Sales Talk for CEOs

Hiring high-performing teams is no easy feat for CEOs, but when it comes to sales teams, the stakes are exponentially higher. Achieving your organization's business objectives hinges on building and scaling a successful sales force that drives predictable revenue growth.But what do you do when sales are stagnant and results fall short of expectations? It's time to examine how we, as CEOs, have supported the growth of our sales teams.In a value-packed conversation with Lori Richardson, a renowned sales strategy expert and founder of Score More Sales, we dive into the crucial factors that contribute to building peak performing sales teams.Lori emphasized the utmost importance of hiring the right people, empowering effective sales leaders, and providing ongoing coaching and support.Discover how you can revolutionize your sales teams and supercharge your business success with these insights from a true sales guru.Chapters04:30 Challenges with traditional sales training and accountability08:37 Importance of hiring the right salespeople and coaching them09:45 Discussion on the need for training on hiring and assessing candidates11:27 Importance of setting up a customized assessment for each sales role13:29 Critique of using personality assessments for hiring salespeople17:09 Importance of setting clear criteria and avoiding excessive requirements24:09 Discussion on the concept of "culture add" in hiring29:58 Importance of expanding networks and connections for diversity hiring32:08 Tips for making job postings more appealing to diverse candidates35:30 Importance of sticking to the hiring process and not deviating40:00 Importance of assessing existing sales teams and leaders45:24 Importance of developing a strong sales team for company valuationAbout GuestLori Richardson is the CEO, Speaker, and Founder of Score More Sales, a consultancy she established in 2002 to assist companies in boosting their revenues through strategic sales endeavors. Her expertise stems from over two decades of experience in B2B sales and leadership roles. With a commendable career in tech sales under her belt, Lori envisioned Score More Sales to be a beacon for leaders of mid-sized businesses, guiding them in hiring competent sellers and appraising their incumbent sales teams. As of 2022, the company marked its 20th year, symbolizing two decades of dedicated service in the realm of sales consultancy. Apart from her role as the head of Score More Sales, Lori has made significant contributions to the sales domain as an author. She penned "She Sells," a book that serves as a manual for company and sales leaders to effectively discover, enlist, and retain sales talent.Social Links You can learn more about and connect with Lori Richardson in the links below.Connect with Lori on LinkedIn:(99+) Lori Richardson | LinkedInCheck out Score More Sales website:ScoreMoreSales - More of What Works, NowYou can learn more about and connect with Alice Heiman in the links below.Connect with Alice on LinkedIn:(99+) Alice Heiman | LinkedInCheck out Alice’s website:Alice Heiman - Alice Heiman

Connection is everything. When your marketing message resonates with your customers, selling becomes easier, retention becomes easier, and your customers become powerful evangelists who market and sell for you. To achieve this, you have to find the right words that make your customers lean in. You have to create marketing that is music to your buyer’s ears.In this episode of the Sales Talk for CEOs podcast, my guest Kate Bradley Chernis shares advice on how to do just that. A former live radio DJ, Kate is now the CEO of Lately, a software that uses artificial intelligence to learn the voice of brands and create writing models based on the words, key phrases, and sentence structure that will get the highest engagement. Kate has used Lately technology to get a 98 percent sales conversion rate with the company’s organic messages, and she is sharing tips for creating marketing that connects to customers in this podcast episode.As Kate explains, the problem with a lot of marketing is that marketers are trying to find ‘the right words that sell.’ “The objective isn’t actually a sale,” says Kate. “The objective is first to engage. Get to the next step. Get the reaction. Get them to lean in. Get that long play going.”In this interview, Kate discusses the importance of making a connection as you start conversations with potential customers via marketing. Using the neuroscience of music, she explains how marketing messages should be crafted to offer familiar ‘touch points’ that cue nostalgia, memory, and emotion. This, in turn, builds trust, which is the basis for customer acquisition and loyalty. Sound interesting? Then listen in to learn how you too can create marketing that is music to your buyer’s ears. Highlights2:37 The rollercoaster of the CEO8:27 Getting specific about your ideal customer17:58 Why the objective of your marketing isn’t a sale21:17 Believing in yourself (and not the naysayers)28:26 Creating two-way street marketing30:33 Making music to your buyer’s ears39:00 Creating a seller-free experience QuoteThe objective isn’t actually a sale. The objective is first to engage. Get to the next step. Get the reaction. Get them to lean in. Get that long play going.” Connect with Kate Bradley Chernis in the links below:Website: https://www.lately.ai/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katebradley/ You can learn more about and connect with Alice Heiman in the links below:Website: https://AliceHeiman.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliceheiman/

From youngest CEO on the Nasdaq to an industry he never dreamed he’d be in. You’ll want to dive into this exclusive interview with CEO Michael Katz, founder of mParticle, with a mission to unify and organize customer data, unlocking its untapped potential.mParticle  was born from Michael’s triumph at Interclick, where data-driven approaches led to business success. Recognizing the growing significance of mobile and the complexity of customer data, he seized the opportunity to create a platform that could rise to these challenges.Because Michael didn’t know sales his strategy took a unique approach and one that I often recommend for the early days. He was very choosy about who he invited to the table to invest. It wasn’t just money he was looking for, he found people who cared about his success as much as he did. By leveraging his network of investors, his lead generation was all through introductions. That became a force multiplier for him. Starting with founder-led sales and being very successful because of the introductions from his investors, he soon saw the need for more salespeople but not really knowing sales he shares how he hired his first great seller. Michael soon hired a sales leader and looking back, what he realizes is that he waited too long to bring in sales enablement. Another game changer for his sales growth was collaborating with partners as they played a pivotal role in building trust and influencing decision-makers.Michael Katz is the thoughtful, purpose driven, gritty type of CEO I’d want to work for. He shares a wealth of knowledge so I’ll stop here and let you listen to learn the rest. Chapters00:53 Michael Katz discusses how mParticle manages customer data to increase sales.03:22 Michael Katz shares his background and the founding of mParticle.05:40 mParticle was founded to solve the technical challenges of mobile app data.09:00 Michael Katz utilized his network to make introductions and generate leads.11:49 Hiring multiple salespeople with different backgrounds to benchmark their performance.18:28 Fine-tuning the sales organization and aligning the different functions.26:45 Building a sales organization with regional coverage and vertical specialization.32:52 Sales is a system that requires constant fine-tuning and alignment.41:26 The sales organization includes account executives, sales management, solutions engineering, and sales enablement.About GuestMichael Katz is the CEO and Co-Founder of mParticle, a leading technology company specializing in data infrastructure for the mobile and web industries. With a proven track record of innovation and leadership, Michael has played a pivotal role in guiding mParticle to become a prominent player in the data management landscape.As the CEO, Michael Katz oversees the strategic direction of the company, fosters key partnerships, and spearheads efforts to deliver cutting-edge solutions to clients worldwide. With a passion for harnessing the power of data, he has helped mParticle establish itself as a vital platform for businesses seeking to optimize their data collection, integration, and activation processes.Drawing upon his extensive experience in the technology sector, Michael's visionary leadership has been instrumental in driving mParticle's growth and success. Under his guidance, the company has achieved significant milestones and earned a reputation for its exceptional data solutions and commitment to customer success.Social Links You can learn more about and connect with Michael Katz in the links below.Connect with Michael on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelskatz/Check out mParticle's website: https://www.mParticle.com/You can learn more about and connect with Alice Heiman in the links below.Connect with Alice on LinkedIn: 

The CEO's role in sales is vital to the growth and success of any company. But many are unclear on what that role should be. In this episode, Alice outlines clearly 3 roles the CEO needs to consider.The CEOs role with existing customers and prospects The CEOs role as an evangelist The CEOs role on social media Alice starts by talking about the role with existing customers. Typically, the CEO only gets involved when there is a problem. By focusing on building strong relationships with the customer’s CEO or other high-level leaders and being proactive you have a greater opportunity to ensure things go well. She suggests writing notes of thanks, holding events, and making videos. She notes that you can’t do this for all customers and that the sales leader and team should prepare a list showing where your efforts will have the most benefit. She talks about the importance of the CEOs role with prospects. It’s much less likely to see a CEO getting involved with prospects but Alice reminds us that no one can bring confidence to a deal the way a CEO can. There will be times when the CEO should be positioned with the most senior-level people to provide their vision and insight as it relates to what the customer is trying to accomplish. Next, she mentions the role of evangelist, it is one Alice knows some CEOs are reluctant to take. By sharing your thought leadership, industry insights and talking about your great company you can create a draw that will make you the chief lead generator. She recommends appearing on podcasts, speaking at conferences, appearing on a panel, moderating a panel, or holding a webinar. The third role is the CEOs role on social media. She insists that utilizing social media, particularly LinkedIn, allows you to expand your reach and connect with stakeholders in your industry in a way that drives demand. Being present on social media will help you build your brand and your company's brand.As CEO, Alice recognizes the amount and variety of work you have to do and recommends outsourcing or delegating the things that others could do better to free you up to take the role in sales you need to take and work more on things that energize rather than drain you and are truly in your genius zone.Chapters00:59 Importance of CEO's role in sales03:03 CEO's role with existing customers04:15 CEO's role with prospects08:50 CEO's role as an evangelist10:39 Ways to evangelize, podcasts, conferences, webinars, videos14:49 Importance of CEO's presence on LinkedIn17:36 Outsourcing social media management20:01 Connecting and interacting with customers and prospects on LinkedIn23:05 Conclusion and gratitude for two years of podcastingAbout your hostAs Chief Sales Energizer, Alice is internationally known for her expertise in elevating sales to increase valuation for companies with a B2B sale that have exceptional growth potential. Spending her time strategizing with CEOs, company leaders and their sales leadership to build the strategies that find new business and grow existing accounts is her passion.  Her clients love her spirit and the way she energizes their sales organization. Alice also serves on the board of several growing companies to energize and elevate their sales. When she is not guiding CEOs to elevate their sales, she can be found hanging out with her family, walking, snow skiing, sailing in Lake Tahoe, volunteering in the community, or reading a book in her backyard. You can learn more about and connect with Alice Heiman in the links below.Connect with Alice on LinkedInCheck out Alice’s website

Are you a CEO perplexed by your company's stagnant sales? The solution may lie within your own actions.According to the insightful Larry Mandelberg, renowned author of "Businesses Don't Fail, They Commit Suicide," CEOs often become detached from the sales process and unknowingly hinder their team.The consequences of this disconnect are substantial, forcing CEOs to look at things differently and shift their attention from driving revenue to providing unparalleled value to their customers.Larry's extensive experience has revealed that by making this shift, CEOs can cultivate satisfied customers who will, in turn, refer others and propel business growth.However, this change in focus necessitates a shift in mindset and a willingness to prioritize customer needs above short-term gains.Additionally, Larry emphasized the importance of having a clear purpose and its profound impact on revenue. Understanding the value the organization delivers, who it is delivered to, and how it is delivered is paramount in establishing a thriving enterprise.Chapters02:25 CEOs may be undermining sales by not focusing on delivering value07:01 The role of the CEO in sales culture09:45 CEOs stepping on toes in sales process13:08 Guidelines for bringing the CEO into sales calls24:23 CEOs should always ask questions and play stupid28:17 The need for Sales, Accounting, and Finance to sit down and reimagine the way payments are made31:21 The CEO's responsibility in making sure different areas of the organization are communicating and looking for ways to make each other's jobs easier35:30 Practical advice for CEOs, including interdepartmental conversations and scheduling them based on the sales cycle43:31 Inviting customers to visit the office to gain empathy for the work done48:14 The importance of clarity in speaking to a specific market and revisiting the mission statement frequentlyAbout GuestLarry Mandelberg is a consultant, speaker and author with “more than 150 years of combined business experience.” A natural problem solver, Larry represents the 5th generation of his family’s business. He started working at a young age where he learned from his father before and after school. Larry is an effective catalyst for change who has solved intractable problems and achieved new levels of efficiency and success for businesses in multiple industries. A prolific writer, Larry has published more than 80 columns. His first book, Businesses Don’t Fail, They Commit Suicide is scheduled for release in early 2018. A sought-after speaker, he has delivered more than 60 business-changing keynotes and workshops.Social Links You can learn more about and connect with Larry Mandelberg in the links below.Connect with Larry on LinkedIn: (47) Larry Mandelberg | LinkedInCheck out Larry's website: Mandelberg.biz | Harness, Focus, GrowCheck out Larry's book:https://www.amazon.com/Businesses-Dont-Fail-Commit-Suicide/dp/1662438214You can learn more about and connect with Alice Heiman in the links below:Connect with Alice on LinkedIn: (47) Alice Heiman | LinkedInCheck out Alice’s website: https://aliceheiman.com/

Being a first-time female entrepreneur in a male dominated space is no easy feat, and Tracy Young's journey starting a tech company in the construction industry is truly inspiring. She co-founded PlanGrid after recognizing the inefficiencies of paper blueprints and digitized them with tablet-friendly software that streamlined construction processes. Tracy's innovative solution caught fire and drove massive organic growth for PlanGrid. As the company expanded and shifted to enterprise sales, Tracy's team developed strategic and empathetic approaches to address diverse customer needs. She also built a strong sales team, learning from experienced reps and empowering her employees. Ultimately, Autodesk acquired PlanGrid, validating both Tracy's and PlanGrid's value. Building on her success, Tracy launched TigerEye to help sales teams optimize their strategies and unlock their full potential. Tracy's story showcases the incredible achievements of women entrepreneurs in male-dominated industries, and how game changing innovation can happen anywhere in your organization. Chapters02:44 Tracy Young explains the problem PlanGrid solved in the construction industry   06:14 Tracy Young and her co-founders quit their jobs to work on PlanGrid full-time   08:21 PlanGrid starts selling to friends and receives positive feedback   10:41 PlanGrid's user base grows through word-of-mouth and virality   16:31 PlanGrid transitions to selling to enterprise customers   19:58 Challenges of selling to enterprise customers and expanding product offerings   22:18 Tracy Young discusses the importance of understanding the needs of different decision-makers   33:00 Autodesk acquires PlanGrid   38:06 Tracy Young and her husband co-found TigerEye   45:23 Tracy Young shares where to find TigerEye and connect with her  About GuestTracy Young is the co-founder of TigerEye, a software company that helps sales leaders track and predict the future performance of their sales teams. She was also the co-founder and CEO of PlanGrid, a construction software company that was acquired by Autodesk. Tracy has been recognized as one of Forbes' Top 50 Women in Tech and a Top 50 SaaS CEO by the SaaS Report.About CompanyTigerEye is a software company that helps sales leaders track and predict the future performance of their sales teams. Social Links You can learn more about and connect with Tracy Young in the links below.Connect with Tracy on LinkedIn: (99+) Tracy Young | LinkedInCheck out TigerEye's website: TigerEye — AboutYou can learn more about and connect with Alice Heiman in the links below.Connect with Alice on LinkedIn: (99+) Alice Heiman | LinkedInCheck out Alice’s website: Alice Heiman - Alice Heiman

If CEO, Julian Lumpkin, learned one thing from his sales career it was to follow what the most successful sellers were doing and do that. It paid off.Before starting SuccessKit, he learned to use case studies to sell and realized that his company didn’t have a way to produce these. All of the successful salespeople had collected these stories, memorized them and used them over and over. Knowing that all salespeople need case studies throughout the sales cycle, SuccessKit was born. Julian quickly realized that knowing how to sell did not equip him to run a company and successfully scale sales at the same time, so he needed an easy way to get his first customers and he used his network, did an outstanding job and built his sales on referrals. Recently, he realized that the referrals he was getting weren’t going to power his growth to meet his goals so he added another way for customers to find him and started a series of highly successful online events where he trains salespeople on how to use case studies. Julian is still working on the barriers to increasing sales, so listen to what he has done, including launching a new product line, one that his customers really needed. Chapters02:54 Importance of customer success04:23 Authentic language from clients10:50 Developing case studies and using inexpensive paid advertising to get leads15:37 Importance of having a formal referral strategy in place16:07 The importance of collecting and organizing case studies19:56 Organizing case studies by significant challenges and important problems20:59 Building and owning a library of case studies23:23 Best practices for using case studies in the sales process24:28 Importance of understanding prospect's unique concerns and priorities33:18 Hiring salespeople without a good process for inbound and outbound leads38:48 Tips for getting started on creating case studiesAbout GuestJulian has been in the sales world for over 14 years. He started his career in tech sales, moved to management, and then founded SuccessKit in 2016. He serves as the point person for new clients, ensuring that each project is initiated, executed smoothly, and delivered on time. With a strong passion for entrepreneurship, Julian has established himself as a key figure in the business world. His leadership and expertise have led to the founding of SuccessKit, where he plays a crucial role in bringing on new clients, ensuring their success, and overseeing project management.Julian's entrepreneurial journey is fueled by his commitment to delivering exceptional results and his ability to foster strong client relationships. Through SuccessKit, he has created a platform that provides clients with the tools and support they need to thrive in their respective industries. Julian's dedication to client success has earned him a reputation for excellence, and he continues to make a significant impact in the business community.About CompanySuccess Kit is a B2B company that creates case studies and customer success stories in written and video formats to help salespeople provide relevant examples of customer success during the sales process. The company encourages its clients to read and categorize their case studies appropriately based on verticals, personas, and the most significant challenges solved. According to SuccessKit, the best case studies start with a problem and build a story arc using Joseph Campbell's story arc to create a good story that people can lean into and recognize themselves.Social Links You can learn more about and connect with Julian Lumpkin in the links below.Connect with Julian on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julian-lumpkin-b845aa15/Check out SuccussKit’s website: 

Can you imagine saying goodbye to confusing spreadsheets and emails that track partner relationships and sales?Imagine the possibility of your team instantly identifying sales opportunities in your partners' networks? Cassandra Gholston, CEO of PartnerTap,  joined me on the podcast to share her journey building a data sharing application that allows companies to leverage the strengths of their partners and expand their reach into new markets. She also shares how she overcame startup challenges in implementation and marketing and built a thriving revenue team.Cassandra recounted those early days saying, "We started to understand the difference between mercenary sales and missionary sales. And this was missionary sales."Chapters05:36 Referral selling is important.22:29 CEOs can train sales teams to properly prepare and bring them in at the right time for customers or prospects.23:03 CEOs should be involved in sales to show they care about their customers.24:44 Cassandra started Fempire to bring powerful women together and promote women leaders.28:06 Outdated sales strategies like cold calling and spamming on LinkedIn are not effective.31:29 CEOs can feel like they're on an island by themselves, but the podcast and networking can help.33:47 Co-selling is a big deal, and every company is looking to do it.34:44 Customer success is important for high user adoption and making customers successful.35:46 Ongoing customer success is necessary for customer renewals and growth.39:48 Tenured customer success teams are important for success in a down market.About Guest Cassandra is a customer and partner-obsessed CEO who has been driving revenue with and for partners her whole career.As an enterprise software sales rep, she knew her secret to success was working with partners. Helping partners get into new accounts, leveraging her relationships to accelerate partner deals, and sharing insights helped her build a web of trusted partnerships around her accounts. This approach propelled her to the #1 enterprise sales rep spot three years in a row.At the height of her enterprise sales career, and with two young kids at home, Cassandra had an epiphany for a new software product that would help every B2B sales rep save time, sell more, and crush their quota with partners. She quit her job, co-founded PartnerTap, and built the industry’s first ecosystem sales platform. Today PartnerTap is the leading partner ecosystem platform empowering channel, partner and sales teams at HPE, Lumen, Genesys, ADP and SAP Concur to share data and co-sell with partners.About CompanyPartner Tap is a data sharing application that allows secure sharing of CRM data between companies, automating account mapping and pipeline sharing. The platform helps companies identify new logos to target and where they have existing customers or inroads. The company works with all large CRMs and even some smaller ones, and has been successful, working with some of the largest companies such as HP, ADP, and SAP.Social Linkshttps://partnertap.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/cassandragholston/Fempire | We’re on a mission to activate and grow women’s power at every level of society. (fempireecosystem.com)You can learn more about and connect with Alice Heiman in the links below.Website: https://AliceHeiman.comConnect with Alice on LinkedIn

What if you could keep your customers for years and continue to grow with them? What if everyone in your company was responsible for customer retention? What if everyone in your company sold?When a culture of caring permeates your company everyone takes responsibility for the customer’s success and helps to solve for customers so they buy - sales. If the answer to every question about building a successful sales team came back to the process of delivering successful outcomes for customers, how would that change your company?. Adam Miller recounts his 30 year journey at Elevate building an organization where every team member takes responsibility for the success of the customer and everyone sells. Chapters:00:00 Sales is Solving Problems 08:06 Scaling Sales 14:160 Sales Skills are Teachable 15:11 Hybrid Selling and Hiring Remote Sellers 19:38 Retaining Talent 22:54 Hunters, Account Managers and Customer Success 27:31 Measuring Customer Success and Corporate Courage 32:40 Selling is a Team Sport 34:56 Adapting to Self Service Buyer BehaviourAbout Our Guest:The ELEVATE Group - Chief Executive Officer ELEVATE Capital - Private Equity Investor Bahamas Air Sea Rescue - Northern Bahamas - President An innovator and a visionary, Adam has offered cutting edge scalable solutions for the world’s most prestigious forward-thinking companies for over 25 years. Earning a reputation with an insatiable appetite for building things, he is the Founder and Chief Executive of The ELEVATE Group, the strategic & tactical partner to ambitious leaders looking to drive business success. As a private equity investor and adventurer at heart, Adam consistently pushes boundaries and seeks opportunity to meet the needs of rapidly changing industries. Sales. Marketing. Data. Breakthrough Business Strategies. He never strays away from a challenge. Analytical in his approach to breaking down complex processes, Adam is a leader who believes in constant self-improvement, giving back, and helping those around him succeed. Outside of his passion for delivering tangible results, this Airplane & Helicopter Pilot/Sailor leads the Bahamas Air Sea Rescue’s growth and has an active role as SARDO (Search & Rescue Duty Officer) as well Airwing Rescue Captain. Social links:https://www.linkedin.com/in/millerjadam/https://thinkelevate.com​​You can learn more about and connect with Alice Heiman in the links below.Website: https://AliceHeiman.comConnect with Alice on LinkedIn

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is here to stay. Will your sales organization utilize it or will they be left behind?AI is having a big impact on B2B sales by empowering salespeople to focus on what they do best: building meaningful relationships with their prospects. But wait, don't worry about AI replacing human sales reps! Usman Sheikh, Founder and CEO of xiQ, a Silicon Valley-based AI-powered SaaS platform explains how AI can be a game-changer for sales leaders who embrace it as a tool to gain a competitive advantage.In this podcast, we dive into the cutting-edge applications of generative AI in B2B sales, including how to create hyper-personalized emails and communication that resonate with your target audience.If you want to stay ahead of the curve in this rapidly evolving landscape, you won't want to miss this must-watch interview.Chapters:00:00 Introduction to AI and ChatGPT 06:05 Combining ChatGPT With Up To Date Data Sources 10:26 How Sellers Can Use ChatGPT 18:42 The Role of AI in the Shift From Lead Quantity to Quality 24:08 Techniques To Make Your Sellers More Productive28:58 Understanding How To Write Effect Prompts 35:48 What CEOs Need To Know & Do About AI44: 50 Using AI Along The Entire Lifecycle Of The Customer47:40 How To Live With AI About Our Guest:Usman Sheikh is the Founder and CEO of Silicon Valley-based xiQ, Inc. a next-generation, AI-powered, SaaS platform for B2B sales and marketing. Prior to founding xiQ Inc, Usman served as Vice President with SAP, SE, where he held leadership positions in Product Management, Sales Enablement, and Digital Commerce globally. He left SAP to pursue his passion for developing next-generation technologies using AI at the intersection of B2B Sales and Marketing.About xiQ:xiQ Inc. is a Personality-driven Sales and Marketing Platform™ that combines neuroscience, psychology, and AI to understand the buyers’ mindset. xiQ reinvigorates b2b sales and marketing by doubling down on industry-leading personality and behavioral science to provide broader, deeper, and more actionable insights. Companies using xiQ are able to increase their sales win rates by 4x, increase client engagement by 10x and realize ROI within weeks.xiQ Inc. won the award for ‘Best Use of Martech for Demand Generation’ in 2022, was recognized as a Leader in ‘G2 Enterprise ABM Category’, and was named a ‘Cool Vendor for Marketing Technology’ by Gartner. Social links:LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/usmanmsheikh/Website: https://www.xiqinc.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/xiqincYou can learn more about and connect with Alice Heiman in the links below.Website: https://AliceHeiman.comConnect with Alice on LinkedIn