B2B Sales Trends

Your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) isn’t something you define once and forget. It’s a living, breathing strategy that evolves with your customers, your data, and your frontline experience.

In this episode of the B2B Sales Trends Podcast, host Harry Kendlbacher speaks with Shaun Scott, Chief Revenue Officer at Aptia Group, about how great sales leaders make their ICP dynamic, actionable, and relevant — and how to turn that clarity into consistent team performance.

Shaun shares how Aptia’s team keeps its ICP grounded through constant feedback loops with sellers, clients, and broker partners — turning market insight into day-to-day sales behavior.

🔗 Explore more insights: www.globalperformancegroup.com

You’ll learn:

• How to align your ICP with real buyer behavior, not internal assumptions

• Why top sellers treat their ICP as a guide, not a gate

• The mindset shift from “strategy decks” to frontline execution

• How discipline, urgency, and self-reflection define elite performers

• The three traits Shaun looks for in every top sales hire

💡 Key Takeaways

- Your ICP is a living strategy — keep refining it as customers evolve.

- Coaching with clarity builds stronger, more autonomous teams.

- Urgency and discipline drive consistent sales results.

- Sales leadership isn’t about control; it’s about alignment and trust.

- The best sellers reflect, learn, and adapt constantly.

👤 About Guest

Shaun Scott is the Chief Revenue Officer at Aptia Group, a global provider of benefits administration and pension solutions serving over 7 million lives across the US and UK. With more than 25 years in B2B sales and leadership, Shaun helps organizations operationalize strategy, build high-performing teams, and stay relentlessly focused on customer outcomes.

The healthcare sales process is more complex than ever — with AI committees, long sales cycles, and multiple stakeholders shaping every deal. In this episode of the B2B Sales Trends Podcast, Harry Kendlbacher sits down with Stacy Faught, National Director of Sales and Marketing, North America, Clinical Decision Support Products at Beckman Coulter Diagnostics, to explore how elite sellers build trust and relationships at every level to win in today’s environment.

🔗 Explore more insights: www.globalperformancegroup.com

You’ll learn:

- How to build multi-level “zipper relationships” that protect your deals

- Why AI in healthcare sales adds new complexity to the buying process

- How to balance patience and persistence in long sales cycles

- The role of value selling and storytelling in closing critical opportunities

- Stacy’s best sales tips for thriving in a VUCA environment

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 – Introduction: Harry welcomes Stacy Faught to discuss the healthcare sales process

02:10 – Why AI committees make healthcare sales more complex

05:02 – How long sales cycles impact sellers and customers

07:20 – Patience vs. persistence: sales tips for navigating hospital buying

08:45 – Button vs. zipper: how to build relationships at every level

12:03 – Thriving in uncertainty: VUCA tolerance in healthcare sales

16:08 – Top 3 qualities of elite sellers: listening, value selling, storytelling

💡 Key Takeaways

- AI adoption in hospitals introduces new committees and adds layers to the sales process.

- Elite sellers create zipper relationships instead of relying on a single champion.

- Compassion and empathy are essential when buyers face long, frustrating sales cycles.

- Value selling and storytelling build the emotional connection that closes deals.

- Resilience and VUCA tolerance are what separate top sales performers.

👤 About Guest

Stacy Faught is National Director of Sales and Marketing, North America, Clinical Decision Support Products at Beckman Coulter Diagnostics. With over 20 years of experience in healthcare sales and marketing, Stacy specializes in guiding hospitals through complex buying processes, AI adoption, and building elite sales teams that win.

Connect with Stacy Faught on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stacy-faught-b601905/

If this episode sparked new thinking, share it with your team.

🎧 Subscribe for weekly insights on modern selling, leadership, and performance.

🔗 Explore more at www.globalperformancegroup.com

Sales performance is evolving fast - and in the age of AI, elite teams need more than just strategy. They need culture, coaching, and customer readiness. In this episode of B2B Sales Trends, Harry Kendlbacher sits down with Justin Geib, Regional VP NEMA at Dynatrace (formerly at Dell Technologies), to explore how top leaders are building high-performing sales cultures that thrive in a world where AI reshapes every customer interaction.

🔗 Explore more insights: www.globalperformancegroup.com

You’ll learn:

– Why hiring and retaining A-players is about more than résumés

– How sales coaching and culture fuel elite team performance

– Where AI helps sellers win - and where the human edge still matters

– Why customers are more prepared than ever (and how to stay ahead)

Lead generation isn’t dead — it’s evolving. In this episode of the B2B Sales Trends Podcast, Harry Kendlbacher sits down with Robert Karpovich, Global VP of Sales and Operations at Pharos IQ, to unpack how SDRs can cut through digital noise, build real conversations, and become the 2% that buyers actually remember.

🔗 Explore more insights: www.globalperformancegroup.com

You’ll learn:

– Why SDR as a Service is changing the way companies approach pipeline building

– How Conversational Selling outperforms outdated scripts

– What it really takes to create human connection in sales

– Why cold calling still works in a digital-first world

– How to train SDRs to thrive in uncomfortable moments

⏱ Timestamps

00:00 – Welcome + Robert Karpovich’s role at Pharos IQ

02:20 – What’s working in lead generation today (and the biggest mistakes)

05:10 – Training SDRs: why voice is the ultimate sales tool

08:45 – Building confidence: being comfortable being uncomfortable

11:30 – Is cold calling dead? Why real conversations cut through the noise

13:50 – The role of AI vs. human connection in sales

💡 Key Takeaways

- Lead generation has shifted: qualification scripts don’t work — conversations do.

- The best SDRs master free-flowing dialogue that uncovers pain points and builds trust.

- Cold calling isn’t dead; when done well, it’s one of the few tactics that cuts through digital clutter.

- Training is at the core: SDRs need relentless practice and coaching to succeed.

- The mindset of “run into the storm” — like the bison story Rob shares — defines resilience in sales.

👤 About Guest

Robert Karpovich is the Global VP of Sales and Operations at Pharos IQ, where he leads sales development and operational strategy. With deep expertise in building and scaling SDR functions, Robert helps organizations modernize their prospecting approach and create meaningful buyer conversations.

Connect with Robert on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-karpovich-a7aa7585/

📣 CTA

If this episode sparked new thinking, share it with your team.

🎧 Subscribe for weekly insights on modern selling, leadership, and performance.

🔗 Explore more at www.globalperformancegroup.com

In this episode of the B2B Sales Trends Podcast, Harry Kendlbacher speaks with Ashley Sherman, Senior VP of Global Sales at SoftServe, about what it really takes to earn trust and sell into a world transformed by AI.

Ashley draws on 25 years of enterprise experience to share how sales leaders can help customers “see around the corner” - painting a future vision and connecting it back to today’s business realities.

Inside the conversation:

- Why sellers must combine future vision with concrete milestones to guide customers from year 10 back to year 1.

- How multi-partner approaches (think SoftServe + Microsoft + NVIDIA) create credibility with the C-suite.

- The importance of listening across the organization - from customer service to HR - to uncover hidden problems and translate them into outcomes.

- What it really means to act as a trusted advisor in an AI-driven world.

- Why curiosity, collaboration, and continuous learning remain the timeless traits of elite salespeople.

If you want to know how to stay relevant, credible, and trusted while selling the future, this episode is packed with insights from the front lines of global enterprise sales.

In this episode of the B2B Sales Trends Podcast, Harry Kendlbacher speaks with Olga Traskova, VP of Revenue Operations at Birdeye, about why coherence makes or breaks complex deals — and how to keep opportunities from drifting as buying groups and priorities shift.

Olga shares how she rebuilt core go-to-market mechanics at Birdeye — from forecast hygiene to AI-assisted call intelligence — with one goal: ensuring sales processes stay consistent and trustworthy from first call to close.

Inside the conversation:

- Why deals slip as stakeholders change — and how to keep stories, pain points, and success metrics aligned.

- How tight stage criteria and system enforcement ensure reps actually follow the process.

- The role of weekly big deal reviews in revisiting assumptions, uncovering risks, and pulling in cross-functional support.

- Balancing outcome-based conversations with fundamentals like champion-building, pain discovery, and compelling events.

- Why mutual action plans are Olga’s “ultimate source of truth” for deal progress and customer accountability.

- How leadership and culture — not just checklists — turn coherence into a daily habit.

If you want to understand how to keep large, complex deals on track and build a sales culture around consistency and outcomes, this episode is full of practical insights.

In this episode of B2B Sales Trends, Harry Kendlbacher speaks with Susana Klotz, VP of Global New Client Acquisition at Kaseya, about what it takes to embed strategy into daily habits and build revenue that endures.

Susana leads a global team she calls “go-to-market sales killers,” focused on putting solutions in the hands of IT professionals and solving real problems. She shares how to balance vision with execution, shift sales culture beyond product pitching, and ensure strategies don’t just sound good in the boardroom but actually get lived out across hundreds of sellers.

Inside the conversation:

- How to work backwards from growth goals into daily behaviors and execution.

- Why strategies often fail in the field — and how to connect them to what sellers actually do every day.

- Shifting sales culture from pitching products to solving real-world challenges.

- Moving beyond the “toothache sale” to uncover long-term business impact and partnership.

- Standing out in crowded markets where products look similar and buyers care more about post-sale value.

- Turning strategy into a lived sales culture, with buy-in, proof, and internal marketing.

If you want to understand how to align strategy with execution and create a sales culture that drives revenue long-term, this episode is packed with practical insights.

In this episode of B2B Sales Trends, Harry Kendlbacher speaks with Sonia Bizier, VP of Sales at Hexagon, about what it takes to build sales teams that succeed with today’s hyper-informed buyers.

With over 30 years in sales leadership, Sonia shares why old playbooks no longer work — and how neuroscience, deliberate practice, and courageous leadership can transform sales organizations for the modern era.

Inside the conversation:

- The biggest shifts in buying behavior and why sellers must provoke thought, not recycle old questions.

- Why sales teams need a process of unlearning and new mental models.

- Moving beyond hunter/farmer models to sellers as corporate athletes with AI as a thought partner.

- How to build transformation into everyday scaffolding, feedback loops, and practice, not one-off training.

- Using neuroscience to anticipate resistance, shift teams from fight/flight/freeze into creativity, and lead change effectively.

- Hiring and developing sellers with the right mix of skill and will, and aiming for elite, fearless, curious teams.

If you want to understand how to build and enable sales teams that thrive with modern buyers, this episode is full of insights you won’t want to miss.

In this episode of B2B Sales Trends, Harry Kendlbacher speaks with Rafa Mercado, VP, US Consumer & Travel Market Leader at Kyndryl, about redefining growth and building customer partnerships that last beyond the close.

Rafa shares how Kyndryl is breaking down silos between sales and delivery, driving value after the deal is signed, and helping sellers stay relevant in a world of AI and hyper-informed buyers.

Inside the conversation:

- Why customer growth starts with helping clients grow — and how evidence-based impact builds credibility.

- How to create tighter alignment between sales and delivery to ensure value is delivered.

- Why post-sale value and proactive partnerships matter more than ever.

- How enablement must evolve — and why sellers need to embrace self-enablement with AI.

- The pillars of leading strategic conversations: industry acumen, financial literacy, challenger mindset, and executive presence.

- How buying behavior is shifting — and why sellers must move from transactions to continuous value co-creation.

If you want to understand what it takes to turn customer relationships into lasting partnerships, this episode is full of actionable insights.

In this episode of B2B Sales Trends, Harry Kendlbacher sits down with Nirav Sheth, VP of Global Sales Engineering at Pure Storage, to explore how the Sales Engineering role is evolving in today’s complex enterprise sales environment.

Leading a global team of 750+ SEs across 13,500 accounts, Nirav shares how SEs are moving far beyond demos to drive strategic outcomes — influencing deals, scaling impact, and shaping customer journeys from start to finish.

Inside the conversation:

- How the SE role is shifting from technical expert to trusted advisor.

- Where SEs deliver the most impact across the sales cycle — beyond the demo.

- How to scale SE expertise with account vs. specialist roles and proactive post-sales engagement.

- What healthy, high-trust SE–AE collaboration looks like in practice.

- How SEs can turn unique customer insights into real influence on opportunities and strategy.

If you want to understand how modern SEs drive value and help customers achieve meaningful outcomes, this episode is packed with practical insights.