Podcast · Business

The Sales Evangelist

by Donald C. Kelly · English · Business

I believe in doing BIG THINGS! You should be earning 6 figures easily as a sales rep. But chances are you are not...yet! Sales is the most important department in every company but many sellers are never taught how to effectively sell, much less how to earn their way to high-income status. My own ca

New episodes: Several times a week
Typical length: 31 min
Latest: 12 Oct 2026
Language: English

Latest episode

12 Oct 2026 · 40 minNew

4 Steps to Systematic Sales Growth | Jimmy Burgess - 2045

"Broke, rich." That's the two-word test Jimmy Burgess uses to explain whether a sales career is working: phone up to your ear, you're rich; phone down, you're broke. Pulled from our archive, Jimmy, Chief Growth Officer at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Beach Properties of Florida, is with me as we discuss the four-step pattern he lays out for turning scattered activity into steady, repeatable growth that hasn't aged a day. Growth Follows a Pattern, and It Starts With Confidence Systematic growth runs through four connected stages: competence builds confidence, confidence leads to consistent…

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Earlier episodes 29 most recent

E2044 · 9 Oct 2026 · 33 min
The Top Three Issues Killing Your Sales Deals | George Bronten - 2044
You did everything right, or at least you thought you did, and the deal still fell apart anyway. This one is coming from the archives, and the principles hold up just as well today as they did when we first recorded it. George Brontén, founder and CEO of Membrain and author of Stop Killing Deals, broke down the three deadly assumptions that quietly sink B2B sales deals, and how to catch them before they cost you the close. The Three Assumptions That Quietly Kill Deals Deals rarely fall apart because of one dramatic mistake, they fall apart because of small, invisible assumptions that go…
E2043 · 5 Oct 2026 · 30 min
How to Reach Decision-Makers When Selling to Enterprises | Erik Kostelnik - 2043
125 billion B2B emails go out every single day, and that number is exactly why decision-makers have stopped noticing any of them. This one is coming from the archives, and honestly it feels even more relevant now than when it first aired, because reaching the right person inside an enterprise has only gotten harder since. Erik Kostelnik, founder and CEO of Postal, joined me to break down why reaching enterprise buyers has gotten so much harder and exactly what sales reps need to do differently to cut through that noise. Why Decision-Makers Have Gone Numb to Outreach The real problem isn't…
E2042 · 2 Oct 2026 · 24 min
How I Handle Every Price Objection | Donald C. Kelly - 2042
“It’s too expensive” may be the answer a prospect gives you, but it may not be the reason they are saying no. The real issue could be that they do not see the value, they already have another solution, or they have another concern they have not told you yet. In this objection-handling conversation, I break down two ways to get past the surface response, find the real reason behind an objection, and connect your solution to what the prospect actually values. The Real Reason Behind a Price Objection A prospect who says a $100 water bottle is too expensive may not really have a problem with the…
E2041 · 28 Sep 2026 · 24 min
How to Future Proof Against Getting Ghosted | Donald C. Kelly - 2041
Nearly half of all B2B sales conversations end with no decision at all, and that number keeps climbing. This solo episode breaks down the discovery call framework built over years of carrying a bag as a software sales rep, now taught to clients to stop deals from going quiet. The Real Cost of No Decision A study of 2.5 million sales conversations by Matthew Dixon and Ted McKenna found that 40 to 60 percent of B2B deals end in no decision, not a loss to a competitor, just silence. Of those no-decision deals, 44 percent come from the prospect of sticking with their status quo, while the other…
E2040 · 25 Sep 2026 · 31 min
Selling a Must-Have vs. Nice-to-Have: How to Win in a Competitive Market | Mark Van Oppen - 2040
Selling a must-have product sounds easier than selling a nice-to-have. But even when your solution is critical to a customer’s business, you still have competitors fighting for the same deal. So, what makes a buyer choose you? In this episode, I talk with Mark van Oppen, CRO of SecureAuth , to talk about what it takes to sell a must-have solution in a competitive market. Selling a Must-Have vs. a Nice-to-Have Mark explains why sellers should first identify whether their solution is truly critical to their ideal customer. A product should solve a real business problem rather than forcing…
E2039 · 21 Sep 2026 · 32 min
Is It You or Your Product? The Truth About Product-Market Fit | Collin Stewart - 2039
Product-market fit isn't a yes or no question, and treating it like one is what trips up most founders and sales leaders. That's the core idea Collin Stewart, co-founder and CEO of Predictable Revenue and host of the Predictable Revenue Podcast, brought to this episode, and it reshaped how I think about why some go-to-market motions take off and others stall no matter how hard the team works. Product-Market Fit Isn't Binary, It Has Strength Most founders treat product-market fit as something you either have or don't, which makes the conversation almost impossible, because any founder with…
E2038 · 18 Sep 2026 · 34 min
AI Didn't Kill Sales Strategy. It Exposed Who Never Had One | John Stopper - 2038
AI is changing sales fast. But is it actually replacing salespeople, or is it exposing the sellers who never developed real strategy skills? That’s the question I explore in this conversation with John Stopper. John and I get into the difference between sales tactics and sales strategy, why AI can sometimes give sellers the wrong picture of a buyer, and why getting closer to the people involved in a deal can make the difference between winning and losing. We also talk about how sales teams can use AI to identify deal risks instead of simply using it to write more emails. Why AI Makes Sales…
E2037 · 14 Sep 2026 · 36 min
Your Connection Rate Dropped 80% and Nobody's Talking About It | David Zeff - 2037
Connection rates have dropped roughly five times since before COVID. If ten percent of your calls used to turn into a conversation, you're probably closer to two now. David Zeff , CEO of Whistle, runs an agency that makes cold outreach work for 350-plus B2B clients, and he broke down exactly what's changed, what hasn't, and the parts of outbound most people are too embarrassed to actually do. Why Connection Rates Have Collapsed Since COVID David's headline stat: connection rates have dropped roughly five times since the early 2010s. If a rep used to get a conversation on ten percent of…
E2036 · 11 Sep 2026 · 29 min
How to Know if Your Deal is Going South Sooner than Later | Andee Harris - 2036
Sometimes the best way to close more deals isn't by adding new people to your pipeline (though that's always a good thing.) Instead, the best thing is to address the issues that make a deal fail before they fail. In today's episode of The Sales Evangelist, I joined the CEO of Challenger, Andee Harris, to get her take on failed deals and how to address those issues directly with our prospects. Challenger is a sales training company: The Challenger Sale by Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson explains many of the principles Challenger uses in their training. Early sellers might be timid, which…
E2035 · 7 Sep 2026 · 37 min
Stop Selling and Help People Solve Their Next Biggest Problem | Keith Gillispie - 2035
A former Marine who did eight combat deployments in eight years now spends his time teaching people to stop pitching and start asking better questions. Keith Gillispie , founder of REI Automated, left the Marines in 2020 to build a real estate investing and coaching business that's helped more than 1,200 people, with close to 580 of them closing their very first deal. He broke down exactly how he qualifies, questions, and consults his way to the close. Why "Selling" Is the Wrong Mindset (Stop Being House Horny) Keith's blunt term for pushy sellers: house horny, chasing the deal so hard that…
E2034 · 4 Sep 2026 · 26 min
Your Sellers Are Motivated By WAY More Than Money | Sindre Haaland - 2034
37 reps who got the least recognition on one 153-person sales team averaged 62 percent quota attainment. The team average was 107 percent. That gap is the whole argument Sindre Haaland , CEO and founder of SalesScreen , makes for why comp plans alone don't explain sales performance. Why Identical Comp Plans Produce Wildly Different Results Sindre's core observation: two reps can work under the exact same comp plan and produce completely different results, which means money alone isn't the daily driver of performance. Comp plans set the structure and tell a rep what they need to do to get…
E2033 · 31 Aug 2026 · 31 min
Beyond the Mail Merge: How to Master True Relevance in B2B Sales | Leslie Venetz - 2033
Only 10 percent of sales messages actually explain why something should matter to the buyer. The other 90 percent are just decoration on a generic pitch. That stat comes from Leslie Venetz , who audits thousands of sales messages every year and just released her USA Today bestseller, Profit-Generating Pipeline. She broke down what real relevance looks like, and the exact method she uses to build it. What Relevance Actually Means (And Why Most Sellers Miss It) Leslie defines relevance simply: a message has to be relevant to the person receiving it, not to the seller sending it. The biggest…
E2032 · 28 Aug 2026 · 34 min
How We 2x Sales Revenue & Reduce Sales Cycle By 50% | Pieter Leenhouts - 2032
Imagine doubling your close rate and cutting your sales cycle in half. That's not a hypothetical. It's exactly what Pieter Leenhouts and his team did at Tax Guard, a Cogency Global company that sells to banks and financial institutions. Pieter walked me through exactly how they pulled it off, and it wasn't magic. It was math, structure, and a relentless focus on the front end of the pipeline. Why Their Sales Cycle Was So Long To Begin With Tax Guard's solution was new to the financial institutions they sold to, so reps had to spend real time educating buyers before those buyers even…
E2031 · 24 Aug 2026 · 29 min
Are You Too Nice to Close the Deal? | Connie Kadansky - 2031
Connie Kadansky was a highly motivated, highly goal-oriented salesperson, and she was still taking naps at two in the afternoon instead of prospecting. That contradiction sent her down a research rabbit hole that turned into a 29-year career studying sales call reluctance. Connie broke down for me why being too nice is one of the most expensive habits a seller can have, and what to do about it instead. The Napping Salesperson Who Became a Call Reluctance Expert Years ago, Connie was a highly motivated, highly goal-oriented seller who kept finding herself taking naps at two in the afternoon…
E2030 · 21 Aug 2026 · 35 min
Stop Overthinking Your Sales Calls (Do This Instead)" | Adam Lowther - 2030
An architect plans every brick before laying one. An archaeologist starts digging and adjusts based on what turns up. Adam Mark Louther says most sales reps try to sell like architects when the job actually calls for an archaeologist's mindset. Adam built his first sales skills knocking on doors selling exterior cleaning services, and today he coaches founders and sales teams on turning conversations into paying clients. We talked about why overthinking kills deals, how the first five minutes of a call sets the frame for everything after, and the two-call process he uses to close more…
E2029 · 17 Aug 2026 · 35 min
People Buy You | Jordan Harbinger - 2029
Your prospect isn't only buying the product or the price. They're buying you. That's the idea behind one of Jordan Harbinger's most popular keynotes, and it's why we're pulling this archive conversation back out. Jordan went from a bored kid who got into trouble to a Wall Street attorney to the host of one of the biggest interview podcasts around. And the thread running through all of it is relationships. The principles here haven't aged a bit. This episode explores all of it. Why Jordan Started Studying This in the First Place Jordan assumed people with strong networks were either born into…
E2028 · 14 Aug 2026 · 18 min
Sales From The Street-“Cold Emails & Curiosity" | Donald C. Kelly - 2028
Less than ten percent. That's how many highly targeted emails actually get opened. In this archive episode, pulled from an old Sales From the Street segment, I'm breaking down exactly what I look for in a cold email before I'll even open it, let alone reply. If email opens are a struggle for you right now, this one still holds up. Why Most Cold Emails Never Get Opened People are buried in email. I was already at 67 messages by mid-morning when I recorded this, and I expected to hit 100 by the end of the day. Executives at bigger companies get even more. Less than ten percent of even a highly…
E2027 · 10 Aug 2026 · 16 min
Your Weak Pipeline Is A Disciple Issue | Donald C. Kelly - 2027
Three appointments a week. Twelve a month. If you want a consistent pipeline, you have to know exactly what it takes to get there. The problem is that most reps don't stop prospecting because they don't know how. They stop because meetings, active deals, and everything else on their calendar slowly take over. A few missed prospecting sessions turn into a weak pipeline, and then the scramble begins. In this solo episode, I break down the discipline framework I coach sales reps to use: set a specific goal, work backward from the number, protect the time needed to hit it, and create…
E2026 · 7 Aug 2026 · 40 min
The Essentials of Following Up No Ever Thought You | Corrie George - 2026
Most salespeople treat follow-up like an afterthought: a quick check-in email, then nothing. I sat down with Corrie George , founder of YESA and Canada First, and former president of Grant Cardone Canada, to talk about the follow-up system that's actually helped him close hundreds of millions of dollars in sales. Most Sales Are Won After the Fifth Contact According to Salesforce, less than 20 percent of sales happen in the first few points of contact. 82 percent of sales happen between the fifth and twelfth point of contact. Most sales reps stop following up long before they reach that…
E2025 · 3 Aug 2026 · 32 min
The Real Reason Executives Are Ghosting You | Anthony Reeves - 2025
Every seller has been there. You send the perfect proposal, deliver a great pitch, and then the exec on the other end goes silent. I sat down with Anthony Reeves , a former global executive at Amazon, WPP, LVMH, and Airbnb, to talk about the real reason executives ghost you. It's not what most sellers think. Executives Aren't Ghosting You, They're Protecting Themselves Executives get to their position by protecting their career and their company, and staying out of trouble. The number one question running through their head in a pitch is whether this decision could embarrass them personally…
E2024 · 31 Jul 2026 · 28 min
The One Thing Most Sales Team Miss When Going Upstream | Alison Disken - 2024
Every sales leader wants to go upstream. Bigger logos, bigger checks, bigger deals. But most of what determines whether that move actually works has nothing to do with the sales team. I sat down with Alison Disken, an expert in executive alignment, to talk about the one thing most companies miss when they decide to go upmarket. Why Going Upmarket Takes More Than A New Sales Pitch Everyone wants to go upstream because that's where the bigger checks are. But most of what determines success in that move has nothing to do with the sales team specifically. The nuance that gets missed is making…
E2023 · 27 Jul 2026 · 28 min
Practical Ways Sales and Marketing Can Work to Increase Revenue in 2026 | Mark Kapczynski - 2023
Sales and marketing are supposed to work together, but in most companies, they don't. Not to the level your revenue actually needs. In this episode, I sat down with Mark Kapczynski, co-founder of Kontrol Media and author of Everyone Sells, to talk about practical, sometimes unconventional ways to get these two teams pulling in the same direction. Why Sales and Marketing Still Don't Work Together Traditional marketing was built around brand awareness, not revenue. That history still shapes how a lot of teams operate today. Marketing budgets are getting cut because leadership now expects…
E2022 · 24 Jul 2026 · 17 min
LinkedIn Response Series - Messages That Generate Responses | Donald C. Kelly - 2022
This wraps up our four part LinkedIn Response Series. Over the last few episodes, I covered your headline, your banner, and how to turn profile views into real conversations. In this final episode, I'm showing you how to take those conversations and turn them into booked appointments. Never Pitch First The fastest way to kill a new LinkedIn conversation is to pitch right away. When someone replies to you, keep the conversation focused on them before you bring up your product or service. Make The Conversation About Them One of the easiest ways to find something to talk about is to look at…
E2021 · 20 Jul 2026 · 16 min
LinkedIn Response Series - LinkedIn Connection Requests | Donald C. Kelly - 2021
show notes
E2020 · 17 Jul 2026 · 16 min
LinkedIn Response Series - LinkedIn Profile Views To Appointments | Donald C. Kelly - 2020
Getting a notification that someone viewed your LinkedIn profile can be exciting, but most sellers don't know what to do next. In this episode of the LinkedIn Response Series, I am sharing how to turn profile views into meaningful conversations that can lead to appointments and new business. Instead of ignoring those notifications or sending an immediate sales pitch, I'll show you a simple process that helps you engage interested prospects the right way. Why Profile Views Matter A LinkedIn profile view is often a sign that someone is interested in learning more about you or your business.…
E2019 · 13 Jul 2026 · 26 min
LinkedIn Response Series - Your LinkedIn Headline | Donald C. Kelly - 2019
Your LinkedIn headline is one of the first things prospects see, yet many salespeople waste it by listing their job title and company name. In this first episode of the LinkedIn Response Series, I explain why your headline should focus on the problem you solve instead of who you work for. A strong headline tells prospects immediately how you can help them, increases profile views, and encourages more conversations before you ever send a sales message. Why Your LinkedIn Headline Matters Your headline is more than a job description. It helps prospects quickly decide whether you're relevant to…
E2018 · 10 Jul 2026 · 33 min
How to Ensure That Admin Tasks Don't Overwhelm Your Day | Anthony Iannarino - 2018
Administrative tasks are part of every sales role, but they should never take priority over selling. I'm revisiting a conversation from the archive with Anthony Iannarino to share practical ways to keep admin work from taking over your day. While this conversation first aired in 2020, the principles are still relevant today, especially when AI can help streamline many everyday tasks. Busy Is Not the Same as Productive A full calendar does not always mean meaningful progress. As sales professionals become more successful, more requests, emails, client issues, and internal tasks naturally…
E2017 · 6 Jul 2026 · 15 min
Bad Mouthing Your Competitor | Donald C. Kelly - 2017
How do you handle competitor questions without sounding defensive, desperate, or unprofessional? In this solo episode, Donald C. Kelly shares three practical strategies for talking about competitors with confidence and credibility. Instead of attacking another company, he explains how to use customer stories, thoughtful questions, and your prospect's own insights to position your solution as the better fit. If you're in a competitive sales environment, this episode will help you navigate competitor conversations in a way that builds trust and moves deals forward. Episode Breakdown with…
E2016 · 3 Jul 2026 · 42 min
7 Steps to Making 7 Figures in Enterprise SaaS Sales | Brandon Fluharty - 2016
What separates sales professionals who earn six figures from those who consistently earn seven? In this episode, Donald sits down with Brandon Fluharty, enterprise SaaS sales leader, speaker, and author of The Seven-Figure Millennial . Brandon shares the mindset, systems, and practical strategies that helped him become a seven-figure earner without subscribing to hustle culture. Throughout the conversation, Brandon explains why success in enterprise sales comes from slowing down. Choosing the right opportunities. Building meaningful customer relationships. creating a personal operating…

About The Sales Evangelist

The Sales Evangelist is a English business podcast from Donald C. Kelly. Melo plays each episode straight from the publisher's own feed — no ads added, no account needed — and remembers where you stopped, in this browser only.

Publisher: Donald C. Kelly
Language: English
Category: Business
New episodes: Several times a week
Typical length: 31 min
Latest episode: 12 Oct 2026
Feed: RSS — paste into any podcast app
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1575965543

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