Sales Management Podcast

Cory and Madison debate the pros and cons of sales leaderboards and their use in modern selling. 

Throwing a warm body at "enablement" doesn't work anymore. What does work? Check out this episode with one of my favorite people in the enablement world, Monty Fowler. 

What does it take to soar to the top 10% of sales performance, and is it worth the sacrifices involved? Discover Christy Jones's insights as we explore the nuances of achieving elite status in sales. This episode questions the conventional wisdom of relentless ambition, offering a fresh perspective on personal fulfillment and career success. We dive into the importance of honest self-reflection and understanding what truly matters to you, whether it's climbing the corporate ladder or savoring a balanced lifestyle.Even seasoned sales professionals often miss applying their prospecting prowess to their own career paths. Join us as we unravel the art of strategic career moves, highlighting how choosing the right mentor or leader can significantly impact your growth trajectory. Personal anecdotes illustrate the value of intentionality, urging you to channel your sales expertise into crafting a fulfilling career. It's about more than just landing a job; it's about finding the right fit that resonates with your strengths and career aspirations.Team dynamics and accountability play pivotal roles in shaping successful sales organizations. This episode sheds light on the balance between autonomy and accountability for sales managers, emphasizing the importance of empowering leaders to craft their teams. Discover how a structured sales process and market-focused strategies can elevate performance, especially in highly competitive environments. From nurturing raw talent to refining sales training, our conversation offers actionable insights to inspire growth, success, and intentional career development in the world of sales management.

Salespeople can control limited things in their role, and if they focus on these, they'll find success. 

At the crossroads of sales and human resources lies a dynamic potential for strategic partnership that can yield significant benefits for any organization. In a compelling new episode of our podcast, we delve into the multifaceted relationship between these two essential departments, uncovering how the synergy between sales leaders and HR professionals can radically elevate recruiting, training, and culture within sales organizations.Often perceived as opposing forces, sales teams and HR can forge a powerful alliance based on shared objectives. Our expert guest guides us through the practicalities of this partnership, revealing how clear communication about candidate needs can transform the recruiting process. By advocating for their needs, sales managers can empower HR to find the right talent, leading to more successful hires and enhanced team productivity.The episode doesn't stop there; we also discuss the critical nature of continuous professional development in sales. With the rapidly changing landscape of business, the need for ongoing training is necessary for maintaining competitive advantage. Our conversation touches on effective ways in which HR can support this continuous learning process—not just through onboarding but by fostering a robust mentorship culture. Listeners will gain actionable insights into how mentorship programs can be structured and sustained, thereby nurturing talent from within. As the discussion unfolds, we explore the concept of sales enablement and its integration into the hiring process. The dialogue emphasizes that sales enablement should not merely be a superficial post-hire framework but a foundational ingredient woven throughout the recruitment and onboarding stages. Through a candid examination of both successes and challenges, this episode illustrates that the pathway to a better workplace lies in the strength of bonds across departments. It appeals to both HR practitioners and sales forces who are keen on building more robust connections for long-term success.If you're engaged in sales or HR, or if you're simply looking to enhance your recruiting and talent management strategies, this episode offers a treasure trove of insights that could reshape your approach and drive measurable outcomes.Join us for a deep dive into this essential conversation, and discover how to build a seamless partnership that promotes excellence in hiring and employee growth. Don't forget to subscribe and leave us a review to share your thoughts!

Cory and Sam jam on 7 interesting sales/recruiting topics. It's a fun and action-packed conversation. 

Analytics are important at every stage of business, but early-on, their importance is often overlooked, and founders + execs might not know about new analytic techniques that were hard-to-impossible in previous years. Janet and Cory go deep into how to think about early-stage sales analytics and highlight that it might not be as hard as you think to get what you both need and want metrics-wise. 

This episode touches on some industry-specific themes in commercial real estate, and also zooms out to look at coaching in general. If you're in the real estate business, there are specific actionable tactics you can implement. If not, it's a fun episode that may open your eyes to different perspectives around sales in a different industry. 

To get to the bottom of the semi-political banter we all see about working from the office or working remotely, I sat down with San Franciso-based commercial real estate expert Kellam Nelson to get his perspective. Tune in for this great episode that may generate some ideas for sales leaders out there. 

Mike and Cory dig into sales demos with a bunch of actionable takeaways in this short episode. 

It's silly how many companies manage their inbound leads, and Troy is on a mission to change that. Click a "request a demo" button. Talk to someone who was in college 7 months ago who asks you scripted questions. Meet again with someone who re-asks these questions. Then in meeting #3, see what you initially wanted based on the button click. We dig into the future of initial demos for inbound leads. Check it out!

Which roles should early-stage companies hire and in what order? Lots of opinions out there, with Cory and Sam having theirs. They debate the topic in this engaging and informational episode. 

Call scorecards are powerful tools, but they're often incorrectly used. David and Cory dig into some great ways to get the most out of scorecards and drive impact across your sales org. 

Does someone need to come from sales to be good at sales enablement? Buckle up for this debate and get ready to draw your own conclusions!

What paths are available for entering the tech sales profession? Check out this discussion with two guys who did not do it the traditional way. It might inspire you for your own career, or help you think about recruiting in a new way. 

There is a massive sales performance gap in many orgs, and there are some key things driving it that are fully within your control. No one has thought more about this topic than Atrium cofounder Pete Kazanjy. Check out this episode and make sure to follow him on LinkedIn for more insights. 

An overlooked pre-requisite of a great sales enablement program is mutual accountability --- up and down the chain. Without it, the ability to hit goals is at risk, and the whole program might fall apart. Join us as Sheevaun and Cory to dig into this topic and provide actionable takeaways. 

There are five key areas where all sales managers should spend their time and energy, and in this episode, Cory and Rocky dive deep into each of them. If you are in sales management or have sales managers reporting into you, this episode will serve as a good assessment of opportunities going forward. Enjoy!

James is the founder of Replicate Labs and they recently released a "state of enablement" survey. The results were wild. We dig into some key areas in this episode. 

Nick is the chief revenue officer at KnowledgeNet.ai and knows more about AI than anyone we've had on the show. He has great perspective on how AI will impact sales today and into the future. 

Matt and I butted heads on LinkedIn so I invited him on the show to debate. This is a high energy show and we really get into it. 

Salespeople have quotas and a large % of their compensation is variable. But what about enablement? Paul and I discuss some spicy ideas that he's implemented in the past. 

This episode moves beyond the question of "what is sales enablement?" to "what could sales enablement become?" In the 2010's, software was eating the world, and now AI is taking a big bite out of software. Join us as we take a peek into the future. 

Sales development training broken? It doesn't have to be. In this episode of the Sales Management Podcast, we're joined by Gabe Lullo, CEO of Alleyoop, to uncover and remedy the common pitfalls in sales development training. 

I don't use guest invitations as a lead gen funnel for my business, but Charles has a great perspective here that we dig into during this fun and engaging episode. 

We were tight on time, but we recorded a great episode that's high-energy and packed with actionable takeaways. Eric is a sharp sales leader who just released a new book: The Sales Blueprint. Check it out on Amazon. 

You can go inbound. You can go outbound. You can use nearbound. Or...you can combine them all into Allbound. It's harder. It takes process orchestration. But it pays dividends. Check out my conversation with allbound expert Evan Dunn. 

There are a lot of fractional sales leaders out there. Some are amazing folks who are doing it as a part-time thing while focusing life in other areas. Some are unemployed, not that great, and desperate to pay the mortgage. Thus, hiring one is a dangerous game and some advise against it. But should you hire fractional? For what functions? When? How long should they stick around? Join this conversation to get your gears turning around fractional help in the sales world. 

One of the most overlooked topics in prospecting is email deliverability. If your company does email prospecting and you don't have an expert (not an intern) setup and monitors deliverability, you need to listen to this episode. I learned a lot!

Call scorecards are often used wrong. Teams use 1-5 scales. Teams score calls and have reps self-absorb feedback. Scorecards are not used for periodic team / individual assessments. If any of these topics are interesting, dig into this high-energy discussion around a topic I love and many struggle to get right. 

What is an SDR leader thinking about in their first 90 days? This episode digs into how Paul thinks about preparing for and executing within his new position. If you're going into a new role or hiring someone as a new manager, this episode is worth a listen!

Some say sales enablement activities must drive ROI or else not be done. Some say measuring ROI is hard or impossible. We explore this topic in detail in this episode so you can get some ideas as you decide to stand up or expand an enablement operation in your business. 

Want to dig into the data around recent trends in sales management? Join this episode for Cory and Andy's discussion. 

We talk about how sales teams can benefit from and help drive product evolution in small and larger companies. This episode is especially useful for aspiring senior execs who want to break out of their sales bubble into overall company leadership. 

In the business world, some slow down or stop their professional development, while some push it forward. The latter tend to see outsized success. In this episode you'll hear some specific examples from folks who work with senior leaders to push it to the next level. 

The Dunning Kruger effect is something all managers should understand. A pre-mature illusion of mastery is dangerous, as is taking advice from people on social media who are confident they have it all figured out...when they've just in fact started their journey. Join us and think about how you can insulate your team from this power force that's ever-present in today's workforce. 

If you're looking for a tactical way to get more out of your team and recognize your top performers along the way, this episode is for you! Steve has a great approach to recognizing the strengths of people across his teams and putting them in the position to coach their peers...making everyone (and the company) better along the way. 

Are you starting a new sales management job soon? Or are you onboarding sales managers? Either way, this isn't the most well documented path and sales enablement often gets pulled in other directions, leaving new managers to fend for themselves. 

"Those who can't do, teach" is borderline idiotic. Teaching, in fact, is one of the best ways to solidify and continue your learning of a topic. In this episode, we talk about how current and aspiring sales leaders can leverage this fact as a superpower. 

Ever wondered how a Silicon Valley insider transitions to mastering the European market's diverse tapestry? Seth Olsen, country manager for UKI and the Nordics at MicroStrategy, joins me for a riveting discussion that promises to unlock the secrets of navigating the complex world of international sales. 

Is your CRM driving value in your business, or just something that people see as an administrative burden? If the latter, check out this episode where I talk with Kevin, an expert in how companies get the most out of their CRMs. 

Ryan has a unique perspective as he went to a founder to the person who started, scaled, and handed off the sales management, operations, and enablement roles at his company. He came back in to re-work them at different milestones and when the owner of the role departed. Companies often do "too much stuff" in some areas and ignore key priorities in others. If you are growing and don't know how much or where to invest in ops, enablement, or management, this episode is for you!

We've all heard of conversational intelligence software. It's very powerful, and in this episode, I go deep into the present and future with the CEO of one of the most innovative companies in the space. 

Forecasting is critically important for salespeople and sales leadership alike. It's also one area where there are vendors pushing AI technology on one side and others saying it's 4th grade math. Prior to this episode I had spent a lot of time thinking about forecasting and when Reid reached out to chat, I couldn't resist the opportunity. 

Woody led the sales team at Divvy from the beginning to their $2.5 billion acquisition. Now, he's building Elephant to take advantage of his insights into the world of B2B sales and what's currently going on in the market with AI. Join us for this tech-meets-sales conversation. 

Brendan joins me live in the studio for a 90-min episode where we dig into Product-Led Sales. We also talk about his experience moving from a founder to a VP inside of the acquirer. 

Change management is the make-or-break when it comes to making sales training and enablement programs successful. In this episode, we dig into several actionable tactics companies can use to up-level their change management programs with little to moderate effort. 

You all know what I think about coaching, so I brought on another coaching enthusiast to banter about how to build and scale effective coaching cultures within B2B companies. 

We dig into the life of a frontline sales leader who is charged with managing multiple teams with different functions. In growing orgs, this role often appears and there is no clear-cut roadmap. Andrew walks us through his approach and how he's found success. 

Are your salespeople practicing during the game, or are they practicing in practice to get ready for the game? In this episode we dig into actionable tactics to make intentional and productive practice a reality in the world of B2B sales. 

There used to be a saying in pro basketball "Give the ball to Jordan." In this episode we talk about the case for giving the best leads to the best sellers and what to do with everyone else.