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:

• Communication as a Competitive Advantage: Understand how storytelling and clarity shape relationships.
• Purpose as a Steadying Force: How aligning with purpose helps navigate pressure.
• Building Strong Sales Teams: Discover why culture, coaching, and consistent training are the keys to sustained growth.

Resources:

• Lauren Deal’s LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/tvhostlaurendeal/
• Jacob Hicks’ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-hicks-5ab068ab
• Jen Mueller’s LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenmuellertalksporty/
• Brad Farris’ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradfarris/
• David Hammond’s LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/dhammond/
• Donna Horrigan’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donnahorrigan/
• Patty Gaddis’ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pattygaddis/
• Em Holldorf’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-holldorf/
• Garin Hess’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garin-hess/
• Gearoid Cox’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gearoid-cox-b20b73104/
• Derek Roberts’ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/derekroberts1/
• Duncan Taylor’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/duncanjtaylor/
• Brett Shively’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brettshively/
• Danita High’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danita-high-257a5a1a3/
• Brad Jung’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradjung/
• Learn more about Integrity Solutions: www.integritysolutions.com/

Jump into the conversation:
(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:

• Operational Excellence Starts with the Basics: Clean data, clear ownership, and simple enablement power confident, consistent performance.
• Process as a Growth Lever: Standardized stages and documented workflows create a shared path that drives predictable results.
• Technology That Works for People: Tools designed with a human-first lens remove friction and help reps stay focused on selling.
• Adoption Through Trust: Teams commit to operational change when the process feels supportive, transparent, and genuinely helpful.

Resources:

• Jess Rose’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-rose-2b482122/
• Learn more about Integrity Solutions: https://www.integritysolutions.com/

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:

• The Momentum Advantage: Why aligning strategy, messaging, and execution keeps sales teams focused and prevents performance drift.
• Consistency as Credibility: How steady reinforcement and fewer, deeper initiatives build trust and long-term adoption.
• Preparation That Fuels Performance: Why anchoring training in mission, mindset, and education gives sellers confidence when markets feel uncertain.
• Stability Through Values: How creating space for feedback, mistakes, and reflection fuels innovation and stronger customer relationships.

Resources:

• Shawn Young’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawn-young-9898b15/
• Learn more about AtriCure: https://www.atricure.com/

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