Conversational Selling

Can you quickly identify the 4 types of executives? Can you successfully sell to each of them? Brooke Dukes can, and she’s here to share her secrets (and the science behind them). As the Chief Sales Officer for the National Association of Sales Professionals, Brooke specializes in supporting salespeople in understanding the way the mind works. The NASP’s Human Success Operating System is a research-based program that integrates vision, motivation, and strategy into daily habits. Our conversation goes into detail on a number of insightful, and actionable topics, including: The Human Success Operating System (and how to upgrade it)  How to increase motivation  The quick and easy way to start selling at the C-level  And more You are in for a treat today. If you are looking to get your foot in the door and start selling at the next level or if you have a measurable goal you are struggling to achieve, you do not want to miss this episode. Reboot, reprogram, and upgrade your operating system now!

Rob Smith is our guest on the podcast this week and he is here to help you discover your company’s growth potential. A 20 year corporate vet and fractional sales leader, Rob is now the President and Founder of 5S Sales Consulting and works with SMB companies to revamp and map a path for greater sales growth. His insights include: Why businesses struggle to scale (and how to avoid these mistakes) Why your best customers aren’t always who you think they are How fractional leadership is changing the landscape of business And more Don’t wait another minute to take stock of your business, set your sales goals, and watch your business grow! Listen now.

On this episode, we are joined by the world-renowned keynote speaker and America’s #1 Small Business Expert, Melinda Emerson, aka SmallBizLady.Melinda is a bestselling author, podcast host, and blogger who reaches an audience of over 3 million entrepreneurs weekly, and consults with Fortune 500 brands who want to target the small business market.There are 32 million small businesses in the US. They comprise 99.9% of all US businesses and Melinda knows the market inside and out. She is on the show this week to share insights that will not only help your small business survive, but thrive, including: Identifying the 5 common reasons businesses fail (before it’s too late) Discovering the #1 sales channel now and for the future How to hack the content game (and boost the reach of your business online) And so much more So many businesses are trying to find their ground in our rapidly shifting economy. You don’t have to be one of them. Listen and learn how to navigate the digital content in the B2B and B2C marketplaces and become intentional about the content your business creates. Don’t just do it to do it, do it to succeed!

“Ditch the pitch, provide value and insight,” so says our guest this week. Bill McCormick is the Chief Sales Officer and LinkedIn Strategist at Social Sales Link. He went from being a student of social selling to providing sales leaders and sales teams with the lessons and tools they need in order to deal with the changing environment of the modern buying journey. He teaches sellers how to build stronger relationships online and make the connection from digital to face-to-face.Too often we are focused on the sales process and not the buying process. Bill reminds us that on LinkedIn, a quick connection is not an invitation to try a hard sell. His lessons on leveraging LinkedIn relationships for sales success include: Stop telling them how you can help them and just help Be consistent in creating and posting content with client value Be a resource and the sales will come And many more… LinkedIn is the Google of business, a networking room that is always open. Build relationships with your ideal clients. It starts with your profile; there are no quick steps to social selling success so approach it from what your clients need. Social selling is the way of sales today and we are fortunate to have Bill with us as we learn what works. And don’t miss his free offer. Listen now!

Business owners often struggle to connect their strategy, marketing, and sales efforts. Understanding how opportunities convert into revenue, diagnosing, and removing obstacles preventing the flow of opportunity into revenue is the expertise of our special guest this episode. Jose Palomino is the Founder and CEO of Value Prop and the developer of the Revenue Throughput System. For over 15 years, Jose has been giving companies a high-level view of their business, a clear game plan, and explosive revenue growth.Jose is a true strategy wonk who is driven to help smaller, owner-led companies crack their revenue code, find the patterns of growth in their business, and reproduce them for greater success. In our conversation he goes into depth on: Why connecting strategy, marketing, and sales is a challenge The importance of evaluating the “way things have always been done” Asking, “what is within your power to improve?” How his Revenue Throughput System works And so much more… Whether you are B2B or B2C, in manufacturing, service, or insurance, Jose has insights that will help. If you are looking to grow revenue with a purpose and are ready to see results in 90 days, this is the episode you want to hear!

On this week’s episode we are speaking with Dave Shaby, the Chief Operating Officer at RAIN Group. The global sales training and performance improvement company was founded in 2002 and has become a Top 20 Sales Training Company. To date, they have helped hundreds of thousands of salespeople, managers, and professionals in more than 75 countries. Dave is also a co-author of the best selling book, Virtual Selling, and is an acclaimed adjunct faculty member at both Babson College and Brandeis University where he teaches digital marketing courses for MBA students and the International Business School.Dave has been researching the new virtual sales reality for his book and working with both buyers and sellers in order to take full advantage of emerging virtual sales technology and best practices. He gives us a deep explanation of where virtual sales is headed and what successful virtual sellers are doing. Our discussion topics include: Where the virtual buyer/seller relationship breaks down How to make a virtual meeting more impactful by doing the advance work Simple ways to build rapport even when you are remote The importance of practice video calls with colleagues And so much more Virtual sales is not new, but having everyone needing to go fully virtual so quickly last year, and without all of the proper technology in place, made it a daunting proposition for a lot of sellers and buyers. Dave is reframing the new virtual reality for us. If others aren’t going to be as proficient at utilizing new virtual sales tech, take the opportunity to be amazing at it.Listen now and start today!

Our guest on this week’s episode is a PhD economist, certified speaking professional, retired US Navy Commander, internationally known leadership expert, and CEO of Productive Leaders. Mary Kelly has been helping companies and individuals in the fields of productivity, communication, profit growth, and leadership development since 1998. She is the author of 11 books combining the theory and practice of business and has been quoted in hundreds of periodicals like Forbes, Money Magazine, and The Wall Street Journal.Mary works with companies to improve profit during times of crisis, challenge, and change and she joins us to share her deep understanding of economic strategy and lessons for leaders in all sorts of situations. The pandemic has shown a spotlight on the cracks in many businesses; leaders have to be better now. Through the lens of an economist and former naval officer, she sees things differently, including: Why we need to flip the leadership pyramid How to PIVOT into greater success and profit Why veterans make great hires And more Her style is informative and entertaining, so listen in for the business and leadership advice and stick around for the orphaned kitten story, lessons from our pets, and why the Beatles got it wrong. Don’t miss it!

On the show this week we talk with the CEO and Chief Sales Strategist for Regarding Sales, Liz Heiman. Liz helps B2B companies grow by developing strategies and processes that connect a company’s vision to sales success. She is also a panelist on the Sales Expert Channel and an active member of both the Women Sales Pros and the Sales Enablement Society.Sales isn’t magic, it can be predictable and manageable. For those dealing with the problem of too many ups and downs in sales, there is a solution and Liz has it! The sales operating systems that she builds for her client’s companies, work to clarify sales messaging from leadership, prioritize targets, and identify value propositions and market positions. In our conversation she covers the key considerations when building a system for the first time, including: How long it takes to build out a sales operating system Who needs to be involved in order for it to be successful How often to revisit and revise the system And more Oftentimes companies don’t begin to think about their sales strategies and systems until their sales team has grown to 20 or 50 people. By then, inefficiencies have crept in. It’s necessary to have a sales operating system in place from the beginning, even if you are simply an entrepreneur who sells. Have a system and make it accountable. Listen now!

On this week’s episode we welcome workplace behavior expert and award-winning business coach David Nast. David has over 25 years of experience in human capital management, talent optimization, executive coaching, and leadership development. He is a top-ranked influencer on LinkedIn as well as a columnist for Raconteur and the business section of the Huffington Post. David is also a certified partner for the Predictive Index, a six-decade old program focused on understanding people and teams and what drives behaviors at work.In his work, David has studied why companies often struggle to hire the right people for the right roles and how to prevent those situations. More recently, he has focused on how the pandemic has affected employee roles and how the workplace landscape is likely to look in 2022 and beyond. He shares his insights with us, including: Why proactive companies are doing engagement surveys now The coming “turnover tsunami” The new balance of employer/employee privacy And much more All business problems are people problems. Measuring what drives employees allows you to predict their needs, which in turn allows you to predict behavior. David’s work, and partnership with the Predictive Index, is all about taking the guesswork out of talent optimization now and into the future. Listen in to make sure you aren’t left behind!

Our guest this episode is Gretchen Gordon, award-winning sales management blogger and dynamic speaker. Gretchen started her sales career as a reluctant salesperson but through mentorship, hard work, and perseverance she has become a self-proclaimed “sales nerd” and is widely recognized as a top sales influencer. She is the CEO of Boost Profits, a sales and pricing consultancy firm, and she is here to share some valuable lessons learned from more than 25 years in sales and sales management.Boost Profits was formed in 2009 in order to help sales teams focus on the role science and data play in elevating revenue and profit through effective price setting. Price can be the quickest way to increase revenue and profit; more impactful in the short run than closing new deals. Gretchen walks through how to price goods and services competitively, including: Signs that your prices may be too low or too high Demonstrating value to prospective customers Strategies for implementing price increases And more Oftentimes salespeople are worried that price increases will drive away customers and that economic downturns automatically require companies to drop prices for goods and services. Gretchen shows us why these fears are often unfounded and how a different mindset will lead to better returns. Tune in now and turn up your profits!