In the high-stakes world of B2B sales, there's a subtle factor that often separates successful teams from struggling ones: authentic confidence. Not arrogance, not pushiness, but the quiet assurance that comes from knowing you're an expert and advisor who can deliver real value.

I was sitting in a coffee shop and couldn't help but overhear a sales meeting at the table next to me. The customer was explaining a complex challenge their team was facing, clearly hoping to find a solution. Meanwhile, the salesperson was nodding along, but their eyes kept darting to their phone under the table and around the cafe.

Envision two leaders… both highly respected, dedicated to their teams, authentic in their desire to drive their organizations forward. Yet their approaches to sharing and executing their vision couldn't be more different – and neither could their results.

In most organizations, there's an unwritten rule about salespeople: Keep them at the lower levels unless absolutely necessary. After all, who wants their senior executives 'wasting time' with vendors trying to sell them something?

But what if your sales team could flip this dynamic entirely? What if instead of pushing to get meetings with decision-makers, your customers were pulling your team upstairs?

Mark was the model sales trainee. He'd aced every internal training session at his commercial office furniture company and could confidently discuss product details, and was prepped for every sales objection in the book. Sarah, in contrast, took a different approach.

I had my perfect morning routine going - comfortable chair, hot coffee at my side, fireplace running, Wall Street Journal in hand (digital version of course). That's when I stumbled across something unexpected… an article about a trio of economists who just won the Nobel Prize for something called Friction Theory.

This week, I was a chaperone for 6th grade camp with my youngest son. We spent a lot of time outdoors, learned survival skills, and did a load of activities. Sleeping accommodations and food? Not so great, but that’s a different topic. Something that really caught my attention over those few days was how the camp counselors communicated with the kids.

Below is one of the most impactful sales tactics I’ve ever implemented. It’s wickedly simple - and it works. But first some background…

“I have something to tell you, but please keep it between you and me.” This is how a friend started our conversation the other day, pulling me to the edge of my seat. “I’m absolutely crushing my sales quota, but only working 15-20 hours per week.”

Power washers are always amazing to use. A filthy patio floor, outdoor furniture or nasty stains on the side of the house. You can try a scrub brush, special soaps, or some serious elbow grease which often doesn’t work, and is a huge pain in the neck!

In 2010 I was on a family vacation reading George W. Bush’s personal memoir, Decision Points, and was struck with an insight that I’ve carried ever since. There were plenty of topics that I found interesting in the book, including his devotion to his family, and his general climb through the world of government and politics. But what stood out to most wasn’t about politics at all - it was a simple mention that he worked out every morning before heading into the Oval Office to lead the free world. So how could I possibly justify to myself that I don’t have time to work out every day? “I’m so busy!” was my thought - or more clearly, my excuse.

I’m often asked about my favorite book on sales, and as you can imagine there is no single book. Finding success over time is about our experiences, our successes and failures, and trying a lot of things to see what works and what doesn’t. Books are always a wonderful source of new ideas, and there are plenty of lightbulb moments I’ve experienced in reading.

Negotiation is something that should happen very naturally, and occurs throughout the buying process where the seller is working to understand the clients need and what they really value, and the buyer is trying to understand what the potential supplier has to offer. Below are a couple common examples of where I see people negotiating more with themselves, and are missing out on what the client really needs and is willing to pay for.

So much of sales success comes from basic fundamentals of being a reliable person. Not magic closing moves. Not sales tech. Not some tricky way of asking questions.

The businesses that win are those with teams playing more advisory roles in client and customer relationships.

Salespeople are too often afraid of the budget convo, when really it’s just one of many key elements to having a genuine and meaningful business conversation. No reason to hold back and the sooner you have some concept of budget the better so you can make sure you aren’t wasting your time - or the clients time on an opportunity.

When I was 8-years old I played on a little league baseball team, and my Dad was one of the coaches. The head coach was former player, and was one of those parents who was a little too intense considering our age. He told his assistance coaches to work on force outs, sliding, planning for double plays, and determining the right batting order for these baseball rookies.

Have you ever been in a conversation with someone, and they’re looking you in the eye, nodding their head in response to what you’re saying, but you can tell they’re not really paying attention? They’re hearing the words coming out of your mouth, but you can tell they’re not truly listening.

I had been pursuing a large consumer package goods company as a client for about 18-months. Our company specialized in this industry so I knew we were a perfect fit, but the client had been working with a competitor of ours for years and they were very "deep" making it hard to unseat them.

The Search for Growth is a podcast led by Alfie Marsh (a snappy last name, but no relation) and Chris Gibson, who as they call are “a sales guy and an engineer with two perspectives on life.” Alfie and Chris have spent their careers in the world of high growth startups and run this podcast to interview founders and share frameworks to help others grow.