82% of us seek out the negative reviews first. We mostly ignore the 5-stars and scroll down until we see some 2-star reviews.

What does that mean for us in a recession?

In this episode, we interview Todd Caponi, author of The Transparency Sale, about how sales should cope in a recession.

What we talked about:

-Why a 4.3 rating sells better than a 5.0

-The 2 human responses toward spend in a recession

-Throw out your old messaging & pivot this way

-Loneliness is a serious health risk

Check out these resources we mentioned during the podcast:

-Todd’s virtual series for Sales Assembly

-2 classic books on selling: The 5 Great Rules of Selling (1946) and The Mind of the Buyer (1922)

For more engaging sales conversations, subscribe to The Sales Engagement Podcast on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or on our website.

It sounds counterintuitive to sell based on what’s not great about your product. In a downmarket, though, people are craving predictability.

Transparency about your product boosts trust like crazy.

In this episode, I interview Todd Caponi, Founder and Speaker at Sales Melon, about transparent negotiation and how to approach a downturn.

What we talked about:

-Leading with the negatives

-The 4 ways to give discounts during negotiation

-Your best downmarket sales strategy

-What extreme firmographic focus means for your reps

Check out this resource we mentioned during the podcast:

-Todd’s book is The Transparency Sale

For more engaging sales conversations, subscribe to The Sales Engagement Podcast on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or on our website.

Say you’re the leader of a sales team. 

Maybe you’re a VP. Maybe you’re a director of sales. Maybe you’re a sales manager.

Whatever your title, you have a very specific role at your organization. Your job is to lead the sales team. To set direction, vision, strategy, and purpose. 

But how do you hire? As your company grows, how do you handle the changing needs of a sales organization? 

How do you balance the confidence needed to succeed in a sales role with the fact that you’re human and sometimes you have to talk yourself into getting out of bed in the morning? 

What is your responsibility as the leader of a sales team, and how do you manage the energy of a dynamic group of sales professionals? 

On this episode of the Sales Engagement podcast, we sit down with John Eitel, the VP of Sales at Canva, for a discussion around: 

-The different employee needs of a growing company

-How to deal with cold feet when what you need is confidence

-The responsibility of a sales leader

-Managing the energy of a sales team

-So much more

Would you agree that the shortest route to a promotion is to always be asking questions?

Positioning yourself as a student will earn you expertise and launch you into leadership in no time at all.

In this episode, I interview Matt Reuter, Sales Development Manager at GTT, about his experience leading sales development teams both small and scaled.

What we talked about:

-Leading at an established company vs. a growing company

-Having a numerical strategy for scaling your SDR team

-Training SDRs on how to lower resistance

-Become an expert at something — especially a sales tool, if you can

For more engaging sales conversations, subscribe to The Sales Engagement Podcast on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or on our website.

You want to build your brand on LinkedIn, but honestly you have no idea how.

The best way is to learn from someone who’s done it.

In this episode, I interview Sarah Brazier, Senior Sales Development Representative at Gong, about growing her LinkedIn brand.

What we talked about:

-6 ways to up your LinkedIn game

-Knowing what your goal is for your posts

-True stories of how Sarah’s profile created opportunities

-Whether LinkedIn is the right avenue for you

Check out these resources we mentioned during the podcast:

-Building a Brand on LinkedIn, Part 1

-Storytelling Masterclass with David Sedaris

For more engaging sales conversations, subscribe to The Sales Engagement Podcast on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or on our website.

Does your marketing department celebrate receiving hate mail?

Uh… why not? A strong emotional reaction means your content wasn’t boring.

I had an amazing conversation with Udi Ledergor, CMO at Gong, about Gong’s secret sauce for building brands.

What we talked about:

-3 principles of brand building, including edginess

-Why having a tiny content team gives you control over voice

-You shouldn’t gate your best content

-Ideas can come from everywhere — and should

Check out these resources we mentioned during the podcast:

-Read Udi’s Forbes articles

-Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini

-Take a look at Gong Labs

For more engaging sales conversations, subscribe to The Sales Engagement Podcast on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or on our website.

How do you sell a solution before you have a product? By giving it away for free.

In this episode, I interview  Scott Britton, Cofounder of Troops.ai, about his entrepreneurial story. 

What we talked about:

-How to overcome fear in entrepreneurship by finding your conviction

-Discovery is probably the most important part of the pricing strategy

-Just flat out ask your prospects how much they’d pay for a solution

-Scott’s advice on whether to go with your gut

For more engaging sales conversations, subscribe to The Sales Engagement Podcast on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or on our website.

In a perfect world, the AE and SC are so aligned that the customer experience leads straight to the president’s club.

That perfect world isn’t as hard to visit as you might think.

In this episode, I interview James Kaikis, Senior Manager of Manufacturing Solutions Engineering at Salesforce and Cofounder of the PreSales Collective, about perfecting the AE/SC relationship.

What we talked about:

-What not to do (ahem, lane swervers, looking at you)

-4 qualities of ideal alignment between AEs and SCs

-The importance of listening to feedback

-Sales is a motivated environment… people want to be their best

For more engaging sales conversations, subscribe to The Sales Engagement Podcast on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or on our website.

Have you decided what to do with your current playbooks?

Hint: Don’t throw them all away.

In this episode, I interview Evan Carlton, Sales Enablement Manager at Matillion, about how he’s optimized his playbook.

What we talked about:

-Adapting your messaging without over-pivoting

-Changing your top of funnel approach

-Focusing on nurturing, not selling

-Taking the opportunity for personal growth

For more engaging sales conversations, subscribe to The Sales Engagement Podcast on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or on our website.

You’ve been hanging out at home, kicking around the idea of launching a podcast, but you have no idea how to get started.

In this episode, I interview Chris Hatfield, Sales and Mindfulness Coach at Not Another Sales Guy, about the 5 steps he took to start his podcast

What we talked about:

-Starting with your internal and external why

-The many, many benefits of podcasting

-Meet Scott, the imaginary first listener of Chris’s podcast

-The steps Chris took to launch his podcast

Check out these resources we mentioned during the podcast:

-Not Another Sales Podcast, Chris’s podcast

-Anchor, the free software Chris used to get started

For more engaging sales conversations, subscribe to The Sales Engagement Podcast on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or on our website.