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Gnarly! Gary Garth joins us on the Surf and Sales podcast to discuss six exits and his favorite failures. Big props to Hubspot for making us a part of the Hubspot Podcasting Network! Please check them out for great sales content and an awesome CRM Connect with us on LinkedIn Richard Harris Scott Leese Get a free copy on GaryGarth.com and use the coupon SurfandSales and get his book on Gary Garth.com Want to go to Costa Rica? Come to the next Surf and Sales event! Register Here!
The key to founder-led sales is to improve the product/services faster, which is revenue growth. The key to transitioning to from founder-led sales to a salesperson is not letting them sell for 90 days. The key to upselling in founder-led sales, ask for feedback - those conversations lead to more extensive discussions about other problems we might be able to solve for them. Michael Martocci joins us and shares his thoughts and insights on this and more.
Recognition that shows value more than the promotion itself. Managing a team of North American SDRs from the UK Learning how to let go lets you have more control What could you do to position yourself for the next role as an SDR Accelerate out of your current role.
What if you could prove that a higher based salesperson with no commission would be happier, perform better, and reduce your retention? That's exactly what we discuss in this live Bonfire Session. Topics include: Why do commissions even exist. What is recruiting like for a no-commission sales organization? How does this affect your customer's experience? How do you set goals? How do you have the conversation with underperformers?
The Crow's Nest is a special place in Costa Rica where sincere and intimate conversations happen with attendees. We want to create the same moments away from Costa Rica and this is one of those episodes What to do when transitioning your role Navigating the interview process Recruiters are the gatekeeper Shrinking the delta between idea and action Why you don't need to SEO Amazon when you write a book.
Evolve or die. That is the lesson in this episode. There is no need to be an influencer, be a sales evangelist. Join us as Will Aitken jumps in and shares his journey from salesperson to sales evangelist. We dive into: The new role in sales is a sales evangelist Using TikTok to leverage The transition from full-time sales to an evangelist "You don't have to wait for the promotion"
Alexis has amazing views regarding sales, self-awareness, and the difference between being picky or particular. She shares them all in this episode What is a Partnership Manager really do? What do you focus on first when defining your ICP ICP = Ideal Collaboration Profile Execs are more interested in the results as much as the how How to coach yourself out of impostor syndrome Navigating the work from home and returning to office mandate. How to be a remote sales leader
An amazing conversation to start of Season 3 with Lori Dunn. So good we let her take over to ask us more questions. Overcoming the "We are ok right now" Messaging the old tech to sell new tech The hardest part of building from scratch in sales Pricing in the early stages The right questions to ask your CEO at a start-up Shifting from Founder-led sales Identifying the metrics in the early stage
The demo environment and demo experience are broken. And so is the interview and job hiring process. Adam Jay shares amazing insights on both of these and other topics including: What makes a bad a demo? Why you should only offer a POC Why you shouldn't pay for a POC Recruiting requirements for VP of Sales What are the questions candidates should ask a VP of Sales The value of "Tell me more"
Brook started in sales and worked her way up to enablement. She's now running enablement for over 100 reps, both inbound and outbound. She shares amazing and tactical thoughts on enablement at scale, enablement in the remote world, and more including: Building a hybrid training model that works in a remote/ hybrid world Inbound and Outbound Comp How many SDRs are needed to justify an inbound team? Proper Manager to SDR Ratio Why it's important to teach your team real business acumen. How long should an SDR be in the role before going to the next role The difference between a Manager, Team Lead and a Jr. Team Lead What does the first Enablement leader focus on at an early stage company?
Thomas is an active SVP of Sales. He stays in the trenches and has built amazing sales teams and he believes in the full cycle rep. Check out his advice on this episode What it takes to be a full-cycle sales rep.What prospecting "smarter" really means. Even execs have to stay in the trenches Achieve Your Goals by Helping others achieve theirs Why you are better at your job when you have a side hustle Why it matters to have internal and external training What makes branding and social so important the higher your title
Zoe started in a traditional SDR role and rather than take the normal path to AE, she shifted into what is now the hottest part of the sales community. She's a community builder. This goes way deeper than "Channel Sales" it engages the human element. We are lucky enough she shares her wisdom with us. Where do you start when building a community. Community differences between retention and acquisition. How to be a good partner as a community with your sponsors. The best way to engage the community. No more pitch-slapping in social selling Understanding how to find your true value
Understand the emotional LinkedIn post vs the value add post Content will always drive pipeline What's a deep work session of 90 minutes and how to use it. Why it's not easier to sell at a unicorn as it is an early-stage company Why every salesperson will become a content creator Why everyone in sales needs to understand copy writing
Luigi's first sales job at 17 was selling $7,000 high-end suits. And he fell in love with sales while working in a call center. His journey is unique and now he's partnering with Tony J. Hughes helping other organizations grow their revenue. Realtime feedback = Growth Mindset How to coach rapport building How my mom and Mary Kay affected my sales career The tactics of retail clothing sales you can use today.The challenges of sales training and enablement in 2022 What's broken in the current sales models
Humility, Vulnerability, and Curiosity If you have to tell people how great you are then you aren't that good. The power of going first as a leader. It's ok to not know every answer, it's not ok to do nothing about it. Teaching the TED framework - Tell Explain Describe Selling only causes resistance, just ask questions
Joined by Chloe Stewart (CRO of Pilot.com), Niraj Kapur (Managing Director of Everybody Works in Sales), Belal Batrawy (Startup Advisor at DeathToFluff) and moderated by Tim Clarke (Senior Director of Marketing at Salesforce) we talk about: To SKO or not to SKO? Are they always necessary? How can we redesign the structure of SKOs What's the key component of an SKO? *Hint* engagement. How to bring engagement virtually or in-person and we dive deeper into popular opinions and some not-so-popular opinions on hosting events like this.
Everything looks pretty good up until the middle of the quarter, but then it all evaporates. Deals slip and fail to close. What are the root causes and how do you solve it? Tony J. Hughes joins us in a Surf and Sales Bonfire session to give you all the answers. The biggest differentiation is based on the experience of your buyer The Middle is where deals go to die It's not about closing, its is about opening 3 Reasons A Deal Pushes and Dies What Leaders Should Manage Specifically What Leaders Should Coach Their Teams on Better
Jonathon has spent his life and career living in various parts of the world and building businesses that help grow through practical product-led growth. He shares amazing insights and some actionable steps folks can use in growing their ability to do better demos. A demo is a product story Demos are an intimate moment What is wrong with demos today People will forget the features but remember the narrative. Compressing the demo Do you have a demo matrix What is the ideal demo length The biggest thing you have to get over is indifference. How to use Product Led Growth for your demo
Daniel understands how marketing ops and sales have more in common than most people think. He shares his knowledge with us on a variety of topics How soon should you hire marketing ops in your organization? Where do I find a marketing ops person? Key components of defining marketing ops. Where should the CRO come from, Sales or Marketing? Does and don'ts giving VP Sales and Marketing Ops The big don't, "the blame game" What a good relationship between Marketing Ops and Sales should be Understanding the purpose of different social media Ppl who aren't standing out are not branding themselves very well
Volume is about time reduction 5 Step Sales Process: Fear - Trust - Curiosity - Commitment - Action Why a dial shouldn't be considered a "step" What professional gambling taught him about selling How to combat the relentlessness and loneliness of remote work
Use sponsor dollars to drive membership costs down not up Sponsors who flourish think long term not near-term conversions Why he thinks there's a "little bit of Hollywood in SaaS" Why he thinks nobody wants to go back to the office full-time Learning through osmosis is lazy sales leadership
After a few successful exits, Andy has no desire to slow down. He shares some amazing insights on growing your company from early stage to exit, including: Is it a disadvantage to being a non-technical founder? Best advice to scaling at Series A, B, and onward Don't be afraid to overpay for a new hire in the early stages Guiding the technical founder that's ok to spend money Is pay to play for introductions the new normal Charging for time vs Charging for attention
Justin is a sales savant who can explain the complex in simple ways. He shared some amazing insights that all Sales Leaders need to know about building their revenue organization for 2022 When hiring, how do you find grit? What do "good communication skills" really mean? How to win the Recruiting War for 2022 6 levels of genius As a rep, what should I look for in a sales leader? The buyers who buy are the hardest to get to. Talking to someone over digital is not always making progress.
Heather started from not just humble beginnings, but as she says, "poor". And she's used that to drive her own successes. The advice she gives is AMAZING! We can do hard things How to teach confidence How to find your passion and purpose Make sure you know you're in a growth industry Move fast, break things, and grow How to get uncomfortable How do you become a speaker 101 Fear means greenlight and go faster.
Steve shares his personal journey through addiction to business leader. He shares amazing insights on all levels including: Being a non-sucky company is harder than you think The discipline for getting great and not being distracted The key is consistency Growth is not the problem, control is the problem Measuring for curiosity and discipline VPs of Sales need to do more than steer the ship
Howard breaks down the concepts of AI in sales in the simplest and easiest conversation to date. We are getting there, but we aren't there yet. Learn about the following from Howard: How AI will augment us, not hurt us What AI in sales won't replace Own your failures will help you grow. Why passion matters more than anything. Statics. Math and Machine Learning are NOT AI Difference between statistics, math, and AI Prediction models are not AI How to find people who are coachable
PLG - Product Led Growth. All the rage and not quite all the understanding. In this episode we speak with Breezy Beaumont of Correlated to discuss where and how sales, marketing, and customer success should be aligned. Topics include: Understanding how Growth differs from CRO. Best collaboration tools. How not to use a collaboration tool. No human thrives with no autonomy. Freemium, Self-Serve, and a Sales Team How to leverage a brand in a micro-community
Sales=Transactional. BD = Relational based Care more about the personality type than your pedigree Difference between selling to HR than other departments Manage to performance is better to manage tenure No Undergrad degree but I have an MBA Understand the process more than the product The one thing missing in your 30, 60, and 90-day plan
What medical device sales are really like.Job Security = Money, work for self, flexibilityYou don't have to always be accessibleOptimizing happiness and moneyRe-starting after taking 2 months off
Difference between Millennials and GenZ in sales The day that turns your life around The best line for handling the competition EVER Going from being an engineer to a life of sales Technology is accelerating faster than our DNA 5 Things that can kill every deal. No need, no desire, no urgency no budget, no trust The future is already here it's just not evenly distributed Moving from persuasion to co-collaboration Innovation is the crossroads of purpose and passion
Kris went straight from AE to co-founder and has raised over $50m. He shares a ton of sales, leadership, and fundraising insights including: How corporate gifting evolved When does it go from cool idea Going after venture money is just a sales process The term sheet is just an MSA What it means to "be prepared" when raising money How to leverage your early stage investors How to determine the right VC right for you The founder experience is what VC's should focus on The mistakes to avoid when using gifting Creativity is the new secret weapon As a sales leader how to resist taking over the sale
Ashley, Galem, and Niraj provide great feedback and answer audience questions. Topics include: Effective 1:1s Driving Accountability Creating a safe place to learn How the Sales Stack is Evolving into a coaching stack What to do when you don't have the saas coaching tools
Michael has been through the wringer, literally. As he did the hard work to become sober he eventually realized the similarities he saw in the business and leadership world. He shares actionable insights into leadership and accountability with us during the episode Stop telling people what to stop doing.Rigorous Authenticity of Who You Are Surrender the Outcome, not trying to control them Doing Uncomfortable Work The 3 mistakes leaders over and over again Mask addiction in the leadership world 3 types of uncomfortable conversations we all have How your weaknesses get you promoted The empowerment of saying 'no'.
David's had one of those jobs many of us dream about. Combining business and sales skills with professional sports teams and leagues. He shares some fun stories and insights including Chief Commercial Officer vs CRO Sports Ops vs Business Ops in Professional Sports The more money you make the more risk-averse you may become What you take when leaving one successful company to another Starting with a founding principle of how much money Trading money for commitment in a real partnership
One of the most interesting topics we all know but never discuss. Navigating a personal relationship with a co-worker. Not the whole episode, but definitely something that is rarely discussed. We did discuss it and a whole bunch more. The value of telling a story for your career growth. Vertical Specific SaaS Sales Managing headcount growth in a smaller market The 4 questions to ask when you take a leadership role What it means to show up and be present in a new leadership role
Negotiating with procurement is often one of the dark holes in the abyss at the bottom of the deepest ocean of the sales process. We brought the former SVP/General Manager, Global Business Development at American Express and former VP of Global Sales at Eventbrite to share real-world strategies to help you see them as an asset, not a hindrance. What does procurement actually mean Understanding what risk mitigation means How to hold onto price and premium What is procurement's goal
RevOps is the NKTOB and its influence for improving revenue growth cannot be ignored. Robb from Heyday shares his insights on what it really means to build a successful machine. 3 Keys to RevOps Systems / Process / Data The next evolution of Revenue Operations What's a proper spend per rep on the sales stack What to know when in RevOps Why RevOps and Sales Ops need to be early in a start-up The gold standard of RevOps Cleaning up the mess when a RevOps piece did not exist "the 'hidden' cost of adoption" Managing the anxiety of change management More formalization less tribal knowledge Simplifying the sales reps world
What if a product marketer actually started their career in sales, and was good at sales? That's who Brandon Redlinger is and he shares a wealth of information about what good product marketers do to help their sales teams succeed The 5 Key Pillars of Product Marketing Defining your value metric What is your value metric and how does it help with building prices How do you know when to increase price Navigating the pricing objection How do you know when your product is ready to be sold How often should sales and product marketing be talking? What goes into determining price
Francois was side hustling before it was ever such a thing. Check out his insights on these topics and more Should you double down on career or start side hustle Don't confuse inbound interest with purchasing intent Should inbound and outbound be compensated differently Who handles inbound, experienced or new reps Building your brand and why it's important
A long-time friend and first-time guest on the Surf and Sales podcast. He's gone from VP of Sales to CRO and shares his insights. Figuring it out how to scale The biggest mistakes new CRO's make when coming in How to build cross-functional relationships in your CRO role How to learn marketing when you have a sales background How do you give a CMO a revenue number. Where marketing can help later in the funnel Yes, transactional salespeople can close 7 figure deals.
Aaron has been doing sales enablement since before the term even existed. He shares his insights on: How Sales Enablement becomes the center of the organizationThe true evolution of sales enablement Quantifying the value of sales enablement to the CEO and CFO People only build processes for the current state and why that is wrong. What motivates sales enablement is being a change agent What to look for in hiring someone for sales enablement How to compensate someone from sales enablement Build your enablement process first before you buy your enablement stack Scaling sales enablement
Ashley moved from marketing to sales so much she took a part-time SDR role to prepare for the interview. This isn't the first time she's prepped for something this way and she shares her best practices for always achieving your goals. How to position yourself to become an AE from the SDR role How to prepare for your next role Selling the meeting not the product as an SDR Translate marketing message to sales messaging What's fun about sales.
Connecting with someone's deepest emotional memories. Clinging to sales performance when you don't like yourself Disconnecting productivity from yourself Joining in on something but not really living. Understanding your authentic presence What it really means to really live in gratitude Get quiet, listen to stories, and be curious When a leader listens and cares I will work harder.
How many of your reps should be going to Presidents Club What makes a great President's Club event? How to your promotion path interview really hard What is sales mastery What it means to have a merit-based interview processHow I bounced back from burnout What causes burnout, saying yes to everything, and putting your boss too high on a pedestal. The value of rethinking the way you work in sales. What are your warning signs for self-care Sales metrics are really lagging indicators
Lisa spent 27 years at one of the largest companies in the world. She shares so much advice that is perfect no matter the size of your own organization or your role in it. Good leadership is when your leader doesn't make you feel embarrassed when you don't know things.How to network with your leadership Why you should go 2 leaders up when networking Why you should always have a relationship with the finance team. How leaders can help their team to be accountable to their goals. How you walk into the room matters How to navigate the red tape of a corporate world The biggest and simplest thing you can do to win more deals
In this episode, we get to talk to James Ski, Founder of Sales Confidence + Partnerships expert with Drift. He speaks openly about mental health and what it takes to ride the highs and lows of the sales profession and we're fortunate to have him on this week Keeping attention on moving with the times USA vs the UK selling energy When you are joining a company you are really joining the leadership The best question to ask in an interview to understand the culture of an organization The secret sauce of the LinkedIn algorithm How sponsorships and shared values go hand-in-hand Leveraging positive attention vs. negative association
Sales professionals are experiencing more pressure than ever right now. In one of the most competitive, fast-moving, and high-pressure jobs, sales have been hit especially hard by COVID. So what are the most successful salespeople doing to stay mentally resilient and engaged during these challenging times?
Being able to ask a VC is always a great conversation. Amos does not disappoint at all in this session. He shares a ton of great ideas and guidance in an open discussion. What it means to have a data and metrics-driven plan Are you on the part to product/market direction and product/market fit What you need to know to claim you have product/market fit What I fell in love with within my first sales job The excitement, the expectations, and the reality of an acquisition The 1999 Sales Process How do you know what to do and when in your early-stage start-up The disparity of equity and success Biggest mistakes founders make when approaching a VC The difference between of an accelerator and other VCs
Like many, Amy didn't plan to go into sales. She wanted to be in politics, lobbying, etc. Then after one of her first engagements with a political campaign, that all changed. From politics to sales There are two types of workers, processors, and producers What it's like having a mentor in your first year. Understanding Speed, Status, and Experience Bad news does get better with time, so lean in. Be aware of the internal win rate based on inbound/ outbound. How managing SDRs to the moment is crushing their soul.
Today, we have on, Scott Leese, one of the top start up sales leaders in the country! Spanning over two decades, Scott has trained and developed armies of sales departments for companies such as Google and SalesLoft. He is the CEO and Founder of both Scott Leese Consulting and SurfandSales.com, 3 time winner of the top 25 inside sales professionals, author of addicted to the process - #1 best seller for sales on Amazon. Scott is a also a fellow podcaster with his Surf & Sales Podcast with Richard Harris. Scott is one of the most approachable people in sales with his laidback attitude and hunger to teach all of us lowly SDR's how to make it in this hectic game of sales. “Podcasting 101: From The Ground Up”Hosted By Eric aka The Lowly SDRSign Up HERE Sign Up for “Potion” HEREWant to help us release more episodes? Donate to the show-https://www.paypal.me/ABUVEGROUNDSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/AbuvegroundLLC?fan_landing=true)