Building Your Sales Engine

Building Your Sales Engine

Download on the App Store

Building Your Sales Engine episodes

  • Plan Your Entire Week in 25 Minutes
    Weekly planning doesn't need two hours — Mark McGraw walks through the timed 25-minute process he's run every week for years to get fully prepared for the week ahead.
    Weekly planning is where most salespeople lose the week before it starts. In this solo episode, Mark McGraw shares the exact 25-minute process he's used religiously for the last couple of years, built by taking the Pomodoro technique and overlaying a hard agenda with a countdown timer on every step. His honest confession up front: he used to sit down on a Sunday with the best intentions, work for two hours, and still feel like he'd done 30% of what he needed.
    The fix is five steps with the clock running. Three minutes to get ready — goals out in front of you, do not disturb on, every app closed except your calendar and task list. Five minutes to find a Kaizen moment, one small improvement that creates leverage for the rest of your life. Five minutes to interrogate your calendar: two weeks forward looking for landmines and conflicts, two weeks back looking for loose ends and dropped follow-ups. Five minutes to triage the task list and name the few tasks that actually define a productive week. Then seven minutes of time blocking, aimed squarely at what's important but not urgent.
    Mark also makes the case for the uncomfortable part: if you look at Tuesday and see a week full of white space, that's not freedom, that's a time management problem. Block 30 minutes for this process as a recurring event, indefinitely, and then celebrate it — because almost nobody prepares at this level.
    Host: Mark McGraw — Building Your Sales Engine
    In This Episode
    Why two hours of unstructured Sunday planning leaves you 30% prepared, and how a countdown timer fixes it
    The Pomodoro technique turned into a 25-minute weekly prep agenda with a fixed time budget per step
    Step 1 (3 min): goals in front of you, do not disturb on, everything closed but calendar and tasks
    Step 2 (5 min): identifying a weekly Kaizen moment — small, compounding improvements that create leverage
    Why Kaizen time is planning time, not doing time, and how Mark automated bill pay, 401(k) statements, and even the planning timer itself
    Step 3 (5 min): interrogate your calendar — two weeks forward for landmines and conflicts, two weeks back for loose ends
    Step 4 (5 min): triage the task list, kill or park stale items, and name the week's real priorities
    Step 5 (7 min): time blocking around the Eisenhower matrix, including TBD prospecting slots, exercise, and family time
    The 75% calendar rule, and why white space mid-week signals a time management gap
    How discipline in the moment buys flexibility in advance, and why you should block this process forever
    Links
    Sandler: https://www.Sandler.com
    Episode page: https://www.BuildingYourSalesEngine.com/
    Show links: https://linktr.ee/buildingyoursalesengine
    Mark on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmcgraw/
    Weekly Planning Timer tool: https://weeklyplanner.dontwimp.com/
    23 min
  • Kaizen: The one meeting we've run religiously for 9 years
    The Kaizen meeting is the one 90-minute block Mark McGraw has protected for nine years — and it's the reason his sales operation stopped running on firefighting.
    Most sales managers spend their week putting out fires, and the uncomfortable truth is that the same fires keep coming back. In this solo episode, Mark McGraw lays out three types of sales managers — the firefighter, the arsonist, and the fire marshal — and makes the case that your success and your sanity depend on which one you default to.
    The answer is a weekly Kaizen meeting: a blocked, recurring 90 minutes dedicated to constant and never-ending improvement. Not planning improvement. Doing it. Mark walks through real examples from his own business — a client resource hub built and launched in under 45 minutes, a hiring scorecard and interview criteria, a documented onboarding sequence, and a proposal tool refined across eight or nine sessions.
    He also shares the seven guidelines that keep the meeting alive after nearly a decade, including the counterintuitive rule that the meeting is 100% optional for everyone except him. Do the math: 13 weeks in a quarter, 10 sessions at 80% compliance, and you've made ten permanent improvements to your business. This is quadrant-two work — important but never urgent — and it only happens if you put it on the calendar.
    Host: Mark McGraw — Building Your Sales Engine
    In This Episode
    The three types of sales managers — firefighter, arsonist, fire marshal — and why the category you live in defines your sanity
    Why firefighting feels good: importance, validation, and the dependency it quietly creates on your team
    The fire marshal mindset — good code, inspections, and prevention instead of reaction
    HubSpot's two-part daily focus: reduce friction, increase velocity — and how that applies to a sales org
    What a Kaizen meeting actually is: 90 blocked minutes a week for constant and never-ending improvement
    Doing the work vs. planning the work — the rule that keeps you from leaving with another to-do list
    Real examples: a client resource hub, a hiring scorecard, a documented onboarding sequence, and an upgraded proposal tool
    Quadrant-two time blocking and why this work never happens by happenstance
    The seven guidelines that have kept this meeting running for nearly a decade, including making it optional
    The quarterly math: 13 possible sessions, 10 realistic wins, and a business that feels completely different
    Links
    Sandler: https://www.Sandler.com
    Episode page: https://www.BuildingYourSalesEngine.com/
    Show links: https://linktr.ee/buildingyoursalesengine
    Mark on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmcgraw/
    24 min
  • Prospecting Is Not Urgent Until It Is: Build the Consistency Habit
    Sales prospecting is never urgent until your pipeline is empty — Mark McGraw and Josh Pitchford break down the habits, blocks, and manager moves that make prospecting consistent before it becomes a crisis.
    Sales prospecting is the number one constraint sales teams name year after year, and Josh Pitchford's line explains exactly why: "Prospecting is not urgent until it is." In this episode, Mark McGraw and Josh dig into the creative avoidance that keeps sellers busy with everything except finding new business — and what actually breaks the cycle.
    Josh walks through the group prospecting model he runs with clients: dedicated phone camps and power hours, sellers paired up in round robin so everyone listens and learns, and a 15-to-30-minute debrief that celebrates the work, not just the wins. The numbers speak for themselves — 600 dials, 100 conversations, 20 new meetings in a single day. Mark adds the individual side: reduce friction so your block is execution time and not prep time, treat the start like an F1 green light, and remember that building a list is not prospecting.
    You'll also get the behavioral triggers that get sellers moving — pulling future pain into the present, the "just do one" rule, and the Pomodoro 25-minute sprint with notifications off. And for sales leaders, Mark shares the no-fly zone: protected calendar hours where no internal meeting can touch prime selling time.
    Host: Mark McGraw — Building Your Sales Engine
    Co-host: Josh Pitchford — Building Your Sales Engine
    In This Episode
    Why prospecting sits in the "important but not urgent" box — and what happens when it finally turns urgent
    Creative avoidance: the honest exercise of naming what you do instead of prospecting
    Phone camps and power hours — how to structure blocked prospecting time that teams actually show up for
    The workout-buddy effect: why prospecting alongside someone beats sitting alone with a list of 25 names
    Round robin calling, real-time debriefs, and how tonality and posture cross-pollinate across a team
    Celebrating the process, not just the results — 600 dials, 100 conversations, 20 meetings
    Reducing friction so your block is execution, not "getting ready to get ready"
    Behavioral triggers that start the engine: future pain in the present, "just do one," and the Pomodoro 25-minute sprint
    Fat and happy, lumpy sales, and why your convictions are only as strong as your pipeline
    No-fly zones: how sales leaders protect prime selling hours and go to bat for their team
    Links
    Sandler: https://www.Sandler.com
    Episode page: https://www.BuildingYourSalesEngine.com/
    Show links: https://linktr.ee/buildingyoursalesengine
    Mark McGraw on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmcgraw/
    Josh Pitchford on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-pitchford-6163274/
    25 min
  • Getting Your CS Team to Sell /w Steve Popp
    Getting your CS team to sell starts with mindset, not skill — Steve Popp breaks down how customer success and service teams are being handed revenue responsibility, and how to make the transition stick.
    Getting your CS team to sell is one of the biggest shifts happening in sales right now. Revenue responsibility is moving away from traditional selling roles and landing on customer success, customer service, account management — even engineering. In this episode of Building Your Sales Engine, host Mark McGraw sits down with Sandler's Steve Popp to unpack why organizations are doing it, why it works, and where it breaks down.
    Steve explains that CS professionals are often *better* positioned to expand revenue than salespeople. They have more touch points, deeper rapport, and a level of trust you simply can't buy. What they don't have is the expectation, the skill set, or — most importantly — the mindset. Steve boils the transformation down to four buckets: strategy, operations, talent, and enablement, and argues that leaders should control the controllables and start with the one thing they own: their people.
    Mark and Steve get practical about the fear that shows up in every room — fear of cold calls, fear of not knowing the answer, fear of the word "sales" — and share the reframes that dissolve it: qualification as a two-way street, and selling as service. As Mark puts it, "I'm calling to see if they have problems that I have medicine for."
    About Steve Popp
    Steve Popp is a member of the Sandler team and a longtime collaborator of Mark McGraw's — and, notably, the show's first-ever guest back when he was a client. Steve works with CROs, CEOs, and COOs navigating the shift of revenue responsibility into client-facing service roles, helping them align strategy, operations, talent, and enablement. His core conviction: will before skill, mindset before technique. Connect with Steve on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevejpopp/
    Host: Mark McGraw — Building Your Sales Engine
    Guest: Steve Popp — Sandler
    In This Episode
    Why revenue responsibility is shifting from traditional sales roles to customer success, service, and account management
    The four buckets of every CS transformation: strategy, operations, talent, and enablement
    Why CS people are uniquely qualified to sell — more touch points, deeper problem-solving, and trust you can't buy
    "Head trash" and the mindset barrier: will first, skill second
    How we got here — all-hands-on-deck revenue pressure and the hunter/farmer split
    "We moved the cheese on you" — leading people through a change they never asked for, including the reality that you may lose talent
    The fears that surface in every room: cold-call reluctance, process anxiety, and "what if they ask something I don't know?"
    The qualification reframe that takes the pressure off — they have to qualify to you, too
    Selling as service: "problems that I have medicine for," and why not reaching out is a disservice
    Why this is a two-to-three-year initiative, not a two-month one
    Links
    Sandler: https://www.Sandler.com
    Episode page: https://www.BuildingYourSalesEngine.com/
    Show links: https://linktr.ee/buildingyoursalesengine
    Mark McGraw on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmcgraw/
    Steve Popp on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevejpopp/
    26 min
  • Recognizing Head Trash Cures 70% of Your Selling Problems
    Head trash — the self-limiting beliefs salespeople carry — quietly kills more deals than any competitor, and simply recognizing it cures about 70% of the problem.
    Head trash is the psychological baggage salespeople drag into every call, and it costs more revenue than any pricing objection ever will. In this episode, host Mark McGraw sits down with co-host Josh Pitchford to work through a list of 55 self-limiting beliefs they've collected over years of sales training — everything from "the economy is bad and my prospects don't have money" to "I can't close on the first call" to "I need my prospects to like me."
    Mark and Josh unpack why these beliefs are so durable: the Belief Wheel means your beliefs shape which evidence you notice, which drives your actions, which produces results that reinforce the original belief. Breaking the loop takes two moves — find evidence someone has already done the thing you think is impossible, or act in spite of the feeling and let the results retrain your thinking.
    Along the way they cover money head trash and the childhood messages behind it, why the budget conversation only fails when it's too early or too late, using a monkey's paw to get paid for services you're currently giving away, and why Need for Approval unpacks a thousand selling problems at once. Practical, honest, and occasionally uncomfortable — in the best way.
    Host: Mark McGraw — Building Your Sales Engine
    Co-host: Josh Pitchford — Building Your Sales Engine
    In This Episode
    What head trash actually is — psychological baggage and self-limiting beliefs that get in the way of selling more, and why it's part of the human condition
    "Is it a budget issue or a belief issue?" — why buyers with enough pain find the money, and why the seller has to believe first
    The Belief Wheel: how beliefs filter evidence, evidence drives action, and results loop back to reinforce the belief
    Two ways to break a limiting belief — find evidence someone else has already done it, or act in spite of the feeling and let results follow
    The four-minute-mile effect: the wealth manager who never closed on a first call, then went from 0-for-20 to 7-for-20
    Monkey's paw selling — using small commitments to shorten long cycles, and getting paid for the design, survey, and assessment work you're giving away free
    Money head trash: the childhood messages ("don't talk about money, it's rude") that are still running 30 years later, plus John Rosso's rule on timing the investment step
    Why a salesperson is a problem solver — and why it's irresponsible to withhold a solution to a problem you know someone has
    Access to power: how not feeling "worthy" to talk to executives reads as a lack of conviction and loses the business
    Need for Approval — "I need my prospects to like me" — and how it quietly kills prospecting, questions, and asks for commitment
    Head trash is like cockroaches: turn the light on and it scurries
    Links
    Sandler: https://www.Sandler.com
    Episode page: https://www.BuildingYourSalesEngine.com/
    Show links: https://linktr.ee/buildingyoursalesengine
    Mark McGraw on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmcgraw/
    Josh Pitchford on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-pitchford-6163274/
    Download the list of 55 Head Trash items referenced in this episode — available via the show links above
    38 min
  • Mark McGraw's Sales Manager Workshop: The Habits of the Elite
    The habits of elite sales managers, unpacked in a full workshop replay — how the best sales leaders control their day, coach strategically, and build systems that make their teams self-sufficient.
    Elite sales managers don't work harder than everyone else — they run a different operating system. In this episode, Mark McGraw shares a full replay of his sales manager workshop on the habits of elite sales leaders, walking through roughly a dozen ideas any manager can put to work immediately.
    Mark opens with the true story of a manager who elevated 70–80% of the reps he inherited, and unpacks the Three P's of leadership: protection, permission, and potency. From there he goes straight at the biggest killer of sales management performance — time. Managers get interrupted every six minutes and need 23 minutes and 15 seconds to recover, which is why Mark makes the case for Pomodoro-style focus blocks, 90 minutes of protected strategic time each week, and refusing to be your team's answer key. He names the trap: learned helplessness, where over-enabling reps takes them from appreciating your help to being dependent on it.
    The back half is tools. Strategic vs. tactical coaching. The gap assessment. Running a P&L on a salesperson. The firefighter/arsonist/fire marshal model. The CANI meeting. And why you should record freaking everything and let AI organize it.
    Host: Mark McGraw — Building Your Sales Engine
    In This Episode
    The true story of an elite sales manager who lifted 70–80% of every team he inherited — ride-alongs, self-assessment first, then brutally direct feedback
    The Three P's of sales leadership: protection, permission, and potency — and why reps follow managers who have all three
    Why the best sales leaders manage their day instead of letting it manage them, backed by the six-minute interruption stat
    Pomodoro and focus blocks: 30% more productivity, better quality work, and more energy at the end of the day
    Learned helplessness — how 100% access trains your reps to stop thinking for themselves
    Strategic vs. tactical coaching, plus the gap assessment tool that forces honest calibration conversations
    Blocking 90 minutes a week to look down at the chessboard: territories, revenue per rep, and who needs a plan
    Running a mini P&L on each salesperson so you can build the business case for expansion
    Firefighter, arsonist, or fire marshal — which sales manager are you?
    The CANI meeting, recording everything, and inventorying rep activities to attack the 72% of time spent not selling
    Links
    Sandler: https://www.Sandler.com
    Episode page: https://www.BuildingYourSalesEngine.com/
    Show links: https://linktr.ee/buildingyoursalesengine
    Mark on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmcgraw/
    1 hr 2 min
  • The 5 Stages of Mastery: From Awareness to Empty Mind w/ Rob Fishman
    Sales mastery isn't luck — Rob Fishman breaks down the 5 stages every top performer moves through, from first awareness to the "empty mind" of a seasoned pro.
    Sales mastery follows a predictable path, and in this episode of Building Your Sales Engine, Mark McGraw sits down with 18-year Sandler veteran and accomplished pianist Rob Fishman to map all five stages of it. Drawing on parallels from classical music, jazz improvisation, and martial arts, Rob lays out how anyone gets great at a craft: Awareness, Knowledge, Application, Skills, and Habit.
    Along the way, Rob and Mark unpack why deliberate practice — not talent — separates good sellers from great ones. They dig into the upfront contract as a working example, showing how mastering it one "measure" at a time builds the genuineness that makes prospects relax and open up. You'll hear why "every professional practices," how to beat the head trash around rehearsing, and what it really means to reach the top of the mountain: the "empty mind" where execution just happens.
    Whether you're new to sales or a seasoned leader coaching a team, this conversation gives you a framework to know exactly where you are on your journey — and what it takes to move to the next stage.
    About Rob Fishman:
    Rob Fishman is a longtime Sandler trainer and sales coach whose firm — after 30 years in the business — recently merged with Mark McGraw's organization. Beyond sales, Rob is an accomplished pianist and conductor, classically trained at a music conservatory, who still directs shows and has conducted full casts and orchestras. A lifelong student of both music and martial arts, Rob brings those disciplines to bear on how salespeople and leaders achieve true mastery of their craft.
    Connect with Rob on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rfishman/
    Host: Mark McGraw — Building Your Sales Engine
    In This Episode:
    The 5 stages of mastery: Awareness, Knowledge, Application, Skills, and Habit
    Why mastery begins with awareness — connecting the dots on your blind spots
    "Know your journey" — and why you should never compare your beginning to someone else's middle
    Turning generic knowledge into your own vertical, style, and personality (application)
    The art of deliberate practice: learning "measure by measure," like a musician
    The upfront contract as a case study — building it one element at a time
    Why saying "no fit is okay" only lands once it's ingrained in your belief system
    Beating the "head trash" around rehearsing — every professional practices
    The "empty mind": how seasoned pros execute without thinking
    What great selling really is: when the prospect repeats back something you helped them discover
    Links:
    Sandler: https://www.Sandler.com
    Episode page: https://www.BuildingYourSalesEngine.com/
    Show links: https://linktr.ee/buildingyoursalesengine
    Mark McGraw on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmcgraw/
    Rob Fishman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rfishman/
    33 min
  • Relationship Curiosity: The Secret to Connecting With Anyone w/ Rich Isaac
    Relationship curiosity is the secret to connecting with anyone — Sandler's Rich Isaac reveals how making the conversation about them makes you unforgettable.
    Rich joins host Mark McGraw to unpack the deceptively simple mindset behind his uncanny ability to build rapport with prospects, clients, and complete strangers alike — without awkward small talk or a pushy sales persona.
    Rich shares how his own path from aerodynamics engineer to sales trainer taught him that being "non-threatening" is a strength, not a weakness. The pair explore why genuine curiosity is mutually beneficial, how to keep the spotlight on the other person with a single follow-up question, and Rich's go-to "geographic bonding" technique for finding surprising connections anywhere.
    You'll also learn why the best place to practice these skills is outside the sales world — at the supermarket, with a waiter, or on an inbound call — and how tying it all back to Sandler's "okay/not-okay" rule helps people feel heard. If you've ever thought networking was awkward, this conversation will change how you connect for good.
    About Rich Isaac:
    Rich Isaac is a longtime Sandler leader with a 30-year career helping salespeople, account managers, and non-sales professionals sell more effectively and authentically. A former aerodynamics engineer turned sales trainer, Rich is renowned for his ability to build genuine relationships and connect with anyone he meets. His team is joining forces with Mark McGraw's Sales Engine team in an exciting new partnership. Connect with
    Rich on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richisaac/
    Host: Mark McGraw — Building Your Sales Engine
    https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmcgraw/
    In This Episode:
    Why "relationship curiosity" — making the conversation about them — is the secret to connecting with anyone
    How being non-threatening becomes a selling superpower, not a weakness
    Rich's "geographic bonding" technique and the wild connections it uncovers
    The power of a simple follow-up question to keep the spotlight on the other person
    Why genuine curiosity is mutually beneficial — you get as much joy out of it as they do
    Practicing conversation skills in low-risk settings outside the sales world
    Reading behavioral styles so small talk lands at the right time
    How this ties back to Sandler's "okay/not-okay" rule and being "disarmingly honest"
    Links:
    Sandler: https://www.Sandler.com
    Episode page: https://www.BuildingYourSalesEngine.com/
    Show links: https://linktr.ee/buildingyoursalesengine
    Mark McGraw on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmcgraw/
    Rich Isaac on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richisaac/
    33 min
  • Turning Customer Success Into a Revenue Engine w/ Kelly Ross & Steve Popp
    Customer success is the new revenue engine — Mark McGraw, Kelly Ross, and Steve Popp unpack how to turn CS teams into commercially-minded contributors without losing trust, identity, or the client relationship.
    Customer success teams are being asked to drive revenue — and CROs are making it the #1 priority for 2026. In this episode of Building Your Sales Engine, host Mark McGraw sits down with Kelly Ross and Steve Popp to unpack the trend of turning CS, account management, and client success roles into revenue contributors responsible for renewals, expansion, upsells, and cross-sells.
    The conversation goes beyond tactics. Mark, Kelly, and Steve dig into the identity conflict CS people face when asked to "sell," the head trash around being "salesy," and why leaders must start with *will* before *skill*. They share the mindset shift that unlocks the role ("we're not selling, we're servicing"), the simple QBR questions that surface new opportunities, and a full map of expansion plays — from seat growth and product suite cross-sell to services, M&A, and sister-company opportunities.
    If you lead a CS team, manage revenue ops, or sit in a customer success seat yourself, this episode gives you a playbook for making the transition stick — and a framework for protecting your people while you do it.
    About Kelly Ross:
    Kelly Ross has spent 25 years in sales, marketing, and enablement roles across ed tech and SaaS, with recent focus on revenue enablement across all customer-facing roles. She brings deep experience helping organizations evolve from sales-only enablement into a broader, more inclusive revenue enablement function. Connect with Kelly: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellyannross
    About Steve Popp:
    Steve Popp has carried the bag, led sales management, run sales training and enablement, and spent 13+ years in SaaS — most recently in revenue, sales, and leadership development at Epsilon. He partners with SaaS organizations from $5M to $250M+ to align RevOps, enablement, and leadership around predictable revenue growth. Connect with Steve: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevejpopp/
    Host: Mark McGraw — Building Your Sales Engine
    In This Episode:
    Why CROs are putting "make CS commercially minded" at the top of the 2026 priority list
    The identity conflict CS people feel when asked to sell — and how leaders should navigate it
    Will before skill: making it safe for someone to say "no" to a new role
    The mindset reframe: "We're not selling. We're servicing. We're helping."
    Building the sales antenna — listening for expansion signals already happening in every conversation
    Turning the QBR into a revenue conversation with two simple questions
    A full map of expansion plays: seat growth, product suite cross-sell, services, divisions, M&A, sister companies
    Why every renewal — and every potential churn — should also be an expansion conversation
    Using AI and call recording to surface opportunities CS teams are missing
    Why this isn't really "sales training" — it's communication and influence training
    Links:
    Sandler: https://www.Sandler.com
    Episode page: https://www.BuildingYourSalesEngine.com/
    Show links: https://linktr.ee/buildingyoursalesengine
    Mark McGraw on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmcgraw/
    Kelly Ross on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellyannross
    Steve Popp on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevejpopp/
    47 min
  • The Six Facets of Sales Management: A Manager's Playbook w/ Pete Fasulo
    A 38-year sales management veteran breaks down his six-facet framework for building and running a high-performing sales team.
    In this episode of Building Your Sales Engine, host Mark McGraw sits down with Pete Fasulo -- a 38-year sales management veteran and fractional sales manager -- to unpack his six-facet framework for running a high-performing sales team. From hiring the right reps to disciplining the wrong ones, Pete shares the structure he uses inside Sandler's fractional sales manager program to drive 15-40%+ revenue gains for his clients.
    If you're a sales manager, a business owner without one, or a top rep being pushed into management, this is the playbook conversation you've been looking for.
    Host: Mark McGraw -- Building Your Sales Engine
    Co-host: Josh Pitchford -- Building Your Sales Engine
    About Pete Fasulo: Pete Fasulo is VP, Sales Leadership Programs at Sandler with 38 years of sales and sales management experience, including a role as VP of Sales at AT&T and 11 years owning his own business. Today he leads Sandler's fractional sales manager program, serving as the acting sales manager for small and mid-sized companies that need professional structure without a full-time hire.
    Why the best sales reps often make the worst sales managers -- the "Ted Williams syndrome"
    The six facets every sales manager needs as a structure: recruiting, interviewing/hiring, onboarding & ramp-up, coaching, motivation, and disciplining
    Why "hire slowly, fire quickly" needs a caveat -- and how a proper ramp-up plan changes everything
    The interview question Pete asks every candidate to expose the wrong fit fast
    How to build a month-by-month ramp-up with monthly business objectives (MBOs) instead of premature revenue goals
    Why your CRM is not your sales manager -- and what structured weekly one-on-ones must include
    How to prune a pipeline so it stops being a "sewer line"
    The fractional sales manager model: what it looks like, what it costs in time, and the results clients see
    Six Facets of Sales Management (Pete's Framework):
    1. Recruiting -- Always be building a bench, not just hiring out of desperation
    2. Interviewing & Hiring -- Ask the right questions to confirm fit, not chemistry
    3. Onboarding, Ramp-Up & Training -- Match your ramp-up plan to your real time-to-quota
    4. Coaching -- Weekly team meetings + weekly individual meetings (WIMs), every time
    5. Motivation -- Positive reinforcement, sales contests, and Pete's "nine musts" of a successful contest
    6. Disciplining -- A structured corrective action plan tied to ramp-up milestones
    Links:
    Sandler: https://www.Sandler.com
    Episode page: https://www.BuildingYourSalesEngine.com/
    Show links: https://linktr.ee/buildingyoursalesengine
    Pete Fasulo on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pete-fasulo-3357a3/
    Mark on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmcgraw/
    44 min

About Building Your Sales Engine

From the publisher's feed

A show where Mark McGraw, a top Sandler Sales Trainer and David H. Sandler award winner, interviews salespeople and sales managers to discover their successes and how they got to be the people they are today.