Podcast appearances and mentions of carole mahoney

Buyer-First Sales for Business Owners with sales coach and author Carole Mahoney. Show Notes Page: https://www.thehowofbusiness.com/570-carole-mahoney-buyer-first-sales/ Do you dread sales conversations or feel like you're forcing your product or service onto people? Carole Mahoney, renowned sales coach and author of Buyer First, joins Henry Lopez to change the way small business owners think about selling. Carole shares how collaborative selling can not only improve your results but also feel more authentic and aligned with your values. You'll hear how Carole went from hating sales to becoming one of the most respected voices in the industry - and how her rock-bottom moment led to a complete mindset shift. She explains how buyer behavior has changed, why consultative selling often misses the mark, and what business owners can do to connect more deeply with prospects. You'll also learn how to regulate your emotions before a big sales call and how to handle objections without pressure tactics. Whether you're just starting or looking to grow, Carole's actionable advice will help you reframe sales as a collaborative and human-centered process. This episode is hosted by Henry Lopez. The How of Business podcast focuses on helping you start, run, grow and exit your small business. The How of Business is a top-rated podcast for small business owners and entrepreneurs. Find the best podcast, small business coaching, resources and trusted service partners for small business owners and entrepreneurs at our website https://TheHowOfBusiness.com

Today Andy is joined by special guests, Carole Mahoney, Founder of Unbound Growth, Paul Fuller, CRO at Membrain, and Sean Burke CRO of Prometric. To begin, the group dissects the tagline "how you sell matters" and explore the nuances of the sales process. They analyze factors that influence the selection of a vendor, the role of trust and adaptability, and the power of understanding the buyer's business.But it's not just about the process or methodology. It's about how individuals adopt and personalize these techniques for the buyer's experience. We'll explore the consequences of unrealistic goals and pressure on sales teams, as well as the impact of confidence and client satisfaction on sales performance.The roundtable challenges conventional beliefs about sales, debunking the negative stereotypes often associated with the profession, and shed light on the true meaning of sales as a collaborative exchange of value and emphasize the importance of actively listening to clients.Host Andy Paul is the expert on modern B2B selling and author of three best-selling, award-winning sales books, including his latest Sell Without Selling Out. Visit andypaul.com to subscribe to his newsletter for even more strategies and tips to accelerate your win rate!

Carole Mahoney redefines sales as a collaborative process rooted in mutual trust. She reveals how aligning personal goals drives behavior change in courses and shares actionable insights on blending marketing with sales. Discover innovative strategies to forge genuine, lasting buyer relationships.Carole Mahoney is a coach, sales influencer, and the founder of Unbound Growth.In this episode, Ari, Abe, and Carole discuss:Rethinking sales as a collaborative process built on trustShifting mindsets to align sales conversations with buyer needsUsing cognitive-behavioral techniques to overcome sales fear and resistanceAligning marketing and sales messaging for buyer-focused communicationCreating courses that prioritize the learner's goals and behavior changeLeveraging referrals and personal networks to build trust and grow sales“Selling is [...] a collaboration. If you look at the definition of sales, it's the exchange of value, meaning it's not just a one-way street.” — Carole MahoneyGuest Bio:Carole Mahoney has been called the “Sales Therapist” by a Harvard Business School professor where she coaches for the Entrepreneurial MBA program. The president of the AA-ISP Boston Chapter, Mahoney has been named a top sales influencer by LinkedIn. As the founder of Unbound Growth, Mahoney collects data from 2.2 million sales professionals to coach others on what makes a great seller. Mahoney holds a BA in Marketing and Business Management from Franklin Pierce University and lives in Maine.Resources or websites mentioned in this episode:MiraseeRuzukuCarole's website: CaroleMahoney.comCarole's courses website: Unbound GrowthCredits:Hosts: Ari Iny and Abe CrystalProducer: Michi LantzEditor: Michi LantzExecutive Producer: Danny InyAudio Editor: Marvin del RosarioMusic Soundscape: Chad Michael SnavelyMaking our hosts sound great: Home Brew AudioTo catch the great episodes that are coming up on Course Lab, please follow us on Mirasee FM's YouTube channel or your favorite podcast player. And if you enjoyed the show, please leave us a comment or a starred review. It's the best way to help us get these ideas to more people.Music credits:Track Title: Bossa BBArtist Name: MarieWriter Name: Chelsea McGoughPublisher Name: A SOUNDSTRIPE PRODUCTIONTrack Title: Coo CoosArtist Name: Dresden, The FlamingoWriter Name: Matthew WigtonPublisher Name: A SOUNDSTRIPE PRODUCTIONTrack Title: GraceArtist Name: ShimmerWriter Name: Matthew WigtonPublisher Name: BOSS SOUNDSTRIPE PRODUCTIONSTrack Title: Carousel LightsArtist Name: Chelsea McGoughWriter Name: Chelsea McGoughWriter Name: Matthew WigtonPublisher Name: A SOUNDSTRIPE PRODUCTIONPublisher Name: BOSS SOUNDSTRIPE PRODUCTIONSSpecial effects credits:24990513_birds-chirping_by_promission used with permission of the author and under license by AudioJungle/Envato Market.Episode transcript: The Collaborative Sale: Building Trust (Carole Mahoney) coming soon.

In this episode of The Sales Gravy Podcast, take a look back at the best insights from the year. These moments aren't just memorable, they're actionable advice that sales professionals can take into 2025 to thrive in an ever-evolving landscape. Key Takeaways: This year reinforced a crucial truth: the fundamentals of sales never go out of style, but adapting to the environment around you is key. Buyers are sharper, busier, and more discerning, which means the best salespeople need to work smarter and harder to stay ahead. Here's what stood out from our conversations this year: – Objections Are Opportunities: Objections aren't something to avoid, they're invitations to build trust. When a buyer pushes back, it's a sign they're engaged. Instead of sidestepping concerns, lean into them. Acknowledge the issue, ask thoughtful questions, and use the conversation to demonstrate your understanding of their needs. – Relentless Prospecting Wins Deals: The deals you close tomorrow start with the work you do today. This year, we discussed the importance of consistent prospecting and how staying disciplined with your outreach pays off. Whether it's calls, emails, or social touches, keeping your pipeline full is the foundation of success. – Empathy Drives Connection: In a crowded marketplace, standing out often comes down to how well you connect with your prospects. Leading with empathy and emotional intelligence helps uncover the real problems you can solve. Listening, not just to respond, but to understand, creates trust and sets you apart from competitors. – Simplify the Process: A complicated sales process creates unnecessary barriers for your buyers. Instead, focus on making every step clear and straightforward. Simplify presentations, eliminate unnecessary details, and provide actionable next steps. Buyers are more likely to move forward when it feels easy to do so. – Consistency Is King: Talent might get you started, but consistency is what keeps you winning. Showing up daily, sticking to your routines, and doing the small things consistently makes a big difference over time. Success in 2025 will be about maintaining that focus, even when motivation dips. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9k2hJ3pyNBU Thriving Under Pressure with a SEAL's Strategy In high-stakes sales situations, maintaining composure is crucial. Drawing from his extensive military experience, retired Navy SEAL Master Chief Stephen Drum emphasizes the importance of preparation, adaptability, and mental resilience. By implementing a structured approach—commit, prepare, execute, and reflect—sales professionals can enhance their performance under pressure. This method enables individuals to stay focused, adjust to changing circumstances, and continuously improve their strategies. Physical Fitness Fuels Sales Success Josh Hulsebosch dives into how physical fitness directly impacts sales performance by enhancing energy levels, mental clarity, and resilience. Maintaining a "proud posture," standing tall with shoulders back and chest open, not only boosts confidence but also improves breathing and communication, essential for effective selling. Prioritizing regular exercise, proper nutrition, and adequate sleep equips sales professionals to handle the demands of their role, leading to increased productivity and success. It's Not About You—It's About Them The moment you realize sales isn't about you is the moment you start winning. Too many salespeople and entrepreneurs fall into the trap of making their pitch the center of the conversation, focusing on their product, their needs, or their numbers. But here's the truth: your prospects don't care about you—they care about themselves. Success comes when you shift your mindset and make everything about the customer. Carole Mahoney discusses how to ask better questions, listen deeply, and focus on their pain points, goals, and dreams. When you solve their problems and make them the hero of the ...

On this episode of the Sales Gravy podcast, Jeb Blount sits down with author and speaker, Carole Mahoney, to discuss her path to becoming an entrepreneur by using a buyer first approach. Carole teaches us that when it comes to sales, you've gotta get out of your own head. It's not about you, your quota, or even how great your product is. It's all about the customer. You have to put yourself in their shoes and understand what they are really after. Ditch the rehearsed pitch and have a real conversation. When you genuinely care about helping people, not just closing deals, that's when the magic happens. Key Takeaways: - Mission to Change Perception of Sales: Carole is dedicated to changing how sales is perceived. She wants to shift the view of sales from being seen as pushy to being a respected and collaborative profession. - Reconnect for New Opportunities: Reaching out to past prospects who initially said no can uncover new opportunities. Many former prospects may reconsider and become interested in your services again. - Revive Closed Lost Deals: Revisiting deals that were previously closed lost can be fruitful. This approach can re-engage customers who have since realized their initial choice wasn't the best fit. - Re-engage Former Clients: Don't overlook former clients who stopped working with you. They may be ready to come back, especially if their current solution isn't meeting their needs. - Leverage Anchor Clients for Growth: Securing a key client can provide a strong foundation for expanding your business. Use this anchor client to build credibility and grow your sales practice. - Embrace Public Speaking: Use public speaking and keynotes to amplify your message and reshape industry perceptions. Listening to others insights can significantly broaden your impact. How Carole Mahoney Crushed Her Business Goals Carole Mahoney's story is one of determination, innovation, and resilience. Her journey from struggling entrepreneur to a successful speaker and author offers valuable lessons for anyone looking to crush their business goals. Turning Challenges into Opportunities Every entrepreneur faces obstacles, and Carole Mahoney was no exception. She encountered financial constraints and doubts about her ability to succeed. But rather than letting these challenges hold her back, Carole used them as stepping stones. When things didn't go as planned, she adapted her strategies and pushed forward. This mindset of turning setbacks into opportunities was crucial for her success. Instead of seeing a closed door, Carole saw a chance to find a new path. The Power of Persistence Persistence was a key factor in Carole's success. Early in her career, she faced rejection from potential clients. Instead of giving up, she followed up with them even after they had said no. Her persistence paid off when these clients returned, eager to work with her once again. This demonstrates the power of follow-up and how it can turn past rejections into new opportunities. Leveraging Past Opportunities One of Carole's smart strategies involved revisiting past opportunities that hadn't worked out. She called up former prospects who had initially been interested but couldn't proceed. Many of these prospects were still interested in her services and were willing to re-engage. By revisiting these past opportunities, Carole was able to generate new business and build stronger relationships. This approach highlights the value of maintaining connections and the potential of second chances. Embracing Public Speaking Another significant shift in Carole's career was her move into public speaking. She began speaking at conferences and giving keynote addresses, sharing her insights and experiences with larger audiences. This new focus allowed her to spread her message about sales and its collaborative nature. Carole's public speaking efforts not only broadened her influence but also helped change the perception of sales.

Are you prioritizing the product over the needs of the customer? Our guest, Carole Mahoney, unveils the common pitfalls salespeople face when this occurs. Listen in as Carole emphasizes the importance of asking the right questions to help buyers feel comfortable and confident in their decisions. Mark and Carole offer practical tips to shift the focus from product pitches to meaningful buyer-centric conversations. In addition, Mark and Carole discuss the importance of tailoring sales presentations to the unique needs of each stakeholder, moving away from ineffective, one-size-fits-all pitches.   ❗This Kindle deal ends this week!

Are your assumptions about your customer base holding you back? This week Mark is joined by Carole Mahoney, author of Buyer First: Grow Your Business with Collaborative Selling, and the founder of Unbound Growth, to talk about how asking the right questions can make you a better salesperson. They also discuss how active listening is crucial for identifying clients' underlying challenges and objectives and review six sales mindsets that may be keeping you from selling more. Here are some of the topics Mark and Carole discuss in this episode: Why successful sales are built on the foundation of deeply understanding and addressing customer needs How collaboration with clients leads to more innovative and fitting solutions How educating clients is a key strategy for building trust and establishing long-term partnerships Why actively listening and asking open-ended questions are essential skills for uncovering the true needs of clients How adapting sales approaches to focus on problem-solving and value creation enhances customer satisfaction and loyalty. The role empathy plays in understanding and meeting client needs The six mindsets that impact sales techniques How the “IKEA effect” leads to more sales How shutting up can help you win more deals The three questions you need a “yes” to before you close a deal Follow Mark: LinkedIn: https://hi.switchy.io/markdrager Instagram:  https://hi.switchy.io/KcKi Want more free tools? Go to our podcast page at https://hi.switchy.io/KcKe  

ABOUT THE GUEST(S)With a decade of experience as an author, speaker, coach, and trainer, Carole Mahoney assists entrepreneurs, founders, and salespeople like you in growing your businesses through a collaborative and science-based sales approach. Her upcoming book, "Buyer First: Grow Your Business with Collaborative Selling," unveils the groundbreaking method for achieving sales success that she employs with her clients daily, drawing insights from the experiences of 2.3 million salespeople.SHOW SUMMARYIn this episode of Selling From The Heart, Larry Levine and Darrell Amy are joined by guest Carole Mahoney, author of "Buyer First: Grow Your Business with Collaborative Selling." They explore the transformative power of collaborative selling in revolutionizing the sales profession. Carole delves into the importance of putting buyers first, actively listening, and building trust through authentic connections. Drawing from her own experiences and research, Carole shares practical insights and strategies for sales professionals to enhance their approach and achieve meaningful results.KEY TAKEAWAYSSales professionals should prioritize understanding and addressing the needs of buyers.Collaborative selling involves active listening, asking open-ended questions, and fostering genuine connections with buyers.Building trust is crucial in sales and requires authenticity, transparency, and a buyer-centric mindset.Sales origin stories influence beliefs and attitudes toward sales, and introspection and reframing can lead to personal and professional growth.Deep inner work not only enhances sales effectiveness but also contributes to personal development and character building.QUOTES"Selling from the heart is about putting your intentions to be other-focused first.""Amazing things start to happen when you stop shining the spotlight on yourself and shine it on the other person.""Trust isn't built on people liking you; it's built on telling the absolute truth."Learn more about Carole Mahoney: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolemahoney/Buyer First Book: https://carolemahoney.com/books/buyerfirstbook/Learn more about Darrell and Larry: Darrell's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrellamy/Larry's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larrylevine1992/Website: https://www.sellingfromtheheart.net/Please visit BarnesandNobles to order your copy of the rerelease of the Selling from the Heart book. SUBSCRIBE to our YOUTUBE CHANNEL! https://www.youtube.com/c/sellingfromtheheartPlease visit WHY INSTITUTE:https://whyinstitute.com/Please go to WORK BETTER NOW:https://www.workbetternow.com/Click for your Daily Dose of Inspiration:https://www.sellingfromtheheart.net/dailyGet your Insiders Group FREE PASS here:https://www.sellingfromtheheart.net/free-pass

If you don't sell anything - you don't have a business. Most small business owners avoid sales and so their businesses stay small. So how can we be systematically proactive in sales - and not have it get super awkward all the time. Well, I have a treat for you this week...In today's episode, Carole Mahoney compares the sales process to driving a car. Remember, you're at the wheel, but it's the buyer setting the pace. Carole offers really practical nsights on not taking rejection personally, focusing on buyer needs with a 'not about me' mantra. We dived deep into the red flags in your sales pipeline, the art of proactive prospecting, and the sheer importance of sales for your business success. If you're battling the discomfort of pitching or sales conversion, this is the episode that will shift your mindset and sharpen your skills, all whilst maintaining that crucial authentic connection with your clients. Some of the key themes we covered. ⭐️ Comparing sales process to driving ⭐️ Personal nature of small business selling ⭐️ Identifying red flags in sales pipeline ⭐️ Proactive prospecting in business ⭐️ Transitioning casual conversation to sales ⭐️ Overcoming sales-related fear and misconceptionsAbout CaroleComing from a long line of entrepreneurs, the surprising, real story of Carole Mahoney is that she used to hate sales - that is, until she taught herself how to change her mindset. She grew up in a family that taught her that the key to business growth is the experience a buyer has with a business. But, when set out in sales herself, she made all the same mistakes most sales professionals make - she made it all about herself and found it difficult to get traction with buyers. Rather than throwing in the towel and getting a traditional 9-5, Carole shifted her mindset and transformed her marketing agency into a thriving sales coaching agency. Using her passion for growing small businesses and improving success for business owners and sales professionals, Carole now shares her hard-won perspectives with audiences across the country as a trusted author, keynote speaker, and sales mentor. Carole recognized that a "me first" mentality was damaging the success of sales professionals and their reputation with buyers. Developing and using data and scientific research, she has proven time and again how invaluable a "Not About Me" approach is to sales performance and industry integrity. The author of the hot new release book Buyer First, Carole has been called the "Sales Therapist" by a Harvard Business School professor, where she coaches on sales for the Entrepreneurial MBA program. She is also the Chair of the Boston Emblaze, been named as a top sales influencer by LinkedIn and Sales Hacker, and voted a top sales coach by Ambition. As the founder of Unbound Growth, she uses sales specific data gathered from over 2.2 million sales professionals to determine what it takes to be a great seller or leader, and combines that with the behavioral research of how we change behaviors. This science and data backed process helps uncertain sales and business leaders reduce the guesswork out of hiring the right salespeople and cuts their hiring time and costs in half with a 91 % success rate. With custom sales training and coaching programs salespeople and managers have gone from on plan to consistently achieving 130-160% of quota in less than 6 months with a 98% annual customer retention rate." Carole is passionate about helping small businesses (and gardens) grow and giving sales professionals the tools they need to achieve success in their industry. Carole's Website https://carolemahoney.com----Get your copy of my Personal Brand Business Blueprint It's the FREE roadmap to starting, scaling or...

Carol Mahoney joins us on this episode to discuss the importance of humanizing sales and navigating the intersection of social dynamics and buyer-centricity. As entrepreneurs and executives, we often claim that our buyers are our top priority, but do our actions and systems reflect that statement? Carol helps us tackle this dilemma by diving into common mistakes businesses make and why they may not be prioritizing their buyers as they should. She also shares strategies to ensure that we stand by our goals of putting our buyers first, regardless of our industry or position within a company. Whether you're a solopreneur or in marketing, this episode is for you because, in any aspect of offering solutions to customers, their needs should always come first. Tune in to learn how to humanize your sales approach and truly prioritize your buyers. Carol Mahoney is a renowned sales expert, author, and founder of Unbound Growth. With her book "Buyer First: Grow Your Business With Collaborative Selling," she is revolutionizing the sales industry and changing the way buyers perceive it. Carol is also known as a sales therapist at Harvard Business School, where she serves as an entrepreneurial sales coach for their MBA program. She is a highly sought-after keynote speaker who inspires audiences to shift their mindset and prioritize putting buyers first in all their interactions. Learn more about Carol by visiting her keynote and blog page. You can also follow and connect with her on LinkedIn.

Does the idea of sales calls give you that icky, slimy, creepy, I don't want to do it kind of feeling? Many of us in the Fractional CFO industry really stress out about sales calls. We think about their traditional used car salesperson experience and don't want to give off those vibes in our sales calls. Well, it turns out there is another way to handle sales calls that is the complete opposite of slimy. In today's episode, I'm talking with Carole Mahoney. Carole is the author of a brand new book called Buyer First: Grow Your Business with Collaborative Selling. She's also the founder of Unbound Growth, and she has been called a sales therapist at Harvard Business School, where she's an entrepreneurial sales coach for their MBA program. Today, Carole and I are diving into what she calls collaborative selling. It's a completely new way of thinking about sales that puts the buyer at the front of the discussion. I've started incorporating many of Carole's techniques into my sales process and have already seen results. So, I'm really excited to share this conversation with you today. Let's dive in. LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: https://carolemahoney.com https://www.unboundgrowth.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolemahoney https://www.thecfoacceleratorlive.com CHECK OUT MY FREE WEEKLY NEWSLETTER:

On this episode of the Sales Gravy podcast Jeb Blount and Carole Mahoney, author of the hit new book Buyer First, underscore the importance of putting buyers first and aligning with the buyer's journey. They dive into the power of empathy, the art of listening, and innovative ways of selling that prioritize the buyer's needs and experiences to increase closing ratios. Human Centric, Buyer First Selling In the whirlwind of today's sales scene, there's a fresh, more human approach taking center stage. It's all about walking in step with the buyer's journey, tuning into empathy, mastering the art of listening, and flipping the script on traditional selling to truly put the buyer's needs first. Navigating The Buyer's Journey Picture the buyer's journey not as a straight shot from point A to B, but more like a winding road, complete with twists, turns, and the occasional backtrack. It's a ride through awareness, consideration, and finally, decision. For sales folks looking to really connect, it's about getting the map to this journey, understanding the lay of the land at each stage, and customizing their pitch to meet the buyer right where they are. It's less about sealing the deal and more about being a trusted guide, helping the buyer navigate their options to find the perfect fit for their needs. This shift towards empathy doesn't just feel good; it makes solid business sense, too. It transforms the buyer-seller dynamic into a partnership built on trust, paving the way for not just a one-off sale but a lasting relationship. Empathy: The Soul of Sales Today At the heart of putting buyers first is empathy. It's about seeing the world through the buyer's eyes, feeling their pain points, and genuinely wanting to help. This human connection is what sets apart the modern sales pro in a sea of information overload. By showing real care for the buyer's challenges and goals, salespeople can break through the noise, offering not just a product, but a solution that truly resonates. But don't mistake empathy for mere niceness. It's a strategic ace, giving salespeople the insight to tailor their messages and solutions in a way that truly hits home for the buyer. Listening is Key Listening – really listening – is where the magic happens. It's about tuning in with all senses, catching not just the words but the emotions and unspoken needs behind them. This deep dive into the buyer's world uncovers golden nuggets of insight, enabling sales pros to craft responses and solutions that are as unique as the buyer's own story. Today's buyer is savvy, connected, and expects more. They want interactions that are relevant, personal, and respectful. To sell more, adopt strategies that put the buyer's experience front and center. This pivot to a buyer-centric approach heralds a new chapter in sales, one where understanding, empathy, and genuine connection are give you a competitive edge. As the world continues to evolve, those who embrace a buyer first mindset are set to not just survive but thrive, building relationships that last and driving success that's both sustainable and fulfilling. Learn why more than 50,000 sales professionals and sales teams get the tools, tactics, and techniques to sell more on Sales Gravy University

Carole Mahoney has written an excellent book for sales professionals and entrepreneurs on collaborative selling and in changing the sales industry. She mixes in stories, anecdotes and statistics to help one learn and improve around critical sales skills and mindset for success.  00:00 Introduction and Guest Background 00:59 Carol's Journey and Book Contribution 02:48 The Impact of 'Buyer First' on Salespeople 04:57 The Concept of Collaborative Selling 09:20 The Importance of Mindset in Sales 10:56 Overcoming Non-Supportive Beliefs 17:49 Personal Growth Through Writing 'Buyer First' 19:39 Dealing with Bad Sales Days and Final Thoughts   Find Carole on LinkedIn  Order BuyerFirst on Amazon or here: https://carolemahoney.com/books/buyerfirstbook/  

The past twelve months have been a rollercoaster of blessings and challenges for me and my team. In a world saturated with success stories, it's crucial to acknowledge the struggles. I'm here to break the illusion of perfection often portrayed on social media and share the real, messy side of life—both in business and on a personal level. Join me in this raw and unfiltered discussion as I open up about the specific hurdles and setbacks that made me feel like my year was going up in flames. So, without further ado, let's dive in. RESOURCES AND LINKS MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE:

Welcome to this episode on the transformative concept of collaborative selling, where we join forces with Carole Mahoney, the founder of Unbound Growth and an entrepreneurial sales coach at Harvard Business School.   Carole and I explore the shift in sales towards a cooperative approach that puts the buyer's needs first, drawing from the principles of her book "Buyer First."   We challenge the traditional tactics of sales and emphasise the importance of a joint effort between the seller and buyer to find innovative solutions and create real value.   The episode also dives into the evolution of sales in the digital age, where buyers now hold the power of information, and contemplates how AI could either exacerbate outdated sales methods or enhance the human connection within sales through better research and personalisation.   Stay tuned for this sales episode that is as ethical as it is effective.   --------- EPISODE CHAPTERS ---------   (0:00:00) - Collaborative Selling (0:07:08) - The Shift Towards Buyer-Centric Sales (0:13:19) - Transforming Sales (0:25:42) - The Impact of Mindsets on Sales   --------- EPISODE CHAPTERS WITH FULL SUMMARIES --------- (0:00:00) - Collaborative Selling (7 Minutes) This chapter explores the transformative concept of collaborative selling, which reframes sales as a joint effort between seller and buyer to find solutions and create value. I'm joined by Carole Mahoney, the founder of Unbound Growth and an entrepreneurial sales coach at Harvard Business School, to discuss the principles of her book "Buyer First" and how collaborative selling puts the buyer's needs first. We touch on the historical context of sales techniques and the importance of moving away from manipulative tactics towards a more cooperative approach.   (0:07:08) - The Shift Towards Buyer-Centric Sales (6 Minutes) This chapter uncovers the striking disconnect between what buyers value in salespeople—active listening—and what sales managers typically look for during hiring. The discussion also reflects on the evolution of sales since the advent of the internet, which shifted the power of information to buyers, and contemplates the potential of AI to either perpetuate spammy sales tactics or, more optimistically, to empower salespeople to deepen human connections through enhanced research and personalised engagement.   (0:13:19) - Transforming Sales (12 Minutes) This chapter examines the transformative power of collaborative selling, inspired by insights from the IKEA effect and various research studies. We discuss the value customers place on products they have a hand in creating, reflecting on how this concept applies to sales, where buyers find worth in being actively involved in the solution process. The conversation also touches on the pitfalls of traditional selling approaches that focus on the seller's agenda, such as rigid qualification checklists, and the need for a sales renaissance that combines data, science, and human psychology.   (0:25:42) - The Impact of Mindsets on Sales (7 Minutes) We explore the challenges salespeople face in practicing active listening and asking questions, despite knowing its importance. We look at common misconceptions about sales roles and how they shape behaviour, stressing the need to shift long-held beliefs about sales to foster more ethical practices. We share insights from coaching sessions that reveal specific mindsets, like the need for approval, that hinder the ability to ask tough questions and uphold personal ethics.   Follow Carole https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolemahoney/ https://www.unboundgrowth.com/ Link to Carole's Book:  https://amzn.eu/d/eUrHsRR    Follow me https://linktr.ee/fredcopestake   Take the Scorecard https://collaborativeselling.scoreapp.com/   Watch this episode on YouTube https://youtu.be/tTDqtSdnWjg

Making choices that are in the best interest of the buyer rather than the vendor is what a successful sales approach is all about.That's how @Carole Mahoney, Founder of @Unbound Growth and author of the book Buyer First, has become a ringleader in sales growth. Spending time getting to know a buyer's preferred method of communication, asking insightful questions, and actively listening can go a long way toward establishing rapport and closing sales.Listen here to learn how doing your homework and taking the time to invest in business relationships really matters.Resources: LinkedIn & HubSpot

Episode 64 is not just for sales leaders! This is one you will want to share with your sales teams as Mike hosts a special guest, the brilliant Carole Mahoney. Mike declares that Buyer First: Grow Your Business with Collaborative Selling is the best-written book he's read this year and is convinced that you and your sellers will enjoy and greatly benefit from this enlightening conversation as Carole shares the science behind the success experienced by those who sell collaboratively. Along with nodding, smiling, and shouting “Amen!” as Carole and Mike exchange #notaboutme sales philosophies, you will also learn… Why buyers experience a dopamine hit when you make them part of the process How managers often reinforce anti-collaborative sales approaches and behaviors From Carole's experience as a sales coach for the Harvard Entrepreneurial MBA Program Links in this Episode: The Fast Foundations Virtual Workshop Series for sales managers  Buyer First on Amazon Carole Mahoney's site  Carole's LinkedIn profile

In this episode, John Barrows engages in a thought-provoking conversation with Carole Mahoney, an expert in sales and coaching. They dive into the power of clarification questions, the neuroscience behind building trust, and the value of asking unique and meaningful questions in sales. Carole's mission to change the negative perception of sales, her advocacy for women in the industry, and her insights on developing empathy and curiosity make for an engaging and enlightening episode. Tune in to discover the secrets to successful sales relationships and the importance of understanding the "why" in both personal and professional pursuits.Are you interested in leveling up your sales skills and staying relevant in today's AI-driven landscape? Visit www.jbarrows.com and let's Make It Happen together!Connect with John on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnbarrows/Connect with John on IG: https://www.instagram.com/johnmbarrows/Check out John's Membership: bit.ly/JBMembershipVisit the HubSpot Website: https://www.hubspot.com/Connect with Carole on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolemahoney/Visit Carole's website: https://carolemahoney.com/Schedule a time to talk with Carole here: https://app.hubspot.com/meetings/e1

In this episode, we're diving into the world of sales with a true industry luminary, Carole Mahoney, fondly known as the "Sales Therapist" to Harvard Business School. Carole reveals the fascinating cognitive behavioral approach she brings to sales, turning it from a sleazy tactic into a thoughtful and collaborative process. Carole's family legacy ignited her own journey into sales, even if she initially shied away from the negative stereotypes that often surround it. But what started as a mission to teach sales to Harvard Business students uncovered a profound insight: the need to change the perception of sales, all the way back to childhood. Join us as Carole introduces us to the science behind this transformation and how it's reshaping the entire sales industry!In this episode, I talk about…..Carole's unique cognitive behavior approach to sales.Negative sales perceptions and how to change them.Applying the “Not About Me” movement to the sales process.Persuasion and influence with integrity.Overcoming biases and obstacles to make more deals.Carole's 3 question closing sequence.This episode is full of tools and strategies to maximize your profit, grow your business, and reclaim your freedom! Take a listen!Connect with Carole!www.carolemahoney.com Follow Carole on social media: Instagram | Facebook | LinkedinCheck out her book! Buyer First: Grow Your Business with Collaborative SellingPlease take the time to leave a review so we can build our community of high growth entrepreneurs. If you'd like to connect with me, go to www.lukelayman.com orConnect with me on InstagramConnect with me on FacebookConnect with me on LinkedIn

Today Andy is joined by  our special guests, Carole Mahoney, Founder of Unbound Growth, Paul Fuller, CRO at Membrain, and Sean Burke CRO of Prometric. To begin, the group dissects the tagline "how you sell matters" and explore the nuances of the sales process. They analyze factors that influence the selection of a vendor, the role of trust and adaptability, and the power of understanding the buyer's business.But it's not just about the process or methodology. It's about how individuals adopt and personalize these techniques for the buyer's experience. We'll explore the consequences of unrealistic goals and pressure on sales teams, as well as the impact of confidence and client satisfaction on sales performance.The roundtable challenges conventional beliefs about sales, debunking the negative stereotypes often associated with the profession, and shed light on the true meaning of sales as a collaborative exchange of value and emphasize the importance of actively listening to clients.Host Andy Paul is the expert on modern B2B selling and author of three best-selling, award-winning sales books, including his latest Sell Without Selling Out. Visit andypaul.com to subscribe to his newsletter for even more strategies and tips to accelerate your win rate!Thank you to our sponsors:AllegoClozdCognism

Get FREE Sales Leadership Resources at go.transformedsales.com/podHighlights[00:51] - Her initial misconception of sales and she eventually fell in love with it after a career in marketing.[05:11] - Tackling a disconnect between marketing, sales, and buyers.[08:14] - Why businesses must focus on buyer experience just as much as they do on customer experience.[16:41] - How beliefs and mindsets impact the way that sales people show up in their sales careers.[24:41] - A positively minded sales manager = a positively minded and successful sales team.[27:17] - Buyer First: Writing a book to help business owners, startup entrepreneurs, and struggling salespeople to sell better.In this episode of the Transformed Sales Podcast, I had a chat with Carole Mahoney, the Founder of Unbound Growth, a scientific sales development firm, eliminates the guesswork of how to hire the right salespeople and develop superhero sales teams using a using a cognitive-behavioral approach that is driven by data that delivers predictable revenue. Carole is also the author of Buyer First: Grow Your Business with Collaborative Selling. She is on a mission to change how the sales industry sees itself, and how buyers see it too. She is President of the Boston chapter of the Association of Inside Sales Professionals, has been named as a top sales influencer by LinkedIn and Sales Hacker, and is a sales Coach for the Harvard Entrepreneurial MBA Program. In our conversation, Carole discussed the concept of "buyer first" and how it can revolutionize the way we approach sales, shared her insights on self-awareness, mindset shifts, and the importance of collaborative selling, and so much more. Listen (Or watch on YouTube) to the whole episode to gain from her valuable wisdom.Quotes“As a business owner, you're a sales person whether you like it or not” - Carole Mahoney“Sales is about helping people. It's about connecting problems and solutions together” - Carole Mahoney“When we put our buyers first, we create buying experiences that add more value, and customer retention and acquisition becomes much easier” - Carole Mahoney“Retention has less to do with customer success and more with the buying experience people initially have” - Carole Mahoney“Before we can have a great customer experience, we have to have a great buyer experience” - Carole Mahoney“The power of the positive mindset in impact is huge” - Carole Mahoney“Selling is not something we do to others, it's something we do with them. It's a collaboration. It's an exchange of value” - Carole Mahoney“A salesperson is really someone who is building a book of business within another business” - Carole MahoneyResources Mentioned:Get a copy of Buyer First: Grow Your Business with Collaborative Selling - https://carolemahoney.com/buyerfirstbookGet the worksheets mentioned in the book and infographics to help guide you to shift your sales mindsets and engage in collaborative conversations with buyers - https://carolemahoney.com/buyerfirstbook-workbookLearn More About Carole Mahoney in the Links Below:LinkedIn -

Get ready for an exhilarating episode of our podcast as we dive into the world of sales success and empowering customers! In today's episode, titled "Buyer First, Sales Success: Your Blueprint for Empowering Customers!", we are joined by the incredible Carole Mahoney, author of the groundbreaking book "Buyer First" and founder of Unbound Growth. Carole's revolutionary approach to collaborative selling has transformed the lives of countless entrepreneurs, founders, and salespeople, propelling them towards remarkable growth. So buckle up and prepare to gain valuable insights, as Carole shares her expertise, strategies, and the secrets to taking your business to new heights!Key Points Discussed:1. Falling in love with the process and not the destination:- Carole emphasizes the importance of enjoying the journey rather than solely focusing on the end result.- By embracing the process, work becomes more enjoyable and fulfilling.2. Making work fun:- Carole highlights the significance of infusing fun into the workplace.- By incorporating enjoyable activities and creating a positive work culture, productivity and success can be enhanced.3. Finding patience:- Patience is crucial in the sales process, as building relationships and closing deals takes time.- Carole shares strategies for developing patience and understanding the long-term benefits it brings.4. It's not all about me:- Carole stresses the importance of shifting the focus from oneself to the customer.- By understanding the customer's needs and providing value, sales success can be achieved.5. Opportunity in change:- Carole discusses how change presents opportunities for growth and improvement.- Embracing change and adapting to new circumstances can lead to positive outcomes in sales.6. Selling is something we do with people, not to them:- Carole highlights the collaborative nature of selling.- Building genuine connections and establishing trust with customers is essential for successful sales.7. Designing your life:- Carole shares insights on designing a life that aligns with personal and professional goals.- By prioritizing what truly matters and making intentional choices, individuals can create a fulfilling and balanced life.8. How to be present for others:- Carole provides strategies for being fully present and engaged in conversations with customers.- Active listening and genuine interest in the customer's needs contribute to building strong relationships.9. Being curious and asking really good questions:- Carole emphasizes the power of curiosity and asking thoughtful questions in sales.- By seeking to understand the customer's challenges and goals, salespeople can provide tailored solutions.Check Out Carole Here:https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolemahoney/https://carolemahoney.com/books/buyerfirstbook/Unlocking the Power of Trust: Keynote Speaker Robin Dreeke Shares Secrets to Creating Allies - Robin is the former Chief of the FBI's Counterintelligence Behavioral Analysis Program. With over 30 years of experience in recruiting spies and building trust, Robin is the world-renowned speaker you need. Don't miss out on the opportunity to learn from a true expert. Contact us now to book your event! Click HERE to book a time to chat.

With a decade of experience as an author, speaker, coach, and trainer, Carole Mahoney helps entrepreneurs, founders, and salespeople grow their businesses with a collaborative and science-based sales formula. In this episode, Carole shares how to make an engaging and collaborative sales conversation that makes your potential buyers feel valued and heard. In doing so, you transform your sales conversations into positive and fruitful interactions.   What you will learn from this episode: Learn about this exercise called 'Questions and Periods Game', how to go about it and how it works with your clients Discover the step-by-step process of doing the 'Questions and Periods Game' through a role play demonstration of Carole and Mark Find out the essential principles you need to know about the art of selling   "Selling isn't something we do to other people. It's something we do with them. And I think that's a fundamental shift that we need to start making in sales." - Carole Mahoney   Topics Covered: 01:17 - Synopsis of her book 'Buyer First' 03:34 - The best way to look at sales 06:03 - Carole coaching Mark on sales 11:57 - A sales conversation role play between Mark and Carole 16:05 -What is the 'Question and Periods Game' that she used to throw phenomenal questions at Mark? 20:30 - How to do the sales call without having to 'sell you' but to 'help you' 22:55 - Carole's valuable thoughts on Mark's sales technique 26:18 - How to handle a reply to a client's question at the end of the sales call, 'What do you think the next step should be'? 27:15 - What you should not fail to ask towards the end of the sales conversation   Key Takeaways: "Selling isn't something we do to other people. It's something we do with them. And I think that's a fundamental shift that we need to start making in sales." - Carole Mahoney "The more you drill down into a specific answer, the more you make them think and the more they start to wonder, maybe I don't know the answer to that. And then you find the opportunity to be able to offer an insight to them when you find out what insight matters most to them." - Carole Mahoney "When we talk about what we think, dopamine gets released in our brain. And so dopamine is that pleasure center. Like, we want more of that. That's why so many of us tend to get into talking about what we know instead of asking more questions. If we can get our buyers to talk more than we do, they're getting the dopamine released in their brains and they feel good about the conversation." - Carole Mahoney "Knowing who else can say no or who else can say yes and who else is going to be impacted by this [decision] is a critical question to ask towards the end of a call for your next step." - Carole Mahoney   People/Resources Mentioned: Buyer First: Grow Your Business with Collaborative Selling by Carole Mahoney: https://carolemahoney.com/books/buyerfirstbook/   Connect with Carole Mahoney: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolemahoney/ Website: https://www.unboundgrowth.com/   Connect with Mark Stiving: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/ Email: mark@impactpricing.com  

In this episode, sales coach Carole Mahoney shares strategies to boost sales confidence by putting the buyer first, emphasizing the importance of mindset, buyer-focused communication, active listening, and self-awareness.Click here to check the full show notes

Tune in to my conversation with author of Buyer First Carole Mahoney where she shares the importance of mindset in our sales motions.We timed this episode well, Today is the day Buyer First is available any where you buy books! Carole unpacks the impact mindset has on our selling motions.Have you ever been told, " you're extraverted, you're going to be a great sales person” without experience we can slip in to the role of what we think a sales person should do.She explains why the dynamic is different when we are in a social conversation vs a selling conversation. How in social conversations, we feel fine, confident and ourselves but when we put on our “sales costume” the dynamic changes. We know there has to be an exchange of value and we panic and look inward.Our focus shifts to us. Our need to be liked, approved, holding back asking the questions we know we should be asking, thinking about what answer to give our prospects as they are speaking.All this is our mindset. Once we control our beliefs it no only changes how we show up to sales conversations, it changes how we show up in life.Tune in to an honest, empowering and action packed episode and Buy her book today, you won't be disappointed1:09 Prioritizing the buyer's needs and interests in sales interactions.02:16 Collaborating with prospects and involving them in the sales process.07:37 Need to shift from product-centric training to buyer-centric training.8:33 Creating a buyer experience that builds trust and collaboration.10:09 Mindset's significance in sales and putting buyers first.13:11 Impact of mindsets and beliefs on sales performance.16:59 Importance of asking questions to understand the buyer's needs.19:14 Benefits of writing down goals, plans, and thoughts.23:10 Reviewing sales calls from the buyer's perspective.25:06 Taking ownership and responsibility in sales.27:24 Setting personally meaningful goals and creating action plans.29:50 Challenging negative mindsets and beliefs.33:21 Negative effects of comparison on social media.35:37 Connection between personal purpose, goal-setting, and sales engagement.40:30 Building rapport through personal connections.41:22 Importance of emotional management and being fully present.42:02 Value of active listening and collaboration in sales conversations.46:47 Co-creating solutions with buyers for higher engagement.48:58 Uncovering issues and tying solutions to capabilities.50:10Problem of salespeople not knowing the problem they are solving.51:49 Reasons for buyer indecision and obstacles to change.57:02 Approaching sales with empathy and active listening.57:19 Building rapport and being present in sales conversations.58:35 Being fully present in personal relationships and sales interactions.https://carolemahoney.com/books/buyerfirstbook/For more content like this, join hundreds of other subscribers to The K2 Sales Academy. Our subscription based on line sales training platform. $495/year unlocks the Fundamentals of Sales program with built in knowledge checks, resource folder with scripts, templates and checklists as well as regular webinars. 1:1 and group coaching packages available as well. To access our free one week Trial visit The K2 Sales Academy

In this week's Scale Your Sales podcast episode, my guest is Carole Mahoney, the author of Buyer First: Grow Your Business with Collaborative Selling. Carole is changing how the sales industry sees itself — and how buyers see it as well. She has been named as a top sales influencer by LinkedIn and Sales Hacker, and is also a sales coach for the Harvard Entrepreneurial MBA Program. In this episode, Carole discusses the concept of "buyer first" and how it can revolutionise the way we approach sales. Her recently launched her book, Buyer First: Grow Your Business with Collaborative Selling, is specifically tailored to business owners, founders, entrepreneurs, and salespeople who have tried various techniques but are not seeing the desired results. Drawing from a database of 2.3 million salespeople, Carol's book is grounded in extensive research and offers practical advice for success. She shares her insights on self-awareness, mindset shifts, and the importance of collaborative selling. Stay tuned as we delve into how her book can transform your sales approach and help you achieve unprecedented success.   Welcome to Scale Your Sales Podcasts, Carole Mahoney.   Timestamps:   03:33 — Selling yourself as a business owner is a whole different ballgame. 08:51 — First step is self-awareness, next is personalised strategy. 13:25 — Fear of rejection hinders progress.  16:00 — Accept, be curious, change, manage emotions, sell better. 18:37 — Mindset is contagious. Prioritise and document buyer's process to adapt and succeed. 20:53 — The IKEA effect and how it can impact your sales game. and more! https://carolemahoney.com/   https://www.unboundgrowth.com   https://www.instagram.com/carolemahoney/   https://twitter.com/icarolemahoney   https://www.facebook.com/carole.mahoney   https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolemah...   Janice B Gordon is the award-winning Customer Growth Expert and Scale Your Sales Framework founder. She is by LinkedIn Sales 15 Innovating Sales Influencers to Follow 2021, the Top 50 Global Thought Leaders and Influencers on Customer Experience Nov 2020 and 150 Women B2B Thought Leaders You Should Follow in 2021. Janice helps companies worldwide to reimagine revenue growth through customer experience and sales.   Book Janice to speak virtually at your next event https://janicebgordon.com       LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janice-b-gordon/  Twitter: https://twitter.com/JaniceBGordon       Scale Your Sales Podcast: https://scaleyoursales.co.uk/podcast      More on the blog https://scaleyoursales.co.uk/blog     Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janicebgordon      Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ScaleYourSal... 

Nick Ron is the founder and CEO of House Buyers of America. He is an industry veteran with over 20 years of experience as a real estate investor. He founded House Buyers of America in 2001, selling homes through his hybrid real estate model that balances technology with human on-the-ground expertise. Nick took the House Buyers of America from $0 to $50 million within his first three years of business operation. Nick is an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award winner and has been featured in USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, and the US News role report to name a few. For more information go to HouseBuyersofAmerica.com. Carole is the author of Buyer First: Grow Your Business with Collaborative Selling. Carole is changing the way the entire sales industry sees itself and how buyers see it too. She's been called the sales therapist by Harvard Business School where she coaches sales for their entrepreneurial MBA program. She's also the president of AA-ISP Boston, and has been named a top sales influencer by LinkedIn and Sales Hacker, and voted a top sales coach by ambition with the heart of a teacher in the spirit of a coach, she is ready to share how you can unlock sales success that you never thought possible. For more information, go to CaroleMahoney.com. Chanel Christoff Davis is a tax expert with over 20 years of experience in business operations. Chanel is the founding partner and CEO of Davis Davis and Harmon LLC, and award winning sales tax award winning firm of sales tax experts known as DDH. Established in 2001, DDH is the largest woman and minority owned sales tax advisory practice in the nation. DDH services corporations by delivering innovative tax solutions that return money to their clients bottom line. Chanel has so much experience in managing client relations and the day to day management decisions of her firm. For more information, go to DDHTax.com. Three of my amazing guests – Nick Ron, Carole Mahoney, and Chanel Christoff Davis – join me simultaneously for a fun, lighthearted, rapid-fire round of my favorite business questions.We get their opinions on a few business tools, some old-school marketing tips, and some great books for aspiring business owners.This week on SmallBizChat Podcast:Fun, fast-paced round of questioning.Our guests' favorite podcasts.Their favorite business app.Their favorite old-school marketing tip.Plus a few other questions about great resources for up-and-coming business leaders.Resources Mentioned:Brand in Demand Live! - https://smallbizladyuniversity.com/brandindemandlive/ BossQuiz: https://bossquiz.com/ Podcasts Mentioned: EOS PodcastDare to Lead with Brene BrownJill On MoneyFollow the Leader PodcastApps Mentioned: CanvaAmerican AirlinesAsanaBooks Mentioned: Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino WickmanGood to Great by James CollinsThe Science of Selling by David HoffeldE-Myth Revisited by Michael E. GerberDisrupt You! by Jay SamitConnect with Nick Ron:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-ron-875b4716/ Website: https://www.housebuyersofamerica.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/HomeBuyersUS Connect with Carole Mahoney:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolemahoney Website: https://carolemahoney.com/ Book: https://carolemahoney.com/books/buyerfirstbook/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/icarolemahoney YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCluXteZ_fsO-2Nr_T6VJEEg Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carolemahoney/ Connect with Chanel Christoff Davis:Website: https://ddhtax.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chanelchristoffdavis/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/salestaxhelp Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SalesTaxHelp/ Podcast: https://followtheleaderpod.carrd.co/

In this episode, Melinda Emerson, Nick Ron, Carole Mahoney, and Chanel Christoff Davis discuss the concept of "Eat it and Quit it", share their favorite podcasts and business apps, provide old school marketing tips, and recommend their favorite business books. The episode closes with Emerson's mission statement.

Carole is the author of Buyer First: Grow Your Business with Collaborative Selling. Carole is changing the way the entire sales industry sees itself and how buyers see it too. She's been called the sales therapist by Harvard Business School where she coaches sales for their entrepreneurial MBA program. She's also the president of AA-ISP Boston, and has been named a top sales influencer by LinkedIn and Sales Hacker, and voted a top sales coach by ambition with the heart of a teacher in the spirit of a coach, she is ready to share how you can unlock sales success that you never thought possible. For more information, go to CaroleMahoney.com. If sales has ever felt like a dirty word, take a listen to today's episode. My guest today is Carole Mahoney, and she talks to us all about how to change the mindset, both yours and your buyers, around selling and how, by working together, we will all get more out of the sales process. “When we collaborate with our buyers in our conversations, we're adding more value to the conversations, and they're seeing more value in the solutions as a result.” – Carole MahoneyThis week on SmallBizChat Podcast:The behaviors we have lead to the results we get. Regaining the human aspect of sales. What buyers value. The mindsets and behaviors of sales. Common misconceptions about sales. Stop making it about you. Getting over your misconceptions about sales. Resources Mentioned:Brand in Demand Live! - https://smallbizladyuniversity.com/brandindemandlive/ Connect with Carole Mahoney:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolemahoney Website: https://carolemahoney.com/ Book: https://carolemahoney.com/books/buyerfirstbook/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/icarolemahoney YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCluXteZ_fsO-2Nr_T6VJEEg Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carolemahoney/

In this episode, Melinda Emerson chats with Carole Mahoney about the importance of collaboration in sales and the human aspect of sales. They delve into Carole's book "Buyer First", discuss common misconceptions about sales, and share tips for effective sales conversations. Also, they explore hiring salespeople and the impact of mindset in overcoming misconceptions. The episode concludes with an introduction to sales taxes.

Carole Mahoney is an author, speaker, coach, and trainer taking a cognitive approach to sales success. In this episode, Carole shares how salespeople should initiate a pricing conversation that should be 'Not Be About Me' and quantify the cost of not doing something. That way, buyers make a decision for fear of negative business impact.   What you will learn from this episode: Discover a powerful pricing conversation technique that focuses on addressing potential objections and inspires people to take action by tapping into their fears of negative outcomes Find out how salespeople add value and uncover urgency for people to make a decision Understand why salespeople need to create a ‘dirty laundry list' and include them in their conversation "The biggest piece of advice for finding value in a conversation and talking about pricing is to make it a collaborative conversation." - Carole Mahoney   Topics Covered: 01:30 - How she found a career in pricing 02:20 - Salespeople find it uncomfortable talking about money and pricing matters 03:46 - Pricing conversation that's more about contrasting and quantifying the cost of doing nothing  06:36 - Not articulating enough the fear of loss 07:49 - Letting buyers articulate the real problem [and getting them to ask these important questions] 08:36 - The Seinfeld-comedy-series inspired technique of pricing conversation 10:16 - Adding value and uncovering urgency 11:30 - Creating a dirty laundry list 14:17 - What makes it advantageous for salespeople to share their laundry list amongst themselves 15:48 - Providing measurable business value while addressing potential negative outcomes 16:59 - Creating a constant reminder to salespeople with a t-shirt that reads: Not About Me 20:43 - Pricing advice that can have the biggest impact in one's business   Key Takeaways: "If selling is an exchange of value, then the pricing conversation is the proof of value actually exists." - Carole Mahoney "Ask questions that address why they might say no, not why they might say yes, you need both. You need to be able to draw the contrast." - Carole Mahoney "It's not necessarily the salesperson's job to make it painful to the buyer. It's the salesperson's job to ask the questions to uncover if the pain to the buyer is great enough to take action, to make a decision and then to implement a solution." - Carole Mahoney   People / Resources Mentioned: Buyer First: Grow Your Business with Collaborative Selling by Carole Mahoney: www.unboundgrowth.com/buyer-first-book   Connect with Carole Mahoney: LinkedIn: https://www.unboundgrowth.com/ Website: https://www.unboundgrowth.com/   Connect with Mark Stiving: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/ Email: mark@impactpricing.com  

“Before we can have a customer, we must first have a buyer.” That is one of my favorite lines from the book we're going to discuss today.  It is a notion that is intuitively simple, but not initially obvious. Today I speak with author Carole Mahoney about her upcoming book Buyer First: Grow Your Business with Collaborative Selling. Carole explains how a buyer-centric experience starts from the very first interaction, and why it's essential to challenge traditional notions of sales. She reiterates that "selling is not something we do to other people; it is something we do with them," and explores how collaboration is key to creating a positive buyer experience. Carole shares common mistakes businesses make when creating buyer experiences, including relying on the product to sell itself, and offers valuable insights on how to approach sales with a buyer-centric mindset. Whether you're an entrepreneur or a sales professional, this conversation offers practical advice and actionable steps to help you put the buyer first and grow your business.   Author of Buyer First: Grow Your Business with Collaborative Selling, Carole is changing the way the entire sales industry sees itself — and how buyers see it too. She has been called the “Sales Therapist” at Harvard Business School where she coaches on sales for their Entrepreneurial MBA program. She is also the President of the AA-ISP Boston Chapter, been named as a top sales influencer by LinkedIn and Sales Hacker, and voted a top sales coach by Ambition. With the heart of a teacher and the spirit of a coach, Carole is ready to share how you can unlock the success you've never thought possible.   And be sure to subscribe to The Self-Employed Life in Apple Podcasts or follow us on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts so you don't miss an episode.   Everything you need can all be found at jeffreyshaw.com.   Carole Mahoney, thank you so much for being here! Remember, you might be in business FOR yourself but you are not in business BY yourself. Be your best self. Be proud and keep changing the world. Guest Contact – CaroleMahoney.com Buyer First: Grow Your Business with Collaborative Selling by Carole Mahoney Carole Mahoney on LinkedIn (in/carolemahoney) Carole Mahoney on Facebook (@carole.mahoney) Carole Mahoney on Instagram (@carolemahoney) Carole Mahoney on Twitter (@icarolemahoney) Carole Mahoney on YouTube (@CaroleMahoneyE) Contact Jeffrey – SelfEmployedNewsletter.com Website Books Watch my TEDx LincolnSquare video and please share! Valuable complimentary resources to help you –   The Self-Employed Business Institute- You know you're really good at what you do. You're talented, you have a skill set. The problem is you're probably in a field where there is no business education. This is common amongst self-employed people! And, there's no business education out there for us! You also know that being self-employed is unique and you need better strategies, coaching, support, and accountability. The Self-Employed Business Institute, a five-month online education is exactly what you need. Check it out! Take The Self-Employed Assessment! Ever feel like you're all over the place? Or frustrated it seems like you have everything you need for your business success but it's somehow not coming together? Take this short quiz to discover the biggest hidden gap that's keeping you from having a thriving Self-Employed Ecosystem. You'll find out what part of your business needs attention and you'll also get a few laser-focused insights to help you start closing that gap. Have Your Website Brand Message Reviewed! Is your website speaking the right LINGO of your ideal customers? Having reviewed hundreds of websites, I can tell you 98% of websites are not. Fill out the simple LINGO Review application and I'll take a look at your website. I'll email you a few suggestions to improve your brand message to attract more of your ideal customers. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO! Host Jeffrey Shaw is a Small Business Consultant, Brand Management Consultant, Business Coach for Entrepreneurs, Keynote Speaker, TEDx Speaker and author of LINGO and The Self Employed Life (May 2021). Supporting self-employed business owners with business and personal development strategies they need to create sustainable success.

In Conversation with Carole Mahoney, Author, "Buyer First". She speaks to Subhanjan Sarkar in this episode on her book, "Buyer First" The post Bizcast: Bits about books – In Conversation with Carole Mahoney, Author, “Buyer First”  appeared first on Business Podcast Network.

Carole Mahoney of Unbound Growth and author of Buyer First chats to me about why buyers really buy and how salespeople get in their own way. Friction and uncertainty are created in the buyer's mind through selfish, ill considered sales motions and behaviours that are ill timed with the buyers buying journey. Frank, unfluffy and packed with usable insights, Carole rips the scales from your eyes, leaves you nowhere to hide when it comes to excuses and does so without making you feel like a fool. This episode is a belter. Thank you Carole. Please come back. We'd love to hear from you. Please please your comments, questions, thoughts and challenges. We love to be wrong. If you have strong and well founded opinions, or you hit upon a lucky experiment and have worked out how to systematise it, drop me a line via the link below Carole's contact details. Contact Carole via linkedin.com/in/carolemahoney Websites unboundgrowth.com (Company) unboundgrowth.com/blog (Blog) Phone: +1 207-604-6287 (Mobile) Email: e@carolemahoney.com

In this episode of Scale Your Sales Podcast, I speak to the author of the upcoming book Buyer First, Carole Mahoney. This book is geared at entrepreneurs and solo sellers along with the sales team.   Carole Mahoney discusses how buyer behaviour has changed, why salespeople still don't understand the buyer's perspective, and how we should listen to and understand what customers actually want to hear from their sales representatives.   Carole Mahoney has been called the “Sales Therapist” by a Harvard Business School professor where she coaches on sales for their Entrepreneurial MBA program. Carole  is also the President of the AA-ISP Boston Chapter, been named as a top sales influencer by LinkedIn and Sales Hacker, and voted a top sales coach by Ambition. Welcome to Scale Your Sales Podcast, Carole Mahoney. Timestamps:   00:00 - Coaching Sellers For Effective Conversations With Potential Buyers   02:54 - Getting to know Buyer First and the Author   07:03 - The Wee-wee Factor   10:00 - What Buyers Would Want to Know   14:03 - Neuroscience of Buying   22:09 - The Importance of Selling and Buying   https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolemahoney/   Janice B Gordon is the award-winning Customer Growth Expert and founder of Scale Your Sales Framework. She is by LinkedIn Sales 15 Innovating Sales Influencers to Follow 2021, the Top 50 Global Thought Leaders and Influencers on Customer Experience Nov 2020 and 150 Women B2B Thought Leaders You Should Follow in 2021. Janice helps companies worldwide to reimagine revenue growth through customer experience and sales.   Book Janice to speak virtually at your next event https://janicebgordon.com   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janice-b-gordon   Twitter: https://twitter.com/JaniceBGordon   Scale Your Sales Podcast: https://scaleyoursales.co.uk/podcast   More on the blog https://scaleyoursales.co.uk/blog   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janicebgordon   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ScaleYourSalesJBG  

Your host, Heidi Solomon-Orlick, talks with Carole Mahoney of Unbound Growth. Unbound Growth is a scientific sales development firm that eliminates the guesswork of how to develop and hire stellar sales teams by using a proven data and science-based process that delivers validated predictable revenue. To learn more about Carole's work, visit http://www.unboundgrowth.com/If you'd like to be a guest on GirlzWhoSell Spotlight, click HERE

"In this episode, Brynne and Bill are joined by Carole Mahoney, founder and chief sales coach of Unbound Growth. Tune in as Carole drops magic nuggets around the behavioral side of sales and discusses why sales isn't just a numbers game but also a mental one."

Carole Mahoney is the founder of Unbound Growth, a scientific sales development firm that helps sales teams fuel business growth, a sales coach for Harvard's entrepreneurial MBA program and soon, an author. Her upcoming book "Buyer First: How to Sell the Way Your Customers Want to Buy," is the book she wished she had 20 years ago when she first started her sales career. Hear how she's helping others understand how sales work—no matter their level of experience—through the stories of others.Be sure to stick around for my reflections at the end of this episode!Let's be friends! Follow me on LinkedIn.This episode was edited and produced by Earfluence.

Digital selling is omnichannel—anything that you can use online. It can be digital assets, PDFs, web pages, interactive quizzes, communities, and more. But when you sell digitally, you have to make a conscious effort to understand and engage with your buyer in ways and places they prefer. That's why agility and flexibility are essential to the process. Carole Mahoney shares her thoughts on the digital sales process in this episode of Sales Reinvented. Don't miss it!  Outline of This Episode [1:33] The difference between digital and social [2:11] How to improve digital selling [3:30] Carole's digital selling strategy [4:43] Attributes salespeople need to succeed [6:39] Tools + techniques + strategies to utilize [8:45] Top 3 digital dos and don'ts [10:46] Learn to be digitally agile  How to improve digital selling In 1993 when the internet was first being launched, Carole realized that it would change everything—including the way people communicate and form relationships. That's how organizations need to think of digital selling today. It's been ignored for so long because face-to-face was an option, and thought to be more effective. But the way people buy has been changing since the internet was born. Businesses need to catch up!  They need to be in tune with what is going on with their buyer when they're engaging in these channels. Carole notes that they often make rash decisions to put everything online without thinking about buyer experience. You must learn from your buyers: how do they prefer to engage online? You don't want to develop things that annoy or distract from what they're trying to do.  Carole's digital selling strategy Carole emphasizes that you have to start with conversations with prospects, buyers, and current customers to collaborate. Selling is something you do with others—not to others. If you want to build a strategy, it needs to start with one-to-one conversations. You need to learn about their pain points and frustrations and what to solve.  How do they go about making confident decisions? How do they prefer to engage? In what ways? Some people hate email. Others can't get off of it. How do your unique buyers want to communicate? Everyone has a different way to prefer to communicate online. You use that information to design a sales process that's in alignment with how people buy.  What attributes do salespeople need to have to succeed with digital selling? Listen to learn more! Tools + techniques + strategies to utilize  Carole recommends that all sales teams use Gryphon Networks. Most people just do call reviews and look at what's already happened—things you can't have an impact on. But things like role play and real-time coaching with your salespeople can be a game-changer. Gryphon has an AI that can be trained to give the seller coaching prompts at the moment. It can enhance the digital conversation sellers are having.  Carole also recommends finding out where your team places in core competencies. She uses an assessment that can help you focus where your team needs further training and development. If you'd like to assess your team for free and see how they compare to the competition in your industry, check out the Sales Force Evaluation.  What are Carole's top 3 digital selling dos and don'ts? You'll have to listen to find out! Learn to be digitally agile  Carole recently held a webinar series for Revenue Collective. Normally, she'd get a list of the people that signed up for the webinar and she'd personally reach out to them. But Carole didn't get a list. So in her presentation, she shared some links for tools and techniques that were downloadable from her website that people could use immediately. She also made sure her LinkedIn profile was easy to find. What happened?  Several people from the same company looked at her LinkedIn profile and other downloaded tools. She noted who they were, and reached out to one of them. She sent an email asking about what they downloaded and asked a specific question about it. In the end, it resulted in valuable conversations and Carole will be working with them soon. It was a 45–60 day sales cycle with a Vidyard video and emails—how they wanted to interact.  The moral of the story? She had to adapt. She had to find a way to connect with people and provide them valuable resources. She had to find out who was interested in learning more and how to have a conversation. She had to use her website and digital assets to find those people and make it easier to engage. It goes to show that you can have a playbook, run the plays, and do the drills. But when you get on the field, you have to adapt. If you can't adapt, the play will fail, and you'll lose the game.  Resources & People Mentioned Objective Management Group Assess your team for FREE with Unbound Growth's Sales Force Evaluation Pavillion Revenue Collective Vidyard Connect with Carole Mahoney Connect on LinkedIn Follow on Twitter  Connect With Paul Watts  LinkedIn Twitter  Subscribe to SALES REINVENTED Audio Production and Show notes by PODCAST FAST TRACK https://www.podcastfasttrack.com

"So remember, the more calm you are, the better you are to be able to show up for others." - Carole Mahoney in today's Tip 838 Are you struggling with mental health issues? Join the conversation at DailySales.Tips/838 and learn more about Carole! Have feedback? Want to share a sales tip? Call or text the Sales Success Hotline: 512-777-1442 or Email: scott@top1.fm

"Build up your ability to handle frustration and develop some grit." - Carole Mahoney in today's Tip 825 How do you handle the certain ups and downs that are going to happen during our behavioral changes? Join the conversation at DailySales.Tips/825 and check out the links! Have feedback? Want to share a sales tip? Call or text the Sales Success Hotline: 512-777-1442 or Email: scott@top1.fm

According to Carole Mahoney, prospecting is one-on-one, high touch, quality communication, and outreach. Lead generation is more one-to-many, general messaging, and top of the funnel. If you want to be proactive and fill your funnel they’re both important. If you’re not prospecting you’re not going after your ideal customer. If you’re not engaging in lead generation you’re not educating, you’re not putting the word out there so people know how you are. But how you do both matters. That is why great content in all of your messaging matters. Carole Mahoney—the founder of Unbound Growth—shares her expertise in this episode of Sales Reinvented. Outline of This Episode [0:50] The difference between prospecting and lead gen [1:28] Why both are important to the entire sales funnel [2:03] Carole’s lead generation + prospecting process [5:26] Attributes or characteristics of a great prospector [8:23] Skills salespeople need to develop to succeed [10:21] Top 3 dos and don’ts of prospecting and lead gen [12:59] Why copywriting and cadence matters Carole’s lead generation + prospecting process Carole emphasizes that you have to put out content that attracts the right people. It needs to be about them and their problems. Prospecting is easier when people have heard of your product or service. It also brings opportunities that you may not have considered.  What is the issue that people are dealing with that you can help with? Where do they start educating themself? That’s where you want to be. You can put out content through speaking engagements, webinars, podcasts, eGuides, checklists, and more. Lead generation can be creating a social media presence and creating your own content like blogs and podcasts. You need to be in front of people that you can help the most.  If a list of people signs up for your upcoming webinar, you can turn on your prospecting skills and reach out to them one-to-one. What intrigued them? What are they hoping to learn? What questions do they want to be answered? Include those in your webinar. Then you can follow up with them after the webinar.  Attributes or characteristics of a great prospector The first and most important thing is to be able to manage your need for approval. If you’re concerned about what people might think, it will be difficult to prospect. It will be difficult to ask questions or push back. People are afraid of putting things out on LinkedIn or blog posts for fear of being heckled.  Secondly, You need to have a plan and discipline developed around it. You won’t always see immediate results. It may be weeks, months, or even years down the road. You can’t just jump in and expect results. Carole emphasizes that you can’t be a perfectionist. Things will never go exactly as planned.  Skills salespeople need to develop to succeed Carole believes most salespeople need to work on their copywriting skills. Sellers often take whatever marketing hands them and sends those into their cadences. They don’t think about what they’re actually saying. But you need to take the marketing message and customize it to who you’re talking to. “Set it and forget it” makes sellers lazy. You need to focus on the quality of your message. Carole notes you should also block time into your schedule to be consistent. You need to develop resilience. It’s paramount to prospecting and lead generation. What are Carole’s top 3 dos and don’ts of prospecting and lead generation? Listen to learn more! Why copywriting and cadence matters Carole was working with a client who worked at a SaaS tech company who was struggling to get responses to her cadences. She was trying to move customers from a competitor to her product. But everything she sent out got a very low response rate. So Carole took a look at the first email. It was too long, it was all about her product/service, and she was asking the prospect to take a large leap—all in the first email. No interest or value had been established.  So Carole asked her to rework it. She wrote something that talked about their results and focused it on her prospects. She saw almost double the response rate and got conversations in the pipeline. She learned that you have to keep it brief, make it all about the prospect, and ask the right questions. Always focus on the potential value for the customer. Resources & People Mentioned BOOK: Grit by Angela Duckworth Connect with Carole Mahoney Unbound Growth Connect With Paul Watts  LinkedIn Twitter Subscribe to SALES REINVENTED Audio Production and Show notes by PODCAST FAST TRACK https://www.podcastfasttrack.com

An incredible interview with Conference21 speaker Carole Mahoney. We discuss the importance of sales in entrepreneurship, whether you like it or not, imposter syndrome, and more. At Conference21, Carole will be talking about how to set goals and change behaviors. Get your tickets for only $21 at www.conference21.com The event is February 20th and 21st, 2021 Other Links: https://www.facebook.com/groups/confidentconnected (Confident, Connected, and Influential Facebook Group) http://motivation.guywhoknowsaguy.com (Morning Motivation) Music Credit Bits And Bytes by Claus Appel Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/4688-bits-and-bytes License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Mentioned in this episode: Get my MP3 I have recorded my book in audio form. Get your copy for free at https://www.guywhoknowsaguy.com Network without talking to strangers Did you know that you can network without ever talking to a stranger? It's true. Networking is not about awkward conversations and elevator pitches. It is about making connections and creating value. I'll teach you how in a two minute video at https://www.guywhoknowsaguy.com/innercircle

Carole Mahoney the CEO of Unbound Growth tells you how to coach sales teams remotely. You can check her out at http://www.UnboundGrowth.com/

You better get your notepad ready for this one! Carole Mahoney, Founder and Chief Sales Officer at Unbound Growth joins The Talent, Sales & Scale Podcast for Episode 34. Host Bryan Whittington and Carole dive deep into cognitive-behavioral sales coaching, challenging limiting beliefs, and how all of that plays into scaling a successful business. This episode is chock full of value including - -how nonsupportive beliefs impact sales performance -the biggest challenges facing sales professionals from Carole's perspective -hiring the right talent with the right hiring mindset Carole's Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolemahoney/ Unbound Growth's website: http://www.unboundgrowth.com/

"There’s ROI in coaching, in training your managers on how to coach and enabling them how to do so! I haven’t seen a higher ROI from anything other than coaching."Got into sales kicking and screamingGrew up in a house with a used car salesmanThought she could go into marketing and make sales people obsoleteStarted her own company during recession Realized she needed to learn HOW to sellMiller Heyman, SPIN, Solution SellingEverybody wants to grow their business - but what does that MEAN?I fell in love with sales because I changed my perception, my mindset and therefore my behaviors and resultsMy Mission is to help businesses grow and create jobs, you can’t do it if you aren’t sellingCan’t take marketing leads to the BANKSales reps/managers who get coaching on the job will stay longer and are happier on the jobTalent Retention and a culture of coaching is criticalCoaching in general was you only needed a coach if you were WEAK or NEEDED help or were Less thanHigh performing athletes are open to finding out what their hidden weaknesses are so they can be their absolute bestChange behaviors and change resultsIf you’ve never been coached yourself, you won’t know how to coachManagement/coaching turns into pipeline review were they tell you what you need to do nextObjective management group - 7% of managers are actually coaching AND have been trained how to Coach out of ~750,000 managersCSO Insights 3 hours of coaching = 17% increase in quota attainment Sales managers who spend 50% of their time coaching, their team has 49% more abilities to sell!There’s ROI in coaching, in training your managers on how to coach and enabling them how to do so!I haven’t seen a higher ROI from anything other than coachingCoaching is not just a 1 time event, it needs to be part of a regular cadence and needs to be objective and individualized to everyoneNot just sales coaching but Career development sales coaching - what are they trying to accomplish in 6, 12, 18 months?At the top what is the expectation leadership is creating? Are they providing the resources to get this doneThe Renaissance of SalesWe’re seeing the science of how people change, take behaviors and actions now come to sales to help everyone learn the lessons people had to learn the hard waySales is all about helping people make the decisions that are best for them!Harvard MBA students were struggling with the same exact things most every other seller was struggling with - Not asking enough questions, making it all about themselves, talking too much Changing beliefs about what Sales is really all about makes all the aspects of eDaniel Pink To Sell Is Human 7/10 have negative connotation of salesFigure out our strengths, what are our hidden weaknessesDo we coach to strengths or weaknesses? This is trying to pick a person apart as if they are not wholeSuperman even has a weakness and can’t help people if he is crippled by his weaknessGrowth MindsetTake small pieces and focus on the things that help you get where you want to goIf you could wave a magic wand what skill would you give sellers and leaders? Self-AwarenessIt’s a process and happens over time - personally meaningful - to her independent, self-sufficient, have freedom → now she knows what she needs that align with her values to get what she wantsI don’t need stuff to feel content, but I need to see the people around me happy I want to leave companies in better places than I found them!**Building self-awareness - trying a lot of different things and understanding where it is you want to go and what is important to youBecause I was willing to get through it I was willing to take the gut punch to continually build self-awareness bit by bit every daySelf care in sales The more self-aware you become the more you start to take care of yourselfAs a seller you can’t be of service to your buyers if you have all this stuff going on with youAs sales leaders when the pressure comes onto you how are you rolling that down to others that are there and looking to you for support To bounce back, you can only control the things you can control.  You can’t control the outcome you can only control your process. The down months is when the self-care routine is even more importantMorning routine to get her through the day to be set-up calm/cool for her day:Noom app for health (same process she uses with sellers and sales leaders), fitbit - how good did I sleep last night, how will that impact me later in the day?, yoga routine, dog walk Detach yourself from the outcome and focus on the process that you have control over and celebrate the small wins along the wayIf you aren’t constantly reaching out to people on a regular basis, when the time comes for them to spend you won’t be there!Most people do goal setting in a Silo - become a dredge of work. Goal setting should be fun, should be light, should bring you JOY!What do you want your day to day life to look like with the people closest around you in 3,6,12 months and WHY is that important to you?If I were to tell you there was no way you could fail, what would you go for?Have those goal setting conversations with those people that are closest to you, make it fun!If you can’t have a financial or important conversation with your partner, how can you do that with your buyers?If you can’t have a conversation with those closest to you about what’s meaningful to them, how can you expect to find a compelling reason for a buyer to make a change?!If your sellers can’t do it for themselves, how are they going to do it with your buyers?MOST important skill in the best leaders - Fierce open and growth mindset- they will own their mistakes, share their learning and address the ways others can not make the same mistakesConnect with Carole on LinkedIn, Email, Unboundgrowth.com, Instagram, FB, TwitterLINKS:INBOUND 2020  - Search for Carole Mahoney & Slide DeckUNBOUND GROWTHFascinate Sally Hogshead - self-awareness assessment

Olivia Fuller: Hi, and welcome to Book Club: A Sales Enablement PRO podcast. I’m Olivia Fuller. Sales enablement is a constantly evolving space and we’re here to help professionals stay up to date on the latest trends and best practices so they can be more effective in their jobs. Today, I’m so excited to have Carole Mahoney join us. Carole, I’d love for you to just take a second and introduce yourself to our audience. Carole Mahoney: Yes, I am the founder of Unbound Growth. It’s funny because we were just talking before we started the call that — I’m in the country, so if you stalk me on Instagram, you probably already know that I’m a country girl, a dog mom, a wife, I’m a mother to two sons and a little bit of a nerd. I started Unbound Growth when I saw that salespeople were selling in a way that didn’t allow buyers to really want to engage with them. It was just a misalignment. And barely half of salespeople were making quota year after year, despite huge investments in time and in money and in tech and in training. I found that even if they did sometimes make quota, it was not always enough because there was customer churn happening in the company. So, I started doing some research and studying the science behind how people make decisions and how we change our behaviors. As a result of that, I transitioned my lead generation agency into a sales consulting, training, and coaching firm. And I took all of that science and data and I started testing it in the field with sales teams. And we’ve seen salespeople who were on plan about to get fired, go from that to being top performers in the company, selling the largest deals in company history, hitting over 200% of quota in some cases — in less than a year. By working with some frontline managers, we’ve seen teams go from barely scraping together 80% of quota at the end of every month or every quarter, to then hitting 130% of quota or more consistently, and growing their teams and the size of their teams. We've also consulted business owners and founders, and those in the C-suite to help them to hire the right people for the right role to begin with, because even today with the market being what it is, as far as hiring people goes, we still have to make sure we’re hiring the right person for the right role. We’ve also helped them cut down their hiring costs in the time to hire and increase the success of those sales hires by up to 90%. So, I really kind of see myself as a change agent. I kind of go when there needs to be a behavioral change happening in the sales organization and I really dig into not just what they see happening, but why it’s happening and really get to the root cause of it rather than throwing more training and tactics at people. Although that’s part of it — changing the approach and the tactics — we’re really digging into what’s going on behind the scenes. What are the hidden weaknesses that we might not even realize is the thing that’s actually tripping their teams up from executing the way they want to. OF: In your book “Mindset Matters”, you said that improving sales comes down to behavior change. Why is behavior change so critical to success in sales? CM: When you think of success in sales as being successful in any kind of a job function where you have to perform under high stakes pressure, managing our behaviors in those situations is critical. Whether you’re performing in sports or in the arts, whether you’re a doctor or a lawyer, even as parents and partners to our spouses and loved ones, being able to manage your behaviors, your emotions, and how you show up is critical to success. And sales is absolutely no different. In fact, I’d say even more important, I think. Because one of the things that I love about sales and I’ve talked to a lot of salespeople and a lot of sales leaders, and I hear this consistently — is that one of the things that they love is the ability to tie their results directly to their activities and their behaviors. That if they want more, if they want to be more, their efforts directly contribute to that. And you know, from how much we reach out to people, to how we follow up and follow through and what we said we were going to do, how we communicate with people to help them to understand their problem and for us to understand their world and be able to offer them insights that they might think differently about a problem or a solution. And hear things like, ‘well, you know, I never thought of it that way before.' This is also though our biggest challenge, right? In being able to manage our behaviors, to get our results. It’s also our biggest challenge because how we show up a lot of times depends on how we think and what we think. And that can be sometimes those hidden weaknesses that get in there in our way. Our beliefs, our mindsets about ourselves, our value, our environment, and the world around us. Those things become our mindsets and how we see ourselves in the world, which is then becoming our behaviors, and how we act and show up becomes our results. Behavioral scientists called this the theory of reasoned action and our intents in that is the theory of planned behavior. Our mindsets and beliefs directly impact our behaviors in all aspects of life: sales, weight loss, performance, in every way. OF: Behavior change can often be a difficult process, and you’ve talked about the need for sellers to really have incentives to put in the effort necessary for growth. What are some ways that sales reps can be incentivized to change their behaviors? CM: In a lot of the research and studying that I did is digging into this and identifying, why are we so resistant to change? It’s usually in relation to fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of an uncertainty of what the future is going to look like, which we are all suffering from to some extent right now. And this is why I think one of the reasons why it’s so important to have a cognitive approach to sales coaching embedded within your coaching framework. Because cognitively, when we’re dealing with those fears and those types of things, it’s hard for us to imagine the future. And because it’s hard for us to imagine, the unknown is scary to us. And so, we avoid it. And when we avoid it, that causes all kinds of other problems. In order to get over the fear of the uncertainty, we need to have identified what our personally meaningful goals are for making the change. What do we want our future to look like? And why is that so important to us? So, goal setting for — I see this happen in school, many sales organizations, when I asked them about, do you or your team have personally meaningful goals that are driving them to make these changes that you’re talking about implementing in your training and coaching programs? And they say, ‘well, they have quotas and they have activity plans and they have playbooks and they have a smart goal setting model to use.' And the problem with that is when you try to use quotas and commissions as a standalone to try and motivate and incentivize people, the problem with that is the data shows from over 1.9 million sales professionals that the top percentage of salespeople are not necessarily motivated by just money. They're actually motivated by things that are more interesting intrinsic, like being the best at something, being reputable with others, being a resource to others, mastering their craft, being the best they can be. And frontline sellers and managers who dig into the reason why those things are important and the why behind their actions are more likely to do whatever it takes to reach the goal, no matter how scary it might seem. And that might include letting go of some long-held beliefs and mindsets. There’s a story that comes to mind of a client that I worked with. His name is Michael Douglas, not the actor, the salesperson. And when I started working with Michael, he had a goal of increasing his income and his revenue by a certain percentage. And we dug a little bit deeper into it and one of the things that we found is that he really wanted to feel that he was able and confident from now and into the future that he was going to be able to provide for his family. And that he wanted to make that investment in being the best that he could be for that reason. Now that’s something that’s a lot more motivating than you need to hit X number of quota this month. For Michael, this was the incentive for him to change the beliefs, long-held mindsets, and now as a result of that, he’s closing largest deals in company history. He went from selling three, six figure deals a year to selling three times that in less than nine months. So, this is how we get people to change behaviors, is by guiding and helping them to tap into their why. And not that we spend forever there, that we have to imagine the perfect why that’s going to be the magic pill that’s going to motivate us through everything. It's still going to be hard. It’s still going to require grit. But when you dig and you think, why am I doing this? And you were reminded of the reason — then you’re willing to go through the uncomfortable changes that you need to go through to get there. OF: You have another book that’s dedicated to sales coaching, and more specifically about determining the value of sales coaching for sellers. From your perspective, what is that value and why is sales coaching so important? CM: Revenue. I think that’s every salesperson's, every sales leader's answer to that question is going to be its impact because of revenue. There’s a lot of other reasons why, so let’s tackle the revenue question first. Same data from 1.9 million sales professionals — I also did an analysis on the sales managers and the salespeople who reported directly to those managers, and the things that I found were that when managers who were trained on how to coach and had been coached themselves and consistently did coaching multiple times a week for an hour and more total per week per rep, and it was about 50% of their time — that those managers who did those things saw their salespeople were 49% stronger than those that didn’t. And if you acquaint abilities to revenue, you can look at a 10% increase in abilities can equate to as much as 33% of revenue give or take. You start increasing the abilities by 50%, imagine what that does to revenue. So, there’s that, there’s a retention of your top six salespeople. I think it was a Deloitte study that showed that salespeople who are coached are more likely to stay. And I think it was actually a study that was done by The Bridge Group and ExecVision, that showed the salespeople who were coached not only were likely to stay longer, but they were 45% more likely to recommend others to come and work for your company. So, imagine if more of your top performers who you’ve been coaching then had more others that were like them who could be like also top performers coming to your company, which goes back to the hiring piece. Here’s the other thing of it though, is that coaching doesn’t just increase revenue. It doesn’t just increase the retention of your top salespeople and make it easier for you to hire more salespeople. It also helps you to retain more of your customers. We talked about in the beginning, in the intro, how — I don’t know if I mentioned this part, but actually the increase in revenue is one piece, but we actually saw teams retain customers of over 98% retention rate. And when you’re a SaaS based company, that is an absolutely critical number, especially right now. But the interesting thing — it wasn’t just because of customer service. There was an interview that was done by Mark Roberge, who was the CRO at HubSpot, and he was talking about when they were scaling the sales teams there. And he said that when they started having churn issues, they thought at first that it was going to be related to customer service issues. But what they found was that it was actually tied directly to the rep who initially sold them. So, when they started instituting this type of coaching and training, they found that reps who set the expectations properly with buyers so that churn was less likely to happen later, and then retention went up. I saw the same thing happening when I was working directly with some of HubSpot’s teams and others that not only did retention go up but discounting went down because they were selling more on value and selling consultatively. So, they’re not only getting more revenue, keeping more revenue and the customer longer, but they’re doing so at a higher dollar amount. OF: How does sales coaching help create behavior change? CM: It creates behavior change if you’ve done it the way that it’s not just your sales manager going in and telling them what they should do, it’s not a pipeline review. It’s not a one-way conversation. It’s also not an hour-long conversation that you might have once a week. Ideally, sales coaching helps to create a behavior change because you’re challenging their beliefs. You’re helping them apply the knowledge that they’ve learned in training to actually execute in their day to day on the job execution. There’s a model that’s the adult learning theory model, which shows that the largest percentage of our learning happens in the application and then the day to day, and not theoretical, but real life. So the more that we can have coaching be not just a reinforcement of what they’ve trained, but actually allows salespeople to take what they’ve learned — the knowledge in their head — and apply it to the words and the actions that come out of their mouth. So that’s one way that coaching helps to create that behavioral change because in order to change the behavior, first we have to recognize that the behavior needs to change, so challenging beliefs and approaches, but then we have to practice those new approaches, those things that we’ve learned. And so coaching should really be like practice sessions, like drill sessions. The two-letter word, every salesperson almost hates is “role play.” And not like the theoretical, take it easy on you, this conversation never really actually happens kind of roleplay. But actually, even taking your recorded calls that you — everybody should be recording their calls right now — and listening to them and finding one point in the conversation, one set of questions to practice and drill and practice and drill until it becomes second nature to that salesperson. That builds their confidence in executing in those new abilities and skills that they’re learning. Or fine-tuning the ones that they thought they had perfected as well, because coaching applies to experienced salespeople as well as new and in the practice, in the challenging and in the beliefs, it also happens that coaching can help create behavior change. When we’re having managers who are not giving them all of the answers, not telling them what they need to do, but asking the critical thinking questions to get them to start coming to their own conclusions so that the behavior change isn’t something that’s imposed on the salesperson. It’s something that’s collaborated with them. That’s something that’s really important in the coaching and coaching relationship is that they have to feel like they’re part creating that conversation, otherwise you’re just nagging them. OF: In your opinion, what does good sales coaching look like? What are some of the skills that you really think are necessary for good coaches to have? CM: There’s over a dozen different skill sets and mindsets and even beliefs that need to be incorporated into a good coaching persona, and we measure for all of those with using the same data we mentioned. First, we talked about this before — what’s the impact? It has to be done consistently, not ad hoc, whenever issues arrive or end of the month or pipeline review time, but something that gets scheduled like a religious event on their calendar that if it’s Christmas day for coaching time. So that kind of consistency and structure to it. When I’m working with sales teams as their outsource manager, I sometimes will schedule two or three, a minimum of two or three, 15 to 20 minute calls a week, minimum. And sometimes it’s every day, depending on how much work needs to be done with the salesperson or how motivated they are to want to get to the next level. And each of those calls, like for Monday’s example, we’ll debrief. And Monday’s debrief or Friday afternoon's debrief is really looking at: What happened? Why do you think that that happened? And what’s a different approach that we can do? A lot of times a debrief might be like a call review, where I will have a salesperson send me a call and they’ll say, I really felt like I struggled at this particular part, here’s where I think it’s going on. They’ve listened to it and they’ve thought, all right, this is where I think I need to improve. And then I can debrief with them and ask them questions. Like, all right, how did you get to this point? What’s the background story? I’ll ask them questions like, why do you think that they reacted that way on the call? What question do you wish you had asked in that moment now that you’ve listened to it? And we’ll practice that so that the next time they get into a situation and call like that they can execute on it. But then I’ll also debrief with them to figure out okay, what’s next? What can happen next with this particular call? What’s the strategy? What’s the approach? What’s it going to sound like? Let’s role play that too. So that’s part of the debrief. And as I mentioned, I’m asking a ton of questions. I’m not telling them what I think happened, I’m asking them what they think happened, and I’m asking more and more clarification questions to get them to start actively recalling what happened and come up with a plan for attack, so to speak. Another thing that’s really important for managers who want to coach is you can’t have a need for approval from your salespeople. If you’re more worried about whether or not your sales, person’s going to like you because if you don’t like your manager, then you’re not going to listen to your manager, then you’re not going to be able to have those tough conversations. Those coaching conversations that you sometimes have to have when they fall flat on their face and they will. And you have to be able to do that and if you need their approval and you need them to like you, it’s going to be tough. Obviously, you’ve got to be able to control your emotions. If you’re emotionally invested in this deal closing, it’s going to be really hard for you to sit on your hands and close your mouth and ask the questions to get them to learn. They have to have a sales process. It's kind of like, if you don’t have a sales process that you’re following and using that in your coaching, it’s trying to give directions to someone who doesn’t know how to read a GPS or a map. You don’t know where you’re at and you don’t know where you need to go next. Obviously, if you can’t tell, I have a passion for this. And that passion for coaching and really that patience even for coaching –I have a side story. I have a little bit of a scar here on my lip because I have a rescue dog and this rescue dog has a few emotional issues. He’s been abandoned. And so he has some beliefs that get in his way, and it manifests whenever he has to go into his doghouse. He goes into his doghouse and he has this little front porch and he stands on the front porch and he stands there and he barks and he whines because he believes in his mind that he can’t take the one-inch step off of the porch to be able to get them to run around in his little doggy area. And so one day, I was actually getting ready for an interview, very similar to this one, and I had to get on the phone and he was outside and whining and barking because he was stuck on his dog porch again. And so normally what I would do I do is I would coax him out, I would basically doggy coach him to try to get him to come off of this thing. But that day, I didn’t have time. I was running around, I was going a little bit crazy and I’m like, you know what? I just need you to stop barking. So, I’m going to come over there and I’m going to rescue you. And before I realized what was happening, he got this look on his face. Like he suddenly realized, Oh, mom is coming. She probably has lunch. And he takes off running and he has this 50-foot long cable, and the cable hit my head, hit my face. I thought I lost teeth. There was blood everywhere. And I realized I had done exactly what I teach and coach sales managers to do all the time, which is don’t rescue your salespeople. You’ve got to let them work through it. And that’s what happens when you don’t have the patience and the passion for coaching, is that you’re going to give in, you’re going to try and rescue your salespeople, and there’s going to be a disaster at the end of it. And — you robbed them of the opportunity to learn. You have to understand those things — by rescuing the salespeople, you’re hurting them. You’re going to hurt yourself because you’re going to always be rescuing them and handling things like joint sales calls effectively, getting commitments from your salespeople to make these changes, these are all of the things that are necessary to learn to be an effective coach for your salespeople and not get clipped by a dog runner coming at you at 25 miles an hour. OF: Well, this has been some fantastic advice for our audience, so thank you so much, Carole, for joining us. CM: It's been so much fun. Thank you for letting me tell you about my rescue dog. OF: To our audience, thanks for listening. For more insights, tips, and expertise from sales enablement leaders, visit salesenablement.pro. If there’s something you’d like to share or a topic you’d like to learn more about, please let us know. We’d love to hear from you.

Olivia Fuller: Hi, and welcome to Book Club: A Sales Enablement PRO podcast. I’m Olivia Fuller. Sales enablement is a constantly evolving space and we’re here to help professionals stay up to date on the latest trends and best practices so they can be more effective in their jobs. Today, I’m so excited to have Carole Mahoney join us. Carole, I’d love for you to just take a second and introduce yourself to our audience. Carole Mahoney: Yes, I am the founder of Unbound Growth. It’s funny because we were just talking before we started the call that — I’m in the country, so if you stalk me on Instagram, you probably already know that I’m a country girl, a dog mom, a wife, I’m a mother to two sons and a little bit of a nerd. I started Unbound Growth when I saw that salespeople were selling in a way that didn’t allow buyers to really want to engage with them. It was just a misalignment. And barely half of salespeople were making quota year after year, despite huge investments in time and in money and in tech and in training. I found that even if they did sometimes make quota, it was not always enough because there was customer churn happening in the company. So, I started doing some research and studying the science behind how people make decisions and how we change our behaviors. As a result of that, I transitioned my lead generation agency into a sales consulting, training, and coaching firm. And I took all of that science and data and I started testing it in the field with sales teams. And we’ve seen salespeople who were on plan about to get fired, go from that to being top performers in the company, selling the largest deals in company history, hitting over 200% of quota in some cases — in less than a year. By working with some frontline managers, we’ve seen teams go from barely scraping together 80% of quota at the end of every month or every quarter, to then hitting 130% of quota or more consistently, and growing their teams and the size of their teams. We’ve also consulted business owners and founders, and those in the C-suite to help them to hire the right people for the right role to begin with, because even today with the market being what it is, as far as hiring people goes, we still have to make sure we’re hiring the right person for the right role. We’ve also helped them cut down their hiring costs in the time to hire and increase the success of those sales hires by up to 90%. So, I really kind of see myself as a change agent. I kind of go when there needs to be a behavioral change happening in the sales organization and I really dig into not just what they see happening, but why it’s happening and really get to the root cause of it rather than throwing more training and tactics at people. Although that’s part of it — changing the approach and the tactics — we’re really digging into what’s going on behind the scenes. What are the hidden weaknesses that we might not even realize is the thing that’s actually tripping their teams up from executing the way they want to. OF: In your book “Mindset Matters”, you said that improving sales comes down to behavior change. Why is behavior change so critical to success in sales? CM: When you think of success in sales as being successful in any kind of a job function where you have to perform under high stakes pressure, managing our behaviors in those situations is critical. Whether you’re performing in sports or in the arts, whether you’re a doctor or a lawyer, even as parents and partners to our spouses and loved ones, being able to manage your behaviors, your emotions, and how you show up is critical to success. And sales is absolutely no different. In fact, I’d say even more important, I think. Because one of the things that I love about sales and I’ve talked to a lot of salespeople and a lot of sales leaders, and I hear this consistently — is that one of the things that they love is the ability to tie their results directly to their activities and their behaviors. That if they want more, if they want to be more, their efforts directly contribute to that. And you know, from how much we reach out to people, to how we follow up and follow through and what we said we were going to do, how we communicate with people to help them to understand their problem and for us to understand their world and be able to offer them insights that they might think differently about a problem or a solution. And hear things like, ‘well, you know, I never thought of it that way before.’ This is also though our biggest challenge, right? In being able to manage our behaviors, to get our results. It’s also our biggest challenge because how we show up a lot of times depends on how we think and what we think. And that can be sometimes those hidden weaknesses that get in there in our way. Our beliefs, our mindsets about ourselves, our value, our environment, and the world around us. Those things become our mindsets and how we see ourselves in the world, which is then becoming our behaviors, and how we act and show up becomes our results. Behavioral scientists called this the theory of reasoned action and our intents in that is the theory of planned behavior. Our mindsets and beliefs directly impact our behaviors in all aspects of life: sales, weight loss, performance, in every way. OF: Behavior change can often be a difficult process, and you’ve talked about the need for sellers to really have incentives to put in the effort necessary for growth. What are some ways that sales reps can be incentivized to change their behaviors? CM: In a lot of the research and studying that I did is digging into this and identifying, why are we so resistant to change? It’s usually in relation to fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of an uncertainty of what the future is going to look like, which we are all suffering from to some extent right now. And this is why I think one of the reasons why it’s so important to have a cognitive approach to sales coaching embedded within your coaching framework. Because cognitively, when we’re dealing with those fears and those types of things, it’s hard for us to imagine the future. And because it’s hard for us to imagine, the unknown is scary to us. And so, we avoid it. And when we avoid it, that causes all kinds of other problems. In order to get over the fear of the uncertainty, we need to have identified what our personally meaningful goals are for making the change. What do we want our future to look like? And why is that so important to us? So, goal setting for — I see this happen in school, many sales organizations, when I asked them about, do you or your team have personally meaningful goals that are driving them to make these changes that you’re talking about implementing in your training and coaching programs? And they say, ‘well, they have quotas and they have activity plans and they have playbooks and they have a smart goal setting model to use.’ And the problem with that is when you try to use quotas and commissions as a standalone to try and motivate and incentivize people, the problem with that is the data shows from over 1.9 million sales professionals that the top percentage of salespeople are not necessarily motivated by just money. They’re actually motivated by things that are more interesting intrinsic, like being the best at something, being reputable with others, being a resource to others, mastering their craft, being the best they can be. And frontline sellers and managers who dig into the reason why those things are important and the why behind their actions are more likely to do whatever it takes to reach the goal, no matter how scary it might seem. And that might include letting go of some long-held beliefs and mindsets. There’s a story that comes to mind of a client that I worked with. His name is Michael Douglas, not the actor, the salesperson. And when I started working with Michael, he had a goal of increasing his income and his revenue by a certain percentage. And we dug a little bit deeper into it and one of the things that we found is that he really wanted to feel that he was able and confident from now and into the future that he was going to be able to provide for his family. And that he wanted to make that investment in being the best that he could be for that reason. Now that’s something that’s a lot more motivating than you need to hit X number of quota this month. For Michael, this was the incentive for him to change the beliefs, long-held mindsets, and now as a result of that, he’s closing largest deals in company history. He went from selling three, six figure deals a year to selling three times that in less than nine months. So, this is how we get people to change behaviors, is by guiding and helping them to tap into their why. And not that we spend forever there, that we have to imagine the perfect why that’s going to be the magic pill that’s going to motivate us through everything. It’s still going to be hard. It’s still going to require grit. But when you dig and you think, why am I doing this? And you were reminded of the reason — then you’re willing to go through the uncomfortable changes that you need to go through to get there. OF: You have another book that’s dedicated to sales coaching, and more specifically about determining the value of sales coaching for sellers. From your perspective, what is that value and why is sales coaching so important? CM: Revenue. I think that’s every salesperson’s, every sales leader’s answer to that question is going to be its impact because of revenue. There’s a lot of other reasons why, so let’s tackle the revenue question first. Same data from 1.9 million sales professionals — I also did an analysis on the sales managers and the salespeople who reported directly to those managers, and the things that I found were that when managers who were trained on how to coach and had been coached themselves and consistently did coaching multiple times a week for an hour and more total per week per rep, and it was about 50% of their time — that those managers who did those things saw their salespeople were 49% stronger than those that didn’t. And if you acquaint abilities to revenue, you can look at a 10% increase in abilities can equate to as much as 33% of revenue give or take. You start increasing the abilities by 50%, imagine what that does to revenue. So, there’s that, there’s a retention of your top six salespeople. I think it was a Deloitte study that showed that salespeople who are coached are more likely to stay. And I think it was actually a study that was done by The Bridge Group and ExecVision, that showed the salespeople who were coached not only were likely to stay longer, but they were 45% more likely to recommend others to come and work for your company. So, imagine if more of your top performers who you’ve been coaching then had more others that were like them who could be like also top performers coming to your company, which goes back to the hiring piece. Here’s the other thing of it though, is that coaching doesn’t just increase revenue. It doesn’t just increase the retention of your top salespeople and make it easier for you to hire more salespeople. It also helps you to retain more of your customers. We talked about in the beginning, in the intro, how — I don’t know if I mentioned this part, but actually the increase in revenue is one piece, but we actually saw teams retain customers of over 98% retention rate. And when you’re a SaaS based company, that is an absolutely critical number, especially right now. But the interesting thing — it wasn’t just because of customer service. There was an interview that was done by Mark Roberge, who was the CRO at HubSpot, and he was talking about when they were scaling the sales teams there. And he said that when they started having churn issues, they thought at first that it was going to be related to customer service issues. But what they found was that it was actually tied directly to the rep who initially sold them. So, when they started instituting this type of coaching and training, they found that reps who set the expectations properly with buyers so that churn was less likely to happen later, and then retention went up. I saw the same thing happening when I was working directly with some of HubSpot’s teams and others that not only did retention go up but discounting went down because they were selling more on value and selling consultatively. So, they’re not only getting more revenue, keeping more revenue and the customer longer, but they’re doing so at a higher dollar amount. OF: How does sales coaching help create behavior change? CM: It creates behavior change if you’ve done it the way that it’s not just your sales manager going in and telling them what they should do, it’s not a pipeline review. It’s not a one-way conversation. It’s also not an hour-long conversation that you might have once a week. Ideally, sales coaching helps to create a behavior change because you’re challenging their beliefs. You’re helping them apply the knowledge that they’ve learned in training to actually execute in their day to day on the job execution. There’s a model that’s the adult learning theory model, which shows that the largest percentage of our learning happens in the application and then the day to day, and not theoretical, but real life. So the more that we can have coaching be not just a reinforcement of what they’ve trained, but actually allows salespeople to take what they’ve learned — the knowledge in their head — and apply it to the words and the actions that come out of their mouth. So that’s one way that coaching helps to create that behavioral change because in order to change the behavior, first we have to recognize that the behavior needs to change, so challenging beliefs and approaches, but then we have to practice those new approaches, those things that we’ve learned. And so coaching should really be like practice sessions, like drill sessions. The two-letter word, every salesperson almost hates is “role play.” And not like the theoretical, take it easy on you, this conversation never really actually happens kind of roleplay. But actually, even taking your recorded calls that you — everybody should be recording their calls right now — and listening to them and finding one point in the conversation, one set of questions to practice and drill and practice and drill until it becomes second nature to that salesperson. That builds their confidence in executing in those new abilities and skills that they’re learning. Or fine-tuning the ones that they thought they had perfected as well, because coaching applies to experienced salespeople as well as new and in the practice, in the challenging and in the beliefs, it also happens that coaching can help create behavior change. When we’re having managers who are not giving them all of the answers, not telling them what they need to do, but asking the critical thinking questions to get them to start coming to their own conclusions so that the behavior change isn’t something that’s imposed on the salesperson. It’s something that’s collaborated with them. That’s something that’s really important in the coaching and coaching relationship is that they have to feel like they’re part creating that conversation, otherwise you’re just nagging them. OF: In your opinion, what does good sales coaching look like? What are some of the skills that you really think are necessary for good coaches to have? CM: There’s over a dozen different skill sets and mindsets and even beliefs that need to be incorporated into a good coaching persona, and we measure for all of those with using the same data we mentioned. First, we talked about this before — what’s the impact? It has to be done consistently, not ad hoc, whenever issues arrive or end of the month or pipeline review time, but something that gets scheduled like a religious event on their calendar that if it’s Christmas day for coaching time. So that kind of consistency and structure to it. When I’m working with sales teams as their outsource manager, I sometimes will schedule two or three, a minimum of two or three, 15 to 20 minute calls a week, minimum. And sometimes it’s every day, depending on how much work needs to be done with the salesperson or how motivated they are to want to get to the next level. And each of those calls, like for Monday’s example, we’ll debrief. And Monday’s debrief or Friday afternoon’s debrief is really looking at: What happened? Why do you think that that happened? And what’s a different approach that we can do? A lot of times a debrief might be like a call review, where I will have a salesperson send me a call and they’ll say, I really felt like I struggled at this particular part, here’s where I think it’s going on. They’ve listened to it and they’ve thought, all right, this is where I think I need to improve. And then I can debrief with them and ask them questions. Like, all right, how did you get to this point? What’s the background story? I’ll ask them questions like, why do you think that they reacted that way on the call? What question do you wish you had asked in that moment now that you’ve listened to it? And we’ll practice that so that the next time they get into a situation and call like that they can execute on it. But then I’ll also debrief with them to figure out okay, what’s next? What can happen next with this particular call? What’s the strategy? What’s the approach? What’s it going to sound like? Let’s role play that too. So that’s part of the debrief. And as I mentioned, I’m asking a ton of questions. I’m not telling them what I think happened, I’m asking them what they think happened, and I’m asking more and more clarification questions to get them to start actively recalling what happened and come up with a plan for attack, so to speak. Another thing that’s really important for managers who want to coach is you can’t have a need for approval from your salespeople. If you’re more worried about whether or not your sales, person’s going to like you because if you don’t like your manager, then you’re not going to listen to your manager, then you’re not going to be able to have those tough conversations. Those coaching conversations that you sometimes have to have when they fall flat on their face and they will. And you have to be able to do that and if you need their approval and you need them to like you, it’s going to be tough. Obviously, you’ve got to be able to control your emotions. If you’re emotionally invested in this deal closing, it’s going to be really hard for you to sit on your hands and close your mouth and ask the questions to get them to learn. They have to have a sales process. It’s kind of like, if you don’t have a sales process that you’re following and using that in your coaching, it’s trying to give directions to someone who doesn’t know how to read a GPS or a map. You don’t know where you’re at and you don’t know where you need to go next. Obviously, if you can’t tell, I have a passion for this. And that passion for coaching and really that patience even for coaching –I have a side story. I have a little bit of a scar here on my lip because I have a rescue dog and this rescue dog has a few emotional issues. He’s been abandoned. And so he has some beliefs that get in his way, and it manifests whenever he has to go into his doghouse. He goes into his doghouse and he has this little front porch and he stands on the front porch and he stands there and he barks and he whines because he believes in his mind that he can’t take the one-inch step off of the porch to be able to get them to run around in his little doggy area. And so one day, I was actually getting ready for an interview, very similar to this one, and I had to get on the phone and he was outside and whining and barking because he was stuck on his dog porch again. And so normally what I would do I do is I would coax him out, I would basically doggy coach him to try to get him to come off of this thing. But that day, I didn’t have time. I was running around, I was going a little bit crazy and I’m like, you know what? I just need you to stop barking. So, I’m going to come over there and I’m going to rescue you. And before I realized what was happening, he got this look on his face. Like he suddenly realized, Oh, mom is coming. She probably has lunch. And he takes off running and he has this 50-foot long cable, and the cable hit my head, hit my face. I thought I lost teeth. There was blood everywhere. And I realized I had done exactly what I teach and coach sales managers to do all the time, which is don’t rescue your salespeople. You’ve got to let them work through it. And that’s what happens when you don’t have the patience and the passion for coaching, is that you’re going to give in, you’re going to try and rescue your salespeople, and there’s going to be a disaster at the end of it. And — you robbed them of the opportunity to learn. You have to understand those things — by rescuing the salespeople, you’re hurting them. You’re going to hurt yourself because you’re going to always be rescuing them and handling things like joint sales calls effectively, getting commitments from your salespeople to make these changes, these are all of the things that are necessary to learn to be an effective coach for your salespeople and not get clipped by a dog runner coming at you at 25 miles an hour. OF: Well, this has been some fantastic advice for our audience, so thank you so much, Carole, for joining us. CM: It’s been so much fun. Thank you for letting me tell you about my rescue dog. OF: To our audience, thanks for listening. For more insights, tips, and expertise from sales enablement leaders, visit salesenablement.pro. If there’s something you’d like to share or a topic you’d like to learn more about, please let us know. We’d love to hear from you.

Carole used to hate sales, but now she loved it. She got marketing, She has a degree and learned all about the 4P's, AIDA, advertising, PR, and all the other "Mad Men" stuff. Carole is Extremely competitive, she lives for the next challenge and problem to solve. As a child, her favorite question is why.

On this episode of Beyond The Limit, we sit down with Carole Mahoney. Carole is the founder and chief sales coach at Unbound Growth. At Unbound their mission is to grow sales, increase revenue, create jobs, and raise the level of respect for the sales profession using proven science. Unbound helps startup entrepreneurs who are unsure of how take their product to market and get customers, small business owners who are struggling to make ends meet free up cash flow with faster sales and reduced collections by getting more ideal customers, founders grow their business by keeping more customers and increasing referrals, executives that don't have 'sales' in their title, but needs to be a more persuasive 'people' manager, sales managers who want to be more effective coaches and leaders who create more leaders.Carole says, “It's not about inbound, outbound, or allbound. Today's buyer is unbound."Carole’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolemahoneyUnbound Growth’s Website: http://www.unboundgrowth.comTyler’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/twilliamsliveTyler’s Website: https://www.tylerwilliamslive.com

This episode of SaaS Boss show is Part 2 of my interview with Carole Mahoney and we switch from talking about about how SaaS founders can get first 10 sales to what happens after first sales. And that's hiring and managing your first sales reps. Hiring process, what characteristics should we look for How to write ad for SaaS sales role Why you should make it a tough interview process Real costs of making a bad hire (opportunity costs) How to predict the success for SaaS sales person How to maximize changes of the new hire being successful in this role What can you as the founder do to help set them up for success (hint, you play bigger role than you think) When do you know it's not working Issues due to poor hire (low close rates, longer sales cycle, high churn).

In this episode of SaaS Boss show I interview Carole Mahoney about how SaaS founders can get first 10 sales. Things we discuss: At early stage SaaS companies that are trying to get traction, get their first sales, the founders need to do outreach to their ideal potential customers to get first few sales. We shouldn’t rely on inbound or seo to get first sales if we dont have any case studies yet. What steps founders need to take in order to get their first 10 paying customers Why so many founders struggle with sales Basic steps to help make progress Mindset (its not about you) Productivity Goals Actionable step by step for outreach process Most common problems and how to fix them

 Learn how certain beliefs impact your ability to be successful and improve in sales Discover why the right mindset is important in order to execute your business plans or to recognize an opportunity for what it is Know how to develop and achieve a mindset mastery for sales success Resources/Links: Download the eGuide: Mindset Matters and Discover How Certain Beliefs Impact Your Ability to Be Successful and Improve in Sales. Get Actionable Steps You Can Do Now to Develop a Sales Growth Mindset and Get the Results You Seek:http://www.unboundgrowth.com/ingagements Summary As the founder of Unbound Growth, Carole has been featured as a top sales coach by Sales Hacker and Ambition and has coached Harvard Business School Entrepreneurial MBA students on sales. In this episode, Carole shares her insights about sales and the connection between a problem and a solution which is when done in the best interest of others, better salespeople and leaders can make the world a better place. She talks about the responsibility both as individual sales professionals and sales leaders to raise the respectability of the sales profession. It is her personal mission to change the negative perception of sales- from the individual salesperson to the executives and leaders. Check out these episode highlights: 01:52 – Carole's ideal client: Ideally, I like to work with small business owners or entrepreneurs who are doing their own selling, or even individual contributors in those organizations. 02:07 – Problem Carole helps solve: A lot of times the problem that I'm solving for them is symptomatic. They're seeing longer sales cycles. They're seeing deals that are smaller than they should be, or not closing when they should be. And they're not entirely sure why. They've tried training, they've tried books, they've tried workshops, and it's still a mystery. 02:42 – Typical symptoms that clients do before reaching out to Carole: "Sometimes they might be experiencing things like people who are asking about price right off the bat and commoditizing what they're doing. Other symptoms may include that they're not actually able to get to those that are actually making the decisions and they're dealing with either gatekeepers or influencers who can't say yes because they have no money to spend." 03:46 – Common mistakes people make when trying to solve that problem: A lot of times they've tried, I need to find the perfect methodology. I need to find the perfect sales process that lays out for me exactly what I need to do. And they try to do those things and it doesn't necessarily work for them the same way that it worked in the book that they read or the podcast that they listened to. And sometimes what they're not taking into account is how they think and how they behave in the mindset that they have that is actually the thing that's getting in their way of executing on their plan or recognizing an opportunity for what it is. So, a lot of times that invisible thing that they're not able to fix is actually being in their own head. 04:43 – Carole's Valuable Free Action(VFA): Realize that sales is not just a numbers game, it's a mental game.Understand what your personally meaningful goals are. 06:41 – Carole's Valuable Free Resource(VFR): Download the eGuide: Mindset Matters and discover how certain beliefs impact your ability to be successful and improve in sales. Get actionable steps you can do now to develop a sales growth mindset and get the results you seek:http://www.unboundgrowth.com/ingagements 07:15 – Q: "How biased are we in our own self-assessments?

 Learn how certain beliefs impact your ability to be successful and improve in sales Discover why the right mindset is important in order to execute your business plans or to recognize an opportunity for what it is Know how to develop and achieve a mindset mastery for sales success Resources/Links: Download the eGuide: Mindset Matters and Discover How Certain Beliefs Impact Your Ability to Be Successful and Improve in Sales. Get Actionable Steps You Can Do Now to Develop a Sales Growth Mindset and Get the Results You Seek:http://www.unboundgrowth.com/ingagements Summary As the founder of Unbound Growth, Carole has been featured as a top sales coach by Sales Hacker and Ambition and has coached Harvard Business School Entrepreneurial MBA students on sales. In this episode, Carole shares her insights about sales and the connection between a problem and a solution which is when done in the best interest of others, better salespeople and leaders can make the world a better place. She talks about the responsibility both as individual sales professionals and sales leaders to raise the respectability of the sales profession. It is her personal mission to change the negative perception of sales- from the individual salesperson to the executives and leaders. Check out these episode highlights: 01:52 – Carole's ideal client: Ideally, I like to work with small business owners or entrepreneurs who are doing their own selling, or even individual contributors in those organizations. 02:07 – Problem Carole helps solve: A lot of times the problem that I'm solving for them is symptomatic. They're seeing longer sales cycles. They're seeing deals that are smaller than they should be, or not closing when they should be. And they're not entirely sure why. They've tried training, they've tried books, they've tried workshops, and it's still a mystery. 02:42 – Typical symptoms that clients do before reaching out to Carole: "Sometimes they might be experiencing things like people who are asking about price right off the bat and commoditizing what they're doing. Other symptoms may include that they're not actually able to get to those that are actually making the decisions and they're dealing with either gatekeepers or influencers who can't say yes because they have no money to spend." 03:46 – Common mistakes people make when trying to solve that problem: A lot of times they've tried, I need to find the perfect methodology. I need to find the perfect sales process that lays out for me exactly what I need to do. And they try to do those things and it doesn't necessarily work for them the same way that it worked in the book that they read or the podcast that they listened to. And sometimes what they're not taking into account is how they think and how they behave in the mindset that they have that is actually the thing that's getting in their way of executing on their plan or recognizing an opportunity for what it is. So, a lot of times that invisible thing that they're not able to fix is actually being in their own head. 04:43 – Carole's Valuable Free Action(VFA): Realize that sales is not just a numbers game, it's a mental game.Understand what your personally meaningful goals are. 06:41 – Carole's Valuable Free Resource(VFR): Download the eGuide: Mindset Matters and discover how certain beliefs impact your ability to be successful and improve in sales. Get actionable steps you can do now to develop a sales growth mindset and get the results you seek:http://www.unboundgrowth.com/ingagements 07:15 – Q: "How biased are we in our own self-assessments?" A: When we talk about being open to understanding what your hidden weaknesses are and what your strengths are, it's not always something that we can do for ourselves. Sometimes we need to get that outside perspective because we're too close to it.

Some business owners get their start with the wind at their backs. Carole Mahoney wasn’t one of them. She started her marketing and sales company in the middle of a recession with the cards stacked against her. In order for her company to succeed, she had to completely rethink her approach to sales. “It was survival. I had to feed my kids,” she recalled. In today’s episode, the founder and CEO of Unbound Growth tells us why she believes “sales is life”, and why the right mindset is the difference between success and failure in business.   Show Notes: HowieDoinIt.com/18 Subscribe, Rate, & Review: http://howiedoinit.com/subscribe Connect with Howie: Facebook, Instagram, YouTube Ask Howie: If you want Howie to answer your questions in an upcoming episode, drop him a line at questions@howiedoinit.com

Productivity improvement is what every sales professional is trying to reach. Struggling to reach quotas and long work days seem to be the bread and butter of the sales industry—but it doesn’t have to be that way. Carole Mahoney is here to chat with Paul about improving productivity and the positive impact it makes on every part of your life.  After graduating with a degree in Marketing & Business Management, Carole dove into a sales and marketing career. In 2014 she founded Unbound Growth—a business dedicated to coaching start-ups and experienced entrepreneurs alike to reach their goals. Carole knows how to help you move from struggling to make quotas to becoming top salespeople in your company.  Outline of This Episode [0:18] Carole Mahoney of Unbound Growth [1:20] Carole’s take on Productivity [2:30] Improving day to day productivity [5:20] Set personal meaningful goals [7:00] What attributes lend well to productivity [8:20] Productivity tools, tactics, and strategies [11:20] Top 3 dos and top 3 don’ts [12:50] Favorite productivity story [14:55] Productivity leads to a clear mind Productivity improvement is about goal alignment Many people struggle with productivity because they do not have clear goals set for themselves. This doesn't just apply to the workplace. A person needs to set deeply personal meaningful goals for their life that productivity at work helps them achieve. This typically goes beyond meeting your basic needs and providing for your family (though important).  Carole recently coached someone and helped them break down their goals to the root issue: he wanted to earn $50,000 to pay for IVF so that he and his wife could build a family. That was the motivation he took to work every day to help him reach his sales goals. Carole emphasized that no goal is more important than any other—it could be as simple as a college student trying to reach independence.  Be proactive about where your time is spent When you aren’t able to be as productive as you think you should be, why is that happening? Are you starting your week trying to figure out what the week will look like? In sales, you are immersed in phone calls and emails. Stop letting them overwhelm you! Be proactive with your time.  What does that look like with day to day work?  The first step is setting goals, both personally and professionally. Then, set aside time to plan out what your quarter, month, and week will look like so that you dive into your day with clear objectives. Make sure those objectives line up with what you’re trying to accomplish and the goals you’ve set. Set 3 priorities that only you can accomplish and distribute or shelf the other work. The attributes that lend well to productivity Carole and Paul discuss some of the qualities that you should look for in potential hires that scream productivity: Does the person take responsibility for the outcomes of any given situation? Do they own their mistakes or make excuses? Do they have a positive outlook? Can they work independently or remotely? What is their motivation? You want to look for someone who realizes that everything they do is under their control. From the actions they take to the outlook they have when they start the workday. It all matters.  Tools, tactics, and strategies to reach productivity Carole recommends starting somewhere simple: purchase a planner or a journal to help you map out your time. There are planners geared entirely towards sales professionals, some that are completely customizable, and all simply practical. Then, start blocking your time. Clear one or two hours in your schedule and group similar tasks together. In doing so, you’re not forcing your brain to constantly adapt to very different tasks. Alternate these blocks of time with 5-10 minute breaks to allow yourself to recharge. The genius is in the simplicity.  Carole covers her top three “Do’s and Don'ts” and her favorite productivity story—listen on to hear the full conversation! Resources & People Mentioned More Sales, Less Time by Jill Konrath Savor Life Planner The Sales Journal The Phoenix Journal Connect with Carole Mahoney Unbound Growth Carole on LinkedIn Twitter Connect With Paul Watts  LinkedIn Twitter Subscribe to CLIENT PODCAST onSINGLE LINK PLINK SUBSCRIPTION (must be iTunes/Apple before you can do this) Audio Production and Show notes by PODCAST FAST TRACK https://www.podcastfasttrack.com

You're going to love this conversation with Carole Mahoney, Founder and Chief Sales Coach at Unbound Growth. As salespeople, we all face the challenge of overcoming the negative perception that buyers have about sales and salespeople. In this episode, we'll discuss ways we can change this perception to create trust with prospects. Thanks to our Friends at SendOutCards! Check out this powerful way to build relationships with easily personalized cards. Try it out now and send your first one for free here.

You're going to love this conversation with Carole Mahoney, Founder and Chief Sales Coach at Unbound Growth. As salespeople, we all face the challenge of overcoming the negative perception that buyers have about sales and salespeople. In this episode, we'll discuss ways we can change this perception to create trust with prospects. Thanks To Our Friends at Send Out Cards!

You're going to love this conversation with Carole Mahoney, Founder and Chief Sales Coach at Unbound Growth. As salespeople, we all face the challenge of overcoming the negative perception that buyers have about sales and salespeople. In this episode, we'll discuss ways we can change this perception to create trust with prospects. Thanks To Our Friends at Send Out Cards!  

Carole Mahoney founded a marketing agency, but soon realized that overly relying on inbound opportunities wasn't going to be enough, and that in order to succeed she needed to embrace outbound sales and outbound calling. Carole shares her journey from inbound marketer to one of the best outbound sales coaches, a fantastic journey that reveals important lessons that remain extremely relevant to all sales professionals. In this episode you'll learn: + Carole's journey from inbound marketer to outbound sales coach + How the sales profession can sometimes look like 19th century medicine + How preconceived ideas of what Sales is can affect cold call reluctance + The power of - 'it's not about you' + How Carole works with top sales performers promoted in leadership roles + How time management is critical to sales leadership success + Why recording the sales calls your team makes is vital for improving performance

Ryan O'Hara sat down with Carole Mahoney to discuss sales careers, finding the right sales reps, and how to set goals as a prospector. More info about LeadIQ:https://pages.leadiq.com/get-free-leads-and-cuddle

In today's Tip #8, Carole Mahoney provides tips on motivation and goals. Are you motivated more by money or by mastery?  Join the discussion at DailySales.Tips/8 Carole offers FREE group coaching for salespeople and sales managers. Visit DailySales.Tips/8 for more details.

Many sales organizations struggle with building the right team that is able to execute a prospect-to-customer experience that sticks. Carole Mahoney from Unbound Growth shares how to train and develop a sales team that outperform its competitors.Check out Unbound Growth at http://www.unboundgrowth.com/Connect with Carole on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolemahoney/Check out the Inbound Growth Lab: https://www.techweb.no/inbound-growth-lab/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Carole Mahoney is a Sales rock star who began life as a Marketer because she never wanted to be an icky, pushy sales person. Wait…what?! Carole had a perception of sales that clearly isn’t true, but it dramatically influenced her choices. So, what happened? Why is she now in Sales? Because she eventually realized the truth that your perception becomes your reality. She changed her perception of Sales and is now a top-ranked advisor, speaker, and thought leader in the profession. What’s your perception of yourself, and how is it influencing your results? Listen, as Carole shares her thoughts and offers incredible wisdom that you can implement immediately.

Do you avoid doing sales? Are your sales efforts not working out? Or are you a new small business struggling to make those first sales? Carole Mahoney, Sales Change Agent & Coach at Unbound Growth can help you overcome many of the obstacles in sales for your small business. She speaks to Matt and Dan about her journey from hating sales and wanting to “eliminate” them to realizing how important sales is to any business and working directly with business to turn their marketing leads into viable sales. Carole is the Founder and Chief Sales Coach at Unbound Growth where she helps business and salespeople take massive action to grow their sales. She helps startup entrepreneurs who are unsure of how take their product to market and get customers, small business owners who are struggling to make ends meet free up cash flow with faster sales and reduced collections by getting more ideal customers, founders to grow their business by keeping more customers and increasing referrals, executives who don't have 'sales' in their title but need to be more persuasive 'people' managers, and sales managers who want to be more effective coaches and leaders who create more leaders. You can connect with Carole  and her business through the following websites and social media platforms: Website: http://www.unboundgrowth.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolemahoney/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/unboundgrowth YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCluXteZ_fsO-2Nr_T6VJEEg --- Remember to subscribe to the SPRH Podcast on iTunes or on the Podcast Addict App on Android, rate it, and share it with your friends, family, and colleagues! Start your day with the right positive affirmations by joining Dan’s The Success Happens Movement Facebook group. Are you taking massive action in your life? Want to share your successes and support others who are also taking massive action? Then join Matt’s Facebook group The 3% Tribe.

Sales Reinvented Podcast Best Of Series: Episode 19. In today’s episode, we will be sharing some of our favourite ‘do’s and don’ts’. Guests: Janet LeBlanc, Brian Carroll, Carole Mahoney. Thanks to our sponsor: Canadian Professional Sales Association (www.cpsa.com).

In this episode, Mickey interviews Carole Mahoney, a prominent sales coach who helps her clients better understand how their strengths and weaknesses impact their performance. Together, Mickey and Carole look at how Admissions leaders can better use their coaching skills to improve their team's performance. For more information on improving your team's performance, visit Mickey online at http://www.kennedyandcompany.com. Fanatical Recruitment is a higher ed podcast focused on various issues impacting college and university admissions, enrollment management and marketing strategies. The show is hosted by Mickey Baines, and produced by the Kennedy and Company consulting team.