The Unnatural Acts of Selling: How Top Performers Do What Others Won’t

Dec 4, 2025

In this episode of The Sales Today Podcast I am joined by Gerry Hill - widely regarded as a “pipeline savant” to unpack the uncomfortable truths behind pipeline health, buyer-centricity, conversational skills, and what truly separates top performers from everyone else.

 

Together we explore why good intentions often crumble under commercial pressure, how weak pipelines drive unethical behaviour, and why modern sellers struggle with basic conversational competence.

 

Gerry also shares practical guidance for sellers stuck in a “crushing low,” as well as his thoughts on resilience, generational shifts, and the realities of building a long-term sales career today.

 

Key Topics Covered

• Pipeline & Ethics: Why a healthy pipeline naturally leads to more ethical, confident selling and why scarcity triggers bad decisions.
• Buyer-Centricity Myths: The gap between what companies say about being customer-focused and what actually happens under quota pressure.
• Unnatural Acts of Selling: The uncomfortable tasks elite sellers consistently do (and others avoid) that drive predictable success.
• The Decline of Conversational Skills: How modern communication habits have eroded curiosity and real human interaction in sales.
• Resilience in Today’s Workforce: Generational differences, culture shifts, and why resilience is becoming a defining competency.
• Career Ownership: Gerry’s advice for younger sellers on financial literacy, choosing the right markets, and long-term career strategy.

“Selling is a series of unnatural acts. The people who win are the ones willing to do the uncomfortable things consistently.”

Links and Resources

Connect with Gerry: https://linktr.ee/gerryhill
Phone: [phone]

 

Follow Fred: https://linktr.ee/fredcopestake

 

Take the Collaborative Selling Scorecard https://collaborativeselling.scoreapp.com/

 

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/m9k5LXPqvoY

 

Watch my FREE YouTube Course: Sales Mastery for Engineers: https://bit.ly/Sales-Mastery-For-Engineers