Don’t Just Sell

In my first sales job twenty years ago, my manager told me I should cut my hair to be taken more seriously. She wasn't being cruel, she was preparing me for an industry never built for women.

For the last 100+ years, salespeople have been following the same playbook that was written BY men FOR men. Despite this, women now hold 1/3 of senior level sales roles in Fortune 500 companies, and we're closing more deals than our male count...

"I'll be in touch." Four words that sound polite and mean nothing, and if you've heard them you already know how the meeting that earned them probably went.

A client sent me a recording of exactly that kind of meeting. She was warm, she connected, she did everything we're told to do, and it went nowhere. The real problem wasn't anything she said. It was what she was too afraid to ask, because she didn't want to seem pushy.

In this ...

You have to sell people on you before you can sell them anything else.

I learned that the hard way, after years of thinking my job was to represent my company well. But knowing the product, building rapport, having the perfect answer to every objection are things every other rep does too. 

The thing that actually sets you apart is the one thing most women in sales never invest in, which is their own brand.

In this episode I sh...

Most of the sales advice out there is from men who are coaching other men, leaving us women to figure it out through trial-and-error or to try to be someone we're not. 

In this episode, I'm breaking my usual format and sharing unfiltered answers to ten of the most common questions I get from sales students, people who are new to the industry, and my clients. 

Some of my answers are probably not what a typical sales coach ...

Have you ever walked out of a sales meeting feeling like it went well, only to watch the deal fall apart and have no idea why?

We've been trained to obsess over every word of our pitch, instead of focusing on what our prospect is telling us. So it’s likely the problem is what you missed, not what you said.

In this episode, I'm sharing a real client story where I pretended to be her prospect in a full roleplay, spotted exactly...

If you think your sales team costs more than they're worth, this episode is for you. Scaling back is one of the most expensive decisions a business owner can make, and the numbers back me up.

I’m sharing what you should do instead to see ROI from your sales team, how one of my clients doubled their conversion rate with one small change, and the three things you need to do for every customer so they’ll stay loyal to your...

Everyone in sales knows the feeling: leads dry up, yeses turn to maybes, and suddenly you’re questioning everything. For us women, it can be even worse because when we hit a slump, we're tempted to overhaul everything and start from scratch. But that’s actually making it worse!

In this episode, I’m sharing how to bust your sales slump and have more sustained hot streaks. You’ll hear about a client of mine w...

Most companies hand their sales reps a script because they don't trust them to know what to say. If you've ever read those words out loud and thought “this doesn't sound like me,” you're right. It doesn't. 

Most sales scripts were written by men, for men, and women in sales are left trying to make someone else's words fit.

But when you're focused on reciting the right words, you stop listening to your prospect, and...

Most women in sales aren't struggling with follow-up because they don't know how. They're struggling because they don't want to be a bother. 

Your instinct to be considerate (while completely understandable) is quietly costing you deals that were already yours to close.

If you're ready to stop letting politeness get in the way of your pipeline, this episode is for you.

You'll learn:

• Why the fo...

You've been taught to know your competition inside and out. Know their offer, know their clients, know what car they drive. The more you know, the better your chances of winning the sale.

But what if that obsession is the very thing costing you deals?

If you’re ready to funnel your energy from your competition to your prospects, this episode was made just for you.

You’ll learn:

• How know...

I've seen some pretty terrible sales advice on social media lately, especially when it comes to the pricing conversation. When someone asks your price, tell them to guess? The person who names a number first loses?

In this episode, I break down the worst pricing advice floating around social media and share what *actually* works when you need to discuss money with prospects, without being manipulative or eroding trust. 

You&rs...

You know your product inside and out. You've memorized the features, studied the specs, practiced the presentation. So why aren't prospects buying?

Well, when you rattle off features without connecting them to what your prospect actually needs… you sound like a late-night infomercial. And nobody's reaching for their wallet.

In this episode, I break down why listing features feels like selling but actually repels buyers - and...

You've been told that "people buy from people they like." So you scan your prospect's office for common ground, force small talk about their family photos, and waste energy trying to be likeable instead of credible.

In this episode, I share the story of the time I helped a prospect pull weeds trying to get them to like me. (Embarrassing, I know!)

You'll learn:

• Why "people buy from people they like"...

You've been taught to "always be closing." Use micro-closes throughout your presentation. Get them saying yes early and often. Push the sale over the finish line.

But what if those tactics are exactly what's pushing prospects away?

In this episode, I share the story of a sales rep who was taught to say "buy now" subliminally throughout her pitch, but it was completely transparent and came across as disingenuous.

You'll hear:

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You've been told since day one that "the customer is always right." But this 117-year-old advice from a retail store owner is exactly what's turning you into an order-taker instead of the expert your customers actually need.

In this episode, I share how I became the fastest-growing magazine in my franchise by learning when to educate prospects (and when to let them go). 

After listening to this episode, you'll know:

You've been told that truly talented salespeople can sell anything - that the product doesn't matter if you're good enough. That advice is exactly what's causing your burnout and turns your prospects off before they even give you a chance. 

In this episode, I share my experience with the "It's Just A ..." mentality, which opened my eyes to why belief in your product matters more than anything else.

You'll hear:

Your manager tells you to “just go make a friend,” or “get in front of anyone who will listen.” Because if you make enough asks, surely some of them will turn into a yes, right?

In this episode, I share what happened when I followed this sales advice early in my career, and how everything changed when I stopped pitching to people who couldn't make decisions.

You'll hear:

• Why...

Most new sales reps are told “never take no for an answer.” I used to believe that too, but it ALWAYS came back to bite me later.

In this episode, I share two stories from my yearbook sales days that changed everything about how I handle objections. The first one cost me an entire year of work and taught me that steamrolling prospects doesn't just damage relationships, it damages your integrity.

You'll hear:

Most sales podcasts give you more tactics. This one proves you don’t need them. 

I’m Rebecca Kilday, and I believe being in sales shouldn’t make you feel icky or uncomfortable. 

In each episode, I take a popular sales tactic from this male-dominated industry (the ones you’ve been told will make you successful) and show you how they’re secretly sabotaging your relationships with prospects.

Th...