Navigating Enterprise Deals with Conscious Competence and Collaboration

Today's buyers are more informed than ever, thanks to AI. Yet, they remain wary of sellers who rely on it too heavily, creating a unique challenge: How can you leverage technology to enhance your sales process without losing the authentic, personal connection that closes deals?

To answer that question, I'm joined by Daren Fields, a sales expert and author of the Apex 8 framework. He shares his sales methodology to help you start winning enterprise deals in the AI era. 

Meet Daren Fields      

Darren Fields is an experienced sales leader, author, and innovator in the world of enterprise and edge software sales.   

Drawing from years of hands-on selling and sales leadership, Darren has developed practical frameworks to help sales professionals stand out in today’s AI-driven landscape. 

He is the creator of the Apex8 Framework, a methodology designed to help sellers build trust quickly, leverage AI effectively, and guide buyers through today’s complex decision-making processes.

Current Challenge in Modern Sales

AI has transformed the buying landscape, making prospects more informed about their product decisions. This has made it harder for sellers to move deals forward, as AI technology can now deliver basic information.  

Daren wants sellers to think of buyers like a media interviewer who’s filled with fast information. This allows them to match the buyer’s pace and depth by using the Apex8 sales framework and prevent losing deals. 

The Apex 8 Framework: The Eight Steps

The framework has a core idea of using conscious competence to help sellers remain deliberately skillful and self-aware. The goal of sellers is to help guide buyers' thinking into a mutual success by actively discovering their true problem and validating solutions in real time. Sellers follow these eight steps:

o  Discovery – Go beyond basic questioning. Research the prospect thoroughly using AI before the call so you can dive straight into real business problems.

o  Prototyping – Collaborate live (e.g., whiteboarding with AI tools), showing problem-solving skills and flexibility, turning the call into a collaborative session rather than a static demo.

o  Validation – Actively check if you’re on the right track with the buyer; confirm you’re addressing the real problem and adjust as needed.

o  Rehearsal – Practice and refine presentations/demos; this is emphasized as an “art form.”

o  Presentation/Demo – Deliver tailored solutions based on previous steps, not generic pitches.

o  Finalization – If prior steps were done right, closing the deal becomes more natural and less adversarial.

o  Debrief – Analyze every outcome (win or lose) in a safe, blame-free environment to identify improvements and share insights across teams.

o  Handoff – Ensure smooth transition to delivery/customer experience teams with thorough context so clients never feel lost after the sale.

Embrace the Human-AI Partnership

AI is a leveler—it helps both you and your competition.

Don’t try to replace human interaction with AI; find a balance where technology enables you to be a more innovative, trusted advisor.

“Everybody wants to skip through the loss and move on to the next thing. The best teacher in life is failure. The losses teach you way more than the wins.” - Daren Fields. 

Resources

To learn more about Daren or get his book, go to apex8book.com

If you like more guidance with improving your sales skills, join my Sales Mastermind Class.

Thinking about starting a podcast yourself? Learn more about Blue Mango Studios. 

Sponsorship Offers

1.    This episode is brought to you in part by Hubspot.

With HubSpot sales hubs, your data tools and teams join a single platform to close deals and turn prospects into pipelines. Try it for yourself at hubspot.com/sales.

2.  This episode is brought to you in part by LinkedIn.

Are you tired of prospective clients not responding to your emails? Sign up for a free 60-day trial of LinkedIn Sales Navigator at linkedin.com/tse.

3.  This episode is brought to you in part by the TSE Sales Foundation.

Improve your connection on LinkedIn and land three or five appointments with our LinkedIn prospecting course. Go to the salesevangelist.com/linkedin.

Credits

As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We’d love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are as follows: The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.