Most people recognize that one of the biggest problems in sales is leads. If you give sales reps more leads, often times they figure out how to close those leads. But the problem is not often more leads, it's ringing the value out of your current leads. In this episode, founder of KPI Analytics, C.J. Hauptmeier, talks about his perspective on leads and how companies can start focusing on not wasting the leads they are already have.

Getting a company to grow is not easy but it can be done. Startups have a lot to figure out to make sure their message is heard and their product is then purchased. There is no secret to success to but there are principles that have led different companies to be successful. In this episode, Sean Higgins, Entrepreneur in Residence at Techstars talks about his experience working with startups to make them successful.

Plays are a tricky thing but they can make all the difference in sales. Sadly, most sales reps don't use plays to win in sales, they simply rely on gut and intuition and so instead of having a repeatable process, sales is often a game of luck. The Brevet group is out to change that. In this episode, two partners at the Brevet Group, Ralph and Brian talk about the importance of plays and how reps can change the way they do sales with them.

Most people focus on weaknesses to help people be stronger and and better. Many people think if you focus on what you are not good at, you can become a more-well balanced person. Although there is some truth in that, great leaders focus on what is best with their sales people and try to make that huge rather than focusing on what they are not good at. This approach is called a strengths-based approach and it's the model that Bojana Bowermon has used to create a successful career in sales leadership. In this episode, Bonjana talks through her principles and how focusing on strengths has led to more successful sales teams.

Empathy is something most sales reps know about but not many sales people are good at. Empathy is the ability to put yourself in the situation of your prospect. With empathy you can listen better and consult better because of the understanding you have. In this episode, speaker and author, Daryl Fletcher talks about how to better improve your sales conversation mastering this concept of empathy.

People often talk about how to get more leads which is important but what about the leads you already have? What can you do with those? Are you even thinking about them? Madeleine has dedicated her career to helping companies see the power of doing what with what you have rather than always looking for something new and better. In this episode, you'll learn how Madeleine has helped hundreds of companies make more money with the leads they have.

A lot of sales people have a sports background. You might even say, it's a stereotype to assume a salesperson was an athlete at some point in their life. Even if that were true, not many sales people ever reached professional levels in their careers. It is a rare occasion to meet someone who has advanced to a level of 'professional' but that's exactly where Kevin Gergel found himself in his not so recent past. Kevin was a professional baseball player and although he didn't have a long career he stayed long enough to experience and learn many lessons that not only helped him in life but also helped him sell better. In this episode, Kevin dives into his sports background and shares lessons he learned playing baseball and perfecting sales.

The days of running your business off gut and intuition are gone. Sales leaders now must look for competitive advantages using data and science to sell more. In this episode, Michael Coscetta from Square talks about the need for a scientific approach to sales and what organizations can do right now to move in the right direction.

Some people consider employee engagement as a soft strategy that doesn't really move the needle in sales. Ryan Joswick, VP of sales at Heartland Payment Systems is not one of those people. In this episode, Ryan talks about why employee engagement matters, what it means to coach on strengths, and how hiring the right people can make all the difference between winning and losing.

Everybody does sales training but not everybody does improv but maybe they should. Robert M. Peterson is a professor of sales at the University of Northern Illinois and he has used improv as an effective method to training his students to become experts in sales. In this episode, Dr Peterson discusses improv and gives real tips on how companies can use this method to improve sales.