Local Networking Nights October 2026

Something has shifted in the way people buy — and most business owners haven't caught up to it yet.

You do everything right. You get on a call, explain the value, maybe even throw in some free consulting. And then the prospect disappears. No decision, just silence. Your pipeline looks full, but your bank account tells a different story.

At October's Local Networking Nights, sales strategist Sam Tornatore joins us to explain why this keeps happening — and what to do about it. Sam calls it the Trust Recession: a collapse of belief between buyers and sellers, built up over years of over-marketing and pressure dressed up as persuasion. Prospects have been burned before, and their guard is permanently up.

His session, How To Grow Your Business With Trust-Based Selling & The One Call Sale, makes the case that more meetings usually isn't the problem — converting the leads you already have is. And you don't fix a conversion problem by adding volume to a broken process. You fix it by changing what happens inside the sales conversation itself.

What you'll take away

• How to make the sale in a competitive-free zone

• Why your next sale hinges on a split-second decision

• How to stop being the "pharmacist" and start being the "doctor"

• The keys to collapsing your sales cycle into one single trust-based conversation

• How to stop doing free consulting and chasing leads that never call you back

About Sam Tornatore

Sam Tornatore is an international speaker, business growth strategist, and Business Partner of Ari Galper, the global leader in Trust-Based Selling. As Head Coach of the Trust Movement, Sam works with business owners, entrepreneurs and sales professionals around the world to help them overcome stalled opportunities, lengthy sales cycles, and prospects who constantly say "I need to think about it."

Through the Trust-Based Selling methodology and the One Call Sale framework, Sam shows audiences how to stop giving away free consulting, eliminate endless follow-up, and create conversations where prospects feel comfortable telling the truth. His presentations are practical, thought-provoking and packed with actionable insight for anyone who wants to shorten their sales cycle, increase conversions and grow through genuine trust rather than pressure and persuasion.

Sponsor spotlight: Selling With Trust

Sam Tornatore, Business Partner and Head Coach of Selling With Trust, presents How To Grow Your Business With Trust-Based Selling & The One Call Sale as our featured 45-minute sponsor presentation, followed by Q&A. Sam will show attendees why qualified prospects go quiet after great conversations, and how to collapse a long sales cycle into a single trust-based conversation. Selling With Trust helps business owners stop losing qualified opportunities to the outdated, conditioned sales methods they were taught to use — and never knew were holding them back.

More than a talk

Local Networking Nights is about connecting beyond the profile. Alongside Sam's session, you'll get a relaxed evening of face-to-face networking with Sunshine Coast business owners, leaders and professionals — the kind of room where genuine conversations happen, not hard-sell pitches. Food and refreshments are included, and it's free to attend.

First time coming along? You're in good company — plenty of attendees come on their own, and the format is built to make connecting easy from the moment you walk in.

Reserve your free ticket now — spots fill up.

The event is hosted by Buy Local Sunshine Coast.

Thanks to Buy Local Sunshine Coast for supporting this event. Local businesses can join for free to promote their services, increase visibility, and help the Sunshine Coast business community thrive.