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Todd Caponi
Founder, Speaker & Workshop Leader at Sales Melon
Todd Caponi is a prominent figure in the sales industry, recognized for his emphasis on transparency and decision science in sales practices. He serves as a Board Advisor at GlassHouse.biz and has built a career that intertwines sales leadership with behavioral science.
Professional Background
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Current Roles:
- Founder, Speaker & Workshop Leader at Sales Melon since July 2018, where he focuses on integrating behavioral science into sales strategies.
- Host of The Sales History Podcast, which explores historical perspectives on sales.
- Advisory Board Member for organizations like ShoppingGives and Sales Assembly.
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Previous Achievements:
- Successfully led revenue growth at several tech companies, including one that became Chicago’s fastest-growing company and another that achieved a nearly $3 billion acquisition.
- Awarded the Worldwide Vice President of Sales of the Year by the Stevie Awards in 2009.
Publications
Todd is also an accomplished author, having written two award-winning books:
- The Transparency Sale
- The Transparent Sales Leader
Both books advocate for transparency in sales processes, arguing that honesty leads to better customer engagement and retention.
Philosophy
Caponi's approach combines his extensive sales experience with insights from decision science. He teaches organizations how to leverage transparency to improve messaging, negotiations, and overall leadership effectiveness. His motto emphasizes that if "the truth won't sell it, don't sell it," underscoring his commitment to ethical sales practices.
Recognition
His contributions to the field have been recognized with multiple awards, including accolades for his books from various business book awards.
Todd Caponi continues to influence the sales landscape through speaking engagements, workshops, and his ongoing work in sales training and consultancy.
Highlights
Posted my 1,200th different quote / picture / comic / clip from sales history today on IG and here on X. Never a repeat. Well, one time I did. But anyway… @SalesHistorian here or on Instagram. https://t.co/kDF7LmFMc4

A few years ago, one of our important clients informed our client success team that they decided to leave for a competitor.
They were able to get me a conversation with the main contact to debrief on the decision.
After we exchanged pleasantries, I asked him what drove the decision.
“We just weren’t seeing the ROI, so we decided it was time to try another solution.”
🤔 Logic.
After acknowledging/thanking him for his answer, I asked:
👉 "One morning, you woke up, got to work, and decided 'That's it! Time to start evaluating alternatives.' What was that trigger?" 👈
After he hesitated, he answered that he felt we acted more like a vendor than a partner. He told a story that represented that opinion.
(About a time when he called with a problem, and our client success team member responded by basically suggesting that the problem would have never happened in the first place if they’d taken our advice on purchasing an add-on solution months earlier)
😢 Feeling. Emotion.
Amazingly helpful for us to learn from. (I thanked him profusely for sharing)
The sales world has known for 100 years that, as Antonio Damasio says, “We are not thinking machines that feel, we are feeling machines that think”
In other words, we make decisions in the feeling center of our brain, then justify it with logic, not the other way around. This isn’t news.
Yet - when a customer or team member makes a decision on something and informs you of that decision, we accept the logical explanation as the reason.
Don't stop at the "logic", get to the "feeling".
