The traditional way of selling in B2B businesses no longer works. Win rates are at an all-time low. Sales reps are burning out faster than ever. Quotas are missed quarter after quarter. And so what are teams trying? To just do more. More calls. More demos.
But the solution isn’t more. First, you have to break the cycle you are stuck in.
In today’s episode, Damon is joined by Dave Brock. He’s a legendary sales advisor, executive coach, and author of The Sales Manager Survival Guide. He's here to break down what’s wrong with the way we train sales teams today, and how modern leaders can build cultures that actually drive performance.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- Why most sales teams are stuck and what it really takes to break the cycle
- How business acumen and curiosity outperform slide decks and sales pitches
- The real reason tenure is shrinking in sales and what to do about it
- How to coach your team effectively
- What Dave is building with AI and why it might be the future of learning
Timestamps:
00:00 – What’s going wrong in sales today?
02:10 – Why win rates are declining and panic is missing
05:27 – Are people losing their drive to achieve?
07:34 – COVID’s effect on employee disconnection
08:49 – Culture, belonging, and why people leave
10:32 – What great leaders do differently
12:22 – The math doesn’t work: ramp time vs. tenure
15:56 – How short-term thinking hurts everyone
16:36 – Why most sales cycles end in no decision
18:59 – The key to building trust: problem-first conversations
21:23 – The pitch is dead—long live collaboration
23:39 – Why salespeople lack business acumen
24:42 – The real role of subject matter experts
26:20 – The $500k SDR: a credibility case study
29:23 – Where to find your next great SDR
31:15 – Brand damage from bad conversations
33:56 – One-size-fits-all coaching doesn't work
34:55 – What frontline managers get wrong
36:58 – Directive vs. non-directive coaching
38:56 – Coaching inside every conversation
42:32 – Using improv to teach collaborative coaching
44:59 – Coaching in “cracks of time”
45:54 – What’s changed since The Sales Manager Survival Guide
47:52 – Preview of Dave’s next book: Sales Executive Survival Guide
49:05 – Using AI as a debate partner, not a crutch
51:25 – Learning faster through collaborative AI tools
53:59 – Dave’s master prompt strategy for ChatGPT and Claude
54:18 – What keeps Dave curious after decades of success
56:35 – What extreme sports and Wu-Tang taught him about innovation
59:28 – Why mentoring high schoolers keeps him sharp
Resources Mentioned:
About the Guest:
Dave Brock is the author of Sales Manager Survival Guide. He leads Partners in EXCELLENCE, which helps sales leaders rethink coaching, culture, and customer engagement. Dave’s recent work includes AI-powered sales learning tools based on curiosity, problem solving, and trust-building.
Connect With Us:
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Email us: podcast@learnit.com
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