Sales Leadership Conversations

Colin Coggins and Garrett Brown set out to research and write about the common characteristics between world's greatest salespeople. They discovered the commonalities are not swagger and a know-it-all attitude, but instead focus on authenticity and include what they call "intentional ignorance."

In our conversation, they discuss their book, "The Unsold Mindset," and why the world's greatest sellers are the opposite of who you think they are.

Defined as the strategic, ongoing process of equipping sales teams with the content, guidance and training they need to effectively engage buyers, sales enablement starts with hiring smart and ends with… well, maybe retirement. 

Amy Franko is a sales strategist for growth-oriented, mid-market organizations. She works with a variety of sectors to grow sales results through both sales strategy and skills development programs.

In this podcast episode, we dive deeper into an article Amy wrote for a Sales & Marketing Management entitled “How to Create a Sales Enablement Center of Excellence.”

She is giving a free webinar on the same topic for Sales & Marketing Management Connect, our webinar division, on April 4. (Register here.)

ChatGPT has dominated the headlines in 2023, but for all the press it has received, few people truly have a grasp on what it means for B2B sales and marketing. Dan Gottlieb, senior director analyst in the Gartner for Sales practice, admits he's hustling to stay ahead of the impact of ChatGPT and similar AI-powered technology.

In an article written for SMM entitled "4 Things Sales Leaders Should Know About ChatGPT," Gottlieb states, "ChatGPT augments but does not replace seller creativity and judgment. The technology will not replace sellers; workers that know how to use AI effectively will."

Gottlieb says all sales leaders should have this technology on their radar as a potential way to improve sales productivity.  In this podcast episode, he explains how ChatGPT may impact B2B sales.

Mark Schopmeyer, co-founder and co-CEO of sales commission software company CaptivateIQ, says sales compensation plans don't have to be the headache they are for many companies. And they certainly shouldn't drag on company culture and morale. We talk about how sales leaders can better communicate changes to compensation plans and structure commissions so they are clear, fair and motivating. If you have sales compensation questions that aren't addressed in this episode, we'd love to hear them. Email [email protected] and we'll have Mark back on.

Sridhar Ramanathan is the co-founder and chief operating officer of Aventi Group, a Silicon Valley product marketing agency that serves high-tech clients. He expounds on a recent article he wrote for Sales & Marketing Management on why misalignment occurs so often between B2B sales and marketing teams, and how to fix that.

Sales trainer Amy Franko shares highlights from a webinar she presented recently for SMM Connect on the most important metrics for sales managers to monitor. Before we dive into that, I speak with Amy about her shift from B2B sales in the tech world to starting her own sales consultancy. She talks about how she goes to market and how companies can be smarter buyers of sales training.

There's a lot of talk about how two years of working virtually has led to permanent changes in the B2B sales process. It's broadly accepted that the customer/prospect drives the sales process bus. They determine when and how a meeting will occur, and more often they are going with virtual meetings.

What does that mean for how salespeople will foster and maintain relationships with customers and prospects? What skills matter most in this new selling environment?

In this podcast, we talk with Julie Thomas, president and CEO of ValueSelling Associates, which recently published an eBook on a study they completed called "The Behaviors and Skills Sales Leaders Care Most About - and How to Measure Them."

Thomas talks about the skills that matter most in each of four sales process phases:

• Engaging with prospects
• Prospecting and qualifying leads
• Negotiating
• Closing Deals

One of the biggest changes that companies must embrace, says Thomas, is the need to measure behaviors and not just the outcome (i.e., sales).

When I initially read a review of Ayelet Fishbach's new book, "Get It Done: Surprising Lessons from the Science of Motivation," I was skeptical. Does anyone really need another book on motivating others?

However, it doesn't take long after digging into this book to discover that she's presenting research -- both her own and other studies -- in a well-organized, thoughtful manner that unveils useful insights that can be implemented immediately by anyone who manages a team.

In our discussion, Fishbach, who teaches at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, talks about why goals need to be different than chores; the importance of self-selected goals; how inexperienced and experienced (expert) workers take negative feedback differently; and what she thinks about the increased movement to help others find purpose in their work.

You can start with this interview and her book, but Fishbach offers a treasure trove of other insights about effectively managing others on her website. Poke around a bit and I'm confident you'll be a better manager for it.

Douglas Cole, enterprise sales leader at LinkedIn Sales Solutions, says changing trends in B2B customers, connection and workplace culture are key areas today's sales leaders should be focused on. In this podcast episode, we dive deeper into points he covered in an article he wrote.

Martin G. Moore's directness about the sorry state of business leadership doesn't end with the title of his book. Moore says it's an unspoken truth in the corporate world that there aren't that many good leaders at the top of organizations, but he has some ideas on how to fix that.