REPS Field Notes #001: Your Next Rep Could Change Everything
REPS Field Notes #001 is a sales coaching digest that emphasizes finding customer problems before pitching, listening effectively to earn credibility, and practicing discovery through structured roleplay. The issue features Mike O'Neil's 90-day sales turnaround story and Dr. Tim Butler's insights on curiosity-driven selling.
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Key takeaways
Find customers with the problem your offer solves before crafting your pitch; write the problem in their words first
Effective sales requires genuine curiosity and listening, not outgoing personality; follow-up questions should respond to what was actually said, not just advance your agenda
Practice the five-minute discovery drill with a colleague to build one better behavior: ask what they want to improve, ask two follow-up questions, summarize and confirm, then ask for feedback
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Your next rep could change everything.
REPS Field Notes · Issue 001 · October 28, 2026
Great sellers are made through practice, feedback and access to the right people. Welcome to Field Notes, the REPS digest for turning a good conversation into something you can actually use.
This issue: a 90-day career turnaround, a better way to think about listening, and one five-minute drill to try before your next customer conversation.
The big idea: find the problem before polishing the pitch
Mike O’Neil’s early sales career came with a deadline: improve within 90 days. His breakthrough was finding customers with a problem his offer could solve. Truck drivers faced costly roaming and long-distance charges; an AT&T rate plan gave him a concrete reason to start a conversation.
The useful question for your next prospecting session: who feels the problem your offer solves most sharply? Write down the problem in the customer’s words before writing your opening line.
Watch Mike O’Neil’s conversation and read the episode guide →
Short on time? Start at 7:21 for the 90-day warning, 8:23 for the customer-fit breakthrough, or 19:47 for handling pressure.
The skill: earn the pitch by listening
Being outgoing is not the same as being effective at sales. Dr. Tim Butler’s conversation with Hunter explores curiosity, discovery, roleplay and knowing when to move a conversation forward. It is a useful reset for new reps who feel pressure to have all the answers.
Take one question into your next practice session: did my follow-up respond to what the other person actually said, or did I simply move to the next line on my list?
Watch Dr. Tim Butler’s conversation and read the episode guide →
Your five-minute rep: earn the pitch
This editorial exercise is inspired by the episode themes. Pair up with a colleague. One person plays the buyer; the other practices discovery.
- Minute 1: Ask what the buyer is trying to improve. Do not introduce your product.
- Minutes 2–3: Ask two follow-up questions based on their answers. Find out what makes the problem matter.
- Minute 4: Summarize what you heard and ask, “What did I miss?”
- Minute 5: Ask for feedback: where did you sound curious, and where did you rush toward a pitch?
Repeat the conversation with one adjustment. The goal is one better behavior you can carry into the next real call.
New to REPS? Start here.
Hunter Lopatin introduces the show in 95 seconds: practical conversations for college students, recent graduates and sellers in their first few years.
Keep the reps going
Visit the REPS hub and subscribe to follow the show → Explore the conversations, read the takeaways and choose one idea to practice. You can also follow Hunter on LinkedIn.
REPS with Hunter Lopatin · A MarketScale Show
Field Notes is an editorial digest of the linked episodes. This is issue 001; future issues will join the newsletter archive.
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