The Sales Machine

This ONE Mistake Ruins Sales Teams (And You're Probably Doing It)

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Episode Summary

You're measuring everything—calls, emails, pipeline velocity—but your sales team still isn't hitting quota. Here's why: tracking metrics without managing them is like stepping on a scale 20 times a day expecting to lose weight. Michelle Vazzana, Chief Innovation Officer at Impart and co-author of Cracking the Sales Management Code, exposes the fatal mistake killing sales performance: creating dashboards instead of driving coaching. Discover why elite managers coach less frequently but achieve better results, how the three dimensions of sales execution separate winners from losers, and why AI orchestration—not another CRM—is the future of scalable revenue. This research-backed conversation transforms sales leadership from inspection culture to performance engine.

Key Takeaways
  • The scale paradox solved: Stepping on a scale 20 times doesn't make you lose weight—discover why coaching activities, not results, is the highest-impact move managers can make
  • The 3 Rs that separate outliers from average performers: Elite sellers share resilience, rigor, and responsibility—learn how these mindset elements predict success better than competency assessments
  • Why your CRM is secretly sabotaging growth: Built for companies, not salespeople, traditional platforms create admin burden instead of driving performance—see what AI orchestration actually solves
  • The counterintuitive coaching formula: High performers coach less frequently but go deeper—the "minimum effective dose" that transforms teams without burning out managers
  • Sales-aware AI vs. vanilla chatbots: Generic AI doesn't know how buyers buy—discover the difference between platform automation and true sales intelligence that wins deals

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    Chapters

    00:00 - Introduction

    04:20 - From IBM to Sales Framework Pioneer: Michelle's Origin Story
    08:21 - The Research That Changed B2B: Creating the Sales Management Code
    11:29 - Activities Over Results: The Coaching Breakthrough Data
    16:35 - Why CRMs Are Just Glorified Address Books
    18:49 - Sales-Aware AI: The Intelligence Platform Companies Are Missing
    24:29 - The Orchestrator Revolution: How AI Agents Actually Work Together
    31:33 - The Discipline Gap: Why Metrics Alone Don't Drive Performance
    35:44 - The 3 Rs of Elite Mindset: Resilience, Rigor, Responsibility
    42:53 - The Minimum Effective Dose: Less Coaching, Better Results
    45:38 - 3D Sales Agility: Insight, Influence, and Trust Dimensions

    Guest Information

    Michelle Vazzana

    Chief Innovation Officer, Impart
    Sales transformation research pioneer

    Connect with Michelle:

    Website: https://imparta.com/about/leadership-team/

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vazzanam/

    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-vazzana/

    Host Information

    Connect with John Rankins:

    Website: https://thesalesmachine.com/
    YouTube: @JohnRankinsOfficial
    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnrankinsofficial

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    The Sales MachineBy John Rankins