
Live Better. Sell Better.
Welcome to the Live Better Sell Better podcast with your host Kevin Dorsey of Inside Sales Excellence the #1 Patreon group and Youtube Channel for tech sellers and leaders.
Where we dive deep into tactical advice on how to book more meetings, close more deals, and lead sales teams to success.
Inviting the top experts in the software sales world to talk about every topic you can think of. From Cold Calling, Closing Deals, Storytelling, all the way to Sales Management and Brand Building.
We leave no topic untouched.
PLUS - This show is all about tactical advice, no fluff, no long backstories, just the juicy details.
But we don’t stop there, we also focus on the PERSON in sales person, making sure we also take care of that too. Mindset, mindfulness, goal setting, stress management, we cover it all.
Thank you for listening, and if you’re interested head on over to www.patreon.com/insidesalesexcellence to learn more.
Now with that, get ready, grab a notepad & let’s get into the good stuff!
Latest episodes

Apr 5, 2023 • 11min
From BDR to AE: Coaching Empowers Reps During Their Transition with Saad Khan
Saad Khan, former BDR Manager at Dooly and current Business Development Manager at Vendr, joins KD in this throwback episode of the Live Better Sell Better podcast. The transition from BDR/SDR to AE requires training and coaching because not every BDR is a good fit to become an AE.Saad suggests doing the 3 layers of pain activity and explains the elements of his Initiation: Give and Get, and Mirroring or turning an I conversation into an Our conversation. He also shares his hot take that there is a 4th unknown phase in the buyer's journey called the Unaware phase.HIGHLIGHT QUOTESDon't create "super reps" and instead coach them on the field - Saad: "Training could be just showing people how to use a tool, how to use Salesforce, how to use Dooly, what to do on a day-to-day. Coaching is you're on the trenches, you're on the field with them, you're working on plays every single day."The 4th phase of the buyer's journey is the Unaware phase - Saad: "People say the Buyer's Consideration Journey is made of 3 phases: Awareness, Consideration, Purchase. I disagree. I think there's one other phase which is the Unaware phase. The standard model suggests that the Awareness Phase is where people are downloading blogs, webinars, and articles. I disagree with that. If people are aware, awareness to me is you're not just aware that my company exists, you're aware of the problem that it solves." You can find out more about Saad in the links below:LinkedIn | InstagramLive Better. Sell Better. is sponsored by our proud partner:Rocket Reach | rocketreach.co

Apr 3, 2023 • 11min
Differentiate and Stand Out Without a Doubt with Mandi Graziano
In this episode of the Live Better Seller Better Podcast, Mandi Graziano, a sales veteran, and best-selling author, shares insights on how to differentiate yourself in sales. She suggests being memorable in all the right ways, engaging prospects with "choose your own adventure" emails and finding your own voice in sales. Mandi also talks about unique ways to bond with prospects, such as sweat-working, and emphasizes the importance of authentic follow-ups to build stronger relationships. Learn more about Mandi in this latest episode of the Live Better Seller Better Podcast.HIGHLIGHT QUOTESEvery attempt is an opportunity - Mandi: "Choose your own adventure email is a great memorable way to get a customer to call you back or email you back, and the thing is, they may email you back saying uh, who are you? And I don't want to work with you, but then that's an opportunity for a no and an opportunity to ask why or how you can improve or who they're working with."The power of iteration - Mandi: "Iteration, I think, is one of the best ways to find your own voice. Just try a whole bunch of different ways. But I think closing your eyes, taking a deep breath, and thinking about what it is that makes it your own is really important."Try, fail, and try again - KD: "You have to keep trying things and you have to be open to failing because the magic is in the fail. It is. So you have to try."You can find out more about Mandi in the links below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mandigraziano/Website: https://www.mandigraziano.com/Email: coach@mandigraziano.comAmazon book link: https://www.amazon.com/Sales-Tales-Hustle-Humor-Lessons/dp/1949635945Connect with KD in the links below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kddorsey3/Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/insidesalesexcellenceLive Better. Sell Better. is sponsored by our proud partner:Rocket Reach | rocketreach.co

Mar 31, 2023 • 9min
Reaching Your Goals Requires a Plan
In today's episode of the Live Better Sell Better podcast, KD talks about planning. Good leaders know their what and why, but great leaders deal with the how—and this involves planning. A plan needs a destination and it needs to be specific. KD gives examples of losing weight and sales and the principles are the same for both!HIGHLIGHT QUOTESThe elements of a plan - KD: "What's the end result we're looking for? But then the next is who? Who's involved in this plan? Who's doing what? And that's when we get to the next part of - what needs to be done? What things could you do to get you to your goal?"Connect with KD in the links below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kddorsey3/Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/insidesalesexcellenceLive Better. Sell Better. is sponsored by our proud partner:Rocket Reach | rocketreach.co

Mar 29, 2023 • 9min
Women Must Lean Into Their Authentic Selves with Heidi Solomon-Orlick
Heidi Solomon-Orlick, Senior Vice President for Business Development at Arise Virtual Solutions Inc., Founder of GirlzWhoSell, and author of Heels to Deals, joins KD in this throwback episode of the Live Better Sell Better podcast.Women must lean into their authentic selves rather than force themselves into something they are not. This includes the natural ability of women to listen and empathize, but it also takes work in unpacking pivotal moments and leveraging these as their own superpower.HIGHLIGHT QUOTESUnpack pivotal moments to reveal your superpower - Heidi: "When I mentor them, I really coach them to try to get in touch with their authentic self. So what is it that is their superpower? And an exercise that I take women through a lot as I'm coaching them or mentoring them is to begin unpacking or taking a look at some of the pivotal moments in your life, and they can be big massive, big decision moments." You can find out more about Heidi in the links below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidisolomon1/Website: https://girlzwhosell.com/Amazon book link: https://www.amazon.com/Heels-Deals-Dominating-Business-Business/dp/1953315186Live Better. Sell Better. is sponsored by our proud partner:Rocket Reach | rocketreach.co

Mar 27, 2023 • 9min
Don't Limit Your Goals to Your Quota
In today's episode of the Live Better Sell Better podcast, KD talks about establishing the right mindset toward goals both as a rep and as a sales leader. For one, we have to understand that the quota is set by someone else, hence should not exactly be your goal all the time. HIGHLIGHT QUOTESEvery individual should set their own goals - KD: "You give someone a quota, the quota is set by somebody else. The target is set by somebody else. But a goal is set by the individual. So often, especially in the sales leadership side, we confuse quota with the goal."What motivates you more? Professional vs personal goals - KD: "Most people will probably say personal goals. Well, what do we spend 99% of our time talking about? Professional goals. Even then we may not even know the professional goals, we just talk about quotas and targets. So our goal as great leaders is to connect the dots between professional goals and personal goals."Connect with KD in the links below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kddorsey3/Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/insidesalesexcellenceLive Better. Sell Better. is sponsored by our proud partner:Rocket Reach | rocketreach.co

Mar 24, 2023 • 11min
Be Intentional and Listen to Win Relationships with Casey Jacox
Casey Jacox, Executive Leadership Coach at Winning the Relationship, and author of Win the Relationship, Not the Deal, join KD in this throwback episode of the Live Better Sell Better podcast. Building relationships is the heart of sales. But how do you do it? Casey gives us quick tips on being intentional, listening rather than hearing, using TED-based questions, and making the meeting about the prospect, not the seller.HIGHLIGHT QUOTESSellers must always think about these 4 questions - Casey: "One of my mentors in my career taught me four great questions to ask or to be thinking about which is, do I understand the problems in my industry? What problems exist? Do I understand what problems I solve? Do I understand how I solve them better or differently than my competition? And do I understand my proof?"TED-based questions - Casey: "It's called TED-based questions: Tell me, explain, describe. And it's not just the first level, like, hey, you know, tell me one thing that's going right in the world, Mr/Mrs. Client and one thing you might change, and once they give you something and you say, tell me more, tell me more about that. Describe why that's important to you. Explain what you like to see differently, but give them space to answer."You can find out more about Casey in the links below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caseyjacox/Website: https://www.caseyjacox.com/Amazon book link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B088T289BZ/Live Better. Sell Better. is sponsored by our proud partner:Rocket Reach | rocketreach.co

Mar 22, 2023 • 9min
Beyond Your Thoughts and Actions Is BEING with Townsend Wardlaw
Townsend Wardlaw, the Coach of BEing at PFC Coaching, joins KD in this edition of the Live Better Sell Better podcast. Every action begins as a thought, but thoughts are just a function of something beyond that called Being. Shifting your being gives you a completely different view that translates into different thoughts, and ultimately different actions and results.HIGHLIGHT QUOTESResults are produced by choosing to act or not to act - Townsend: "What is true is that every single outcome or result that has ever been produced was the product of action. Nobody ever built a company taking no action. Nobody ever made a million dollars taking no action. Nobody ever had a baby taking no action. You got to have an action to make a baby. You also have to take action to not have a baby."Being lies beyond our thoughts and actions - Townsend: "Being is a function of a lot of things, our upbringing, our race, our age, our sex, our trauma as a child. Some people will even say there are things like past life trauma. I would also say there's something even upstream of that in the world of being that some might call the universe or consciousness or God."You can find out more about Townsend in the links below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/townsendwardlaw/Website: https://peacefreedomconnection.com/Live Better. Sell Better. is sponsored by our proud partner:Rocket Reach | rocketreach.co

Mar 20, 2023 • 10min
Will We Ever Achieve Mastery of Emotional Intelligence? with Devin Williams
Devin Williams, VP of Sales at DataRobot, joins KD in this edition of the Live Better Sell Better podcast. Emotional intelligence is thrown around as something that is related to soft skills. But is it something that can actually be taught, much like a hard skill?Devin defines the Emotional Quotient (EQ) or emotional intelligence and what it means for sales professionals. He talks about the connection between self-awareness and social awareness and how both essentially make our complexities as human beings.HIGHLIGHT QUOTESSelf-awareness can be scary because it involves self-inspection - Devin: "You can't get started on self-awareness until you're ready to take a hard look in the mirror and agree to go make some changes."What else can you do to improve social awareness? - Devin: "The more questions that you can ask in a genuine and authentic level of curiosity, the more your social awareness is going to improve. Because you've put in the effort and work to grow your self-awareness, you are now more able to see the world for what it really is."You can find out more about Devin in the links below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devinwilliamspfp/Non-Profit: https://www.peoplefirstprofessionals.org/Live Better. Sell Better. is sponsored by our proud partner:Rocket Reach | rocketreach.co

Mar 17, 2023 • 8min
A CONSTRAINT OR FREEDOM? Misconceptions vs Benefits of Having a Routine with Melissa Gaglione
Melissa Gaglione, a former AE at LivePerson and current AE at Deel, joins KD in this edition of the Live Better Sell Better podcast. Routines may appear to be restrictions, but in reality, they give you a framework so that the remainder of your day can be spent however you like.Melissa talks about how adapting in situations where you can't control your time has been essential to her success as a grade 1 teacher. Routines at work are wonderful, but salespeople need to be able to prioritize and complete duties during crucial periods of the day.She reveals what habits help her be happy and, by implication, improve herself when she shows up since for her, the periods before and after work are moments she can influence.HIGHLIGHT QUOTESHave a routine to build focus - Melissa: "Have a routine, and that's because routines allow people to actually focus on what's important to them, and when you focus on what's important, or if you just focus on something specific, that specific thing is going to grow."Routines help you to have more freedom, not a constraint - Melissa: "Having those routines literally allows you to have more freedom. It's not to constrain you. It's to allow you to have more fun and do more things and be around the people that you want to be around."You can find out more about Melissa in the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissagaglione/Deel: https://www.deel.com/Live Better. Sell Better. is sponsored by our proud partner:Rocket Reach | rocketreach.co

Mar 15, 2023 • 10min
Founder Mistakes: Know the Problem You Are Solving with Carol Malakasis
This Live Better Sell Better Podcast episode throws back to our conversation with Carol Malakasis, former Managing Partner and Head of Training at Rampd and current Envoy at Pavilion. Many founders have awesome ideas but fall short of realizing that a process to sell is fundamental to making a successful business. Carol drills down the top founder mistakes she has seen over the years and how many times it is the founder, not the product, that really matters in the end.HIGHLIGHT QUOTESBe strategic because building does NOT make them come - Carol: "The mistake that I see often is that there's this notion of people will come to me, so we need to go through that hump of no, no one's going to come, and now we're both on the same page that no one's going to come, let's talk about how you need to start thinking about your process."Make founders realize the problem they are solving - Carol: "Get them thinking, what problem am I solving? Who am I solving that problem for? Who are the different players in the space already doing what I'm doing right now? And how am I different or better? And that's when they're like, okay, got it. Because you need to be able to explain what you do to anyone."You can find out more about Carol in the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolmalakasis/Live Better. Sell Better. is sponsored by our proud partner:Rocket Reach | rocketreach.co
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