The Sales Coach

03/09/2026

www.thesalescoachsa.co.za

01/09/2026

Happy first day of spring! 🌸

Spring is all about fresh starts, new energy, and growth — and the same applies to sales.

If your pipeline feels a little cold, now is the perfect time to refresh your approach, sharpen your skills, and plant the right seeds for stronger conversations, better relationships, and bigger results.

Great sales don’t happen by chance. They grow through consistent training, clear strategy, and the confidence to show up prepared every day.

This spring, invest in your sales team’s growth — because what you nurture now will shape the results you harvest later.

18/08/2026

17/08/2026

Any salesperson used to a consultative approach will ask questions naturally. Asking intelligent questions comes from an attitude of curiosity.

The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.

Ask yourself, "What am I trying to achieve by asking questions?" This avoids asking unnecessary or random questions.

Good questioning techniques do not mean that you become an interrogator. Avoid the chipboard approach.

Open questions normally start with why, what, how, where, and when, while closed questions elicit a yes or no answer.

Many people ask questions that are, frankly, poorly articulated. Sometimes we ask multiple questions, ask a question that then answers itself, or ask a question that has no real link to what is being discussed.

Buying motivation and specific needs are not always the same. Buying motivation is about desires and feelings. It is more emotional and intangible.

Some questions can offend a prospect and cause them to reject you and your ideas. Avoid leading or setup questions, such as, “You do want your company to have a fair chance, don’t you?” Nosy, gossipy, or overly personal questions can be a real turnoff. Stick to business.



WWW.thesalesacoachsa.co.za

11/08/2026

www.grantcourtney.co.za

07/08/2026

Why Women Make Exceptional Salespeople

There's an old, tired stereotype that sales is a "boys' club" — aggressive pitches, hard closes, the loudest voice in the room wins. The data tells a completely different story.

They hit quota more often. Multiple independent studies (Gong, Xactly) show women achieve quota at higher rates than men — around 86% of women hit their targets compared to 78% of men. That's not a small gap. That's nearly one in ten more women closing what they set out to close.

They close more deals. Research from the Institute of Sales Professionals found women average a 54% closing rate versus 49% for men, with 70% of women hitting their sales targets compared to 67% of men.

Women-led teams outperform too. It's not just individuals — teams led by women post win and quota attainment rates around 94%, a few points ahead of male-led teams.

The secret weapon? Listening. Gong's analysis of thousands of sales calls found that top performers listen more than they talk, and women tend to lead with this consultative, relationship-first style rather than an aggressive pitch. Building trust and genuinely understanding a client's problem beats "always be closing" every time.

They open doors to different clients. A more diverse sales force means a more diverse client base — women in sales are often able to connect with prospects (busy parents, other women in leadership, etc.) that a homogenous team might struggle to reach.

And here's the part that stings: despite consistently outperforming their male peers, women in sales are still underrepresented in the industry and, in many cases, underpaid relative to the results they deliver. The performance gap runs one way. The pay and leadership gap runs the other. That's a problem worth talking about — and fixing.

On a personal note: I've noticed this shift firsthand. I work with more women in sales than men these days, and honestly, the energy, the results, and the way client relationships get built have never been stronger.

Here's to the women closing deals, leading teams, and quietly rewriting what "good at sales" looks like, You know who you are! 👏

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06/08/2026

Why do salespeople have such a bad name?

Let's be honest about it.

For decades, "salesperson" made people think of pushy pitches, fake urgency, and a handshake that came with a hidden agenda. The stereotype didn't come from nowhere — it came from an industry that, for too long, rewarded closing over caring.

But here's what most people miss:

That reputation was never about sales itself. It was about a lack of TRAINING.

Untrained salespeople guess. They push. They talk more than they listen. And customers can feel it a mile away.

Trained salespeople are different animals entirely.

- They ask better questions than they answer
- They listen for problems, not just budgets
- They walk away from bad-fit deals — and mean it
- They build trust before they build a pipeline
- They see themselves as advisors, not closers

When you invest in real sales training, something shifts. Salespeople stop chasing quotas and start solving problems. They stop selling and start serving. And customers respond to that — every single time.

The truth is, sales is a profession. Doctors train. Lawyers train. Pilots train. Why would we expect world-class sales performance without the same commitment to skill-building?

The old stereotype dies the moment we start treating sales like the profession it actually is.

Train your team. Watch the reputation — and the results — change.

Who's ready to be seen as a trusted professional instead of "just a salesperson"?


www.grantcourtney.co.za

27/07/2026

www.grantcourtney.co.za

23/07/2026