Sales Objection Bootcamp: Adoption
- By Chris Hondl, Nexstar Network Sales Coach
Before I got into sales, I was a teacher. I taught elementary school for five years. My wife was also a teacher. We were newly married, had no kids, and were staring straight at the reality that two teacher paychecks weren’t going to fund the American Dream we were hoping for. So, like many people do, I went looking for a second job.
That search led me to the Minnesota School of Bartending. I enrolled with the plan of teaching during the day and bartending nights and weekends. I completed the program, earned a lifetime certification, and proved—on paper—that I could make over 100 cocktails and name just about every major liquor brand.
Here’s the problem: Twenty years later, I have never bartended a single day in my life. I never adopted the skill. And if you asked me to make most of those drinks today, the only one I’d confidently deliver is a rum and Coke.
That’s what happens when there’s a lack of adoption. You can learn as much as you want, but if you never adopt the skills you’ve learned, nothing will happen.
We see this same thing happen in our businesses all the time. We coach our people. They leave motivated, full of ideas, and confident they’ve learned something new. But if we don’t apply it in the field, reinforce it, and hold people accountable to it, it’s as if the coaching never happened. And in the end, that’s time wasted. Money wasted. Opportunity lost.
Over the years, I have conducted an informal case study of the numerous Sales Objection Bootcamps I’ve delivered. The results from attendees consistently fell into one of three groups:
- “We haven’t done a thing with what we learned and are getting the same results.”
- “We realized we have some process issues to fix before moving forward.”
- “We are following the plan and experiencing AMAZING results!”
The Sales Objection Bootcamp sessions I teach are designed to drive adoption through a clear path:
- Pre-Bootcamp: Teams have a defined sales process that delivers value.
- Your Nexstar Sales Coach then comes to your shop to teach the Sales Objection Bootcamp. (There’s also an online version.)
- Your Sales Coach tests attendees to certify Sales Objection Bootcamp mastery.
- Your company’s sales leader holds attendees accountable through weekly training, one-on-one meetings, and ride-alongs.
- Attendees jump on a call with your Sales Coach to fill in knowledge gaps.
- You watch closing and average sale consistently increase!
Here’s what adoption looks like when it’s done right:
- Nathan Andreas, owner of Andreas Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning, attended Sales Objection Bootcamp in 2024 with his sales team and followed the plan. Their results now exceed their budgeted closing goals, with one salesperson averaging 69% closing on tech leads and 55% on marketed leads!
- Anthony Vigilante, owner of Vigilante Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning, doubled down— he had his team go through the Sales Objection Bootcamp and also had his Sales Coach come out to his shop in 2025 to ensure adoption. His results are revenue up 53% year-over-year, and average sale up 72%, with 13% less leads!
Do you want to learn? Or do you want to learn and adopt what you’ve learned?
As always, the choice is in your hands.
If you are a Nexstar Member interested in learning more about an onsite Sales Objection Bootcamp with Sales Coaches Chris Hondl and Jerome Johnson, click here!
If you are not currently a Nexstar member, but are curious to learn more about our mission to help the world’s best independent tradespeople become the world’s best businesspeople, let’s start the conversation today!
Chris Hondl has spent 15 years in training, coaching, and sales. He believes that “A good sales process is like a waterslide – from the customer’s perspective, it takes no effort to start, no effort to navigate the corners, and you end up at the exact same place every time.” His job as a sales coach is to help members identify the steps in their processes where customers are exerting effort.
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