Josh Braun

After dinner waiters typically try to sell me desert by saying “Would you like dessert?”

I always say no.

But that’s not what happened at True Food Kitchen in Boca Raton, Fl.

Here’s what the server said instead:
“Do you hate pie?”

That killer line made me smile.

Chris Voss calls this a “no-orientated” question.

Here’s Voss:
“People feel anxious when they sense you are seeking a yes. People feel safe and secure when they say no.”

Me: “Who hates pie -:)”

Server: “We’re going to get along just fine. So I’ve served a lot of pies. But our squash pie is so amazing that I fight over it with my girlfriend. There’s never a crumb left. If you’d like I can see if we have any slices left.”

Sold.

My wife and I fought over the pie too. And I don’t like squash.

Selling is a transfer of confidence.

Some of the best salespeople are servers.

Cold call mantra.

Cold calling tip.

Seller: “You’re probably going to hate me because this is a cold call. Do you want to hang up or roll the dice?”

Prospect: “I’m not interested. Don’t call me ever again!”

What do you say?

If you’ve been taught to handle objections, you might try something like:

“No problem. I just need to ask a couple of quick questions so I can prove to my boss that I tried. How many salespeople do you have?”

The problem?

No one cares what you have to prove to your boss.

Whenever prospects feel pressure, they enter the Zone of Resistance.

Nobody wants to be bulldozed over.

Autonomy is a basic human need.

Same mindset.
Same results.

Try this instead:

Prospect: “I’m not interested. Don’t call me ever again!”

Seller: “Okay.”

Then hang up.

I mean, how often do you get to hang up first?

And then call someone else.

There are plenty of people who won’t say that.

Bonus - Now you know who not to spend time with.

It’s about an abundance mindset, not a scarcity one.

Your job isn’t to talk everyone into a conversation. It’s to find people who are open to talking.

No begging.
No pushing.
No convincing.

Different mindset.
Different results.

26 Redundant words to cut from your cold emails and what to use instead.

1. As per -> per
2. A big boost -> boost
3. I was on your LinkedIn and noticed ->Noticed
4. Saw you’re a digital editor -> editor
5.Many creators we work with -> creators
6. 360-degree view -> 360 view. Or even better, “See everything in one place.”
7. Small tweaks -> tweaks
8. Top quality reps -> top reps
9. ACME is able to -> ACME can
10. The reason why is because -> because
11. Is this worth exploring? -> Worth exploring?
12. A lot of -> many
13. In order to -> to
14. I’m following up to see how the conversation with Pete went. ->How’d it go with Pete?
15. At the present time -> now
16. In the near future -> soon
17. I wanted to reach out ->(Cut. Get to it.)
18. Major breakthrough -> No, it’s not. Cut.
19. We’re on the cutting edge of X-> No you’re not. Cut.
20. Bleeding edge -> Nope, you’re not bleeding edge either. WTF does that even mean? Cut.
21. We’re the best -> Of course you’re the best, you’re biased. You have commission breath. Cut.
22. I’m just following up on the demo we had scheduled for Wednesday at 2 pm. Would you like to reschedule? ->Deferring the demo?
23. 100% payout accuracy ->Nothing is perfect. Doesn’t feel believable. 97% payout accuracy.
24. Companies like ACME and BETA -> ACME & BETA.
25. 60X faster to calculate commissions -> Compared to what? And why is the number always even? Calculate commissions in 5 minutes instead of 5 hours.

Why does cutting the fluff matter?

If you cut unnecessary words, prospects are more likely to read them.

Writing concisely is a sales superpower.

Write with an eraser.

18 cold call openers that lower the zone of resistance.
What's your go-to opening line?

iOS 26 just made cold calling better.

Not worse. Better.

With Apple’s new Call Screening feature, unknown callers get screened by a voice assistant.

You read the transcript of what they say before you decide to answer.

At first glance, that sounds like a nightmare for sellers.

But think about it.

No more:
“Who is this?”
“Not interested.”
Click.

Now you get a chance to spark curiosity in writing before the call even begins.

That’s not a barrier.

It’s a window.

Because if you can’t get someone to lean in with your first line why would they stay on the phone anyway?

This rewards clarity.
It rewards relevance.
It rewards empathy.

Cold calls aren’t dead.
They’re just evolving.

So here’s the question, what would you say if your opener had to pass a transcript test first?

There’s a group of six guys I workout with at the gym.

Five of them are loud. They talk over each other. Each time it gets even louder. Their talk to listen ratio is 4:1.

One is more reserved and calm. He’s silent most of the time.

When he speaks everyone gets quiet and listens. You can hear a pin drop. People are drawn to him. His talk to listen ratio is 1:4.

There’s a good lesson here.

There's a myth in sales that you need to be an extrovert to succeed. Nothing wrong with being an extrovert, however, it's not required.

Being reserved, mysterious, having a 1:4 talk to listen ratio, and maintaining a level of calm, draws people in.

Everyone has the hunger to be heard.

Listening is a sales superpower.

When someone says, “Just tell me the price.“

❌ Don't say this:
“The last thing either of us wants is to get an inaccurate price, so would you be open to scheduling a 45-minute call where we nail down the use case, and then I can give you an accurate price that most closely resembles your current needs?'

✅ Say this:
“45-65k depending on the quality you want.“

Then silence. 

My take?

When a prospect says, “Just tell me the price,“ tell them the price, even if it's a range. Then zip it -:).

If you talk after providing the price, you're justifying. Price doesn't need to be justified. Price just is.

Salespeople don't determine value; buyers do. And buyers can't determine value without knowing the price. 

What do you think?

Are there situations where salespeople should defer giving the price when prospects ask for the price?

When I was younger in sales, I’d get on a plane and go meet people.

One time I flew to Disney to meet a decision maker named Jill.

She walked into the room wearing these loud yellow boots.

First words out of my mouth?

“Those boots.”

She twirled and said, “Aren’t they fabulous?”

I said, “Not as fabulous as my socks.”

Then I showed her my loud socks.

That became our thing.

Every so often, she’d send me a pair.

That turned into a 6 figure/yr deal

Today?

We sit behind screens.
We use Claude to build automated sequences.

“Loved your post…”
“Noticed you’re hiring…”

But there’s no boots.
No socks.
No moment.

Just a barrage of messages.

And messages don’t build relationships.
Moments do.

Claude can write a sentence.

It can’t create a memory.

I can’t use an em dash anymore.

This is very upsetting for me.

I used to love the em dash.

It was my little writing friend.
A pause with flair.
A comma that went to finishing school.

A way to say, “I have one more thought.
And yes, it deserves its own tiny runway.”

Then AI came along and ruined everything.

Now if I use an em dash, someone immediately puts on reading glasses they don’t need and says:

“Hmm. ChatGPT.”

Now I have to write like I’m hiding contraband.

I’ll type a sentence, reach for the em dash, and freeze.

Can I use it?
Will people know it’s me?

Should I replace it with a comma like some kind of coward?

This is where we are now.

A grown man afraid of punctuation.

The robots took our jobs.

Now they’re taking our pauses.

This is how civilization ends.

Not with a bang.

With a comma I didn’t want to use.

My mom has a few days left to live.

I didn’t see this until now.

She wasn’t “my mom” the way I’ve held her in my head all these years.

She was a person.

A person doing the best she could
with what she was given
with what she knew
with what she didn’t choose.

She was a continuation
of what she experienced
of what was handed to her
of what shaped her long before I existed.

Pain.
Grief.
Loss.
Fear.
Joy.
Love.

No instruction manual.
No rehearsal.

Just trying to get through the day
and hoping she didn’t mess it up too badly.

I used to think my mom was ahead of me. That she wasn’t winging it.

I was wrong.

My mom was living life for the first time too.
Just like me.

Things salespeople say that make buyers trust them less.

1. “I would love to…”

“I would love to show you.”
“I would love to connect.”
“I would love to earn your business.”

Of course you would.

You want the sale.

The buyer knows that.

Try making it about them instead:

“Would it be useful to see how other teams are handling this?”

2. “Sorry to bother you.”

This puts you one down before the conversation even starts.

You’re not a raccoon knocking over their trash cans at midnight.

You’re a professional reaching out because you may have something relevant.

Be respectful.

Not apologetic.

Try:

“I know you weren’t expecting my call.”

That acknowledges the interruption without shrinking.

3. “Does that make sense?”

This sounds harmless.

But it can make the buyer feel like they’re being tested.

Like if they don’t understand, that’s on them.

Try:

“How does that sound?”

Or:

“What are your thoughts on that?”

4. “Just following up on the proposal.”

Translation:

“When will you sign? I need to update my opportunity.”

Buyers can smell commission breath through a screen.

Try naming what might actually be happening:

“Have we hit a snag with procurement?”

Then detach.

The words you use matter.

Because buyers aren’t just listening to what you say.

They’re listening for what your words reveal.
Things salespeople say that make buyers trust them less.

1. “I would love to…”

“I would love to show you.”
“I would love to connect.”
“I would love to earn your business.”

Of course you would.

You want the sale.

The buyer knows that.

Try making it about them instead:

“Would it be useful to see how other teams are handling this?”

2. “Sorry to bother you.”

This puts you one down before the conversation even starts.

You’re not a raccoon knocking over their trash cans at midnight.

You’re a professional reaching out because you may have something relevant.

Be respectful.

Not apologetic.

Try:

“I know you weren’t expecting my call.”

That acknowledges the interruption without shrinking.

3. “Does that make sense?”

This sounds harmless.

But it can make the buyer feel like they’re being tested.

Like if they don’t understand, that’s on them.

Try:

“How does that sound?”

Or:

“What are your thoughts on that?”

4. “Just following up on the proposal.”

Translation:

“When will you sign? I need to update my opportunity.”

Buyers can smell commission breath through a screen.

Try naming what might actually be happening:

“Have we hit a snag with procurement?”

Then detach.

The words you use matter.

Because buyers aren’t just listening to what you say.

They’re listening for what your words reveal.

Here are my 10 rules that make selling more joyful.

1. Have no expectations.

Your grass fed beef is for some people, but it’s not for everyone. It’s not your job to talk vegans into being meat eaters. Find meat eaters. There are lots of them.

2. Let it go.

Don’t let a mistake ruin your day. Each day has four quarters: morning, mid-morning, afternoon, and evening. Messed up in Q1? That’s okay, kick rocks for 5 minutes. Then do better in Q2. Everyone is under construction.

3. Detach from the outcome.

Tune out what you don’t control. Focusing on things you don’t control is a recipe for being angry and pissed off all the time. You don’t control when or if people buy. Fruit doesn’t grow faster because it’s the end of the quarter.

4. Be honest all the time.

If you’re honest sometimes, you’re not honest all the time. Integrity is at the heart of selling.

5. Be patient.

Most people don’t fail at selling. They’re just not patient enough. It takes three years of deliberate practice to master any money making skill.

6. Don’t compare yourself to others.

The only rep you should try to beat is the rep you were yesterday.

7. Everything’s going to be okay. Sales and life have ups and downs. Neither last forever. Time heals all downs.

8. Ditch the pitch.

Whenever prospects feel sales pressure, they enter the Zone of Resistance. Instead, illuminate problems prospects might not be aware of and let them make up their own mind. In other words, poke the bear.

9. Slow down.

Read the email twice before sending it. Rushing = careless mistakes.

10. Rewire your brain to listen.

People don’t buy because they understand you. They buy because you understand them.

Knowing how to make people feel heard and understood is a superpower for getting through to anyone in your personal or business life.

What’s a rule that makes selling more joyful for you?

I’m at the airport.

The person sitting next to me is on hold.

Speakerphone.
Volume up.

So now I’m on hold too.

I don’t know who we’re calling.
I don’t know what we need.
I don’t know how long we’ve been waiting.

Apparenrly we’re in this together.

Listening to the same 14 seconds of jazz for the ninth time.

Every 30 seconds a pleasant voice tells us:

“Your call is very important to us.”

I’m starting to feel like it is.

At this point, when someone finally answers, I’d like to be included in the conversation.

I’ve invested too much to walk away now.

I was asked to discount my workshop by 20%.

Here’s exactly what I said. Calm. Chill.

“You have a budget constraint.”

Then I stopped talking.

That pause matters.

Silence is where people reveal what’s actually true.

The prospect came back with:
“It’s in the budget… we were just hoping for a discount.”

That sentence tells you everything.

It wasn’t a money problem.
It was a permission problem.
They were testing whether price was firm or flexible.
Whether I would negotiate with myself.

So I didn’t defend the price.
I didn’t justify the ROI.
I didn’t counter with a smaller concession.

I just said:
“That’s not going to work for me.”

No explanation.
No apology.

Not explaining or conceding keeps the burden of justification with them

The moment you explain, you signal doubt.

A few days later, the deal closed.
Full price.

Nothing persuades like not needing to.

When did a walk stop being a walk?

Somewhere along the way my walk became 10,000 steps.
Rowing became watts.
Playing guitar became memorizing the fretboard.
Stretching became crow pose.

Everything turns into a self-improvement project.

It’s the opposite of how nature works.

A tree isn’t trying to improve its VO₂ max.
A river isn’t optimizing its flow rate.
A bird isn’t practicing its sounds.

And yet we carry this pressure:

If I’m not improving…
If I’m not progressing…
If I’m not getting better…

Something must be wrong.

But maybe nothing is wrong.

Maybe the walk is just a walk.
Maybe the guitar is just noodling.
Maybe stretching is just your body saying hello.

Maybe life isn’t a ladder.
Maybe it’s a place.

Never handle an objection.

Why?

People don’t like being handled.

Handling sounds like this:

“Can you send me an email?”

“I’m happy to send information, but it all comes attached to me. Let’s schedule 15 minutes later this week. Do you have your calendar handy?”

When you handle objections you’re subconsciously saying:

“I’m right.
You’re wrong.
And I need to move you where I want you to go.”

Instead of handling, try understanding.

Understanding sounds like this:

“Can you send me an email?”

“Sure. Is your email address X?”

“It is.”

“So I don’t do you a disservice by sending irrelevant info, do you mind if I ask you a couple specifics about how you’re currently scheduling after-hours service calls?”

“Sure.”

Same conversation.

Different intent.

One creates resistance.
The other creates safety.

People don’t open up when they feel pushed.

They open up when they feel heard.

Sales tip.

Trust your gut.
When something feels off, it usually is.

If you feel it, say it.

Like this:

“You seem intrigued.”
“You look like you’re connecting some dots.”
“You paused what’s on your mind?”
“You smiled when I said that. What landed?”
“Sounds like this is hitting close to home.”
“You seem a little skeptical.”
“You’re nodding, but frowning a bit. What’s behind that?”
“You thought the price was going to have one less zero.”
“You’re not sure how to sell this internally.”

If you’re right people will confirm.
If you’re wrong, they’ll correct you.
Either way you uncover more truth.

No truth, no trust.
No trust, no transaction.