SALES with ASLAN

Discipline beats talent in sales because talent may create early momentum, but discipline creates repeatable results. That is the simple truth behind the latest episode of Sales with ASLAN . Tom and Tab unpack an idea that isn't the flashiest idea in the series, and it is not new to most leaders. But it may be one of the most important reminders for sales organizations trying to improve perfor...

In a crowded market, attention is harder to earn than ever. Buyers are overwhelmed by emails, messages, meetings, AI-generated outreach, and competing priorities, so generic sales messaging gets filtered out quickly. In this episode of Sales with ASLAN , Tom Stanfill and Tab Norris continue the “30 Truths for 30 Years” series with a simple but critical idea: attention follows need and novelty. The...

Most salespeople stumble at the finish line because they focus too much on closing rather than uncovering the real barriers that prevent deals from closing. What if the secret to more sales isn’t about closing harder, but about understanding what’s genuinely stopping potential clients in their tracks? In this eye-opening episode, sales experts Tom and Tab reveal how top sellers don’t focus on clos...

In the latest episode of Sales with ASLAN , Tom Stanfill and Tab Norris unpack new research from nearly 500 buyers and 500 sellers. New buyer-seller research shows buyers are less dependent on sales reps for information. Learn why sellers need to become trusted partners, not product representatives. The headline is simple, but uncomfortable: buyers don’t need sellers for information the way they u...

What if your expertise is actually making you less curious? In this episode of Sales with ASLAN , Tom Stanfill and Tab Norris are joined by bestselling author and sales engineering expert Chris White to unpack the idea of “clearing your cache.” They explore why sellers often rely on assumptions instead of truly listening, how paraphrasing builds trust, and why customers need to feel uniquely under...

Many sellers believe the key to winning more deals is learning how to close better. But the real problem is not closing. It is failing to advance the opportunity. In this episode of Sales with ASLAN , Tom Stanfill and Tab Norris unpack one of the most practical truths from ASLAN’s 30 Truths for 30 Years series: To sell more, focus on the buyer process, not your commission. When sellers focus on th...

In complex B2B sales, deals rarely fall apart because the solution is weak. More often, they stall because sellers are working through the wrong people. In out latest episode of Sales with ASLAN , Tom Stanfill and Tab Norris unpack a critical truth from our 30 truths for 30 years series: rank does not equal influence. The highest title in the room is not always the person driving the decision, and...

Motive is ultimately transparent, and it can make or break your influence in sales and in life. In Truth #2 of ASLAN’s “30 Truths” anniversary series, Tom Stanfill and Tab Norris unpack why people can sense your intent, even when your words sound right. From “commission breath” to the subtle facial cues that give you away, they explore how motives show up through posture, questions, listening, and...

This episode kicks off a special year for Sales with ASLAN as we celebrate 30 years in business by revisiting the most important truths we have learned along the way. Tom and Tab start with the most foundational and most counterintuitive insight of all: the customer’s willingness to listen matters more than your ability to communicate. From early days making cold calls to conversations with Fortun...

Only a day after training, most teams forget half of what they learned. By the end of the week, nearly all of it is gone. Not because the content was bad, but because the human brain is wired to forget. That is the Forgetting Curve, and it exposes a deeper issue in sales enablement. Too many organizations measure success by recall instead of change. Memory is easy to test. Behavior is harder. But...

In this episode, Tom, John, and Tab explore how an abundance mindset shapes performance, relationships, and results, especially under pressure. They unpack the difference between scarcity and abundance, why fear quietly sabotages peak performance, and how gratitude creates the psychological safety needed to operate in a state of flow. John explains how survival instincts and outcome attachment lim...

Year-end pressure, big presentations, quota conversations, it all amplifies one thing: fear. In our latest Sales with ASLAN, long-time friend and team member of ASLAN, John Cequeria, unpacks how survival instincts hijack performance, and how gratitude, service, and abundance can bring you back to your best self. After his life-altering experience in the Twin Towers on 9/11 and 15 years in sales tr...

Welcome to another episode of Sales with ASLAN! Today, weare back in our spotlight series called ASLAN at home, where we talk about maintaining influence in the relationships that matter most. Our CEO Tom Stanfill is joined by his daughter and ASLANS podcast producer, Tindell Baldwin, as theytalk about one way we might not realize we are losing influence, our anger. Tom and Tindell always bring in...

In part four of our series, Moving from Sales Manager to Sales Catalyst, we dive into the pivotal role of coaching in transforming teams and organizations. Tom and Tab break down why coaching is more than just a conversation; it’s about developing capabilities, driving performance, and creating lasting change. From structured frameworks and observation techniques to the power of practice and the g...

In this episode of Sales with ASLAN , Tom Stanfill and Tab Norris explore one of the most misunderstood concepts in sales leadership: productivity. While many managers believe that tracking activity, including calls made, emails sent, and meetings logged, equals productivity, Tom and Tab reveal why this mindset often backfires. True productivity, they argue, is about outputs: meaningful customer e...

In this episode of Sales with ASLAN , Tom Stanfill and Tab Norris dive into the first dial every sales leader must master: desire . Change doesn’t happen in workshops or dashboards; it happens one-on-one - when frontline managers know how to connect change to what reps truly want. From extrinsic vs. intrinsic motivation to tackling ego, relationships, and competing beliefs, Tom and Tab unpack why...

As the sales landscape shifts under the pressure of AI, buyer behavior, and economic uncertainty, traditional sales roles are being redefined. But while most organizations focus on training reps to adapt, they often overlook the true agent of transformation: the sales manager. In our latest Sales with ASLAN podcast, Tom Stanfill and Tab Norris explore how frontline leaders can stop simply managing...

In this episode, Tom and Tab sit down with Sheevaun Thatcher, VP of Enablement at Demandbase, to unpack her unconventional career path and the bold strategies redefining sales enablement. From innovative demo techniques to a five-question framework that filters out noise, Sheevaun shares how she drives performance by aligning enablement with revenue impact. We explore: ▪️ Why 100% executive buy-in...

Welcome to our spotlight series, ASLAN@Home where we take the principles we teach in workshops and apply them to the relationships that matter most. On our second episode, Tom and his daughter, Tindell, discuss what overwhelms so many parents, how do we navigate the wide world of media? From TV shows, movies, and YouTubers that are all the rage, Tom and Tindell do a great job breaking down exactly...

It’s the middle of the year. Goals feel distant. Progress is slower than expected. The initial excitement is gone, and all that’s left is the hard part.  If you’re feeling stuck or unmotivated, you’re not alone. In this episode of Sales with ASLAN , Tom and Tab break down how to stay motivated when the work gets hard, especially in sales. You’ll learn why most people don’t have a discipline proble...

In this episode of Sales with ASLAN , Tom and Tab revisit one of the most critical and often overlooked parts of sales, overcoming barriers. From treating objections like debates (mistake!) to skipping proper discovery (another mistake!), they break down where most sellers go wrong and introduce a simple, powerful framework: Isolate. Validate. Communicate. You’ll learn: Why objections often signal...

Welcome to this brand new spotlight series on Sales with ASLAN, ASLAN @ Home. In it, we will explore how the truths we teach in training, workshops, and courses can be taken home and used in the relationships that matter most. In today's kickoff episode, Tom and his daughter Tindell discuss what it means to have conversations about a lasting and meaningful identity with their kids. They each share...

In the latest episode of Sales with ASLAN , Tom, Tab, and ASLAN president Marc explore one of the most important (yet often overlooked) dynamics in modern B2B sales: the rise of the non-seller. Engineers, consultants, lawyers, and other technical experts are now more involved than ever in influencing buying decisions. But here’s the problem, they don’t see themselves as “salespeople.” And that’s e...

In this episode of Sales with ASLAN , Tom and Tab sit down with global sales enablement leader Tommy Kiernan (TK) to unpack what truly drives results in modern enablement strategies. From his experience leading global enablement at companies like Visible Alpha and post-acquisition by S&P Global, Tommy K shares battle-tested insights for aligning enablement with leadership, measuring the right...

Congratulations! You’ve made it to the finals. The client has narrowed down their choices, and you’re officially in the running. But this is not the time to sit back and hope your proposal speaks for itself; this is where the real work begins. In Part 3 of our RFP Series on the SALES with ASLAN podcast, Tom Stanfill and Tab Norris discuss the critical transition from a reactive approach to a proac...