Sales Tales - A podcast sharing epic stories that get you through your sales adventure.

80% of your revenue comes from 20% of your customers. Most sellers already know this. What they don't have is a system for managing the other 80%. In this episode, Josh and Dave introduce the KARE framework — a four-quadrant model for managing every account in your territory with intention, not just the ones you're comfortable with. In this episode, you'll learn: Why the Pareto princip...

Steve Jobs had a working iPhone prototype weeks before launch. His engineers said ship it. He switched to Gorilla Glass at the last minute, causing an operational nightmare and changing the world. That stubbornness is what Josh Shirley calls equal business stature, and it shows up in three very specific moments in every sales meeting. In this episode, you'll learn: Why agreeing to a shortened...

Some deals don't die with a rejection. They just disappear. Everything looks right. The conversations were good, the fit was real, the buyer seemed engaged. And then one day you check on it and it's just floating there. Nobody on board. Nothing happening. A ghost ship in your pipeline. In this episode of Sales Tales, Josh Shirley and Tom Niesen decode the four phrases buyers use instead of...

Most deals don't die because of bad products, bad pricing, or bad timing. They die because of what the seller did, or didn't do, in the room. In this episode of Sales Tales, Josh Shirley and David Doherty break down five seller behaviors that make the buying process harder on buyers, drawing on a LinkedIn poll result that revealed something most salespeople already know but rarely act on:...

Your pipeline is full. Your metrics look great. So why isn't anything closing? In this episode of Sales Tales, Josh Shirley and Tom Niesen, aka the Conjurer, take on one of the most overlooked problems in sales leadership: the vanity metrics that show up in forecasting meetings, create false confidence, and quietly distort how salespeople behave. There is a sharp distinction that changes every...

Your buyers have heard your questions before. And they have answers ready. In this milestone 75th episode of Sales Tales, Josh Shirley and David Doherty pull back the curtain on seven of the most common discovery questions in sales, the ones buyers see coming, prepare for, and use against you. Pulled from real sales communities, Reddit threads, Gartner forums, and B2B buyer feedback, these are the...

What happens when you're so sure you have a deal that you stop selling, and then everything falls apart? In this episode of Sales Tales, Josh Shirley sits down with Tom Niesen, 30-year Sandler trainer, magician, and veteran of some of the most memorable sales disasters you'll ever hear. Tom brings two real-life stories from the field that are equal parts entertaining and educational, plus...

Most salespeople blame the deal. The real problem is what happened in the cockpit. In this episode of Sales Tales, Josh Shirley and David Doherty break down a listener poll that asked: when a deal dies, what really killed it? The results were eye-opening. Nearly 80% of the time, lost deals trace back to qualification failures that were entirely within the seller's control. And the biggest culp...

Most salespeople treat referrals like luck... something that just happens to them. But what if you could build a repeatable process to generate referrals on demand? In this episode of Sales Tales, Josh Shirley breaks down the LinkedIn Rule of Seven, a systematic framework for turning your existing network into a predictable referral engine. Whether you've got a handful of clients or a book of...

Most sales emails don't fail because of bad timing or the wrong list. They fail because of small, fixable mistakes sellers make every single day, and often don't even notice. In this episode of Sales Tales, Josh Shirley and David Doherty break down seven of the most common email worst practices in professional selling, using real examples pulled straight from Josh's inbox. From overstu...

What if the advice that launched your sales career is the same advice that's been slowing you down? In this milestone 70th episode of Sales Tales, Josh Shirley and David Doherty take on five of the most persistent myths in professional selling... ideas still showing up in sales training, sales movies, and social media feeds every single day. These aren't fringe theories. They're things...

Serious sellers: if deals are stalling, it might not be your pitch. It might be that you don't actually know who you're selling to. In this episode of Sales Tales, sales experts Josh Shirley and David Doherty break down RACI, a practical framework for mapping the decision-making structure inside any organization you're selling to. Using real listener poll data as a jumping-off point, J...

Some of the biggest problems in sales actually begin after the agreement. Many sales professionals think the job is done when the buyer says yes. In this episode of Sales Tales, sales experts Josh Shirley and David Doherty explore the often overlooked Post-Sell step and why failing to define what “yes” actually means can create implementation issues, buyer’s remorse, and lost referrals. Post-selli...

Talking about money can feel uncomfortable, even for experienced sales professionals. Our personal beliefs about money often shape how confidently we discuss pricing, budget, and financial impact with buyers. In this episode of Sales Tales, sales experts Josh Shirley and David Doherty explore how internal money stories influence sales conversations, and how those beliefs can create hesitation when...

The first 30 seconds of a sales conversation often determine everything that happens next. Curiosity or resistance. Trust or skepticism. Conversation… or shutdown. In this episode of Sales Tales, sales experts Josh Shirley and David Doherty break down a real cold call opening using actual “game film” to uncover what creates engagement — and what creates resistance. Most sellers unintentionally tri...

What do you do when you show up for a meeting… and your prospect says they have no idea who you are ? It’s one of the most uncomfortable moments in sales — and it happens more often than people admit. In this episode of Sales Tales, Josh Shirley shares a real story from a sales trip to Chicago that started with a confirmed meeting… and ended with the receptionist saying the executive upstairs didn...

Serious sellers — vague timelines feel harmless… until they quietly kill your deal. In this episode of Sales Tales , Josh and Dave tackle one of the most common (and costly) breakdowns in sales conversations: accepting date ranges instead of real decisions . Using real stories and principles rooted in Sandler methodology , they explain why timelines are not administrative details — they’re a criti...

Serious sellers — buyers don’t remember every detail of the sales process, but they always remember how it felt to buy from you. In this episode of Sales Tales , Josh breaks down how sales professionals unintentionally make buying harder — and how to fix it. Drawing on principles rooted in Sandler methodology , this conversation focuses on improving the buyer experience by asking better questions,...

Serious sellers — buyers have a process, too. And if you’re not careful, they’ll run it. In this episode of Sales Tales , Josh and Dave break down one of the most powerful — and misunderstood — skills in selling: pattern interrupts . Using real sales stories and Sandler methodology, they explain how buyers unintentionally (and sometimes intentionally) pull sellers into their buying patterns — and...

Serious sellers — rapport isn’t about being liked. It’s about being trusted. In this episode of Sales Tales , Josh and Dave break down one of the most misunderstood concepts in selling: rapport . They break down why rapport is not the same as having a relationship — and why confusing the two leads to stalled deals, surface-level conversations, and weak qualification. Using practical examples and r...

Serious sellers — great sales outcomes don’t happen by accident. In this episode of Sales Tales , Josh and Dave break down the core fundamentals that drive consistent sales performance , drawing on principles rooted in Sandler methodology while keeping the conversation practical and broadly applicable to all sales professionals. This episode focuses on behavior, mindset, and structure — not script...

In this episode, Josh and Dave share a sales reading list — six books designed to help you grow your sales performance, increase your income, cope with failure , and challenge the traditional-selling mindset. Whether you’re a seller, a sales manager, or leading a team toward future revenue outcomes, this episode gives you a practical roadmap to sharpen the fundamentals that drive results. In this...

In this episode, David and Josh break down one of the biggest challenges in sales: objections —and why most of them are actually self-created. The conversation explores how unclear expectations, avoided budget conversations, and weak qualification lead to stalled deals and frustrated buyers. Rather than teaching scripts or tactics, this episode focuses on how salespeople think, communicate, and qu...

In this episode, Dave and Josh dive deep into the emotional core of sales strategy —the powerful forces of pain , fear , and urgency that shape every customer decision . Discover why many salespeople mistake fear for pain, and how understanding the hierarchy of buying priorities can dramatically improve your results. You’ll learn how to spot when a buyer is truly in pain versus simply curious, and...

In this episode of Sales Tales , hosts Josh Shirley and David Doherty unpack the power of preparation in sales calls . From setting clear objectives to navigating team dynamics, they reveal how thoughtful pre-call planning can make or break your sales strategy. Discover why salespeople should never assume prospects know how to buy, how to anticipate tough questions, and why team members must under...