Nobody Sells Alone: Why Team Alignment Builds the Most Customer Trust (Money Monday)

0:01Jessica Stokes: So going into a follow-up call, I want every important note right at my fingertips, not buried somewhere in a scribbled stack of notes. And with Plod Notepin S, I always have them because it's a wearable, portable note taker that lets me stay present and focused on customers during every single meeting. Plod captures the conversation and turns it into organized summaries and action items so I can follow up faster. And if I need a specific detail, Plod's recall has that ready for me. And that's why Jeb Sr. and I and all of Sales Gravy trusts our Plod Notepin S. Try Plod and stay focused on the conversation while it handles all of your notes.

0:34Jessica Stokes: Go to plod.ai forward slash Jeb. That's plod.ai forward slash Jeb and use code JEB to get 10 % off your purchase.

0:48Jessica Stokes: This is Jeb Blunt and it's Money Monday on the Sales Gravy Podcast. Say, make money, money, make money, money, money. Make money, money, make money, money, money. Money makes the world go round. I'm the talk around town. Remy gave me the sound. Hey, everyone. Welcome to this episode of Money Monday. I'm Jessica Stokes filling in this week for Jeb. Let me ask you a question. Have you ever watched a football game where every player decided to run their own play? The quarterback throws left. The receiver goes right. The offensive line blocks the wrong defender. and the coach is wondering what just happened.

1:23It's complete chaos. And yet, that's exactly what many sales teams look like in front of their own customers. One person is talking about price. Someone else is talking about implementation. The tech expert is answering questions that nobody even asked. The account manager is jumping in unexpectedly and the salesperson is trying to regain control of the conversation. Everyone is working hard, but nobody is working together. Today's topic is all about selling as a team Because one of the fastest ways to build trust with a customer is to demonstrate that your team is actually aligned. And one of the fastest ways to lose trust is to show them that you're not.

1:59When customers join calls or meetings with multiple people from your organization, they aren't just evaluating your product. They're also evaluating your company. They're asking themselves questions like, do these people communicate? Can they solve problems together? And if we were a customer, is this what it's going to feel like? Every interaction becomes a preview of customer experience. So if your team's interrupting each other or contradicting each other, or they just look confused about who has the answer or who's taking the lead, your customers notice. They may never say anything, but they're paying attention.

2:35Because if you can't coordinate a one-hour meeting, why should they trust you with a million-dollar implementation? One of the common mistakes I see in team selling is making assumptions. We assume that we know which roles our co-workers will have. This could be based on previous sales calls together or the title of the person in the room. Assumptions like maybe the highest ranking co-worker will take the lead since they know more about the product. Or an assumption like the other person is going to schedule the follow up since it falls to their department. Even assumptions on who's responsible for advancing the opportunity.

3:11Every opportunity needs a quarterback. Someone who's responsible for directing the conversation, introducing the teammates, guiding the discussion, managing the time and making sure the meeting actually reaches its objective. Think about an orchestra. There may be 50 incredibly talented musicians, but without the conductor, it doesn't sound like music. It's just noise. The leadership creates the harmony. Here's something that separates average sales teams from elite ones. Elite teams don't start preparing when the customer joins the meeting. They prepare the day before. They meet internally. They discuss strategy.

3:48They answer questions like who's in charge of discovery? Who's running the demo? And what's going to be covered? Who's handling the price conversation? Who's going to commit to the next step? And what outcomes are we trying to achieve? Great meetings aren't improvised. They're designed. Let me tell you about another reason why deals stall after a customer meeting. Everyone's thinking, I'm sure someone else is going to handle that. Then the proposal never gets sent. The follow-up email never goes out. Nobody schedules the next meeting. Not because people don't care, but because ownership was never quite clear.

4:22Maybe we didn't want to overstep where we assume another teammate is going to get to it. One phrase that can eliminate so much confusion is, who owns this? Ask this after every commitment. Who owns the proposal? Who owns the pricing? who owns the scheduling, who owns the follow-up. Unclear ownership creates dropped balls. Clear ownership will create momentum. At Sales Gravy, we teach a framework called Thrive. This is to help teams execute better together. Think about it this way. T is for tactical alignment. Everyone should know the game plan before the meeting starts. H is harmonized messaging.

5:02Customers should hear one consistent story, not five different versions. R, role clarity. Everyone in the meeting should know exactly why they are there. I is for intentional preparation. Winning teams don't wing it. V is value amplification. Everyone knows the key value that you are delivering to this client. And finally, E, execution excellence. Professional handoffs, clear communication, confident next steps. The customer should walk away thinking that team really has their act together. One habit I've seen among the highest performing sales teams is what happens immediately after the customer meeting ends.

5:45They don't simply say good meeting and head back to work. They have a scheduled 15 minute debrief and it's on the calendar. It happens every time. They discuss things like what went well, what concerns surfaced, Maybe what commitments were made and who's going to own the follow up? What do we need to do differently next time? Some of the best ideas and brainstorming happen in the 10 minutes immediately after the customer conversation when the ideas are still fresh. So don't waste them. Don't assume that everything was clear to everyone involved when the Zoom ended. So here's your assignment this week.

6:22I want you to take a look at your calendar. And for each team selling opportunity that you have on your calendar, I want you to schedule two additional meetings. The first additional meeting is a 15 minute pre-call planning meeting. In this pre-call planning meeting, I want you to identify with your internal team who's taking the lead. What's the goal of the call? Who's discussing each section of the meeting? What questions will we ask? What objections might we hear? And what is the next step we're hoping for after the meeting? The second meeting that I want you to schedule is the 10 minute debrief.

7:00So before everyone rushes off to their next appointment, use that time to brainstorm and coordinate what the next steps with this client will be. I'll leave you with a quote from basketball coaching legend Phil Jackson. The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team. In sales, customers rarely buy because one person impressed them. They buy because they trust the organization behind the person. Every customer interaction is an opportunity to demonstrate professionalism, preparation, and alignment. So don't just sell your solution. Sell the confidence that comes from a team working together.

7:41Thanks for joining me on another episode of Money Monday. And if this episode encouraged you, share it with another salesperson who may need this reminder. Keep showing up. Keep dialing. Keep moving forward. You've been listening to the Sales Gravy Podcast. This is Jessica Stokes. Make today awesome. Most women have been there. Something feels off. You don't feel like yourself. Yet your doctor says everything looks fine. Spoiler, it's your hormones. Midi is a virtual care platform built for women by women and offers specialized hormone care from trained clinicians. Plus, it's covered by most major insurances.

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8:31Jessica Stokes: Survival of the finish. You can sink or swim. I've been broke. I ain't never going back again. I need some C notes, some cheddar and a stack of ends. I need a bowl of dough. I don't need no Facebook friends. I need a pack of them snaps, a handful of Fetty wops and rubber band on my green backs. Look, dog, don't be playing with my paper. I need every red cent. That's why I brought my little scraper.