Selling What's Possible

In this episode of Selling What’s Possible, host Dave Irwin and guest Dave Brock dive into why traditional, product-pushing sales methods no longer resonate with today’s buyers. They discuss how most customers complete the majority of their buying cycle on their own—and why sales teams must engage earlier by understanding and solving customer problems. Dave Brock explains how adopting a “business focused selling” mindset, including using customer focus and problem focus questionnaires, not only builds trust but also dramatically improves win rates, shortens buying cycles, and increases deal sizes. Real-world examples and actionable advice offer account executives a roadmap to transform from transactional sellers into strategic problem solvers.

Guest:
David Brock, Author “Sales Manager Survival Guide”, CEO at Partners in Excellence 
https://www.linkedin.com/in/davebrock/
https://partnersinexcellenceblog.com/

Key takeaways:

Changing Buyer Behavior:

• Over 80% of buyers prefer a “rep-free” buying environment.
• Customers now navigate most of the buying process on their own. 

Early Engagement & Pre-Intent:

• The importance of engaging before solution selection.
• Intercepting the buying process early to shape outcomes. 

Business Focused Selling:

• Transitioning from a product-pitch mindset to a problem-solving approach.
• Building trust by understanding customer challenges and industry metrics. 

Sales Transformation & Metrics:

• Doubling win rates, reducing “no decision” outcomes by 25%, and cutting buying cycles by 30–40%.
• Real-world examples demonstrating dramatic increases in average deal size. 

Tools & Tactics:

• Using customer focus and problem focus questionnaires to build business acumen.
• Leveraging modern tools (e.g., AI like ChatGPT) to simulate customer conversations. 

In this episode, Dave Irwin sits down with Keenan, author of Gap Selling, to explore why traditional sales approaches fail in enterprise account management. Keenan explains why buyers don’t act unless their current state is untenable and how account teams can drive change by focusing on diagnosing problems instead of pushing solutions. They discuss the psychology behind decision-making, the importance of business acumen, and how account teams can become trusted advisors. If you’re in sales or account management, this episode is packed with actionable insights to elevate your approach.

Guest: Keenan, CEO and Founder of A Sales Growth Company

Key takeaways:

1. People buy when the pain of staying the same is greater than the effort to change—salespeople must highlight this gap. 
2. Enterprise account teams need to map decision-makers, including those who can say “no” but not “yes.” 
3. Trust is built by deeply understanding the customer’s business, not just selling a product. 
4. Many buyers don’t fully understand their own problems—great account executives help them figure it out. 
5. Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) should focus on whether the customer is achieving business goals, not just product usage metrics. 

In this episode, Craig Nelson and Dave Irwin explore how AI is transforming sales and account planning. The discussion focuses on foundational strategies, key use cases, and actionable insights for optimizing workflows and enabling enterprise growth. 

Key takeaways:

• Start with Foundations: Establish clear governance and foundational use cases for AI adoption. 
• Focus on High-Value Wins: Identify and implement a few impactful AI-enabled workflows to demonstrate success quickly. 
• Break Silos: Integrate AI into cross-functional strategies to ensure company-wide benefits. 
• Leverage AI for Hyper-Personalization: Utilize AI to align deeply with customer needs and enhance sales relevance. 
• Treat AI as a Teammate: Incorporate AI thoughtfully to augment and accelerate workflows, not just as a standalone tool. 
• Prepare for Long-Term Gains: Build a foundation now to capitalize on data-driven insights for strategic growth in the future. 

In this episode of Selling What’s Possible, host Dave Irwin chats with Dave Lewark, Enterprise Sales Director at Infinity SPM, about the challenges and strategies for delivering consistent value to enterprise accounts. From bridging the gap between sales and account management to leveraging empathy and alignment, they explore what it takes to build trust, sustain engagement, and manage the complexity of large-scale enterprise relationships. Key takeaways include the importance of benchmarks, knowledge sharing, and working backwards from the customer’s priorities to create lasting value. 

Welcome to Selling What's Possible, a podcast dedicated to enterprise accounts. I'm Dave Irwin, founder and CEO of Polaris I.O. And for over 30 years in my role as a CSO, CMO, and CEO, interfacing with hundreds of other revenue leaders and account teams, I've always been fascinated by the economy of key accounts, the global 2000, and the outsize role they play in every business. There is always a top 10 or top 20 that drives the vast majority of revenue and profits. 

Join us for each episode where we will explore these different topics and ways to quickly move past obstacles and old and outdated approaches to become faster, more nimble, more adaptive and collaborative. You'll hear from some of the best in the business, revenue leaders, account team leaders and strategists and other thought leaders sharing real stories and game-changing insights. Let's redefine together what modernized account research, planning and execution looks like when it comes to growing, expanding and retaining enterprise accounts that spend the most.

In this episode, host Dave Irwin welcomes Ron Hubsher, CEO of Sales Optimization Group, to discuss the art of account negotiations through the lens of co-creating value. Ron shares his expertise on business-to-business (B2B) sales negotiation, emphasizing the importance of being the buyer's number one choice by minimizing both business and personal risk. Ron and Dave discuss the concept of "Blue Space" – focusing on solving customers' problems instead of white space, which is very product-centric and all about the seller. The conversation highlights key strategies, including building trust with executive stakeholders, quantifying value, and maintaining continuous relevance in customer relationships. If you're looking to strengthen enterprise account negotiations and drive meaningful customer relationships, this episode is packed with insights to elevate your approach. 

• Lowering both business and personal risk makes you the buyer’s number one choice. 
• Quantifying the value you create helps command a price premium and grow relationships. 
• Co-create value by solving customer challenges expansively, not just selling products. 
• Stay relevant with regular customer engagement to uncover new opportunities. 
• Practice Ron’s three principles—lower risk, quantify value, and expand relationships—to negotiate success. 

Guest: Ron Hubsher, Negotiation Expert, CEO of the Sales Optimization Group

Topic:
Focusing on Your Customer Needs for Your Next Account Growth Planning Cycle

In this episode of Selling What's Possible, Dave Irwin is joined by Ted Corbeill, Director of Revenue Enablement and a former Marine Intelligence Officer, to explore the evolving dynamics of account planning and where account teams should focus on for their 2025 account planning cycle. Ted brings a data-driven, disciplined approach to revenue enablement, emphasizing the importance of aligning account planning with customer growth strategies. Together, they discuss the pitfalls of traditional account plans, which often focus on internal targets rather than customer needs, and advocate for dynamic, customer-centric strategies that leverage real-time data and insights. They highlight the significance of understanding customer initiatives, integrating siloed team efforts, and creating living account plans that evolve continuously. Ted introduces the concept of the "analytical line" for ongoing assessment and alignment, stressing that true growth stems from teamwork, execution, and aligning with the customer's goals. This episode is a must-listen for account teams looking to modernize their strategies and unlock expansive growth opportunities.

Guest:
Ted Corbeill, Director of Revenue Enablement

Key takeaways:
Account teams should shift from internally-focused, static plans to dynamic, customer-centric strategies that leverage real-time data, align with customer growth goals, and emphasize teamwork and execution for unlocking expansive growth opportunities in 2025. 

In this episode of Selling What's Possible, host Dave Irwin dives into the critical distinction between "needs" and "leads" in enterprise account sales with guest Mike Koory, founder and CEO of BlueSalesFly. Together, they unpack account management challenges, emphasizing the importance of creating relevancy and customer-centric approaches over traditional pipeline generation, emphasizing a product focus. Mike shares actionable insights on bridging the gap between what customers truly need and how teams can align to deliver impactful solutions. They explore strategies for navigating complex stakeholder networks, building trust through insight-driven guidance, and the power of consistent team collaboration. A highlight includes practical tips for fostering team alignment, such as the "campfire meeting" concept to ensure daily relevance and shared goals. This episode is a must-listen for revenue leaders and account teams looking to modernize their account strategies and grow enterprise accounts effectively.

Guest: Michael Koory, Founder / CEO of Blue SalesFly

Takeaways:

• Sales is not just about leads; it's about understanding needs.
• The invisible pipeline represents the gap in customer needs identification.
• Relevancy is key to successful sales engagements.
• Account teams must navigate complex customer journeys effectively.
• Building trust with clients leads to faster deal closures.
• Salespeople need to align their insights with customer needs.
• A customer-centric culture enhances sales effectiveness.
• Effective communication within account teams is crucial.
• Sales strategies must evolve to meet changing customer expectations.
• Management must support account teams with the right tools and structure.