Word-of-mouth has long fueled the success of countless companies, big and small. But over the past several years, through the rise of the digital age, word-of-mouth has evolved into something with unlimited potential — something known as dark social. Now, a recommendation (or negative feedback) can reach millions with a single click of a ‘share’ button.On this episode of Winning the Challenger Sale, we speak with Chris Walker, CEO of Refine Labs, who, as a pioneer of dark social, explains just how far a single share can go. Modern buyers want to make their own decisions and look for recommendations from trusted sources — we dive into just how you can leverage that to maximize your reach and growth.Join us as we discuss:How dark social’s scale far outweighs word-of-mouthThe undeniable value of product-led growthSegmenting and executing your sales process based on buyer intent

Social selling is the key to engaging with your buyers before they’re interested in talking to sales, before they’re even in the market for your solution. But what’s the key to successful social selling? Authenticity.Forget the “algorithm hacks.” Forget engagement for engagement’s sake. Showing up as your authentic self on social is what truly matters because that’s what will help you cut through the noise and form meaningful connections with your audience, and ultimately, your buyers.When you approach social media with authenticity and add value to each conversation, you can generate an affinity that will bring people back to your thought leadership again and again.This week on the Winning The Challenger Sale podcast, our guest is someone who excels at building connections and creating repeating engagement on social media. We’re joined by Sam McKenna, the Founder of #samsales Consulting, who discusses how today’s social media platforms are the next great avenues of prospecting in sales and marketing.Join as we discuss:The importance of authenticity when building your brand and presence on social mediaUsing content to teach people something and avoiding engagement for engagement’s sakeHow to be part of the conversation—either in the comments or in dark social channelsSocial selling as the key to engaging your buyers before they engage with salesBe sure to check out Sam’s previous appearance on Winning The Challenger Sale!

Buying and selling have always been social activities.Except nowadays, most of that socializing happens digitally and in virtual networking spaces.What we’ve learned through the rise of social media platforms is that there’s a right way to approach your presence on social that will help you form real connections and have meaningful conversations with buyers. And our guest on the Winning The Challenger Sale podcast this week gives us the foundational elements of that “right way” to enable you to be successful at social selling.In this episode, Suzanne Muchin, Co-Founder of Bonfire Women, drops some knowledge about selling yourself and your ideas on social media in ways that are authentic and relatable and help you cut through the noise to reach your desired audience.Join as we discuss:How to spice up your “About” section of your social media profilesOwning your unique voice and getting over the discomfort of promoting yourself on socialUsing social media to test new ideas and messages, then learning from the responseNew ways of thinking around the content you post on LinkedIn

Sales and marketing have perhaps the most well-known tension since cats and dogs—only, it’s far more important that they get along.Short of couples therapy or family counseling (which will make more sense once you listen to the episode), how do you cut the tension between these teams and create a symbiotic relationship leading to stronger sales messaging that consistently wins over buyersIn this episode, we’re speaking with Michael Schaumberger, who is both a Principal Executive Advisor and the Global Lead for Insights and Messaging at Challenger, heshares the secrets to bringing your sales and marketing teams together to build an insight-led selling approach.We discuss:Marketing’s role developing a sales narrativeThe misconceptions both teams have about one another’s roles in the sales processThe rise of sales enablement and how it’s helping to bridge the sales and marketing divideRemember to rate the podcast on your favorite podcast platform!

Too often, sales, marketing and customer success exist in silos—and it’s stifling progress.When all three forces align, businesses thrive and customers get what they actually want and need. When they don’t, it’s easy for business to get “stuck.”On this episode of the Winning The Challenger Sale podcast, we’re joined by Margaret Mueller, Board Director, President, and CEO at The Executives'​ Club of Chicago, who reminds us of a commonly underutilized tactic for unlocking business potential: utilizing sales for customer insight and innovation.With sales on the frontlines and marketing the compelling force behind engagement, both can benefit immensely from sharing data and gaining symbiosis, especially in turbulent times such as an acquisition, brand consolidation, or uncertain economic conditions.Join us as we discuss:Learnings from what can go wrong in pursuit of alignmentBreaking down departmental silos with an enterprise-wide mindsetHunting for insight to inspire innovation with your frontline, customer-facing teams

With your car, bad tire alignment causes uneven tire wear, diminishing suspension quality, and steering problems that could cause an accident.The same goes for bad sales and marketing alignment—metaphorically, at least.All too often, commercial leaders ignore when two of their most important wheels—sales and marketing—veer off in completely opposite directions. Different goals. Different metrics. Little to no communication. And the longer they go without a wheel alignment, the costlier that misalignment becomes.In this episode, we’re speaking with a world-class “mechanic” when it comes to sales and marketing alignment. Jon Perera, Chief Marketing Officer at Highspot, joins the show to share his secrets for getting sales and marketing working better together.We discuss:Achieving alignment across the “four wheels of the car”—sales, marketing, enablement, and customer successHow common goals, “open and real” communications, consistent execution, and a shared narrative lead to better sales and marketing partnershipThe importance of coaching to realize behavior change at scaleWays to ensure marketing content is actually useful to sales

Sales success is built on understanding others.If you don’t know your buyers, you’re going to struggle to make the sale. If you can’t put yourself in the shoes of your colleagues in marketing, it’s going to be impossible to align. And if you can’t create a culture of inclusivity on your sales team, you miss out on a range of diverse perspectives that would strengthen your business.In this episode, we speak with Lori Richardson, CEO and Founder of Score More Sales, about her career-long advocacy for inclusivity in sales and what she has learned about building a more empathetic and understanding sales team.We discuss:Why understanding your buyer is the key to differentiating yourself and beating the competitionHow sales and marketing can better understand one another and work towards shared goalsWhat sales leaders need to understand about fostering a culture of inclusivityYou can order Lori’s book “She Sells: Attract, Promote, and Retain Great Women in B2B Sales” here! Be sure to rate and review the podcast on your favorite podcast platform!

Will there be a recession this year? It seems not even economists can agree, but regardless of how likely it is, the simple fact that it’s possible is brewing uncertainty. So what’s a seller to do?Here to help answer that question is the latest episode of “Winning the Challenger Sale,” where host Andee Harris, CEO of Challenger, is joined by Tim Kocher, Director of Business Development at West Monroe Partners, for a discussion on how to navigate economic uncertainty in a way that actually drives sales growth and captures market share.Tim shares his wisdom from selling and leading sales teams through four recessionary periods and drops a serious truth bomb… Sellers can’t be as successful solely relying on technology and virtual selling. He also highlights two areas of focus: account-based growth and engaging Mobilizers in your deals.Tim and Andee close it out by exploring how the sales universe is changing and the potential impact of generative AI on marketing and sales in the future.Join as we discuss:How to sell amidst uncertainty and why you need to play offense even during difficult market conditionsUnexpected yet simple ways to differentiate post-pandemicBehaviors that high-performing sellers are using to navigate this economyWhat’s in the crystal ball for the sales universe in the next five yearsBe sure to rate and review the podcast on your favorite podcast platform!

The theme for this month on Winning the Challenger Sale is Selling When No One is Buying. WTCS Host Andee Harris, CEO of Challenger, is joined by Shannon Poole, CFO at Challenger, to discuss the roles CFOs play in executive deals, how they protect a business from negative impacts, and the skillsets a CFO needs to make financial decisions. She also talks about cost of inaction (COI) vs return on investment (ROI), which is more critical to business growth. Shannon offers guidance to salespeople who do most of their business via an organization and the best practices for CFOs. Tune in to learn more about selling when no one is buying.

The theme for this month on Winning the Challenger Sale is Selling When No One is Buying. WTCS Host, Andee Harris, CEO of Challenger, is joined by Paul Stansik, Operating Partner at ParkerGale Capital, to discuss the sales executives' role and the pressures they face to increase sales during slow periods of business, and the skills they need to succeed in today's competitive sales environment. They further discuss how to improve customer retention in a business and win over investors. Tune in to learn more about selling when no one is buying.