Sales Leadership Podcast

Episode 20: #20: Ryan Leavitt of Learncore—Attention Salesleaders! It's Time to Stop, Collaborate and Listen

October 30th, 2018  |  45 mins 52 secs

sales, sales team, strategy

Today’s guest is Ryan Leavitt, Founder of Learncore and current Head of Growth and Strategy at Showpad. Ryan shares his unique insight into building a team from scratch. His biggest tool? Collaboration. According to Ryan, it teaches resourcefulness for problem-solving, creates accountability, fosters proactiveness, and creates teammates well prepared to execute. He and Rob even get a little nostalgic for the 80’s and Vanilla Ice. Don’t miss this one!

Episode 19: #19: Matt Millen of Outreach—Going Fast with Certainty and Confidence

October 23rd, 2018  |  44 mins 48 secs

This week Matt Millen, Senior Vice President of Revenue at Outreach, shares his formula for going FAST. Matt brings his experiences as a professional racing driver to bear on the sales process and shares the wisdom that has helped him create one of the fastest-growing sales teams in the U.S. Matt believes that there are three things that sales leaders must control to be successful: You have to be a storyteller, you have to manage how you spend your time and you have to have the right mindset with your attitude toward your company. He says a great leader must look inward first, do the right thing and most of all—have fun.

Episode 18: #18: Jeff Spencer of Waste Management—Creating a Sales Environment Your Reps Won't Want to Leave

October 16th, 2018  |  45 mins 33 secs

culture, discipline, high-growth, process, sales, self-correction, tactics

This week's guest is Jeff Spencer, Sr. Director of Sales Operations and Marketing at Waste Management. Jeff is the architect of one of the most sophisticated sales organizations in the world. Jeff's team of over 3,000 salespeople has impressive results and ridiculously low turnover. Much of the loyalty that a rep has for a company comes from what the coaching process is like, and at Waste Management, Jeff has brought consistency and discipline to the coaching process. He has three traits that have led to his success: 1—The ability to be decisive, 2—He's not afraid of change, and 3—He takes ownership of the change mindset. Under his direction, coaching is not just for underperformers. Jeff believes in the power of self-correction and shared vision to ensure the success of every rep and his results speak for themselves.

Episode 17: #17: Sean Murray, Chief Revenue Officer at Salesloft—Healthy Growth vs. Growth: A Blueprint for Organizational Success

October 9th, 2018  |  41 mins 19 secs

execution, sales, sales growth, sales tactics

Sean Murray is the Chief Revenue Officer for SalesLoft. SalesLoft has helped transform how Modern Sales Organizations provide a world-class sales experience. After leadership roles helping launch the Challenger Sale, taking a company public, and now helping SalesLoft accelerate their already impressive growth rate, Sean has a unique perspective on what sales leaders need to focus on. His primary lens: Healthy Growth vs. Growth at all cost. Sean shares a 5-point blueprint to help you create an environment where Healthy Growth can drive the success of any team. This thought-provoking episode will share key insights to help you find that next level, regardless of your team’s size.

Episode 16: #16: Brad Jensen of Motivosity—The 1:1 Is Everything: Getting Real with Every Rep

October 2nd, 2018  |  38 mins 25 secs

Brad Jensen is VP of Sales for Motivosity. He's helping disrupt how organizations reward teamwork and connect with each other and has a team that is growing faster than projections called for. Disruption takes energy and effort...a lot of it. Disruption doesn't come easily or quickly and Brad has found 2 "go-to" focus points to help him keep his team in high-growth mode. In this episode, Brad discussed these 2 leverage points and really dives into what he calls "The Greatest Missed Opportunity in the History of Sales Leadership." Avoiding this one mistake may very well be the fastest way you grow revenue in both the short and long term. Brad's "non-negotiables" are worth considering for every sales leader. Check out this week's episode and add both of these to your leadership gameplan.

Episode 15: #15: Kyle Norton of League — Slow is Smooth...Smooth is Fast

September 25th, 2018  |  43 mins 6 secs

building a sales team, culture, enthusiasm, passion onboarding, practice, sales improvement, training, trust

Kyle Norton is VP of Sales for League. He has taken advantage of the unique opportunity to take a blank slate and create a high growth sales team from scratch. Kyle is a Black Belt in Jiu-Jitsu and has applied the martial arts approach of "Slow is Smooth, Smooth is Fast" to the sales team. In this episode, Kyle shares the importance of Iteration and Innovation as they not only got the sales team built, but how this keeps them aligned with the customers in their markets. Kyle gives killer insights on things like capturing attention, the importance of learning from losses, and even shares a tip on how to prospect HIM effectively.

Episode 14: #14: Haley Katsman of Highspot—Creating a Growth Organization (Not Just Sales)

September 18th, 2018  |  46 mins 39 secs

Haley Katsman is Vice President of Account Development, Enablement, and Growth and HighSpot. Her job is to more than just drive sales. She is building a growth organization. Her team fuels the Sales Pipeline of HighSpot as well as the People Pipeline. In this week's episode, Haley discusses the how she's developed a growth organization. She's traded "force-feeding" management strategies and instead has developed a team built on self-awareness and collaboration. Haley's perspective is unique to our show as she shares her journey of joining HighSpot as the first SDR and now leads the growth engine of one of the fastest growing software companies in North America.

Episode 13: #13: Jacob Heugly of Zions Bancorporation—Teach, Don't Preach. Show, Don't Tell.

September 11th, 2018  |  41 mins 26 secs

b2b, banking, process, product number

Commercial Banking is a complex B2B sales motion. Like any complex sales team, these bankers have turned to process and technology to create better customer experiences and to create measurable value. One of the complexities comes in the sheer number of products these bankers have to offer their clients. Jake Heugly of Zions Bancorporation leads one of the most successful fee income teams in the United States. They are growing at an industry-beating rate and are averaging 15 products per customer…double the industry average…without having product-related goals. In this insightful episode, Jake shares how his team uses process in a unique way to create experiences their customers aren’t used to having and how this not only creates successful customer relationships, the process creates powerful coaching opportunities that inspire and engage the members of his teams.

Episode 12: #12: Justin Hiatt of Workfront—A Sales Leader's Guide to 90% Retention

September 4th, 2018  |  44 mins 44 secs

The Sales Development role is an important one…but a challenging one. So challenging, the turnover rate is consistently between 35-40% annually.

Just not at Workfront.

Justin Hiatt is VP of Sales Development at Workfront. He’s built a team that not only is crushing their quotas, they’ve built a culture that has resulted in 90% retention rates. In this episode, Justin shares the non-negotiables that has led to a high-performing team that is growing fast, how he’s been able to create clear career paths for every rep on his team, why coaching is a leaders’ primary role…and why a rep should quit if they aren’t getting meaningful coaching from their leaders.

#11: Scott Leese of Qualia—The First Hire Every Sales Leader Should Make, and How to Find Them.

August 28th, 2018  |  43 mins 6 secs

Scott Leese, SVP of Sales at Qualia, is an anti-establishment sales leader who finds ways to maximize his time and impact with each member of the sales team. In this episode, Scott explains how he views his team differently and how he ensures that each rep is set up for success. He believes in doing what you are passionate about and what you are best at. Connecting with each rep and helping them in their personal journey along with getting the right operational help and building a reliable network is his formula for success. Scott is a best-selling author and producer of the first non-conference sales conference ever conducted from a surfboard (www.surfandsales.com). Scott shares the first two things he does with every company he works with....and why it is a difference maker in this week's episode.

Episode 10: #10: John Barrows of John Barrows Consulting—What High-Growth Sales Leaders Do Differently

August 21st, 2018  |  45 mins 17 secs

execution, sales, sales growth, sales tactics

John Barrows is trainer to the world’s fastest growing companies. But John bristles at the label of “Sales Trainer.” Much of John’s success has come because he is an active, practicing salesperson that shares what he’s learned and tactics that are currently working for him with other organizations. We invited John to the Sales Leadership Podcast to share what he sees the High Growth Sales Leaders do that those wanting to get in high growth mode NEED to do. John outlines what High Growth leaders do that elevates their results above other leaders. Look for the “John Barrows Top 10 things High Growth Sales Leaders Do Different” in the So-What portion of this extended interview.

Episode 9: #9: Kevin Dorsey of ServiceTitan — Practice? We Talking About Practice?

August 14th, 2018  |  45 mins 34 secs

building a sales team, culture, passion onboarding, practice, sales improvement, training

Kevin Dorsey runs Sales Development for ServiceTitan. Service Titan is changing how thousands of the world’s most successful home service companies grow and operate their businesses. Under Kevin’s leadership, his team has had head-turning success in helping these previously overlooked business owners optimize their businesses with technology. Kevin has earned a reputation as one of the top trainers and coaches in the business and has scooped up well-deserved accolades including Sales Development Executive of the Year and Top 100 Sales Coach. In this episode, Kevin shares his blueprint of creating a culture of excellence. He shares how he helps his team become “Customer Ready” and his focus points may surprise you. Allen Iverson could have used a little help from ServiceTitan’s KD…learn why in this engaging discussion.

#8: Tonni Bennett of Terminus—Out of the Box Thinking Creates Out of the Box Results

August 7th, 2018  |  39 mins 42 secs

building a sales team, culture, passion onboarding, training

Tonni Bennett is VP of Sales for Terminus and joined the company as employee #9. A brand-new company with a brand-new way of creating value in a brand-new market was not going to achieve high-growth with conventional thinking. Tonni shares her approach to building a sales team that not only surpassed their growth goals, they helped fuel the ABM movement. This episode highlights how to encourage big thinking and the how immersing the team in the entire process of building a sales org led to complete commitment from her team. Her impact can be seen in more than just the numbers. She has a team of evangelists that are finding new believers in the Terminus story around the world. Sometimes too much experience can put professional blinders on a sales leader. Learn how Tonni built a system that matched their mission in this insightful episode.

#7: Robert Cornell of Steelhouse—Removing the "Sink" Out of "Sink or Swim"

July 31st, 2018  |  35 mins 31 secs

building a sales team, culture, passion onboarding, training

Robert Cornell is VP of Sales for Steelhouse. There’s a reason Steelhouse is the fastest-growing company in advertising today. His approach to leading his team is centered in his commitment to removing “Sink” from “Sink or Swim.” He does it by exhausting all efforts to helping each rep succeed. In this episode Robert shares how this impacts how they onboard, coach, use metrics, and work as a team. The impact is a team with authentic passion and the result is beating aggressive goals by 50% or more every month. You’ll love Robert’s approach for building authentic enthusiasm across the enterprise.

#6: Ralph Barsi of ServiceNow—Why You Need a Team of JEDI Salespeople and How to Develop Them.

July 24th, 2018  |  43 mins 40 secs

development, execution, sales, sales growth

Ralph Barsi is the Global Sales Development Leader for ServiceNow. He leads a team of Sales Development Reps that fuels the growth of what Forbes Magazine has recently decided is the Most Innovative Company in the World. In the nearly 3 years Ralph has led the global SDR team ServiceNow has seen 380% growth. He’s added 14 offices around the globe, increased headcount over 100% and creates the pipeline that fueled last year’s revenues of over $1.93 Billion. He shares how he creates the next generation of “Jedi-level salespeople.” He has 2 missions: Develop pipeline and Develop people. In this episode Ralph shares a 5-step approach to creating Jedis that includes lighting the Bat Signal and finding the Boysenberries. Don’t miss this one.

#5: Mark Smith of Womply—Trust: The Currency of Every Relationship and How a Sales Leader Can Earn It.

July 17th, 2018  |  40 mins 27 secs

xfactors, xvoyant

Mark Smith is VP of Sales for Womply. Womply has not only entered high-growth mode….they’ve been there for awhile now. His secret to ongoing growth? It isn’t a sales methodology, technology, or process…though they certainly use all of those things well. The fuel that has helped Mark’s team succeed has been developing trust. Mark shares why trust is the currency of every relationship and how they’ve built a team where trust helps them execute, adapt, and smash all of their sales goals. Mark believes the biggest challenge each leader has is to get every team member to believe in themselves. And here’s an interesting twist: If you have to ask for their trust, you’re doing it wrong. Mark lays down a blueprint on how to create a team fueled by mutual trust. The results speak for themselves.