Sales Talk for CEOs

Lead generation is often ranked as one of the biggest challenges of growing a business. That’s why I invited expert Brian Carroll to the Sales Talk for CEOs podcast to discuss what CEOs should know about generating leads for complex sales. Brian is the founder of Markempa, an empathy-based marketing company, and the author of the bestselling book Lead Generation for the Complex Sale. In this episode, he shares expert advice and actionable strategies for CEOs to evaluate their current lead generation practices and make adjustments that will increase sales.In this interview, Brian diagnoses the problem of many marketing messages, and he encourages CEOs to see things differently by developing empathy and trying to understand the world of the customer. He shares many practical steps CEOs can take, including conducting customer journey interviews, keeping an eye on specific metrics, and employing strategies like empathetic listening and emotional leadership. This episode is for CEOs who want to improve lead generation by evaluating current methods and guiding their teams to adopt better practices. If this sounds like you, then listen in today! Highlights1:45 Diagnosing the problem with most marketing messages7:25 How to conduct customer journey interviews16:09 How to use empathy indexing to improve the customer experience21:53 Specific metrics CEOs should use to assess their sales team and processes30:25 Analyzing sales calls to improve strategy and training35:55 The value of empathetic listening44:24 Three questions to ask to improve your sales processes48:00 Using emotional leadership to empower your team Quote“We need to understand what’s the mind of our customer, what’s the heart of our customer, and what are the things that they really care about.” Connect with Brian Carroll in the links below:Website: https://www.markempa.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianjcarroll/ You can learn more about and connect with Alice Heiman in the links below:Website: https://AliceHeiman.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliceheiman/

Amy DuRoss is the co-founder and former CEO of Vineti, an enterprise software platform for personalized cell and gene therapies. Personalized medicine—designing custom therapeutics for each patient to cure diseases like cancer—is a whole new terrain in the pharmaceuticals industry. So, what’s it like to start and build a company in a brand new category? In this episode of Sales Talk for CEOs, Amy talks about what it takes to become a trailblazer in a new market, including the role of passion, storytelling, networking, and referrals. If you’re a CEO entering a new market (or innovating in an old one!), you’ll want to listen in.During the episode, Amy talks about how Vineti got its start with one customer who took a chance on the company because they shared the same passion and vision. Next, she explains the role of storytelling in acquiring additional customers and the importance of networking to build a pipeline. Finally, Amy and I discuss making complex sales more customer-focused and the customer success team’s role in growing trust and reference-ability. Listen to Amy’s advice and take some of her tips to become a trailblazer in your own industry! Highlights2:28 Seeing the gaps in the medical market7:52 How to sell a business in a new category13:08 Forming powerful partnerships18:21 Crafting a story that carries itself  25:40 Customer-focused complex sales38:45 Increasing reference-ability46:18 A continuous learning mindset Quote“It’s genuinely felt in the marketplace—that our team is committed, and we’re out there working day and night, united by this shared mission, culture, and values.” Connect with Amy DuRoss in the links below:Website: https://vineti.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-duross-695b743/ You can learn more about and connect with Alice Heiman in the links below:Website: https://AliceHeiman.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliceheiman/

Account-based marketing is one of the hottest growth strategies right now (note: it's not new, just hot), with companies in all industries looking to create a personalized buying experience for targeted accounts. If you're a CEO who wants to unleash the power of account-based marketing in your own business, you'll want to listen to this episode of the Sales Talk for CEOs podcast. My guest, Blake Williams, is the founder and CEO of Ampfactor, an account-based marketing that teaches companies to do this, but all of his business has come from referrals. Find out how he grew sales and how he serves his customer.In our discussion, we talk about account-based marketing from two standpoints. First, you'll learn how account-based marketing can help you focus on specific prospective clients in order to build relationships that lead to a sale. Next, you'll discover how account-based marketing can help you expand opportunities with your current clients and increase your revenue potential. If you're interested in account-based marketing (or you're doing it but want to up your game!), then this episode is a must-listen. Check it out below! Highlights:1:14 The importance of an account-based focus for complex sales6:54 Leveraging relationships and referrals11:25 Outbound marketing to build relationships17:17 Growing your sales organization25:04 Winning hearts and minds with account-based marketing33:12 Are your salespeople developing coaches?40:03 Call to CEOs: Challenge your thinking and align your strategies    Quote“The goal is to win hearts and minds, get them to engage, and start creating targeted content.” Connect with Blake Williams in the links below:Website: https://ampfactor.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/blakewilliamsmba/ You can learn more about and connect with Alice Heiman in the links below:Website: https://AliceHeiman.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliceheiman/

Darren Dixon is the founder and CEO of Fyxify, a software platform for the home services industry that connects consumers and contractors. He describes Fyxify as "the most energy-efficient software in the world" because the company's vision is to address the problem of global warming by equipping homeowners and service providers with the information they need to handle home maintenance in an energy-efficient way. This vision permeates everything they do at Fyxify, from sales to hiring to customer experience. If you are a CEO who wants to build your company around a strong vision, you will want to tune into this Sales Talk for CEOs episode to learn about how Fyxify is standing out in this area, and how you can too. In this episode, Darren discusses the CEO's role in sales as being the person in charge of the company's vision. He explains how the CEO needs to communicate this vision clearly and consistently to the sales team and check their understanding by "inspecting what you expect" instead of assuming. Darren and I also discuss the importance of creating a reputation (online and offline) that reflects your vision and values, and we touch on how you can attract the right people to your business when your mission permeates the workplace too. This episode is for CEOs who want to get more strategic with their company vision and use it to drive sales, hiring, operations, and the customer experience. Listen in now! Highlights0:50 The mission of Fyxify: addressing global warming4:59 Understanding the target market15:26 The CEO in the sales role18:54 Taking charge of the vision23:00 The importance of repetition28:09 Everyone is watching…always32:07 When vision and mission permeate the workplace35:14 The marketing battlefront today: customer experience Quote"My job in sales transitions into a role in which I am making sure that the vision of our organization stays very, very clear to the people who are in charge of communicating it. That's the challenge that organizations have as they grow." Connect with Darren Dixon in the links below:Website: https://fyxify.pro/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darren-dixon-663b4511 You can learn more about and connect with Alice Heiman in the links below:Website: https://AliceHeiman.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliceheiman/

Brent Keltner is the founder and President of Winalytics LLC, a go-to-market and revenue acceleration consultancy. His upcoming book, The Revenue Acceleration Playbook, teaches CEOs and go-to-market teams the importance of having authentic conversations with potential buyers. In this episode of the Sales Talk for CEOs podcast, we dive into the topic of authentic conversations: what they are, how to spot them, and how they differentiate your business. The episode will leave CEOs contemplating what authentic conversations with their customers look like and how to build and train a sales team that can have these conversations.We cover all aspects of having authentic conversations with buyers during our discussion. You’ll learn how to find out if your team is currently having authentic conversations, how authentic conversations can lead to better discovery calls and more sales, and how to hire salespeople with an aptitude for having authentic conversations. If you’re looking to differentiate yourself from the competition, having authentic conversations is the way to do it. Listen in to learn more! Highlights1:27 Authentic buyer conversations9:50 Outbound and inbound marketing for lead generation10:56 The importance of referrals (and how to get more!)15:20 Better discovery calls: shifting from shallow discovery to value discovery18:44 Hiring the right salespeople for authentic conversations23:24 The importance of playbooks in marketing, prospecting, and selling31:30 Saying goodbye to product pitching and traditional selling33:51 Authenticity wins Quote“We talk about the work we do as building an authentic buyer journey and having authentic conversations, which means simply, don’t talk about your product until you know how it will make your customer more successful, and then talk about your product aligning to what their goals are for a better future.” Connect with Brent Keltner in the links below:Website: https://winalytics.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bkeltner/The Revenue Acceleration Playbook: https://winalytics.com/our-book/ You can learn more about and connect with Alice Heiman in the links below:Website: https://AliceHeiman.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliceheiman/

Voice of the customer research is more than just sending out a customer survey or asking for a review. It involves conducting strategic interviews, often handled by a third party, to get targeted insights for your business. Every CEO should be looking at voice of the customer research, which is why I invited expert Tonya Bjurstrom, founder of Dirby Group, a voice of the customer research company, to join me for this episode of Sales Talk for CEOs. In it, we discuss everything that CEOs need to know to get started with voice of the customer research.In this episode, you’ll learn what voice of the customer research is, its benefits, and how you can use the information for customer retention and growth. Tonya also shares examples that demonstrate the power of voice of the customer research—when you learn how it’s worked for other companies, you’ll want to try it in your business too. Finally, we discuss how to structure your interviews using KDIs, and how to know when it’s time to employ voice of the customer research in your business. This episode has everything CEOs need to know to get started with voice of the customer research. Dive in now!  Highlights:2:47 Customer listening: the missing element6:45 Using voice of the customer research for retention and growth7:16 Why you should use a third party to get voice of the customer data11:00 The key benefit of voice of the customer research13:29 Voice of the customer example 1: saving a big client19:00 Voice of the customer example 2: avoiding a bad investment27:22 Identifying KDIs – key desired insights30:12 Knowing when to conduct voice of the customer research Quote:“Who better to help you understand why companies should buy your product than companies who bought your product?” Connect with Tonya Bjurstrom in the links below:Website: https://www.dirbysolutions.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonyabjurstrom/ You can learn more about and connect with Alice Heiman in the links below:Website: https://AliceHeiman.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliceheiman/

Leeatt Rothschild is the CEO of Packed with Purpose, a specialty corporate gifting company that sources from minority-owned companies with superior products that make a social impact. Social mission affects everything at Packed with Purpose—from how they market and package products to the people they hire. In fact, Leeatt has worked hard to build a mission-aligned sales team, which has greatly contributed to the company's success. The truth is, every CEO needs to think about creating a mission-aligned sales team. That's why you'll want to listen to this episode of Sales Talk for CEOs to learn how Leeatt does it.In this episode, you'll learn how Leeatt has taken the value of 'social mission' and woven it into every aspect of sales and marketing in her company. We discuss finding mission-aligned sales team members and why this is so important for growing your business and reaching sales goals. We also talk about the art of active listening and how you can use the words and stories of customers to improve every area of your marketing, including your website, emails, sales scripts, and brochures. Whatever your specific company values are, this episode will give you ideas on how you can weave them into your sales and marketing too. Listen in now! Highlights1:28 Finding a unique place in the market8:04 Becoming obsessed with an idea13:00 "If I don't take this idea to market, someone else will."19:50 Seeing sales as helping28:43 The scrappiest market research: listening to your customers34:44 Hiring people that are mission-aligned40:45 Making it easier to be your customer (and harder to be your competitor)   Quote"As the CEO, I need to be at the 10,000 foot view, but I also need to get on the ground because on the ground is where you get all the insights.” Connect with Leeatt Rothschild in the links below:Website: https://packedwithpurpose.gifts/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leeatt-pwp/ You can learn more about and connect with Alice Heiman in the links below:Website: https://AliceHeiman.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliceheiman/

Torrance Hart is CEO of Teak and Twine, a corporate gifting company that works with sales, marketing, and HR teams to use strategic gifting to accomplish goals. Once Torrance embraced her role as sales leader, there was no turning back. She now loves her work leading sales and credits her involvement in the sales process as one of the primary reasons for the rapid growth of Teak and Twine. Her story is a great example of what owning your role as sales leader can do for your business!In this episode, you’ll learn a little about Torrance’s company and how you might use strategic gifting to achieve your own business goals. You’ll also find out how Torrance leads her sales team by focusing on ‘worktopia’ and collaboration. In addition, we discuss our favorite sales and entrepreneur-based podcasts and some hot business topics like EOS and account-based marketing. Listen in now! Highlights1:05 Strategic gifting for sales, marketing, and HR7:07 Virtual gifting to build engagement12:35 A big project inspires a big pivot  17:02 An important realization25:00 Creating “worktopia”28:08 Maintaining a collaborative atmosphere32:17 EOS and finding an ‘integrator’38:08 Account-based marketing Quote“What keeps me motivated is bringing a fresh perspective and new ideas to the team each day." Connect with Torrance Hart in the links below:Website: https://www.teakandtwine.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/torrance-hart-7a1764188/ You can learn more about and connect with Alice Heiman in the links below:Website: https://AliceHeiman.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliceheiman/

The startup industry is littered with failed businesses that didn’t reach the five-year mark. It’s a shame because there are a lot of great products, ideas, and services out there that never make it because these early-stage startups don’t get the help that they need. That’s why I’m excited to welcome my guest for this episode of Sales Talk for CEOs: Craig Zingerline, CEO and founder of Growth University. Growth University delivers on-demand training programs geared toward early-stage startups to give them the information they need to make better decisions and grow their startups faster.In this interview, Craig shares advice for some of the common problems that startups face, such as choosing the wrong marketing channels and not understanding potential buyers. He also discusses some of the success strategies that Growth University uses, including details about their customer acquisition strategies and how he protects his time by disqualifying potential buyers who aren’t a good fit. If you are a startup CEO, this is a must-listen episode! Highlights2:04 Helping startups succeed9:54 Choosing the wrong marketing channel12:23 Not understanding your potential buyers16:10 Gathering data through curious conversations27:07 Refining your product from beta-version feedback34:34 Four customer acquisition strategies42:23 The importance of qualifying the potential buyer45:34 Disqualification how-tos Quote“Every founder needs to get the tooling in place so they can understand where each customer is coming into the buying process. The key is to know where your business is coming from. Which lead source is producing the best results.” Connect with Craig Zingerline in the links below:Website: https://growthuniversity.io/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigzingerline/ You can learn more about and connect with Alice Heiman in the links below.Website: https://AliceHeiman.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliceheiman/ 

According to Orrin, the three stages of business growth are as follows:Stage 1: You’re scrappy and entrepreneurial with a ‘let’s just get it done’ kind of attitude. As for sales, you do most of the work yourself.Stage 2: ‘Let’s get some kind of management in here!’ becomes your mission. You start to grow your sales team and add people in layers into the organization. You may even start to get some investors.Stage 3: The 3 p’s are in place: people, process, and product. Backed by a good board and investors, and with trusted sales, marketing and customer success managers in place, you are free to become a future-oriented, strategy-focused leader.Having made it to Stage 3, Orrin takes a look back at the journey that got him there, sharing advice for each stage and the kind of things he wished he knew along the way. No matter which of the stages of business growth you are currently in, you are sure to gain new insight that will help you reach your next milestone. Highlights10:20 – Building relationships to land big customers14:14 – The 3 stages of business growth18:32 – Stage 1: The scrappy entrepreneur23:43 – Stage 2: Learning to delegate31:24 – Setting yourself up for success in Stage 335:52 – How to know you’ve made it to Stage 338:22 – What’s coming in the future Quote“When you have a well functioning team it frees leadership to focus on the vision and where the business is going.” Connect with Orrin Broberg in the links below:Website: https://www.gomodus.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/obroberg/ You can learn more about and connect with Alice Heiman in the links below:Website: https://AliceHeiman.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliceheiman/