In this Women in Sales Leadership segment, I talked with Jen Spencer, VP of Sales and Marketing at Allbound about building partner relationships that drive revenue. 

As a kicking off point, we talked about how Jen got started in sales and what she loves about the profession. Then we discussed:

Jen's recommendations for engaging channel partner sales reps to drive qualified sales leads.

Some of the most common challenges sales teams face when the company sells both directly and indirectly.

The revenue benefits of building out a partner program and strategies for making that happen.

Finally, Jen shared her advice for women in sales who would like to move up in the leadership ranks, but aren’t exactly sure how to get started.

This episode is sponsored by Hubspot.

Don’t miss out HubSpot’s annual sales event – Inbound Sales Day – on June 6th! 30 leading sales experts will be sharing their knowledge and expertise. Register now for FREE at hubspot.com/inbound-sales-day

About Jen:

Jen is the Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Phoenix-based Allbound, an easy-to-use SaaS platform that helps companies accelerate recurring revenue with channel partners. Jen subscribes to the notion that “we’re all in this together,” and great communication leads to great partnership. She loves animals, technology, the arts, and really good Scotch.

Successful selling is all about the basics, but how well do sales teams execute on the basics these days? Jim Ninnivaggi, SVP of Business Development at Brainshark shares his views on why the basics in selling matter more today than ever.

We talked about:

Jim's belief that salespeople have to get “back to basics.” He talked about the basics he means and how sales teams have veered away from them.

How the factors that contribute to sales success have changed over the past few decades.

What has diverted sales organizations’ attention away from the basics, the repercussions and how can sales teams can get back on track.

Critical components to sales readiness – specifically onboarding, training, and coaching – and how to implement a back-to-basics approach.

An example of how organizations really excel at executing on the basics and what modern sales teams can learn.

Enjoy the interview!

About Jim:

Jim is the SVP of business development at Brainshark, a leading sales enablement and readiness solutions provider. He helps to shape and execute Brainshark’s partner strategy – driving key partnerships that extend the power of Brainshark’s solutions and platform.

Jim has three decades of experience in B2B sales productivity. He previously served as service director for sales enablement strategies at research and advisory firm SiriusDecisions – helping to build and define that practice area for both the firm and industry at large.

In this Women in Sales Leadership episode, I talked with Samantha McKenna from ON24. We talked about:

What led Samantha into sales and what she loves about the profession.

How she set herself apart with prospects and clients from the other reps she competed against. Think going bigger, stretching further and getting creative.

The core values that enabled Samantha's sales success. 

Her advice for women in sales who want to move into leadership roles, and what she did to get herself promoted into leadership positions.

And more.

Enjoy the interview. 

About Samantha:

Samantha McKenna is an award-winning leader, who serves as a Regional Vice President of Sales for ON24, and has worked within the SaaS sales and marketing space for ten years.  She is a thought leader in the demand generation and content marketing space, having spoken across the US regarding webinars, the use of technology in the marketing stack, the use of analytics for business development and lead generation, and how leading law firms and professional services organizations are leveraging technology to drive revenue.  Samantha served four years as a board member for the Legal Marketing Association’s Capital Chapter and actively volunteers with financial literacy initiatives in Washington, D.C.

I talked with James Buckley at Cirrus Insight about his passion for sales, specifically the role of the SDR (sales development rep) in the selling process. We talked about:

How James got started in selling.

The types of sales positions he's held and what he's learned.

How his background in Writing Communications benefits him in selling.

The importance of social media presence in today's competitive climate.

Where James sees the sales industry headed in the next couple of years.

And, why James loves the position of SDR and the value he feels it brings to sales organizations.

About James:

James Buckley is a Business Development Manager and Sales Trainer at Cirrus Insight. He is originally from Miami, Florida but has lived in the Knoxville area for 12 years. James attended a small liberal arts college in Maryville, Tennessee Maryville College, where he graduated with a Writing Communications degree. James' focus and specialty is the Sales Development Role. He believes that these are long-term positions under-utilized in today's fast paced business models. James is a customer focused, results-driven professional with growth on his mind. He believes there is no substitute for hard work, and ultimately it's what helps him stand out.

Today is a big day! I am launching a special series devoted to Women in Sales Leadership roles in corporations across the globe. My first interview is with Lisa Muller, CEO of Lantevasin Sales Enablement and we talked about building a strong and healthy sales pipeline.

I talked to Lisa about:

Why she got into sales and what she loves about the profession.

Why keeping the pipeline full of qualified opportunities is a  challenge for many organizations.

CRM information is used to forecast sales revenue, but is it always accurate?

Tips for sales leaders on how to improve the quality of the pipeline.

Why coaching is so important to great sales skills but also ensuring that the sales pipeline is healthy.

Finally, I asked Lisa to share her advice for women in sales who want to move into leadership roles. She shared her thoughts about some of the traits of individual contributor’s vs leaders?

This episode is sponsored by Hubspot. 

Don't miss out HubSpot's annual sales event - Inbound Sales Day - on June 6th! 30 leading sales experts will be sharing their knowledge and expertise. Register now for free at hubspot.com/inbound-sales-day 

About Lisa:

Lisa Muller, CEO of Lantevasin Sales Enablement. Lisa has over twenty years of experience based helping organizations in the corporate and not-for-profit sectors. She has worked with small and large companies across the world, overseeing national and global sales teams, driving sales as a sole contributor and providing consultancy services to increase sales and commercial success. Her projects have spanned the achievement of a variety of revenue objectives from $2m to $64m.

Connect with Lisa:

www.lantevasin.com

Follow Lisa on Twitter @lantevasin

Skype: Lisa1334

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisamuller/

In this episode, I talked with Jonathan Jewett. Jonathan is the sales professional’s salesman - someone who has spent every day of his 22-year career on the front lines of sales. He’s sold for giants like Oracle and helped numerous startups build their sales organizations from nothing to millions of dollars in revenue. 

We talked about The 40 Best Sales Techniques Ever, which happens to be the title of Jonathan's book. During the interview, Jonathan told me:

1. How he go started in a career in sales.
2. What prompted him to the write the book.
3. How he came to choose the 40 techniques he shares in the book. 
4. The two most important techniques for a salesperson looking to improve their performance.
5. Jonathan's thoughts on the secrets to sales success in today's competitive environment.
6. How sales are much different today than when you started Jonathan first got started in sales 20 years ago.

Enjoy the interview!

About Jonathan:

Jonathan Jewett is the sales professional’s salesman - someone who has spent every day of his 22-year career on the front lines of sales. He’s sold for giants like Oracle and helped numerous startups build their sales organizations from nothing to millions of dollars in revenue. Today, Jonathan is still in the sales trenches - observing, learning, and experimenting to find the perfect sales formula.

As a student of sales, Jonathan is obsessed with finding new ways to help salespeople close more deals and achieve greater financial success. Jonathan’s been the #1 producer in almost every company he’s joined and booked tens of millions of dollars in revenue by selling complex enterprise software to the Fortune 500. Jonathan may be reached at [email protected]. 

Being a rock star sales rep doesn't necessarily mean that the transition to becoming a sales managers is going to be easy. Sales managers need training to help them transition because the skills that led to individual contributor success, sales rock star greatness aren't the same skills needed to be great in leading sales teams.

Kevin and I talked about:

1. The biggest problem facing sales managers and VPs of Sales today.
2. Some of the most important lessons that Kevin learned in your time as a sales leader.
3. Why Kevin decided to write “The Sales Manager’s Guide to Greatness”.
4. How organizations can better prepare their managers to be great leaders.
5. The one piece of advice that sales managers never get but desperately need.
6. Kevin's favorite insight he included in the book? In other words, Kevin shares with listeners the most important thing he learned while researching and writing.

About Kevin:

Kevin is the president of TopLine Leadership, which provides customized sales training and sales management development programs. His 3rd book, “The Sales Manager’s Guide to Greatness: 10 Essential Strategies for Leading Your Team to the Top” is now available in hard cover, ebook and audiobook from Amazon.com. Early in his career, he worked for a Fortune 200 company in sales management and general management responsibilities. He, therefore, understands the unique challenges faced during the transition from sales to managing salespeople and the transition from managing salespeople to managing sales managers. Kevin is also the author of two sales books, “Getting Into Your Customer’s Head and “Slow Down, Sell Faster!” He lives in the Reno-Tahoe area.

Every year, strong salespeople get promoted to sales leadership positions, receive little or no training, and then just be expected to do their job.  They put in long hours, trying to figure out what to do.  Often they just don’t know how to go about solving some of the most common sales staff problems. In this episode, I talked with Suzanne about the guidance, training, coaching and mentoring that sales managers need to successfully lead their teams. We discussed:

The inspiration behind Suzanne's book.  

How sales leaders attempt to solve problems. 

The challenges that often impede their ability to solve problems. 

Why, when things aren't working out, sales managers keep hoping things will change on their own. 

A problem-solving framework. For example, your reps aren't prospecting as expected. 

What sales leaders need to understand to be successful.

Enjoy the interview! 

About Suzanne:

Suzanne Paling, who is a recognized leader in sales management, has over 25 years of experience in sales management consulting and coaching. She has helped more than 55 companies improve their sales performance and processes. Clients include product and service firms in the manufacturing, software, publishing, distribution, medical, and construction industries. Docurated selected Suzanne’s blog as one of their “Top 50 Sales Management Blogs.” She writes for Entrepreneur.com and American Business Magazine, publishes a monthly newsletter and was profiled in The New York Times Small Business column. Suzanne is the author of two award-winning books The Accidental Sales Manager, (Entrepreneur Press) and The Sales Leader’s Problem Solver (Career Press).

Sales coaching is a hot topic and one that is often misunderstood. Coaching isn't the same as managing and does require a different skill set to be effective. In this episode, I talked with Richard Smith about his perspective on sales coaching. We talked about:

The difference between training and coaching.

The disparity between sales leaders valuing coaching but not actually doing it.

Tips for sales managers to find the time to coach.

Coaching remote reps effectively.

Creating a coaching culture in your sales organization.

About Richard:

Richard Smith is a sales professional of almost ten years, selling SaaS solutions to SME and Enterprise organisations. He is currently the Co-Founder and Head of Sales for UK SaaS company. Refract - sales coaching and feedback technology for calls, demos, and emails. He is passionate about sales development and changing the broken culture and mindset towards sales coaching.

With quota's to hit and increasing stiff competition, increasing productivity is always on a sales manager's mind. How do they help their salespeople do more in less time? In this episode, I talked with Scott Amerson, VP of Sales at VanillaSoft, and we discussed:

• How the complexity of inside sales has evolved.
• How to measure productivity – call volume vs follow-up persistency.
• Why automating call cadence should be the cornerstone of any sales technology.
• Ensuring your best leads are being called on by your best sales reps.
• Speed to Lead. How fast are you contacting your web leads?

Enjoy the interview!

About Scott:

As Vice President of Sales, Scott is responsible for leading VanillaSoft’s global sales team. He is a results-driven professional who brings more than 25 years of sales and executive-management experience to VanillaSoft. He is a proven veteran at building a scalable infrastructure for inside sales and call center teams by defining key performance indicators, sales process, and training programs.