The Truth About Value-Based Selling That Most Salespeople Never Learn
Release Date: 06/26/2025
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 Josh Pitchford to unpack one of the most misunderstood concepts in sales: Value. You’ll learn what it actually means to deliver value, why it’s different for every buyer, and how to uncover it by focusing on the customer's needs.
To find our handout for this episode, click here.
Tune in to hear practical tips, real-world insights, and a fresh perspective on value-based selling.
- Josh starts by explaining why most salespeople struggle with “bringing value” in sales: Because we assume we know what the other person wants.
- According to Josh, value is one of the most subjective concepts in sales—it means something different to everyone. Learn to ditch the guesswork and start every relationship by asking what truly matters to them.
- Understand the trap of selling to “roles” instead of people. Josh explains that even when a room of decision-makers shares a job title, each person experiences the problem differently. Zoom in on their personal attachment because what’s valuable to one stakeholder may be irrelevant to another.
- Josh explains that value can’t be delivered in bulk—it has to feel custom, so make all your conversations personal.
- Mark highlights that “value” is just like beauty, it lives in the eye of the beholder.
- Why your clever pitch doesn’t matter unless it hits the mark emotionally and practically.
- According to Josh, the fastest way to uncover value is to simply ask, “What does success look like for you?”
- How to turn vague value into clear ROI: Start quantifying and put a number to it. Mark and Josh reveal that buyers begin to pay real attention when you tie your value to dollars, time saved, or risk reduced.
- How to own the conversation with a prospect: Show them something they hadn’t seen before.
- Josh breaks down the “Scooby-Doo moment.” Gain control of the conversation with a prospect by showing them something they hadn’t seen or thought off before.
- Mark and Josh agree that most salespeople fail because they talk about what they’re selling instead of what the buyer actually cares about.
- Josh explains that showing up with answers before asking questions is a fast track to irrelevance. You need to lead with curiosity if you want to land with impact.
- The benefits of having an upfront contract. Josh explains that simply setting expectations early ensures you don’t waste each other’s time and only discuss relevant topics.
- Josh explains that every buyer question has pain behind it, and you can uncover it if you listen closely.
- Why emotional context is the difference between a helpful seller and a forgettable one.
- Mark highlights the skill of simplifying the complex. Sales conversations should never be complex. Buyers will appreciate you more if you can simplify the complex.
- How to earn trust fast: Get to the root of the problem in a way that feels effortless to them. Understand that your wisdom isn’t just in what you know—it’s in how clearly you help them see it.
- Josh explains that no two deals are ever exactly the same. Your last big win might lead you astray if you assume this new buyer wants the same thing. Learn to treat every deal like it’s the only one that matters—because to them, it is.
- Mark and Josh cover how to stop giving your insight away for free: Ask for something in return. People appreciate more when they have to earn something, not when they can get it for free.
- Josh explains that although we live in the information age and buyers can Google anything, they can’t replicate your hands-on market experience. That’s why there will always be a place for exceptional sellers.
- Learn how to bring the kind of insight that makes people lean in and say, “Tell me more.”
- Mark highlights a universal truth: People don’t value what they don’t pay for. Understand that when you just give insight without asking for anything in return, it often gets dismissed or forgotten.
- How to get a PhD in your client—know their goals, blind spots, and what keeps them up at night.
- For Josh, real trust is built when they feel like you understand them better than anyone else.
- Mark shares how to create breakthrough moments with your prospects by showing them what they can’t see for themselves.
- Josh explains that when clients start asking you about things outside your deal, you’ve crossed into real trust. The more valuable your perspective, the more problems they’ll ask you to solve for them.
- How to truly bring value? Come prepared. Josh explains that the best reps don’t show up ill-prepared. They do their homework and research as much as they can about the client’s problems.
- Mark explains that great sellers aren’t just problem solvers—they’re problem identifiers. Your biggest value might be naming the issue your buyer didn’t even realize they had. So, learn to lead with insight, not answers.
Mentioned in This Episode:
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BuildingYourSalesEngine.com/sandler
Josh Pitchford on LinkedIn
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