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In this episode, we break down a subtle but important distinction in prospecting strategy: the difference between evergreen outreach and time-sensitive messaging. Jim and Jason explore how consistent, repeatable prospecting efforts (like evergreen campaigns) can build a reliable pipeline over time—while also recognizing when real-world events, market shifts, or internal changes demand a more responsive approach.

We explore metaphors like panning for gold and fishing, showing that successful salespeople know their “cookbook” behaviors and stay consistent—without relying solely on lead flow or waiting for the “right” moment to prospect. Instead, the challenge is to build systems that support steady outreach while leaving space to adapt when opportunities surface. If you’re looking for ways to sharpen your sales presence, apply consistent behaviors, or think more strategically about how you build your week, this conversation will offer both practical and mindset-based takeaways.

The core message: stop treating prospecting as an emergency response—build a system that works whether the river is flowing or not.

🏆 About Crossroads Business Development:

At Crossroads Business Development we are the recipients of the David H. Sandler award for 2021, the highest mark of achievement that the network passes out. We pride ourselves with our dedicated service to the success of our clients and our top-of-the-line training that keeps our clients engaged and coming back for more.

Jim is a dynamic and engaging conference presenter and national speaker, renowned for his impactful presentations at a wide array of sales and industry events. With an impressive twenty-five-year track record in entrepreneurial small business creation, sales, and company management, he brings a wealth of real-world experience. Additionally, Jim has spent two decades honing his expertise through Sandler Sales & Management Training, equipping him with the tools to drive success in any organization. His keen insights and ability to identify and address roadblocks are instrumental in fostering growth and transformation for individuals and companies.
📧 Reach out to Jim at: jim.stephens@sandler.com

Jason worked at the university before joining the team. He brings an analytical perspective to coaching and has several tracks to help with team and personal development. Our clients hire Jason for his systematic approach to help them integrate Sandler into their day-to-day operations. His attention to detail and expertise with our assessment tools help them create behavior-based plans to incorporate more processes and align their goals with the company's goals.
📧 Reach out to Jason at: jason.stephens@sandler.com

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In this episode, Jim and Jason explore the critical role of sales management—not as a title, but as a function—especially for companies transitioning from founder-led sales to team-based selling. If your team is hitting plateaus, missing follow-through, or struggling with inconsistency, the issue might not be your people—it might be the absence of management infrastructure.

They unpack why many salespeople underperform after being hired, how over-attributing outcomes to personality rather than process creates blind spots, and why founders often assume their salespeople will “just figure it out” the way they did.

You’ll hear insights on daily minimums, weekly review rhythms, and the importance of pipeline visibility as early warning signs. The conversation also touches on the dangers of conflating activity with progress—and how subtle feedback loops help teams stay aligned and engaged.

If you’re looking for ways to improve self-awareness and bring more structure to the way your team sells, this episode offers a practical approach to building the habits of sales management, even if you’re still wearing multiple hats.

The core message: Sales management is not optional—it’s a necessary ingredient for consistent growth. You don’t need a VP title to implement it. You just need a system.

🏆 About Crossroads Business Development:

At Crossroads Business Development we are the recipients of the David H. Sandler award for 2021, the highest mark of achievement that the network passes out. We pride ourselves with our dedicated service to the success of our clients and our top-of-the-line training that keeps our clients engaged and coming back for more.

Jim is a dynamic and engaging conference presenter and national speaker, renowned for his impactful presentations at a wide array of sales and industry events. With an impressive twenty-five-year track record in entrepreneurial small business creation, sales, and company management, he brings a wealth of real-world experience. Additionally, Jim has spent two decades honing his expertise through Sandler Sales & Management Training, equipping him with the tools to drive success in any organization. His keen insights and ability to identify and address roadblocks are instrumental in fostering growth and transformation for individuals and companies.
📧 Reach out to Jim at jim.stephens@sandler.com

Jason worked at the university before joining the team. He brings an analytical perspective to coaching and has several tracks to help with team and personal development. Our clients hire Jason for his systematic approach to help them integrate Sandler into their day-to-day operations. His attention to detail and expertise with our assessment tools help them create behavior-based plans to incorporate more processes and align their goals with the company's goals.
📧 Reach out to Jason at jason.stephens@sandler.com

Send us a text

In this episode, Jim and Jason reflect on how sales professionals can embrace change without losing sight of what makes us human. Drawing on decades of experience and recent AI innovations, they explore the real question behind all the hype: What does it actually mean to adapt to technology?

Jim shares how technology has evolved across his career—from pagers and fax machines to AI-powered roleplay coaches—and how resistance to change (like Blockbuster's refusal to buy Netflix) is more than a history lesson; it's a cautionary tale. Jason emphasizes how tools like ChatGPT or Sandler’s own Yoodli Roleplay Coach can help remove “blank page” paralysis, making it easier to build SOPs, brainstorm ideas, and reduce friction in sales processes.

Together, they explore a key attitude question: Are you curious enough to experiment with tools before you’re forced to catch up?

The more commoditized the world becomes, the more valuable strong communicators will be. Use technology as a force multiplier—but never lose the human edge.

🏆 About Crossroads Business Development:

At Crossroads Business Development we are the recipients of the David H. Sandler award for 2021, the highest mark of achievement that the network passes out. We pride ourselves with our dedicated service to the success of our clients and our top-of-the-line training that keeps our clients engaged and coming back for more.

Jim is a dynamic and engaging conference presenter and national speaker, renowned for his impactful presentations at a wide array of sales and industry events. With an impressive twenty-five-year track record in entrepreneurial small business creation, sales, and company management, he brings a wealth of real-world experience. Additionally, Jim has spent two decades honing his expertise through Sandler Sales & Management Training, equipping him with the tools to drive success in any organization. His keen insights and ability to identify and address roadblocks are instrumental in fostering growth and transformation for individuals and companies.
📧 Reach out to Jim at jim.stephens@sandler.com

Jason worked at the university before joining the team. He brings an analytical perspective to coaching and has several tracks to help with team and personal development. Our clients hire Jason for his systematic approach to help them integrate Sandler into their day-to-day operations. His attention to detail and expertise with our assessment tools help them create behavior-based plans to incorporate more processes and align their goals with the company's goals.
📧 Reach out to Jason at jason.stephens@sandler.com

Send us a text

In this episode, Jim and Jason unpack a hidden but critical force that shapes how we sell and how we live: our belief wheel. They walk through a powerful framework that starts with beliefs, shapes our judgments, guides our actions (or inaction), and leads to the results we keep repeating—whether we like them or not.

This episode zooms in on how that internal belief system reacts during periods of uncertainty. What happens when pricing, markets, or the world itself feels unpredictable? And more importantly, how do you respond instead of react?

The key takeaway: If you're feeling uncertain, the solution isn’t to analyze the uncertainty more deeply—it’s to take action. Not wild, ungrounded action—but thoughtful steps that challenge the default scripts running in your head.

If you're looking for ways to explore self-awareness, challenge your mindset around fear and decision-making, and take intentional steps forward even when the path isn't clear, this episode is a timely listen.

🏆 About Crossroads Business Development:

At Crossroads Business Development we are the recipients of the David H. Sandler award for 2021, the highest mark of achievement that the network passes out. We pride ourselves with our dedicated service to the success of our clients and our top-of-the-line training that keeps our clients engaged and coming back for more.

Jim is a dynamic and engaging conference presenter and national speaker, renowned for his impactful presentations at a wide array of sales and industry events. With an impressive twenty-five-year track record in entrepreneurial small business creation, sales, and company management, he brings a wealth of real-world experience. Additionally, Jim has spent two decades honing his expertise through Sandler Sales & Management Training, equipping him with the tools to drive success in any organization. His keen insights and ability to identify and address roadblocks are instrumental in fostering growth and transformation for individuals and companies.
📧 Reach out to Jim at jim.stephens@sandler.com

Jason worked at the university before joining the team. He brings an analytical perspective to coaching and has several tracks to help with team and personal development. Our clients hire Jason for his systematic approach to help them integrate Sandler into their day-to-day operations. His attention to detail and expertise with our assessment tools help them create behavior-based plans to incorporate more processes and align their goals with the company's goals.
📧 Reach out to Jason at jason.stephens@sandler.com

Send us a text

In this episode, we explore a counterintuitive but powerful sales idea: don’t be creative. That doesn’t mean don’t adapt or think—but it does mean stop spending so much time inventing responses on the fly. Jason and Jim walk through the five common responses prospects give—yes, no, maybe, I don’t know, and I’m not comfortable telling you—and explain how building a repeatable system for handling them is a smarter strategy than winging it every time.

We discuss the difference between rigid scripts and flexible talk tracks, and why the best sellers come across as authentic because they’re practiced—not because they’re improvising. There’s also a helpful analogy to acting: great actors follow a script but make it sound natural. If you’re looking for ways to improve your presence, sharpen your self-awareness, or build consistency in the way you run calls, this episode gives you the framework to start acting with more intentionality and less guesswork.

The core message: trust your process, test it thoroughly, and stop trying to prove it wrong before you’ve even given it a chance to work.

🏆 About Crossroads Business Development:

At Crossroads Business Development we are the recipients of the David H. Sandler award for 2021, the highest mark of achievement that the network passes out. We pride ourselves with our dedicated service to the success of our clients and our top-of-the-line training that keeps our clients engaged and coming back for more.

Jim is a dynamic and engaging conference presenter and national speaker, renowned for his impactful presentations at a wide array of sales and industry events. With an impressive twenty-five-year track record in entrepreneurial small business creation, sales, and company management, he brings a wealth of real-world experience. Additionally, Jim has spent two decades honing his expertise through Sandler Sales & Management Training, equipping him with the tools to drive success in any organization. His keen insights and ability to identify and address roadblocks are instrumental in fostering growth and transformation for individuals and companies.
📧 Reach out to Jim at jim.stephens@sandler.com

Jason worked at the university before joining the team. He brings an analytical perspective to coaching and has several tracks to help with team and personal development. Our clients hire Jason for his systematic approach to help them integrate Sandler into their day-to-day operations. His attention to detail and expertise with our assessment tools help them create behavior-based plans to incorporate more processes and align their goals with the company's goals.
📧 Reach out to Jason at jason.stephens@sandler.com

Send us a text

Every salesperson runs on scripts—internalized beliefs and stories about money, people, and success. In this episode, Jim and Jason shine a light on two critical scripts that silently derail performance:

• Money Tolerance: Your internal beliefs about what you can afford often cap what you believe others should pay. If you're uncomfortable with large numbers, you’ll unconsciously soften your ask.
• “You’ll never ask someone to spend more than what you’re comfortable spending yourself.”
• Mental Presence: Your ability to stay emotionally engaged in a sales conversation often depends on how quiet—or loud—your internal script is. When you’re in your head, you’re not in the room.
• “Presence isn’t just listening—it’s freedom from the noise in your own head.”

These attitudes aren’t fixed traits; they’re rewritable. When you change the script, you change your performance.

🏆 About Crossroads Business Development:

At Crossroads Business Development we are the recipients of the David H. Sandler award for 2021, the highest mark of achievement that the network passes out. We pride ourselves with our dedicated service to the success of our clients and our top-of-the-line training that keeps our clients engaged and coming back for more.

Jim is a dynamic and engaging conference presenter and national speaker, renowned for his impactful presentations at a wide array of sales and industry events. With an impressive twenty-five-year track record in entrepreneurial small business creation, sales, and company management, he brings a wealth of real-world experience. Additionally, Jim has spent two decades honing his expertise through Sandler Sales & Management Training, equipping him with the tools to drive success in any organization. His keen insights and ability to identify and address roadblocks are instrumental in fostering growth and transformation for individuals and companies.
📧 Reach out to Jim at jim.stephens@sandler.com

Jason worked at the university before joining the team. He brings an analytical perspective to coaching and has several tracks to help with team and personal development. Our clients hire Jason for his systematic approach to help them integrate Sandler into their day-to-day operations. His attention to detail and expertise with our assessment tools help them create behavior-based plans to incorporate more processes and align their goals with the company's goals.
📧 Reach out to Jason at jason.stephens@sandler.com

Send us a text

In this episode, Jason and Jim explore how time management is less about controlling your schedule and more about understanding your personal priorities and the emotional and financial costs of misalignment. They introduce the concept of “Pain by Numbers”—a strategy for quantifying the cost of inaction and bad habits in your daily behaviors.

Key topics include:

• Why most people float in default mode and how that drains productivity and energy.
• How to conduct a time audit to identify your true behavior vs. your stated goals.
• What it means to quantify emotional impact, not just financial ROI.
• Why small daily decisions compound, and how to measure their long-term cost.
• The difference between using pain/shame vs. gain/opportunity as motivational fuel.

Jim shares the humbling story of trying to “optimize every minute” with a personal mantra—only to end up emotionally wrecked from the pressure. Jason ties in a powerful Faulkner quote, "I give it to you not that you may remember time, but that you might forget it now and then for a moment and not spend all your breath trying to conquer it. Because no battle is ever won he said. They are not even fought. The field only reveals to man his own folly and despair, and victory is an illusion of philosophers and fools." about forgetting time to live in the moment, flipping the script on traditional time management advice.

🏆 About Crossroads Business Development:

At Crossroads Business Development we are the recipients of the David H. Sandler award for 2021, the highest mark of achievement that the network passes out. We pride ourselves with our dedicated service to the success of our clients and our top-of-the-line training that keeps our clients engaged and coming back for more.

Jim is a dynamic and engaging conference presenter and national speaker, renowned for his impactful presentations at a wide array of sales and industry events. With an impressive twenty-five-year track record in entrepreneurial small business creation, sales, and company management, he brings a wealth of real-world experience. Additionally, Jim has spent two decades honing his expertise through Sandler Sales & Management Training, equipping him with the tools to drive success in any organization. His keen insights and ability to identify and address roadblocks are instrumental in fostering growth and transformation for individuals and companies.
📧 Reach out to Jim at jim.stephens@sandler.com

Jason worked at the university before joining the team. He brings an analytical perspective to coaching and has several tracks to help with team and personal development. Our clients hire Jason for his systematic approach to help them integrate Sandler into their day-to-day operations. His attention to detail and expertise with our assessment tools help them create behavior-based plans to incorporate more processes and align their goals with the company's goals.
📧 Reach out to Jason at jason.stephens@sandler.com

Send us a text

In this episode of the Sandler Training Hour, Jim and Jason dive into what makes great sales managers thrive—and why many sales leaders fall into a trap of being reactive instead of intentional. The conversation kicks off with a core question: "What’s the role of a sales manager—really?" and quickly gets into tactical and philosophical ground.

Jason shares that many managers default to "reactive management", where coaching happens only in response to problems. He says, “We have to change the cadence—we wait until people screw up before we coach them.” Jim adds that proactive coaching starts with clarity: “You’ve got to know the expectations and you’ve got to track the behaviors that get there.”

The episode highlights a key coaching trap: Managers spending too much time in the trenches doing the work for others. Jason reflects, “You can’t grow your team if you’re constantly rescuing them.” Instead, managers should measure success not just by results, but by how many people on their team improve each month.

Great sales management requires true leadership that comes from a manager’s ability to build capacity in others, not from being the smartest person in the room. Coaching is not about answering questions—it’s about asking the right questions.

As Jim puts it, “Great managers create space for their team to grow, reflect, and own their outcomes.”

At Crossroads Business Development we are the recipients of the David H. Sandler award for 2021, the highest mark of achievement that the network passes out. We pride ourselves with our dedicated service to the success of our clients and our top-of-the-line training that keeps our clients engaged and coming back for more.

Jim is a dynamic and engaging conference presenter and national speaker, renowned for his impactful presentations at a wide array of sales and industry events. With an impressive twenty-five-year track record in entrepreneurial small business creation, sales, and company management, he brings a wealth of real-world experience. Additionally, Jim has spent two decades honing his expertise through Sandler Sales & Management Training, equipping him with the tools to drive success in any organization. His keen insights and ability to identify and address roadblocks are instrumental in fostering growth and transformation for individuals and companies.

📧 Reach out to Jim at jim.stephens@sandler.com

Jason worked at the university before joining the team. He brings an analytical perspective to coaching and has several tracks to help with team and personal development. Our clients hire Jason for his systematic approach to help them integrate Sandler into their day-to-day operations. His attention to detail and expertise with our assessment tools help them create behavior-based plans to incorporate more processes and align their goals with the company's goals.

📧 Reach out to Jason at jason.stephens@sandler.com