Why Being Liked is Killing Your Sales with Austin Medlin, Episode #390

In this episode of the Power Producers Podcast, host David Carothers and co-host Kyle Houck are joined by Austin Medlin of closedsales.com for a deep dive into the psychology of high-ticket sales. Austin, a sales expert with a 60% close rate on cold traffic, shares his journey from a natural-born hustler to a seven-figure closer. The conversation centers on overcoming the biggest hurdle for most salespeople: the fear of rejection and the need to be liked. Austin breaks down his framework for winning sales, which prioritizes deep discovery to build trust and emotional alignment before the pitch. He stresses the importance of being a leader in the sales process and why call review is the most critical tool for improvement.

Key Highlights:

Sales is Service: Overcoming the Need to be Liked

Austin Medlin argues that the biggest failure in sales is prioritizing being liked over being trusted and effective. He explains that a salesperson’s true role is to serve by telling the truth and helping a prospect make a decision that will improve their life. This requires a “temporary loss of likeness” in order to be “loved later” when the client achieves results.

The Power of Deep Discovery

This highlight details Austin’s core sales strategy. Before any pitch, a salesperson must win the prospect’s heart by asking deep, intelligent questions about their pain points and challenges. This process builds genuine trust, making the eventual pitch and objection handling feel like an act of service, not a pushy, commission-focused tactic.

Scripts Fail, Frameworks Succeed

The conversation covers the limitation of rigid sales scripts. Austin explains why he teaches a flexible framework instead. Because every human is different (masculine, feminine, rich, poor), a framework allows a salesperson to adapt their approach to the individual, leading to significantly higher close rates than trying to fit every prospect into the same box.

Call Review: The Ultimate Growth Hack

Austin and David agree that there is no substitute for reviewing your “game footage.” The single most effective way to improve is to listen to your own sales calls and the calls of top performers on your team. They also debunk the “I don’t have time” excuse, stating that if mastering your craft isn’t a priority, you’re in the wrong profession.

Connect with:

• David Carothers LinkedIn
• Austin Medlin LinkedIn
• Kyle Houck LinkedIn

Visit Websites:

• Power Producer Base Camp
• CloseSales.com
• Killing Commercial
• Crushing Content
• Power Producers Podcast
• Policytee
• The Dirty 130
• The Extra 2 Minutes