the profile of top B2B salespeople has evolved—from valuing courage and competitiveness to prioritizing learning agility, networking ability, and individualized connection.
- Success in sales used to be 70% talent, but today, it’s competencies and the learned skills that predict performance more reliably.
- Mark and Tim explain that every minute with a customer matters; wasting just six minutes in a 60-minute demo means losing 10% of your chance to influence the sale.
- Tim notes that you don’t need a big personality to win in sales—you need the ability to connect what the buyer wants to what the solution actually delivers.
- Mark reminds us that gatekeepers matter. You can’t ignore or underestimate anyone in the sales process because influence is no longer limited to just one decision maker.
- Why managers should look beyond the résumé. When hiring, ask questions to understand what life has taught a person and how that shapes the value they bring to the team.
- Mark recommends asking, “What did you do to make money when you were young?” That question reveals early drive, which often translates into sales hunger and sales success.
- Tim emphasizes that understanding a new hire’s competencies and natural talents from day 1 can fast-track their productivity and impact.
- Mark believes storytelling is a powerful indicator of exceptional sales talent. Top candidates don’t just tell stories, they use stories to drive home relevant points.
- Mark and Tim stress the importance of uncovering motivation early, because knowing what drives a salesperson is essential to leading, coaching, and retaining them effectively.
Mentioned in This Episode:
BuildingYourSalesEngine.com/follow
BuildingYourSalesEngine.com/sandler
Tim Geisert on LinkedIn
BuildingYourSalesEngine.com/23
Building Your Sales Engine on Linktree