In the Arena

Questions about the Level 4 Value Creation Approach to Sales

Anthony:  All right. So here we are, in the arena, different kind of in the arena, now not interviewing a guest but being interviewed by Beth, who's going to ask me some questions that we get frequently about Eat Their Lunch and Level Four Value Creation and my general approach to sales, which is different and does cause people to question what I'm saying and what we think they should be doing. So, let's go ahead and get started talking about some of the questions and how we can help people t...

Mike Weinberg on #SalesTruth – Episode #132

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 59:06 — 47.4MB) Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Email | Google Podcasts | RSS There's a reason that Anthony and Mike have been friends for almost a decade, co-founded the OutBound Conference together, and have written the foreward for 3 of each other's 6 books. They share a passion for helping salespeople learn the truths about selling, even when those truths may be unpopular or require more work. On this episode of In the Arena, Anthony...

Chris Hays from Zoominfo on Sales Development – Episode #131

Max Altschuler on Outreach and Prospecting Sequences – Episode #130

Outreach.io is the Title Sponsor of the OutBound Conference 2019

David Allen on the GTD Summit – Episode #129

James Clear: The Powerful Story Behind One Of The Best Books On Habits – Episode #128

It’s a bit presumptuous to claim a book is one of the best books on habits that exist. There are lots of great books on the subject out there, including Charles Duhigg's seminal work, “The Power of Habit.” But Anthony is not shy about saying that his guest, James Clear has penned exactly that. James and Anthony share a common story: a debilitating brain injury that forced them to discover a new way of living. For James, his recovery took him to a new understanding of habits and the power of ...

Seth Godin on Being Market-Driven & His Latest Book “This is Marketing” – Episode #127

Seth Godin’s latest book “This is Marketing” is filled with industry truths that you simply can’t afford to miss hearing. On this episode of In The Arena, Anthony and Seth dig into the book’s brand-new insights and talk about the differences between being market-driven and being driven by marketing. You’ll hear how you can make a bigger difference in the world while changing the lives of those around you, and why truly ethical marketing encompasses layers of empathy and compassion. It’s a ste...

The Top 5 Sales Skills of Modern Sellers, with Amy Franko – Episode #126

Amy Franko is an author, speaker, and expert in modern selling and sales skills. She’s put her most recent observations and lessons-learned as a sales consultant and trainer into print in her new book, “The Modern Seller.” In this conversation, Amy and I discuss the top 5 skills every modern seller needs to have in their arsenal as well as why sales professionals need to think like an entrepreneur these days - and why it’s not always glamorous. In Amy’s words, modern sales skills must be appl...

Steven E. Landsburg on Philosophy, Economics, and Making Better Decisions – Episode #118

Making better decisions - in business and in life - is one of the top goals for many people. On this episode of In The Arena, Anthony interviews author and professor Steven E. Landsburg, a global expert in economics, philosophy, and the science behind rational decision making. Steven and Anthony dig into why people make poor decisions and rationalize them afterward, as well as seek out the answer to why people are irrational in predictable ways. You’ll hear insider information behind the thou...

Is Eat Their Lunch for You?

On Tuesday, November 6th, I am releasing my third book in three years. If you read this newsletter each week (or even most weeks), you know the book is titled “Eat Their Lunch: Winning Customers Away from Your Competition.” It’s a book about competitive displacement, or put more directly, “stealing your dream clients from your competition.” Eat Their Lunch is a book about living, thriving, and surviving in the red ocean, where there is fierce competition, where clients want to commoditize wha...

Jay Baer on How Talk Triggers Can Revolutionize Your Word of Mouth Marketing, Episode #117

Word of mouth marketing is essential to the success of any business. Why is it then, that so many marketers don’t have a specific word of mouth marketing strategy? Jay Baer, the author of the new book “Talk Triggers,” joins Anthony on this episode of In The Arena to answer that exact question. He’ll walk you through 4 criteria to keep in mind when creating a talk trigger for your business, as well as share stories of how talk triggers have led to immense success for some of the top businesses...

What To Do With the Dash – Episode #125

The recognition that there is a beginning and an end means that you can do what you want with the time you have here. I have seen this idea described as “the dash,” the little mark between the day of your birth and the day of your departure. You get to decide what you do with your “dash.” You are free from having to worry about all the inconsequential things that happen from day-to-day, as they are meaningless in the big scheme of things. Nor do you have to consider what other people think ab...

Jennifer Gluckow on 5 Questions that Will Result in Better Sales – Episode #115

After spending a lifetime in the industry, Jen Gluckow knows a thing or two about how to make better sales. She talks with Anthony on this episode of In the Arena about how you can own your career as a salesperson and how to connect better with your peers and leaders. She also answers 5 main questions that will help you become a better salesperson and ignite your career. All of these insights and more are included in Jen’s upcoming book, “Sales in a New York Minute,” available for pre-order n...

Jeffrey Gitomer on Napoleon Hill’s Keys to Success in Life and Sales – Episode #114

Napoleon Hill’s keys to success are sought after by salespeople around the globe. On this episode of In the Arena, Anthony interviews the King of Sales, Jeffrey Gitomer, and asks him how he earned the opportunity to annotate a special new book of Hill’s earliest works, entitled “Truthful Living.” You’ll hear about 3 main keys to success that Hill refined over his years of teaching, as well as why sales advice can be applied to every aspect of your life. You won’t want to miss this sneak peek ...

Tiffani Bova on Sales Optimization, The Buyer’s Journey, and Expanding Into New Markets – Episode #124

Sales optimization is the soup du jour in the sales world - every company is working hard to streamline processes and bring in revenue faster. While it’s important to optimize every bell and whistle you can, it’s also important to understand that growth is not only about getting more leads into the pipeline or more customers to sign on the dotted line. You’ve got things like the buyer’s journey to consider, the importance of decreasing churn, and a whole lot more if you really want your compa...

How to Be a Scrappy Upstart – Episode #123

There are systemic challenges, in some ways greater than earlier times. That said, a scrappy go-getter always bends the system to their will.

You Are Right Now Creating Your AFTER Picture

All of the decisions you’ve made—or refused to make—up until this point produced your BEFORE picture. The decisions you make today are what will produce the AFTER picture.

Kevin Eikenberry on Effectively Leading From a Distance – Episode #122

Leading from a distance is a thing these days - because remote teams and distributed workforces are becoming more and more common. With that reality come a number of difficulties, all the leader’s responsibility to solve. In order to bring some insight to the issues involved, Anthony invited Kevin Eikenberry to be his guest. Kevin has given a good deal of his life to thinking about leadership and has made it his mission to learn all he can about the way leaders need to modify and improve thei...

Dealing with Category 2 Problems and Challenges

There are two kinds of problems or challenges in business. The first category are problems that, while coming with a bit of conflict, they are resolved with a single decision. The second category are problems and challenges are systemic and can't easily be solved, least of all with a single decision

How to Plan a Sales Call – Episode #121

The time you get with your clients and prospects is a gift. You dare not waste it. That means you need to plan your sales call, making the most of your time--and creating the greatest value possible for the contacts with whom you are meeting. Here is little framework you can use to do good work and move things forward. The Only Sales Guide You'll Ever Need The Lost Art of Closing Eat Their Lunch The Outcomes Planner  Sales Accelerator

How to Resolve Your Dream Client’s Concerns – Episode #120

I no longer find the language "overcoming objections" to be as useful as it once was. It is more often true that we are really resolving our client's concerns. The challenge is that they don't always present their real concern. Here is how to listen to what is really being said so you can help your client gain the confidence to move forward. You can find more language like this in The Lost Art of Closing and much more in Accelerator.

Thriving in the Red Ocean – Episode #119

If you haven't read my column on Forbes.com titled A Red Ocean Strategy. My experience in sales is only in the Red Ocean, where there was ferocious competition and more competitors than the market needed. The competitive strategy that allows you to displace your competitors is in my new book, Eat Their Lunch (which you can order on Amazon.com now).

▶︎ The Phone and Cold Outreach Still Dominate – Episode #118

Regardless of what the pseudo-experts say, the telephone still dominates when it comes to generating appointments, the key to creating new opportunities. The social tools are useful, and they play an increasingly important role, but they are no replacement for outbound and outreach. 

Setting Down the Old to Pick Up the New

If you want to transform yourself, you are going to need to leave part of your old self behind. That’s the price you pay for transformation, and the price you pay for becoming the person you were born to be.

Podcast: The Current State of Sales – Episode #117

My observations of the current landscape in sales as it exists right now, and it isn't pretty. Selling is difficult-and growing more so over time.

The Voices In Your Head – Episode #116

You have both the voice of an Inner Critic and an Inner Coach inside you. Which one you listen to will determine the quality of your results--and your life. 

Podcast: The Person Who Comes After the Person You Are Now

You are pure potential. What you are now is a mere fraction of what you might become--and what you are becoming. You were not born to be ordinary.

Christian Madsbjerg on The Social Environment of Business and Sales – Episode #115

As a professional salesperson, did you even realize that there is a social environment in business in sales? If you did, you were probably one of the more successful salespeople in your organization. If you didn't, you probably aren't. That is one of the takeaways from this conversation with Christian Madsbjerg, author of the new book, “Sensemaking.” Anthony believes his book is the must-read book of 2018 for every business person. It's a treatise on the intersection of AI and culture and mak...

Podcast: Closing Matters – Episode #114

Closing doesn't require that you be smarmy, manipulative, self-oriented, or pushy. Now it means that you ask for the commitments your dream client needs to make to create change and produce a better result.

Podcast: The Sales Process is Non-Linear – Episode #113

On August 12, 2017, I published a post on LinkedIn called Why Your Linear Sales Process is Broken. I wrote it a few days after I published my second book, The Lost Art of Closing. Success in large, complex, strategic sales now requires that you adapt your approach to the non-linear nature of the process of change by working to gain the commitments necessary to move your client from their current state to the better future state they need.

The Four Titans Talk Objections

I am good friends with Jeb Blount, Mark Hunter, and Mike Weinberg. We do a little show you might have heard about called OutBound. Here we are talking about Jeb's new book, Objections, on launch day.

Be Less Busy and More Productive – Episode #112

There is a difference between busy and being productive. There are only two things that make you productive in sales, one is opportunity creation, and the other is opportunity capture. This episode of In the Arena is sponsored by www.b2bsalestoolkit.com.

Go On the Offensive – Episode #111

The way to get off of your back foot is to change your posture. It’s to take the role of White in the game of chess. It’s to move first and cause your competition to respond to you, instead of the other way around. This decision is about with your mindset and the actions you take—but it begins with your mindset, your attitude, your beliefs.

How You See the World – Episode #110

What it is that you look for will determine the quality of your life and your experience, making it dangerous to look for only the negative in the world.

Tom Peters on How Moral Management Can Change The World – Episode #109

The phrase “moral management” may not be one you’ve heard much in the context of your business or sales career, but it’s a concept that leadership legend Tom Peters is emphasizing more often these days. He’s come to believe that one of the best opportunities for change in the world rests on the shoulders of middle managers, those who daily influence the effectiveness and development of the common people of our day. In this conversation with Anthony the conversation ranges from rock-n-roll, to...

Dan Pink: Productivity Improvement Techniques, Chronotypes, and Napucinnos – Episode #108

Dan Pink is not a guy who normally would come to mind when you begin thinking about a person who can teach you productivity improvement techniques. But given that Dan is committed to a research-based approach to his writing, it shouldn’t surprise you that he's discovered something that can improve your productivity either. His new book, “When” is a masterpiece for those looking to improve their productivity - but you won’t know it when you first pick up the book. This conversation digs into w...

How to Develop Greater Influence in the Sales Process by Being a Go Giver Influencer, with Bob Burg – Episode #107

What sales professional in their right mind would NOT like to have greater influence over buyers during the sales process? It’s an ability we all need to have. But greater influence comes at a cost, and it’s a cost that’s not typically about sales techniques or approaches. It's one you pay by doing the hard work to become a better person yourself. In this conversation, Anthony and his good friend, Bob Burg chat about why the characteristics Bob outlines in his book, “The Go-Giver Influencer” ...

Steve Bryerton: How To Get 95% Accurate Sales Intelligence, Every Time – Episode #106

The data we refer to as “sales intelligence” is one of the most frustrating necessities for sales teams. It’s information you have to have in order to do your job effectively, but it can be a Catch 22. You can only be as effective as the data you have, and the data is changing all the time and often difficult to find. Steve Bryerton and the team at DiscoverOrg are changing the way that sales data and intelligence is gathered, and have a team of 300 people who are curating data for salespeople...

Deb Calvert on How Truly Meaningful Sales Connections Happen Through Leadership  – Episode #105

Every seller wants to have meaningful sales connections with their buyers, but it's clear from the way sales is traditionally done that very few sellers really know how to pull it off. Deb Calvert has written a new book, “Stop Selling and Start Leading” that reveals many points of powerfully insightful data, taken from a study focused on the 30 primary characteristics of leadership. Her application of those characteristics to the sales process is not only ingenious, it also reveals what selle...

Cat Hoke: Transforming Hustlers Into Entrepreneurs – Episode #104

There’s only one difference between the hustlers in prisons across the world and you and me… they got caught breaking the law. That probably sounds like an overly dramatic statement to most readers of this blog, but the truth is that it’s the truth. Anthony’s guest on this episode is Cat Hoke, an amazing woman who’s working to see that the hustlers in prison who really want a second chance at life actually get their first chance ever, by rehabilitating and training them to use their natural p...

Chris Beall: Outbound Sales and Prospecting Metrics and What They Tell Us About Success – Episode #103

Outbound sales and prospecting are the sales approaches that most people shudder to think of. Dialing the phone, cold calling, getting past the gatekeepers - it's enough to discourage anyone if you don't approach it in the right way. This conversation with Chris Beall of Connect and Sell is powerful simply because it reveals some of the basics of why we go about sales that way in the first place. The numbers don't lie, and Chris is definitely one to know the numbers. But more than knowing the...

Derek Thompson on How Things Go Viral and The Science of Popularity – Episode #102

We've all experienced those crazy scenarios when something goes viral - in the old days, we said it was extremely popular or a tremendous hit. We're talking about things like Cabbage Patch Kids, Beanie Babies, or hit albums on the Billboard Chart. What makes them go viral? What makes them so popular? Derek Thompson says the answers to those questions usually surprise people. That's because there is more of a science behind it than you would think. This episode is extremely practical for sales...

Seth Godin on Customer Attraction, Brand Loyalty, and His Own Writing Process – Episode #101

Nobody in the online marketing space or sales world needs an introduction to Seth Godin. Seth has become synonymous with content marketing and the new approach to customer attraction he calls permission marketing. He believes that because of the negative perceptions people have about marketing and sales and because of how people function these days, no entrepreneur or business should be out chasing customers in that old-style way that causes pressure and discomfort. In this great conversation...

Productive Thinking As The Key to Greater Sales Success, with Tim Hurson – Episode #100

If you want to learn how to engage in productive thinking, Tim Hurson is the guy to teach you how. Tim is the author of a book called “Think Better: An Innovator’s Guide to Productive Thinking” and this conversation is part of the celebration of the tenth anniversary of that book, which you can pick it up right now on Amazon. Anthony admits that this interview starts off a little weird for him because he and Tim have been acquainted with each other for a long time and they belong to a peer gr...

Overcoming Toxic Culture Through Mastering Civility, with Christine Porath – Episode #99

It should not come as a surprise that some of the most important things in life are the most basic. Civility is one of those things that is essential to maintaining and building great relationships with others but is often cast aside for the sake of attaining goals at the expense of those relationships. In this conversation, Anthony talks with Christine Porath, author of the new book “Mastering Civility.” Her insights into the human condition and the things that drive us to be not only uncivi...

Perry Marshall on Mastering Marketing With The 80/20 Rule – Episode #98

Many who listen to this podcast are eager to master the things that will move their career or business forward, things like sales and marketing. But mastering marketing and sales is not something that is easy or that happens overnight. Anthony's guest today, Perry Marshall is one of the people has taken the time and put in the effort to become a master at marketing. His name is synonymous with success when it comes to direct mail, email marketing, and pay per click advertising. On this episod...

Donald Miller on Why Building a Storybrand Motivates Buying Decisions – Episode #97

One of the most influential books in Anthony's life in recent years has been Donald Miller’s, “ A Million Miles in a Thousand Years.” Since the publication of that book, Donald has written another, this time oriented toward business. In this conversation, Anthony chats with Donald about his newest book, "Building a Storybrand" in an effort to unpack exactly what it means to be a Storybrand, how it impacts the way a company relates to its prospects and customers, and the way it leads to succes...

Daniel McGinn on Performance Rituals, Emotional Preparation, and Sales Success – Episode #96

If you’ve followed Anthony’s writing and work for any time at all you know how fascinated he is with the impact mindset has on success in sales. So it makes perfect sense that when he saw a book titled, “Psyched Up: How the Science of Mental Preparation Can Help You Succeed,” he had to read it. He was so impressed with the book he invited the author Daniel McGinn to be his guest on this episode of In The Arena. Anthony and Daniel talk about performance rituals, emotional preparation, the impa...

James Muir on Closing the Sale – Episode #95

Closing the sale is arguably one of the most difficult and most misunderstood parts of the sales process. It’s true for many reasons, including missed steps prior to the close and wrong assumptions about whether or not the prospect is actually ready to close the deal. In this conversation you’ll hear two veteran sales professionals, James Muir and Anthony Iannarino pick each other’s brains about what it takes to have a truly effective sales conversation, the places where most sales profession...

Stoking Your Hunger to Win in the Sales Arena, with Patrick Tinney – Episode #94

Every sales professional says they have a hunger to win, but few truly conquer as top sellers. My guest on this episode says every sales professional must have a perpetual hunger to win in sales - that constant drive to provide for their family, to be a success, and to be the trusted advisor who serves their customers well. Patrick’s newest book, “Perpetual Hunger” is the subject of our conversation. It’s a book that can serve you almost like a sales encyclopedia with easy-to-read chapters th...