This year brought constant change to the sales profession and to Mental Selling itself. Throughout 2025, communication, purpose, and culture stood out as the forces that set strong teams apart. The year also marked a new chapter for the podcast, with Hayley Parr stepping into the host role and building on the foundation established by those who helped shape the show from the start. In this year-end reflection, Hayley looks back on the conversations that defined Mental Selling in 2025 and the lessons that continue to resonate.
Throughout this year, sales leaders, industry experts, practitioners, and coaches shared their perspectives on what drives meaningful performance. This special end of year recap episode looks back on some of the key themes that emerged in 2025, including: how storytelling and clarity build trust and connection, why purpose fuels resilience in high-pressure environments, and how training, coaching, and culture support long-term success.
Together, these insights show how sales professionals strengthened communication, stayed grounded in purpose, and built teams that perform over time.
In this episode, you’ll revisit some of these key podcast themes that emerged in 2025:
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(00:00) The year in review
(01:58) Theme 1: Communication as a Competitive Advantage
(05:37) Theme 2: Purpose-Driven Performance in a Chaotic Market
(10:57) Theme 3: Training, Coaching, and Culture as the Engine of Sales Success
(17:027) Key lessons and takeaways for the future
Revenue Operations is one of the most strategic drivers of growth, even if many organizations only notice it when something breaks.
Jess Rose, the newly hired Director of Revenue Operations at Integrity Solutions, joins Mental Selling to emphasize a discipline that many organizations undervalue but rely on every single day. In her first weeks with the company, she is already bringing clarity to the systems, processes, and decisions that fuel predictable performance. Jess explains why Rev Ops is the connective tissue across sales, marketing, and customer success, and why clean data, transparent processes, and human-centered systems create the conditions for scalable growth.
She shares lessons from her career leading operational strategy, including how minor workflow adjustments can create meaningful lift, why sellers need clarity rather than more noise, and how human habits can either strengthen or derail even the best-designed systems. Listeners will gain a grounded view of how Rev Ops strengthens alignment, improves decision-making, and creates the conditions for consistent, confident performance.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
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Jump into the conversation:
(00:00) Meet Jess Rose
(02:31) What revenue operations really means
(04:42) Jess’s path into Rev Ops
(06:39) Misconceptions that hold teams back
(08:40) Why data hygiene influences revenue health
(11:37) Simple fixes that create measurable impact to the bottom line
(16:21) The human habits behind operational success
(22:01) Building trust across sales, marketing, and customer success
Strong sales training is built on clarity, consistency, and purpose. When those foundations slip, even well-designed programs struggle to gain traction. This special episode takes listeners inside the webinar Pivots & Pitfalls: 5 Sales Training Traps Holding You Back, featuring Shawn Young, Senior Director of Global Training and Education at AtriCure. He shares the real pitfalls that hold sales teams back and the practical ways leaders can avoid them.
With more than 20 years of experience in medical device sales, Shawn has coached teams through constant innovation, shifting priorities, and uncertain markets. He explains why momentum fades when strategy and execution drift apart, how frequent new initiatives weaken credibility, and why a values-driven approach strengthens confidence in high-pressure environments. His examples bring to life what it looks like when training is aligned with culture and when it silently falls off course.
Host Hayley Parr highlights moments that reveal how preparation, mindset, and ongoing reinforcement help training take root in meaningful, lasting ways.
To catch the full webinar, visit: https://www.integritysolutions.com/resources/webinar/pivots-and-pitfalls-5-sales-training-traps-holding-you-back/
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Resources:
Jump into the conversation:
(00:00) Meet Shawn Young
(01:14) Why sales training loses momentum without precise alignment
(03:52) The hidden impact of the “What’s new?” mindset on strategy
(06:26) Understanding the flavor of the month syndrome in sales teams
(09:10) Why consistency builds trust and long-term adoption
(11:53) How values and mission stabilize teams in uncertain markets
(14:19) Training through education rather than product pitching
(17:51) Preparation as the foundation for confident performance
Sales success starts with clarity. In a world that never slows down, clarity becomes an anchor, the difference between teams that survive the whirlwind and those that rise above it.
This episode takes a different format, as we recap our recent webinar, Winning in the Whirlwind: A New Playbook for High Performing Sales Teams, where host Hayley Parr pulls together the most powerful moments and insights from David Hammond, Senior Director of Sales at Epicor, and a veteran of more than two decades leading go-to-market teams. He shares what it takes to lead with purpose in an era defined by change. David explores why today’s biggest challenges, including ambiguity, pressure, and constant transformation, stem not from productivity issues but from a lack of clarity.
From rethinking how we measure success to empowering the next generation of sellers, David outlines a future where culture is the actual growth engine. When leaders create space for presence, transparency, and human connection, sales teams don’t just do more with less; they find meaning in the work itself.
At its core, this conversation is a reminder: the best sales organizations don’t fight the whirlwind. They find clarity within it and turn purpose into performance.
To catch the full webinar, visit: https://www.integritysolutions.com/resources/webinar/winning-in-the-whirlwind-a-new-playbook-for-high-performing-sales-teams/
In this episode, you’ll learn:
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Jump into the conversation:
(00:00) Intro
(01:11) The whirlwind reality of today’s sales market
(04:32) Finding clarity and purpose amid constant change
(06:15) Turning pressure into purpose-driven performance
(08:23) The hidden costs of indecision and fear in sales teams
(11:22) Building courageous vulnerability and psychological safety
(12:43) Empowering the next generation of sellers through connection
(14:59) Culture, clarity, and purpose as the foundation for growth
Integrity, empathy, and authenticity are the foundation of meaningful sales leadership, and this October, Mental Selling celebrates Women In Sales Month with two leaders who embody those values every day.
In this episode, Donna Horrigan and Patty Gaddis, seasoned sales leaders at Integrity Solutions, share how their defining moments shaped not only their careers but their approach to leadership, mentorship, and purpose. From motherhood and flexibility to confidence and credibility, they explore how women continue to elevate the sales profession through empathy, resilience, and service.
Together, they reflect on what it means to lead without the title, how to balance results with relationships, and why doing the right thing will always drive the best outcomes.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Resources:
Jump into the conversation:
(00:00) Meet Donna Horrigan and Patty Gaddis
(02:12) Donna and Patty’s journey into sales
(04:23) Defining moments that shaped their sales careers
(05:16) Balancing motherhood and career choices
(06:53) The impact of mentorship and leadership growth
(09:31) Building confidence and credibility
(12:32) The power of listening in sales
(13:45) Values-driven sales leadership
(15:01) Navigating sales results and relationships
(16:38) Empowering the next generation of women in sales
Sales success starts with presence. It’s about showing up with calm confidence, leading conversations with purpose, and helping buyers feel secure in your expertise.
Brad Farris, executive leadership coach at Anchor Advisors, shares how leaders can build trust, reduce anxiety on their sales teams, and set the tone for meaningful customer relationships. He explains why presence is leadership, how high-status behaviors signal confidence, and why slowing down in a deal can actually accelerate results.
Drawing on decades of experience coaching service firm leaders, Brad unpacks the habits that set anxious sellers apart from trusted advisors. He explores practical ways to create boundaries that elevate your value, lead teams with intention, and turn every conversation into an opportunity for deeper connection and long-term success.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Resources:
Jump into the conversation:
(00:00) Meet Brad Farris
(02:05) The importance of presence in sales
(04:04) Brad's journey and insights
(06:19) Impact of leadership on sales teams
(08:17) Behavioral techniques for sales success
(10:38) High-status behaviors in sales
(15:37) Setting boundaries and managing time
(18:00) “Start, Stop, Continue” framework
Sales success isn’t just about hitting numbers. It’s about equipping people with the right mindset, tools, and support to thrive.
Gearoid Cox, founder and CEO of SalesPipeline shares how sales leaders can move beyond one-time onboarding and build a culture of continuous training, appreciation, and intentional leadership. He explores why top performers benefit from revisiting fundamentals, how small teams can maximize limited training budgets, and why appreciation is the hidden fuel that drives motivation and long-term results.
With years of experience leading global sales teams and now helping companies scale through outsourced and fractional sales leadership, Gearoid has seen firsthand what today’s top sales talent really needs. He unpacks how flexibility, supportive leadership, and the right tools create stronger, more engaged teams, and why listening to your people is often the simplest but most overlooked leadership advantage.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Resources:
Jump into the conversation:
(00:00) Meet Gearoid Cox
(02:03) Training beyond onboarding
(04:43) The importance of continuous training
(11:46) Appreciation in sales
(18:03) The new era of global sales talent
(18:44) Building distributed teams
(27:34) Misconceptions and market trends
True sales success is about growth, intentionality, and staying true to your values.
Jacob Hicks, sales success coach and leadership mentor, shares practical strategies for breaking through comfort zones with consistent, value-based follow-up, mastering time management through tools like time blocking and ‘chaos time,’ and creating sustainable success by aligning sales activity with personal growth and intentional living. Jacob has worked with leaders across corporate, nonprofit, and entrepreneurial spaces. His experience spans from training individuals in sales to empowering business owners to scale their companies.
Throughout his journey, Jacob has learned that true sales success comes from more than just hitting targets. It’s about cultivating a mindset that aligns personal growth with professional achievement. He emphasizes the importance of staying true to yourself and how being intentional with your time, goals, and relationships can be your greatest competitive advantage in an ever-changing market.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Resources:
Jump into the conversation:
(00:00) Meet Jacob Hicks
(02:58) Jacob’s journey into sales and coaching
(04:28) Working with young leaders and college students
(07:01) Stepping outside your comfort zone
(10:47) The power of consistent follow-up in sales
(13:32) Time management strategies for sales professionals
(19:45) Balancing work, play, and personal growth
(22:05) Rapid-fire questions
You can beat the competition. You can’t survive confusion.
Garin Hess, founder of Consensus and author of Selling is Hard. Buying is Harder. joins the show to share why making it easier for people to buy should be every sales team’s mission. Drawing from his background in learning and development, Garin explains how buyer enablement transforms selling from product pitches into personalized coaching experiences that empower champions and engage entire buying groups.
He reflects on the dangers of “peace mongering” in leadership, how personalization at scale changes buying dynamics, and why emotional ROI matters more than we often acknowledge in B2B. Garin also shares real stories from the field, including one painful lesson about the risks of not mapping the entire buying group.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Resources:
Jump into the conversation:
(00:00) Meet Garin Hess
(02:16) From Utah roots to leadership lessons
(05:23) How learning and development shaped his sales approach
(08:02) Why buying is harder than selling
(11:42) Breaking through buyer confusion and dysfunction
(20:15) Measuring impact through metrics and emotional ROI
(23:25) The role of trust and purpose in the future of B2B sales
(26:37) Sales war stories and lessons learned the hard way
Effective communication under pressure isn’t just a sports skill, it’s a sales advantage.
Jen Mueller, longtime sports broadcaster and founder of Talk Sporty to Me, has spent over two decades asking high-stakes questions in high-pressure moments. From NFL sidelines to MLB dugouts, Jen shares how the fundamentals of sports communication translate directly to business success. It may not be flashy, but instead they’re built on consistency, preparation, clarity, and emotional awareness under pressure.
She also reveals what sales professionals can learn from sideline interviews, game-day prep, and the power of showing up. She explains how to make your conversations count, build trust through repetition, and deliver feedback that actually moves the needle, because impactful communication doesn’t require long meetings. It often comes down to brief, well-prepared, intentional interactions.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Resources:
Jump into the conversation:
(00:00) Meet Jen Mueller
(01:11) Jen’s journey into sports broadcasting
(02:51) Career milestones and sideline stories
(05:42) What sports taught Jen about business communication
(07:59) The power of preparation and consistency
(19:58) Giving feedback and celebrating small wins
(30:19) Lightning round and a final communication tip
Resilience, trust, and personalization are the key ingredients for sales leadership success in today’s evolving market.
Brad Jung, Managing Director, Head of North America, Advisor & Intermediary Solutions at Russell Investments, reflects on his journey from a paper route to leading digital strategy and sales teams. He talks about how the focus in sales has shifted from simply pushing products to truly understanding and meeting client needs. Brad also emphasizes the importance of mentorship and nurturing emerging sales talent. He explains how a culture of continuous learning and personal development is key to long-term success.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Resources:
Jump into the conversation:
(00:00) Meet Brad Jung
(02:12) Brad’s journey into financial services
(03:57) The mission of financial services
(05:52) The importance of personal connection in sales
(06:59) Adapting to technology in sales
(08:46) Key traits of top performers
(11:17) Building trust and emotional connection
(13:52) A personal success story
(20:41) Training the next generation of sales talent
(23:49) Timeless skills and career-changing moments
Building authentic connections through marketing is more important than ever, especially in an age of automation.
Em Holldorf, Director of Demand Generation at Integrity Solutions, shares how a human-first mindset has guided her career—from organic farming to edtech. She explains why purpose, values, and collaboration are the backbone of effective marketing, especially when resources are tight. Em also reflects on real lessons from the field and why authentic conversations, not polished messaging, are the future of marketing.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Resources:
Jump into the conversation:
(00:21) Meet Em Holldorf
(03:13) Em’s journey into marketing
(05:47) Career highlights and industry shifts
(10:42) The importance of human-centric marketing
(22:09) Marketing war stories: Trade show chaos
(24:41) Upcoming events and conferences
(25:30) Marketing trends: The human touch in the age of AI
(29:19) Excitement for the future at Integrity Solutions
Connecting with others through a screen isn't easy, but it’s now essential.
Lauren Deal, former live TV host and current facilitator at Integrity Solutions, shares how her background in broadcasting shaped the way she builds trust quickly, stays grounded under pressure, and brings energy to every conversation. She explains how sales professionals can adapt the same mindset to connect more deeply with customers and lead with presence.
From storytelling with emotional stakes to managing impostor syndrome in real time, Lauren breaks down what it takes to build meaningful relationships in high-stakes conversations. She also shares practical ways to improve your virtual presence, reset your mindset before a big call, and deliver your message with confidence.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Resources:
Jump into the conversation:
(00:00) Meet Lauren Deal
(02:53) From kindergarten classroom to live TV
(05:00) Storytelling tips that make messages stick
(07:10) Why emotion drives customer decisions
(09:48) Performing under pressure without losing authenticity
(11:27) How emotional intelligence shapes sales success
(15:53) Building confidence before high-stakes conversations
(21:54) Virtual presence mistakes that break connection
Creating a culture of coaching and leading with purpose can transform both people and businesses.
Danita High, Senior Vice President of Culture and Employee Development at First Community Bank, shares her journey of implementing a coaching program that nurtures leadership and prevents burnout. She discusses how intentional leadership development can align business strategy with personal growth, all rooted in empathy and trust.
Listeners will gain valuable insights on how to recognize signs of burnout, the importance of connecting with employees, and why coaching should be seen as a gift rather than a corrective tool. Danita also emphasizes the significance of creating a culture where every leader feels empowered to grow, and how investing in coaching can lead to profound, lasting change.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Resources:
Jump into the conversation:
(00:00) Meet Danita High
(02:58) The need for coaching
(05:38) Recognizing signs of burnout
(09:24) Personalizing coaching for leaders
(13:26) Embedding coaching into culture
(17:22) Finding culture champions within teams
(21:12) Transforming lives through coaching
(24:13) Overcoming resistance and hesitations to coaching
Emotional intelligence shapes how top performers lead and sell.
Chuck Karvelas, longtime L&D professional in the therapeutics industry, breaks down how neuroscience, empathy, and behavior change drive better outcomes in the life sciences space. With a background in theater and a passion for human connection, Chuck shares how slowing down and listening can shift entire sales conversations.
Listeners will take away practical ways to build trust faster, lead with curiosity, and reframe resistance by understanding what’s beneath the surface. Chuck also shares lessons from product launches, team development, and even parenting, all through the lens of mindset and emotional awareness.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Resources:
Jump into the conversation:
(00:00) Meet Chuck Karvelas
(02:14) Chuck’s path from acting to pharma
(04:12) Listening as a leadership advantage
(07:14) Empathy drives collaboration in science
(10:16) Slow down to create change
(14:04) How habits form and stick
(20:41) Reframing objections with neuroscience
(26:39) Parenting, autism, and awareness