Kelly and Lee Salz break down why most salespeople fail at the very first meeting — and what to do instead. They uncover how playbooks, meaningful value, and emotional engagement can change the sales game.

In this episode of Sales [UN]Training, host Kelly Riggs sits down with best-selling author Lee Salz to tackle one of the most overlooked — and costly — challenges in sales: the first meeting. Lee, author of The First Meeting Differentiator, explains why so many salespeople lose before they’ve even had a chance to win.

Follow the audio podcast and watch OR listen wherever you are: https://linktr.ee/salesuntraining

Together, Kelly and Lee explore why traditional training fails, why most sales meetings are forgotten within days, and how sales leaders can create reinforcement strategies that actually stick. They dig into the power of a documented sales playbook, the importance of shifting from a “discovery” mindset to a consultation mindset, and why providing meaningful value in every interaction is the key to earning a second meeting.

Lee also reveals why emotional connection — not logic alone — drives buying decisions, and how salespeople can avoid the trap of product pitching. From understanding the forgetting curve, to developing target client profiles, to creating a true “deal foundation” in the very first meeting, this episode is packed with insights that every sales VP and frontline rep needs to hear.

If you’ve ever wondered why hard-won opportunities stall, or why first meetings rarely turn into long-term relationships, this conversation offers a practical framework you can put to use immediately.

Don’t miss this timely and practical guide to transforming your first meetings into real business wins.

Kelly Riggs is an author, speaker, and business consultant for executives and companies throughout the United States and Canada. He has written two books: 1-on-1 Management: What Every Great Manager Knows That You Don’t and Quit Whining and Start SELLING! A Step-by-Step Guide to a Hall of Fame Career in Sales.

Get more Kelly: www.BizLockerRoom.com.

Widely recognized as a powerful speaker and performance coach in the areas of sales, management leadership, and strategic planning, Kelly is a former sales executive, a two-time national Salesperson-of-the-Year, a business owner, and a member of the Forbes’ Coaches Council since 2019.

Music and Editing by Pod About It Productions @dougbranson

Kelly breaks down why selling is truly a competition and why there’s no reward for second place. In this episode of Sales [UN]Training, he shares four ways sales teams “play the game” and how mindset separates the elite from the average.

Selling isn’t just a job—it’s a competition, and Kelly wants to make sure you’re playing to win.

In this episode of Sales [UN]Training, Kelly challenges the conventional view of sales training and asks a critical question: are you preparing your team to truly compete, or just to participate?

Follow the audio podcast and watch OR listen wherever you are: https://linktr.ee/salesuntraining

Kelly unpacks the unique reality of selling—there are no prizes for second place. Through powerful analogies and hard-hitting examples, he outlines the four ways salespeople play the game: showing up to play, playing to win, playing to win at all costs, and playing not to lose. Each mindset carries consequences, and only one creates consistent winners.

Beyond strategy, Kelly explores the crucial role of mindset in sales success. Drawing parallels from elite athletes, he shows how mental conditioning, resilience, and the ability to learn from every win and loss are what propel salespeople into the top 5% of performers. Leaders, he argues, must go beyond assigning tasks—they must coach, train, and cultivate a culture of excellence rooted in competition and growth.

If you’re a sales leader looking to transform your team, or a salesperson ready to shift from “showing up” to competing at the highest level, this episode delivers the insight and challenge you need.

Kelly Riggs is an author, speaker, and business consultant for executives and companies throughout the United States and Canada. He has written two books: 1-on-1 Management: What Every Great Manager Knows That You Don’t and Quit Whining and Start SELLING! A Step-by-Step Guide to a Hall of Fame Career in Sales.

Get more Kelly: www.BizLockerRoom.com.

Widely recognized as a powerful speaker and performance coach in the areas of sales, management leadership, and strategic planning, Kelly is a former sales executive, a two-time national Salesperson-of-the-Year, a business owner, and a member of the Forbes’ Coaches Council since 2019.

Music and Editing by Pod About It Productions @dougbranson

How long does it really take for a new salesperson to become competent? Kelly Riggs challenges the myths, shares data on failure rates, and lays out a framework that sales leaders can actually use.

How long should it take for a brand-new salesperson to reach competency? If you ask ten sales leaders, you’ll get ten different answers—ranging anywhere from weeks to years. In this episode of Sales [UN]Training, Kelly Riggs pulls apart the debate and examines the critical milestones that determine whether a new hire becomes productive or becomes part of the 75% who never make it.

Follow the audio podcast and watch OR listen wherever you are: https://linktr.ee/salesuntraining

Kelly exposes the overconfidence many managers place in “experienced hires” and highlights why resumes, industry connections, and product familiarity often fail to translate into actual selling ability. He shares eye-opening stats: only 1 in 20 salespeople are truly elite, while the vast majority struggle. From there, he introduces the “Four Buckets” every salesperson must master—systems and processes, product knowledge, industry context, and the actual skills of selling.

But here’s the twist: training that overloads product details without real-world context slows development dramatically. Kelly provides a pro tip that accelerates onboarding—immersing new hires with satisfied customers so they can connect product knowledge with real experiences and stories. This method not only builds competence faster but also arms salespeople with authentic credibility when meeting prospects.

If you’re a VP of Sales or sales leader frustrated by long ramp times and inconsistent performance, this episode is packed with blunt truths and practical strategies you won’t want to miss.

Kelly Riggs is an author, speaker, and business consultant for executives and companies throughout the United States and Canada. He has written two books: 1-on-1 Management: What Every Great Manager Knows That You Don’t and Quit Whining and Start SELLING! A Step-by-Step Guide to a Hall of Fame Career in Sales.

Get more Kelly: www.BizLockerRoom.com.

Widely recognized as a powerful speaker and performance coach in the areas of sales, management leadership, and strategic planning, Kelly is a former sales executive, a two-time national Salesperson-of-the-Year, a business owner, and a member of the Forbes’ Coaches Council since 2019.

Music and Editing by Pod About It Productions @dougbranson

Stop trying to incrementally improve a broken system. Discover why radical, Deion Sanders-style transformation is the only way to fix the systemic issues holding your sales team back from explosive growth.

We're on a short summer break. New episodes will return in September. In the meantime enjoy this episode in honor of College and NFL football returning. This episode originally aired on October 2nd, 2023.

Most sales leaders believe they can transform their team's results, but the data shows three out of four teams fail to consistently grow year-over-year. The truth is, you can’t transform your sales team—at least not in the way you've been trying. Incremental changes and minor tweaks won’t fix the deep, systemic issues that lead to mediocrity and high turnover. Lasting change requires a radical overhaul, and most leaders simply don't have the stomach for it.

This episode explores what it truly takes to engineer a massive turnaround. Drawing a powerful parallel to Deion "Coach Prime" Sanders' controversial but effective reconstruction of the Colorado Buffaloes football program, Kelly Riggs explains why you might need to change everything—your people, your culture, and your expectations. You'll examine the three core pillars of a successful sales organization: acquiring unique talent, developing radically focused leadership, and implementing bulletproof processes. Forget putting a band-aid on a major health problem. This is your guide to diagnosing the underlying causes of poor performance and executing a strategy that creates disproportionate, sustainable results. Are you ready to do the hard work required to win?

Follow the audio podcast and watch OR listen wherever you are: https://linktr.ee/salesuntraining

Kelly Riggs is an author, speaker, and business consultant for executives and companies throughout the United States and Canada. He has written two books: 1-on-1 Management: What Every Great Manager Knows That You Don’t and Quit Whining and Start SELLING! A Step-by-Step Guide to a Hall of Fame Career in Sales.

Get more Kelly: www.BizLockerRoom.com.

Widely recognized as a powerful speaker and performance coach in the areas of sales, management leadership, and strategic planning, Kelly is a former sales executive, a two-time national Salesperson-of-the-Year, a business owner, and a member of the Forbes’ Coaches Council since 2019.

Music and Editing by Pod About It Productions @dougbranson

Could your team's sales training routines be considered a "dumpster fire"? Kelly Riggs explains why salespeople won't participate in training and reveals the systemic problems, and surprising solutions, to the sales training problem.

In this episode of Sales [UN]Training, host Kelly Riggs addresses the frustrating reality for many sales leaders: their teams' lack of engagement in training. Kelly identifies three common complaints—salespeople who don't attend, schedule over training, or simply don't engage—and offers a blunt but necessary truth: "You're the problem". The problem isn't the salespeople's lack of motivation; it's a systemic issue that starts with who sales leaders hire and how they lead.

This episode originally aired on June 2nd, 2025

The episode explores the non-existent barriers to entry in the sales profession, which often results in hiring individuals who are not self-motivated or dedicated to continuous learning. Kelly emphasizes that great leaders must hire people who are committed to self-improvement and set clear, non-negotiable expectations from the outset. He also discusses the critical distinction between training and learning, explaining that training is merely "exposure" to new ideas, while true learning and habit change only occur through coaching, practice, and a consistent feedback loop. Sales leaders must stop looking at symptoms and instead address the root causes of their team's underperformance.

Follow the audio podcast and watch OR listen wherever you are: https://linktr.ee/salesuntraining

Kelly Riggs is an author, speaker, and business consultant for executives and companies throughout the United States and Canada. He has written two books: 1-on-1 Management: What Every Great Manager Knows That You Don’t and Quit Whining and Start SELLING! A Step-by-Step Guide to a Hall of Fame Career in Sales.

Get more Kelly: www.BizLockerRoom.com.

Widely recognized as a powerful speaker and performance coach in the areas of sales, management leadership, and strategic planning, Kelly is a former sales executive, a two-time national Salesperson-of-the-Year, a business owner, and a member of the Forbes’ Coaches Council since 2019.

Music and Editing by Pod About It Productions @dougbranson

Stop overwhelming prospects with information; it isn't persuasive and it's killing your deals. Discover the seven critical psychological steps you must guide a buyer through to build trust, prove value, and create urgency.

In this episode of Sales [UN]Training, host Kelly Riggs tackles one of the most common and costly mistakes in sales: believing that giving prospects more product information will win the deal. Drawing from decades of observing sales calls, Kelly dismantles the “show up and throw up” approach and replaces it with a proven, customer-focused framework.

Listeners will learn the Seven Critical Steps to a Sale, a process that goes beyond features and functions to address the real decision-making drivers in a prospect’s mind. Kelly walks through each step in detail: identifying or creating a perceived need, helping the buyer see the loss of inaction or the gain from change, building trust in your solution, making change feel manageable, minimizing risk, ensuring value exceeds price, and creating genuine urgency.

With practical insights, real-world examples, and the reminder that “information isn’t persuasion,” Kelly shows how the best salespeople connect emotionally, align with personal agendas, and move deals forward without stalling. Whether you lead a sales team or close deals yourself, this episode will help you replace product dumping with a strategic, emotionally intelligent sales approach that wins more business—faster.

Follow the audio podcast and watch OR listen wherever you are: https://linktr.ee/salesuntraining

Kelly Riggs is an author, speaker, and business consultant for executives and companies throughout the United States and Canada. He has written two books: 1-on-1 Management: What Every Great Manager Knows That You Don’t and Quit Whining and Start SELLING! A Step-by-Step Guide to a Hall of Fame Career in Sales.

Get more Kelly: www.BizLockerRoom.com.

Widely recognized as a powerful speaker and performance coach in the areas of sales, management leadership, and strategic planning, Kelly is a former sales executive, a two-time national Salesperson-of-the-Year, a business owner, and a member of the Forbes’ Coaches Council since 2019.

Music and Editing by Pod About It Productions @dougbranson

Everyone throws around “value,” but most salespeople can’t actually communicate it. Kelly explains why credibility comes first—and how selling ROI without trust is just noise.

“Value” might be the most overused and misunderstood word in sales. Sales leaders preach value propositions, ROI claims, and solution-based selling—but when your reps hit the field, are they actually communicating value or just tossing around buzzwords?

In this episode, Kelly breaks down what value really is: something perceived, not proclaimed. He shares stories of companies with solid ROI pitches that failed to connect, and exposes the disconnect between what sales teams promote and what customers care about. You’ll hear why “the first sale is your credibility,” how trust is the gateway to value, and why selling features instead of outcomes leads to missed targets.

Kelly also walks through the phases of a true value conversation—from establishing credibility, to diagnosing pain, to aligning your offering with exactly what the buyer needs. He even explains how to address the real objection behind “your price is too high”: fear of change.

If you’re tired of sales training that leads to reps talking past their prospects, you need this episode. It’s time to rewire your sales brain.

Follow the audio podcast and watch OR listen wherever you are: https://linktr.ee/salesuntraining

Kelly Riggs is an author, speaker, and business consultant for executives and companies throughout the United States and Canada. He has written two books: 1-on-1 Management: What Every Great Manager Knows That You Don’t and Quit Whining and Start SELLING! A Step-by-Step Guide to a Hall of Fame Career in Sales.

Get more Kelly: www.BizLockerRoom.com.

Widely recognized as a powerful speaker and performance coach in the areas of sales, management leadership, and strategic planning, Kelly is a former sales executive, a two-time national Salesperson-of-the-Year, a business owner, and a member of the Forbes’ Coaches Council since 2019.

Music and Editing by Pod About It Productions @dougbranson

Salespeople are taught to sell product features, yet prospects almost never buy them. This episode breaks down why this common sales tactic fails and reveals how to connect with what customers actually want.

Still leading sales calls with product features? Kelly says that's not just outdated—it’s losing you deals. In this episode of Sales [UN]Training, we tackle Sales Dumpster Fire #6: the mistake of selling what prospects don’t care about.

Kelly walks through the truth most salespeople avoid: buyers aren’t sold on specs, they’re sold on results. Time saved. Headaches avoided. Personal wins that make them look good at work. This episode breaks down why features are just noise unless you clearly tie them to meaningful outcomes.

You’ll learn:

• Why buyers tune out product specs (even the flashy ones)

• What you should be leading with on a sales call

• How emotion—not logic—actually drives purchasing decisions

• The 3 things you should always be selling: results, value, and risk reduction

Kelly also shares a killer question that opens the door to your buyer’s personal motivation—and why that matters more than any one feature. Plus, hear what science says about how people decide and how to use that to your advantage.

If your team is getting ghosted or struggling to close, this is required listening. Quit pitching. Start connecting. And watch your sales performance shift.

Follow the audio podcast and watch OR listen wherever you are: https://linktr.ee/salesuntraining

Kelly Riggs is an author, speaker, and business consultant for executives and companies throughout the United States and Canada. He has written two books: 1-on-1 Management: What Every Great Manager Knows That You Don’t and Quit Whining and Start SELLING! A Step-by-Step Guide to a Hall of Fame Career in Sales.

Get more Kelly: www.BizLockerRoom.com.

Widely recognized as a powerful speaker and performance coach in the areas of sales, management leadership, and strategic planning, Kelly is a former sales executive, a two-time national Salesperson-of-the-Year, a business owner, and a member of the Forbes’ Coaches Council since 2019.

Music and Editing by Pod About It Productions @dougbranson