by Mike Brunel | Jul 21, 2026 | Sales
Every salesperson gets ghosted. What you send next decides whether that door stays open.
Here’s the problem.
A prospect goes quiet after showing interest. Most people either chase them with three more follow-ups or give up and disappear.
I can promise you this: neither one works. Both come from the same place. Fear of the answer being no.
Here’s the insight.
The email that gets replies isn’t the one that pushes hardest. It’s the one that removes all the pressure.
Here’s the framework.
Four moves make this work. Each one does a specific job.
Subject line: Sorry.
That alone gets it opened. People are curious what they’re being apologised for.
Take the blame first.
“I can only assume I messed something up along the way.” This isn’t weakness. It builds trust and tells them their vendor puts their interests first.
Name the possible reasons.
“Was the price too high? Confusing presentation? Competing priorities?” A menu is easier to answer than an open question. And naming the objection out loud takes some of the sting out of it.
Detach from the outcome.
“Which is not a problem at all.” You’re not chasing the deal. That single line does more to lower their guard than anything else in the email.
Put it together, and it reads like this.
“Hey [name], looks like you’ve decided to pass on working with us, which is not a problem at all. I can only assume, based on your initial interest, that I messed something up along the way. Sorry about that. Would you be open to sharing some feedback so I can do better next time? Was the price too high? Confusing presentation? Competing priorities? Either way, I know there’s a lot competing for your time and attention. Thanks for the opportunity.”
I’ve used a version of this email for years. Ninety per cent of the time, the answer comes back the same way. “No, no problem, Mike. I liked it. Just not ready yet.”
Here’s the application.
Find one contact who’s gone silent on you right now. Write your version of this email. Sorry subject line. Take the blame. Give them a menu. Let them off the hook completely.
Send it today.
Sales is easy. Salespeople are made.
Mike (Rejection) Brunel
by Mike Brunel | Jul 15, 2026 | Sales
Two Salespeople. Same Company. Very Different Results.
Let me tell you a story about two salespeople.
One is called Victoria. The other is Sam. They work for the same company.
They’ve received the same training, have the same manager, put in similar effort, and complete the same sales activities.
Yet their results couldn’t be more different.
Victoria consistently exceeds her target every month.
Sam works just as hard but always seems to fall short.
So why?
Many Sales Managers assume it’s an attitude or effort problem.
They coach harder.
They send Sam on more training.
They increase activity targets.
But nothing really changes.
Why?
Because the issue isn’t above the surface.
It sits underneath.
It’s not simply about what they’re doing.
It’s about how they’re naturally wired to sell.
Until you understand a salesperson’s natural strengths, blind spots, and coaching needs, you’re often treating the symptoms instead of the cause.
So here’s my question.
How many Sams do you have in your business?
Keep Victoria
More importantly…
What are you doing about it?
Maybe I can help.
I have 2 free spots in my Sales DNA programme every month.
If you want to know more, DM me.
Mike
Sales DNA Coach.
by Mike Brunel | Jul 6, 2026 | Sales
Over the years, I’ve noticed something interesting.
The businesses I enjoy working with most don’t usually have a sales problem.
They have a sales perception problem.
They want more revenue.
They want more opportunities.
They want their people to have better commercial conversations.
But they don’t want to become “salesy.”
You know the stereotype.
The shiny shoes.
The hard close.
The commission breath.
The pushy tactics.
The problem is that many business owners believe the only way to grow revenue is to create more salespeople.
I disagree.
The best businesses I’ve worked with don’t grow by becoming more aggressive.
They grow because they become more commercially confident.
There is a big difference.
Commercial confidence means being comfortable starting conversations.
Being comfortable asking questions.
Being comfortable talking about value.
Being comfortable discussing money.
Being comfortable asking for commitment when the time is right.
Most people already know how to do the technical part of their job.
The challenge is helping them feel comfortable having the commercial conversations that support growth.
That’s one of the reasons I developed Sales DNA.
When performance slows, most organisations immediately jump to training.
More scripts.
More workshops.
More product knowledge.
More sales techniques.
Sometimes the problem isn’t skill.
Sometimes it’s confidence.
Sometimes it’s mindset.
Sometimes it’s natural sales wiring.
Sometimes it’s a lack of structure.
Before we tell people what to do, we need to understand what’s actually getting in the way.
The businesses that get the best results are rarely trying to create a team of salespeople.
They’re trying to create a culture where people are confident enough to create opportunities, build relationships, ask for business, and follow through consistently.
That’s a very different objective.
The goal isn’t to make your team more salesy.
The goal is to make them more commercially confident.
And when that happens, revenue growth tends to follow.
Have a great week selling your stuff.
Mike Brunel
by Mike Brunel | Jun 22, 2026 | Sales, Strategy, Uncategorized
Your sales issue might be a hiring issue, not a training issue.
“We’ve booked them on another course.”
“They just need more confidence.”
“They’ll improve once they know the product.”
Familiar. Logical. Often wrong.
I can talk from experience: many businesses invest heavily in coaching, but see little change in results.
Over the years, I’ve found that the best salespeople usually share three natural qualities: they enjoy prospecting, they’re comfortable asking for commitment, and they don’t let rejection knock them off course.
What we do, though, is chuck a workshop at them, and that’s the training done. Now off you go and get the sales.
With changes in recruitment and AI, use science, good interview questions, and cultural selection.
You owe it to your team.
Let me know if you need this type of salesperson for your team.
Mike
by Mike Brunel | Jun 15, 2026 | Sales
“If we hire good people and train them well, sales performance will improve.”
Training matters. But it can’t replace the underlying Sales DNA that drives consistent results.
In my work, I repeatedly see three traits that separate top performers from everyone else:
- A natural willingness to prospect and start new conversations.
- Comfort in asking for commitment and confidently moving the sale forward.
- The resilience to handle rejection without losing momentum.
When those traits are missing, even the best coaching and sales processes struggle to bridge the gap.
Skills can be taught. Scripts can be learned. Systems can be implemented.
But if the core Sales DNA isn’t there, performance often plateaus well below expectations.
Before investing more in training, ask yourself: Are you developing skills… or trying to compensate for a lack of Sales DNA?
Hire Slowly, fire fast.
Mike
by Mike Brunel | Jun 8, 2026 | Sales
One of the biggest mistakes salespeople make is asking too many questions. For once, shut up!
I know that sounds strange coming from a sales coach. After all, we’ve all been taught that asking questions is important. And it is.
But sometimes the fastest way to discover the truth isn’t by asking a question at all.
It’s by making a statement.
Let me explain.
Recently, I came across an example where someone wanted to find out how much a supermarket employee earned without directly asking. Instead of saying, “How much do you make?” they simply said they had read an article claiming that all employees had received a pay rise to $26 an hour.
The employee immediately replied:
“No, that’s not right. I make $17.”
Mission accomplished.
No awkward question.
No interrogation.
No resistance.
The employee simply corrected the information.
As humans, we have a natural desire to correct things when they are wrong.
In sales, this can be an incredibly powerful way to uncover information and move conversations forward.
I call it “creating space for correction.”
I have always loved allowing space in a sales conversation
Instead of asking:
“Who makes the final decision?”
You might say:
“It sounds like you’re probably the only person involved in approving something like this.”
The response might be:
“Actually, our CEO signs off on anything over $10,000.”
Now you’ve learned something valuable without putting the prospect under pressure.
Instead of asking:
“How urgent is this project?”
You might say:
“My guess is this is probably something you’ll look at next year.”
The prospect responds:
“No, we’d like to have something in place within the next month.”
Again, valuable information.
The beauty of this approach is that it feels conversational rather than confrontational.
One of the core principles from my book Selling is Not Optional is that sales should feel like a conversation, not a cross-examination.
When people feel questioned, they often become defensive.
When people feel heard, they open up.
That’s why some of the best salespeople I have ever worked with don’t sound like salespeople at all.
They sound curious. They make observations. They test assumptions. They allow the prospect to guide them towards the truth.
Here’s another example.
Instead of asking:
“Are you happy with your current supplier?”
Try saying:
“From the outside, it looks like your current supplier is doing a pretty good job.”
You will often hear:
“Well, mostly… but there are a few things we’re frustrated about.”
And now the real conversation begins.
This technique works particularly well when discussing:
- Budget
- Decision making
- Timing
- Current suppliers
- Priorities
- Hidden objections
- Commitment to taking action
The key is not to manipulate.
The key is to genuinely test your assumptions.
You are not trying to trap someone.
You are trying to understand them.
Sometimes the most effective question is not a question at all.
It’s a statement that invites the other person to tell you what’s really true.
Because in sales, the truth is what moves the conversation forward.
And when people feel comfortable correcting you, they often reveal exactly what you needed to know.
Stop selling.
Start helping.
And sometimes, start assuming.
Have a great week selling your stuff.
Mike
