Three Ways To Increasing Velocity & Getting Cold Deals Unstuck

April 6, 2026·35 min·2 clips

Karen Kelly reveals that 95% of a salesperson's daily thoughts are negative — and they're projecting that onto every prospect.

Velocity begins before the call. The guest asks sellers to look at their own energy first, especially when a rough quarter starts leaking into the next conversation. Mindset is not decoration here. She points to repeated negative thoughts as the reason some sellers arrive discouraged before a prospect has even heard them. The fix starts small. Before opening their mouth, sellers need to notice how they are showing up and whether they are only checking boxes. Donald catches the coaching and repeats the link between words, belief, and action as something sellers can actually use. Then he makes it personal. His James Bond aside shows how fast a story in your head can become behavior you try in real life. The sales point stays clear. If sellers keep telling themselves Q2 will look like a bad Q1, that belief can shape how they treat leads and stalled pipeline. Compliance is not enough. The guest separates making calls from bringing real value to selling. Donald keeps the conversation warm by agreeing, taking notes aloud, and using his confidence story to make the lesson feel lived-in. The close comes back to basics. Sellers are nudged to revisit what they already know, reconnect with what works with prospects, and use one concrete idea right away. Better velocity starts with better thinking before anyone tries to push the pipeline forward.

As heard by us

A sales coaching reset for cold deals, centered on mindset, cleaner re-engagement, and one applied change.

The Sales Evangelist frames stalled deals as a seller controllable problem before it becomes a pipeline problem. Donald C. Kelly and his guest focus on how reps show up: the clarity of their thoughts, the energy they bring into calls, and the negative loops that can make a rough…

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

When your pipeline feels stuck and your own mindset is the bottleneck.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from The Sales Evangelist