Guiding Principles: Part 2

Summary

The Advanced Selling Podcast

Episode Title: Guiding Principles: Part 2
Release Date: May 7, 2025
Hosts: Bill Caskey and Bryan Neale

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Introduction

In the second part of their "Guiding Principles" series, Bryan Neale dives deeper into the foundational elements that underpin successful B2B sales strategies. Building upon the initial principles discussed in the previous episode, Bryan introduces two additional guiding principles from the Blind Zebra Sales Operating System (BZSOS): Intent and Assertiveness. These principles aim to enhance sales professionals' ability to navigate complex sales environments with integrity and efficiency.

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Recap of Guiding Principles Part 1

Before delving into the new principles, Bryan briefly recalls the first two guiding principles covered in the series:

1. Extreme Objectivity: Maintaining an unbiased and clear perspective of the sales funnel, allowing for accurate assessment and strategy formulation.
2. Expert Persona: Establishing oneself as a knowledgeable authority in the customer's industry, fostering trust and credibility.

These principles set the stage for the introduction of Intent and Assertiveness, which further refine the sales approach.

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Introducing New Guiding Principles: Intent and Assertiveness

Bryan introduces Intent and Assertiveness as critical components of the BZSOS:

• Intent: Refers to the underlying motivation behind sales actions. The focus is on ensuring that every action is customer-centric, aiming to provide genuine value rather than merely pushing for a sale.

  “My intention is about not being a pain in the ass to the customer.” ([04:53])

• Assertiveness: Described as "the energy before the action," assertiveness entails proactively guiding conversations and setting clear next steps without being overbearing.

  “Assertiveness is the energy before the action.” ([07:42])

Together, these principles ensure that sales professionals act with purpose and confidence, fostering positive interactions with prospects.

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Implementing Intent and Assertiveness in Sales Calls

Bryan outlines practical tactics for integrating Intent and Assertiveness into daily sales activities, particularly during sales calls:

1. Setting a Clear Agenda

• Always have an agenda: Bryan emphasizes the importance of having a structured agenda for every sales call. This ensures that the conversation stays focused and productive.

  “You should always have an agenda in all of your sales calls.” ([03:50])

• Get calendars out: The final agenda item should always involve setting a clear future date for the next meeting. This proactive approach eliminates the need for back-and-forth emails to schedule follow-ups, which he refers to as "calendaring ping pong."

  “The last agenda item should always say get calendars out.” ([04:12])

2. Setting Clear Future Dates

By setting a concrete date during the call, both the salesperson and the prospect gain clarity on the next steps, reducing uncertainty and enhancing accountability.

“It's better for people to set a date while you're sitting there.” ([04:26])

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Practical Applications and Real-World Examples

Bryan shares real-life scenarios to illustrate the effective application of Intent and Assertiveness:

Example 1: Proactive Scheduling

Bryan recounts a common situation where salespeople often engage in inefficient scheduling practices:

“If I don't do that, if I leave and I try to send the person some options for the next week... I am in a calendaring ping pong match with a prospective customer.” ([04:53])

To avoid this, he advocates for setting the next meeting during the call itself, using a placeholder on the prospect's calendar. This method ensures that both parties have a committed follow-up without the hassle of negotiating dates later.

Example 2: Honest Communication About Fit

In another instance, Bryan describes a sales call where he transparently addressed whether BZSOS tools were suitable for a prospective client's needs:

“I told him that I need to think about this to see if these tools can fit this problem he's got.” ([08:06])

This honesty was met with positive feedback from the client, who appreciated the straightforward approach. It underscores the value of integrity and transparency in building trustful relationships.

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Avoiding Common Sales Pitfalls

Bryan addresses prevalent issues in sales practices that stem from misguided intentions and lack of assertiveness:

• Avoiding Pushiness: Overly aggressive tactics can alienate prospects. Bryan emphasizes that the goal is not to "get" something but to foster a balanced interaction where both parties feel respected.

  “It's not about getting something... it's about balanced interaction.” ([08:05])

• Honesty Over Pretense: Salespeople often feel compelled to present themselves or their offerings in an overly positive light, leading to disingenuous interactions. Bryan advocates for sincere communication, even if it means potentially losing a deal.

  “We can be rigorously honest with people... sometimes you lose deals, and you do.” ([07:25])

• Eliminating 'Calendaring Ping Pong': Inefficient scheduling frustrates both salespeople and prospects. By setting clear next steps during the initial call, sales professionals can streamline the process and maintain momentum.

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Emphasizing Honesty and Relationship Building

At the core of Intent and Assertiveness lies the importance of building genuine relationships based on trust and honesty. Bryan contends that:

• Honest Interactions Lead to Long-term Success: While honesty may sometimes result in lost deals, it fosters lasting relationships and a strong reputation in the industry.

  “You wouldn't not do it because it's not the right thing to do.” ([04:53])

• Balanced Power Dynamics: Effective sales relationships are those where both parties feel valued and respected, eliminating the adversarial nature that often plagues sales interactions.

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Conclusion

Bryan Neale's exploration of Intent and Assertiveness provides sales professionals with actionable insights to enhance their approach. By focusing on customer-centric motivations and proactive engagement, salespeople can build more meaningful and efficient relationships with prospects. These guiding principles not only streamline the sales process but also ensure that interactions are respectful, honest, and productive.

Implementing Intent and Assertiveness within the BZSOS framework equips sales leaders with the tools needed to navigate the complexities of modern B2B sales, ultimately driving sustained success and fostering a positive reputation in the marketplace.

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Notable Quotes:

• “You should always have an agenda in all of your sales calls. And an agenda in all of your sales calls... the last agenda item should always say get calendars out.” ([04:12])

• “Assertiveness is the energy before the action.” ([07:42])

• “My intention is about not being a pain in the ass to the customer.” ([04:53])

• “We can be rigorously honest with people... sometimes you lose deals, and you do. Sometimes you win deals and you do.” ([07:25])

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Note: Promotional content regarding upcoming events and coaching programs present in the episode has been omitted to maintain focus on the substantive content.

Transcript

[Unknown Speaker]

Foreign.

[Brian Neal]

Welcome, everybody, to the Advanced Selling Podcast, the longest running sales training podcast in the history of podcasts. My name is Brian Neal and this is another solo episode brought to you by BZSOS, [e-mail] okay, sales leaders, Sales leaders. Sales leaders. If you're not a sales leader, skip this part. Just tap, tap on that 15 second tap, tap, pass on the app. Sales leaders, here's the deal. Sales leaders are stuck, man. You're in the middle. You got nowhere to go. Boss is on you boards on you. Sales people aren't doing today. You're stuck in the middle. Stuck in the middle. What a great song. Stuck in the middle with you. Stuck in the middle. You don't need to be stuck anymore. I'm personally inviting you, if you're an ASP listener, ASP listener. I want to invite you personally to our sales Leadership summit called Huddle. It is live in Indianapolis in October this year, 2025, and I want to send you a personal invitation. If you're a sales leader, you listen to the Advanced Selling podcast. You need to be at this event. We'll have about 125 other sales leaders in the room for a what we call a tailgate opening tailgate Wednesday night and then a program all day Thursday. And it's just a fantastic event. We have multiple speakers. The theme this year of connect is Connect 2025. So the theme of our Huddle Sales Leadership Summit this year is Connect 2025. Connect with your peers, connect with your team, connect with your customers. It's all those things. I promise you. I promise you. You're going to leave with some tactical takeaway things that you can implement literally the day you learn them. More than importantly, though, you're going to leave with connections made with other sales leaders across the country and the fact that you listen to the Advanced Selling podcast, you know there's going to be other podcast people there. There already are. There'll be about 125 sales leaders there. This is our third year in a row. Anyone that's been to this Huddle event will tell you it is unlike any other event in the country. Our sponsors have told us they've been to all the things, right? All the sales meetups and all this jazz. They're like, there's nothing like this Huddle thing. It has a different energy and vibe to it. So if you're a sales leader, you want to come, just go to blind-huber.com look for the info on Huddle. Huddle 2025. Buy your ticket there, book your plane, book the dates, do all those sorts of things. Very, very important. Huddle 2025. Okay. Episode two of Guiding Principles. So I teed up last episode a little bit about guiding principles. There are 10 guiding principles in this BZSOS blind zebra sales operating system. Bill and I usually talk about three of them. Those are the first three, I call them the Holy Trinity. I told you last time about two of them. If you didn't listen, go back and listen. But I'll remind you I talked to you about objectivity, extreme objectivity, seeing your funnel for what it is. And I talked about expert Persona, how to become an expert in our customers world today. What I'm going to do is I'm going to talk about guiding principles, tactics. How do guiding principles show up and how can we take the theory or the thought and put it into play? I'm going to give you a couple very specific examples, both of which mirror tools in the Blind Zebra sales operating system. So the first one I'm going to talk to you about is clear future date, scheduling, next steps, okay? And the two guiding principles I'm going to pull forward. One, you know, one's new to you, okay? The first one is intent. Intent. The second guiding principle I'm going to share with you. This is a new one. You haven't heard this yet, I don't think is assertiveness. Okay? Intent and assertiveness. I'm going to put these two things together and demonstrate them in a sales call. How to set a next meeting when you're there, clear future date.

[Unknown Speaker]

Okay?

[Brian Neal]

So one of the things that should be an always for you is you should always have an agenda. And an agenda in all of your sales calls. That's an always. You should always have an agenda in your sales calls. Then after that, the last agenda item should always say get calendars out. Get calendars out.

[Unknown Speaker]

Okay?

[Brian Neal]

That ensures that if we are going to have another step in a process that we leave with extreme calendar clarity. We know what's going to happen. We're going to set our next meeting so we're not chasing each other around. That's a thing.

[Unknown Speaker]

Okay?

[Brian Neal]

Now where do the guiding principles in this fit? When we teach people or people start using the BZ sos the operating system, a lot of people get a little squirrely with this. They feel like it's a cheesy closing technique or something like that, which couldn't be further from the truth. And the problem is if you carry bad intention with you, a lot of the things that you learn are cheesy and gross. They are. They are. Because your intention's bad.

[Unknown Speaker]

Okay.

[Brian Neal]

When you put good intention around assertiveness with assertiveness, you can't lose. And so here's how I think about setting a clear future date at the end of a sales call. If I don't do that, if I leave and I try to send the person some options for the next week, or I go do my follow up and I send some options, here are three options I'd be available. Let me know what works. I am in a calendaring ping pong match with a prospective customer, which is a pain in the ass to them. I guarantee you they will tell you that's a pain in the ass. It is. And it's a pain for us. Nobody likes to do that. So my intention in putting the words get calendars out at the end of a sales agenda and everyone that runs on BZSOs knows to do this and then setting it while I'm sitting there as best I can. We're never perfect is for the customer. It's not for us. It's not about closing. It's not about keeping momentum on my deal. It's about not being a pain in the ass to the customer. And when you flip the switch on your intention, you get really clean on doing this. You wouldn't not do it. I'm from southern Indiana, man. I can say double negatives, y'all. That ain't right. You would never not do that. Double negative on purpose. You would never not do that because it's not the right thing to do. It's better for people to set a date while you're sitting there. Now nothing's perfect. We can't do it all the time. We run out of time. People are driving. It happens. But I don't want to go back and forth in an email. What I say instead if I have to cut a meeting off. I just did this this morning in my own sales call. Literally this morning. We got right to the end of the meeting. I'm very clean. If we're done at 9:30, we're done at 9:30. I said, all right. It says get calendars out. What I'm going to do, because we've done this already a couple times, I'm going to shoot a placeholder on your calendar for next week. You're just going to get an invite for me with a three point agenda. Accept it. And if you need to talk in between now and then, just shoot me an email. But invites on the way so that's what I do. If I don't set it while I'm sitting there, better off to set it while you're sitting there. Either way, okay, but my intention is not about keeping the deal movie. My intention is about not being a pain for my customer. And it totally changes the whole energy of the whole thing. When you do that, if you think you're trying to close someone, you're trying to sell them, that's going to feel gross to you. It's going to feel like a cheesy, overly aggressive, slimy salesperson, which nobody that listens to the Advanced Selling Podcast is. So you don't have to worry about that. Not even an issue.

[Unknown Speaker]

The Advanced Selling Podcast two minute drill is powered by the Blind Zebra sales operating system, a curated collection of field proven tools that make selling simple to solve your biggest sales problems and drive immediate, immediate results. Stop chasing prospects, stop being ghosted and get stalled deals moving again.

[Brian Neal]

Learn [e-mail] okay, so that's, that's an example of intention then. The assertiveness part is the energy before the action. Assertiveness is the energy before the action. So instead of hanging up the phone on the sales call and going, oh man, I should have set a date while we had them. That means your assertiveness energy is low. If I'm thinking something, I want to do something, I'm gonna go and say it.

[Unknown Speaker]

Okay.

[Brian Neal]

I had a sales call yesterday where I wasn't sure that what we're doing with the BZSOs is going to be helpful for this cat, and I'm still not. And I just told him that. I'm like, hey man, one thing, I need to think about this to see if these tools can fit this problem he's got. Because it's not really a sales problem. It's almost like a fulfillment problem. I said, but I want to think about it. But I will tell you this, I'm going to come back and say it, give you a yes or no. And if it's yes, I'm going to give you what the option is. If it's no, I'm gonna tell you, don't get out of here. He, he loved that so much. This guy was so like detail. He's like, I, that is fantastic. Exactly what I want. It is so much easier for both of us if we work through a process with extreme objectivity. Really good assertiveness, really good intention, and then get to an answer. If the answer is no, the answer is no. Carry on. I believe in abundance. Carry on, just move on. So we've got to stop taking, you know, the opposite feeling. Intent to close, intent to get everything. I see, I see so much on LinkedIn and it's great. I'm trying not to diss everybody, but the intention behind all of it is to get. The intention behind all of it is to get. Here's a great little opening. Here's a great little positioning statement. Here's a cold email that'll get people to respond. Get, get, get, get, get. It's not what this is about, man. It's about balanced interaction. Right. Timing's got to be right. Problems got to be right. Solutions got to be right. Everything's got to be right. And it's mostly not right. Usually it's wrong. So we carry on and move on, be efficient. Okay, I just wanted to demonstrate for you there how guiding principles, intent and assertiveness show up tactically setting a next step while I'm sitting there and how if you get the right energy in the guiding principles. I have good assertiveness. I have energy before I act. I don't. I don't sit on things and I've good intention. I want to set this date because it's better for them. So I'm not a pain in the ass. I'm clean, baby, crystal clean. I got nothing to worry about if my intention is off. If I'm a little. Yeah, a little shy sitting in my s. I'm not going to like, speak up because I don't want to say anything wrong. I gotta check myself. It's a guiding principles problem. A lot of people when I'm coaching them, when I say, why didn't you set a clear future date? They take that as like a punitive. Like, why didn't you sit? That's not. I'm sincerely want to know why and what they do instead of telling me the real reason is they BS the answer back because their guiding principles were off. But they don't lead with that. They don't say I wasn't. Real strong assertiveness this day. Just say that. Just say it. I had a meeting here Monday and I told him I was in a bad mood and I told my team and the two people I'm meeting with, they were like, do you want to do this a different day? Like, I was like, no, but, you know, just. No, I was just in a bad mood. I just was. I was picking apart things. It was snarky. I don't want to be, but I just was. Just tell the truth. Okay, you can Get. You can. We can deal with the truth with that. We really can. But what we can't is like, well, it didn't make a lot of sense because, you know, they're very. You know, I know them really well, so I didn't want to be too pushy. He doesn't like. I'm like, come on, dude. You get. You got bad thinking. I guarantee you've got. You're off on one of the guiding principles. Guaranteed. You've got an attachment issue to the guy. You're afraid to hurt his feelings. That's not a great relationship. I got a great relationship with him. I can't. You can't hurt a person's feelings. You have a great relationship with. That's not a great relationship, in my opinion. Think about that for a second. The best relationship. So we can be rigorously honest with people. And sometimes it sucks, and it does. Sometimes you lose deals, and you do. Sometimes you win deals and you do. That's it. Very neutral. All right, that is my solo episode for the day. Taking. Taking guiding principles. I couldn't remember what I was saying. Taking guiding principles and putting them into action. Action is the trick on this. Okay, don't forget about the insider Bill's live coaching program. Silly goose to you. If you're not in that program, the thing is awesome and bang for the bucks, off the charts. Okay, if you're a sales leader, go to bzsos blind-zebra.com email us bzsos line-zebra.com and shoot us a note to get information. Or just go to blind dash zebra on the sales leadership summit called Huddle in October this year, 2025 version. That is it. See you next time. The Advanced Line podcast. Cheers.