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Why do sales professionals avoid the questions that matter most? Sometimes it's because every conversation starts to feel like a verdict on who they are. In this episode, Dan sits down with Elizabeth Weingarten, a journalist, applied behavioral scientist, and author of How to Fall in Love with Questions. They explore what's behind the inability to ask good questions, and how it most often starts with the question we are asking ourselves. They also get into what kind of questions prospects and clients are asking themselves before and after meeting with you. Follow and subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@BreakingSalesPodcast/videos

The same drive that gets you into the conversation can sabotage you once you're in it. That's one of seven behaviors Dan and Pam have consistently seen in the highest performers they've coached, many of them earning seven figures a year. Some will sound familiar. Some won't. And one might change how you react the next time a prospect tells you the conversation is going well. I rechecked every line against the transcript, and nothing else overlaps. The only exception is "seven figures," which is unavoidable since it's the episode's premise. Follow and subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@BreakingSalesPodcast/videos

If you're in sales, you may have noticed a familiar pattern: a hard question you soften before you ask it, a prospecting call you keep pushing out to tomorrow, or an observation you don't make because saying it feels risky. It's easy to chalk these behaviors up to busyness or a lack of discipline. Usually, the root cause is something else entirely.  In this episode, Dan sits down with Dr. Jason Moser, a clinical psychologist and researcher at Michigan State University, to talk about what's actually happening in those moments, and why avoiding them tends to make things worse, not better. If discomfort has ever talked you out of doing something you knew you should do, you won't want to miss this episode.  Follow and subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@BreakingSalesPodcast/videos

Sales professionals can spend enormous energy making sure a prospect understands their value, and it still isn't enough to move the deal. In this episode, Dan and Pam explore why that happens, and why demonstrating value is the wrong focus entirely. A prospect's brain reacts to change the same way it reacts to any perceived threat — and without a reason to think past the present moment, staying where they are will always feel safer than making a change. If you've ever been tempted to lean harder on your value or expertise when a deal started to stall, this episode is for you. Follow and subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@BreakingSalesPodcast/videos

What if the thing holding back your performance isn't a problem with your abilities, but with how you think about the moments you're dreading? The outreach you avoid, the questions you hesitate to ask, the "no" you're bracing for before you pick up the phone — these are all examples of how your brain is wired to focus on what could go wrong instead of what could go right. But there's a skill that can help you change how you think about these situations: cognitive reframing.  In this episode, Dan sits down with Ayelet Fishbach, a motivation scientist at the University of Chicago and author of Get It Done: Surprising Lessons from the Science of Motivation, to discuss why the path to any goal feels the way it does — and how to reframe the setbacks you encounter along the way.  This conversation is relevant to anyone working towards a goal that takes sustained effort over time — particularly salespeople who face regular rejection as part of the job and are looking for better ways to manage it. Follow and subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@BreakingSalesPodcast/videos

Prospects don't enter sales conversations with a blank slate. They bring years of experiences, assumptions, loyalties, and fears that shape how they evaluate every option in front of them. Those biases influence the prospects willingness to change and how they filter your ability to help them change.  In Part Two of their conversation, I and Pam explore why trying to convince someone they're wrong often strengthens the very beliefs you're trying to change. We discuss how, instead, great sales professionals create the kind of conversation that helps prospects examine those beliefs for themselves. If you've ever walked away from a meeting knowing your solution was the better choice—but still lost the opportunity—this episode will help you understand what kind of questions you'll need to ask to help your prospect minimize the impact of negative biases. Follow and subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@BreakingSalesPodcast/videos

You probably don't think of yourself as resistant to change. But when something has worked for you before, it's easy to assume that's the reason for your success — and that habit makes it hard to notice when a different approach might actually work better. In this episode, Dan sits down with cognitive scientist, author, and former professional poker player Annie Duke. Together they explore what's really going on when someone won't let go of an approach that's not serving them — whether that's a sales professional or a prospect — and what it takes to move past it. If you've ever struggled to get a decision-maker to consider something new or held onto a deal that was dead a long time ago, this episode is for you. Follow and subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@BreakingSalesPodcast/videos

The opening minutes of a prospect meeting carry more weight than many sales professionals give them credit for. It can dictate whether you are starting from a position of strength or from behind. From that very first moment forward the prospect is trying to determine one thing: What does this person actually want from me?  The question is - do you want your prospects thinking about where you're trying to take them, or how you will use their answers to advance a sale? Or do you want their energy and effort focused on answering your questions with honesty?  All of this is determined by how you start your conversations.  In this episode, Dan and Pam explore what it actually takes to create the conditions for an honest conversation — including what's required to help prospects examine their biases and challenge their beliefs.  This episode is relevant for anyone who has walked out of a meeting thinking it went fine — and then never heard back. Follow and subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@BreakingSalesPodcast/videos

There is a pattern that often appears in sales organizations: someone isn't performing, and the response is frustration, blame, or eventually, a conversation about whether they still belong on the team. What rarely happens is an honest look at whether that person was ever actually set up to succeed — whether they had the development, environment, and preparation to perform when the stakes were high. In the 200th episode of Breaking Sales, Dan sits down with three-time national championship-winning college football coach Urban Meyer for a conversation about what high performance actually requires. Coach Meyer spent decades putting other people in positions to succeed. His philosophy on what that takes — and what gets in the way — translates directly to how you lead the people around you… and how you think about your own performance. Follow and subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@BreakingSalesPodcast/videos

There's a reason so many smart, capable sales professionals consistently avoid doing the things they know they need to do and taking the risks they know they need to take. It's not laziness, and it's not a lack of motivation.  As it turns out, it's rooted in something far more fundamental about how the human mind works. Roy Baumeister is a decorated social psychologist who has spent decades researching topics like loss aversion, self-control, and the outsized weight of negative experiences. In this episode, Roy joins Dan for a conversation that digs into why it's so tempting to pull back in the moments that matter most — as well as what it takes to start overriding that urge.  If you've ever found yourself consistently avoiding the things you know matter most, this episode is for you. Follow and subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@BreakingSalesPodcast/videos

Plenty of sales professionals will tell you they're committed to their own development. But when you ask them what they're actually doing, how much time they're putting in, or whether it's paying off, the answers are all over the map. In this episode, Dan and Pam explore what real professional development requires — and what separates it from the kind that feels productive but doesn't actually help you improve. They take an honest look at why so many people experience fatigue in the process, and what that fatigue might be telling you when it shows up. This conversation is for anyone who feels fatigue but serious about improving — not just staying busy. Follow and subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@BreakingSalesPodcast/videos

There's a pattern that affects almost every sales professional, regardless of experience level: the conversations that matter most are rarely the ones that bring out your best performance. The higher the stakes, the more you might find yourself hesitating, second-guessing, and holding back — even when you know exactly what needs to be said.   It's easy to chalk this up to nerves. But the reality is that something specific is happening in your brain in those moments — and it has everything to do with where your attention goes when the pressure increases.  In this episode, Dan sits down with social psychologist Mark Leary to discuss how self-awareness and social motivation influence performance when the stakes are high. If you've ever walked out of an important conversation thinking, "I know I could have done better," this episode will give you a clearer understanding of why. Follow and subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@BreakingSalesPodcast/videos

It can be common to not always give much thought to how you're setting yourself up each day. You might have habits, but not a deliberate practice built around how you actually want to perform.  But performing at your best — and achieving a sense of fulfillment when the day is over — doesn't happen by accident. It requires deliberately building the structures and routines that actually support you.  In this episode, Dan and Pam talk through what this looks like for them: the routines they've built, how they structure their weeks, and how they manage the mental pushback that happens during difficult or uncomfortable moments.  If you've ever wondered how you can be more intentional about how you show up each day, this conversation is worth your time. Follow and subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@BreakingSalesPodcast/videos

What does it actually take to build trust in a sales conversation? Not just rapport, but trust — the kind that makes a prospect lean in, open up, and ultimately make a decision?  Dr. Paul Zak is a behavioral neuroscientist, the author of several books, including Trust Factor and Immersion, and one of the world's leading researchers on the science of trust and persuasion.  In this illuminating conversation, Dan and Paul explore what actually drives trust in a high-stakes sales interaction. Listen in to learn why the most likable salespeople may not always close the deal, what's really happening in the brain when a prospect decides whether to trust you or not, and the hidden cost of walking into a conversation focused on a specific outcome. Whether you've been in sales for two years or twenty, the science Paul shares in this episode will challenge assumptions you might not even know you're making. Follow and subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@BreakingSalesPodcast/videos

Ask any underperforming sales professional why they're not doing what they need to do, and you'll eventually hear them say, "My family comes first." Ask a top performer the same question about what drives them, and you'll hear the exact same thing. It all comes down to how one demonstrates it.  In this episode, Dan and Pam explore the uncomfortable reality behind one of the most universal (and most misused) statements in sales. They break down why "family is my priority" means something fundamentally different depending on who's saying it, and what those differences reveal about mindset, discipline, and long-term performance. Their conversation challenges the assumption that present-day sacrifice and future-focused ambition are at odds — and makes the case that the most responsible thing you can do for your family is to stop using them as a reason to avoid the hard work. If the idea that your family is your priority has ever made you feel better about a decision you knew you should have made differently, this episode is for you. Follow and subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@BreakingSalesPodcast/videos