Episodes

A DISC profile test looked my husband in the eye (well, on paper) and told him: you can never be in sales. Too quiet. Too detailed. Too precise. Too introverted. Not the loud, aggressive, "natural" closer type the test was built to reward. He ignored it. Fifteen years later, he's been the top performing salesperson at every single company he's worked for, selling air compressors and steel to engineers and skeptics who smell a slick pitch from a mile away and shut down the second they feel rush...

I've always asked a lot of questions. Sometimes people see it as curiosity. Sometimes they see it as overwhelming. Either way, it turns out that tendency became the foundation of my entire sales personality. In this new episode of Sales is NOT a Dirty Word, I'm continuing my five-part series on the five sales personalities, and this week we're talking about the Inquisitive Educator. These are the people who sell through curiosity, insight, and thoughtful questions rather than charisma or high...

You know the feeling. The conversation flowed effortlessly. You connected. You laughed. You found common ground. By the end, it felt like you were completely aligned. Then you followed up... and never heard from them again. Sound familiar? If it does, there's a good chance you're a Relationship Builder, and the very quality that makes you naturally engaging may also be the thing holding back your sales results. In this new episode of Sales is NOT a Dirty Word, I'm kicking off a brand-new fi...

There’s a point in almost every sales conversation where the energy changes. A prospect hesitates or a concern comes up and most salespeople immediately move into persuasion mode. They reassure, justify and defend. Because they’ve been taught that objections are obstacles to overcome instead of signals to understand. In this episode, I unpack why trying to convince someone out of their concern creates MORE of the very resistance you're trying to avoid. The moment a prospect feels managed in...

Someone asked for a discount and suddenly your entire nervous system lit up. Do you hold the line? Negotiate? Cave? Risk losing the deal? That single moment exposes how most service providers really feel about their pricing and prospects can sense it immediately. In this newest Sales is NOT a Dirty Word episode, I break down one of the most emotionally loaded moments in sales conversations: the request for a discount. Because the way you respond does more than impact revenue. It shapes trust...

There’s a question I hear more than almost any other from business owners: “How should I compensate my salesperson?” It sounds simple. It isn’t. Get it wrong early and you create a situation that’s hard to fix. You either end up with a salesperson negotiating from a position you can’t push back on, or a top performer reconsidering their role after a change to commission. Both are expensive. Both are avoidable. In this latest episode of Sales is NOT a Dirty Word, I break down how to build a co...

Most demos don’t fail because of the product. They fail because no real conversation ever took place. What should be a back-and-forth turns into a walkthrough. Feature after feature, then: “Does that make sense?” “Any questions?” They nod. They say they’re good. And then nothing happens. That’s not clarity. That’s someone being polite while checking out. In this latest episode of the Sales is NOT a Dirty Word, we break down what strong demos do differently and where most reps lose the r...

Most service providers think the goal is to impress the CEO because they’re the decision buyer. However in more complex deals with larger companies, you rarely get the CEO first. You speak with the CMO, the ops lead, the SEO manager, or the HR director. In other words, there is a person standing between you and the final yes. If you approach them the same way you would the CEO, there’s a bigger chance that you will lose the deal. In this episode of Sales Is NOT a Dirty Word, you’ll learn on...

Most people can describe their target audience. Very few can clearly articulate who they are not for. That blind spot is expensive. It shows up as nightmare clients who drain your energy and income more than adding to it. In this episode of Sales Is NOT a Dirty Word, you’ll examine what I call your anti-audience. The patterns, expectations, and behaviors that consistently signal misalignment with your work. This requires discernment. You have to be willing to walk away from revenue that look...

You are in a phase most people do not talk about honestly. Your offer works. People are buying. You are busy enough to feel stretched but not stable enough to feel safe. So the idea of hiring a salesperson or team of them starts to sound like relief. It could be! But it can also create crippling pressure that causes hasty decisions. And there are often many other things that need to happen first before that step. Listen in to discover: Why selling at a higher price requires a different ap...

One of the phrases that can put many on the defense is, “We’re also talking to a few others.” Sometimes it’s said plainly. Other times it’s softened into something like, “We’re still exploring our options.” Either way, it tends to trigger the same reaction: the urge to explain, justify, or subtly compete. You start thinking about how to stand out, how to defend your pricing, how to make sure you’re not the one who gets cut. The trouble is, that instinct almost always works against you. Over-...

Repeat after me - some money is NOT better than no money. In this Sales is NOT a Dirty Word episode, I walk through a real client situation that exposes how easy it is to agree too quickly, stay vague to preserve harmony, or assume clarity will come later. Those small boundary lapses rarely feel urgent in the moment, but over time they erode trust, damage mental health and compromise results. What this conversation keeps returning to is a simple but often resisted truth: boundaries are not pe...

After reviewing hundreds of sales calls, there are phrases people use in sales conversations that quietly sabotage the sale. The intention is usually to be polite. However, on an unconscious level, they erode trust, clarity, and authority. Buyers do not need more politeness. They need clarity. And a confused mind always says no. In this episode of Sales Is Not a Dirty Word, I break down the most common language patterns I hear people unintentionally use on sales calls that make buyers hesitat...

Most people are not bad decision makers. They are just repeating the same decision pattern (without realizing it) and wondering why nothing changes. In this new Sales is NOT a Dirty Word episode, I break down one of the most overlooked responsibilities in highly effective, ethical selling. Helping someone recognize the decision pattern that is keeping them stuck. Not through pressure, information dumping, or manipulation. Instead, it’s about clarity, asking better questions, reflecting behavi...

Most salespeople spend their time perfecting their pitch, memorizing scripts, and thinking about how to close. But here’s the truth: what separates a top performer from someone average in sales is not what you say - it’s what you ask. When you lead with curiosity, you stop guessing. You stop assuming. Instead, you uncover what your prospects really want, what they truly need, and what they mean beneath the surface. In this episode of Sales is Not a Dirty Word, I break down exactly how to lev...

One of the most expensive mistakes founders make happens the moment a salesperson starts performing. Revenue rises. Momentum builds. …and then the first large commission check appears. Instead of celebrating the growth, the owner panics. They see the payout instead of the profit. Here’s the thing: a big commission check is not the problem. It is proof your business is scaling and that’s something to celebrate! If your sales person is making good money - that means you’re making good money....

Everyone is racing to automate sales. Buyers are racing to avoid anything that sounds automated. People are talking about AI in sales like it is the magic solution to every problem. But if you have actually used it, you already know it is far from perfect. In this episode of Sales is Not a Dirty Word, I break down what AI consistently gets wrong in sales, how to use it in a way that drives sales instead of damages them. AI tools are producing cold messages that sound robotic, repeat common er...

Most salespeople are trained to talk, not to truly communicate. We’re told to “use this script,” “say this line,” or “overcome objections” as if we’re robots following a formula. But the reality is that the best salespeople are the ones who understand their prospect the best and LISTEN to them. In this episode of Sales is Not a Dirty Word, I sit down with Shawn Karol Sandy, CRO and seasoned sales expert, to talk about the science of communication and why it changes everything about how we sell...

Let’s be real. Sales onboarding standards are so low they’re non-existent. There are none. In too many companies, new reps are thrown into the deep end and told to “figure it out.” They’re expected to sell a product they barely understand, position it without a strategy, and hit quota within 90 days. It’s not a learning curve. It’s a setup for failure. In this episode of Sales is Not a Dirty Word, I break down why poor onboarding is one of the biggest performance killers in sales teams today, ...

You know that one salesperson who crushes their quota but leaves everyone else walking on eggshells? It happens more often than leaders want to admit. A “rockstar” rep brings in numbers, but the cost is high — low morale, high turnover, and a team that’s quietly burning out. This week on Sales is Not a Dirty Word, I sat down with Randi Deckard, SVP of Growth at Bessler, to talk about what happens when you let toxic high performers run the show, and how to stop letting revenue justify damaging ...

Positioning can make or break your sales strategy — and it’s most business owners are winging it or not doing it at all. In this episode of Sales is Not a Dirty Word, I break down what positioning really means in sales, how to use it in real conversations, and why it’s the biggest factor that determines whether your offer converts or gets ignored. Too many entrepreneurs sell deliverables instead of value. They list what’s included instead of showing what their offer actually does for the clie...

Hiring the right people shouldn’t feel like gambling with your time, money, and peace of mind. Yet for many founders, it often does. The problem isn’t a lack of good talent; it’s the absence of a clear and intentional structure behind the hiring process. Without it, even the most well-meaning entrepreneurs end up hiring reactively instead of strategically. In this episode of Sales is Not a Dirty Word, Aleasha Bahr sits down with Madi Wagonner, founder of Building Remote, to explore what it real...

Most sales teams are still managed the outdated way: fear, cutthroat competition, and impossible quotas. The cost is burnout, turnover (so expensive!) and lost revenue. In this episode of Sales is Not a Dirty Word, Aleasha Bahr exposes the top 3 mistakes sales leaders make when managing teams — and shares what to do instead to build a culture of collaboration, motivation, and long-term growth. You’ll discover: ✔ Why pitting sales reps against each other destroys culture — and how to replace i...

Hiring your first VA shouldn’t feel like trial by fire. Yet for most entrepreneurs, the process is stressful, disappointing, and downright painful. In this episode of Sales is Not a Dirty Word, I sit down with Kris Ward, the creator of the Win the Hour, Win the Day philosophy, to talk about how to finally build a team that supports your business instead of draining it. Kris has helped thousands of entrepreneurs escape the cycle of overwork by teaching them how to hire, onboard, and lead virtua...