Redefining Outbound

In this episode of Why Did It Fail?, sales coach Shivan Pillay sits down with Chris Ritson, founder, advisor, and sales trainer, for a raw and revealing conversation about the leadership failure that reshaped his life.Chris opens up about the moment he was let go from his first AE leadership role, how unchecked ambition and ego clouded his judgment, and why that painful experience became a turning point. From missed warning signs to rebuilding trust with his closest friends, Chris shares hard-earned lessons on growth, self-awareness, and what really matters when leading a team and building a life.

Welcome to the first episode of Why Did It Fail?, a fresh look on Redefining Outbound! In this episode, Cognism's Shivan sits down with Narrative AI founder Michael Isernio to unpack a failed VP of Sales stint, exploring why outbound fell flat, how misalignment with leadership signaled deeper issues, and what he'd do differently if given another shot. A candid, insightful look at failure as fuel for growth.

This week we're flipping the script and looking at outbound through a post-sale lens. Evan Nelson, VP of Customer Experience at Cognism, sits down with Natasha Evans, VP of Customer Growth at Hook, to explore how Customer Success can become a true driver of revenue. They dive into how principles from traditional outbound sales are deeply relevant in customer success, why CS teams should think like sellers, and how growth is increasingly coming from existing customers.

Cognism's VP of Sales Development, Catherine Olivier, sits down with David Wilkins to unpack what it really takes to be an impactful SDR leader in today's sales landscape. They dive into the difference between good and great SDR teams, how to build high-performing teams from the ground up, and why strong leadership is about more than just tracking activity. David shares practical advice for SDR leaders navigating change, scaling teams, and standing out in an increasingly competitive market.

This week on Redefining Outbound, Nat Ferrante talks with Ilia Papas, CEO and co-founder of Band, about building and scaling sales as a founder, especially when coming from an engineering background. Ilia shares how he built a B2B outbound motion from scratch, the lessons he carried over from scaling Blue Apron, and the creative strategies he's using to drive growth at Band. From overcoming the fear of cold outreach to leveraging AI and data-driven sales tactics, this conversation is packed with insights for founders, sales professionals and anyone defining their approach to outbound.

In this episode of Redefining Outbound, Cognism's Nat Ferrante sits down with Max Lemmens, Senior Account Manager of Global Strategic Accounts at Adyen, to discuss the evolving role of outbound in account management. They explore what it takes to drive long-term success, balancing revenue growth with retention, building meaningful customer relationships, and prioritising accounts effectively.

This week on Redefining Outbound, Catherine Olivier and Matthew Putnam dive into the evolving world of outbound sales. They discuss why the fundamentals of selling are more important than ever and what it takes to succeed as an SDR, from cold calling to social selling. Tune in to learn how to cut through the noise, leverage multi-channel outreach, and refine your outbound strategy for 2025 and beyond.

In this episode of Redefining Outbound, Cognism's VP of Sales Development, Catherine Olivier, sits down with Andy Laws, Director of Business Development at Talon.One and Founder of RevRocket, to explore what it takes to build high-performing SDR teams in enterprise sales. They discuss the key differences between selling to SMBs versus large enterprises and how to design incentive plans that drive the right behaviors. Andy also shares his insights on hiring top talent, aligning SDR goals with business objectives, and setting teams up for long-term success.

In this episode of Redefining Outbound, Cognism's VP of US Sales, Frida Ottosson, sits down with Brent Adamson to explore the surprising insights behind buyer confidence and its impact on sales success. Brent unpacks why traditional sales tactics often miss the mark and reveals the critical role of helping buyers feel confident in themselves—not just in your product or company. From addressing information overload to embracing the transformative potential (and challenges) of AI, this episode dives into the evolving landscape of sales and marketing.

Our host, Frida Ottosson, speaks to Mark Cox, Founder of In the Funnel Sales Coaching, about keeping up with the best sales practices, exploring actionable insights, strategies, and the latest trends in the world of sales coaching. Mark shares his expertise on how sales professionals can stay ahead in a competitive landscape by mastering effective selling techniques and fostering long-term client relationships.

Cognism's VP of US Sales, Frida Ottosson speaks to VP of Global Account Management, Nat Ferrante about how Cognism approaches account management in terms of account retention, expansion and the relationship between his team and customer success.

Cognism's VP of US Sales, Frida Ottosson speaks to Co-Founder of Flow State, Aaron Evans about how buyers have changed the world of outbound - and what salespeople need to do to make it big in this new environment!

This week, Frida sits down with Sara Plowman, Founder of Selling Sara. They discuss how Sara built up her LinkedIn following and the importance of social selling. They also look into how to fight the cold-calling nerves, handle rejection and Sara's best cold-calling openers.

This week, Frida sits down with Hannah Ajikawo, CEO and Founder of Revenue Funnel. They discuss the current challenges of outbound and how B2B buying behaviour has changed alongside the rise of tools like G2, communities and budget scrutiny. They also spoke about the omniscient symbiotic seller and what this means, how to provide value and the importance of social selling.

This week, Frida sits down with Neil Cameron, Senior Digital Sales & Marketing Advisor at the Digital Marketing Institute. They discuss how to work smarter, improve personalisation, create a multi-channel approach in sales and how AI can change the selling game. They also spoke about building relationships over quick wins, why traditional sales are broken and the 7 online buyer psychology levels.

We're back with a brand new episode of Redefining Outbound - with a twist! As a sales leader, you're probably aware about the importance of training your team. We wanted to share one of our recent cold calling live trainings, in the hope that you'll find out some useful tips and trips you can pass along to your team.Cognism runs these live sessions, with our host Morgan Ingram, monthly. In case you or your team would like to attend, sign up via the link here: https://www.cognism.com/cold-calling-and-outbound-sales-trainingAnd for the latest and trendiest insights into cold calling, feel free to check out our State of Cold Calling Report for 2024 here: https://www.cognism.com/state-of-cold-calling

This week, Frida sits down with Scott Leese, author and founder of Scott Leese Consulting. They discuss how to be proactive, not reactive, stand out, and dig into the addiction model. They also look into how to build confidence and motivate your team and transiition from rep to manager.

We're back with another special episode of Redefining Outbound. If you're a sales leader looking to trial new training techniques with your team, you might find inspiration in this instalment of our Cold Calling Live training. Morgan Ingram sits down with Sara Plowman, and they discuss how to get past the pitch and really make an impact. They dived into a couple of notable findings from our State of Cold Calling Report for 2024, which you can read in full here: https://www.cognism.com/state-of-cold-callingAnd if you loved this episode, be sure to sign either yourself or your team up to the next live event, via the link here: https://www.cognism.com/cold-calling-and-outbound-sales-training

On this week's episode of Redefining Outbound, Frida sits down with Atul Raghunathan, the Founder & CRO of Hyperbound. They discuss how AI is shaping outbound channels and how sales leaders can train their teams in these outbound channels. They also dive into the journey of Hyperbound. Tune in for all of the insights. Find out more about Hyperbound here: https://www.hyperbound.ai/

We're back with a brand new episode of Redefining Outbound - with a twist! As a sales leader, you're probably aware about the importance of training your team. We wanted to share one of our recent cold calling live trainings, in the hope that you'll find out some useful tips and trips you can pass along to your team. With the end of June and Q2 of 2024 fast approaching, now is a great time to find those quick wins so you can end strong. Cognism runs these live sessions, with our host Morgan Ingram, monthly. In case you or your team would like to attend, sign up via the link here: https://www.cognism.com/cold-calling-and-outbound-sales-trainingAnd for the latest and trendiest insights into cold calling, feel free to check out our State of Cold Calling Report for 2024 here: https://www.cognism.com/state-of-cold-calling

This week, Frida sits down with Taylor Bobak, the Sales Development Leader at Faire. She discusses her take on the state of outbound outside of the tech space. There's an emphasis on brands becoming immune to spray and pray cadences. She also touches on the rise of Instagram and in-person interactions, as effective methods of outbound.

Welcome back to another episode of Redefining Outbound. This week, Frida chats with Shilpa Sharma, the Co-Founder & CEO @Flyte, as well as one of Crunchbase's 2023 Influential Women in Sales. They talk about the capabilities of AI in sales efficiency, plus the role it'll play for helping to model deals and their outcomes. Tune in for all of the insights.

Ever wondered what it takes to ensure your sales and customer experience teams are truly on the same page? Well, all will be revealed in our latest episode of Redefining Outbound. You'll get a sneak peek intp the playbook that we've instilled at Cognism, as Frida sits down for a chat with our VP of Customer Experience: Evan Nelson.

On this episode of Beyond The Sales Floor, Morgan sits down with Justin Otley, VP of Global Sales Development at Talkdesk. If there's one thing you should takeaway from this episode, is that the key to scaling your outbound model, doesn't start with product messaging. Instead it starts with the persona. Plus, Justin shares how he's been using ChatGPT to create a buyer matrix within different personas too! Tune in for all the insights.

We're back with another episode of Beyond The Sales Floor. This time, Morgan interviews Lauren Landry, the VP of Global Sales Development and Inside Sales at Arctic Wolf. Lauren shares her unique take on ABM - and here's a teaser: the output is the same but the positioning of your message depends if you go upmarket or downmarket. She also shares Arctic Wolf's use of partnerships, to fuel the outbound model. Tune in for all of the insights.

This week's episode is a little longer - but it's worth it! Frida sat down with Kevin Gaither, “KG”, the CRO and Founder of Inside Sales Expert. He has had experience in sales AND sales leadership dating back to 1994! He has taken all of this knowledge to help US tech companies at the early stage of their growth, avoid mistakes in all aspects of the sales process. Kevin shared the all-important lessons that he's learnt from leading a sales team during the mortgage meltdown in 2008, that can help leaders navigate the climate today. Plus, he shared why investment into RevOps will be vital this year. We hope you enjoy tuning in to all of the insights! Find out more about Kevin Gaither here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevingaither/

We're back with another episode of Beyond The Sales Floor, with Morgan Ingam and special guest Dan Rousseau, the VP of Global Sales Development at Sitecore. Dan dives into what it means for your sales team to truly understand the buying journey - with a mulit-touch, multi-channel approach. He also emphasises the importance of creating a culture of community for managers, when they're getting to grips with their team - whether it be on the hiring or training side. Listen for all of the insights.

We're back with another episode of Beyond the Sales Floor. Morgan sits down with Petek Hawkins from Pax8. They took a deep dive into how AI is helping Pax8 to have great efficiency gains within their enablement process. You'll find out about the internal chatbot that's being built called ‘Just in time, just for me, actions and insights'. This episode has some great takes on why AI has great potential. Tune in for all of the insights.

Our VP of US Sales Frida, is joined by Trent Dressel, the VP of Sales at D&D Wholesale Supply. This week, they discuss the risks and opportunities that come with the emergence of AI, and the impact it has on sales. They also touch on the methodical meaning of outbound - the idea that activity should link to revenue. Plus, you'll find out how Trent secured the largest deal in his pipeline with an in-person meeting.

Sellers sell everyday - but buyers don't buy everyday. This is the core reminder from today's episode, with guest Ciara Flaherty, EMEA Sales Leader at Klaviyo. Joe Stubbs asks her to dive into the importance of scenario planning, to mitigate risk in a deal. They discuss how sellers need to be consultative, and map out the sales process, and provide as much support as possible for buyers. Tune in for all of the insights.

Welcome back to the second part of our special with Bill Petersen - Cognism's internal sales trainer. This week, Frida and Bill discuss the paramount role that in-house sales trainers play, for the AE team. They discuss how to coach on the handoff between SDRs and AEs, as well as the challenges that AE leaders face today. Tune in for all of the insights.

This is the first of our two-part special interview with Bill Petersen, Cognism's internal sales trainer. In this episode, Stephen Vickers chats with Bill on the positive domino effect for sales development teams, when there's an in-house sales trainer. They also share experiences of how the landscape of sales training has changed over the past decade - Stephen and Bill have known each other for 12 years!

Ever thought what it's like to sell into the construction industry? How about the typical sales cycle might look like with multi-million dollar projects? Well, these questions (plus much more) are covered in this episode of Redefining Outbound. Joe Stubbs is joined by Will Synnott - a former design engineer who is now the VP of Sales for UK, Ireland, and the USA for Disperse. He shares what it's like selling in the construction business. Plus, he shares the importance of referrals in outbound.

This is the first episode with our brand new host, Joe Stubbs - Cognism's UK Sales Director. He chats with Ben Smith, the Director of Global Business Development at Reachdesk. They discuss the notion of all-bound, the influence of AI, and maintaining efficiency. Tune into the full episode for more.

A new year presents new opportunities to improve your strategy between sales and marketing teams. And if you're looking for inspiration, we recommend you tune into this episode. David sits down with Laura Erderm, Head of Sales for the Americas at Dreamdata. She explained how sales and marketing can remain laser focused and in sync with one another. Plus, you'll discover how she's enabling the sales team to manage the challenge of long customer journeys.

David is joined by Charlotte Lloyd, Sales Director at Investment Monitor and Strategic Advisor at Humantic AI. This episode is all about social selling - and they cover the pros and cons. Charlotte shares the best way for teams to approach this in 2024. Tune in for the full episode.

This week, Morgan is joined by David Katz, the VP of Corporate Sales at HubSpot. He shares how he's using both inbound and outbound to fuel a strong sales strategy. Plus, find out why he has a segment of the team just focused on net new business, as he touches on the hunter-farmer mentality.

Frida is joined by Tonni Bennett, VP of Sales @ Daily. They discuss how the product-led growth mindset can enable sellers to provide tangible value for buyers. Plus, Tonni gives her unique take on what it's like to lead a sales engine that's prospecting APIs. Hint: it's challenging because unless there's a real need, content marketing or inbound is going to help. This plus much more is uncovered in the latest episode.

In this episode, you'll learn about Cognism's playbook for successful sales enablement, from Emily Bair (our Head of Sales Enablement). With our host Kaitie Voigt, you'll learn about the importance of management and enablement working together, in order to create cohesiveness. Plus, you'll learn about the difference between internal enablement and external enablement. If 2024 is going to be the year of refining your enablement strategy, this is an episode you don't want to miss!

This week, David has a chat with Ashleigh Early (CEO of Other Side of Sales Consulting & Co-Founder of Across The Pond and Over The Rainbow). They debate on the state of AI, specifically whether power diallers work in today's era of outbound. You'll also discover the art and importance of leadership asking the right questions. Tune in for the full conversation. Tune Into Across The Pond And Over The Rainbow here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/across-the-pond-over-the-rainbow/

In this episode of Beyond The Sales Floor, Morgan has a chat with Kyle Asay, RVP at MongoDB. Kyle shares how he's working with different departments such as marketing and operations, in order to achieve a strong and strategic approach towards outbound. Plus, you'll hear how Kyle thinks about the sales process, as well as his take on MEDDIC and AI! And finally, find out Kyle's secrets to hitting 103% of the revenue target in just 6 months!

On this episode, Stephen Vickers (Head of US Sales Development) sits down with a video outbound expert - Ryan Scalera, Inside Sales Manager @Lob. He shares the common pitfalls when coaching video, and provides an insight into how you can get buy-in from your team, to use video as a channel.

On this week's episode of Beyond the Sales Floor, Morgan interviews Emerald Maravilla - the Director of Sales Development at Snowflake (AND a previous Redefining Outbound guest)! Emerald shares how Kevin Dorsey has had a huge impact on her understanding of what it means to be a leader. Plus, you'll discover Snowflake's unique approach towards the outbound process. Tune in for all the insights.

In this episode, Frida chats with Angeley Mullins, CCO at Resourcify (and one of Crunchbase's Influential Women in Sales in 2023) . They touch on the art of critical thinking in sales, plus take a deep-dive into the importance of evolving as a leader. Angeley shares her insights, referencing her background at a wide range of different companies, from start-ups all the way through to enterprises. Listen for more insights.

On this week's episode of Beyond The Sales Floor, Morgan is joined by Alex Ball, VP of Sales at Twilio Flex. In this episode, you'll learn how Alex's unique approach towards ABM - especially within existing accounts. Plus, find out why Alex isn't the biggest fan of AI in sales - especially when it comes to achieving personalised outreach. Tune in for all of the insights in this bonus episode.

On this week's episode, Stephen chats with Matt Doyon, the Co-Founder and CEO of TripleSession. They covered a lot of ground relating to the landscape of B2B sales, as we approach 2024. Some of these topics included the role of AI, and the importance of productivity. Matt also gives his take on why he thinks sales enablement will be the real star of the show next year. Listen to find out more.

On this week's episode of Beyond The Sales Floor, Morgan is joined by Grace Chuang, Director of Sales Development at Databricks. Grace shares her insights into prospecting into tricky industries like the public sector, financial services, and healthcare. Plus, you'll learn why BANT hasn't been a qualification method of choice for Grace, due to the nature of the product being sold.

This week, David sits down with Shruti Kapoor, Head of International Business at Clari. Discover Shruti's take on what thorough deal inspection looks like. Plus, find out why 40 to 60% of deals tend to slip in the pipeline.

On this episode of Beyond the Sales Floor, Morgan has a chat with Ryan Byrnes, Mid-Market Sales Leader @Calm. Tune in to find out Ryan's insights into ensuring deals are unstuck, why BANT is relevant for his team, and best practices for LinkedIn in outbound.

On this week's episode of Redefining Outbound, Kaitie is joined by Mark Kosoglow, CRO at Catalyst Software. We learn about whether AI is the solution to all of our problems in sales, or if it's actually creating generalised assumptions about a sales team. They also discuss the bottom-up approach to win enterprise deals. Plus, you'll discover the different stages within a leader's journey, as a company grows or evolves.

There are lots of nuances that need to be considered when iterating your model for onboarding reps. For example, how are you ensuring company culture is aligned across regional teams? How can it be operationalised for this new world of hybrid work? This plus much more is dissected and discussed in this latest instalment of Beyond the Sales Floor, with host Morgan Ingram, and guest Brooke Coletti, Sr Partner Enablement Manager at Amazon Web Services.