Hidden Work in Sales Prep

3 out of 4 sales candidates bomb the interview before they even talk numbers. Sales interviews reward preparation, not raw talent. You don't get a second chance. You get one opening to show how you think, sell, and close. Here’s how to prep like a top rep: "Tell me about yourself" → Share roles with revenue ownership → Stay under 2 minutes, match their motion "Why do you want to work here" → Mention their market and model → Connect it to what you do well "What sets you apart" → Skip “I work hard” → Talk buyer insight, pattern thinking, outcomes "Difficult prospect example" → Explain the objection → How you shifted the call → Insight > charm "Toughest deal" → Show the strategy behind the win → Not just effort "Pressure or slump" → Be real about misses → Show your recovery system "New territory pipeline" → ICP, signals, outbound plan → Prove you hunt, not wait "Lost deal" → Own it clean → One takeaway "Weakness" → Choose a real one → Show how you’re fixing it "Strengths" → Pushback, discovery, storytelling → Tie each to results "Questions for us" → Ask about targets, ramp, top reps "Why you left" → Honest, never bitter Save it. Study it. Walk in sharp.

One sales conversation can reveal a belief someone didn’t even realize they had. I once coached a rep I’ll call Sarah who consistently avoided conversations about price. Whenever the topic came up she redirected the discussion, offered a discount, or delayed the conversation entirely. At first it looked like a negotiation problem. But when we talked privately, the real issue surfaced. Growing up, money had always been a source of stress in her home. Talking about money felt uncomfortable, and charging someone thousands of dollars felt almost wrong. That belief quietly followed her into her career. Once she recognized it, everything changed. Her confidence shifted, her conversations improved, and her results followed soon after. Sales behavior almost always has a belief underneath it. When the belief shifts, the behavior often follows. What belief might be quietly shaping the way you or your team sells? 

Here’s the hidden pipeline killer most sales teams ignore. ~43% of deals aren’t lost to competitors. They weren't even lost to "no decision." They were lost to competing initiatives. While you're focused on beating your direct competitors, the real battle is for budget and attention against entirely different priorities. Your prospect has 25 projects competing for limited resources. Only 5-7 will get funded. Is yours one of them? Most sales teams are completely blind to this reality. They track competitive wins and losses but ignore the bigger threat. Here's how innovative sellers are addressing this hidden pipeline killer: 1️⃣ Map the priority landscape They ask directly: "What are the top 3-5 initiatives your team has committed to this quarter?" If your solution isn't aligned with one of these, you're already losing. 2️⃣ Identify the zero-sum game For every "yes" to your solution, something else gets a "no." The best reps ask: "What would have to come off your plate to make room for this project?" 3️⃣ Quantify the cost of inaction When initiatives compete, ROI isn't enough. You need to establish the cost of NOT implementing your solution. "What happens if this problem continues for another year?" 4️⃣ Connect to strategic priorities Tactical projects get cut first. Strategic initiatives survive. Top performers always tie their solution to the company's publicized strategic goals. 5️⃣ Prepare for budget reallocation Innovative reps build relationships with the teams who control resource allocation. "Who else is competing for the same resources? How are those decisions made?" Your competition isn't just other vendors. It's everything else your buyer could spend time and money on instead.

Your AE hit quota. Great. But 85% of their pipeline came from inbound or SDR handoffs. Are they a top performer...or just a good order taker? This is the invisible headcount problem: You’re paying for sellers, but only some of them are actually selling. The rest? They’re riding inbound. Responding to hand raisers. Taking what’s given. They're reacting. And if you don’t know which is which, you’re flying blind. Here’s how to diagnose the dependency: 1. Break down pipeline source by rep Segment every deal closed by origin: - AE-sourced - SDR-sourced - Marketing/inbound - Expansion/renewal Then map it to attainment. If reps are 100%+ to quota but 10% of pipeline is AE sourced, you’ve got a dependency problem. 2. Watch for pipeline cliffs Check pipeline coverage vs. attainment. Do reps magically hit quota in H1, then flame out in H2? That’s likely reliance on inherited pipeline. 3. Inspect outbound behavior Ask: When was the last time this rep sourced a net new opp over $50K? Are they on LinkedIn, running sequences, booking meetings? Or just refreshing Salesforce? Once you do that, you can then close the gap: 1. Redesign comp to expose the gap Good comp plans separate signal from noise: - 12–15% commission for AE-sourced - 7–10% for inbound/SDR Also consider: - SPIFFs for self-sourced meetings that move to Stage 2+ - Tiered bonuses: $5K for $500K self-sourced pipeline, $10K for $1M+ If a rep ignores these? That’s not a comp issue. It’s a skill issue. 2. Add a sourcing target Make outbound a requirement...not a nice to have: - 30–50% of pipeline must be AE-sourced to unlock accelerators - Quota flexibility based on mix: self-source 50% = $1.2M quota; <20% = $1.5M quota 3. Build a coaching cadence Outbound is a muscle. Coach it weekly: - Inspect prospecting activity - Review outbound messaging - Run role plays and cold call breakdowns It’s not just about effort. It’s about control. Because if your reps can’t drive pipeline, they can’t drive growth. And no amount of inbound will save you if the faucet runs dry.

Last week, I heard from a super impressive customer who has cracked the code on how to give salespeople something they’ve always wanted: more selling time. Here’s how he transformed their process. This customer runs the full B2B sales motion at an awesome printing business based in the U.S. For years, his team divided their time across six key areas: 1. Task prioritization 2. Meeting prep 3. Customer responses 4. Prospecting 5. Closing deals 6. Sales strategy Like every sales leader I know, he wants his team to spend most of their time on #5 and #6 — closing deals and sales strategy. But together, those only made up about 30% of their week. (Hearing this gave me flashbacks to my time in sales…and all that admin tasks 😱) Now, his team uses AI across the sales process to compress the amount of time spent on #1-4: 1. Task prioritization → AI scores leads and organizes daily tasks 2. Meeting prep → AI surfaces insights from calls and contact records before meetings 3. Customer responses → Breeze Customer Agent instantly answers customer questions 4. Prospecting → Breeze Prospecting Agent automatically researches accounts and books meetings The result? Higher quantity of AI-powered work: More prospecting. More pipeline.  Higher quality of human-led work: More thoughtful conversations. Sharper strategy. This COO's story made my week. It's a reminder of just how big a shift we're going through – and why it’s such an exciting time to be in go-to-market right now.

He knew the role offered $100K. He asked for $150K and he showed why he was worth it . . . This sales candidate had 20+ years of industry experience and lived in a high-cost market. From the start, he was transparent: $150K was the base he needed to justify a move. He didn’t just throw out a number. He backed it up. In the final interview, he brought a polished PowerPoint presentation that outlined: ➤ His 6-month sales plan ➤ Market strategy ➤ Revenue projections ➤ His commitment to selling 2,000 units ... which would have earned $60K–$70K in commission alone He didn’t just show up ... he sold himself. With clarity. Confidence. Data. The company was upfront too ... they had a structured comp model and needed to stay aligned internally. Sales hiring is always a balance of potential, risk, and fit. In the end, both sides made the right decision and parted ways respectfully. But here’s what stood out to me: Too few candidates go that far to prove their worth. They say they can deliver… but don’t show how. Back when I was in sales, I carried a 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐠 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 into every interview ... metrics, awards, proof. Why? Because preparation positions you. It builds trust. It shifts perception. Take notes: ✅ Know what you need ✅ Come with receipts ✅ Present yourself like you would a product 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝘁 ... 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗼𝗿𝘀!!!

LI Sales Navigator hack no. 574098 you can use to book meetings and get some pretty sweet internal visibility to boot: Think about the most senior skip-level exec in your org that has also either worked for your company for a long time or is tenured in the vertical you sell to. Connect with them on LinkedIn Once they accept, open Sales Nav, add them to "Connections Of..." field, as you see below. Then, add in your account list - either one by one in "current company", as below, or via your CRM integrations in the workflows tab. Segment down by title and geo, and, in a few clicks, you can see who those execs know that you likely want to get a meeting with. The search will also help you evaluate the likelihood of relationship strength: common connections, previous employer overlap, etc. Then, make an educated ask: "Hi Mary! We haven't been introduced but I'm an AE on Sam McKenna's team. I've been trying to crack BoA and Morgan Stanley, and noticed you know four execs there - (first, last name, bonus points if you link their LI profiles) - any chance you know them well enough that you would considering introducing us and seeing they would be willing to take a meeting? Happy to offer more context or ghostwrite the note - appreciate the consideration!" Not only are execs more likely to reply to other execs, but the referral increases your speed to lead and speed to trust. Bonus: add a few execs to this list, save the search. Any time people move jobs or those execs connect with new people, you'll get updates in this search and can automate this as one of your standard prospecting plays. Double bonus: you're multi-threading your way through your own org, building relationships with senior execs, making it even easier for them to talk about you positively when you're not in the room. #samsales

Most salespeople think prospecting is the first step—but the real work starts long before you ever make a call. That’s why I believe in a strong pre-prospecting plan. It’s the quiet, behind-the-scenes prep that separates top performers from everyone else. When you take the time to identify your best entry points, map out every contact, craft multi-channel messages, and build a thoughtful cadence, you’re not just “doing outreach”—you’re executing with intention. And here’s the truth I live by: “Don’t wish for it to be easy. If it’s hard, it means the rewards are greater.” The more challenging the process, the more likely your competitors will avoid it…and the more opportunities you’ll create for yourself. Put in the work others skip, and you’ll win deals others never even knew existed.

5 minutes of prep is worth $200K per rep per year. You walk into the discovery call. You ask "what does your team do?" The prospect paused before they answered because the answer is on your website. You just told them you didn't prep. The dynamic for the rest of the call is set. The 5-minute rule. LinkedIn. Last two company posts. Latest press release. One thing the buyer themselves shared in the last 90 days. Open the call with what you found. "I saw your last post about the rebuild on the SDR team. I had a question about that before we get into the agenda." Here is the math. Reps who prep close at 1.6 times the rate of reps who don't. On a $50K average deal and 50 deals a year, that 13-point win-rate lift is $200,000 per rep per year. 5 minutes a call. 5 calls a week. 4 hours a year of prep equals $200K of revenue. The cheapest 4 hours your team will spend all year.

“I just had a bad feeling about him.” “I could tell she was thinking that.” We’ve all had those gut instincts about people. That subtle knowing before anything’s said. We pick up on social cues: A furrowed brow. A flat tone. Crossed arms. Some of the most revealing moments in sales come from what isn’t being said. They come from sensing the tension in the room and gently naming it. Trust your gut. If you feel it, say it. Like this: “You seem intrigued.” “You look like you’re connecting some dots.” “You paused what’s on your mind?” “You smiled when I said that. What landed?” “Sounds like this is hitting close to home.” “You seem a little skeptical.” “You’re nodding, but frowning a bit. What’s behind that?” “You thought the price was going to have one less zero.” “You’re not sure how to sell this internally.” These aren’t tricks. They’re invitations. Invitations to drop the script. To go deeper. To feel seen. Because sometimes, the most human thing you can do in sales is call out what your gut already knows. Not to steer the conversation, but to open it. No truth, no trust. No trust, no transaction.