Sales Success Is Human Connection + Persistence
Two examples from real companies I’ve worked with in 2026.
Example 1: A client’s business was stalled, and we determined the company needed to bring in a sales leader.
This person was in a tough situation, and they knew it. The company sells 7-figure deals to major brands, and they hadn’t closed a significant deal in a year.
“Okay,” she said. “Got it.”
For the first 90 days, we watched and waited.
She told us she was filling the pipeline. The potential for deals was big. But frankly, this is what sales leaders always say. About half the time it’s complete BS.
Her first quarter on the job, she sold nothing.
The second quarter, she sold over $20 million.
This was a follow-up conversation I wanted to have ASAP.
I asked her for her entire methodology. As in, what exactly did she do to get those results.
Here’s what she told me:
“Eric, nothing works anymore. The only thing I can get to work is phone calls. I have a database of thousands of contacts, and my team makes 2,000 phone calls a week.”
Is that effective?
“Well, they usually don’t answer. But 2 out of 100 times, they pick up.”
2,000 phone calls. 20 connections per week, which results in 5 meetings per week.
And at 5 meetings per week, the company hits their sales targets.
It runs like clockwork.
We don’t always think about the lowest common denominator.
Why do something when 98/100 times it doesn’t work?
Because 2 out of 100 times, it does.
***
I was speaking with a partner at a PE firm—we work with several of their portfolio companies.
They’d recently invested in a new company, a licensing business for medical offices to ensure the content they use in their practices is copyright compliant.
I asked the partner, what made you invest?
He told me that not only is it an extremely profitable business model, but that the company has a very underleveraged position in the market.
“We believe they can saturate the market globally,” he said.
How are you going to do that?
“Send reps to the offices. Make phone calls. Physical mail.”
Did I mention this is a guy who buys and sells billion dollar tech companies?
***
I’m a big believer in digital presence. I use the internet all day every day, just like you. I’m betting AI will make us better, stronger, smarter, and faster.
But none of that necessarily solves the problem of sales. Because in sales, the problem you’re solving is being able to effectively communicate with another human being.
To do that, you might not need an overengineered digital GTM plan. You might need to pick up the phone, go to the tradeshow, or hit the networking event.
It’s basic but difficult, which I’ve talked about plenty of times before.
I keep coming back to it because I don’t see enough entrepreneurs buying in.
They’re still looking for the silver bullets. They’re still avoiding the difficult, unscalable work.
When the world gets crowded and noisy—just look at your inbox or your LinkedIn feed, people retreat back to the basics.
Master the basics, and you will win.
