Podcast Summary:

Podcast: Andy Elliott's Elite Mindset Motivation and Sales Training
Episode: 90% of Sales People Do THIS Wrong! | Andy Elliott
Date: August 29, 2025
Host: Andy Elliott

Overview

In this high-energy episode, Andy Elliott, CEO of The Elliott Group, passionately outlines the 20 most common mistakes that 90% of salespeople make—and how these blunders limit their earning potential. With the promise that mastering these insights can transform any salesperson at any stage in their career, Andy delivers a direct, motivational, and unapologetically blunt training session. The episode is fast-paced, actionable, and intended to be the only sales training you need to revisit, promising, as Andy puts it, "a punch" of realization and action.

Core Theme

Main Purpose:
To reveal the 20 critical errors that hold most salespeople back and to provide actionable mindsets and strategies for reaching elite success in sales.
Andy’s Tone:
Intense, motivational, blunt, and personal—with a deep belief in every listener’s potential for growth.

Key Insights and Discussion Points

1. The Top 10 Things 90% of Salespeople Do Wrong

(00:35–07:55)

1. Talking Too Much / Pitching Instead of Listening
“Customers don’t care about your product until you care about their problem. You don’t listen.” (01:13, Andy)
2. Not Asking Questions
“You assume you know what the customer wants... Let them tell you, then you’ll know.” (02:00, Andy)
3. Failing to Follow Up
“Pros follow up for months, even years. Amateurs or pros? We’re in a world full of amateurs right now.” (02:39, Andy)
4. Not Preparing
“They wing it. Write that down. That word makes me sick... Instead of mastering the art of mastering.” (03:35, Andy)
5. Focusing on Price, Not Value
“If value exceeds price, is the price too high? No, because the value is over the price.” (04:13, Andy)
6. Lack of Emotional Control
“They get defensive or frustrated when a customer pushes back… they get spun up, they get spun out all the time.” (05:00, Andy)
7. Skipping Relationship Building
“They treat customers like transactions instead of freaking people. Don’t ever do that.” (05:32, Andy)
8. Avoiding Role Play and Training
“They think they’re too good to practice so they stay average instead of being savage.” (05:56, Andy)
9. Blaming the Customer
“Winners create their own reality, they create their own economy. You know how it goes. We own everything.” (06:37, Andy)
10. Not Tracking Numbers or Data
“Data don’t lie. If you look at the data, it’ll tell you how to win.” (07:25, Andy)

2. Mindset: Everyone Starts the Same

(07:55–09:05)

Emphasis on Shared Experience:
“We've all had the same feelings... All I wanted was dependable success. Write that down. Dependable success, that's all of us want.” (08:25, Andy)
Progress Makes Us Happy:
“You know what makes us happy? Progress.” (08:43, Andy)

3. The Second 10: Advanced Mistakes Salespeople Make

(09:05–16:49)

11. Fear of Rejection
“The reason why they never become who they’re supposed to become is because they fear rejection.” (09:15, Andy)
- Notable advice: “If you’re scared, do it scared, it’s fine. Still do it though.” (09:45, Andy)
12. Not Building/Sustaining a Pipeline
“They stop prospecting and rely on only a few leads... Always got to be growing the pipeline.” (10:09, Andy)
13. Not Differentiating Themselves
“They sound like every other salesperson, instead of showing why they’re unique. You want to stand out.” (10:45, Andy)
14. Ignoring Customer Timelines
“They push for a close without understanding when the customer is ready to buy.” (11:33, Andy)
15. Selling Features, Not Solutions
“It’s not about product knowledge, okay? It’s about people knowledge. People buy solutions... They buy the vacation, not the check-in at the airport.” (12:04, Andy)
- Memorable example: “When people go to buy a drill gun, do they want the drill gun or do they want the hole in the wall? They want the hole in the wall.” (12:35, Andy)
16. Poor Objection Handling
“They freeze or they get defensive. They always freeze up, okay? Because they don’t know how to handle objections.” (13:25, Andy)
17. Not Setting Goals
“Write this down. People don’t plan to fail. They fail to plan. That’s it.” (13:42, Andy)
- Ritual: “The night before you go to work, you should always know what the next day’s expectations are.” (14:05, Andy)
18. Not Adapting to Their Customer
“I’m a chameleon... But they don’t adapt to the customer. They use the same approach for every customer instead of tailoring their pitch.” (14:39, Andy)
19. Quitting Too Soon
“They quit sales. They didn’t make it because they didn’t stick around long enough to see what their efforts could have produced.” (15:25, Andy)
20. Lack of Confidence / Self-Belief
“They don’t believe in themselves. They lack confidence. And it shows in every single conversation.” (15:52, Andy)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

“Customers don’t care about your product until you care about their problem.” (01:13, Andy)
“Pros follow up for months, even years. We’re in a world full of amateurs right now.” (02:39, Andy)
“They wing it. Write that down. That word makes me sick.” (03:35, Andy)
“They think they’re too good to practice so they stay average instead of being savage.” (05:56, Andy)
“If you’re scared, do it scared.” (09:45, Andy)
“They buy the vacation, not the check-in at the airport.” (12:04, Andy)
“People don’t plan to fail. They fail to plan.” (13:42, Andy)

Timestamp Guide

00:00 – Episode opens; Andy frames the video as "all you need" and introduces the 90% vs. 10% concept
00:35 – Begins countdown of the 20 critical mistakes
07:55 – Key mindset: everyone wants dependable success
09:05 – The final 10 mistakes and deeper-level pitfalls
13:25–15:52 – Covers mindset, planning, blending with the customer, and self-belief

Closing Emphasis

Andy reiterates that recognizing these 20 mistakes is the first step, but action and coaching are what make the difference.
He offers a complimentary 15-minute strategy call, reinforcing the importance of mentorship:
“Once you figure out what it is, question is, how do you solve it?... Who can help me solve it. And that’s me.” (09:00, Andy)
Leaves listeners with the rallying cry to watch, internalize, share, and take massive action:
“Watch this video 50 times... Show up on the call. It’ll change your life.” (16:43, Andy)

Summary Table: The 20 Mistakes

| # | Mistake | |----|-------------------------------------| | 1 | Talking too much | | 2 | Not asking questions | | 3 | Failing to follow up | | 4 | Not preparing | | 5 | Focusing on price, not value | | 6 | Lacking emotional control | | 7 | Skipping relationship building | | 8 | Avoiding role play/training | | 9 | Blaming the customer | | 10 | Not tracking data/numbers | | 11 | Fear of rejection | | 12 | Not building a pipeline | | 13 | Not differentiating themselves | | 14 | Ignoring customer timelines | | 15 | Selling features, not solutions | | 16 | Poor objection handling | | 17 | Not setting goals | | 18 | Not adapting to the customer | | 19 | Quitting too soon | | 20 | Lack of self-belief/confidence |

This episode is a rapid-fire diagnostic and motivational blueprint for any salesperson looking to level up. Andy’s approach is direct, actionable, and delivered with relentless energy—leaving no excuse for staying average.