The Sandler Training Hour
Join hosts Jim and Jason Stephens from Crossroads Business Development as they discuss techniques, tactics, and the occasional tangent, associated with the Sandler Selling System and their work as Sandler trainers and coaches. We will publish our old shows as episodes and then move to a serial podcast.
A Sandler Trainer is a salesperson. We lead by example and talk from experience.
Reach out to us: Jason.Stephens@sandler.com
Visit our website: https://go.sandler.com/crossroads/
The Sandler Training Hour
Sales Process: Stamp Collecting, Baggage, and Sales Blowups--Are You Sabotaging Yourself?
In this episode of the Sandler Training Hour, Jim and Jason return to the series on Barriers to Success with two more hidden saboteurs: Stamp Collecting and Excess Baggage. If you've ever blown up at a client, found yourself avoiding confrontation, or felt frozen by your past failures, this one’s for you.
🔥 Barrier #7: Emotional Stamp Collecting
Most people don’t explode at others over just one thing—it’s the 99 things they held in that finally boil over. Jim frames this behavior as emotional stamp collecting:
“We collect stamps... It might be anger, it might be resentment, it might be bitterness. And the straw that breaks the camel’s back is the final one that causes you... to finally blow up.”
But it’s not just you. When your client is the one collecting stamps—especially unspoken disappointments—you’re sitting on a time bomb:
“Your client goes and talks to five people in their world... and when your client comes back, they’re ready to explode on you.”
The fix? Assertive communication now—not emotional catharsis later. Jason urges:
“If you feel it, say it.”
That doesn’t mean dumping emotions without purpose, but rather confronting misalignments early and with intention. Don’t let avoidance today create chaos tomorrow.
🧳 Barrier #8: Unfinished Business (aka Baggage)
Next up, the internal weight you carry—old belief systems, limiting assumptions, or workplace scars. Baggage shows up in passive behavior, over-cautiousness, and unclear boundaries:
“That unfinished business... is often a belief system that keeps you from being assertive, not aggressive.”
In sales, this might look like endlessly checking in, asking for updates, or avoiding the tough conversation because of internal guilt or fear. Jim and Jason describe this state as invisible—not even passive anymore.
Jason warns:
“If you are passive, you have a slow sales cycle... and it’s never in your control.”
Jim follows:
“They’ve swung the pendulum so far that now they’re not even passive—they’re invisible.”
🧠 Mindset Challenge: Audit Your Emotional Ledger
Before you go into another sales meeting, coaching call, or difficult conversation, Jason recommends doing a quick self-inventory:
- What emotional stamps are you collecting?
- Who do you need to clear the air with?
- What baggage are you carrying that is keeping you from being direct, firm, and intentional?
By naming it, you reclaim it.
Reach out to us at Jason.Stephens@sandler.com if you want to connect.