Influence, Not Just Income

Read the full transcript here.

Tony Jalan has been in sales for three decades. Not the tech-startup, demo-button, SDR-to-AE-track kind of sales. The real kind.

Knocking on doors. Getting ignored. Getting better.
Learning the long, slow way that pressure doesn’t close deals—clarity does.

Tony now works as a Growth Strategist at Heartland Payment Systems, where he partners with banks to serve small businesses more holistically. But this conversation wasn’t about merchant processing. It was about how people grow, and why curiosity is still the most underrated sales skill in the game.

👂 Stop talking. Start understanding.

Tony said something early in the conversation that reframed the way I think about sales:

And most people don’t understand what you’re selling—because you never asked what they actually care about.

That’s where curiosity comes in. And not the “discovery call checklist” kind. Real curiosity.

• What problem are they trying to solve?

• What would success feel like?

• Why haven’t they fixed it already?

🧠 Sales is influence. Influence starts with empathy.

Tony's definition of sales is clean and useful:

But not the “I'm smarter than you” kind of influence. Not ego. Not control.

Real influence is the result of listening, slowing down, asking questions, and caring enough to see what the other person sees.

That’s when trust happens. That’s when people open up. That’s when deals move forward.

✍️ The habit that changed everything

Tony journals every day. Not for content. Not to hit some self-help quota. He does it to process what’s working—and what isn’t.

It’s simple. But powerful. Tony says this one habit helped him cut his working hours in half—and triple his income.

It’s not about volume. It’s about intention. Time spent thinking is often more valuable than time spent doing.

🪑 The Lexus story (and what most sellers miss)

Tony told a story about walking into a Lexus dealership. He wanted comfort—specifically, seats that didn’t make his back hurt.

But the rep wouldn’t stop talking about speed and horsepower.

This is what happens when sellers go into pitch mode too fast. We assume what the buyer wants. We rush past the part where they’d actually tell us—if we gave them space.

The result - no sell was made! Tony came in ready to buy, but left without a new car.

What to do with this

If you’re a seller, coach, or leader trying to build something that lasts, here’s the short version of Tony’s message:

💬 Ask better questions. Especially: “What outcome are you hoping for from this conversation?”
🧭 Reflect every day. Write it down. Track patterns.
📞 Cold calls still work—but what you say in the first 30 seconds matters more than ever.
🧘🏽 Slow down. Trust is built at the pace of understanding.
🎓 Stay coachable. The best sellers are still learning.

You don’t need to be louder. You need to be clearer.

You don’t need a stronger pitch. You need a better question.

You don’t need to crush it. You need to connect.

Key Quotes from Tony Jalan

• “People aren’t sold on what you say. They’re sold on what they understand.”

• “Sales is leadership. And leadership is influence.”

• “The bigger the problem you solve, the more you get paid.”

• “You can’t influence someone until you know what influences them.”

• “You don’t need to be the loudest. You need to be the clearest.”

• “I started journaling every day—what I won, what I learned, what I’ll do tomorrow. That one habit changed everything.”

• “Sellers are rushing to pitch instead of slowing down to understand. That’s where we lose deals.”

• “What matters is how well you’ve prepared to serve—not how well you pitch.”

📬 How to Get in Touch with Tony Jalan

Tony doesn’t just talk about curiosity—he lives it. If you want to connect, ask questions, or explore coaching/collaboration, here’s how:

• LinkedIn → Tony Jalan on LinkedIn

Looking for a sales community?

If you are looking for a place where you can meet other sales pros for mentorship, training, or commiserating, join me on SalesHookup. It is a great place to meet and network with other sales pros for free.