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Cities Are Running Out of Salt Before Winter Even Starts
Road salt is one of those things nobody thinks about until plow trucks come back empty, and this year that's happening before the first snowfall. Some cities haven't gotten a single bid for winter supply, while others are paying nearly double last year's price.
North America doesn't mine enough of its own, which is why it ships in 8 to 10 million tonnes from places like Egypt and Chile, two weeks away by boat.
Atlas Salt (TSXV: SALT | OTCQX: SALQF) is building a mine in Newfoundland near a deepwater port where ships can reach Boston in three days. With salt, the real cost is in shipping, and CEO Nolan Peterson says the difference is so big that overseas producers could give their salt away and still come out more expensive than Atlas. The project is shovel-ready and projected to generate roughly C$188 million a year in free cash flow.
GM to the Top 1% ☕
Picture a new rep six weeks in. She has run 140 AI role-plays. Her pitch is smooth, her objection handling is crisp, and her practice scores are the best on the team.
Then a buyer stops her mid-demo and says, "We just got told to cut this from the budget." She has no drill for that. She restarts the pitch from slide one.
💡 PRACTICE VOLUME IS NOT READINESS
Corporate Visions and the Florida State University Sales Institute followed 119 new inside-sales hires at one large construction-supply company for 18 months. The study was published October 1.
Reps were split into three groups. One did repeated AI role-plays with feedback. One watched recordings of experienced sellers on real calls and rated specific behaviors against a rubric. The third did both. At the end, everyone faced a live actor playing a buyer who changed course.
The AI-only group led on execution, meaning they ran the expected conversation well. But their adaptability score fell to 25.4 out of 50. The observation group scored highest on adaptability. The mixed group had the best balance, 46.2 on execution and 34.7 on adaptability, and managers rated them highest on both at 30 and 60 days.
One caveat. This is a vendor-issued release about one company, and it reports no significance testing. Treat it as a strong hint, not a law.
The research partner put it well: volume of practice is not the same as readiness. AI practice teaches you to run the plan. Real calls teach you what happens when the plan breaks.
🔧 THE REAL CALL ROTATION
Four moves that add real-call study to your week, whether you are new or ten years in.
1. Pick three recordings: Choose one call from your best seller, one from a peer, and one where the buyer changed direction mid-call.
2. Score against a rubric: Write three behaviors, like "asked what happens if they do nothing," "handled a surprise," and "set a dated next step." Score each call one to five before you hear anyone else's opinion.
3. Compare with an expert: Spend 20 minutes with a top rep or your manager comparing scores. The gaps are your blind spots.
4. Use AI for the curveball: Run your AI role-play with one rule. Tell it to change the buyer's priority halfway through the call and make you recover.
🎯 THIS WEEK'S HOMEWORK
Find one recorded call where a buyer changed course and write down the exact sentence the rep used to recover. Send it to one teammate and ask what they would have said instead. Ten minutes, and you will have a reusable line.
❓ QUESTION OF THE DAY
When did a buyer last change direction on you mid-call, and what did you say?
Reply with the sentence. I will share the best ones this week.
☕ SHARE MORNING SALES AND EARN REWARDS
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See you tomorrow.
Edward
Founder, Morning Sales