Joe Fontana has been in sales since 1993.He got his start in Wall Street boiler rooms, teaching stockbrokers how to talk like actual human beings. At the time, the seller had the power. Scripts. Rebuttal binders. Pressure. Now? The buyer owns the data. They’ve read the reviews and compared the vendors. They don’t need you for information.Joe says the shift is simple: We moved from “always be closing” to “always bring clarity.”Charm doesn’t win anymore. Competence and trust do. You have to make the buyer the hero.He’ll tell you:You don’t need to be liked to win business. You need to be trusted.If you can’t solve the problem, introduce someone who can.In SaaS, if you’re shady, the market will know by Friday.Joe’s advice is simple: Treat your buyer the way you want to be treated.It sounds obvious, but it’s not common. This one’s a good one. Give it a listen.About Cliff:With nearly two decades of experience building revenue engines across Fortune 20 companies and high-growth startups. Cliff specializes in GTM strategy and fractional leadership for SaaS companies navigating rapid scale. HubSpot recognized him as a 2024 Modern Sales Leader, and Pavilion named him a Top 50 CRO to WatchCliff is currently the CEO of Polaris, an AI Focused RevOps firm, an advisor, investor (GTM Fund), and fractional executive for several high-growth start-ups, where he utilizes his expertise in all things GTM and RevOps and is an active leader of GTM in multiple communities.About Polaris: Polaris Ops is an AI-native RevOps consultancy helping growth-stage companies align strategy, systems, and data to drive predictable revenue. We build scalable, automated GTM architectures powered by AI, turning fragmented operations into intelligent, connected growth engines.The LodeStar Podcast by Polaris Ops explores the human stories behind modern growth, real conversations with leaders navigating change, alignment, and what it means to be human through the rise of AI in business.