

Mental Selling: The Sales Performance Podcast
Integrity Solutions
Mental Selling: The Sales Performance Podcast is a show for motivated problem solvers in sales, leadership and customer service. Each episode features a conversation with sales leaders and industry experts who understand the importance of the mindset and skill set needed to be exceptional at building trusted customer relationships. In this podcast, we get below the surface, tapping into the emotional and psychological drivers of lasting sales and service success. You’ll hear stories and insights about overcoming the self-limiting beliefs that hold salespeople back, how to unlock the full potential in every salesperson, the complexities of today’s B2B buying cycles, and the rise of today’s virtual selling environment. We help you understand the mental and emotional aspects of sales performance that will empower you to deliver amazing customer experiences and get the results you want.
Welcome to Mental Selling!
Welcome to Mental Selling!
Episodes
Mentioned books

Oct 13, 2022 • 37min
Ep 043 Balancing Employee Motivation and Company Goals
How do we keep employees engaged and motivated to the goals we set with them? It’s harder than ever to get, keep and maximize talent. What does it take to attract good sales candidates- and actually keep them?.. How have hybrid sales teams changed the way teams stay connected and combat things like burnout? And what are companies missing out learning about when people do leave?
Our guest today to discuss these things and more is Elisa Matthews, Client Performance Strategies Facilitator at Allied Solutions. She’s here to discuss how we can get employees to understand and buy into a company’s goals but also keep them motivated and show commitment to developing their own skills as future leaders in their industry.
In our conversation, we discuss:
- Employee engagement and retention in today’s hybrid work environment
- Developing and coaching employees based on what they need not what leaders assume
- Leaders’ responsibility in helping their people ‘fall forward’ and continuous growth
- Understanding the synergy between sales and customer service (from the customer’s view)
Establishing employee motivation strategies and keeping employee morale high towards the goals that don’t just help their career development but are also set towards our customer’s needs is vital to a company’s success.

Sep 22, 2022 • 42min
Ep 042 Applying Design Thinking to the Sales Process
The design thinking process is an underutilized skill for salespeople.
Our guest today on Mental Selling is Ashley Welch, an expert in the design thinking process and Co-Founder at Somersault Innovation, here to help users become more customer-centric throughout the sales process.
Design thinking for sales requires a ruthless focus on the end customer, keeping them at the center of the process from the very beginning.
Hear our conversation as we discuss:
- The design thinking process in sales and becoming more customer-centric
- Getting salespeople to be more curious and thinking about their customer’s customer
- Meeting more complex deals and expanding buying committees with a more team-based selling approach
- Storytelling and how salespeople can make stories come alive and be more relatable for customers
More information from today's episode:
Ashley's LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/awelch1/
Somersault Innovation website: https://www.somersaultinnovation.com/
Raise your Mental Selling acumen with us at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, on our website (https://www.integritysolutions.com/resources/mental-selling-sales-podcast/), or anywhere you get podcasts. FeedSpot has included us as one of the 30 best sales podcasts on the web. Please rate our show and leave a comment — we love your feedback!

Sep 13, 2022 • 36min
Ep 041 More Than a Number: Establishing the Right Sales Culture
We all want to have the right people working with us.
But what happens when we have the right person but the wrong fit for the company’s sales culture? My guest today is an expert who is helping companies identify not just the right people for the job, but the right people for the sales culture at that job. Andrea Pagnozzi is the Principal Coach and Consultant at Flint Coaching and Consulting.
Hear our conversation with Andrea Pagnozzi where we discuss:
- What (if anything) we’ve learned from the Great Resignation
- Why the key to thriving in a sales culture is through belonging and connecting
- Sales managers becoming good coaches and mentors for their employees
- Why sales training and coaching tends to be too tactical
- Andrea’s three-pronged approach to training.
- Why any L&D spending should start with your leaders
Ultimately, if you want to build a thriving sales culture that can weather pandemics or economic downturns, leadership needs to be fully present and empathetic, without ever coddling or micromanaging. That’s how you foster belonging and connection.
That’s the lesson sales managers need to learn from the Great Resignation.
More information about Andrea and today’s topics:
LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapagnozzi/
Andrea's Website: https://www.flintcoachingllc.com/

Aug 25, 2022 • 52min
Ep 040 How Word Choices Can Make or Break Sales Conversations
Sales is about creating buying decisions that are in the customer’s best interests. And one of a successful salesperson’s most powerful tools to do that is how they communicate — and the specific word choices they make.
But not everyone is gifted with charisma and improvisational skills. How do you improve your conversational intelligence, change perspectives and build stronger relationships with your customers with well-thought-out words?
My guest today is a highly sought-after trainer, coach, and leadership consultant. Steven Lozada is the President of UpwardMindset, a gifted jazz musician, an MBA, and a professionally certified trainer in a variety of disciplines.
In this insightful and informative episode, we’ll discuss:
- How forging a connection is the most important part of your sales conversation
- Elevating what Steven calls your "trust equity"
- Rejection-free openings and why objections are a gift
- The power of “no-oriented questions”
- How to keep customer conversations moving forward without being manipulative
More information about Steven and today’s topics:
LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenlozada/
Company Website: https://www.upwardmindset.com/
Exactly What to Say: The Magic Words for Influence and Impact, by Phil M. Jones: https://www.amazon.com/Exactly-What-Say-Influence-Impact-ebook/dp/B073SF65ZZ
Please follow and rate our show — we love your feedback! FeedSpot has included us on their list of the top 30 best sales podcasts.

Aug 12, 2022 • 55min
Ep 039 Getting Under the Hood of the Sales Discovery Process
In this discussion, Lisa Weaver and Jay Cone, partners at Unstuck Minds, dive into the essential sales discovery process. They argue that building trust and rapport surpasses late-stage negotiations. The duo emphasizes the importance of active listening and genuine curiosity, suggesting that salespeople adopt 'attention agility' to connect deeper with clients. They introduce the SCAN framework for understanding client needs and discuss how empowering sales teams can enhance relationships and keep the focus on quality engagement over mere figures.

Jul 28, 2022 • 50min
Ep 038 Modern Selling Practices: Using a Spear, Not a Net
If you’ve been in sales for awhile, you’ve seen all of the methods for sealing the deal.
In a modern sales environment, the sales strategies of the past (throwing a net and seeing what you can catch) can still have their place. However, with the influx of sales tools, throwing a spear to catch exactly what you need is the modern approach.
Hear our conversation with Jamie Shanks, author of Social Selling Mastery and Spear Selling, where we discuss:
● The interconnection of modern, social and account-based selling
● What scares sales people from performing at their best
● Preparing for the possible economic downturn
As a sales professional, you only control two things: the decisions you make and the actions you take.
Building intention and focus through these actions is essential to overall growth and success, both professionally and personally for salespeople.
With the huge influx of sales enablement tools, it is possible and preferable to catch exactly what you want without sorting through the extra noise.
Jamie explains the intricacies of learning to fish with a spear in sales. In addition, he offers invaluable expertise in aligning core values, creating intention in relationships in sales, and preparing for the future.
“You have to believe that you are either making people money, saving them money, or mitigating risk: the three core value creators in a business.” — Jamie Shanks
More information about Jamie and today’s topics:
● Follow Jamie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamestshanks/
● Pipeline Signals: https://pipelinesignals.com/ and Sales for Life: https://salesforlife.com/
FeedSpot has recently included us as one of their top 30 best sales podcasts: https://blog.feedspot.com/sales_podcasts/

Jul 7, 2022 • 44min
Ep 037 Three Ways Sales Leaders can Accurately Measure Retention vs. Churn
Another day, another salesperson gone.
Lost to a toxic workplace.
Or a lack of empathy.
Or misalignment.
What if your sales team could increase retention?
What can you do to decrease churn? Is it even possible with the traditionally high turnover of sales?
The key lies is empathy. 🗝️
This week, Ronda Robinson, Founder of Robinson Alliance Group, joins me to discuss recruiting and retaining salespeople while maintaining a healthy work culture.
According to Ronda, your business must:
💥Lead with empathy and intention
💥Set sales teams up for success by understanding who are the Hunters and who are the Farmers- and nurturing both
💥Avoid paying a 'people tax' by paying attention to the human aspect of workers
Following these guidelines from recruiting to retaining will foster an environment where salespeople are:
💥Excited to come to work
💥Set up for success and growth
💥Retained long-term
Join us on the latest episode of Mental Selling to learn more about breaking the high-churn culture of sales and fostering a revolutionary sales culture in your business.
“When we don't pay attention to the personal side of people, what they have going on inside, then you will pay a people tax.” — Ronda Robinson

Jun 24, 2022 • 49min
Ep 036 Creating the Successful and Resilient Sales Team
Your sales journey is like a book. There are different chapters for different stages and each unwritten page is just another part of the process that hasn’t happened yet.
Everyone starts their book at a different stage. Some are the team’s A-Players that were born for sales. Others need some coaching. Regardless of where the book begins, the next chapter relies heavily on the sales leader involved.
Hear our conversation with Leigh Ashton, Founder & CEO at The Sales Consultancy, where our discussion includes:
- The difference between a good and great sales leader
- Creating psychological safety for a sales team
- How a growth vs. fixed mindset determines a sales team dynamic
- The 10-80-10 rule of sales teams
“An assumption that would really inhibit an organization's growth is to think that training, on its own, is the end of the story; it is just step one of a multi-step process that takes a person from where they are to where you'd like them to be.” — Leigh Ashton

Jun 9, 2022 • 41min
Ep 035 Sales Leadership: A Continuum of Confidence and Competence
Growing a sales team isn’t hard.
Growing a sales team that’s successful and feels comfortable in their role… now THAT'S a challenge. And it really comes back to the leadership of the team and the work they are willing to do to take their people to the next level by bringing confidence and humility to every interaction.
Hear our conversation with Karin Hurt, CEO and Co-Founder at Let's Grow Leaders, where we discuss:
- How to create a psychologically safe and courageous sales culture
- Developing new sales leaders
- The 6 essential competencies of a sales team
Want to learn more about the 6 competencies of a sales team, the 6 competencies of sales leaders AND what companies get wrong identifying and developing sales leaders and how to fix it? Listen now.

May 26, 2022 • 35min
Ep 034 The Present and Future of Women in Sales
It’s 2022 — why is there still a gender gap in sales?
Studies definitively show diverse sales teams generate more revenue. So... what’s the hold up?
My guest today is Lori Richardson, the Founder of Score More Sales and a passionate champion for #WomenInSales.
She’s an author, in-demand speaker, and one of the most popular sales coaches at Harvard Business School.
Lori also serves on the advisory board of the Sales Education Foundation, where she seeks to destroy old misconceptions about our industry.
Sales is a helping profession.
This is backed up by the fact that during the pandemic, many women had to leave the field to stay closer to home or become full-time caregivers.
Remote work has increased the accessibility of sales roles, but Lori still encounters all-male teams all the time.
But women are the majority of undergraduates now.
Many companies haven’t yet realized that female sales pros bring a lot to the table, such as empathy, coachability, and a deep motivation to succeed.
Lori believes diversity builds strength, which leads to higher revenues.
Customers want to buy from brands that reflect their beliefs and values — and companies lagging behind the times will be on their way out.
Check out the full episode 🎧 click the link below!