Talk to Sales

Video

Ep 1: Show Me You Know Me®

Published: November 9, 2026

---

Share this video:

Read Full Transcript

Sam McKenna: Much of my success in sales came from running discovery calls completely differently than the way the market teaches them. I've broken 13 corporate sales records, and I built a bootstrapped business to more than 300 clients in six years, all without millions in ad spend. A lot of that traces back to these calls—the "first dates," if you will—and knowing that these calls are to solve a challenge, not to sell an offering.

This series is built for you, the manager. Each episode gives you one move you can coach on that can help change the trajectory of the call and unstick the deals you may have that are stalled at 50%. So let's get into it with the very first part of the call. Pay attention to the first few minutes of the call. It's where the rep can demonstrate if they've done their homework and set a different first impression for the buyer.

What I hear most often is one of two things. Either the rep sits in silence until everyone joins. They may even greet somebody by name and say they're waiting for others, and then sit there multitasking, or they reach for questions every buyer has heard a hundred times. "How's the weather?" "Where are you based?" "How long have you worked there?" None of that is harmful, but it also sends a message to the buyer that this rep may be junior or unprepared for the call. Instead, this is our chance to build rapport, warm the call, and engage the audience with "show me you know me"—little tidbits that show we've researched the person and their company.

For a newer rep, this part is genuinely hard. They aren't sure where to find the material, and sometimes it can feel a little invasive to bring something up they've researched in advance. So here's the reframe I give them: picture meeting this person at a conference instead of on Zoom. You'd look up a few things so you had something real to open with, and this is the same thing. A recent post they wrote, a connection to their city, or even what's sitting in their Zoom background. They may have medals, a guitar, or a kid's drawing taped to the wall. That's your way in. Now, I want to pause here so you can watch what happens when a rep uses a generic opener.

Rep: "Hi Paul, thanks for joining. How's the weather over there?"

Buyer: "It's fine. It's a little gray. No complaints."

Rep: "Where are you based again?"

Buyer: "Chicago."

Rep: "Oh. That's awesome. How long have you been at, uh... Parker Gale?"

Ask a question like that, and you get an answer just like that: "Fine. Chicago." Riveting. Nothing I asked was wrong, but it landed like every other call Paul sat through that week. I also learned nothing I couldn't have pulled up in 30 seconds myself beforehand. Now let's rewind and see how preparation changes everything.

Rep: "I think that there's so much that we can talk about that has absolutely nothing to do with the reason that I asked you for this call today, but I have to tell you first: I read your Substack about your dad's dominoes career, which sounds amazing. I saw some of your LinkedIn posts, and even just on the interviewing tips—I just saw that post for how to interview salespeople, which I could talk to you about for an hour."

Buyer: "Yeah, I'm getting warmed up because I actually just interviewed an AE for our team, and I was using some of that just now."

Rep: "Are they getting the job?"

Buyer: "I think they passed the first round. Good enough for the AE."

Rep: "Good for them. Yeah. That's awesome."

Here's why that worked. It was human. It was clearly researched. And it had nothing to do with the reason for the call. I showed up as somebody he hopefully wants to spend an hour with. It also works because the first version is the norm, so buyers brace for it. The second version is so unexpected that it stands out before the real conversation even starts.

One more critical thing: read the room. If your buyer gives short answers and clearly wants to get to the business portion of the call, it's our responsibility to read that and shift gears to the purpose of our call. So when you review the recording, ask yourself one question: did the rep reference something only this buyer would know? If they did, reward them and show how that start changed the demeanor of the call. If they didn't, well, you've just found your first coaching moment.

Sam McKenna broke 13 corporate sales records and built a business serving more than 300 clients. She credits much of that success to running discovery differently from the way most reps are taught.

In this first episode, the founder of #samsales shows you what to coach in the first few minutes of discovery. Watch her work through good and bad role-playing scenarios, then learn what to correct and what to reinforce so your reps create a conversation the buyer wants to have.

What you’ll learn:

• ​Show Me You Know Me®: How to coach reps to use buyer research naturally, even when they’re worried it will feel invasive.
• ​Read the room: How to recognize when rapport is getting the buyer talking and when it’s time to get to business.
• ​What to listen for: How to spot whether your rep’s preparation came through and reinforce what changed the buyer’s response.

Plus, get the free Discovery Call Playbook

Bring all four frameworks into your next call review with The Discovery Call Playbook for Sales Coaches. Get Sam’s talk tracks, common mistakes to listen for, and specific coaching fixes, plus ways to put the frameworks into practice with Salesloft.

Fill out the form to get your copy.

\ \ Ep 4: The Close November 9, 2026

\ \ Ep 3: The Question Behind the Question November 9, 2026

\ \ Ep 2: The Opening Script November 9, 2026

\ \ Ep 1: Show Me You Know Me® November 9, 2026