Tech Sales Insights

Rohan is back with Randy to further discuss the future of AI in sales, emphasizing that AI is not about destroying jobs but changing the nature of work. Sales will not go away entirely, but the PLG threshold may increase over time. Sales managers and leaders who adopt AI in their sales process will be more productive and better positioned to compete.

They further discuss how the purchase decision process is moving further ahead in the cycle, leading to higher ticket purchases that still require a salesperson. The use of AI in sales will change the way sales managers and leaders operate, providing objective visibility and automated insights to augment human evaluation. Find out more in this latest episode of Tech Sales Insights.

INSIGHTS OF THE DAY

ROHAN: THE IMPORTANCE OF DEAL INSIGHTS

“You're asking your questions based on what you know, as part of your sales process and methodology, but what if instead, you had insights and summaries on ‘Hey, here's the pain that was discovered? It seems to be relatively shallow.’ And so you can go and press the rep on, ‘Hey, have we really uncovered a deep enough pain here?”

Don’t miss out on our previous episode and watch out for the next ones!

• E120 Part 1 - COPILOT: Rohan Sampath’s Sales Journey and Introduction to Copilot

Find out more about Rohan Sampath in the links below:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rohansampath/
• Copilot: https://www.copilotup.com/

This episode of Tech Sales Insights is brought to you by: 

• Sales Community: https://www.salescommunity.com/
• Decision Link: https://www.decisionlink.com/

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

SHOW SUMMARY

Welcome to another amazing episode of Tech Sales Insights. Today, Randy welcomes Rohan Sampath, Co-founder of Copilot, an AI-Powered tool that uses large language models to generate insights from your deals.

Rohan shares his experience and how he wound up in Sales. He also shares what Copilot is and what it does for the user. Stay tuned as Rohan discusses his take on how the things we do in sales today will take part in shaping the future of tech sales, only here in the latest episode of Tech Sales Insights.

INSIGHTS OF THE DAY

ROHAN: WHAT COPILOT IS AND WHAT IT DOES

“Copilot uses large language models, that's the technology behind GPT, ChatGPT, etc, to draw out insights from your sales deals, and these insights can be tailored to your methodology. So it's not just generic summaries of what happened, but specific elements like if you use MEDDIC, or Sandler,  or SPICED, Winning by Design, whatever it is, we can pull out from multiple conversations. Hey, here are the pains that were discovered in the call here are the objections you have or the questions asked your next steps here is pricing information. Here's the champion, here's the economic buyer”

Find out more about Rohan Sampath in the links below:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rohansampath/
• Copilot: https://www.copilotup.com/

This episode of Tech Sales Insights is brought to you by: 

• Sales Community: https://www.salescommunity.com/
• Decision Link: https://www.decisionlink.com/

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This edition of Tech Sales Insights brings back Roi Carmel and Nadav Efraty, leaders at Spotlight.ai, as they discuss further with Randy the importance of value selling, the role of value engineers, the significance of SalesOps and RevOps, and predictions for the sales tech stack space. 

The conversation highlights the process of value selling, the growing trend of leveraging conversational AI and general AI, and provides advice for those interested in tech sales and navigating layoffs. Learn more in detail in this latest episode of Tech Sales Insights.

INSIGHTS OF THE DAY

NADAV: RISE OF THE VALUE SELLING ENGINEER ROLE

“We see many organizations recruiting value engineering leaders nowadays, and fields like many of the sales engineers in the future, like I think that they're unofficially the value sales right now in many organizations, but they think that it's becoming an established practice. Partially because this is the next natural evolution of this market. And there are a few companies in the segment that have kind of took programmatic approaches about value sales.”

ROI: ADVICE FOR THE SALES PEOPLE IMPACTED BY LAY OFFS

“At the end of the day, this is part of going through the journey. The economy is gonna go through cycles, you're gonna get some take some hits. I think the important thing is to keep developing yourself. So as you're looking for the next job, find where you need to develop, develop yourself, find the right coaches, the right books, the right content, and come to the next job more prepared and better skilled.”

Don’t miss out on our previous episodes and watch out for the next ones!

• E119 Part 1 - COMFORTING THE PAIN: Customer Pains and Value Selling with Roi Carmel and Nadav Efraty
• E119 Part 2 -  SPOTLIGHT: A Value Selling Automation Platform with Roi Carmel and Nadav Efraty

Connect with Roi Carmel and Nadav Efraty:

• Roi’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/roicarmel/
• Nadav’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nadav-efraty-0649754/

This episode of Tech Sales Insights is brought to you by: 

• Sales Community: https://www.salescommunity.com/
• Spotlight.ai: https://spotlight.ai/

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We are back with Randy and the Spotlight duo, Roi Carmel and Nadav Efraty, to discuss further the importance of value selling in a tough economy, with a focus on speaking the language of CFOs and aligning with strategic goals.

The two introduce Spotlight.ai, a platform that automates the value selling process and uses machine learning to understand winning patterns and the strongest differentiators. 

The team also emphasizes the importance of metrics in qualification and the challenge of validating if the team did enough with commercial high-level responses. 

Learn more about Spotlight, Roi, and Nadav in this latest episode of Tech Sales Insights.

INSIGHTS OF THE DAY

ROI: SPOTLIGHT’S DISCOVERY GUIDING CAPABILITY

“Spotlight is a platform that allows our customers to map their playbooks to our platform, and then the platform uses AI to guide reps in their sales discovery by guiding them on what are the actual discovery questions they need to be asking at any given time.”

NADAV: EMPOWERING THE SELLER-CHAMPION INTERACTION

“The idea is that with a few answers, really a handful of answers, typically they can already go and download a very beautiful polished business case that they can present to their champion, and then they can dive deeper and start to fine-tune their value proposition with the champion.”

Don’t miss out on our previous episode and watch out for the next ones!

• E119 Part 1 - COMFORTING THE PAIN: Customer Pains and Value Selling with Roi Carmel and Nadav Efraty

Connect with Roi Carmel and Nadav Efraty:

• Roi’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/roicarmel/
• Nadav’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nadav-efraty-0649754/

This episode of Tech Sales Insights is brought to you by: 

• Sales Community: https://www.salescommunity.com/
• Spotlight.ai: https://spotlight.ai/

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This edition of Tech Sales Insights brings double trouble as Randy welcomes Spotlight.ai’s tag team leaders Roi Carmel and Nadav Efraty. The three discuss value selling, a process that focuses on the pain of the customer, matches differentiated value to that pain, and creates an asset that can arm the champion to go sell the value. 

They also touch on the challenges in value selling including disjointed processes, overwhelming reps, lack of coaching and help from the value team, and the need for AI to enable, coach, and guide reps. Learn more about value selling in this latest episode of Tech Sales Insights.

INSIGHTS OF THE DAY

ROI: FOCUSING AND BUILDING A CASE AROUND THE PAIN

“We want to make sure that the selling motion is focused around the pain of the customer, taking time to do the discovery, discovering the pain, sizing the business impact of the pain for the customer, and then matching the right differentiated value to that pain that can bring the customer from a current state to desired state, and building the business case and the case around it.”

NADAV: IT’S ABOUT LETTING THE CHAMPION FALL IN LOVE

“It's not at all about, like numbers and quantification. It's about falling in love. It's about emotionally, being able to show a champion that there is something that doesn't work all that well in their status quo, and the champion needs to fall in love with your solution.”

Connect with Roi Carmel and Nadav Efraty:

• Roi’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/roicarmel/
• Nadav’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nadav-efraty-0649754/

This episode of Tech Sales Insights is brought to you by: 

• Sales Community: https://www.salescommunity.com/
• Spotlight.ai: https://spotlight.ai/

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We are down to the last round with Dan Zugelder. In this part of his conversation with Randy, they focus on various aspects of sales leadership. Randy and Dan discuss the fundamentals and the importance of sales calls as an age-old fix. 

Finally, they touch on all-hands events, the importance of giving back, and the significance of SalesOps and RevOps. Tune in to learn more from this epic close of Episode 118 of Tech Sales Insights.
 

INSIGHTS OF THE DAY

DAN: GIVING BACK ANG HELPING EACH OTHER OUT

“Sales has been very good to many people, and the chance to make some money, but it's a chance to give back then, and I think one of the beautiful things is that so many people that are helping each other out”

DAN: LEARNING FROM LOWER PEERS

“I will tell you, I've learned more from the people that work for me and I've worked alongside by far, and those people, every nugget, you get some and just because somebody is a few levels below you doesn't mean you can't learn a tremendous amount from them.”

Don’t miss out on our previous episode and watch out for the next ones!

• E118 Part 1 - TOP PRIORITY: Putting Customer Value on Top with Dan Zugelder
• E118 Part 2 -  SEE THROUGH, GO THROUGH: Transparency and Optimism of a Sales Leader with Dan Zugelder

Connect with Dan Zugelder:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danzugelder/
• VMware: https://www.vmware.com/sg.html

This episode of Tech Sales Insights is brought to you by: 

• Sales Community: https://www.salescommunity.com/
• Convertiv: https://www.convertiv.com/

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The conversation between Randy Seidl and Dan Zugelder continues as they talk about the importance of transparency in leadership to gain trust among team members, partners, and customers. They also discuss the significance of retaining team members due to their unique culture and technology, the benefits of in-person meetings, and the importance of diversity in the sales profession. Finally, Randy and Dan talk about staying focused on customer priorities amidst distractions such as the Broadcom acquisition and economic uncertainty. Learn more in this latest episode of Tech Sales Insights. 

INSIGHTS OF THE DAY

DAN: GAINING TRUST THROUGH TRANSPARENCY

“I'm a massive believer in trust, I think everybody is, but it's so foundational in my life, and so being transparent is one of the ways you gain trust, and I am incredibly transparent with people about my personal feelings about good and bad, and that transparency is one of the ways I gain trust.”

DAN: BE TRANSPARENT AND OPTIMISTIC

“When you're a leader, you're really in a position where I cannot tell somebody something that I don't believe myself, I won't do it, haven't done it, and I if I don't believe in it, I'll tell people, but I've been asking people to be at least open and optimistic and not focus on negatives, or assume the worst and then that I think we've had a pretty good run.”

Don’t miss out on our previous episode and watch out for the next ones!

• E118 Part 1 - TOP PRIORITY: Putting Customer Value on Top with Dan Zugelder

Connect with Dan Zugelder:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danzugelder/
• VMware: https://www.vmware.com/sg.html

This episode of Tech Sales Insights is brought to you by: 

• Sales Community: https://www.salescommunity.com/
• Convertiv: https://www.convertiv.com/

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It’s another series of podcasts as Randy welcomes Dan Zugelder, SVP and General Manager at VMware. Dan's main priority at VMware is to prioritize customer value and combine it with VMware's innovative culture. One of his main challenges is addressing Broadcom's acquisition of VMware and gaining customer trust. 

Dan has spent a lot of time with customers, explaining the acquisition and its positive impact on them, and incorporating their feedback into VMware's future plans. He believes that spending time with customers is crucial to building trust and fostering strong relationships. Learn more about Dan by tuning in to this latest episode of Tech Sales Insights.

INSIGHTS OF THE DAY

DAN: CUSTOMER VALUE CULTURE

“The foundation is always about customer value, and I don't have a conversation with anyone on my team, which doesn't start with what's in it for the customer, and why are we doing this? So I think of driving that culture throughout.”

Connect with Dan Zugelder:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danzugelder/
• VMware: https://www.vmware.com/sg.html

This episode of Tech Sales Insights is brought to you by: 

• Sales Community: https://www.salescommunity.com/
• Convertiv: https://www.convertiv.com/

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This episode of Tech Sales Insights brings back Randy and John McMahon and it emphasizes the importance of understanding customer needs before providing a quote, taking the time to understand the process, and prioritizing the customer's needs. 

The two also discuss the choice between working for a bigger company or a startup, the need for concierge-level service, and the rise of product-led growth models. John stresses the importance of coaching on skills development and warns against being too reliant on sales tools and metrics. 

Stay tuned as John also answers questions such as advice for people impacted by layoffs and the leaders he looks up to in this latest episode of Tech Sales Insights.

INSIGHTS OF THE DAY

JOHN: KNOWING THE CUSTOMER’S EVERY MOVE

“The really good companies are building telemetry or instrumentation into their software. So they know every single move that the customer is making with the software. So they model like what the ideal ramp time might be for a customer using the product and specific use cases.”

JOHN: REVENUE BASIS VS. CONSUMPTION BASIS

“More and more salespeople are going to be kind of comped a little bit on bookings, but mainly on revenue. So okay, you sold a deal, but now how much is the customer consuming? Because the CEO is only going to be reporting on revenues. So they're gonna push the organization more and more on ‘You can't sell this deal and leave, you got to sell this deal and get the customer to consume.’”

Don’t miss out on our previous episodes and watch out for the new ones!

• E117 Part 1 - GODFATHER: A Deep Dive into John McMahon and the MEDDIC Sales Process
• E117 Part 2 - SLOPPY PET PEEVES: What’s Wrong with the Sales Process Today with John McMahon

Connect with John McMahon:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnmcmahon1/
• The Qualified Sales Leader (Book): https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064

This episode of Tech Sales Insights is brought to you by: 

• Sales Community: https://www.salescommunity.com/
• Convertiv: https://www.convertiv.com/

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Randy and sales legend John McMahon are back as they shared their pet peeves and the sloppiness of the sales process nowadays. They stressed the importance of understanding the signature and approval process of clients to avoid jeopardizing the deal, as well as proper communication with executives. 

They also emphasized the need to focus on accomplishing tasks that advance the deal, to train reps on missing knowledge and skills, and to use true qualification processes rather than checkbox methodologies. Sales managers should ensure proper training and focus on deal advancement, and you will learn more in this latest episode of Tech Sales Insights.

INSIGHTS OF THE DAY

JOHN: ACTIVITY MUST GENERATE ACCOMPLISHMENT

“There's nothing wrong with activity, but activity has to generate accomplishment, and the accomplishment has to be that you've done the right things, to allow you to go ahead and get a champion.”

JOHN: FIND OUT THE KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS YOUR REP NEEDS

“We have to start to figure out why is the person or the sales rep not accomplishing what they need to accomplish, and I think a lot of managers don't really dissect what knowledge their rep is missing or what skill they're missing.”
 

JOHN: STOP KIDDING YOURSELF

“If you just do an activity for activity's sake, but you're not truly measuring deal advancement, then I think you are kind of kidding yourself.”
 

Don’t miss out on our previous episode and watch out for the new ones!

• E117 Part 1 - GODFATHER: A Deep Dive into John McMahon and the MEDDIC Sales Process

Connect with John McMahon:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnmcmahon1/
• The Qualified Sales Leader (Book): https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064

This episode of Tech Sales Insights is brought to you by: 

• Sales Community: https://www.salescommunity.com/
• Convertiv: https://www.convertiv.com/

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.