The Engaged Prospect Podcast: Recent Episodes
Dan Hersh
Engaged Prospect's Dan Hersh discusses everything involved in growing your business or personal brand. This includes interviews and high level discussions with experts on topics such as sales training, conferences, company culture, entrepreneurship, customer experience and all things growth.
Dan digs deep, asks tough questions, and gets into high value discussions. Don't expect just another short clip to promote someone's new book or training program without adding true value.
In this episode, Dan Hersh speaks with Preston Smith, CEO of Rocketship Public Schools. Preston launched Rocketship in 2006 to provide learning opportunities to students who otherwise wouldn't have the opportunity to receive a great education. In the past 15 years, Rocketship Public Schools has grown significantly. An organization that was once housed in a single church building, Rocketship now has over 10,000 students across multiple states.
During their conversation, Preston shares with Dan his thoughts on:
- The current K-12 landscape in the United States
- How innovation, leadership, and technology affects education
- An entrepreneurs mindset: building a legacy and doing your "life's work"
- How to evolve and pivot your business to address customer (student) needs, impact the community, and grow to achieve goals at scale
To learn more about Preston, or Rocketship Public Schools, please find him on LinkedIn or visit
www.rocketshipschools.org/
Most business owners want to increase their company's value. Whether it's to make more money, gain more resources to expand their business, or plan an effective "next step" in their careers, it's important for business owners to have a thoughtful plan for the future.
Laurie Barkman, CEO of SmallDotBig, joins us to discuss her experience helping business owners increase their business values. Laurie brings more than a quarter century of executive leadership experience into her work, and she shares a ton of wisdom (not to mention numerous examples and the many frameworks she uses to help clients) in this episode focused on helping business leaders grow their companies and identify areas of improvement.
Laurie shares with Dan the concept of the hub and spoke, and also the owners trap. Two business challenges that can dramatically limit success by creating a bottleneck surrounding the owners time and abilities. Laurie shares numerous examples of these concepts, and details out ways to break from the traditional model of "owner does everything".
This episode is fantastic for experienced and new business owners alike. Laurie brings a ton of experience, passion, and personality to her work. To learn more about Laurie and her company, SmallDotBig, please connect with her on LinkedIn, or visit her website.
In this episode of the Engaged Prospect Podcast, Dan Hersh interviews Ian Moyse, EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) Sales Director for Natterbox. With decades of leading business units, Ian also has extensive experience with executive coaching, speaking, blogging, and social marketing.
In this episode, Ian shares with us how personal branding, online image, and reputation can make (or break) a salesperson's career. Ian explains how the customer's perception of our online presence is the most important thing in business today.
Among Ian's many great recommendations, he suggests:
- Engage with other people's content online. The more you interact with theirs, the more they'll interact with yours.
- Do research before you call a potential customer. Know who they are, and why you're calling them.
- Be authentic online and in person. Buyers will see this, and will respond well.
To connect with Ian, visit his LinkedIn page.
Carole Mahoney, founder of Unbound Growth, helps organizations grow. Carole takes cognitive behavior to help salespeople, managers, and entrepreneurs unlock their true potential, bringing a new level of professionalism and respect to the sales profession.
Carole sits down with Dan Hersh to share success stories of her work. In this discussion, she shares the difference between successful and failed sales efforts. She shares with us how mindset and small changes in psychology can help:
- salespeople close larger deals
- sales managers hire better and retain talent longer
- entrepreneurs grow bigger partnerships
Carole brings great insight into the selling profession. Her mixture of science and art is impressive, and her stories help build a framework for how we can all increase success in our roles.
To learn more about Carole and her work, please visit her website.
Matt Heinz has been a thought leader in the marketing industry for years. His business, Heinz Marketing, helps clients generate growth and accelerate the buyer's journey.
Matt shares with us the importance of storytelling. He knows the importance of asking the right questions and helping prospects through the process. During this podcast episode, Matt does an excellent job of sharing:
- how to engage prospects (no pun intended) and become a value add for their organization
- how to find the opportunity to share the right story with your buyers
- how to create more predictable sales growth and capture more market share
Matt's organization creates excellent content that helps companies of all size understand the importance of having an excellent content and marketing strategy. To learn more about his business and the expertise he brings, please visit his website.
In this episode (one segment from a longer discussion), Dan Hersh and Kim Orlesky discuss challenges that entrepreneurs face when trying to grow a brand. Kim, an author, speaker, trainer, and entrepreneur herself, shares insight she's learned over the years.
Kim shares:
- What to do when you're unsure of your service or product offering (something all entrepreneurs face, even when it's unexpected)
- How to use curiosity to learn from a new market. Inquire - don't sell
- How to be continue to scale as time goes on and how to grow while maintaining the focus of a startup
- Put "closing" aside and focus on finding people who have challenges that you can solve
For more information about Kim and her business, please visit her website
In this episode of the EP Podcast, Dan sits down with Deb Calvert to discuss a wide array of sales strategies, philosophies, and values. Deb is President and founder of People First Productivity Solutions.
In addition to her work with People First, Deb is also a speaker, trainer, and author. She's written "Discover Questions Get you Connected: for professional sellers" and "Stop Selling and Start Leading: How to make extraordinary sales happen".
In this podcast episode, Deb dives deep into many important topics within the sales and leadership disciplines. Some of these highlights include:
- Questions create value and a shared experience between seller and buyer
- Questions can quickly change rapport
- Sellers want to meet a need. Buyers want to have a need fulfilled
- A buyer is always qualifying a salesperson, even if they don't realize it
- Value is personal. Talk about things that mean something to the buyer
- Leadership is a critical skill in sales
To learn more about Deb, please visit her website.
In this episode of the EP Podcast, Dan Hersh sits down with David Priemer. David is an author, sales trainer, consultant, and keynote speaker. As the founder of Cerebral Selling, David spends a lot of time working within the sales discipline teaching people to understand the buyer's journey and to "Sell the Way You Buy".
During the episode, they get into a variety of examples of how to increase sales and provide better service to your customers.
Among many other valuable tips, David details for us:
- How to get yourself into the mindset of the buyer
- How to do homework to make sure you understand your prospect before contacting them
- How to differentiate yourself from the MANY other salespeople in your space
To learn more about David's company, please visit his site or look for "Sell the Way You Buy: A Modern Approach to Sales That Actually Works (Even on You!)" at Amazon or Barnes & Noble.
In this episode of the EP Podcast, Dan has the great fortune of sitting down with Roque Versace, Chief Revenue Officer at Troops.
Roque's experience, education, and background is very unique. His expertise is apparent from the very beginning of this episode, and his advice to entrepreneurs looking to scale is extremely valuable.
Roque shares with Dan a few major pieces of value, including (but not limited to):
- How to find pre-market fit, generate pipeline, and formulate a strong strategy for inbound and outbound prospecting
- How to create messaging in your own words to create value for your customers, and how to understand the personality and needs of those customers
- How to accelerate funding by leveraging data and understanding of your market fit
This episode gets right into it from the very beginning. Roque's intellect and passion shines through.
To learn more about Roque and learn more through his thought leadership, please find him on LinkedIn here.
In this episode, Dan Hersh sits down with Melissa Madian to discuss sales enablement, a discipline within sales and marketing that helps create a positive customer journey and buyer experience.
Melissa is founder and President of TMM Enablement Services, working with organizations around the world to help them define how buyers interact with their brands. In this episode, Melissa and Dan discuss:
- How to create a uniform process
- The importance of hiring based on sales process and strategies
- How to onboard sales teams
- What the buyer experience is, and how to influence product/service perception
Melissa and Dan also play a fast paced game discussing pros and cons of modern technologies to support sales enablement.
To meet Melissa, visit her website or find her on LinkedIn.
In this episode, Liz Simpson (known as the LinkedIn Chick) sits down with Dan Hersh to discuss social media, prospecting on LinkedIn, and leveraging digital strategies to grow pipeline. Liz is the founder of Stimulyst, a digital strategies company. She provides corporate workshops, keynote speeches, and excellent strategies to help businesses grow.
Liz brings energy, enthusiasm, and in-depth knowledge of B2B social media selling to generate new business. In this podcast, Liz shares with us:
- How to build relationship driven sales strategies
- How to generate a consistent revenue
- Understanding your buyer. Like, really understanding your buyer
- How to overcome the trust issue in sales
- The top mistakes people make when using LinkedIn to prospect
To learn more about Liz, she surprisingly recommends LinkedIn as a way to connect. Find her here.
Side note: the editor of our podcast files (a recent college graduate with a 'sales' major) completed this work and shared, "Dude, all of these episodes are awesome, but that Liz Simpson episode was incredible... Her energy and excitement reinforced why I studied sales!
In this episode, presentation skills expert Patricia Fripp sits down with Dan Hersh to share with us how to have important conversations, they key to questioning, and how to utilize your communication skills to engage and connect with customers.
Patricia is a Hall of Fame keynote speaker, executive coach, and presentation skills expert. She's the author or co-author of five books, and was named one of the top 25 women in sales.
To learn more about Patricia and her coaching, training, and speaking opportunities, please visit her website.
It's the typical story... from a transformational entrepreneur. In this episode of the EP Podcast, Jennie Johnson, Co-Founder and CEO of Retirement Atlas sits down with Dan Hersh to share how she's taken an idea and turned it into a success story for entrepreneurs everywhere.
Listen here to find out how Jennie and her partner Kim came up with the idea to revolutionize the exhausting process of searching for a senior community for your loved ones, or yourself.
This story has all the components of what a first time entrepreneur goes through. Jennie saw the challenges in the market, knew how to solve those challenges, assembled a team with complimentary skill sets, and began the journey to building a sustainable and NEEDED company.
Jennie shares:
- How the idea came about, and what she's doing with it
- Learning about an industry you're not familiar with, and becoming an expert
- How to grow your company when you're not a sales expert
- How to work with a co-founder and how to love what you do
To learn more about Jennie, Retirement Atlas, and the senior communities they serve, visit their site here.
No matter what you make or sell, regardless of the industry you're in, it's critical in today's business landscape that you see your company as your customer sees it.
In this episode of the Engaged Prospect Podcast, Dan Hersh sits down with Jeff Tobe, customer experience expert, author, and international keynote speaker.
Jeff shares with us how to better understand the customer experience (CX), how CX is different than customer service, and he shares awesome stories about how companies like Southwest Airlines, Disney, Harley Davidson, and Apple approach this discipline.
In this episode, Dan sits down with Phil M. Jones, author of "Exactly What to Say: The Magic Words for Influence and Impact", as well as several other terrific books including "Exactly Where to Start" and "Exactly How to Sell".
In this conversation, Phil shares with us how to simplify the complicated in sales. Phil's message is instantly applicable and it's clear how he helps his readers, audiences, and clients choose the right words, tone, and message each time. In "Exactly What to Say", Phil makes sure his readers are able to quickly make adjustments to communicate more clearly, powerfully, and positively.
Sales technology always improves. It helps us keep track of opportunities, stay in front of potential buyers, and make informed decisions about what's working, and what's not.
How has the modern sales world been influenced by advances in technology? And, what has COVID done to further the need for advanced tech and new strategies?
This podcast episode (2 of a 5 part series) will discuss how companies need to review their technology and processes to make sure they're up-to-date on all the current strategies for communicating with buyers.
Want to be a better salesperson? Have a product or service you want to grow, but aren't sure how? Do you ever miss quota? Does your team ever not achieve their goals?
Most sales blogs, podcasts, and training sessions focus on "what to do"... But in this podcast episode, we take a different approach. Michael Wicks, author of "How Not to Sell: Why you cannot close the deal and how to fix it", shares with us how to close more opportunities.
Michael shares his three fundamentals:
- Only sell to those that need and want what you provide
- Sell to people who have the power to make a decision
- Sell to people who have the financial ability to buy what you're selling
During this discussion, Michael and Dan also discuss:
- Michael's book!
- Get out of your own way
- How to qualify buyers and find more of them
- Having confidence in sales
- Making your prospects and customers laugh
- Telling stories in business (and in books)!
Maura Schreier-Fleming sits down with Dan Hersh to discuss all things sales. In this episode, Maura dives deep into the how-tos of:
- developing a strategic process for selling
- how to leverage customer testimonials
- executing on sales goals
- leveraging questioning strategies
Maura's background in sales is extensive. After years of successful technical sales in the oil industry (top 5 in the United States at Chevron...), Maura launched Best@Selling, an organization dedicated to helping sales professionals find success. Maura is a nationally recognized speaker, trainer, and consultant who has helped companies and their sales teams achieve desired results.
To learn more about Maura, her work, or her company, please visit www.bestatselling.com/.
In this episode of the EP Podcast, Dan Hersh meets with Mark "The Sales" Hunter to discuss his incredibly successful live sales conference, Outbound. They discuss the evolution of the event and how it's taken the sales training, leadership, and consulting worlds by storm. People travel from all over the world to learn from Mark and his fantastic speakers.
In addition to leading this incredible conference, Mark has also contributed to thought leadership in the sales industry by authoring "High Profit Selling", "High Profit Prospecting", and recently, "A Mind for Sales".
Dan and Mark discuss:
- The Outbound sales conference
- COVID-19
- Phone outreach
- Social media
- Sales mindset and how to sell with integrity and confidence
To learn more about Mark visit his website. You can find “High Profit Selling”, “High Profit Prospecting”, and “A Mind for Sales.” on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or on his website.
The sales process has been changing for the last several decades. Technology helps sellers reach more potential buyers. Buyers have the ability to use an online search tool to find the answer to any question they might have. They can now research products and services before ever engaging with a sales person.
In many cases, companies have had to adapt their outreach and selling strategies to customize their approach to the way people buy.
- What are the best processes to follow to continuously build new opportunities in your pipeline?
- How do you generate new business, while also closing and onboarding new customers?
- Oh, and... how do you do all of this given the COVID-19 pandemic that disrupted almost all businesses across the world?
This podcast episode (1 of a 5 part series) will discuss how companies need to look at their process to make sure they're attracting customers given the current landscape we're in.
In this episode, Colleen Francis, author of "Right on the Money", "Honesty Sells", and "Non-stop Sales Boom", discusses the state of the sales industry with Dan Hersh. During this discussion, they share insights on COVID-19, and Colleen dives deep into where the sales industry is going, what to expect, and how to prepare to continue growing your organization.
From Dan, "Interviewing Colleen was very special to me. I first met Colleen about 10 years ago. She was integral in helping my former organization achieve massive growth results. I've worked with her at national sales conferences, on virtual training calls, and even went to Miami to work with her and some of her other clients. Colleen's understanding of the sales process and the strategies required to achieve growth goals is unsurpassed. She is a true pro, and one heck of a great speaker. Colleen's approach to speaking and writing builds immediate credibility and those who are in her audience get a chance to become better sales people instantly."
To learn more about Colleen and her services, please visit her website and also make sure to read at least one of her books. Trust us, you'll pick-up the other two shortly after.
- "Nonstop Sales Boom: Powerful Strategies to Drive Consistent Growth Year After Year"
- "Honesty Sells: How to Make More Money and Increase Business Profits"
- "Right on the Money" - due out soon!
Kendra Lee, founder of KLA Group and award winning author of "The Sales Magnet: How to Get More Customers Without Cold Calling", and "Selling Against the Goal: How Corporate Sales Professionals Generate the Leads They Need" joins Dan Hersh to discuss prospecting, generating new leads, and converting new customers.
Kendra discusses lessons she's learned over decades of experience working with some of the most prestigious companies in the world.
Kenyetta Gordon, author of Command Your Presence: A guide to effective sales communication online and offline and founder of Create the Brand, sits down with Dan Hersh to discuss:
- Your personal brand
- Authenticity in sales
- Starting a brand
- Confidence
Kenyetta discusses how she helps her clients become great sales consultants, not just sales people. This mindset leads to bigger sales, better relationships, and more customer happiness (and referrals).
In this episode, Dan Hersh sits down with Amy Franko, award winning author of "The Modern Seller" and dynamic speaker and strategic sales leader. Amy shares with us these five traits, and discusses how each of them can help us become better professionals and higher performing salespeople. These traits, or dimensions as Amy calls them, are developed as sellers to become:
- Agile
- Entrepreneurial
- Holistic
- Social
- Ambassador
By Dan Hersh: For this podcast episode, I had the great fortune to speak with Trish Bertuzzi, founder of the The Bridge Group and author of "The Sales Development Playbook: Build Repeatable Pipeline and Accelerate Growth with Inside Sales".
Unbeknownst to Trish, her award winning book has been the new hire gift of choice for Engaged Prospect over the years. I've personally purchased and shared a copy with many of our new hire classes as they began their sales careers at EP. Trish simply lays out how to think like, act like, and perform like a top achieving sales development representative, and I've always felt her knowledge of the space is top-notch.
This podcast interview was special to me, and we get right into the world of sales development from the very beginning.
In this episode, Trish and I discuss:
- What's changed in sales over the years
- How to get more "at bats"
- Managing remote reps
- Hiring right
- Having a playbook
Kevin Davis, president of TopLine Leadership and author of "The Sales Manager's Guide to Greatness: 10 Essential Strategies for Leading Your Team to the Top", sits down with Dan Hersh to discuss sales management and the key strategies for effective sales leadership.
During this episode, Kevin discusses the importance of quality coaching, and how sales managers need to better support their teams. Kevin uses examples from his book, and from decades of leadership to share with us how effective managers lead.
- Selling vs. Coaching
- Practical coaching behaviors
- Time management for sales leaders
- The need to act... now
To learn more about Kevin and his business, please visit www.toplineleadership.com and also pick up a copy of his book on Amazon, Audible, or any leading bookstore.
In this episode, Deborah and Dan discuss the importance of public awareness and community involvement in the sales process. Public relations as a practice helps support a company's growth efforts and Deborah shares examples of how her work builds awareness and generates opportunities for her clients. Additionally, she explains how public relations can support a company's marketing efforts by providing an unbiased, third party account of the value that company can bring to its customers.
Dan Hersh and Maddi Love discuss how companies can survive the COVID-19 pandemic and how sales organizations should pivot and think creatively to maintain growth momentum.
Dan and Ryan sit down to discuss the impacts of prospecting and messaging during COVID-19, and beyond. Ryan shares his thoughts on how to find success during such difficult times for sales people, and he dives deep into the impact he feels we'll see post-pandemic.
In this episode, Dan Hersh and Jeff Bajorek discuss sales as a profession, detailing how Jeff began as a salesperson, and what drives him to be successful. They discuss mindset and how to be successful in prospecting, in sales, and in business.
During this episode, Dan H and Dan W discuss how top companies implement services and provide true value to their clients. They talk about how to improve every day, make an impact on the world, and win. Dan Waldschmidt brings a level of passion and energy that's inspiring, and his focus on success is unrivaled.
During this episode, Dan and Brian discuss the difference between branding and selling. They talk about how to develop vision, keep an open mind as an entrepreneur, and talk about developing a positive mindset and surrounding yourself with great people.
Dan and CJ discuss how entrepreneurship has evolved over the years, and where it is headed in the future. Through CJ’s experience, he has witnessed how entrepreneurs have evolved over time. He and Dan discuss marketing, how to become prominent in your space, and the social impact of startups.
In this episode, Dan Hersh and Don Cooper discuss the early days (recorded on 3/18/2020) of COVID-19, and expectations of how the role of sales will change during this crisis. Don advocates for providing excellent value, understanding your customer, and doing whatever it takes to prove the relationship you sold them when you partnered together. Don shares insights on how to do sales right. And, he brings an excellent understanding of the customer relationship and how to help them achieve their goals.
In this episode, Dan Hersh interviews Jason Bay, co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer of Blissful Prospecting. They discuss the importance of multi-channel prospecting, being buyer-centric, and how to customize the prospecting experience. They even role play as they deliver excellent ideas for the modern prospecting profession.
In this episode, Dan Hersh interviews Larry Levine, author of "Selling from the Heart". They discuss how salespeople benefit from being vulnerable, building authentic relationships, and being honest and open with clients.
In this episode segment (produced from a longer interview), Dan Hersh sits down with Andrea Waltz, co-author of "Go for No!". They discuss the role of content in the sales process, and how Andrea views her strategy to engage new clients.
In this episode, Dan Hersh interviews Bob Burg, co-author of "The Go-Giver". They discuss several things including his best-selling book, how to be a "go-getter", how to bring value to other people through the sales process, the role curiosity plays in sales, and how to approach the sales process by making your prospect's life easier.
In this episode, Dan Hersh interviews Andrea Waltz, co-author of "Go for No!". They discuss several things including her best-selling book, developing a winning content strategy, how to overcome call reluctance, segmenting prospecting lists and call goals, and what salespeople should do when they don't get a no or yes.
In this episode segment (produced from a longer interview), Dan Hersh sits down with Dan Altieri, Sales Development Director at Ivalua. They discuss the role of sales development and how SDRs should properly vet career opportunities.
In this episode segment (produced from a longer interview), Dan Hersh sits down with Dan Altieri, Sales Development Director at Ivalua. They discuss the role of sales development and how to attract and motivate the right candidate.
In this episode segment (produced from a longer interview), Dan Hersh sits down with Dan Altieri, Sales Development Director at Ivalua. They discuss the role of sales development and key strategies for driving new business for organizations.
In this episode, Dan Hersh interviews Dan Altieri, Sales Development Director at Ivalua. They discuss sales development, key strategies, how to find the right sales development candidates, and also what a sales development candidate should consider when finding the right organization to work for.
This episode dives into the experience Dan has while moderating a sales panel with other industry experts at Carnegie Mellon University's Schwartz Center for Entrepreneurship.
In this week’s episode, we talk with Engaged Prospect Vice President Sam Stein about how to prepare for a conference. We’ll discuss pre-conference needs, what to do during a conference, and how to follow up after.