Timeless Sales Skills in a World of Innovation

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Advanced Selling Podcast – "Timeless Sales Skills in a World of Innovation"

Episode Information

• Title: Timeless Sales Skills in a World of Innovation
• Hosts: Bill Caskey and Bryan Neale
• Release Date: May 5, 2025

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Introduction

In this engaging episode of The Advanced Selling Podcast, hosts Bill Caskey and Bryan Neale delve into the enduring principles of sales that remain relevant amidst rapid technological advancements and innovative trends. Released on May 5, 2025, the episode titled "Timeless Sales Skills in a World of Innovation" serves as a reflective exploration of sales strategies that have withstood the test of time.

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Persistent Sales Challenges Despite Innovation

Bill and Bryan commence the discussion by observing that despite two decades of sales training and the advent of cutting-edge technologies like AI, many fundamental sales challenges persist. They highlight a somewhat paradoxical scenario: "You'd think at this point we'd have a 100% closing ratio and we'd only do deals with people that we knew were going to buy. You'd think we'd be there by now. We're not even close" (04:00).

Key Points:

• Stagnant Sales Outcomes: Despite technological tools, sales results haven't dramatically improved.
• Unchanged Core Problems: The issues faced by sales professionals today mirror those from decades past.

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Timeless Sales Skills

The crux of the episode revolves around identifying and reinforcing timeless sales skills that continue to be crucial for success. The hosts outline several core competencies that remain essential regardless of technological advancements.

1. Discovery and Qualification

   Bill emphasizes the importance of discovery: "The art and skill of discovery and qualification... there has to be some sort of... conversation that takes place" (08:46). This involves engaging clients through meaningful dialogues to uncover their genuine needs or identify the absence of issues.

   Bryan adds: "My number two was understanding. Our nature is to seek to be understood" (10:10). Effective discovery hinges on deep comprehension of the client's situation and requirements.

   Notable Quote:

   "If you're selling, you have to uncover the client’s issues through genuine conversation." – Bill Caskey (08:46)

2. Understanding

   The hosts discuss the nuanced skill of truly understanding clients beyond surface-level interactions. They contrast human-driven understanding with AI capabilities, asserting that genuine human connection remains irreplaceable.

   Bill states: "AI can't right now... Could AI sit there and have a critical thinking conversation with you? Probably. But it might get awkward" (09:22).

   Notable Quote:

   "There's something about the human voice and having a phone call for 30 minutes and really bonding that AI can't replicate." – Bryan Neale (10:30)

3. Soulfulness

   Bryan introduces the concept of bringing "soul" into sales, questioning whether sales professionals connect their deeper motivations and passions to their work.

   Bryan reflects: "Is there a deeper reason you do what you do and can you put that out there?" (12:18).

   Bill responds thoughtfully: "If you looked in the mirror close enough, you'll find it in there" (13:24).

   Notable Quote:

   "Is there a deeper, soulful reason you do your work, and are you free to express it?" – Bryan Neale (12:18)

4. Planning and Execution

   The final timeless skill discussed is the meticulous planning and execution towards achieving sales goals. Bill underscores the necessity of having a concrete plan rather than vague aspirations.

   Bill asserts: "Nine out of 10 salespeople don't have [a business plan]. They have a goal, but they have no plan to get to their goal" (15:06).

   Bryan concurs: "There's always a step by step process to accomplishing a goal, but we don't summon it and expect to know it" (17:33).

   Notable Quote:

   "Create a plan to get from A to B, and work the steps to increase your chances of success." – Bill Caskey (15:06)

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Insights on Modern Sales and AI

Throughout the episode, Bill and Bryan examine the interplay between timeless sales skills and modern innovations like AI. They acknowledge that while AI can assist in various aspects, the intrinsic human elements of discovery, understanding, and soulful engagement remain irreplaceable. The conversation underscores the importance of leveraging technology without losing the personal touch that defines effective salesmanship.

Notable Insights:

• AI as a Tool, Not a Replacement: AI can aid in data analysis and process automation but lacks the emotional intelligence for deep client connections.
• Human Connection is Crucial: Building genuine relationships through conversation and empathy cannot be fully replicated by machines.

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Peer Group Benefits for Sales Leaders

The hosts also touch upon the value of peer groups for sales leaders, particularly VPs of sales who may lack internal colleagues at their level. They highlight their own Insider program, which facilitates monthly training sessions and fosters a community where sales leaders can benchmark, share ideas, and support each other.

Notable Quote:

"People love to benchmark themselves against others. They want to know how everybody else is doing" – Bill Caskey (07:33).

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Final Thoughts and Encouragement

Wrapping up the episode, Bill and Bryan reiterate the significance of returning to foundational sales skills amidst the allure of new technologies and trends. They encourage listeners to embrace planning, cultivate genuine understanding, and infuse their work with personal passion to achieve sustained sales success.

Closing Message:

"Stick to the knitting," a mantra borrowed from classic sales literature, encapsulates their message of focusing on what truly matters in sales—the relationships and strategies that have consistently driven success.

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Conclusion

"Timeless Sales Skills in a World of Innovation" serves as a compelling reminder that while the sales landscape evolves, certain core principles remain steadfast. Bill Caskey and Bryan Neale adeptly blend humor, personal insights, and practical advice to inspire sales professionals to hone their fundamental skills and adapt thoughtfully to modern challenges. Whether you're a seasoned sales leader or an emerging professional, this episode offers valuable perspectives to enhance your sales prowess.

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Additional Resources

For those interested in deeper engagement, Bill and Bryan mention their Insider program, a monthly training and peer group for sales leaders. To learn more or join, visit advanced selling podcast.com/insider.

Join the Community:

"Stop not joining. Join it." – Bill Caskey (20:15)

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• [08:46] "If you're selling, you have to uncover the client’s issues through genuine conversation." – Bill Caskey
• [10:10] "There's something about the human voice and having a phone call for 30 minutes and really bonding that AI can't replicate." – Bryan Neale
• [12:18] "Is there a deeper, soulful reason you do your work, and are you free to express it?" – Bryan Neale
• [15:06] "Create a plan to get from A to B, and work the steps to increase your chances of success." – Bill Caskey
• [07:33] "People love to benchmark themselves against others. They want to know how everybody else is doing." – Bill Caskey
• [20:15] "Stop not joining. Join it." – Bill Caskey

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This summary captures the essence of the episode, highlighting the hosts' discussions on timeless sales skills, their reflections on modern challenges, and their encouragement to sales professionals to remain grounded in foundational practices.

Transcript

[A]

Foreign.

[B]

Welcome back to the advanced selling podcast. The longest running sales training podcast, podcast history. I'm Bill Caskey.

[A]

Brian Neal here.

[B]

We want to thank those who joined us here. A couple of weeks ago we did a live LinkedIn live kind of behind the scenes where we recorded the podcast. Had great, had great attendance at that. I think we had two. No, we had probably 150 people who, who were on at some point during the episode. So we'll probably do that again. Sounded good. We had a lot of good comments and feedback. So thanks to those who listened.

[A]

That was great. And it was sort of a surprise. So I think, you know, sometimes people, you know, caught heard about it late or they go, I didn't know this was going on. So we'll announce it earlier maybe next time and yeah, see if we can break the Internet. We'll break LinkedIn probably.

[B]

Are you doing any LinkedIn Live?

[A]

No, this is my first one ever.

[B]

Yeah, I'm doing them every Friday. And it's interesting because you, it used to be that the lives got a lot of back end play. Like you didn't get a lot of people there during it because you know it didn't get announced until the time that you do it. People have commitments but you used to get hundreds if not thousands of views afterwards. I don't find that anymore interesting. Is just has just really cut back on their, on the promotion of stuff like that and they, you know, for years we heard, oh LinkedIn's into video. They want live. They want you to go live. I don't want, they don't want me to go live because they're not spreading the word.

[A]

LinkedIn is into not let anyone find out what LinkedIn is into. That's what LinkedIn is into. LinkedIn is into keeping you guessing on the algorithm. Right. Everybody keeps chasing it.

[B]

True.

[A]

Not a fan. I, I had a couple how this relates to that. I was thinking about sayings. I love sayings like little and I love the history of sayings. But there's a couple sayings that I'm curious about because they're time stamped. Well first, the first one's not time stamped. You know how we say happy as a clam? Where does that come from? Are clams happy? Because I don't understand. I try to find my way into that one. I haven't looked it up yet.

[B]

That's bad.

[A]

And I'm like a clam that it doesn't seem that happy. It just sort of sits there. It's kind of gross on the inside. You Know what I mean?

[B]

On the inside. Could be very pleased with itself, but I'm sure pleased with itself because that is all it does all day.

[A]

So the other thing I'm wondering is, how did we measure hail sizes before we had golf balls?

[B]

Golf balls and baseballs.

[A]

Exactly. There had to be hail on the earth before this. And people were talking about it, and baseball was invented in the 1800s. We had, like, newspapers back in the 17. 1700s, I think. And, you know, I just wondered how that all started. And, you know, it's. There had to be the first person to say everything like, yeah, sit back, relax, and enjoy the flight. Sit back and relax. That's PT Barman. Everyone says he said that first.

[B]

Oh, really?

[A]

Who's the first one to turn the size of hail into the size of another inanimate object? Someone had to do that first.

[B]

That's a good point. I'm afraid that. That the other option there would have been to measure the size of hail in metric, which would mean we wouldn't understand it anyway. Oh, it was like 3.5 centimeters.

[A]

We kind of.

[B]

Sorry, it does not compute. Have no idea what you're talking about.

[A]

We're still hanging on to that, aren't we? The old mild pounds. And as innovative as we are, we won't let that one go, will we?

[B]

I have this. This guy follow on Twitter. He's a fitness bro. And that's where I get a lot of my fitness ideas and weightlifting and all that. And he went through this long thing about this and that and this and that creatine and why you need. And at. At the end, he said, here's the way. Just. It's 5 milligrams. Sorry, all that reading I did and you lost me. I have no report.

[A]

You just free pour that. Can't you bill free measure. Five millies a pinch. I literally don't even know what that is.

[B]

Well, five milligrams is not much. I. But I had to look it up. It's like, why don't you say a half a teaspoon? We understand that it's an American guy, but, you know, he's American liters. I mean, milliliters and I know kilometers and which. I love the British, I love the Europeans, but you got to understand, you're talking to Americans seriously. Not very smart.

[A]

Does he say stone? That's, you know.

[B]

No, he doesn't say stone, but that's a weight, a form of weight.

[A]

Like you lost some weight.

[B]

I'm four and a half stone now. Three kilos.

[A]

All Right.

[B]

So what is your topic today?

[A]

Interesting. So we talk about, you know, innovation and new things and AI and all the tech stacks and all the new things, all the new trends. Sometimes what we don't talk about is what hasn't changed, what has stood the test of time over decades and decades of sales advice being spun and thrown around. And so I thought it'd be good to revisit some things and put us in a little reflective mode. I've been selling for a minute or two and say what has been the same, what hasn't changed? And it could be a technique, it could be a concept, it could be anything that was true then has been true the whole time, is true now and likely will be true in the future because there's some, you know, a lot of things haven't changed. A lot of things.

[B]

Do you think that we, we move to the new thing and then we, we replace it, we replace the old thing with it and then the old thing we realized worked pretty well. Is that what you're.

[A]

Yes, it's part of it. Yes. Yeah. And, or like one of my little big hang ups is we've, we've, you know, you and I met in the 90s and when we met, companies had these certain sales problems, you know, this problem, that problem, whatever. And now we've got all this tech, now we have the Internet, now we have AI and they, people have the same problems. Same problems. They do things the same thing. Nothing has really changed for 40 years. You'd think at this point we'd have 100% closing ratio and we'd only do deals with people that we knew were going to buy. You'd think we'd be there by now. We're not even close. So it's just an interesting thing.

[B]

It is interesting. I'm wondering how much of that's just human. Human nature has probably not changed, but I've got one. When you were talking about this, the pre show, when we had breakfast this morning and met for a couple hours on the pre show, one thing I thought about was, I don't know if you and I were working together when we used to do executive briefings.

[A]

Oh, sure, of course.

[B]

Executive seminars.

[A]

Oh man, it's the best.

[B]

Where we would file, you know, send out a fax, thousand faxes, and you know, 20 people would show up and we would do business from that. And it was, and I think that whole executive preview thing, now that was in person, obviously, but I think there's some value in bringing people together in a group and I remember there was, there was friendships made and we was only an hour and a half thing, but there just seemed to. There seemed to be some energy in a group. And I don't know if you can totally replicate that, replicate that online, but I don't find a lot of companies doing that online where they bring together groups of customers or groups of prospects or both, or whether they bring together just people in general and talk about things. I think there's a lot of power in that, especially today where people are kind of isolated and still are as a result of 2020. And so I think the old. Can you invite people to an online group where you discuss some of the challenges and some it's. It can't be a pitch fest, but I think there's value in that.

[A]

Speaking of, I like to talk to you about the Insider. But it's true though. We do that all we just did. Yes. So we run peer groups for VPs of sales. There's the talk to any of them. They love it. They. And one of them came in and he was talking about this. He said, people love to benchmark themselves against others. They want to know how's everybody else doing or doing this. They want to know what am I not missing? Because it's. It is isolating and so true.

[B]

Especially for a VP of sales who doesn't really have a lot of other VPs of sales in the company. Probably.

[A]

Oh yes.

[B]

Probably the only person. They can't really go to their sales team. They don't want to go to the CEO or the senior. So where do you go for ideas and for expansion and for checking things out and for exam examination.

[A]

That's good group therapy. I love it. It's so true. God, those are the days. Bill and I, we used to buy. You could buy a mass facts list. You could mass fax people and you send them an invitation to this thing and they'd write down, you know, yes or no. And the fax machine would start, here comes one. And it took like 10 minutes for one page to print. And the. And the RSVP was at the bottom. So you're looking is it a yes or a no? And like, oh, is it no, get.

[B]

Me off your list.

[A]

Take me off your list. Oh, those are great. Here's one. I think what's been true all along and is true will remain true, is the art and skill of discovery and qualification. There has to be some sort of either whether it's diagnosis or interaction or conversation that takes place. And to be good at the skill of understanding, uncovering a client issue or uncovering that there is no client issue.

[B]

My number two was understanding.

[A]

But go ahead. We didn't prep either. We didn't know. Share. I don't think that's ever gone away. I don't think it ever will. I think AI can help with that, but AI can't right now. I don't think people are comfortable with it. Critically thinking, live in front of another person. I don't think another person's comfortable with that. Like, could AI sit there and have a critical thinking conversation with you? Probably. But it might get awkward, you know, for, for a, a human to be talking to a computer. So.

[B]

Oh yeah.

[A]

So if. Meaning if. If AI took over for the sales personality, that's going to happen. So, so that's the thing, I think to be really good at discovery and asking people questions and being curious is a time, time tested skill.

[B]

I love it. And I, I just wrote the word understanding because our nature is to seek to be understood. And right now, when it's a, when it's an AI bot, we kind of know it. We kind of feel like, really, do they have people standing by all the time? So I just ask one question and boom, there's a human being. Of course not. We know it's a bottle.

[A]

That's right.

[B]

And at some point we will probably become okay with that. Where, where we say, well, it's a bot here, but everybody's got a bot. So, well, talk to it and pretend maybe bots are smarter than humans at this company. But I think there's something that goes with truly asking questions and understanding the plight, the dilemma, the problem, what you're trying to accomplish, where they're trying to go. I'm not sure AI is there yet. I'm sure people will say, oh, it is. But there's something about the human voice and about having a phone call for 30 minutes and really just bonding. And reports not always about what's your biggest problem? How much does it cost you when you. Yeah, sometimes it's just about, hey, what do you do over there in Columbus, Ohio for, For gigs?

[A]

Yes. Yeah.

[B]

And that, that's hard to replace. But I, I think that the, the skill of understanding is a, it's, it's a, it's not a lost art. People still do it, but I don't think it's as easy as it used to be.

[A]

I love it. All right, what's your next. Oh, down.

[B]

Well, I had written down soul and this is S O U L and I'm, you Know, I don't know if it. I don't know if it's time tested or not, but sometimes I feel, and this is a personal feeling, I feel like, are we really bringing our soul to the, to the market and to the, to our business? And I know we're bringing value. We want to be valuable, and we want to close the deal. And, and I wonder. I wonder how soulful that really is. And I don't even know how to describe it other than is there a deeper reason you do what you do and I do what I do? Is there a deeper reason? And, and how, how free do you feel to. To put that out there?

[A]

Yeah. Right.

[B]

So in other words, if I'm selling, you know, geopolitical consulting advice and, you know, it's $200,000 worth of geopolitical. That's my bottom line. That's where I start. And I'm talking to a company and could I say, look, if you work with us, I'm going to give you awesome advice and good counsel, and it's going to be 200 grand. But let me tell you why I really do this work. I do this work because I hate to see people struggle like you, who are getting ready to enter into other global markets. You have no freaking clue what's going on. That doesn't feel right. Me. So that's why I do this. In other words, is there a deeper meaning, soulful meaning of why you do this work and can. Should that come out?

[A]

Yes.

[B]

It's easy for us. I think it's easy in our business because the soulfulness is kind of connected to the work. But if you're selling geopolitical consulting or, you know, you're a Patterson rep trying to sell equipment.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

How much soulfulness is there?

[A]

Yeah, there's got to be something in there. Well, I guess there doesn't have to be. It'd be nice if there was, though.

[B]

It'd be nice if there was. I bet if you look. If you look close enough, there is.

[A]

Yes. And if you looked in the mirror close enough, you'll find it in there. And it could be the pride, you know, the, like the Patterson dental thing. You know, once that equipment's delivered and it's set up and you see patients in it, I gotta think that feels really good because you saw it when it was just an idea or drawings of, here's eight operatories, and, you know, but all of a sudden you see a little kid sitting there getting dental work done or someone getting a $30,000, you know, Maxill facial surgery done to fix their teeth, that they've hated them, how they look their whole life. It's got to be a pretty cool feeling, I would think.

[B]

And you were a part of that. Yeah.

[A]

That must feel good at some point. Or a dentist sells their practice and retires.

[B]

Yeah. Because he had your, she had your equipment and profited. I think that's up to the sales leader to, to reinforce that too. I think. I don't think sales managers typically go down that path. I think the path they go down is more operational and. Yeah. And if we believe, if we truly believe that our people need to be motivated and inspired to do good work. Not just work, but good work, then it seems like why they're in the business should be a topic that's reinforced and.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Okay. My last one is the time tested skill of planning and execution of a plan. You go back to old war, you go back to old football from the 1800s, you go back to, in the 50s and 60s. Pick anything. If you create a plan to get from an A to a B, you do steps along the plan and you work the steps, your odds go up that you're going to achieve.

[B]

Bingo.

[A]

The plan.

[B]

Bingo.

[A]

And so many people I still to this day, it's 2025, Bill, you get this. If we, if you're listening to this, I said, hey, real quick, you know, open up your laptop or whatever and show me your business plan. Nine out of 10 salespeople don't have one. They have a goal, but they have no plan to get to their goal.

[B]

Bingo.

[A]

No mechanism to do the work. And that's not new or innovative. And still people don't do it. And I just don't understand sometimes.

[B]

Why do you think that is?

[A]

I, I don't know if it's a. So there's. Well, I do. I have two hunches. One is they don't know how to write a plan. They stare at a blank page and they don't know how to use tools around them like Google and AI to say, hey, give me a template for a business plan. Or hey, Brian and Bill talked about that a long time ago in 2017 and offered to send in a copy of one. So they don't know how. That's one. The second thing is they are afraid to commit for fear of failure. Once I start to write my plan down, I define in writing on a piece of paper visually a thing that I can fail at. If I don't write anything down, I can't look at that and go God, I failed at that. If I write it down and didn't do it, and I didn't do it, I can feel like a loser. That's what I think is part of the hang up too. If I write down that I want to write a book and I'm going to sit down and write for 20 minutes a day for two months, and I don't. I feel like a loser. If I don't write it down, I don't feel like a loser. I probably still want to write a book that, that. I think that's part of it too. It's a little deeper.

[B]

Yeah. I think there's a, there's a third that comes to me when you're talking, and that is the. I don't know how committed we are to our goals. I mean, I think we, we are asked to put a goal out there because our manager or maybe our spouse or maybe we say to ourselves, hey, come on, man, it's 2025, 2026. You need a goal. Okay, what is it? Well, I want to make $400,000 this year. Okay, good. That's from up. From 300. Yep.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So what's the plan? Well, you know, I just got to make more calls. So you get back to. Is there really any commitment if there's no plan?

[A]

Interesting.

[B]

Most. But I, I, you know, that's. This is a great, this is a great topic as a standalone too, because I'm convinced that there's always a step by step process to accomplishing a goal. There's all. It's always there.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

But we don't summon it and we expect to know it. I think this is where ego kind of comes in. We expect. Well, you know, I've been doing this 10 years. I should know how to go from 200 to 400. No, you shouldn't, because today's tactics are different than years ago.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So you might have known how to do it then also, I wonder. And I'm gonna, I'm gonna. I think there's a certain amount of fear of success that goes along with not doing the plan. Because what, what if. What if I did this plan? I say I want to go, but what if I did this plan and it worked? What. What does that set me up for? Yeah, does that set me up for a fall? Does that set me up for having to replace all my friends to. Does this set me up for, you know, being ungrounded because I just tripled my income in one year? I mean, you know, do I have to now give to Charities. I think. I think there's a. Anxiety. I don't know if it's fear of success. I just think there's this reluctance for success. I see this. I mean, how many times have you seen somebody that's come. You've come across in coaching where you say, man, she is good.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

He is unbelievable. But yet they don't act like it.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And part of that allure is they don't act like it. So there's, you know, it's like the beautiful girl is more beautiful when she doesn't think she's beautiful.

[A]

Right, right, right.

[B]

To take a toxic masculine approach to that.

[A]

Exactly. Same. Same applies for guys.

[B]

We've all seen people who. We say, why are they here and why are they accomplishing this?

[A]

And what.

[B]

What's really happening? And sometimes we don't see our own possibility.

[A]

Yes. Really good. Yeah. That's its own standalone topic. Yeah, that's really great.

[B]

All right. Yeah, it's a good topic. It's a good topic about going back to the basics after the.

[A]

Yeah. What hasn't changed? What?

[B]

Back to the knitting, as you used to say in your.

[A]

Oh, man, that was. Tell me. No, Stick to the Knitting is from Excellence. That's the name of the book. Remember that?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Church of Excellence from Tom peters from the 80s. Stick to the Knitting. Stick to the knitting.

[B]

I don't think that's where it started, though.

[A]

Probably not. Yeah. I think Peter's stole that one and wrote it.

[B]

So. If you're interested in learning more about the Insider program, it's a. It's a monthly training that we do. It's an hour and 15 minutes a month. We have real specific topics that we do. You can go to advanced sellingpodcast.com insider. All the topics for the rest of the year are there. Our next one coming up, it's typically the first Friday of the month, so our next one here is coming up in May. If you're listening to this, in April, coming up soon.

[A]

Should y'all join? Say it all the time. Stop not joining. Join it.

[B]

All right, see you next time. Bye.