Podcast Summary: The MOST Effective Way to Train Your Sales Team | Andy Elliott

Podcast: Andy Elliott's Elite Mindset Motivation and Sales Training
Host: Andy Elliott
Release Date: September 11, 2025

Episode Overview

Andy Elliott, CEO of The Elliott Group and renowned sales trainer, shares his signature five-step process for building elite sales teams. Drawing from experience with over 10,000 companies worldwide, Andy explains why most salespeople are underdeveloped—and reveals the concrete, actionable structure leaders must provide to maximize their team’s potential and success. This episode is a no-nonsense guide for any sales leader, owner, or salesperson seeking to reach peak performance.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Problem: Ineffective Sales Training

• Salespeople are mostly trained the wrong way (00:00-01:00)
  • 90% of salespeople are undertrained and underperforming due to lack of proper structure.
  • “Sales teams fail because they lack structure. Write this down. What's written will be retained.” (Andy Elliott, 01:10)
• The 80/20 Rule in Sales (00:55)
  • 20% of the team makes 80% of the money due to effective structure; the rest flounder.

2. The Fundamental Principle: Structure is Everything

• Skeleton vs. Muscle Analogy (02:05)
  • The ‘skeleton’ (scripts, structure) is universal; the ‘muscle’ (personality, character) is individual.
  • If every rep is improvising, “your structure, your framework, and your company sucks.” (Andy Elliott, 02:40)

Andy Elliott’s Five-Step Sales Training System

Step 1: Teach Live Appointment Setting (04:00)

• Why it’s first: “Appointments are the foundation of sales. No appointments, no sales.” (Andy Elliott, 05:15)
• How to train:
  • Demonstrate live setting of appointments.
  • Let new hires observe you, then have them do it with real-time coaching.

Step 2: Mastering the Sales Call—Live Training (08:00)

• Live sales calls come only after appointment setting is mastered.
• How to train:
  • Sit with reps while they make real calls.
  • Interrupt and correct mistakes immediately for in-the-moment learning.
  • “Maybe these will be a couple crappy phone calls, but they're going to get it and they're going to understand where they're messing up on the spot.” (Andy Elliott, 12:15)
• Andy’s Rule: Hire in pairs of three; two of three will generally succeed using this method (11:05).

Step 3: Daily Role Play with Leadership and Peers (15:40)

• Why: This builds confidence and muscle memory—“Confidence comes from competence. And if they do things over and over, repetition is the mother of skill.” (Andy Elliott, 16:10)
• Role play must be daily.
• Leadership goes first—set a real, intense tone so weaknesses show up (17:15).

Step 4: Film Day – Study Real Calls and Appointments (19:10)

• “This is game film for an athlete… your people that work for you, that sell, this is their adult sport.” (Andy Elliott, 20:05)
• Record and watch both good and bad calls; break them down as a group for collective learning.

Step 5: Manuals, Videos, and Structured Training (22:00)

• Content-first training comes last, not first.
  • “Manuals and structured training are great, but they are not enough on their own. They should reinforce what they've already learned from the live training.” (Andy Elliott, 22:35)
• Use resources to refine, NOT build from scratch.

Bonus: The Secret Sauce – Elite, On-the-Spot Live Training (24:20)

• Nothing beats live training with real customers.
• “It's where they learn to think on their feet, handle pressure, and close deals fast.” (Andy Elliott, 25:05)
• Leader demonstrates live, then coaches, then lets the trainee take the reins—“Greatness is built here.” (Andy Elliott, 25:50)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Structure:
  “The more structure that you have, the more successful your sales team will be, period.” (Andy Elliott, 03:10)

• On Training Order:
  “I never start on step two or three or four. I always start on one. And if you do this, I can show you how to develop 10 for 10 on every salesperson you hire.” (Andy Elliott, 03:15)

• On Live Corrections:
  “I'm not going to let them finish the call. I'm going to stop them and correct them right where they're at. Because I care about them. Their success is my responsibility.” (Andy Elliott, 13:10)

• On Role Play:
  “It actually makes us money to make mistakes. When there's a lesson, when there's a mistake, we grow. Only will we be successful when failure happens.” (Andy Elliott, 18:30)

• On Manuals and Videos:
  “Use it to refine their skills, not to build them from scratch.” (Andy Elliott, 22:50)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Sales training is broken: [00:00-03:00]
• Structure, skeleton, and muscle: [02:05-03:30]
• Step 1 – Live Appointments: [04:00-08:00]
• Step 2 – Live Sales Calls: [08:00-14:00]
• Step 3 – Daily Role Play: [15:40-19:00]
• Step 4 – Film Day: [19:10-22:00]
• Step 5 – Manuals & Videos: [22:00-24:20]
• Secret Sauce – Live Customer Training: [24:20-end]

Final Takeaways

Andy Elliott’s five-step methodology prioritizes live, hands-on training, immediate feedback, and a structured daily environment. Manuals, videos, and theoretical content support but never replace in-the-field learning. The hallmark of elite teams is relentless, real-time correction, daily role play, and actual exposure to customer interactions under leadership guidance.

If you want to “build the deadliest sales team on planet earth,” this blueprint gives you the roadmap—provided you, as the leader, are willing to own and enforce the structure.

For more sales strategies and access to Andy’s personalized programs, Andy encourages listeners to reach out directly via the links provided in his content.

“Sales makes the world go around. Subscribe. Share the video. Like it. Drop me a comment below. Most importantly, I'll see you on a strategy call. I love you guys. God bless. I'll see you in the next video.” (Andy Elliott, 27:30)