Onboarding might get a new salesperson started. But everboarding is what helps them keep improving.

In this episode of the Sales Chat Show, Simon Hazeldine, Anthony Stears and Steve Lindsey explore why sales training should never be treated as a one-off event, and why effective onboarding is not just about HR forms, systems training, product dumps and a few days of shadowing.

The team discuss the difference between onboarding and everboarding, and why sales leaders need to think much more carefully about how new recruits are welcomed, supported, challenged and developed.

They share good, bad and sometimes painful examples of onboarding from their own careers, including induction overload, “sink or swim” learning, project-based onboarding, shadowing, mentoring, call buddy sessions and the importance of making new people feel part of the team quickly.

A key theme in the episode is that new salespeople learn best when they are actively involved, not when they are simply talked at. That means giving them meaningful projects, clear outcomes, structured support and regular check-ins that feel helpful rather than intrusive.

The episode covers:

Why traditional onboarding often overwhelms new hires

The danger of product dumps, system dumps and too much passive shadowing

Why new salespeople need active learning, not just information

How project-based onboarding helps people feel useful faster

Why frameworks are more powerful than scripts

The importance of mentors, buddies and peer learning

How to use shadowing as an active learning experience

Why regular “checking in” beats “checking up”

How sales managers can support without micromanaging badly

The role of pre-onboarding before day one

Why sales enablement can support onboarding, but the line manager must own it

How everboarding creates a culture of continual sales improvement

The big message from this episode is simple: sales development should not stop once the induction programme ends.

If you want high-performing salespeople, you need to keep developing them through live learning, coaching, feedback, practice, peer support and real-world experience.

Listen now at saleschatshow.com or on your favourite podcast platform.

AI is already changing the way salespeople work. But where is it making the biggest difference right now?

In this episode of the Sales Chat Show, we discuss one of the standout findings from the State of Sales 2026 Report from The Growth Hub: sales leaders are seeing some of the strongest positive impact from AI in the area of customer intelligence.

The discussion explores how AI can help salespeople research customers faster, understand buying organisations more deeply, personalise outreach, identify useful business insights and prepare more effectively for important sales conversations.

But the message is clear: AI is not there to replace great salespeople. It is there to make great salespeople more effective.

Simon, Anthony and Steve discuss how AI can remove the old excuse of “I haven’t got time to research properly” by making customer research faster, sharper and more practical. They explore how sales teams can use AI to understand external pressures, company strategy, buyer priorities, market trends, competitor activity and potential conversation starters before making contact.

Key topics discussed include:

Why customer intelligence is one of the strongest current use cases for AI in sales

How AI helps salespeople research faster and personalise at scale

Why there is no longer an excuse for poorly researched outreach

The difference between using AI as a shortcut and using it as a sales advantage

How “research sprints” can help account managers prepare more effectively

Why AI should support human judgement, not replace it

How AI-generated meeting notes can improve CRM data quality

Why better data leads to better insight and better sales action

How leaders can encourage AI adoption without overwhelming their teams

What sales teams can learn from sport about the power of data-driven performance

Salespeople often learn some of their most useful lessons from other salespeople.

So why is peer-to-peer learning still such an underused opportunity in many sales organisations?

In this episode of the Sales Chat Show, we discuss another insight from the State of Sales 2026 Report from The Growth Hub: sales leaders reported relatively low reliance on sales enablement for peer-to-peer collaboration.

That raises an important question. Is sales enablement missing a major opportunity to help salespeople learn faster, share what works and solve real-world sales problems together?

Key topics discussed include:

Why peer-to-peer learning is an underused sales development opportunity

What sales teams can learn from external roundtables and industry events

Why confidential peer discussions can be as valuable as keynote content

How to use roundtables at sales kick offs and team meetings

Why small-group discussions often feel safer than large-room participation

How call buddy sessions help salespeople learn structure and style

Why salespeople should learn from different strengths across the team

How customer service, operations, marketing and pre-sales can contribute to sales learning

Why sales enablement should enable peer learning without over-engineering it

How short, simple sessions can rapidly spread good practice across a sales team

If you are a sales leader, sales manager, sales enablement professional or revenue leader, this episode will help you think differently about how learning really happens inside high-performing sales teams.

Sales and marketing alignment has been talked about for years. So why is it still such a persistent problem?

In this episode we discuss one of the recurring issues highlighted in the latest State of Sales Report: the ongoing challenge of aligning sales, marketing and lead generation activity.

Despite the rise of the CRO, revenue teams and integrated commercial structures, many organisations still experience tension between sales and marketing. Sales teams complain about lead quality. Marketing teams feel salespeople do not follow up properly. And when the numbers are missed, the “blame thrower” often comes out.

In this practical and entertaining conversation, Simon, Anthony and Steve explore why the problem continues, why alignment is not solved by structure alone, and what sales and marketing teams can do to work better together.

The discussion covers:

The danger of “blamestorming” instead of solving the real problem

Why the rise of the CRO has not automatically fixed alignment

The importance of sales sharing the real voice of the customer

Why marketing teams need to spend more time with salespeople and customers

How salespeople can build stronger internal relationships with marketing

Why involving sales early creates more ownership of marketing campaigns and product launches

Whether marketing should be rewarded or recognised for sales outcomes

Why revenue generation is a team sport, not a solo activity

If you are a sales leader, marketing leader, CRO, account manager, business development professional or revenue leader, this episode will give you practical ideas for improving sales and marketing collaboration. Because if sales and marketing want to generate better revenue results, they need to stop throwing each other under the bus and start working as one team.

In this episode the teams discuss what the latest “State of Sales Report” reveals about AI and forecast accuracy.

The report shows that sales leaders are seeing only a relatively low positive impact from AI when it comes to improving forecast accuracy. That raises an important question for every sales leader: if AI is not yet delivering the forecasting improvements many hoped for, where is the real problem?

Simon, Anthony and Steve explore why forecasting is so difficult, why AI cannot rescue poor-quality CRM and pipeline data, and why culture, behaviour and leadership still play a huge role in forecast accuracy.

The conversation covers:

Why the actual AI impact on forecast accuracy may be lower than expected

Why “garbage in, garbage out” still applies in the age of AI

How poor CRM discipline damages sales forecasting

Why salespeople may hold opportunities in a “shadow CRM”

The danger of “forcecasting” when pressure from above distorts the pipeline

Why sales managers need to coach rather than punish around forecast accuracy

How AI can help improve the quality of data going into the CRM

Why forecast accuracy matters beyond sales, especially in manufacturing, stock management and cash flow

Whether salespeople should be recognised or incentivised for accurate forecasting

How better qualification, pipeline discipline and CRM updates can improve sales performance

If you are a sales leader, sales manager, revenue leader, CRO, account manager or business development professional, this episode will help you think differently about forecasting, CRM, AI and sales performance.

Are you letting short term thinking steal your sales and revenue by Sales Chat Show

Save time and win more deals with this AI shortcut by Sales Chat Show

In this timely episode of the Sales Chat Show, Simon Hazeldine, Graham Jones, and Anthony Steers tackle the big question many sales professionals are facing right now: How do you sell smart when the economy isn’t on your side?

With economic headwinds, shifting buyer behaviours, and tighter budgets, the trio shares practical, real-world strategies for delivering sales results without blowing the budget. From improving buyer targeting and focusing on profitable activity to enhancing customer retention and leveraging no-cost digital tactics, this episode is packed with insight for navigating uncertain times.

Whether you're a frontline seller or a sales leader under pressure, you’ll walk away with actionable ideas to stay commercially sharp, resilient—and cost-effective.

Hybrid Selling - When to Go Digital, When to Go Live, and How to Blend Both by Sales Chat Show

An interview with social media and LinkedIn expert Mark Saxby