The Art of Sales with Art Sobczak

We explore the art of being genuinely interested in others—both in social settings and sales conversations. Inspired by observations at recent holiday parties, Art shares how most people fail to listen effectively, turning conversations back to themselves instead of encouraging others to share. This behavior isn't just socially frustrating—it's costly in sales. Learn to recognize critical "problem...

MK Mueller has changed lives worldwide with her "8 to Great" simple methodology for having a positive attutude, ALL of the time.  As salespeople, we know that our attitude has more of an effect on our results, and income, than any sales process or technique. MK shares tips, stories, and how-to exercises than anyone can implement right now to get and keep our attitude at high levels.

The election is over. Some are ecstatic, others angry. Those who rely on the results to determine their happiness and success will be greatly disappointed. Ultimately, if you want change, YOU need to change. No outside influence affects your destiny like you do. In this episode you'll hear how to take control of your own success. And, if this message resonates, get notified of my new coaching prog...

Asking someone "Why?" they do or say something has the potential to put someone on the spot and feel like they need to defend themselves.  A scientifically-proven better option is to word questions with "How?" In this episode you hear the reasoning, and specific examples of how to use "How?" to get more and better information, build relationships, and make more sales. 

Probably the biggest roadblock to success for most salespeople is the fear of rejection. But, rejection doesn't actually exisit. It is the story that someone attaches to an experience. When we take control, and tell ourselves different, better, and positive stories, rejection doesn't happen. You'll hear exactly how to do this, and how to never be rejected again.

Someone who is always the victim has little chance to succeed in professional sales. Sales, when done at the highest level is all about taking responsibility, ownership, and leading. If someone is not getting the results they want, it is on them. Not because of anything, or anyone else. In this episode you'll hear what to do to identify victim tendencies, and specific actions to take full ownershi...

An objection some salespeople hear is, "I only want to pay if I get the results you say we'll get." Art shares how he suggested a fellow coach handle that actual objection that she received from a prospect, and the exact process that you can use to prepare for and address your own objections. And it's not by using silly, adversarial objection "rebuttal" techniques, but instead getting someone talk...

A famous saying is that "You can't NOT communicate." Meaning that everything you do or say that is observed by someone, whether it is intentional or not, is creating feelings in others. We can be much more successful in sales, and in life, by focusing on how we can make more of those feelings positive. Art shares contrasting examples from a recent vacation to Cabo San Lucas where he experienced bo...

Many prospects don't want to abide by our timetable. They want to know what the price is, before we are ready to go there.  How you respond makes the difference between annoying them, giving them a price that seems unreasonable for them, OR helping them realize you need to learn more about what they really want so that you can give them the best price. In this episode you'll hear several examples...

An even bigger problem than losing out to a competitor is losing a deal due to no decision.    James Muir wrote an entire book on how to prevent deals from getting stuck in the first place, and then how to get them unstuck.   In this episode he shares what to do to prevent stalls, the five issues that cause deals to stick, and exactly what to do and say to get them unstuck.

The best way to get voice mails responded to, and create instant interest on prospecting calls is to make your messaging relevant to them by personalizing and customizing it. And the best source of intel to do that is other people who will give it to you. You ask questions, doing Social Engineering. You'll get the simple, proven, four-step process, with word-for-word messaging you can use and adap...

When a sales rep is told, "Just be yourself" on calls, instead of being totally prepared, that is some of the worst advice ever. Unless the rep is a skilled, knowledgeable, experienced, prepared person already, just being themself can result in disaster. Maybe you've been there. Art breaks this down, and discusses what we DO need to do in order to become the best version of ourselves, who is authe...

There is a difference between simple price comments, like, "Wow, that's more expensive than I thought," and real price objections, like, "We don't have that in the budget." The problem for a lot of salespeople, is that at the first sound of a price comment, they begin dropping price. Unnecessarily. You'll hear Art's experience with a tree service owner who cut his profit in half, and what you can...

Most sales training on objections contradicts how normal people think and speak. Because, it suggests you tell someone they are wrong.   And what is the result of that? The opposite of the intended result: they become more defensive. And it feels sleazy for the person saying it.   In this episode Art gives the professional, conversational process to help lead someone through a process, so they wil...

The old mantra is that the ABC's of sales are "Always be closing." Not only is that wrong, but it adds to the negative stereotype of salespeople. The beneficial, real ABC of closing is "Always be curious." Art explains why, and what you can do to enhance your curiousity muscle.

Success in sales, and life for that matter, does not rely on having more information. Everyone has access to that. It always relies on the person. Their identity and values. One of the many components that go into BEing a truce sales professional is being others-focused. In this episode Art shares a three-letter acronym, that when you use it to remind yourself of one key concept about every human...

Voice mail can help make a positive impression, create curiosity and interest, or kill any chance of speaking with a prospect.  Likewise with the greeting you leave for those who call you. Art shares tips on what to say and avoid on voice mail so that you are perceived like the professional you are.

If you browse LinkedIn, you'll see lots of -new-to-the-scene "gurus" trying to pump up their Likes and Comments by saying things are old, outdated, dead, and don't work anymore. Then they suggest what is "new." Art breaks this down, and shows that what supposedly is new, always worked, and always will, and what specifically we need to do as sales pros to show consistent success.

If a salesperson avoids placing the prospecting or sales calls, in addition to the typical guilt they experience, and the potential lost opportunities, they are actually being selfish. That's because they are depriving possible future customers of the value they could receive. In this episode Art explores this more, the causes of call avoidance, ane what to do to get rid of it, and quit being self...

Think about the last time you spoke with someone whose words were so foreign to you that you had no idea what they were saying. And by foreign, that could be being overly technical, or using jargon that you never use in your world. That's what some salespeople do, and it kills sales. In this episode you'll hear examples of how that happened with Art, and specific what-to-do's in order to be sure y...

A very simple--but not always followed--principle is that those who expect to win, do so more often than those who think they don't have a chance. This applies to sports, and sales. Art shares a story about what George Brett had to say about this, and explains how it applies to all of your calls, and how you can win more of them.

Richard Weylman works with businesses worldwide, helping them create customer experiences that keeps them coming back. In this episode, he shares what customers really want, that you can model in your own business, and sales. He shares a number of instantly-useable, how-to's and what-to-say messaging examples that you might not have heard before, and perhaps even correct mistakes that repel prospe...

Today's guest, Jason Bay, specializes in helping sales pros use outbound calling to get through to, and engage more new buyers.    In this episode we discussed, -The two key components for prospecting success and getting to buyers today.  -How to increase your "pick up rate," which is the percentage of people actually answering your call. -How to respond when someone objects to being called on the...

Many people ask questions, then don't even listen to the answers. It's like driving somewhere, but when you arrive, don't remember anything about the drive because your mind was totally immersed in something else. This is "sleepwalking" through the communcation process, and it is dangerous for us as sales pros. You'll hear specific how-to's on how to avoid it, and what TO do to be a high level que...

Best-selling authors Bob Burg, and Jeff C. West have teamed up to write an excellent new sales parable in book form. Filled with lessons on leadership, sales skills, music, and entertainment, it's a short, fun read, which will both new and veteran sales pros, or anyone who communicates. In this special video episode, Bob and Jeff share with Art lessons from the book, the inspiration for it, what i...