The Audible-Ready Sales Podcast: Recent Episodes
Force Management
The Audible-Ready Sales Podcast is a weekly show featuring B2B sales leaders and revenue-driving executives, who share their best insights on how a focus on sales effectiveness can help companies increase revenue, improve sales margins and gain market share. It’s presented by Force Management, a leader in building company alignment and equipping sales teams with the ability to execute growth strategies at the point of sale.We’ll cover topics like: Sales Leadership, Sales Transformation, Sales Initiative Results, Sales performance, Adoption and Reinforcement, making quota, high-tech sales, enterprise sales, and so much more.
As the year winds down, many sales professionals hear the dreaded phrase: “Not right now.” But what does that really mean? Is it truly a timing issue, or something deeper? In this episode, Rachel Clapp Miller sits down with Antonella O’Day to unpack the real reasons behind this common objection and share actionable strategies to keep deals warm without being pushy.
Antonella explains why “not right now” often signals more than just budget freezes and timing challenges. She outlines four key scenarios that could be at play—from lack of urgency to missing internal consensus—and offers practical questions to diagnose the situation. Plus, learn how to maintain momentum, deliver value during delays, and use cadence as a powerful lever to build trust and stay top of mind.If you’ve ever wondered how to turn a polite “no” into a future “yes,” this episode is packed with insights you can put into practice today.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:* Why “not right now” is rarely just about timing * Four common scenarios behind the objection * Diagnostic questions to uncover the real reason * How to keep relationships warm without selling * The role of cadence in building trust and credibility * Tactical tips for delivering value during delays
Key Takeaways:* Treat delays as a window to build relationships, not as dead ends. * Deliver value without asking for anything in return—become a trusted resource. * Use intentional, varied touchpoints to stay relevant without being annoying. * Ask candid questions to save time and preserve relationships.
As the year winds down and Q4 ramps up, sales professionals face the pressure of closing strong. In this episode, Rachel sits down with John Boney to discuss how sellers can maintain focus, prioritize effectively, and execute with clarity and discipline during the final stretch of the year.Whether you're managing stretch deals, navigating procurement hurdles, or trying to re-engage quiet accounts, this episode offers practical advice to help you finish the year with momentum—and set the stage for a successful Q1.
Key Takeaways:* Intentional Urgency: Learn how to drive urgency without sounding pushy by aligning with customer outcomes rather than internal sales timelines. * Pipeline Segmentation: Break down your deals into three buckets—winnable, stretch, and next-year opportunities—to focus your efforts where they matter most. * Avoid Common Pitfalls: Discover the top mistakes reps make in Q4, including leading with discounts and ignoring procurement/legal timelines. * Reactivating Quiet Accounts: Use proof points, industry insights, and respectful “breakup emails” to reignite stalled conversations. * Mutual Action Plans: Co-create timelines with buyers to ensure alignment and avoid last-minute surprises. * Leveraging Internal Stakeholders: Engage leaders and cross-functional partners early to help move strategic deals forward.
Resources Mentioned:* “Asking for Help” Podcast Episode
There’s as much differentiation in how you sell as in what you sell, and standing out as a sales rep requires you to exhibit those special characteristics uncommon amongst your peers. Establishing differentiation is a tricky task, however, so today John Kaplan teaches how to simplify the process with ideas enactable by a mindset of open-mindedness, empathy for the customer and their needs, and conviction in the importance of what you have to offer.
Here are some additional resources:* • Get MEDDICC Certified on Ascender! * • Solution Mapping to Create Strong Value Propositions | Ascender Course * • Preparing for and Engaging in Virtual Meetings | Ascender Course * • Making Sure the Customer Understands Your Differentiation | Ascender Video * • Rise Above the Noise | Ascender Video * • Overcoming Seller Deficit Disorder | Ascender Video * • Preparing for Sales Conversations | Ascender Video * • Tips for Active Listening | Podcast * • Articulating Value and Differentiation After the Sale | Podcast
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
There’s as much differentiation in how you sell as in what you sell, and standing out as a sales rep requires you to exhibit those special characteristics uncommon amongst your peers. Establishing differentiation is a tricky task, however, so today John Kaplan teaches how to simplify the process with ideas enactable by a mindset of open-mindedness, empathy for the customer and their needs, and conviction in the importance of what you have to offer.
Here are some additional resources:* Get MEDDICC Certified on Ascender! * Solution Mapping to Create Strong Value Propositions | Ascender Course * Preparing for and Engaging in Virtual Meetings | Ascender Course * Making Sure the Customer Understands Your Differentiation | Ascender Video * Rise Above the Noise | Ascender Video * Overcoming Seller Deficit Disorder | Ascender Video * Preparing for Sales Conversations | Ascender Video * Tips for Active Listening | Podcast * Articulating Value and Differentiation After the Sale | Podcast
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
As with all aspects of selling, sufficient preparation is a prerequisite to successful negotiation. In today’s episode, Tim Caito shares the key points of negotiation prep for reps to focus on. He discusses:
* Starting your negotiation process early.
* Recognizing and dealing with customer anchors, and laying anchors of your own.
* Establishing your give–get strategy.
* Providing the customer with multiple options.
Here are some additional resources:* Get MEDDICC Certified on Ascender! * Negotiation Foundation & Mindset | Ascender Course * Preparing for and Engaging in Virtual Meetings | Ascender Course * Plan to Make Your Plan | Ascender Course * Achieving a Collective Yes | Ascender Course * Key Ways to Prepare for Customer Anchors in Sales Negotiations | Ascender Article * Using Multiple Options in Your Sales Negotiations | Ascender Article * Preparing for Sales Conversations | Ascender Video * Navigating Anchors and Trades in Sales Negotiation | Podcast * Negotiating Value – Presenting Multiple Options | Podcast
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Whether you're the top rep looking for even greater heights or someone looking to improve, you need a plan for success. And, you need to put it in motion now.What is your plan to make your plan this year?
Force Management’s Co-Founder John Kaplan has been on all sides of this journey as a rep, sales leader, and top-tier trainer. He joins our Ascender team for a practical conversation on how to improve your sales execution right now. We'll cover how you can gather and analyze, plan and strategize, and then organize and execute your way to your best year yet.
We're giving away a one-hour coaching session with John to one attendee.
Sign up here: https://hubs.la/Q033B0m10
With the extensive attention from leadership directed toward the planning of sales kickoffs, the need to focus on what’s to follow too often gets lost. Today, John Kaplan joins Rachel for a discussion on the incumbency of managers leading SKOs to dispense the knowledge, skills and cultural spirit to spark enthusiasm and a drive for success amongst employees in attendance. In the process, he also insists upon the need for sales reps to have a gameplan, as he puts it, “after the hoopla” of the SKO.
Speaking of John Kaplan, you don’t want to miss our upcoming live Ascender Insights special, “The Plan to Make the Plan”, hosted by the man himself! Join us on January 23, 2025, from 10 to 11 AM Eastern Standard Time to hear John’s practical and time-tested advice on putting together a plan to improve your sales execution in no time.
And that’s not even the best part—get this: All quota-carrying reps and first-line managers who register for the discussion are automatically entered into a raffle to win a free, one-on-one coaching session with John! Sound good enough? Click here to register!
Here are some additional resources:
* Get MEDDICC Certified on Ascender!
* Plan to Make Your Plan | Ascender Course
* Get the Most Out of Your Next Sales Training | Ascender Article
* Three Ways Managers Can Drive Value-Based Selling Practices | Ascender Article
* How to Coach Value-Based Sales Messaging Aligned with C-Suite Priorities | Ascender Article
* Sales Managers: Test Your Reps’ Ability to Compete in Deals | Ascender Article
* How to Structure Effective Feedback to Your Sales Teams | Ascender Article
* Sales Managers: Your Four Critical Roles | Ascender Article
* Ten Questions to Help Sales Managers Give Better Feedback | Ascender Article
* Our Best Content on Decision Criteria | Ascender Article
* Asking for Help | Podcast
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
There often comes a point in deals when it’s best for all parties to go their separate ways. Today, Antonella O’Day joins Rachel to discuss the key indicators that you should walk away from a deal and how to do so tactfully. She talks about:* Evaluating whether or not you can be successful in solving the customer’s problems. * The number one reason why deals stall. * The importance of tangible Customer Verifiable Outcomes to indicate the customer’s interest throughout the deal. * Using the letters of MEDDICC to gauge your progress in a deal. * Walking away from a deal on terms that leave the door open for future engagements.
Here are some additional resources:* Get MEDDICC Certified on Ascender! * Lead Qualification | Ascender Course * Getting to the Economic Buyer | Ascender Course * Executing Your Discovery Strategy | Ascender Course * Uncovering Hidden Pain Points | Ascender Article * How to Convince Your Customer to Take Action in Your Sales Process | Ascender Article * Creating Urgency with Your Customer | Ascender Video * The Coat of Pain | Ascender Video
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Are you set up for success this year? Antonella O’Day walks through some key areas of focus as you come up with your own plan to make your plan this year. She covers ways to: * Analyze trends from the past year and the competitive landscape. * Set personal targets for 2025 based on data and personal experiences from 2024. * Identify ideal customers and new growth opportunities. * Reflect on past mistakes and successes to inform future strategies.
Upcoming Webinar: Join John Kaplan for a webinar on "The Plan to Make the Plan" on Thursday, January 23rd. One lucky attendee will win a one-on-one coaching session with John. Register now to secure your spot: https://forcemanagement.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_cb4xS0-zSjKA-eozmAA7RQ#/registration
Thank you for listening!
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Our own John Kaplan tells his own story of a time when he had to decide what it meant to be uncommon. It’s the story that brought the often-heard phrase, “Who’s doing this?!” that many of you have heard in our Command of the Message® training. This episode is meant to bring you some motivation and inspiration as you focus on this month, this quarter and this year.
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
A short word of thanks from the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast.
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
It’s crunch time as you work to get those last-minute deals in by the end of the year. In this short episode, John Kaplan gives you some words of advice as you finish strong.
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
As we approach the end of the year, it is time to reflect on what’s gone well and what can be improved going forward. An important part of your year-end reflection is evaluating whether or not you’re at the right place to apply your skills. Today, John Kaplan gives you the tools to assess if you’re at the right company and breaks it down to three key considerations: what, how and why you sell.
Here are some additional resources:
* Get MEDDICC Certified on Ascender!
* Essential Questions to Help You Become a Better Salesperson | Ascender Article
* The Currency of Value | Ascender Article
* Making Sure the Customer Understands Your Differentiation | Ascender Video
* Attaching to the Biggest Business Problem | Podcast
* Finding the Next Sales Job | Podcast
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Join John Kaplan this Thursday for a conversation on equipping new hires to ramp faster. He'll be joined by the Shift Group's JR Butler. They'll cover key ways you can improve that onboarding process. It's a great conversation for anyone who manages a team.
Register here: https://www.forcemanagement.com/know-your-people
Discovery can be a demanding process, and finding the right questions to ask requires intensive listening and thoughtful preparation. Fortunately, there are a few questions that are relevant to every deal and can help you get the ball rolling. These include:
* “Can you walk me through your current process?”
* “What’s working well in your current process?”
* “What struggles are you currently facing?”
In today’s episode, John Kaplan goes into detail about the standard questions to ask in every discovery process and explains how to use the answers to dig deeper and ignite a sense of urgency within the buyer.
Here are some additional resources:* Get MEDDICC Certified on Ascender! * Executing Your Discovery Strategy | Ascender Course * Deepen Your Discovery | Ascender Course * Key Questions to Ask in Your Sales Discovery Conversations | Ascender Article * Uncovering Hidden Pain Points | Ascender Article * How to Convince Your Customer to Take Action in Your Sales Process | Ascender Article * Creating Urgency with Your Customer | Ascender Video * The Coat of Pain | Ascender Video * Providing Value in Discovery | Podcast
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
The ultimate goal of every rep is to close deals, and in today’s episode, John Kaplan outlines the necessary steps for sellers to maximize their odds of landing the big one. He discusses:* Prioritizing pipeline generation. * Voracious qualification, the most critical factor for closing deals. * Aligning your value proposition with the priorities of the buying company. * Implicating the customer’s pain.
Here are some additional resources:* Get MEDDICC Certified on Ascender! * Plan to Make Your Plan | Ascender Course * How MEDDICC Helps You Sell Better | Ascender Article * Value Pyramids in Sales | Ascender Article * Uncovering Hidden Pain Points | Ascender Article * Our Best Content on Decision Criteria | Ascender Article * From Features to Value: Shifting Your Sales Approach to Close Larger Deals | Ascender Article * Reassess Your Pipeline Opportunities | Ascender Article * Building Your Pipeline | Ascender Video * Building a Rhythm Around Pipeline Generation | Podcast
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
In this episode, we cover one of our most popular topics among our listeners: metrics. And its popularity is well warranted, as it remains a major stumbling block for many reps. John Boney joins us to give pointers on leveraging metrics to strengthen deals while steering clear of the common pitfalls. He discusses:* The different types of metrics and what matters to whom. * Why reps tend to struggle with higher-level metrics. * Asking the right questions to align with the customer’s metrics. * Turning metrics into proof points.
Here are some additional resources:* Get MEDDICC Certified on Ascender! * Achieving a Collective Yes | Ascender Course * Executing Your Discovery Strategy | Ascender Course * Navigating the Political Landscape | Ascender Course * Ascender’s Best Content on Value-Based Selling | Ascender Article * How Big is the Pain: Identifying Pain with MEDDICC | Ascender Article * A Perspective on Metrics in MEDDICC | Ascender Video * Freezing Up With Metrics and PBOs | Podcast * Using Metrics Effectively in Your Sales Conversations | Podcast
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Have you checked out Ascender yet? Our online platform to help reps with the daily grind of sales.
Don't miss our upcoming events:
Webinar: Selling to Experienced Buyers with Antonella O'Day
- Register here: https://hubs.la/Q02XTCl_0
Visit the Ascender Platform: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/Explore
Check out Ascender's Community: https://community.ascender.co/
As we approach the end of 2024, many companies are in the process of setting their priorities for the new year. In today’s episode, John Kaplan talks about aligning your solution with the corporate priorities of your customers as opposed to simply a department. He discusses:
* The need to talk to those with access to discretionary funds.
* Understanding the problems that you solve and the implications of those problems.
* Questions that will reveal the initiatives the Economic Buyer prioritizes.
* Obtaining a comprehensive view of the buying organization and being able to traverse it fluidly.
* Advice on selling to the CFO.
Here are some additional resources:* Get MEDDICC Certified on Ascender! * Getting to the Economic Buyer | Ascender Course * How to Get Higher in Your Prospect’s Organization | Ascender Article * Engaging the CFO | Ascender Article * Our Best Content on Selling to the C-Suite | Ascender Article * Rise Above the Noise | Ascender Video * Selling to More Decision Makers | Force Management Article * Broadening Your Sales Conversations | Podcast * Ascender Insights: Selling to the CFO w/ Jim Kelliher
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Maintaining contact with accounts provides many benefits for an organization, and salespeople play a huge role in setting the foundation for a long-term relationship between two companies. Today, Brian Walsh draws on his wealth of experience to explain what reps must do to keep their organization tethered to accounts. Topics of discussion include:
* Having a mindset of long-term growth and lifetime value.
* Laying the necessary pre-sale groundwork to remain tethered to an account post-sale.
* Positioning yourself to be able to ask the buyer for access.
* Avoiding mistakes reps often make when trying to stay tethered to accounts.
* Additional strategies to stay in touch with customers.
Here are some additional resources:
* Get MEDDICC Certified on Ascender!
* Getting to the Economic Buyer | Ascender Course
* How to Add More Value to the Sales Process | Ascender Article
* Building Up Your Referral Business | Ascender Video
* Time to Value | Podcast
* What the Best Salespeople Do | Podcast
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Staying in control of a deal is all about qualification. Today, John Kaplan gives advice on being proactive, not reactive, in ensuring that the deal progresses in your favor and with urgency. He talks about:
* Being prepared for and adjusting to unforeseen changes.
* Dealing with the entrance of a new competitor.
* Qualifying proactively with MEDDICC.
* The importance of meeting the buyer where they are.
Here are some additional resources:* Get MEDDICC Certified on Ascender! * Validating Champions | Ascender Course * Adapt and Deliver: Positioning Value During Changes | Ascender Article * Our Best Content on Decision Criteria | Ascender Article * Being Audible-Ready to Change Tracks in Sales Conversations | Ascender Article * Key Steps for Qualifying Your Deals | Ascender Video * When Leadership Changes in Your Prospect Account | Podcast * Making MEDDICC Work for You as a Rep | Podcast
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
If you’re a seller, you already know that rejection is a way of life. Unfortunately, a negative mindset about rejection remains the barrier that prevents many salespeople from reaching their fullest potential. In this episode, John Kaplan explains how to handle rejection in a way that sets you up for success down the road. He discusses:
* Viewing rejection as a learning opportunity instead of a failure.
* Taking yourself out of it and becoming unoffendable.
* Leaving the door open for conversations down the road.
* The importance of resilience in sales.
Here are some additional resources:
* Get MEDDICC Certified on Ascender!
* Objection Handling | Ascender Course
* Training the Seller’s Brain for Positivity | Ascender Article
* Building Your Pipeline | Ascender Video
* Building a Rhythm Around Pipeline Generation | Podcast
* Roger Federer’s Commencement Address at Dartmouth
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Your customer may raise an objection at any point during the sales process, and there is an infinite number of objections a customer may propose. In this episode, Antonella O’Day discusses the mindset salespeople need to handle objections, and she explains three tactics sellers can apply to successfully deal with them. These tactics are:
* Showing the customer that you hear their objection.
* Understanding the customer’s why.
* Reframing the customer’s objection.
Here are some additional resources:
* Get MEDDICC Certified on Ascender!
* Objection Handling | Ascender Course
* Deepen Your Discovery | Ascender Course
* Key Ways to Prepare for Customer Anchors in Sales Negotiations
* Turn Skepticism Into Opportunity | Ascender Article
* Hesitant Buyers and Price Objections | Ascender Video
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
In today’s episode, Rachel and John discuss the ever-pertinent need for sellers to identify and attach to the customer’s biggest business problem. John shares the mindset and the steps necessary for reps to make the right connections and get the information they need to do so successfully. He talks about:* Tying technical requirements to business outcomes. * Navigating the political landscape of the customer organization with savvy. * The need to get the customer to stand in their moment of pain. * Deepening your discovery to implicate the customer’s pain.
Here are some additional resources:* Get MEDDICC Certified on Ascender! * Navigating the Political Landscape | Ascender Course * Deepen Your Discovery | Ascender Course * Objection Handling | Ascender Course * The Importance of Multi-Threaded Selling | Ascender Article * The Coat of Pain | Ascender Video
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Don’t miss these upcoming Force Management Webinars:
Your SKO: Common Mistakes You Can’t Afford to Make
Planning a hashtag is a big undertaking. Even more difficult is executing an event that focuses on execution. Force Management’s Tim Caito joins Rachel Clapp Miller for a discussion on how to get beyond the “event” of the SKO and make it a driver of your revenue goals.
Sign up here: https://hubs.li/Q02PdLJ10
Building Consensus with Metrics
If you’re struggling with how to talk metrics with your customer, this webinar is for you. If you’re a manager and your teams aren’t really grasping this skill, make sure to share it with them. We’ll dig into how you should be approaching these conversations with key buyer personas.
Sign up here: https://hubs.la/Q02PG1Cf0If you can’t make it, register anyway! We’ll send you the recording.
On Ascender’s Engage page, we receive tons of questions from sales professionals throughout the country, many of whom face similar challenges. We have compiled a few of the most common questions to answer in today’s episode. They are:
* How do I handle a customer that is reluctant to proceed to the next steps?
* How can I open up customers who are close to the vest with positive business outcomes and metrics?
* How can I overcome a gatekeeper trying to prevent me from multithreading?
Here are some additional resources:* Get MEDDICC Certified on Ascender! * Executing Your Discovery Strategy | Ascender Course * Ascender’s Best Content on Decision Criteria | Ascender Article * Ascender Community Clip About Authenticity * When Customers Go Dark | Podcast * Own the Next Step in Your Sales Meetings | Podcast
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
In today’s quick episode, John Kaplan gives encouragement to sellers who may find themselves down on their luck. He discusses the tried-and-true actions within every seller’s control that will set you back on track, including:* Assessing and attaching to the customer’s business issues (the what). * Taking into account whom you are connected with in the deal (the who). * Qualifying the deal early on and throughout the sales process. * Staying on top of the foundational skills.
Here are some additional resources:* Get MEDDICC Certified on Ascender! * Getting to the Economic Buyer | Ascender Course * Negotiation Foundation & Mindset | Ascender Course * Ascender’s Best Content on Decision Criteria | Ascender Article * Close the Excuse Department | Ascender Video * Do You Really Have a Champion? | Podcast * Enabling the Internal Sell | Podcast
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Though we often speak about the need to sell based on value, keeping the customer focused on value throughout the sales process is a challenging, elite skill. Joining Rachel in today’s episode to share his deep insights on this important topic is Force Management facilitator John Boney. He discusses:
* The buyer-focused mindset necessary to successfully sell on value.
* The relevance of the customer’s Decision Criteria to how you build your value proposition.
* Handling changes in the customer’s priorities.
* Multithreading effectively in an opportunity.
Here are some additional resources:* Get MEDDICC Certified on Ascender! * Navigating the Political Landscape | Ascender Course * Overcoming Seller Deficit Disorder | Ascender Video * Preparing for Sales Conversations | Ascender Video * How to Uncover Buyer Needs | Podcast * Competing With Other Priorities | Podcast
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Today, Jim “Pouli” Pouliopoulos joins Rachel for a conversation on the uncertainties reps often face in trying to discuss metrics with prospects. Pouli’s advice provides clarity on when and how to discuss the finer details of the deal with the customer. He talks about:
* Getting past the fear of disrupting the flow of a conversation.
* Remaining curious throughout a sales cycle.
* Coaching reps to embrace the uncomfortable conversations.
* Viewing different individuals in the prospect company as rungs of a ladder.
Here are some additional resources:
* Get MEDDICC Certified on Ascender!
* Negotiation Foundation & Mindset | Ascender Course
* Managing Challenging Negotiation Tactics | Ascender Course
* Key Questions to Ask in Your Sales Discovery Conversations | Ascender Article
* Asking the Tough Questions in Your Sales Conversations | Ascender Video
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
As we move into Q3, some of you may find yourselves struggling to get deals over the line. In today’s episode, John Kaplan gets you refocused on the fundamentals in order to reopen closed doors and get deals moving. He discusses:
* Getting the buyer to understand how your solution increases revenue, decreases cost and mitigates risk.
* Connecting technical pain to business pain to create urgency.
* The importance of multi-threading.
Here are some additional resources:* Get MEDDICC Certified on Ascender! * Achieving a Collective Yes | Ascender Course * Hesitant Buyers? Aligning Your Solution to Corporate Initiatives | Ascender Article * Moving Buyers to Action | Ascender Article * The Coat of Pain | Ascender Video * Podcast: How to Engage Other Departments in Your Sales Process | Podcast * Getting Different Departments to Agree | Podcast
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Do you have customers delaying their signature? Do you have deals that are moving forward, but then stall right before the finish line? Force Management’s Tim Caito walks through action steps to reignite the stalled deal, including:
* What areas to assess to determine how you can reignite the deal
* The people you should be using to help you drive urgency
* How to prevent the situation next quarter.
Other Assets with Tim Caito* Making QBRs Valuable | Podcast * Anchors and Give-Gets | Podcast * The Right Mindset for Sales Negotiations | Podcast * Shifting the Negotiation Away From Price | Podcast * Negotiating Value – Presenting Multiple Options | Podcast * How to Use “Most Likely Alternatives” to Improve Sales Execution | Podcast
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Though we have many tools and strategies to help us qualify deals, sometimes the simple questions are enough to steer us in the right direction. Today, John Kaplan covers three key questions to ask yourself in every deal. They are:
* “Do we belong in the deal?”
* “What are our strong and weak points in the deal?”
* “What are the necessary steps to move the deal forward more efficiently?”
Here are some additional resources:
* Get MEDDICC Certified on Ascender!
* Watch: MEDDICC Maturity Model
* Prospecting Certification | Ascender Course Series
* Key Questions to Ask in Your Sales Discovery Conversations | Ascender Article
* The Sales Conversations You Need for Great Qualification | Ascender Article
* Ascender’s Best Content on Decision Criteria | Ascender Article
* Using MEDDICC When Your Company Doesn’t | Ascender Video
* Asking the Tough Questions in the Sales Process | Ascender Video
* Building Your Pipeline | Ascender Video
* Building a Rhythm Around Pipeline Generation | Podcast
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Understanding the needs of the buyer is the critical component of any sales process, and successfully doing so encompasses a wide spectrum of sales best practices. Joining us to shed light on this topic is Force Management Facilitator John Boney. In his first appearance on the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, John hammers home the strategies necessary to get to the root of a customer’s pain. He discusses:
* The importance of active listening.
* Identifying patterns while refraining from assumption-making.
* Conducting a thorough needs assessment during a customer conversation.
* Dealing with a buyer’s resistance to questioning.
* The need for quantifiable metrics.
* The WAIT acronym: “Why Am I Talking?”
Here are some additional resources:* Get MEDDICC Certified on Ascender! * Selling to the CPO (Chief People Officer) | Ascender Insights Event * Attaching to the Biggest Business Problem | Ascender Insights Event * Selling to the CISO (Chief Information Security Officer) | Ascender Insights Event * Active Listening | Ascender Course * Executing Your Discovery Strategy | Ascender Course * Overcoming Seller Deficit Disorder | Ascender Video * Preparing for Sales Conversations | Ascender Video * Improve Your Active Listening Skills | Podcast * Sales Qualification Best Practices: How to Back up Your Deal | Podcast
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Every buyer has a unique personality, which requires a nuanced approach to every sales conversation. Today, Jim “Pouli” Pouliopoulos joins us to highlight the value of discerning different buyer personas and adapting the way you sell accordingly. He discusses:
* How a familiarity with different types of buyer personalities helps sales professionals.
* Common patterns in buyer personalities.
* How DISC assessments can be beneficial to reps.
* Adapting to the buyer’s personality during conversation.
* The specific motivations of different personality types.
Check out Pouli’s book, How to Be a Well Being: Unofficial Rules to Live Every Day.
Here are some additional resources:
* Get MEDDICC Certified on Ascender!
* Getting to the Economic Buyer | Ascender Course
* Navigating the Political Landscape | Ascender Course
* Building Rapport Through Virtual Channels | Ascender Course
* Ascender’s Best Content on Discovery | Ascender Article
* Selling in a New Category | Podcast
* Finding Your Motivation as a Seller | Podcast
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
In today’s quick discussion, John Kaplan sheds light on a challenging decision for many reps: walking away from a deal. As ever, John shares the no-nonsense approach to sales qualification that has brought value to so many. This episode’s talking points include:
* The importance of voracious qualification.
* Signs that you should consider leaving an account.
* Common gaps in deals that require sellers to take action.
* Generating a significant enough pipeline to prevent the need to cling to a lost cause.
Here are some additional resources:* Get MEDDICC Certified on Ascender! * Prospecting Certification | Ascender Course Series * Improve Sales Qualification: Know When to Walk Away | Ascender Article * The Sales Conversations You Need for Great Qualification | Ascender Article * Ascender’s Best Content on Decision Criteria | Ascender Article * Building a Rhythm Around Pipeline Generation | Podcast * Being Confident in Your Selling Process | Podcast
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Finding a true Champion remains one of the biggest stumbling blocks for sales reps, as evidenced by the number of requests we continue to receive on the topic. Today’s special guest, Force Management facilitator Jim “Pouli” Pouliopoulos, has observed a great deal over the years about how sellers typically go about pursuing Champions, and he would like to share his insights with you. In this episode, Pouli clarifies a number of misconceptions commonly held by reps related to Champions, and he offers advice to help set you on the right track. Points of discussion include:* Why reps often think they have a Champion when they do not. * Indicators that you have a true Champion, and questions to help you determine whether someone is a Champion. * How to move forward in your relationships with those you have come to realize are not truly Champions. * The concept of “Champions Amnesty.”
Here are some additional resources:* Get MEDDICC Certified on Ascender! * Building Champions for Life | Ascender Course * Validating Champions | Ascender Course * Building Rapport Through Virtual Channels | Ascender Course * Executing Your Discovery Strategy | Ascender Course * Ascender’s Best Content on Discovery | Ascender Article * Ascender’s Best Content on Champions | Ascender Course * Commonly Asked Questions About Champions | Podcast * Aligning With Your Champion | Podcast
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
A comprehensive knowledge of sales fundamentals means nothing if you fail to apply it consistently. Today, John Kaplan discusses five areas that demand consistent application of reps looking to be elite. They are:
* Pipeline generation.
* Building relationships.
* Discovery.
* Qualification.
* Avoiding excuses.
Here are some additional resources:* Get MEDDICC Certified on Ascender! * John’s LinkedIn Post About Commitment and Consistency * Building Rapport Through Virtual Channels | Ascender Course * Executing Your Discovery Strategy | Ascender Course * Ascender’s Best Content on Discovery | Ascender Article * The Sales Conversations You Need for Great Qualification | Ascender Article * Merchants of Change: The Excuse Department is Closed | Ascender Video * Building a Rhythm Around Pipeline Generation | Podcast
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
If you’re trying to exceed your quota this year, you need to make sure you’re spending as much time as possible on high-value sales activities. Elite salespeople execute in a way that helps them efficiently qualify and advance deals. In this episode, Antonella O’Day runs through three key ways you can save time as a rep.
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content of a similar nature every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
How do you approach an account into which competitors are already firmly ingrained? How do you break a continuous cycle of rejection in favor of your competition? John Kaplan tackles these ever-pertinent questions in this episode. Today’s talking points include:
* John’s personal experience in surmounting competitors embedded in deals.
* Why ingrained competition is not a deal-killer.
* Approaching the buyer with an honest and patient discovery process.
* Offering the customer a strategic discount.
* Building Champions in a competitive account to give you the edge.
Here are some additional resources:
* Get MEDDICC Certified on Ascender!
* Navigating the Competitive Landscape | Ascender Course
* Expand Your Understanding of the Competition | Ascender Course
* Building Champions for Life | Ascender Course
* Ascender’s Best Content on Discovery | Ascender Article
* Plan to Make the Plan | Podcast
* Plan to Make the Plan | Article
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Regardless of the length of your implementation window in an opportunity, you must show your value. Brian Walsh joins us today for a quick discussion about how to successfully demonstrate value. He discusses:
* Developing a roadmap with short-term metrics.
* Helping the customer to see the business-wide benefits of your solution.
* Setting expectations that are high but realistic.
Here are some additional resources:* Get MEDDICC Certified on Ascender! * The Currency of Value | Ascender Article * Articulating Value and Differentiation After the Sale | Podcast * Providing Value in Discovery | Podcast
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
In this episode, we talk through the value of creating Mutual Action Plans with your customer, including:
* When you should use MAPs
* What a good MAP should do for both the seller and the buyer
* How you get buy-in from the customer to create one
* How do you use them throughout the sales process and into your negotiations?
Here are some additional resources:* Ascender Course: Developing Mutual Action Plans
Other Assets with Tim Caito* Making QBRs Valuable | Podcast * Anchors and Give-Gets | Podcast * The Right Mindset for Sales Negotiations | Podcast * Shifting the Negotiation Away From Price | Podcast * Negotiating Value – Presenting Multiple Options | Podcast * How to Use “Most Likely Alternatives” to Improve Sales Execution | Podcast
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Sales is a game of inches, and great discovery gives you an edge over the competition. A well-executed discovery process helps not only you, but also your customer. In today’s episode, John Kaplan shares his best insights on leading mutually beneficial sales conversations. Topics under discussion include:
* The importance of two-sided discovery.
* On-ramps to customer conversations.
* The three buckets that salespeople must fill in every customer conversation.
* The need to meet customers where they are.
* Keeping abreast of your standing with the customer and observing their level of engagement in conversations.
Here are some additional resources:
* Get MEDDICC Certified on Ascender!
* Discovery Process | Ascender Course
* Deepen Your Discovery | Ascender Course
* The Currency of Value | Ascender Article
* Articulating Value and Differentiation After the Sale | Podcast
* Own the Next Step in Your Sales Meetings | Podcast
* Closing the Sales Conversation | Podcast
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Getting your initiative to stand out in a sea of competing priorities is no small task, but it can be achieved with a proper understanding of the client’s most urgent business needs. Today, Antonella O’Day joins us once more to share strategies that will help you rise above the noise and assert your solution as a must for the customer. She goes over:
* Ways to continually assess the priority of your initiative as a deal progresses.
* Questions to ask your customer that will give you a sense of the standing of your deal among the customer’s other priorities.
* Maintaining relationships with key individuals in an account to achieve broader buy-in.
* Remaining on the lookout for red flags indicative of an unvalued solution.
Here are some additional resources:
* Get MEDDICC Certified on Ascender!
* Achieving a Collective Yes | Ascender Course
* Ascender’s Best Content on Champions | Ascender Article
* Rise Above the Noise | Ascender Video
* Handling Competing Initiatives | Podcast
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
In this episode, we discuss keeping your value top of mind for the client throughout the entire customer engagement process. Joining us once again for today’s conversation is Tim Caito. He covers:
* The basics that need to be in place so you can create and capture value after the initial deal.
* How to stay tethered to the account and multi-thread yourself during the customer success phase.
* How to approach conversations in implementation and ongoing use to make sure value is top of mind.
* The importance of a quarterly value review.
Here are some additional resources:
* Negotiation Mindset | Ascender Course
* Making QBRs Valuable | Podcast
* Anchors and Give-Gets | Podcast
* The Right Mindset for Sales Negotiations | Podcast
* Shifting the Negotiation Away From Price | Podcast
* Negotiating Value – Presenting Multiple Options | Podcast
* How to Use “Most Likely Alternatives” to Improve Sales Execution | Podcast
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
In many cases, your biggest competitors are not those trying to solve the same problem, but those geared toward the customer’s other initiatives. In today’s episode, John Kaplan explains how to set your own solution above competitors focused on competing priorities. Topics under discussion include:
* Aligning your solution with the customer’s challenges.
* Using your discovery process to answer key questions about the customer.
* Leveraging MEDDICC to account for competing initiatives.
* Going against “do nothing.”
Here are some additional resources:
* Get MEDDICC Certified on Ascender!
* Navigating the Competitive Landscape | Ascender Course
* Expand Your Understanding of the Competition | Ascender Course
* Dealing with the Competition | Ascender Video
* Rise Above the Noise | Ascender Video
* The Coat of Pain | Ascender Video
* Making Your Competitor Nervous | Ascender Article
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
A great discovery session requires great questions. In this episode, John Kaplan shares his insights on asking pertinent discovery questions. He discusses:
* Preparing for a discovery session with an agenda.
* Earning the right to ask deep discovery questions.
* Asking questions that allow you to align your differentiation with the buyer.
* Tips for wrapping up a sales call.
Here are some additional resources:
* A list of the questions John shared in the podcast:
+ https://bit.ly/42AXxAZ
* Get MEDDICC Certified on Ascender!
+ https://rb.gy/skge08
* Deepen Your Discovery | Ascender Course
+ https://rb.gy/k1ygvp
* Earning the Right | Ascender Video
+ https://rb.gy/bk2tcw
* Two Questions That Will Improve Your Sales Conversation | Ascender Article
+ https://rb.gy/58dyg1
* Ascender’s Best Content on Decision Criteria
+ https://rb.gy/daait9
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
You will inevitably face some form of competition in every deal. In today’s episode, Patrick “Paddy Mac” McLoughlin shares various tips on figuring out who your competitors are and positioning your solution as a top priority in the customer’s mind. Topics under discussion include:
* Gaining intel about a competitor’s activities within an account.
* Developing trust with a client over time.
* Questions to help you define your differentiation.
* Talking to the customer about renewals.
* Addressing solution requirements that a competitor is better equipped to fulfill.
Here are some additional resources:
* Get MEDDICC Certified on Ascender!
* Navigating the Competitive Landscape | Ascender Course
* Expand Your Understanding of the Competition | Ascender Course
* Ascender’s Best Content on Decision Criteria
* Making Sure the Customer Understands Your Differentiation | Ascender Video
* Stacking Customer Requirements in Your Favor w/ Marty Mercer | Podcast
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
In this podcast, we take a lot of the chatter we’ve heard about MEDDICC and break down our point-of-view about the methodology. John Kaplan sets straight some misconceptions and misapplications about the popular qualification framework. He discusses:
* MEDDICC’s common misuse as a compliance tool.
* How to properly incorporate MEDDICC as a manager.
* Using MEDDICC throughout the entire customer engagement process.
Here are some additional resources:
* Get MEDDICC Certified on Ascender!
* Avoiding MEDDICC Traps | Ascender Live
* Key Things to Remember About MEDDICC | Ascender Article
* Maximizing MEDDICC Results | Force Management eBook
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
All salespeople know of the frustration that comes with seeming abandonment by the customer. In today’s episode, Force Management Facilitator Diana Sheley joins us to share the action steps needed to recapture the customer’s interest. She talks about:
* The most common reasons why customers go dark.
* The importance of finding the customer’s business pain.
* Speaking to the right people in the organization.
* Keeping track of the customer’s shifting priorities.
Here are some additional resources:
* Expand Your Understanding of the Competition | Ascender Course
+ https://rb.gy/pckpr1
* Moving Buyers to Action | Ascender Article
+ https://rb.gy/353bvj
* When Leadership Changes in Your Prospect Account | Podcast
+ https://rb.gy/hjuvep
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Though training companies tend to lump negotiation skills into one bucket, sales negotiation has its own nuances that make it unique. Today, Tim Caito joins us to explain the elements that differentiate sales negotiation. He discusses:
* Why negotiation is a process, not an event.
* Managing a successful ongoing relationship with the customer.
* The need to negotiate with the individual with the ability to finalize an agreement.
* Broadening the value of your solution.
Here are some additional resources:
* Negotiation Mindset | Ascender Course
+ https://rb.gy/0phz28
* Anchors and Give-Gets | Podcast
+ https://rb.gy/jydio9
* The Right Mindset for Sales Negotiations | Podcast
+ https://rb.gy/7aysit
* Shifting the Negotiation Away From Price | Podcast
+ https://rb.gy/i8qtvl
* Negotiating Value – Presenting Multiple Options | Podcast
+ https://rb.gy/66bosc
* How to Use “Most Likely Alternatives” to Improve Sales Execution | Podcast
+ https://rb.gy/gu9n8y
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Are you an individual contributor and want to move into a manager role? This podcast is a must-listen. John Kaplan runs through:* things you need to make sure you’re aware of before you make the jump * how best to communicate your wish to be a manager * what you need to be prepared for when you get the role
Don’t miss this episode!
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
If you’re selling a new technology, it may be difficult to align to a pain point. How do you align to pain the customer doesn’t even know they have? Many AI startups have this challenge. How do you get the customer to see a new way of doing old things?
In this episode, Brian Walsh breaks down ways you can think about your sales conversation so you’re able to drive urgency, even when you’re selling in a new category. He also runs through how to set up a test project, in order to build credibility with the customer.
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
In this episode, John Kaplan highlights the importance of business conversations as opposed to sales conversations when trying to navigate a landscape of heightened buyer scrutiny. He discusses:
* The mindset you need for successful business conversations.
* Ways to hold yourself accountable for having business conversations.
* Tips for adjusting the business conversation for finance.
* A personal anecdote to demonstrate the importance of differentiation and influencing the Decision Criteria.
Here are some additional resources:
* Get MEDDICC Certified on Ascender!
+ https://rb.gy/skge08
* Rise Above the Noise | Ascender Video
+ https://rb.gy/3iq0v1
* Dealing with Hesitant Buyers | Ascender Video
+ https://rb.gy/2qi7eb
* Selling to the CFO w/ Jim Kelliher | Ascender Insights
+ https://rb.gy/0ne41j
* Leading Through Economic Challenges with Murray Demo | Revenue Builders
+ https://rb.gy/kow7b2
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
If you want to be an elite salesperson, you need to put in the work. In this episode, John Kaplan runs through three key habits you need to execute on every deal. They are:
* A commitment to preparation.
* Voracious qualification.
* Relentless accountability.
Here are some additional resources:* Get MEDDICC Certified on Ascender! + https://rb.gy/skge08 * Preparation | Ascender Video + https://rb.gy/o9awy8 * Take the Stairs | Ascender Video + https://rb.gy/uyncsl
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Today we are going to talk about what you do when you’re selling into an account and their leadership changes. Force Management Facilitator Diana Sheley, talks through how you should maneuver this situation, how you can leverage your Champion and how you can sell in a way that minimizes this risk.
Here are some additional resources:* Get MEDDICC Certified on Ascender! + https://rb.gy/skge08 * Dealing With Changes in Leadership | Ascender Article + https://rb.gy/n4u94a * Thanking Your Champion | Ascender Article + https://rb.gy/yom5uu
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Moving to a startup presents many opportunities, but it also poses its fair share of challenges. Today, John Kaplan shares his best insights to help get you prepared for the leap. He discusses:* The need to consider the four essential questions. * The concepts of minimum viable product (MVP) and the ideal customer profile (ICP). * Taking charge of your own enablement at a startup. * The “hundred-pound brain effect.”
Here are some additional resources:* Get MEDDICC Certified on Ascender! + https://rb.gy/skge08 * Essential Questions for Your Next Job Search | Ascender Course + https://rb.gy/l24m3h * Five Resources to Help You Find the Right Sales Job | Ascender Article + https://rb.gy/j7x0jz * Building a Rhythm Around Pipeline Generation | Podcast + https://rb.gy/91w6c4
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Some of you have some big sales goals as we start out the new year – those big whale accounts you’d like to attack. John Kaplan joins us on this episode to give you some motivation to go after accounts with incumbents. He covers: * How to target the right accounts. * Using your differentiation to position yourself * How to use your proof points to tackle incumbent opportunities.
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
No matter the size of your team, it is important that you lead in a way that motivates action. Today, Brian Walsh explains how to lead with purpose. He discusses:* Building active consensus as a leader. * The need to provide the ‘why’ and communicate the ‘how’. * Leading from the front and holding people accountable. * Mistakes that leaders often make when trying to lead with purpose.
Here are some additional resources:* Five Resources to Help You Lead a Stronger Sales Team | Ascender Article + https://rb.gy/rnko4 * The Team | Ascender Video + https://rb.gy/33806
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Tim Caito joins us again to talk about the mindset required for successful value-based sales negotiation. Tim speaks about:* Why the right negotiation mindset is so vital. * Why negotiation is an ongoing process that doesn’t end once the deal is closed. * Approaching internal negotiations versus external negotiations. * Keeping the customer focused on value rather than price.
Here are some additional resources:* Negotiation Mindset | Ascender Course + https://rb.gy/dom3f * Changing the Conversation with Procurement | Ascender Course + https://rb.gy/ha2gw * Busting the Myths of Sales Negotiation | eBook + https://rb.gy/5wttj * Negotiating Value – Presenting Multiple Options | Podcast + https://rb.gy/kb2oi
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
In this episode, Brian Walsh joins us to address three sales challenges frequently encountered by salespeople and what they can do to solve them. He discusses:* Getting your buyer to rethink the way to address their problems after you’ve entered the account later on in their decision process. (01:34) * What to do if you don’t have access to the Economic Buyer. (9:26) * How to identify and develop a Champion. (14:12)
Here are some additional resources:* Getting to the Economic Buyer | Ascender Course + https://rb.gy/sqo9a * Validating Champions | Ascender Course + https://rb.gy/wlanl * Essential Questions to Help You Become a Better Salesperson | Ascender Article + https://rb.gy/1s69l * The Outcome Conversation | Podcast + https://rb.gy/sn7ql
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Regardless of the emphasis you place on value, your customer might fixate on price in the late stages of the deal. Tim Caito joins Rachel to discuss steps you can take to shift the focus away from price and back on the value of your offering. He goes over:* Why your customer fixates on price. * The three words to refocus your customer on value. * The value of presenting multiple options. * How a Champion can help you navigate the tricky late stages of a deal.
Here are some additional resources:* Negotiation Mindset | Ascender Course + https://rb.gy/dom3f * Changing the Conversation with Procurement | Ascender Course + https://rb.gy/ha2gw * Negotiating Value – Presenting Multiple Options | Podcast + https://rb.gy/kb2oi
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Even the most elite of reps know they can’t always go it alone. Brian Walsh joins us to discuss the merits of asking for help. He goes over:* Bringing in the right resources at the right time. * Helping others to help you. * Using your company’s documented engagement process. * Using the help you receive to level up your own skills.
Here are some additional resources:* Asking for Help | Ascender Video + https://rb.gy/6gz4r * What the Best Salespeople Do | Podcast + https://rb.gy/ga35n
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Gaining commitments is an important component to moving a deal forward in a timely manner. Antonella O’Day shares best practices to help you obtain buy-in for critical parts of your deal. She discusses:* Gaining time commitments. * Getting the other party to engage further. * Obtaining commitment from a Champion for access to key individuals in the buying company.
Here are some additional resources:* Gaining Commitments | Ascender Course + https://rb.gy/xbak6 * Preparing for and Engaging in Virtual Meetings | Ascender Course + https://rb.gy/l1fs7 * Earning the Right | Ascender Video + https://rb.gy/tne47
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
For this episode we’ve pulled together some of the most helpful insights from our experts at Force Management regarding executing successful sales calls. We feature snippets from Antonella O’Day, Brian Walsh, and John Kaplan.
Here are some additional resources:* Effective Pre-Call Planning | Ascender Course + https://bit.ly/43TKcmX * Preparing for and Engaging in Virtual Meetings | Ascender Course + https://bit.ly/43nqekx * Rep Operating Rhythm | Ascender Course + https://bit.ly/3M7Gdgx * Shifting Your Sales Mindset | Ascender Course + https://bit.ly/3pmHOG4 * Own the Next Step in Your Sales Meetings | Podcast + https://bit.ly/3oNgSjb * How to Tell Impactful Stories The Audible-Ready Sales Podcast | Podcast + https://apple.co/3Bq1UCU * 5 Things to Do Before Your Next Sales Conversation | Podcast + https://apple.co/3ajqZB8
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
For this episode, Tim Caito joins us to explain how and why you should present your buyer with multiple options during the sales process. He talks about:* The mindset you need to be a great sales negotiator. * Keeping the focus on value. * How presenting multiple options in the right way can help you avoid falling into Seller Deficit Disorder. * Helping your customer feel that they are making the right decision.
Here are some additional resources:* Managing Negotiation Objections and Tactics | Ascender Course + https://rb.gy/vchhr * Objection Handling | Ascender Course + https://rb.gy/6fdu2 * Five Takeaways About Your Negotiation Process | Ascender Course + https://rb.gy/7zpqf * Key Ways to Prepare for Customer Anchors in Sales Negotiations | Ascender Article + https://rb.gy/jpdci * How to Move Your Sales Negotiations Away From Price | Ascender Article + https://rb.gy/pc73l * The Seller Deficit Disorder | Ascender Article + https://rb.gy/itmg6
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
We receive numerous questions about Champions on our online platform Ascender. Patrick McLoughlin joins us for today’s episode to answer several of them. He goes over:* The definition of a Champion. * The best time to start building a Champion, and where to look for one. * Nurturing your relationship with a Champion. * How to turn a Coach into a Champion. * Using your Champion to push toward a Collective Yes.
Here are some additional resources:* Building Champions for Life | Ascender Course + https://rb.gy/hqpks * Validating Champions | Ascender Course + https://rb.gy/qaw0i * Achieving a Collective Yes | Ascender Course + https://rb.gy/hgkbs * Ascender’s Best Content on Champions | Ascender Article + https://rb.gy/s05yl * Common Deal Questions | Podcast + https://rb.gy/h90vo
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
This episode is for those seeking a new sales role. Antonella O’Day joins us to share considerations for your job search. She discusses:
* How to know when it’s time to leave a company.
* The importance of communicating problems with your current manager.
* Considerations when it comes to money.
* What to look for when assessing a new sales role.
* Determining if you and a potential new manager will be a good match.
Here are some additional resources:
* Essential Questions for Your Next Job Search | Ascender Course
+ https://bit.ly/3NIMcsL
* Looking for a New Sales Role After a Layoff | Ascender Article
+ https://bit.ly/3qUcb7I
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Join us for Networking Night hosted by Ascender by Force Management. The aim for this event is to allow job seekers to network with hiring managers who have open roles they're looking to fill right now.
Date: Wednesday, July 12th
Time: 6-7pm ET
Registration Link: https://www.ascender.co/job-seeker-sign-ups
Confirmed companies include:
* Extend
* Figma
* Blink
* Thompson Safety
* Corelight
* ShowPad
* Catchpoint
* Springboard
* Logicsource
* Paddle
* Agiloft
* SingleOps
Fill out the form to save your spot in a breakout room. Have questions about the event? Email community@ascender.co.
We frequently discuss identifying, developing and testing Champions. Today, we’re talking about staying aligned with your Champion throughout the sales process. Brian Walsh joins us to share his unique insight. He covers:* The need to maintain a low self-orientation. * “Big-r” versus “little-r” relationships. * Agreeing on a combined timeline with your Champion. * The ill-advised “check-in.” * Giving your Champion the credit they deserve.
Here are some additional resources:* Building Champions for Life | Ascender Course + https://bit.ly/3qFnXTv * Validating Champions | Ascender Course + https://bit.ly/43yEUgV * Ascender’s Best Content on Champions + https://bit.ly/43TMLFn
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
The first meeting with a customer is typically hard-won, so you want to get it right. It will lay the foundation of not only your relationship with the individual you speak to, but the balance of your deal. Antonella O’Day shares tips to set you up for a successful first meeting. She covers:* The goal of the first meeting and how to prepare. * Sending an agenda in advance. * Opening up a cagey customer. * “Managing the clock” during the meeting. * Taking command of the next steps.
Here are some additional resources:* Effective Pre-Call Planning | Ascender Course + https://bit.ly/43TKcmX * Preparing for and Engaging in Virtual Meetings | Ascender Course + https://bit.ly/43nqekx * Own the Next Step in Your Sales Meetings | Podcast + https://bit.ly/3oNgSjb
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Many reps struggle with metrics. The challenge usually comes from not knowing the proper way to apply metrics to their sales conversations. In this quick episode, John Kaplan shares pointers on how to make effective use of metrics. He discusses:* What metrics are and why they matter. * How to speak about metrics in a way that is relevant to the higher-ups of an organization. * The value in visualizing the buying organization as a house.
Here are some additional resources:* MEDDICC Certification on Ascender + https://bit.ly/3IVZmQp * Digging Deep: Why Metrics Can Hurt You in Your Sales Conversations | Ascender Article + https://bit.ly/3MV0Iwa
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
When you’re trying to close your pipeline, you don’t want a competitor to derail your deal. How do you stay on top of your differentiation and what the competition is doing? How much should you focus on your competition?
Antonella O’Day joins Rachel Clapp Miller for a conversation on competitors. She talks about:* How to best understand your competitor * The must-have information you need to know and the nice-to-know information * How to avoid providing “air time” for your competitor in the sales conversations
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5718651/advertisement
It is critical for reps to take command of the next step in sales conversations. Today, Brian Walsh walks us through best practices when it comes to transitioning to the next stage of a sales process.
He talks about:* How best to prepare for the next step. * Positioning yourself before your prospect as a partner as you embark upon the next stage of your journey. * The benefit of briefing your customer prior to meetings. * Being able to adjust on the fly in case things do not go as intended.
Here are some additional resources:* Rep Operating Rhythm | Ascender Course + https://bit.ly/3M7Gdgx * Shifting Your Sales Mindset | Ascender Course + https://bit.ly/3pmHOG4 * Preparing for and Engaging in Virtual Meetings | Ascender Course + https://bit.ly/41eBwpo * Tips for Active Listening | Podcast + https://bit.ly/42e78gh
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5718651/advertisement
In a discovery session, there comes an inevitable point when the customer asks you to talk about yourself or your solution. When this happens, the last thing you want to do is say too much. Brian Walsh discusses the need to minimize your own input and connect everything you say to issues relevant to the customer. He covers:* The basic principles to follow when it comes to talking about yourself in a deal. * Determining and conveying the problems you solve and the outcomes you drive toward. * Pointing the conversation back to the direction of the customer. * The importance of confidence.
Here are some additional resources:* Active Listening | Ascender Course + https://bit.ly/427t6RP * Achieving a Collective Yes | Ascender Course + https://bit.ly/3nHv8ZU * Tips for Active Listening | Podcast + https://bit.ly/3nxE5VI
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content of a similar nature every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5718651/advertisement
Ever had a customer ask you to consider a pilot project? Perhaps they don’t want to sign up for the full investment or they want to prove success before they move forward. Should you sell it? How should you handle it? Brian Walsh gives you a few things to consider. He talks about:* Why pilot projects pop up. * When it is beneficial to take on a pilot project. * Ways to increase the likelihood that a pilot project will lead to a permanent solution. * Getting your customer to see the benefits of the metrics.
Here are some additional resources:* Selling “Pilot Projects” | Ascender Video + https://bit.ly/425YzUw * What the Best Salespeople Do | Podcast + https://bit.ly/3Vyf1ut
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content of a similar nature every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5718651/advertisement
Clients are often reluctant to open up to reps, but our special guest Rob Stenberg explains how you can use storytelling to break through that barrier. He discusses:* Why storytelling is so effective. * When in your sales process to incorporate stories. * How to practice and prepare stories that resonate * How to use stories to encourage your customer to “stay in discovery”
Here are some additional resources:* Storytelling in the Sales Process | Ascender Course + https://bit.ly/3nfL4CN * Discovery Process | Ascender Course + https://bit.ly/4229Bdt * Five Ways Stories Can Help You Create Urgency in the Sales Process | Ascender Article + https://bit.ly/42dlI7e * Sharing Stories in Your Sales Process | Podcast + https://bit.ly/42flEnj
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content of a similar nature every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5718651/advertisement
You want to work for a company that equips its sellers for success. We often speak about Seller Deficit Disorder, with which reps fail to listen to—and understand the problems of—their customers, but in this episode, we discuss the lesser-known Sales Leader Deficit Disorder with our special guest, Force Management Senior Director of Facilitation Brian Walsh. He shares advice about:* Picking a great company to work for. * What steps to take if you find yourself working for a manager with Sales Leader Deficit Disorder. * What to do if you feel you’ve been at a company or in a particular role for too long. * How to salvage a relationship with a sales leader.
Here are some additional resources:* Essential Questions for Your Next Job Search | Ascender Course + https://bit.ly/3oJR0nX * Sales Challenges? Make Your Leadership Part of the Solution | Force Management Article + https://bit.ly/3DT8Ubx * Five Characteristics that Build Successful Sales Leaders | Force Management Article + https://bit.ly/3A2H3EQ * How to Deal With Changes in Leadership | Podcast + https://bit.ly/3KZ2b3q
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content of a similar nature every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Your customer’s decision criteria are great indicators of your chances of success in a deal. Thankfully, you have the power to mold the decision criteria to fit your own unique differentiators. Tim Caito joins us to explain how to influence the decision criteria in a manner that favors you. He discusses:* Common mistakes reps make when trying to change the decision criteria. * The difference between decision criteria and desired outcomes. * The need to identify the customer’s biggest business pain when attempting to influence the decision criteria.
Here are some additional resources:* MEDDICC Essentials | Ascender Course + https://bit.ly/3ostFXI * Managing a No Decision Deal | Ascender Course + https://bit.ly/3AyAR7v * Achieving a Collective Yes | Ascender Course + https://bit.ly/3KRVQqA * How to Convince Your Customer to Take Action in Your Sales Process | Ascender Article + https://bit.ly/3mLp2aL * How to Compete Against “Do It Internally” in the Sales Process | Ascender Article + https://bit.ly/43QsIbJ * Overcoming Sales Challenges: Change the Decision Criteria | Force Management Article + https://bit.ly/40trkJf
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content of a similar nature every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Though you might have incorporated MEDDICC into your sales process, you, like many new adherents of the methodology, may find difficulty figuring out the E: Economic Buyer. A common challenge is determining who exactly the Economic Buyer is and whether or not there is more than one in a deal, particularly a complex one. Force Management Senior Facilitator Brian Walsh joins us to clarify a bit of the mystery that surrounds the Economic Buyer. He covers:* Why there is typically only one Economic Buyer in an account. * Key traits to look for when trying to identify the Economic Buyer. * How to respond if there is a new Economic Buyer in your deal. * How to request the help you need as you navigate your deal.
Here are some additional resources:* Getting to the Economic Buyer | Ascender Course + https://bit.ly/3Km50LF * MEDDICC Certification on Ascender + https://bit.ly/3zGfgJz * What to Do if You Can’t Gain Access to the Economic Buyer | Ascender Article + https://bit.ly/40Q7yIK * What’s the Best Way to Test My Champion? | Ascender Article + https://bit.ly/3Ml30WB
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content of a similar nature every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
A negative atmosphere can hinder a sales team’s prospects of success. It is incumbent on leaders to create an environment of openness in which everyone feels free to share their ideas, contributing to the team’s overall benefit. In this episode, Antonella discusses steps that leaders can take to foster a productive team culture through transparency. She covers:* The importance of candidness within a sales team. * Providing clear expectations for reps. * Minimizing distractions so that sellers can execute to the best of their ability. * Giving and receiving feedback as a leader.
Here are some additional resources:* The Team | Ascender Video + https://bit.ly/3G5usUf * The Crucial Aspects of Leading Sales Teams Today | Force Management Article + https://bit.ly/3ZtLB0N
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content of a similar nature every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
You are likely to come across buying organizations with conflicting priorities. It can be a real challenge to get people in different parts of a company to agree on a path on which to move forward. John Kaplan explains how you can set about getting various departments of a company on the same page. He discusses:* Keeping people focused on the “why.” * The role that Champions play in achieving a “Collective Yes.” * Building a “What We Heard” slide with your Champion to fight Seller Deficit Disorder. * What to do if you are without a Champion in an account.
Here are some additional resources:* Achieving a Collective Yes | Ascender Course + https://bit.ly/3Z6fcgL * Building Champions for Life | Ascender Course + https://bit.ly/40k9w4d * Is Your Champion Really a Coach? | Ascender Article + https://bit.ly/40mjvWb * The Seller Deficit Disorder | Ascender Article + https://bit.ly/42xLAvp * Three Ways to Improve Your Sales Messaging | Force Management Article + https://bit.ly/3TB7mub
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content of a similar nature every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Here’s a great episode for both reps and sales leaders.
Salespeople are typically unenthused by the prospect of deal reviews, but they are a great opportunity for leaders to help their sellers identify strengths and weaknesses in their opportunities and get deals over the line. Antonella O’Day joins us to discuss what sales managers can do to help themselves and their reps maximize the benefit of deal review sessions. She provides guidance about:* How managers can get reps to see the value in deal reviews. * Ways that managers can educate themselves on an account in preparation for a deal review. * How reps can equip their manager with the information they need for a deal review. * Looking at a deal review as a collaboration rather than an inspection.
Here are some additional resources:* Progressing Deals to Close | Ascender Course + https://bit.ly/3ZWa67U * MEDDICC Deal Confidence Self-Assessment | Ascender Course + https://bit.ly/3loFBse * Preparing for and Engaging in Virtual Meetings | Ascender Course + https://bit.ly/3FyZYtz * Dig Deep for Effective Sales Opportunity Reviews | Force Management Article + https://bit.ly/3JMNAIR
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content of a similar nature every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Changes are inevitable, and, in particular, changes in leadership occur quite frequently. John Kaplan explains how to adjust to a new sales leader. He discusses:* Maintaining your focus when teams around you are being restructured. * Adapting to a new sales style imposed by new leadership while still making it your own. * Handling leadership changes in departments outside of your own that still affect you. * The responsibility of sales leaders to help their teams understand a change.
Here are some additional resources:* The Top 3 Signs Your Sales Organization is Ready for Change | Force Management Article + https://bit.ly/3ZW9VJc * Sales Challenges: Four Ways to Keep Your Sales Team Focused on Selling + https://bit.ly/3ZBOihx
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content of a similar nature every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Salespeople must be multi-threaded with their opportunities. Make an effort to connect to as many relevant stakeholders in the buying company as possible. John Kaplan explains steps you can take to reach key individuals in other departments of your prospect’s organization. He gives advice about:* Connecting technical capabilities to business outcomes. * Landing meetings with key stakeholders of other departments. * Using the Three Ps—Purpose, Process and Payoff—to maximize conversations with high-ranking individuals in the buying organization.
Here are some additional resources:* Building Champions for Life | Ascender Course + https://bit.ly/3YnPSlR * How to Get Higher in Your Prospect's Organization | Force Management Article + https://bit.ly/3JgWH4p * Get Beyond the Technical Buyer | Force Management Article + https://bit.ly/4208wn0 * Sales Best Practices: 5 Ways to Prepare for Your Next Sales Meeting | Force Management Article + https://bit.ly/41PEyBV
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content of a similar nature every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Many sellers are feeling strain from the current state of the economy. Many reps are struggling to figure out the proper action steps to take in the midst of the challenges of the current environment. John Kaplan discusses ways to prevail through today’s economic headwinds. He talks about:* The need to focus on what you can control. * Staying committed to the fundamentals. * Finding resilience during tough times.
Here are some additional resources:* Essential Questions to Help You Be a Better Salesperson | Ascender Article + https://bit.ly/3YIMH9x * Why You Keep Losing Deals | Ascender Article + https://bit.ly/3kcNaBD * 5 Actions That Increase Sales Performance | Force Management Article + https://bit.ly/3Z6QoW4 * Overcoming Sales Challenges: Change the Decision Criteria | Force Management Article + https://bit.ly/3lQHIF6
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content of a similar nature every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
In a tight economy, buyers will try all means necessary to minimize superfluous spending. That means you’re going to get the discount question.. Force Management Facilitator Antonella O’Day joins us to talk through some best practices for dealing with price objections from your buyer. She covers:* The ideal initial response to hearing a price objection. * Getting to understand the reason(s) behind the objection. * How to respond if the objection persists after having painted a detailed picture of the value and ROI of your solution. * What to do early so you can prepare for the late-stage price objection
Here are some additional resources:* Changing the Conversation with Procurement | Ascender Course + https://bit.ly/3k6IT2u * How to Become a Must-Have Solution for Customers in Any Economy | Force Management Article + https://bit.ly/3k3d8Yf * Positioning Value in a Tight Economy | Podcast + https://bit.ly/3YPA9wp * How to Manage Increased Buyer Scrutiny | Podcast + https://bit.ly/3xpBgat
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content of a similar nature every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
“Do It Internally” might be the most frequent competitor you come across. In this economy, you’re probably competing against it more than you are used to with more and more customers l considering a solution in their own company rather than making another purchase. In this episode, John Kaplan discusses how you can fight this increasing tendency. He explains how to:* Prepare for discovery sessions to ensure you get all the information necessary to differentiate against “Do It Internally.” * Prepare trap-setting questions. * Obtain an understanding of the buying company’s political landscape. * Explain the merits of your solution without coming off as superior.
Here are some additional resources:* What to Do When You're Competing Against Do It Internally + https://bit.ly/3HTUdXC * How to Ask the Right Questions in Your Sales Conversation + https://bit.ly/3K8yCNX * Articulating Differentiation: 5 Ways to Trap the Competition + https://bit.ly/3I0CI8i * Align with the Buying Process: The Power of the Mantra + https://bit.ly/3lsawn0
Visit Ascender, a platform designed solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content of a similar nature every day with insights to help you level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/Subscribe here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Be sure to check out Ascender. It is a platform solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content of a similar nature every day with insights that will help you to level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Sadly, several reps are falling victim to the increasing number of layoffs and cutbacks occurring in tech companies. If you happen to be one of them, John Kaplan gives you some spirit regarding your job hunt moving forward. He talks about:* Using a layoff as an opportunity for self-reflection and change. * Establishing your personal criteria in the hunt for your new role. * How to effectively ask for help in the search for your next job opportunity. * Personally recommended readings about building resilience.
Here are some additional resources:* Subscribe to Ascender: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison * How to Ensure You're Selling For A Great Company + https://bit.ly/3wZ4Nb7 * Interviewing for Your Next Position | Podcast + https://apple.co/3DpUUGM
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Force Management has launched our new product: Ascender. It is a platform solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content of a similar nature every day with insights that will help you to level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
In today’s special episode, we feature the work of project44, a company that provides real-time supply chain visibility for its customers. They track one billion unique shipments every year for more than 1,200 of the world’s leading brands. With the company having recently completed a Force Management initiative, John Kaplan sits down with two of project44’s leaders—President of Worldwide Field Operations Tim Bertrand and Chief Sales Officer Craig Lewis—to talk through their successes in taking on a sales transformation measure, including seeing a 53% deal size increase over the last year. Enjoy this incredibly insightful conversation with the leaders of a company at the forefront of an industry that has experienced unprecedented challenges.
Here are some additional resources:* Subscribe to Ascender: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison * project44 job openings: https://www.linkedin.com/company/project-44/jobs/
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Force Management has launched our new product: Ascender. It is a platform solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content of a similar nature every day with insights that will help you to level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
As a seller, storytelling can be a great asset. More than anything, a well-told story is one of the best ways to get your buyer more emotionally attached to solving a problem. Today, John Kaplan explains the many ways that storytelling, if done properly, can help you. Topics of discussion include:* How to hone your storytelling ability. * Making a story relevant to the customer—getting them to stand in the story. * The benefits of helping the buyer to share their own story. * Using stories effectively during various stages of the sales process.
Here are some additional resources:* Subscribe to Ascender: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison * Methods to Increase Sales: Nailing Your Proof Points + https://bit.ly/3Vaflh7 * How to Tell Impactful Stories | Podcast + https://apple.co/3Vf0vWp
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Be sure to check out Ascender. It is a platform solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content of a similar nature every day with insights that will help you to level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
We produce a lot of content on Ascender, our new subscription platform! Twice a month, we hold live events on Ascender. One of those events is Deal Desk, in which sellers like you can ask questions pertaining to deals you’re trying to close and any challenges you face with regards to sales execution. Our recent Deal Desk was hosted by Patrick McLoughlin, aka Paddy Mac, Force Management’s Senior Director of Consulting & Facilitation. In today’s episode, Paddy Mac recaps questions asked in the last Deal Desk, as well as questions frequently asked in Ascender’s community section. These questions include:* How do I find out who my competition is if my buyer won’t tell me? * What steps do I take when passed over to procurement? * How do I approach selling to younger, less experienced buyers who may be cagey? * With company purchases under increased scrutiny, how do I ensure that I am aligned with one of the buying company’s top priorities? * What if my deal does not close by year’s end as intended?
Here are some additional resources:* Subscribe to Ascender: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison * Enabling the Internal Sell | Podcast + https://apple.co/3GS1R5P * Two Sales Negotiation Tactics to Use with Procurement + https://bit.ly/3vTf9bC * What to Do When “Do Nothing” is Your Chief Competition in a Sales Opportunity + https://bit.ly/3Iu0dZg * What to Do When You're Competing Against Do it Internally + https://bit.ly/3VVGEMo
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Force Management has launched our new product: Ascender. It is a platform solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content of a similar nature every day with insights that will help you to level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
In today’s difficult sales environment, reeps must ensure that they are aligned with what is most important to their buyers. Force Management Facilitator Marty Mercer walks through ways you may be able to align to a new challenge that your buyers are experiencing, including: * Managing disengagement among your customer’s employees. * Preparing for sales conversations of a nature different from what you are used to.
Here are some additional resources:* Subscribe to Ascender: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison * How to Become a Must-Have Solution for Customers in Any Economy + https://bit.ly/3W0urWK * Positioning Value in a Tight Economy | Podcast + https://apple.co/3jRy3Nq
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Force Management has launched our new product: Ascender. It is a platform solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content of a similar nature every day with insights that will help you to level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
We know you’re dealing with increased buyer scrutiny in your deals. With tighter budgets, your buyers don’t want to purchase a mistake. There’s more people looking at where the company is investing its money and that means as a salesperson you need to be audible-ready to position the value of your solution.
In this podcast, Tim Caito shares some advice on how to work early to prepare for common sales scenarios that come through when you’re facing this challenge, including:* How to use the four essential questions to help you with buyer scrutiny * How to prepare for the renewal conversation * How to make sure your internal contacts understand the new process in their own company * How to make sure you win the decision and the deal
Here are some additional resources:* Subscribe to Ascender: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison * Selling to Hesitant Customers | Podcast + https://apple.co/3G1hTKa * Essential Questions to Be a Better Salesperson | Article + https://bit.ly/3GDPVVb
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Force Management has launched our new product: Ascender. It is a platform solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content of a similar nature every day with insights that will help you to level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
One common scenario that all sellers are likely to face, especially when joining a new company, is inheriting others’ accounts. In some cases, you’ll follow someone who did a stellar job, and other times, you’ll have to pick up the pieces of someone not as successful. Both circumstances pose their own set of unique challenges. John Kaplan shares insights about how to approach joining a new account. He gives advice about:* The first steps to take after inheriting an account. * The need to be audible-ready to speak to the people already in the account you’re inheriting. * How to begin developing the relationships you need within the account. * What to do when faced with skepticism or hostility from the customer upon your entrance into the account.
Here are some additional resources:* Subscribe to Ascender: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison * How to Ensure You're Audible-Ready in Your B2B Sales Conversations + https://bit.ly/3G3mhIr * Selling to Hesitant Customers | Podcast + https://apple.co/3G1hTKa
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Force Management has launched our new product: Ascender. It is a platform solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content of a similar nature every day with insights that will help you to level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Competition comes in varied forms in a sales process and you need to be prepared. When your competition comes knocking, you need to highlight your differentiation. In this episode, John Kaplan discusses ways that you can improve your position in competitive deals. He explains:
- Why competition is always present in each of your deals.
- What to do when your buyer tells you that they see value in a competitor’s offering.
- How to equip your Champion to effectively articulate your competitive differentiation.
Here are some additional resources:
- Subscribe to Ascender: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
- Stacking Customer Requirements in Your Favor w/ Marty Mercer | Podcast
- https://apple.co/3FV1w1F
- Resources to Help Your Salespeople Enable Champions
- https://bit.ly/3jdQ0pm
- Articulating Differentiation: 5 Ways to Trap the Competition
- https://bit.ly/3FCDuqC
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Force Management has launched our new product: Ascender. It is a platform solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content of a similar nature every day with insights that will help you to level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
Outcomes are a critical component to the sales conversation. In a tight economy, people aren’t always looking to solve problems—they’re looking to drive outcomes. In this podcast, Brian Walsh breaks down the importance of defining outcomes with your customer.
He discusses:
- Why PBOs are critical for each of your deals.
- Discovering who is responsible for keeping track of PBOs.
- Moving the conversation from the problems to the outcomes.
- Building “Positive Business Intent” with your customer to make them realize the value that your relationship adds to their business.
Here are some additional resources:
- Subscribe to Ascender: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
- Three Ways to Improve Your Sales Messaging
- https://bit.ly/3FS4S5w
- Four Ways to Build Positive Business Intent
- https://bit.ly/3FUue2J
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Force Management has launched our new product: Ascender. It is a platform solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content of a similar nature every day with insights that will help you to level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
We’ve fielded numerous questions from reps seeking a new sales role. Some are dissatisfied with their current role, and some feel primed for a new chapter, an opportunity to advance in their career. Whatever the reason, though, there stands one common obstacle: the interview. John Kaplan shares tips for approaching your next sales job interview. He discusses:
- What sales leaders look for when hiring reps.
- What you can do right now to prepare for a sales job interview.
- Interviewing the interviewer: asking the right questions to ensure that you can be successful in the prospective new role.
- How to get an understanding of the kind of manager you might end up working for.
Here are some additional resources:
- Subscribe to Ascender: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
- How to Use Your Sales Skills in Your Next Job Interview
- https://bit.ly/3is3L2Y
- Interviewing for Your Next Position The Audible-Ready Sales Podcast
- https://apple.co/3u6IHC1
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Join us for our Ascender LIVE Deal Desk
Force Management's Patrick McLoughlin will join us to take on your sales execution questions.
Walk us through specific scenarios on deals you're this close to closing, dig into your MEDDICC steps on a deal, or get feedback on an approach you're using. Whatever it is you're looking to work on, we can use this session to help.
Here's the link to register: https://www.ascender.co/deals
Submit questions anonymously by emailing Community@Ascender.co.
Force Management has launched our new product: Ascender. It is a platform solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content of a similar nature every day with insights that will help you to level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
When selling technical solutions, it’s easy to get overwhelmed with trying to articulate the features and functions of a solution.How do you demonstrate that you have an informed point of view, without getting bogged down in technical details that steer you away from the value conversations. In today’s episode, John Kaplan explains how you can be successful selling technical, complicated solutions while tying them to overarching business issues. He explains:
- The importance of understanding the challenges facing the buyer—to sit in the buyer’s seat.
- How to get the timing right with regards to “getting in the weeds” of technical discussions.
- How to attach to the biggest business issue.
- The need to use the internal resources available to you.
Here are some additional resources:
- Subscribe to Ascender: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
- Why Sales Reps Struggle with Metrics in the Sales Conversation
- https://bit.ly/3fE11Pi
- Sales Best Practices: Attach to the Biggest Business Problem
- https://bit.ly/3U7Sbs0
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Force Management has launched our new product: Ascender. It is a platform solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content nearly every day on that platform that helps you operate at an elite level. Subscribers also have access to a community and a curriculum where they can earn selling credentials, including a MEDDICC certification.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
As you try to set yourself up for success in the upcoming year, it is critical that you get your mind right with regards to pipeline generation. Pipeline is directly related to your personal income and is the most reliable way to make sure you are on track as a seller. In this episode, John Kaplan speaks about taking ownership of your pipeline and treating it as a franchise. He discusses:
- The need to own your pipeline as opposed to relying on marketing or your BDRs solely to drive pipeline for you.
- Having a franchise mindset about your pipeline.
- Making sure that you work for a company that provides you a territory that’s proven and can be successful.
- Not being afraid to ask for help.
Here are some additional resources:
- Subscribe to Ascender: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
- The Franchise Mindset | Podcast
- https://apple.co/3UpAlQZ
- Building Your Referral Network | Podcast
- https://apple.co/3U7vZ0X
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Force Management has launched our new product: Ascender. It is a platform solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content of a similar nature every day with insights that will help you to level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
As a seller, you need to communicate effectively with people throughout an organization - both on the economic and technical levels. That means adjusting your sales conversation to what’s relevant to the individual in front of you. In this episode, John Kaplan shares insights that will allow you to swiftly adapt to any type of sales conversation. He gives advice to help you:
- Prepare for conversations at the executive table.
- Manage meetings wherein both technical and business buyers are present.
- Overcome Seller Deficit Disorder.
- Use the Mantra framework to narrate a story that every decision-maker involved in your deal can get behind.
Here are some additional resources:
- Subscribe to Ascender: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
- Ascender Sales Topics - Positioning Yourself against the Competition
- https://youtu.be/YayJtT22TEg
- Ascender Course: Getting to the Economic Buyer
- https://bit.ly/3U6dObH
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Force Management has launched our new product: Ascender. It is a platform solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content of a similar nature every day with insights that will help you to level up in your sales career.
Check out the platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
As the end of the year approaches, sellers are preoccupied with many things—their deals, their bonuses, maxing out their accelerators, etc. As a result, reps often neglect to plan for the upcoming year. In the haste to “get deals done,” sellers tend to disregard what matters most: pipeline generation. In this episode, Force Management Senior Director of Facilitation Brian Walsh joins us to share tips on how to take advantage of year’s end to plan for the upcoming year. He discusses:
- Common mistakes sellers make that cause them to be unprepared for the next year.
- Making the self-commitment to form an operating rhythm around generating pipeline and servicing accounts.
- Viewing pipeline generation as a team sport and pulling resources that your company offers.
- Steps that reps can take today to set themselves up for success in the new year.
Here are some additional resources:
- The Plan to Make the Plan
- https://bit.ly/3Bze9vP
- Creating a Franchise Mindset
- https://forc.mx/3FuvR7k
- Join Ascender: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/PlanComparison
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Force Management has launched our new product: Ascender. It is a platform solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content of a similar nature every day with insights that will help you to level up in your sales career.
Join our Founders Circle here: https://www.ascender.co/
With cold calling, your aim is to turn strangers into paying customers. Outbound Squad CEO and founder Jason Bay joins us to explain how to get your mindset right around being a great cold caller. He discusses:
- Taking reps through pattern interruption.
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Force Management has launched our new product: Ascender. It is a platform solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content of a similar nature every day with insights that will help you to level up in your sales career.
Join our Founders Circle here: https://www.ascender.co/
Sellers often find themselves trapped in conversation with one member of the buying company, typically someone involved with technical pain. As a result, reps can lack a fundamental understanding of not only other technical issues, but also overarching business issues, thereby limiting their ability to make their solution relevant in the eyes of the customer. In this episode, John Kaplan explains how to take the next step and move beyond the early stages of a sales conversation. He talks about:
- The importance of broadening the sales conversation as early as possible.
- Connecting technical pain to business pain.
- The need to understand the solution requirements and metrics that will drive the customer’s desired business outcomes.
- How to access key individuals in the buying organization.
Here are some additional resources:
- Selling to More Decision Makers
- https://bit.ly/3FehXpF
- Remember these Phrases to Sell More Deals
- https://bit.ly/3TPQPl6
- Finding the Business Pain w/ John Kaplan | Podcast
- https://apple.co/3gG8ZHN
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Force Management has launched our new product: Ascender. It is a platform solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content of a similar nature every day with insights that will help you to level up in your sales career.
Join our Founders Circle here: https://www.ascender.co/
We often speak about MEDDICC on this show, and for good reason. It’s used by several different sales companies, and if you’re selling software, you’re almost certainly at least somewhat familiar with it—perhaps your company uses it! But MEDDICC is just as valuable as an individual toolset for reps. We are joined today by our special guest, Force Management Senior Director of Facilitation Brian Walsh, to discuss ways you can get MEDDICC to work for you. We discuss:
- What MEDDICC is and what it is not.
- The need to be a voracious qualifier as a seller.
- The importance of spending your time on high-value selling activities and how MEDDICC qualification helps you to do so.
- The most common ways that reps misuse MEDDICC.
Here are some additional resources:
- MEDDICC Certification Course on Ascender
- https://bit.ly/3dpCiNB
- Using MEDDICC to Drive Revenue Predictability
- https://bit.ly/3f4586D
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Who couldn't use more qualified leads in the pipeline?
John Kaplan joins Jason Bay, CEO of Outbound Squad for a discussion on How to turn Account Executives into prospecting machines (backed by 3+ decades of experience)
- THIS WEDNESDAY - October 26th | 1pm ET | 10am PT
- Register Here: https://forc.mx/3VXCLrp
Force Management has launched our new product: Ascender. It is a platform solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content of a similar nature every day with insights that will help you to level up in your sales career.
Join our Founders Circle here: https://www.ascender.co/
Outbound sales is in a state of rapid change. Many companies and reps struggle to keep up with the whirlwind of technological advancements to figure out how best to conduct outbound in the current market. Joining us for today’s episode is Outbound Squad founder and CEO Jason Bay to discuss how to position yourself for success. He talks about:
- Current industry trends
- Novelty weariness and getting back to the basics.
- Structuring outbound efforts as a small team seeking traction.
- The benefit in hiring people specifically for outbound.
- Prioritizing the prospect’s priorities over the value of your solution.
Outbound Squad is a company that teaches reps how to effectively build pipeline and nail their sales messaging. To connect with Jason, follow this link:
Jason Bay - Founder & CEO - Outbound Squad (formerly Blissful Prospecting) | LinkedIn
- https://bit.ly/3ed0u64
Here are some additional resources:
- Outbound Squad Podcast
- Effective Sales Communication: 5 Key Actions
- https://bit.ly/3rzjOxo
- Tips for Getting Prospects to Take a Meeting
- https://bit.ly/3rE2ozC
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Force Management has launched our new product: Ascender. It is a platform solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content of a similar nature every day with insights that will help you to level up in your sales career.
Join our Founders Circle here: https://www.ascender.co/
Reps like you are always looking for ways to break into a new account. Trying to get into a new account can be stressful for many, but in today’s episode, John Kaplan shares valuable insight about how to do so with confidence. He speaks in-depth about:
Common mistakes sellers make when pursuing new accounts.
The need to question the “why” and “who” when it comes to a prospective company.
Using the three Ps—Purpose, Process and Payoff—to persuade the prospect.
The value of building your referral network.
Here are some additional resources:
- Your Most Critical Accounts: 4 Questions to Ask
- Develop Proof Points That Make an Impact
- Building Your Referral Network | Podcast
- Building up Your Referral Business | Ascender
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify , or our website.
Force Management has launched our new product: Ascender. It is a platform solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content of a similar nature every day with insights that will help you to level up in your sales career.
Join our Founders Circle here: https://www.ascender.co/
How do you prepare for your next role, be it in your current sales organization or a different one? This is a question that sales professionals face throughout their careers. In this episode, John Kaplan explains how to be purposeful as you prepare for your next step. He gives advice about:
- Making the transition to management.
- Going from a BDR or SDR to an account executive.
- Preparing for an interview for a job that you haven’t done before.
- Additional steps you can take to progress your career in sales.
Here are some additional resources:
- Essential Questions for Your Next Job Search | Ascender Course
- How to Use Your Sales Skills in Your Next Job Interview
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
No one can be everywhere at once and sometimes you can’t be in the room where decisions are being made. That’s why it’s so important that your buyer understands the benefits of your solution. In today’s episode, John Kaplan explains how to empower your buyer to be the hero of your sales story. This episode touches on a number of topics, including:
- Starting your sales story with the end in mind so your buyer is excited for the desired outcome.
- Attaching the sale to the issue you’re trying to solve.
- Equipping your buyer to sell your solution to others in their organization.
Here are some additional resources:
- How to Tell Impactful Stories The Audible-Ready Sales Podcast | Podcast
- Finding the Business Pain w/ John Kaplan | Podcast
Force Management has launched our new product: Ascender. It is a platform solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content of a similar nature every day with insights that will help you to level up in your sales career.
Join our Founders Circle here: https://www.ascender.co/
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Force Management has launched our new product: Ascender. It is a platform solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content of a similar nature every day with insights that will help you to level up in your sales career.
Join our Founders Circle here: https://www.ascender.co/
People with confidence and conviction truly believe that what they do matters, no matter their line of work. For that confidence to translate into success, there must be passion and a sense of purpose for what you do. John Kaplan explains why sellers like you need to tap into the belief that your job matters, and he shares what you can do to have the confidence and conviction to be elite.
Here are some additional resources:
- Sales Best Practices: Attach to the Biggest Business Problem
- Overcoming Sales Challenges: Change the Decision Criteria
- How to Improve Qualification in Your Sales Organization
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Force Management has launched our new product: Ascender. It is a platform solely for salespeople who own a quota. If you enjoy the Audible-Ready Sales Podcast, Ascender is perfect for you! We put out content of a similar nature every day with insights that will help you to level up in your sales career.
Join our Founders Circle here: https://www.ascender.co/
When it comes to sales planning, we encourage reps to take on what we call the sales franchise mindset. You have to view your territory as your own business. Take accountability for and ownership of your franchise. In this episode, John Kaplan explains the importance of taking on the franchise mindset and how to do so.
Here are some additional resources:
- Three Steps for Your Sales Plan | Podcast
- The Mindset You Need to Hit Your Number w/ John Kaplan | Podcast
- Set A Results-Driven Sales Planning Mindset
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Solution requirements are a critical component of every deal you sell. These are things that must be in place in order for a buyer to achieve their desired outcomes, and they exist with or without your solution. In today’s episode, John Kaplan explains the importance of recognizing your customer’s solution requirements and what to do with that knowledge. You will learn how to:
Bridge the customer’s current state to their desired future state.
Position your value in a way that influences the customer’s requirements.
Ask great discovery questions that show your customer how your solution is needed to solve their business issues.
Here are some additional resources:
- How to Stack Customer Requirements in Your Favor
- The Missing Link Between Your Differentiation and Your Buyers
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
We’ve done a number of episodes about what to do in a tightening economy and how to overcome economic headwinds. In this episode, we focus specifically on the need to position value early on in the sales process and how doing so can help you in more challenging sales cycles where companies are increasingly reluctant to spend. Force Management Senior Partner Tim Caito gives several helpful pointers on how to reframe your value, particularly during periods of economic turbulence. Tim’s advice covers:
- The importance of viewing difficult economic times from the perspective of customers
- Emphasizing the value of your expertise rather than that of your solution
- Uncovering a buyer’s strategic priorities and reframing your solution’s value accordingly
- Four critical questions about the customer’s decision process to ask yourself as you move deals forward
Here are some additional resources:
- Reframing Your Buyer Message for What’s Happening Right Now
- The Most Powerful Tool for Your Sales Organization: What is a Value Framework?
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
With the distractions present in today’s world, making an effort to maintain buyer focus is more important than ever. Keeping your customers engaged is particularly crucial during economic downturns, when businesses and individuals alike are hesitant to spend the way they normally would. In this episode, John Kaplan sheds light on how to keep your customers focused when they may be wavering. John shares insight about:
The importance of having an outside-in mentality
Articulating your solution’s value in alignment with your customer’s needs
Getting your customer emotionally connected to their mission-critical problems
Reengaging a prospect after they’ve gone dark
Here are some additional resources:
- Keep the Focus on Your Buyer in Your Sales Process
- Strike A Balance – Align to the Buyer Without Losing Control of Your Deal
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
There is a motor that all great salespeople possess. It comes down to the tenacity they have to do the job well, a focus on their customer’s success and an overall accountability. The great thing about sales is it’s something you can work at. With sales as a profession, we’re often only limited by the amount of work we are able to put in. That’s why Force Management is launching our new product - a platform solely for salespeople who own a quota. Anyone can subscribe. In this episode, John Kaplan and Rachel Clapp Miller talk through Force’s new product.
Get on the waitlist to join our Founders Circle: https://www.ascender.co
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Maybe you’ve hit a bit of a slump. Perhaps you’ve been down on your luck lately. You are not alone—as sellers, it’s disheartening when nothing seems to be going our way. It comes with the territory. How do you counteract a slide in fortune? John Kaplan shares some spirit and insight regarding steps to take to get out of a slump.
Here are some additional resources
How to Determine Where Your Sales Team is Struggling the Most
Overcoming Sales Challenges: Change the Decision Criteria
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
There is always the possibility of a recession or financial downturn. During such times, companies are inclined to tighten their budgets, which may make salespeople like you nervous, to say the least. How do you sell effectively when your customers are focused on minimizing unnecessary costs and reevaluating their current budget line items? Get customer focused. People buy for three reasons: your solution will increase revenue, decrease cost, or mitigate risks. In this episode, John Kaplan shares how to align your solution with big business issues that will drive urgency from buyers.
Here are some additional resources
- Key Ways to Gain Executive Buy-in and More Budget for Your Sales Initiative
- Get Busy: Advice for Salespeople w/ John Kaplan | Podcast
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Sellers must understand the more detail-oriented technical pains as well as the wider-ranging business pains of a customer’s organization. Elite salespeople are able to balance both worlds. You should be able to speak with those involved with the operational aspects of a company, learn their pain through effective discovery, and then move up and tie those technical pains with business issues that will catch the attention of C-level executives. In this episode, John Kaplan explains in depth the differences between technical and business pains, how elite sellers connect the two, and the importance of getting customers to put on their coat of pain.
Here are some additional resources
Enable Your Salespeople to Help Buyers Stand in the Moment of Pain
https://bit.ly/2ZEoRgI
Finding the Business Pain w/ John Kaplan | Podcast
https://apple.co/3IjzrRb
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
All sellers occasionally go through rough periods. Maybe you’ve had some bad breaks or customer shake-ups. John Kaplan explains why you might be losing and offers suggestions for how to move forward after low periods, including attaching to the prospect’s biggest business issues, influencing decision criteria with your differentiation, and having reliable Champions and Coaches to support your opportunities.
Here are some additional resources
Enable Managers to Make an Impact on Future Deals Using Win/Loss Insights
Sales Best Practices: Attach to the Biggest Business Problem
Overcoming Sales Challenges: Change the Decision Criteria
Beyond the Win/Loss Data with Tim Caito | Video
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Both sellers and buyers today recognize the power of testimonials when it comes to influencing customers to purchase a product or service—it’s ingrained in our society. However, it may be difficult for reps to determine where exactly they fit in when it comes to testimonials. What is your role? John Kaplan explains how to effectively leverage testimonials in a sales process to maximize the success and size of your deals.
Here are some additional resources
- Four Ways to Use Customer Testimonials in Your Sales Process
- Maximize the Effectiveness of Proof Points in Your Sales Conversations
- Develop Proof Points That Make an Impact
- Methods to Increase Sales: Nailing Your Proof Points
- Maximize the Effectiveness of Proof Points w/ John Kaplan | Podcast
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website .
We’ve all worked for someone who we didn’t think was that great as a manager. How do you, a seller, handle the scenario in which you’re working for a bad manager but aren’t quite ready to leave? John Kaplan shares some advice on how to improve your work experience when in such a situation and what to look for in your next company.
Here are some additional resources
- How to Ensure You're Selling For A Great Company
- Signs You're Working for a Company That's Staged for Growth
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Hear the practices that the most elite salespeople exhibit. John Kaplan joins us to highlight must-execute action steps for sellers including: expanding your referral networks, defining buyer metrics, influencing decision criteria, getting multi-threaded in your sales approach, and asking for help. Take your sales career to the next level. Use these action steps.
Here are some additional resources
- Why Sales Reps Struggle with Metrics in the Sales Conversation
- Your Most Critical Accounts: 4 Questions to Ask
- Sales Best Practices: 5 Ways to Prepare for Your Next Sales Meeting
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
When you work for someone else, much of your day to day can be out of your control and power. So, how do you take ownership of that which you can control? In this episode, John Kaplan explains the importance of owning your success and shares tips on how to put yourself in a position to succeed as a sales rep.
Plus, as promised, here is the definition of a floppy disk for our younger listeners: a thin plastic disk coated with magnetic material on which data for a computer can be stored (Merriam-Webster).
If you have any ideas for future episodes, send them to Rachel at rclapp@forcemanagement.com.
Here are some additional resources
- How to Ensure You're Selling for a Great Company (forcemanagement.com)
- How to Make Sure You're Working for Great Companies | Podcast
- Building an Accountable Culture | Podcast
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Changes in leadership commonly take place during the sales process. Although disruptive, they are an occurrence for which preparation is key. How do you ensure that new leadership recognizes the value of your solution and gets behind it? John Kaplan shares how to respond to changes in leadership depending on where you are in the sales process.
Here are some additional resources:
- Articulating Differentiation: 5 Ways to Trap the Competition
- Aligning Differentiation to Your Buyer | Podcast
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Everybody knows about the need to build their referral network, but very few people talk specifically about how best to do so. Many sellers are uncomfortable asking for referrals. How do you request a referral without coming off as pushy, or even desperate? Force Management Facilitator Antonella O’Day joins us to share tips for building your referral network, including how and when to ask for referrals.
Here are some additional resources:
- Don’t Forget These Key Steps to a Value-Based Sales Conversation
- Valuable Customer Meetings | Podcast
- Getting into a new opportunity | Podcast
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
As a seller, it’s not uncommon to feel overwhelmed by the numerous methodologies, tactics and processes that you are given to follow. How do you pull everything together fluidly without feeling as though you’re mindlessly piling on process after process? John Kaplan breaks down how to simplify all of these tools into a single, swift selling motion.
Here are some additional resources:
- The Audible-Ready Sales Podcast: How to Make Sure You're Working for Great Companies w/ John Kaplan on Apple Podcasts
- Four Questions Every Sales Organization Needs to Answer
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
We often focus on asking two-sided, open-ended discovery questions to learn about prospective customers. However, there is little value in asking these questions if you are unable to listen effectively. How can you improve your listening in sales conversations? Force Management Facilitator Marty Mercer joins us to share insight on how to follow up great questions with active listening.
Here are some additional resources:
- 3 Skills to Improve Your Sales Conversations
- Effective Sales Communication: 5 Key Actions
- Why Your Active Listening Skills Are Crucial to Hitting Your Number
- How to Ensure You're Audible-Ready in Your B2B Sales Conversations
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
When selling a solution, you want to align with wide-ranging corporate initiatives and not just departmental one-offs. Many reps struggle to not only identify, but also align with company-wide initiatives that buyers are navigating with inside of their organization. John Kaplan explains how to recognize a corporate buyer and align your business outcomes with their pain points and other business issues.
Here are some additional resources:
- Three Common Sales Challenges and What to Do About Them
- How to Get Higher in Your Prospect's Organization
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Sellers often hear from prospective customers that they have too much going on and thereby cannot take on a solution. When you’ve got numbers to hit, how do you get a prospect to prioritize your solution over the other initiatives they are considering? John Kaplan joins us to share how best to align your solution with the business issues that matter most to a customer.
Here are some additional resources:
- https://www.forcemanagement.com/seller-blog/what-to-do-when-youre-competing-against-do-it-internally
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Join the Force Management Team! Opportunities at all levels and in various departments. If you're interested email Rachel at: rclapp@forcemanagement.com
See all of our open positions here: https://www.forcemanagement.com/careers
It takes conviction to lead a sales organization to the next level. What can you focus on to help your sales organization deliver results? Dig deep into the mind of the Chief Commercial Officer (CCO). John Kaplan goes one-on-one with Paul "PK" Kleinschnitz, CCO at BlueVoyant, an end-to-end internal and external cyber defense platform. PK digs into key areas of focus for leaders around:
- How leaders are driving alignment with their buyers today
- Building a sales culture that’s focused on individual and company growth
- Key factors to incorporate into your sales transformation initiative
- How to Lead From the Front to achieve critical company objectives
BlueVoyant is hiring, more here: https://www.bluevoyant.com/careers/
Here are some additional resources:
- More about PK
- More about BlueVoyant
- New to the VP of Sales role: Road Map for Sales Success
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
As you navigate sales conversations with multiple stakeholders in an organization, understanding the internal, political landscape is critical. One move can make or break your deal. How do you do it without appearing like you’re going around someone or above their head? John Kaplan shares best practices to implement into your approach.
Here are some additional resources:
- Why Sales Reps Struggle with Metrics in the Sales Conversation (the M & the W)
- How to Get Higher in Your Prospect's Organization
- Navigating the Decision Process With Multiple Buyers
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
In the quest to hit the number, sellers can find themselves challenged with knowing when to walk away from a deal. Save this episode as a reminder when you need it. John Kaplan joins us to detail how to ensure you’re spending your time on the right opportunities for your business and your buyer’s business.
Here are some additional resources:
- How to Reignite Stalled Deals
- Why Your Deals Are Taking Too Long
- Finding the Business Pain
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
There’s not a salesperson out there who doesn’t want more wins and bigger deals. The most elite salespeople are strategic about how they align their solution’s differentiation to their buyer’s needs and as a result, they’re able to win more, high-value accounts. John Kaplan shares, where most reps are challenged when it comes to differentiating their solutions and the skills these reps can focus on to significantly improve their bottom line.
Here are some additional resources:
- Stacking Customer Requirements in Your Favor
- Helping Buyers Reach Their Own Conclusions
- The Missing Link Between Your Differentiation and Your Buyers
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
The idea of persuasion can give salespeople a bad rap. Instead, flip the script. The best sellers don’t persuade customers, they let customers persuade themselves. John Kaplan joins us to detail how you can get your buyer to come to their own conclusions in a way that steers the opportunity in your favor.
Here are some additional resources:
- Improve Your Active Listening Skills
- Helping Buyers Reach Their Own Conclusions
- Getting Comfortable with Uncomfortable Conversations
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Whether you’re making a career change or just joining the sales game, save this episode. Good selling is good selling, no matter your experience or age. John Kaplan joins us to share best practices for green reps who sell to people with more experience. He shares lessons he wishes he learned earlier in his sales career.
Here are some additional resources:
- Selling to More Experienced Professionals
- Overcoming the Seller Deficit Disorder
- Getting Comfortable with Uncomfortable Conversations
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Much like progressing a deal, as you progress in your sales career, being able to position your sales skills in those interviews can help you differentiate yourself, and win the role. John Kaplan explains how to position yourself as a buyer-focused salesperson and what to look for in the company that you’re interviewing for to ensure you can be successful. After the conversation, leave us a comment on LinkedIn. Share with us, “What was that one thing that made you qualify out a company you were interviewing for?”
Here are some additional resources:
- How to Use Your Sales Skills in Your Next Job Interview
- How to Ensure You're Selling For A Great Company
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Force Management is launching a new podcast. Revenue Builders is hosted by John McMahon and John Kaplan. They’ll interview C-suite leaders, PE/VC leaders and executives who’ve been there, done that and delivered results. It’s coming to you every Thursday and today we’re giving you a sneak peek of what to expect. Subscribe here: https://www.forcemanagement.com/revenue-builders-podcast
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
If you want to be a great manager, it takes a different skillset than what it takes to be a great seller. After all, being a great player of the game doesn’t guarantee you’ll be a great coach. Our own Patrick McLoughlin is passionate about building valuable sales coaches. His “Manager Tip of the Day'' gets a lot of attention on LinkedIn so we decided to have him share his most popular tips for sales managers in this podcast.
Here are some additional resources:
- Leadership Insights to Share With Your Front-line Managers
- Coaching Your Teams [Podcast]
- Meet the Facilitator: Patrick McLoughlin
- Connect with Patrick McLoughlin on LinkedIn
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Becoming elite as a sales organization demands a culture of accountability. A great sales planning process combined with a voracious qualification process builds an ecosystem of accountability across large-scale sales organizations. John Kaplan shares what these companies implement to foster a culture of accountability, detailing key steps for leaders and reps to take.
Here are some additional resources:
-
Set A Results-Driven Sales Planning Mindset
-
Develop a Sales Franchise Mindset
-
How to Improve Qualification in Your Sales Organization
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Being able to execute memorable and impactful presentations is an often-overlooked sales skill. John Kaplan shares the key steps you can take to prepare and execute a buyer-focused presentation, even when you’re talking about yourself.
Here are some additional resources:
- Purpose Process Payoff
- Align with the Buying Process: The Power of the Mantra
- Prepare and Practice to Confidently Execute Sales Calls
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
The last two years have exposed some flaws in salespeople’s approach to customer meetings. If you want to be successful, you can’t go back to the way you secured or conducted on-premise meetings before the pandemic. Tim Caito shares the overlooked reasons customers prefer virtual meetings (besides convenience) and how to differentiate your approach to ensure you land and execute impactful meetings with customers. He shares three ways to prepare for and secure valuable meetings.
Here are the Essential Questions we mention in the episode:
- What problems do you solve?
- How do you solve those problems?
- How do you solve them differently or better than the competition?
- Where have you done it before, what’s your proof?
Here are some additional resources:
- The Seller Deficit Disorder
- Purpose Process Payoff
- Four Questions Every Sales Organization Needs to Answer
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Responding to RFPs is often inevitable in many selling organizations. How do you respond in a way that gives you an edge? Brian Walsh joins us to share the importance of assessing your position and details how to determine an impactful response. He covers what to ask yourself as you qualify the opportunity, define your competitive position, and strategize around the right next steps.
Here are some additional resources:
- Differentiate How You Sell
- Getting Comfortable with Uncomfortable Conversations [Podcast]
- Executing Great Discovery
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Segment's Chief Revenue Officer, Joe Morrissey, joins John Kaplan to discuss how Segment implemented a value-based sales motion to scale their organization’s product-led growth (PLG), increasing Annual Recurring Revenue by 150% over two years. They discuss:
- Elevating the go-to-market approach
- Key challenges when scaling product-led growth and how to overcome them
- The right time to invest in distribution and customer success
- Capturing cross-functional alignment behind customer outcomes
Here are some additional resources
- Segment Case Study
- How to Scale Product-led Growth
- What CROs Prioritize to Drive Critical Company Outcomes
- Aligning Sales with Product: A Conversation on Alignment
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
The time period after your sales kickoff is a pivotal one. You spend countless hours planning and executing the SKO, but what’s the plan to maintain that momentum that’s created? What can you focus on as it relates to your day-to-day activities? Force Management Facilitator Antonella O’Day joins us to share the actions sales leaders, managers and reps need to commit to immediately following the SKO and how to build a successful long-term execution plan.
Here are some additional resources on discovery:
- How to Set Up an Effective Adoption Plan Around Your Sales Kickoff
- Insights on Maintaining Virtual SKO Momentum
- Critical SKO Concepts Sales Leaders Must Communicate
- How to Equip Managers to Drive Lasting Results from a Sales Initiative
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Defining metrics demands company alignment. Getting buyers to map to and define how they’ll measure success as it relates to your solution isn’t always easy. People may hesitate when it comes to being measured.
John Kaplan discusses the role both companies and their salespeople play in ensuring their solutions get the credit they deserve for driving significant customer outcomes.
Here are some additional resources:
- Navigating the Decision Process With Multiple Buyers [Podcast]
- The Decision Process: Everything You Need to Know to Sell More
- Why You’re Struggling With Metrics in the Sales Conversation
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
To celebrate our 100th episode, Brian Walsh joined us to interview Force Management Co-Founders John Kaplan and Grant Wilson. They discuss the journey from starting Force Management to celebrating nearly 20 years in business. We are joined by a special guest halfway through the episode - and he shares how John Kaplan almost quit sales for Krispy Kreme.
Here are some additional resources
- How Do You Hire Elite Salespeople?
- https://bit.ly/3r8nsO7
- How to Scale Product-led Growth
- https://bit.ly/3nfZn6K
- Our Top Podcasts From This Year to Share with Your Salespeople
- https://bit.ly/31Ny3p3
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Preparing for your deal is critical. Preparing others for your sales call has equal impacts on your success. If you want someone to join you on a call (product engineer, manager, etc.), you have to be able to provide them with fluency about the deal and clarity on their role in the conversation. John Kaplan covers what information you need to share and how help ensure those joining you are best prepared.
Here are some additional resources
- How to Ask for Help on Your Deals
- 5 Things to Do Before Your Next Sales Conversation
- Key Things to Do After Every Sales Call
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
A montage of the funniest sales stories covered during our Lessons Learned in Sales series. Catch up on these highlights that you might have missed and share your funny stories with by leaving us a comment or tagging us on LinkedIn: The Audible-Ready Sales Podcast.
Here are the full episodes featuring the stories we shared
- Patrick McLoughlin
- Antonella O’Day
- Tim Caito
- Brian Walsh
- Kamonte McCray
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Any salesperson can tell a good story. Styles may differ, but your message is what matters.
A great story helps your buyers understand what’s possible and how they can achieve their desired outcomes. Understand how to improve your storytelling skills and what to focus on to have a bigger impact on your buyer. John Kaplan shares a few storytelling tactics you can use to elevate your approach and move your deals forward, faster.
Here are some additional resources:
- 5 Things to do Before Your Next Sales Conversation [Podcast]
- When To Use Customer Case Studies in the Sales Process
- Align with the Buying Process: The Power of the Mantra
- 5 Ways to Gain Trust in the Sales Process
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
In this episode, we cover key steps to make sure you hold to your committed forecast.
Force Management Senior Partner Paul DeMore has conversations with sales leaders nearly every week around enabling salespeople to hold to their committed forecasts. He joins us to share what’s top-of-mind right now for sales leaders looking to reduce slipped deals and improve win rates. He also shares actionable tips your managers and reps can use to improve outcomes and speed up their deals.
Here are some additional resources on sales planning:
- A Conversation with John McMahon
- How to Hold to Your Committed Forecast
- How to Reignite Stalled Deals
- Book: The Qualified Sales Leader
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Front-line sales managers this one’s for you!
Your job is difficult. Often top sellers, who were promoted to managers, can find it challenging to coach the skills they excelled at. Being a great player of the game doesn’t directly translate into being a great coach of the game. The coaching skill set is completely different. If you find yourself often taking over deals for your reps, or are unsure of how to best support each individual on your team — tune in. John Kaplan shares his advice for front-line sales managers who want to have a bigger impact on their team’s growth and revenue numbers.
Here are some additional resources on sales planning:
- Execute the Skill/Will Coaching Approach
- Our Top Resources For Giving Effective Feedback
- Five Ways to Give Better Feedback to Your Sales Teams
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Our podcast series “Lessons Learned in Sales” continues this week as John Kaplan talks with Force Management’s new Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) Kamonte McCray. They discuss:
- How feeling too comfortable in a big account put his company in a dangerous position, costing him the deal
- A deal negotiation that involved a language barrier and a lesson he’ll never forget
- A tricky negotiation tactic that reiterated the importance of staying calm and reiterating value during pricing conversations
Here are some additional resources:
- Lessons Learned in Sales w/ Kamonte McCray
- https://bit.ly/3xElCaB
- Kamonte McCray Bio
- https://bit.ly/3AUeqr3
- Sales Leadership & Accountability Webinar
- https://bit.ly/2Z3Q8gU
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Ever advance a deal too quickly, only to find out you need to back up the sales process? John Kaplan joins us to discuss how to step back and work with your customer to ensure you’ve got all of the information you need to reassess and progress your deal. He walks through examples of how to back up your deals and get your customer to demand your help with solving an urgent business problem.
Here are some additional resources on sales planning:
- Reassess Your Deals
- Helping Buyers Reach Their Own Conclusions
- How to Ensure You're Audible-Ready in Your B2B Sales Conversations
- How to Ask the Right Questions in Your Sales Conversation
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
As the end of the year approaches, how are you going to make your plan next year? What do you want to deliver? If the answer is on-time-earnings and beyond tune in.
Maybe you’ve had your best year yet and are wondering how to repeat that success or you’re looking for ways to improve next year. Whatever your goals are, now is the time to put in the work and ask for what you need to make it happen. John Kaplan joins us to share three areas you can focus on.
Here are some additional resources on sales planning:
- The Plan to Make the Plan
- Set A Results-Driven Sales Planning Mindset
- How to Ask for Help on Your Deals [Podcast]
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
High-performing sales organizations don’t just know why deals are won and lost. These teams have a systematic way to leverage those insights to impact and improve future sales opportunities. In this episode, Force Management Facilitator and Senior Partner Tim Caito shares how to pull insight on lost deals into future sales activities to create more wins and less late-stage losses. He covers the common mistakes sales organizations make when compiling and sharing win loss data and a three-step approach you can use to better take advantage of those insights.
Key Questions to ask on every deal:
- What are the business issues driving a compelling event related to this target opportunity?
- Who do these business issues impact the most?
- How will the customer make a decision?
- How does our solution align with the decision criteria?
- Who are we competing against?
- What are our strengths? Where are our gaps?
- What is our strategy moving forward?
- What are our most critical next steps?
Here are some additional resources on win-loss reviews
- Why Your Sales Organization is Losing and What to Do About It
- Enable Managers to Make an Impact on Future Deals Using Win/Loss Insights
- Questions for Managers to Ask on Every Opportunity Review
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website .
Sales is a game of inches. How you make your approach stand out from the competition (including do-nothing or do-it-internally options) can set you far ahead, or behind.
There is as much differentiation in how you sell as there is in what you sell. But how exactly do you differentiate your approach? Tune in to hear five key steps you can take to make yourself stand out from the competition and bring value to your buyers.
Here are some additional resources
- The Seller Deficit Disorder
- https://bit.ly/2X9PbTr
- Helping Buyers Reach Their Own Conclusions [Podcast]
- https://apple.co/2XbWZ7r
- Stacking Customer Requirements in Your Favor [Podcast]
- https://apple.co/3nlxnjh
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify , or our website .
You know the deals you need help on, but how do you get the help you need? John Kaplan shares the best practices for getting the help you need on every deal. If you’re in a tight spot or find yourself needing similar support from deal to deal, this is a must-listen episode. Hear the best practices you can use to get the support you need and improve outcomes on future opportunities.
Here are some additional resources:
- MEDDICC Resources
- https://bit.ly/3tmhnyd
- Finding the Business Pain [Podcast]
- https://bit.ly/3E5fzyO
- Training For Managers: Providing The "How" To Improve Sales Performance
- https://bit.ly/2YEcmGh
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify , or our website .
Our podcast series “Lessons Learned in Sales” continues this week as John Kaplan talks with Force Management Facilitator Dale Monnin. They discuss:
- When Dale learned just how critical it is to always be audible-ready.
- What led him to dramatically pivot the way he sold and the success he drove because of that shifted approach.
- An incident where fire dancing went awry.
Here are some additional resources based on the conversations with Dale:
- Meet the Facilitator: Dale Monnin
- https://bit.ly/3E0s8ew
- Good to Great to Elite [Podcast]
- https://bit.ly/3yVuF5S
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or our website .
Get back to the basic sales fundamentals that help ensure great sales conversations and improved win rates. John Kaplan provides five things to execute after your next prospect call to own and improve your next steps.
Here are some additional resources:
- 5 Things to Do Before Your Next Sales Conversation
- https://apple.co/3ajqZB8
- Overcoming Sales Challenges: A Buyer Focus on Seller Deficit Disorder
- https://bit.ly/3n7SjKf
- Align with the Buying Process: The Power of the Mantra
- https://bit.ly/2X1ARvS
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or our website .
Get back to the basic sales fundamentals that help ensure great sales conversations.
John Kaplan provides five things you can practice before you jump into that next prospect call.
Here are some additional resources:
- Purpose Process Payoff [Article]
-
https://bit.ly/3spMjgA
-
Improve Your Active Listening Skills [Podcast]
-
https://apple.co/3md3HUO
-
Maximize the Effectiveness of Proof Points [Podcast]
- https://apple.co/2XAxEE5
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or our website .
Our podcast series “Lessons Learned in Sales” continues this week as John Kaplan talks with Force Management Senior Director of Facilitation Brian Walsh. They discuss:
- One experience that showed Brian how to effectively drive urgency in his deals.
- What the best sales leaders he worked with did
- How to recruit A-players and secure them from their existing organizations.
- The time his client was ready to sign a major deal and the one thing he forgot that almost cost him that deal.
Here are some additional resources based on the conversations with Brian:
- Facilitator Profile, Brian Walsh
-
https://bit.ly/3CQpE12
-
How to Enable Reps to Sell Higher [Podcast]
-
https://bit.ly/3kTQK1j
-
Opportunity Coaching Lessons [Video]
- https://bit.ly/3zPibNV
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or our website .
If you’re finding yourself new to a selling role and trying to sell to more experienced executives and professionals - this is a podcast for you. If you’re leading a team of greener reps, share this one with them.
John Kaplan shares how to prepare for conversations with experienced buyers in a way that will drive success and help you feel less intimidated going in. Great selling, is great selling, no matter your experience or background. Tune into this episode to hear tips and actions you can take right now.
Here are some additional resources
- Finding Success with Procurement [Podcast] https://apple.co/3ARsxO0
- Overcoming the Seller Deficit Disorder [Article] https://bit.ly/3k2Hwhl
- Why are you talking? [Podcast] https://apple.co/3CVvgrO
- Four Essential Questions https://bit.ly/3maU5d3
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Discover the mantra you can use to successfully navigate opportunities that require you to move up and down in organizations. Hear John Kaplan’s tips for continually building a business case that maps the technical capabilities of your solution to the required capabilities for different decision makers in an organization. He explains what the mantra is, how you can build it through customer conversations, and leverage it to get champions to sell on your behalf.
Here are some additional resources
- Align with the Buying Process: The Power of the Mantra
-
https://bit.ly/3tFoUZ5
-
Why You’re Struggling With Metrics in the Sales Conversation
-
https://bit.ly/3lgdoQg
-
Navigating the Decision Process With Multiple Buyers [Podcast]
- https://spoti.fi/3AhqEKU
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or our website .
Sales kickoffs can take many different forms -- the good, the bad, and the game changers. The Force Management team has helped countless sales leaders execute meaningful Sales Kickoffs that launch organizational change and impactful results. What separates the best from the rest? What are the steps leaders can take to make their SKOs a game changer? Facilitators Brian Walsh and Antonella O'Day share what they've seen work best and key mistakes to avoid.
Here are some additional resources on SKOs:
- Sales Kickoff Resources
-
https://bit.ly/3jQL4Do
-
5 SKO Mistakes to Avoid On-Demand Webinar
-
https://bit.ly/37Etw7F
-
Critical SKO Concepts Sales Leaders Must Communicate
- https://bit.ly/3iFBlAi
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or our website .
For those of you planning your next Sales Kickoff, use our resources, everything you need all in one place:
- Sales Kickoff Resource Guide
https://www.forcemanagement .com/sales-kickoff-resources
If you want to be "the top 2%", become an elite seller in your organization, and propel your career to the next level — take spirit from Brandon Burlsworth's UnCommon story. Sales leaders, share it with your sales reps and managers.
Told in the movie Greater, Brandon's life was one of grit, dedication and hard work. But, he didn't start out that way. He started out as a young player, with a big goal, not unlike most sales athletes. Brandon went from a walk-on freshman football player at the University of Arkansas to become a 1st-Team All American, who was drafted into the NFL by the Indianapolis Colts. It's speculated that just 2% of all football players make it into the NFL. Hear the story to see how you can be greater every day.
Here are additional resources and ways to can support:
- Greater the movie IMDB Page
-
https://imdb.to/3zCbzDa
-
More on the Brandon Burlsworth Story
-
https://bit.ly/3kIqipO
-
Brandon Burlsworth Foundation
- https://bit.ly/3gO1eN8
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or our website .
If you’re looking for quick tips to improve your ability to execute the fundamentals of elite selling — this is the episode for you.
Force Management Facilitator and Director, Dale Monnin joins us to chat about helping salespeople move from good, to great to elite in their sales careers. He covers a variety of tips you can apply immediately to your sales process and approach including:
-
What areas of your skill set to improve if you want to be elite
-
What indicators to look for to know when you’ve done effective discovery
-
Ways to ask bold discovery questions and use silence to your advantage
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Here are some additional resources on building an elite sales organization:
-
How to Move Yourself Beyond Mediocrity [Podcast]
-
https://apple.co/3gspW4H
-
Stacking customer requirements in your favor [Podcast]
-
https://apple.co/35auU0y
-
Getting Comfortable with Uncomfortable Conversations [Podcast]
-
https://apple.co/358pkMk
Our podcast series “Lessons Learned in Sales”, continues as John Kaplan talks with Force Management Senior Partner Tim Caito. As always, Tim shares valuable insights, including:
-
How to stay connected to your customer’s projects post-sale to ensure their success
-
The time a customer left him and his colleagues in the middle of an oil field
-
The common characteristics of the best sales managers he’s worked with
-
A motto he uses to differentiate his sales approach
Tim’s passion for sales and coaching is energizing. Tune in to this episode to hear valuable takeaways you can use to drive positive impacts for your customers and your sales team.
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Here are some additional resources based on the conversation with Tim:
-
Tim Caito - Meet the Facilitator Bio
-
https://bit.ly/2U14OL4
-
On-Demand Webinar | Selling and Negotiating on Value
-
https://bit.ly/3wSAile
-
Negotiation FAQs & Best Practices [Podcast]
-
https://apple.co/35W424J
In-person customer conversations have dwindled over the past year. While we are getting back to face-to-face meetings, many sales conversations are happening virtually. How do you get your customers to open up in a remote conversation? How do you gain that trusted advisor status over a video call? John Kaplan shares his best tips.
Here are some additional resources”
-
Purpose Process Payoff
-
https://forc.mx/3B4liDx
-
Finding the Business Pain Podcast
-
https://forc.mx/36F2YCE
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Your buyers have likely experienced a lot of bad QBRs — so differentiate your company by making them truly valuable for you and your buyer.
Tim Caito joins us to talk about how sales leaders can equip their account teams to flip the script on negative buyer perceptions and get customers to see value in a QBR. He covers the pre-sale, during-sale and post-sales steps sales reps need to take to improve QBR execution, long-term account monetization and most importantly, customer outcomes.
Here are some additional resources based on making QBRs Valuable
-
How to Make QBRs Valuable for Your Customers
-
https://bit.ly/3jgyr4i
-
Overcoming Sales Challenges: A Buyer Focus on Seller Deficit Disorder
-
https://bit.ly/3in54xG
-
How To Negotiate Early [Podcast]
-
https://apple.co/3s3fDcR
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Part 2 of our conversation with Author and Sales Leader Veteran John McMahon. He joins John Kaplan to discuss themes in McMahon's new book, “The Qualified Sales Leader”. McMahon has been the Chief Revenue Officer at five public, enterprise software companies – PTC, Geo-Tel, Ariba, BladeLogic and BMC. Now he sits on the board at several public software companies including Snowflake and MongoDB.
More Information:
-
BUY THE BOOK: The Qualified Sales Leader
-
https://amzn.to/3zOwQt9
-
How to Ensure You’re Selling for a Great Company
-
https://bit.ly/3i9RTQN
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Author and Sales Leader Veteran John McMahon joins John Kaplan to discuss themes in his new book, “The Qualified Sales Leader”. McMahon has been the Chief Revenue Officer at five public, enterprise software companies – PTC, Geo-Tel, Ariba, BladeLogic and BMC. Now he sits on the board at several public software companies including Snowflake and MongoDB.
More Information:
-
BUY THE BOOK: The Qualified Sales Leader
-
https://amzn.to/3lflri3
-
How to Ensure You’re Selling for a Great Company
-
https://bit.ly/3zFLO4p
-
The Secrets to Aligning Your Company on Customer Value and Differentiation
-
https://bit.ly/3eXCHnO
-
The Right Methodology to Ensure Your Technology Sells
-
https://bit.ly/2VgrpEk
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Our podcast series “Lessons Learned in Sales” continues this week as John Kaplan talks with Force Management Facilitator Marty Mercer. Marty shares some great stories, including:
-
How he became a seller and he didn’t even know it
-
A beneficial lesson in patience that he learned that drastically shifted his sales career
-
Why he didn’t sell anything in the first nine months of his career
-
How a colleague nearly broke their computer fifteen minutes before a presentation
This episode is packed with lessons that both reps and managers can use to propel their careers forward in the right direction.
Here are some additional resources based on the conversations with Marty:
-
Virtual Selling Tips & Tricks [Podcast]
-
Stacking Customer Requirements in Your Favor [Podcast]
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Our final episode in our “Skill/Will” series (link to the diagram below), takes a deep dive on your people with low will, level 1s and 2s. Low-will people aren’t who you want on your teams, but you may be dealing with some of these people right now. Hear how you can manage low-will people to the best of your ability and avoid people losing will while they’re on your teams.
Here are some additional resources on Skill/Will:
-
The Skill/Will Model Infographic [Diagram]
-
https://bit.ly/3ftMTDS
-
The Skill/Will Model Explained [Article]
-
https://bit.ly/3hP2X6h
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Continuing our series on the “Skill/Will” Model (link to the diagram below), this episode covers people with high will, level 3s and 4s. High-will talent are the people you want to have on your team, they’ll improve your ability to succeed and maintain competitive advantage in your market. This episode shares what you can do to keep and leverage your level 4s (high will, high skill) and how you can help your level 3s (high will, low skill) become top performers as well.
Here are some additional resources on Skill/Will:
The Skill/Will Model Infographic [Diagram]
https://bit.ly/3ftMTDS
The Skill/Will Model Explained [Article]
https://bit.ly/3hP2X6h
Four Questions Every Sales Organization Needs to Answer
https://bit.ly/3c3jfnz
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Sales leaders can achieve great success when they take ownership of their talent and coaching process. Maximize your talent efforts and coach your people in a way that takes into account their skill level and motivation. This episode kicks off our three-part series on coaching the “Skill/Will” model (link to the diagram below). In this episode, John Kaplan covers how sales leaders and managers can use this model to adjust their coaching cadence and tailor it to the individuals on their sales team.
Here are some additional resources on Skill/Will:
-
The Skill/Will Model Infographic [Diagram]
-
https://bit.ly/3ftMTDS
-
The Skill/Will Model Explained [Article]
-https://bit.ly/3hP2X6h
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Unlock the full potential of your Customer Success teams by building alignment with your sales teams and your buyers. Kathleen Schindler, Force Management Managing Director of Customer Success, takes a deep dive on how sales and company leaders are equipping post-sale teams to execute on critical buyer outcomes.
Tune in to hear real-world examples of how these leaders enable their entire customer-facing organization to have value-based conversations that drive company-wide impacts.
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Here are some additional resources on aligning Sales with Customer Success:
-
How Sysdig Built Sales & Customer Success Alignment
-
Sysdig Customer Case Study
-
Building a Culture of Buyer Alignment
Our second episode of our podcast series “Lessons Learned in Sales”, John Kaplan talks with Force Management Facilitator Antonella O’Day about her sales career including:
-
How she got a deal done in 8 minutes
-
A mistake she was grateful to have happen early in her career
-
How she found Force Management by looking for the top sales training companies
-
One piece of advice that has helped to elevate her career
You won’t want to miss the lessons that made an astronomical impact on her sales career.
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Here are some additional resources based on the conversations with Antonella:
-
Making Discovery Uncomfortable [Podcast]
-
https://bit.ly/35rzbNa
-
Overcoming the Seller Deficit Disorder
-
https://bit.ly/3gnFjwr
Attaching to a big business problem gets you access, funding and urgency. How do you find the pain and then how do you attach your solution to it?
John Kaplan covers:
-
How salespeople can get credit for helping buyers solve big business problems.
-
How to attach decision makers and champions to their company’s big business pains in a way that supports your success.
-
How to align your differentiation to solving business pains to improve your ability to beat competition and win.
Here are some additional resources on attaching to business pains:
- Helping Buyers Reach Their Own Conclusions [Podcast]
-https://apple.co/2S7lfop
-
Executing Effective Discovery [Podcast]
-
https://apple.co/3xqbstD
-
How to Enable Reps to Sell Higher [Podcast]
-
https://apple.co/3gEgexP
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
In this episode, we wrap up our conversation with Coach John Mosley Jr, from East Los Angeles College and featured on Netflix’s Last Chance U: Basketball. John Kaplan pulls out some of the top takeaways for sales leaders — and how they can use some of these coaching techniques to create value for their sales team. If you haven’t listened to parts 1 and 2, tune into those first, then come back here.
More on the conversation and how to support the ELAC’s Men’s Basketball Program:
- Links to Support the ELAC Basketball Program
-
https://bit.ly/3tYLYkn
-
The Skill/Will Model Infographic [Diagram]
- https://bit.ly/3u7qp17
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Don’t miss — part 2 of our conversation with Coach John Mosley Jr, from East Los Angeles College and featured on Netflix’s Last Chance U: Basketball. Coach Mosley shares more insights on coaching a team to success in another energetic episode. If you haven’t listened to part 1, you may want to listen to that episode first!
You can support Coach Mosley and ELAC Student Athletes here:
-
Donate to the ELAC Men’s Basketball Program
-
https://org.eteamsponsor.com/ETS/supportUs/311056148
-
Donate to the ELAC Student Athlete Fun
-
https://elacfoundation.com/elac-student-athletes-fund/
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
From the Last Chance U: Basketball series, and East Los Angeles College, Coach John Mosley Jr joins John Kaplan for a conversation on—you guessed it—coaching. While they operate in different courts, this is an episode you don’t want to miss.
Support Coach Mosley and ELAC Student Athletes:
-
Donate to the ELAC Men’s Basketball Program
-
https://org.eteamsponsor.com/ETS/supportUs/311056148
-
Donate to the ELAC Student Athlete Fund
-
https://elacfoundation.com/elac-student-athletes-fund/
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Have you ever caught yourself babbling in a sales conversation? John Kaplan has, and he shares some spirit around asking yourself the question - “Why are you talking?”
Show your customer you’re focused on them and want to genuinely understand their business pain. John Kaplan joins us to walk through some small tricks he uses to make sure he keeps sales conversations focused on the customer.
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Here are some additional resources on keeping the focus on the buyer:
-
Why Your Active Listening Skills Are Crucial to Hitting Your Number
-
https://bit.ly/3hlHPUK
-
Improve Your Active Listening Skills [Podcast]
-
https://apple.co/2R1Tq0H
-
3 Things You Need In Every Deal
-
https://apple.co/3xWEJwt
How do you ensure you’re selling for a great company or moving to a great company?
Part of believing that what you do matters, means loving what you do. Companies make great promises when looking to hire top sales talent or retain top performers. Be confident you’re in the right spot and making the right moves in your sales career. John Kaplan shares his opinion on how elite sellers ensure that they’re selling for great companies, including:
-
What evidence to look for
-
How companies enable salespeople to operate at an elite level
-
How to test the internal operations and traits of a sales organization
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Sales Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Here are some additional resources on picking a great company:
-
How to Ensure You're Selling For A Great Company
-
https://bit.ly/2RqFk8B
-
Signs You’re Working for a Company That’s Staged for Growth
-
https://bit.ly/3vGHQGG
-
Four Questions Every Sales Organization Needs to Answer
-
https://bit.ly/3uhR4Jb
Great conversations only happen when salespeople aren’t afraid to be uncomfortable.
Being elite often comes down to being the person who can ask great discovery questions with patience, empathy and confidence. Force Management Facilitator Antonella O’Day shares how to dig deep in discovery conversations in a way that creates a healthy tension in the conversation, including:
-
The biggest misconceptions when adding positive tension to sales conversations
-
How to prepare to drive interest from buyer
-
Best practices for helping sellers dig deep in a way that’s empathetic
Here are some additional resources on discovery:
-
Executing Effective Discovery Podcast
-
https://apple.co/3dSpXi6
-
Our Most Popular Content on Executing Effective Discovery
-
https://bit.ly/3vkqP52
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
This episode is the first in our new podcast series “Lessons Learned in Sales”, John Kaplan talks with Senior Director of Consulting and Facilitation Patrick McLoughlin about his own career including:
-
The lessons he’s learned from some great managers and the mantra he uses today
-
The worst mistake he ever made
-
The time a colleague stole a prospect’s glasses
This is a conversation you don’t want to miss!
Here are some additional podcasts featuring PaddyMac:
-
How to Move Yourself Beyond Mediocrity [Podcast]
-
https://apple.co/3xbK1n9
-
The Handoff: SDR to AE [Podcast]
-
https://apple.co/32z7hgM
-
Improve Your Active Listening Skills [Podcast]
-
https://apple.co/3ek5YYz
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Sales Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Competitors catch up to your solutions. When they do, your “unique” differentiators won’t hold up.
Marty Mercer stops by the podcast to provide tips on steering a buyer’s solution requirements away from your competition (including an impending “do nothing” or “no decision”).
He teaches how to effectively prepare for conversations around decision criteria, so you can build out a list of buyer solution requirements that will validate a premium price. He also covers what to do when a customer shares a capability that you know your solution is at a disadvantage for.
This episode is one of those that you’ll want to save and come back to time and again for a refresher when you’re up against challenging competition or need a solid win.
Here are some additional resources on influencing customer requirements:
-
Navigating the Decision Process with Multiple Buyers [Podcast]
-
https://apple.co/3tiTSFI
-
How to Ask Trap Setting Questions
-
https://bit.ly/2Qf6gYx
-
Prepare and Practice to Confidently Execute Sales Calls [Podcast]
-
https://apple.co/3mHNcyc
-
Front-line Manager Coaching Resources
-
https://bit.ly/3g7eooT
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
One of the most basic things you can do as a sales organization is ensure that your executive team and entire company is aligned on the key value and differentiation of your solution. When you have consistent answers to the essential questions, you have the framework to equip sales to articulate your solution’s business value and differentiation in a way that drives bottom-line impact. John Kaplan joins us to discuss how companies generate consistent, cross-functional agreement on the four essential questions, and why it’s critical to accelerating business growth.
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Here are some additional resources on generating company alignment with the buyer:
-
Four Questions Every Sales Organization Needs to Answer
-
http://bit.ly/3c3jfnz
-
Intercom Increased Average Deal Size by 261% After Generating Alignment
http://bit.ly/3e63YVn
- The Secrets to Aligning Your Company on Customer Value and Differentiation
-http://bit.ly/3bcVV7u
Selling too low in an organization is a common challenge for many salespeople. Brian Walsh shares best practices from salespeople and company leaders who have enabled their teams to sell higher, aligning to bigger business problems. He covers:
-
How sales leaders and managers can look inward to improve their ability to equip sellers to sell higher and drive accountability around pursuing high-level opportunities
-
The framework and point of view salespeople need to get in front of decision makers higher, wider and deeper in a sales organization and make an impact
-
How sellers can leverage people lower in an organization to determine who key players are and gain access to them (i.e. why sellers shouldn’t right these people off)
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Here are some additional resources on Selling too Low:
-Navigating the Decision Process With Multiple Buyers [Podcast]
-
Why Sales Reps Struggle With Metrics in a Sales Conversation
-
https://bit.ly/3keTi86
-
Purpose Process Payoff
-
http://bit.ly/3bfkpNe
Improve your ability to navigate your buyer's decision process and win deals that involve multiple decision makers.
John Kaplan walks through key tips for getting multithreaded in your deals and to ensure you’re communicating effectively with the key players in the buying organization, including:
-
What actions you can take early on in the sales process to effectively influence a customer’s decision process
-
How to get higher, wider, and deeper in your organization to determine key decision makers and multiple buyers who will have a say in the final “yes”
-
Tips for making an impact in front of each stakeholder in an opportunity
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Here are some additional resources on decision process:
-
How to Ask the Right Questions in Your Sales Conversation
-
http://bit.ly/2NoJ7Sy
-
Why Sales Reps Struggle with Metrics in the Sales Conversation
-
http://bit.ly/3keTi86
-
Executing Effective Discovery [Podcast]
-
http://apple.co/37GDsOC
Selling to an economic buyer is always challenging and often different from one deal to the next.
Improve your ability to make economic buyers and decision makers stand in their moment of pain and demand an urgent solution to their business challenges. John Kaplan breaks down three key questions you need to answer for your economic buyer in order to propel a deal forward.
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Here are some additional resources on economic buyer:
-
Close the Excuse Department and Shorten Sales Cycles
-
http://bit.ly/3dzElMA
-
Maximize the Effectiveness of Proof Points [podcast]
-
https://apple.co/3btxqSy
-
Earn Your Right to Keep Talking [Templates]
-
http://bit.ly/2NQTDln
Gearing up to launch a strategic initiative or are you in the middle of creating an adoption plan?
Kathleen Schindler, Force Management Managing Director of Customer Success shares current best practices sales leaders are using to make changed behaviors stick. Kathleen supports some of our most successful customers and sales teams as they work to roll out new sales capabilities and make them stick. She shares:
-
How sales leaders and managers are leveraging the remote environment to drive adoption and accountability
-
What to think through when developing the long-term adoption plan for your sales initiative
-
How to incorporate managers in the adoption plan and support their ability to drive on-going reinforcement.
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Here are some additional resources on reinforcing an initiative
-
Insights on Maintaining Virtual SKO Momentum
-
http://bit.ly/3uH7H1J
-
How to Equip Managers to Drive Lasting Results from a Sales Initiative
-
http://bit.ly/3uHVYjg
-
How to Set Up an Effective Adoption Plan Around Your Sales Kickoff
-
http://bit.ly/3sxTrpW
In this episode, we’re sharing key insights on getting your buyer to come to their own conclusions. Remember, people rarely argue with their own conclusions. The more you can help buyers define business problems on their own, in a way that favors your solution’s value and differentiation, the more successful you will be. John Kaplan covers three types of questions you can use to help buyers articulate their business challenges.
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Here are some additional resources on influencing buying criteria:
-
Enable Your Salespeople to Help Buyers Stand in the Moment of Pain
-
http://bit.ly/3c22WHg
-
How to Ask the Right Questions in Your Sales Conversation
-
https://bit.ly/2NoJ7Sy
-
Approaching Your Sales Conversations with Empathy [Podcast]
-http://apple.co/387oYHE
After elite athletes win champions and gold medals they don’t stop practicing. They continue the work that’s necessary to repeat success and beat their competition.
Elite salespeople follow the same playbook. Whether you're at the top of your game or just starting, we break down our best tips to prepare and practice for your sales calls. John Kaplan shares the prepping and practicing tactics he uses and teaches to accomplish critical meeting goals and achieve success in his deals.
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Here are some additional resources on preparing and practicing:
- Lessons From a Sales Veteran [Podcast]
https://apple.co/3nHKpES
- Overcoming the Seller Deficit Disorder
http://bit.ly/3saAM3w
- Align with the Buying Process: The Power of the Mantra
http://bit.ly/3sd3jFq
If you’re coming off the high of making a great number last year or last quarter, you may be struggling with how to repeat your success. If you’re coming off a year that didn’t pan out as you hoped, how can you clean slate and make this year your best yet? John Kaplan covers the two mindsets he used when coming off either a good year or a year riddled with challenges. He shares tips salespeople can apply immediately to get prepared and plan for a successful quarter, sales cycle or year.
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Here are some additional resources on planning for a successful sales cycle:
- The Plan to Make Your Plan
https://bit.ly/3mlUvv9
- Crushed Your Number Last Year? Here's What You Should do Now
http://bit.ly/2OyrwHO
- Create Value for Your Sales Team [Podcast]
http://apple.co/3anlBOv
Making the shift from selling smaller deals to enterprise solutions that require multiple decision-makers is a common career progression path. This change may require you to change your selling approach. John Kaplan talks through specific things you want to pay attention to if you’re making this shift in your career. He covers:
-
How to identify economic buyers in a complex account and leverage them to progress your deals faster and at a higher value
-
A successful process for working with an economic buyer early on in the deal and during the deal to capture information that leads to better outcomes
-
How to keep economic buyers engaged after the deal closes to open up new opportunities for cross-sells, up-sells, and proof points
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Here are some additional resources on shifting to bigger sales
- Lessons from a Sales Veteran Podcast
http://apple.co/3nHKpES
- Champions vs Coaches Podcast
http://apple.co/3hhDqQ1
- Why Your Sales Reps Struggle with Metrics (The “M” and “W” blog)
http://bit.ly/2ZQFYOM
Today we are marking our 50th episode! We rebranded the Force Management podcast last March and launched right before the Pandemic hit. To celebrate and share our appreciation for hitting record numbers of listeners, we’re sharing some of our most popular and albeit most valuable episodes. If you're a faithful listener, this episode can serve as a reminder of the episodes you may want to revisit. If you’ve missed some episodes, this is a great way to catch up on some valuable insights.
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
All of the podcasts covered in this episode:
- Executing Great Discovery w/ Brian Walsh
http://apple.co/2TC1kv5
- Improve Your Active Listening Skills w/ Patrick McLoughlin
http://apple.co/3ojaoTm
- Getting into a New Opportunity w/ John Kaplan
http://apple.co/34n8Y3o
- How to Prepare for Buyer Negotiation Tactics w/ Tim Caito
http://apple.co/3raJtdr
- Coaches vs. Champions w/ John Kaplan
http://apple.co/3hhDqQ1
- Lessons From a Sales Veteran w/ Frank Azzolino
http://apple.co/3nHKpES
- Staying Motivated in Today’s Environment w/ John Kaplan
http://apple.co/3iIuJyP
What are you doing to ensure you’re creating value for your sales team?
It’s hard to be steady as a sales leader or front-line manager when you’re carrying the number. If you’re in an organization that’s struggling or might not have the best leadership above you, this is a must-listen episode.
Brian Walsh shares insights on how to overcome organizational challenges and lead your teams in a way that has a positive impact. He covers examples of what to do and what not to do as a leader at the end of a quarter when you’re in a flurry to hit the number. Tune in to hear tips for improving your leadership skills when you don’t have access to support from above you or you’re facing complex challenges that you don’t have the power to solve.
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Here are some additional resources on
- How to Help Your Front-line Sales Managers Lead Successful Teams
http://bit.ly/3opxpnb
- Being elite: 3 Lessons Learned as a Revenue Leader
http://apple.co/39h8XQA
- How to Make Sure a Bad Quarter Doesn’t Repeat Itself
http://apple.co/2Fk1kMM
While you’re working your current deals, there are key steps you should take to start the negotiation process early and drive better outcomes for you and your buyers.
In this episode, Senior Partner Tim Caito shares how you can set yourself up for success before price conversations begin — and in the end, close for a premium. Tim’s perspective is helpful for anyone who wants to improve their negotiation process and put a stop to closing for a discount. Share with your teams to ensure they’re using these three concepts in their sales conversations in order to start the negotiation process early.
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Here are some additional resources on negotiating early
- Negotiation FAQs & Best Practices
http://apple.co/369t4OH
- Finding Success with Procurement Podcast
http://apple.co/38WH4wR
- Changing Your Conversation with Procurement On-demand Webinar
http://bit.ly/3nN97V4
We’ve all worked with prospects who drag their feet on making a final decision. You may even have some of these deals in your pipeline right now. If you do, this episode is for you.
John Kaplan shares how to reignite your stalled deals and differentiate yourself from other competition that may still have a foot in the door (including a do nothing or do it internally option). Hear how you can differentiate your solutions from all other outcomes to close your current and future deals faster.
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Here are some additional resources on reassessing your deals:
- How to Reignite Stalled Deals
http://bit.ly/3i8petF
- Predicting No Decisions On-Demand Webinar
http://bit.ly/2D0dxFa
- Executing Great Discovery
http://apple.co/2TC1kv5
Turning over a potential deal from an SDR/BDR to an AE is a critical step in the sales process.
We often say there’s as much differentiation in what you sell as there is in how you sell. When you create a good customer experience for the buyer, before and throughout the handoff process, you can separate your organization early on from competition, including “do nothings”. Patrick McLoughlin joins us to share what SDRs and AEs can do to establish a handoff process that ensures your buyers feel heard and interested in continuing to move the deal forward.
Note: If you’ve been through CoM, hear ways you, as an SDR, can leverage your mantra to grab prospect interest or prepare great notes for your handoff to the AE.
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Here are some additional resources on the handoff from SDR to AE:
Aligning Your SDR Team with the Broader Sales Organization
http://bit.ly/2GaN1Ky
Improve Your Active Listening Skills Podcast
http://apple.co/3ojaoTm
Getting your SDR process right
http://apple.co/2LplcAI
Plan for a successful year and understand why some companies were able to turn the corner faster than others during the pandemic.
One thing we often emphasize at the end of each year is coming up with a plan to make the plan. This year, that planning process may look a little different. What are you going to change next year?
John Kaplan joins us to share spirit around how your entire sales organization can keep the focus on your buyer’s evolving business problems and drive great results because of it.
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Here are some additional resources on the great teacher, 2020:
2020 The Great Teacher
http://bit.ly/2M8PCrn
Aligning With Your Buyer’s Changing Needs Podcast
http://apple.co/31spJrV
The Plan to Make the Plan
http://bit.ly/3mlUvv9
Four Reasons Your Sales Messaging Framework Needs a Refresh
http://bit.ly/2M6hxIw
You may have had to sell virtually before the pandemic, but now it’s perhaps the only way you can connect with a prospect. Now more than ever, you want to make sure you’re bringing your “A” game, accounting for the challenges remote selling brings (does video fatigue ring a bell?).
Marty Mercer, Force Management Facilitator, joins us for the first time to share insights and tips for differentiating yourself from the competition in the remote environment.
-
How to adjust your own preparation cadence to ensure better success in the remote environment
-
Why people check out or leave virtual conversations early and how to avoid this challenge
-
How to immediately grab the attention of your virtual audience and manage the conversation in a positive and memorable way
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Here are some additional resources on virtual selling tips & tricks
Virtual Selling is Here to Stay: Maximize Your Results
Joining Remotely: 7 Tips for Great Virtual Sales Conversations
Lessons from a Sales Veteran [Podcast]
As part 2 to last week’s episode “Leveraging the technical mind”... we’re covering how to conduct demos in a way that is value-based and improves your ability to win.
All too often, companies push for a demo too early and this can take away from key value-based conversations and discovery that leads to higher margins at close.
John Kaplan joins us to explain why timing is everything. He shares the process their sales teams used at PTC to execute great discovery and ensure they had the right people in the room before moving forward with a demo. Tune in to hear how this process helped them improve their win rates dramatically.
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Here are some additional resources on demos:
Leveraging the Technical Mind [Podcast]
https://apple.co/3gPafnG
Playing Back Your Sales Discovery Sessions [Podcast]
https://apple.co/2E4HFQD
Executing Great Discovery [Podcast]
https://apple.co/2TC1kv5
Being able to align the technical capabilities of a solution with the business outcomes that solution can provide is a key attribute of elite sellers. Conversations around technical requirements and decision criteria can either propel a deal forward or cause big problems that are difficult to overcome.
John Kaplan covers the ways elite sellers leverage the technical mind. He’ll share:
-
Where the technical and business worlds intersect
-
How elite sellers leverage the technical mind to progress their deals at high values
-
What needs to be in place for salespeople to connect features and functions to real business problems and solutions
-
How Segment shifted their mindset
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Here are some additional resources on technical buyers
- Segment’s Webinar on Aligning Product With Sales
https://bit.ly/2JAs0el
- Maximize the Effectiveness of Proof Points [Podcast]
https://apple.co/3iEMrTa
Frank Azzolino, Force Management Senior Partner, has sold for years. He’s been there - done that. He also is a great teacher.
He makes his first appearance on the show and talks about how he ensures he has an elite selling motion. His tips will help you make an immediate impact on your critical deals (in all stages of the sales process).
He covers it all, making this a must-listen episode for any salesperson or manager out there. Plus, he shares his favorite discovery question, and the one question he wishes he knew 30 years ago.
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Here are some additional resources on building sales skills
- How to Test Your Champions [Podcast]
https://apple.co/2BJNul4
- Remember These Phrases. Sell More Deals [Podcast]
https://apple.co/33vC8vG
- Improve Your Active Listening Skills Podcast [Podcast]
https://apple.co/2Vi98D4
Are you considering a new opportunity? Do you feel good about the company you’re working for? Are you working for a company that’s set up for growth or are you on a sinking ship?
John Kaplan goes through key things to look for in your company that will determine the likelihood it will be successful.
Are there things in place that indicate future success (for you and the company), or an unavoidable iceberg ahead (aka. don’t hop on that ship…)
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Here are some additional resources on assessing company growth
- From Good to Great Webinar: critical factors of successful sales organizations
https://bit.ly/3lXaU8E
- What Every Elite Sales Organization Does
https://bit.ly/3kYoRld
- Is Your Company Staged for Growth?
https://bit.ly/2UTZ03o
How well do you prepare to listen?
We know how important asking great questions is to uncovering business pain. However, having great questions will only get you so far, if you don’t know how to listen to the answers.
Patrick McLoughlin talks through the concept of active listening and the fundamentals elite sellers execute flawlessly. Skills like:
-
How to prepare for the answers you’ll get from customers in a way that enables you to dig deeper or pivot decisively
-
What you need to listen for if you want to map what you hear (negative consequences, before scenarios) to your solutions effectively
-
How to follow up what you’ve uncovered to get your customer to feel heard & understood
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Here are some additional resources on Active Listening
Playing Back Your Sales Discovery Sessions [Podcast]
https://apple.co/2E4HFQD
Approaching Your Sales Conversations with Empathy [Podcast]
https://apple.co/2YDHX8b
Our Most FAQs from Salespeople [Podcast]
https://apple.co/36Kyu1I
We often find ourselves explaining how our sales messaging initiatives intersect with our sales qualification initiatives. When wondering what should come first, sales leaders often have to critically analyze their organization’s sales challenges and prioritize next steps accordingly. Easier said than done ...
Brian Walsh covers how you can assess gaps in your sales messaging and qualification processes to chart an efficient path to scalable, revenue growth. He covers:
-
Key questions to consider when prioritizing the best initiative to drive sales impact
-
An analysis of the PBOs and benefits from each initiative as they relate to top sales effectiveness concerns (forecasting, margins, etc.)
-
How sales messaging and qualification initiatives work together to power predictable revenue growth
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Here are some additional resources on Sales Messaging & Qualification :
- How MEDDICC Helps Drive Predictable Revenue [Webinar]
https://bit.ly/2HjEcyJ
- MEDDICC Resource Guide
https://bit.ly/2UbZHVe
- How Sales Messaging & Qualification Work Together to Drive Scalable Growth
https://bit.ly/3kix1pH
We say these phrases so often, we decided to make a whole podcast about them. Today, we explore what they really mean and why we encourage every salesperson to remember them. Put them on your mirror, write them down in your journal, Instagram them… we recite them over and over. Take a listen and use them to motivate you to sell more.
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Here are some additional resources related to John’s top 4 phrases :
Be Uncommon [Podcast]
https://apple.co/3bX7IWo
Why Your Deals Are Taking So Long [Podcast]
https://apple.co/31V8z6c
Executing Great Discovery [Podcast]
https://apple.co/2TC1kv5
When it comes to launching strategic change initiatives, big or small, how can you ensure that they not only stick but don't become yet another compliance exercise?
In this podcast, Brian Walsh talks through how sales leaders and managers can make sure their strategic initiatives provide value for their sales organization, including:
-
Key ways to get sales teams to put strategic changes to work in a way that drives repeatable execution and results
-
How to articulate the value behind the specific business change to breed action from sales teams
-
The three mindsets you’ll face from your salespeople when pushing for result-driven adoption
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Here are some additional resources on Compliance Exercises:
- How MEDDICC Helps Drive Predictable Revenue | Webinar
https://bit.ly/2HjEcyJ
- Don’t Let Your Sales Initiative Fail: Lead from the Front
https://bit.ly/3m79oAo
- How to Convert Skeptics at Your SKO
https://bit.ly/3m6vTp2
If your pipeline deals are at risk because your buyers choose to “do nothing” rather than move forward, this is the podcast episode for you.
“Do Nothing” is often a key competitor as we maneuver through the sales process and there are key things salespeople can do to win against this option.
In this episode, John Kaplan breaks down three fundamentals elite salespeople use to sell and win against a “do nothing” buyer mindset.
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Here are some additional resources on selling against “do nothing”:
Predicting No Decisions | On-Demand Webinar
https://bit.ly/2D0dxFa
Five Things That Will Help You Uncover New Business Opportunities
https://bit.ly/2IzNZBq
What to Do When “Do Nothing” is Your Chief Competition in a Sales Opportunity
https://bit.ly/355oShg
How do you work with procurement to ensure you close a great deal? How can you make that conversation easier on yourself and the professional buyers you’re working with?
Tim Caito, Force Management Senior Partner and resident negotiation expert, joins us to chat through what your sales teams can do to win more when they’re up against professional buyers. He’ll cover:
-
How to help procurement minimize the risk of choosing your solutions
-
How getting to procurement early can help differentiate your solutions and improve your ability to win
-
The common mistakes and misconceptions reps have about procurement, and how to circumvent them
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Here are some additional resources on the Finding Success with Procurement:
- Five Essential Questions That Drive Success with Professional Buyers
https://bit.ly/2Igj2Su
- Change Your Conversation With Procurement [Webinar]
https://bit.ly/3nN97V4
- Selling and Negotiating on Value [Webinar]
https://bit.ly/34T0U8P
- Value Negotiation Resource Page
https://bit.ly/33Sz8dn
Deals are won or lost in discovery.
The more your sales teams can carry out discovery in a way that builds prospect interest and opens doors to high-level business stakeholders, the more they’ll be able to hit their numbers repeatedly.
In this episode, Brian Walsh shares personal experiences and tips on the art of great discovery and how your sales teams can earn the right to ask the hard questions and move opportunities forward. He’ll cover:
-
The three things your sales teams should have prepared before every sales discovery conversation
-
Why preparing prospects before a call is critical to landing the ask, plus insights on how to do it
-
Tips for expanding sales conversations in a way that opens up the opportunity to get in front of other stakeholders in the business
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Here are some additional resources on executing great discovery:
- Play Back What You Heard in Discovery Podcast
https://apple.co/2E4HFQD
- Maximize the Effectiveness of Proof Points Podcast
https://apple.co/3iEMrTa
- Our Most Popular Content on Executing Effective Discovery
https://bit.ly/2HYgKHI
We’re diving into the one area of negotiation that many companies fail to pay attention to — the internal process behind every sales negotiation. In this episode, Force Management Senior Partner, Tim Caito explains how refining the internal process can enable your sales organization to increase deal velocity and achieve better outcomes. He’ll cover:
-
Internal bottlenecks that hinder healthy pipelines, and how to course correct
-
How to make negotiation and company-wide competency to ensure sales teams can move deals forward efficiently
-
The essential questions you can use to evaluate your own, internal negotiation process
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Here are some additional resources on the Internal Negotiation Process:
- Sales Negotiation: Navigating departmental impact guide
https://bit.ly/2S3oKZP
- Building an Elite Sales Negotiation Process [Resource Page]
https://bit.ly/3lmNeug
- A Sales Leader’s Playbook for Negotiation Success
https://bit.ly/338yvfq
Sometimes inspiration can hit you at the most unexpected times. For Senior Director of Consulting and Facilitation Patrick McLoughlin, it was during a Command of the Message training when he noticed the difference between two basketballs in his office.
What are the key differences between mediocrity and greatness?
What separates the best salespeople from the rest?
Patrick shares his thoughts while running through Kobe Bryant’s ten rules for achieving greatness. It’s a great listen especially for sales reps and managers who are struggling in foggy sales environments.
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Here are some additional resources on moving from mediocrity to greatness:
- Motivation Podcast
https://apple.co/3iIuJyP
- Remembering Jack Welch: Logos, Talent and a Disdain for Mediocrity
https://bit.ly/2FFY52y
- The Uncommon Story Podcast
https://apple.co/3bX7IWo
Are you struggling with motivation?
Especially in our current environment, finding motivation in a foggy sales environment can be a constant battle.
We sat down with John Kaplan to discuss ways to improve productivity and keep yourself and/or your sales teams motivated by being uncommon in what you do.
Here are a few topics we’ll cover:
-
What to do when the opportunities in your territory seem limited
-
How managers can work with reps to continuously build healthy pipelines
-
How to be uncommon and improve your (or your sales team’s) ability to compete
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Here are some additional resources on motivation:
- Plan to Make the Plan Article
https://bit.ly/3mlUvv9
- Get Busy: Advice for Salespeople Podcast
https://apple.co/2Rkilck
- The Uncommon Story Podcast
https://apple.co/3bX7IWo
- How to Make Sure a Bad Quarter Doesn’t Repeat Itself Podcast
https://apple.co/2Fk1kMM
- Approaching Today’s Sales Conversations with Empathy Podcast
https://apple.co/2YDHX8b
We’re taking a deep dive into the critical roles SDRs play and the value they can bring to your company.
Special guest, Patrick McLoughlin, Senior Director of Consulting and Facilitation at Force Management, covers how sales organizations can benefit from generating alignment between their SDR/BDR organization and their sales organization. He’ll cover:
-
The biggest mistakes sales organizations make with SDR organizations
-
How to get more value from your SDR organizations by providing training and content that focuses them on what’s needed to execute
-
How to equip SDRs to handle objections in a way that drives opportunities forward
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Here are some additional resources on the SDR Process:
-
Drive Revenue by Aligning Your SDR Team With Your Broader Sales Organization https://bit.ly/2GaN1Ky
-
Why Your SDR Process isn’t Working On-Demand Webinar https://bit.ly/2ERgfxE
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For SDRs/BDRs - Overcoming the Fear Of Rejection https://apple.co/2EDdIaE
There’s no doubt that next year’s SKO will be different from years past. In this episode, we sat down to discuss how some of the sales leaders we work with are approaching their sales kickoffs. Many of them are shifting to sales initiatives. In this episode, we cover:
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3 key, sales execution areas of focus for sales leaders who are looking to improve their sales team’s ability to compete
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How sales leaders are moving forward with virtual, sales training engagements and the outcomes they’re able to achieve as a result
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How to move forward with a virtual event that’s still just as engaging, relevant and valuable for your sales organization
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The mindset elite sales leaders are using to determine what’s best for their sales organization right now
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Here are some additional resources focused on Shifting the SKO
- Aligning With the Buyer's Changing Needs Podcast https://apple.co/31spJrV
- Reframing Your Buyer Message for What’s Happening Right Now https://bit.ly/2EwbBVV
- What Sales Leaders Are Doing to Recover & Driver Revenue eBook https://bit.ly/3gxyZz6
- Sales Strategies Achieving Results Right Now https://bit.ly/32ttKeN
- Making MEDDICC Work Podcast https://apple.co/3llvXBW
- Top Sales Negotiation Resources https://bit.ly/3lmNeug
- Negotiation FAQs & Best Practices Podcast https://apple.co/3gqxgf2
In this episode, we’re taking a step back to cover the most frequently asked questions we get from our customers, the sellers we train, and our listeners. From warming up cold calls and building pipeline to asking trap setting discovery questions, and getting to the economic buyer, John Kaplan covers it all.
Here are a few key insights you’ll want to tune in to hear:
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How sellers can nail their differentiation in discovery and win against tough competition
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How to prepare for your sales calls to warm up cold opportunities
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How to use empathy in sales conversations when asking challenging (or seemingly negative) discovery questions
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How to leverage your champion to earn the approval of the economic buyer
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Here are some additional resources focused on
- Getting into an Opportunity Podcast
https://apple.co/34n8Y3o
- Approaching Your Sales Conversations with Empathy Podcast
https://apple.co/2YDHX8b
- Playing Back Sales Discovery Sessions Podcast
https://apple.co/2E4HFQD
- Coaches vs. Champions Podcast
https://apple.co/3hhDqQ1
- How to Test Your Champions Podcast
https://apple.co/2BJNul4
Proof points should tell a story of how your solutions effectively solved your customer’s problems and achieved measurable results.
Elite sellers know the story behind their proof points so they can better tie them to their live opportunities in a way that’s relevant and meaningful to their prospects. Elite sales organizations have a process for gathering these proof points so their sellers can use them to drive high-value deals forward.
In this podcast, John Kaplan walks us through:
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How to develop a process for gathering impactful proof points and who should own this role in your organization
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When and how to use proof points in the most effective way, including how to enable your champions to articulate the stories behind your proof points
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How to make proof points as relatable as possible to live opportunities and sales conversations
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Here are some additional resources focused on proof points:
Methods to Increase Sales: Nailing Your Proof Points
https://bit.ly/3kt2ZPU
Successful Sales Strategies: Leverage Your Customer Testimonials
https://bit.ly/2XKDDDx
Metrics in Sales Conversations Podcast
https://apple.co/3fV0tPb
Many sales leaders want to add MEDDICC into their sales organizations to improve sales qualification, mitigating losses and the number of deals in the pipeline that just aren’t progressing effectively.
Spoiler - just adding the tool to your sales process won’t drive results. You as a sales leader, and your sales teams have to put in the work to make it work.
In this episode, Managing Director of Facilitation and Delivery, Brian Walsh talks through how to enable your sales teams to drive results using MEDDICC. He’ll cover:
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The three sales qualification questions MEDDICC can help companies solve
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How you can make MEDDICC successful, specifically for your organization
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How leaders, managers, sales reps impact the success of MEDDICC in different ways
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Personal experiences on how managers can help reps move deals forward in a way that drives results
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Here are some additional resources focused on implementing MEDDICC:
- An Overview of MEDDICC
https://bit.ly/31uSNxz
- Make MEDDICC Work for Your Sales Organization
https://bit.ly/2CaI8zG
- How Sales Messaging & Qualification Work Together to Drive Scalable Growth
https://bit.ly/3kix1pH
You know that champions can be a critical component of moving your deals forward.
However, identifying them isn’t always easy.
Do you really have a champion or just a coach? If you’re a manager, how are you helping your reps find, develop, and test their champions?
In this episode, John Kaplan will cover:
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Questions to help you identify a champion or coach
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How to know if your champion is actively selling on your behalf and if they have a vested interest in your success
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If you should move forward without a champion or hold and build a champion
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Here are some additional resources focused on coaches and champions:
Testing Your Champions Podcast
https://apple.co/2BJNul4
Resources to Help Your Salespeople Enable Champions
https://bit.ly/316EZsV
Building up Your Champions Podcast
https://bit.ly/3k5wSG3
Many sales leaders are moving forward with their sales transformation initiatives, virtually. They’ve come to an understanding that they don’t have time to wait.
We sat down with Force Management's Chief Operating Officer Dave Davies and Brian Walsh, Managing Director of Facilitation and Delivery, to discuss how sales organizations are moving forward right now in a remote environment. They cover:
The benefits of moving forward with your initiative virtually
The process that drives the most impact virtually
The results they’ve seen companies have from moving forward
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Here are some additional resources focused on virtual sales initiatives:
Our Virtual Delivery Offering
https://bit.ly/2DbTVxC
How to achieve results with virtual sales training
https://bit.ly/338RNSx
How we achieve results for our clients, virtually
https://bit.ly/3jHUrEz
Moving opportunities forward and maintaining a healthy pipeline in this environment — are two critical areas sales organizations are struggling with right now.
In this episode John Kaplan talks through the three things you need in every deal, minimizing no decisions, discounts and other risks to their pipelines. He’ll discuss:
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How to determine your PBOS, Required Capabilities and Metrics
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How to change a deal at risk into a high-value opportunity
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What’s needed for salespeople to become more relevant to their buyers right now
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Here are some additional resources focused on PBOS, required capabilities and metrics:
- Predicting No Decisions On-Demand Webinar
https://bit.ly/2D0dxFa
- How to Ask the Right Questions in Your Sales Conversation
https://bit.ly/2E8TRiS
- 6 Questions That Will Help Your Sales Team Produce More Revenue
https://bit.ly/32MuH3I
- Why Sales Reps Struggle with Metrics in the Sales Conversation
https://bit.ly/2ZQFYOM
This topic is so important we named our podcast after it.
In this episode, John Kaplan explains what it means to have an ‘audible-ready’ sales organization. He covers the five power plays of an audible-ready sales team and how sales leaders can equip their teams tools that enable them to keep the focus on their buyer.
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Here are some additional resources focused on being audible ready:
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How to Ensure You're Audible-Ready in Your B2B Sales Conversations; https://bit.ly/3eOOdA1
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What’s the Meaning of Command of the Message; https://bit.ly/31gD5rD
We’re using this episode to run through the most frequently asked questions we hear about sales negotiation.
Listen as Tim Caito discusses best practices managers and sales reps can instill into their negotiation process to ensure their business and procurement buyers view their solutions as valuable.
He’ll cover:
- How to navigate relationships with both buyer contacts and procurement professionals to improve the buying process and provide value for all stakeholders, including yourself.
- How sales reps can influence required capabilities early on, to show their solutions are the best fit for the buyer’s requirements, while minimizing discounts.
- Three things managers can do to continually coach on rep negotiation skills and drive seller behavior away from discounting.
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Here are some additional resources on the negotiation and procurement :
Sales Procurement On-demand Webinar with Tim Caito
Tools & Resources for Building an Elite Sales Negotiation Process
On-demand Webinar | Selling and Negotiating on Value
Salespeople, even veteran sellers, can struggle with warming up cold sales conversations and turning LinkedIn connections into active opportunities.
An avid listener recently asked that we cover how to get into opportunities and become immediately relevant to a prospect.
In this episode, John Kaplan explains how salespeople can be uncommon in their call preparation and conversations, so they can successfully earn the right to move their prospects into active opportunities.
Please note this episode was recorded prior to Covid-19.
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Here are some additional resources focused on getting into an opportunity:
-
Purpose Process Payoff Podcast; https://apple.co/3hPFGOV
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Starting Strong With New Prospects Blog; https://bit.ly/2zVG51b
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Internal Negotiation Process Webinar: https://bit.ly/2ZgiEZj
Communication is a critical component to ensuring your teams stay focused.
For sales leaders, it can be the one thing that separates the best from the rest. If your people understand where they’re going and how they’ll get there, you are one step closer to your revenue goals.
In this episode, John Kaplan covers the concept of a leadership footprint to explains how leaders can:
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Outline their organization’s new mission and explain how they’re planning to get there
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Articulate exactly what they need from their sales teams to succeed
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Here are some additional resources focused on the leadership footprint:
Leadership Footprint Template https://forc.mx/2UAM0Qr
Blog: “What Your Top Performers are Thinking in Your Sales Kickoff Presentation” https://bit.ly/2N9FbB8
Please note this episode was recorded prior to the Covid-19 Pandemic.
Front-line sales managers typically have one of the toughest jobs in the entire sales organization.
Equipping them effectively takes a concerted effort. In this podcast, John Kaplan runs through best practices for helping them be successful, including:
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How to help them develop an operating rhythm
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How to get beyond measuring success at the deal level
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The type of environment you need to foster
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Additional Resources:
Blog: How to give effective feedback
This episode is just for people who are new to a head of sales role or for those people who are looking to jump ship.
John Kaplan outlines the key areas you need to assess for your success plan, including key questions to ask around:
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The sales message
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Sales execution and qualification
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Sales planning processes and management operating rhythm
-
Sales talent
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Additional Resources:
Blog: New to the VP of Sales Role
A Conversation on your next sales role with John McMahon, pt 1
A Conversation on your next sales role with John McMahon, pt 2
Why do buyers use tricky tactics in negotiations?
Because they work!
In this podcast, Tim Caito shares how to best prepare yourself (and your teams) for those popular buyer tactics.
He’ll cover:
-
The 4 main reasons buyer tactics work and when they originate during the process
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The key 5 tips for managing the negotiation process and preparing for success (to the best of your ability!)
-
How to expand the conversation and avoid pain points that narrow the negotiation too early
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Additional Resources:
Sales negotiation training resources
Sale negotiation balancing act webinar
Keeping sales teams focused is an area many sales leaders are trying to excel in right now.
In this episode, John Kaplan walks through simple things you can do as a sales leader or manager to keep your teams motivated and disciplined.
He’ll discuss:
-
How sales teams can use the ‘purpose, process, payoff’ call agenda to make sales conversations empathetic and relevant for buyers.
-
How leaders and managers can work with their reps to make sure they’re prepared for every valuable sales conversation.
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The most critical fundamentals and tactics leaders must focus reps on right now to build pipeline and make revenue numbers.
Here are some additional resources focused on the importance of empathy right now :
Purpose Process Payoff | Podcast Episode
Top Resources for Maintaining Rep Productivity
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
This episode covers how to approach sales conversations right now to mitigate stalled deals and communicate with purpose and empathy.
Many sales professionals and leaders within their organizations are wondering what’s working in sales conversations right, what isn’t, and who’s doing it well.
In this episode, John Kaplan covers how you can focus your sales teams on having purposeful conversations right now, including:
- How salespeople can focus on the buyer and be effective in their conversations to grab onto interest and opportunities
- How to use conversations to uncover changing needs and the specific challenges buyers are facing to approach them with viable solutions
- How to navigate what other organizations are dealing with to mitigate potential stalls and delayed in their deals
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Here are some additional resources focused on the importance of empathy right now :
Reframing Your Buyer Message for What’s Happening Right Now
Get Busy: Responding to the Crazy Week That Was
Please note this episode was recorded prior to the Covid-19 Pandemic.
It takes a lot of “hands on deck” when trying to close a large opportunity.
Often, it’s up to the salesperson to ensure that he/she has the resources needed to get the deal done.
Whether it’s on one deal or to make your yearly goal, you need a plan in place to ensure everyone knows their role in moving the opportunity forward.
In this episode, John Kaplan talks through how to ensure you get the resources you need to close the deal and make your number.
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Additional resources:
The Plan to Make the Plan
Growing companies are often challenged with translating the founder’s vision and story into sales conversations that highlight the value and differentiation of the solution.
In many of these companies, no one can sell as well as the founder.
In this podcast, John Kaplan talks through key steps companies take to scale that message and get an entire sales organization equipped to sell as well as the founder, including:
- The key questions every person needs to answer the same in your company
- The test you can run right now in your own company to start building alignment
- How Force Management ensures they have a great pipeline of proof points.
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
You know how important Champions can be to your sales process. But, how do you test them?
How do you ensure that your Champions are really able to articulate your value and differentiation?
We define Champions as:
- people who actively sell on your behalf
- have a vested interest in getting the deal done
- have power and influence within the company
In this podcast, John Kaplan breaks down key ways to test your Champions, including:
- Key things to watch out for that may signal trouble in your deal
- The three things you need to enable them on
- How to find the gaps in your Champions understanding of your solution
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Additional Resources;
How to write a Champion letter
NOTE: This episode was recorded prior to the Covid-19 Pandemic. John’s advice is still applicable, but please understand we didn’t have the current context when recording.
In this podcast, John Kaplan talks through key areas to assess in your own organization after a less-than-stellar quarter, including:
- How to make sure you have the right people to achieve your yearly goals
- How to build more accountability into the planning process as you move forward in the year
- The cadence with which you use to manage your teams
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Additional Resources
Skill/Will Model
Elite leaders make the choice to work at their craft.
In this episode, John Kaplan shares a few lessons he’s learned as a sales leader, the mantra he follows and the one new hire that became an example of what not to do as a sales leader.
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Our own John Kaplan tells his own story of a time when he had to decide what it meant to be uncommon.
It’s the story that brought the often-heard phrase, “Who’s doing this?!” that many of you have heard in our Command of the Message® training.
This episode is meant to bring you some motivation and inspiration as you focus on this month, this quarter and this year.
Feel free to share with your teams and colleagues.
Check out The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Every company needs to have alignment around the answers to the Essential Questions: What problems do you solve? How do you solve those problems? How do you solve them differently and/or better than the competition? And, where have you done it before?
In this episode, John Kaplan talks through how you can use our concept of the Essential Questions to align with your buyer and address your customer’s evolving challenges. He’ll cover how your organization can provide the most value for customers by:
- Reframing the essential questions based on today’s environment
- Achieving internal and external alignment around the key problems your offerings solve for your buyer's shifting challenges
- Preparing sellers with these answers and ways to be purposeful in their delivery
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Here are some additional resources on the essential questions:
Maintain Sales Productivity: Five Ways Your Company Can Focus Your Reps on Selling Value
Four Questions Every Sales Organization Needs to Answer
Breaking down the essential questions
Deals are won or lost in discovery.
A key part to successful discovery is the salesperson’s ability to articulate what they learned in discovery back to the customer. We call it playing back “What We Heard”.
In this podcast, John Kaplan runs through best practices for using this information to your advantage, including:
- How it helps you overcome seller deficit disorder
- How to deal with sounding too repetitive
- How to use your customer to help you play back negative information
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Additional Resources:
- A Buyer’s Perspective on Seller Deficit Disorder
We took a break from our typical podcast topics and talked about how salespeople and sales leaders can best use this time, even in the face of unprecedented circumstances.
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
NOTE: This episode was recorded last month, prior to the Coronavirus shut down. Although the episode provides some good tips that apply to the situation many of us find ourselves in now, please listen with the understanding that Brian's comments were recorded without the current context.
There’s not a sales leader out there that doesn’t want to make an immediate impact when they take on a new role.
However, the best sales leaders are also thinking about what they can do to create ongoing and sustainable success. It’s a two-pronged approach.
In this episode, Senior Director Brian Walsh runs through how to play the long game in sales leadership or even in your selling role.
He covers key things you should be thinking through as you map out your own plan for success as well as how to know if you’re in the right company for “the long game.”
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Even the most veteran sales reps can fall victim to lazy sales practices when they’re selling to someone they know.
We think we can skip steps or cut corners in our sales process. These opportunities can fool us into thinking they’re a sure thing.
In this episode, John Kaplan breaks down key triggers to watch out for and ways to hold yourself accountable.
We cover:
- Key steps to take when a former buyer is in a new company and wants to purchase again
- Red flags to watch out for when you have a “friendly” buyer
- The situation we find ourselves in frequently when we are selling to Force Management customers.
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
We’ve all been frustrated by a pipeline full of slow-moving deals. The cause typically goes back to a few key areas where we as salespeople or sales coaches lacked focus. It goes back to basic sales fundamentals, but they’re things even veteran salespeople need to remember.
In this podcast, John Kaplan breaks down three key areas to assess if you have a pipeline full of deals that just won’t close. You’ll learn:
- The three reasons your deals are taking too long to close
- An easy way to execute discovery to ensure you’re going up and down in an organization.
Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.
Additional Resources:
- Why you’re struggling with metrics in your sales conversation: https://www.forcemanagement.com/seller-blog/why-youre-struggling-with-metrics-in-the-sales-conversation
- Asking Bold Discovery Questions: https://www.forcemanagement.com/seller-blog/asking-bold-discovery-questions
- Webinar: Predicting No Decisions: How to Win Undecided Buyers: https://www.forcemanagement.com/predicting-no-decisions-webinar
Force Management continues to be a leader in building company alignment and equipping sales teams as we bring listeners an all-new weekly podcast series.
The Audible-Ready Podcast will feature B2B sales leaders and revenue-driving executives, who share their best insights on how a focus on sales effectiveness can help companies increase revenue, improve sales margins and gain market share.
We’ll cover topics like: Sales Leadership, Sales Transformation, Sales Initiative Results, Sales performance, Adoption and Reinforcement, making quota, high-tech sales, enterprise sales, and so much more.
John Kaplan talks through best practices for preparing to sell the platform solution to your buyer, getting beyond just selling the smaller point solution.
You may know what makes your solution different than others in the market, but aligning that differentiation to the customers is how elite salespeople move the needle. In this podcast, John Kaplan runs through best practices for aligning differentiation to a customer's decision criteria. Learn more about Project Welcome Home Troops here: http://www.projectwelcomehometroops.org/ Read why John is so passionate about this organization here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/special-mission-helping-veterans-john-kaplan/
For many of you, the 4th quarter is well underway. Now is the time to assess where you're at and decide what changes you want to make for next year. In this episode, John Kaplan shares some motivation he learned from his college days! Fours up! Don't forget to follow Force - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/102429/admin/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/forcemgmt IG: https://www.instagram.com/forcemgmt/
Why do reps struggle with metrics? It's likely because they're using them in the wrong way during the sales process. John Kaplan breaks down some tips in this short conversation. You can check out the blog referenced in the podcast here: https://www.forcemanagement.com/seller-blog/why-youre-struggling-with-metrics-in-the-sales-conversation
The people that hire you are not looking for okay, average or even good. They are looking for awesome, exceptional and elite. When salespeople take on a new career opportunity, they have made a conscious decision to pursue a career which is measured daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annually on performance. Knowing expectations are high, how do we overcome the hurdles of average and operate at an elite level? Ray de Avila breaks down what it takes to be elite in this podcast.
Sign up for our webinar on selling and negotiating on value with Tim Caito and Joe Marcin here: https://forc.mx/2D9Cqvk Read our Q&A series with John McMahon on your next sales career opportunity here: https://forc.mx/2ZdhEEn
What do you do if you are in the middle of your sales process and you realize you aren't attached to the right business issue? John Kaplan talks through best practices for backing up the sales process.
If reps are overwhelmed at combining sales messaging methodologies with qualification and negotiation processes, John Kaplan breaks down a way to simplify it all into one single selling motion.
Uncovering business problems provides you, as a salesperson, the ability to effectively map your solutions to the customer's required capabilities. Senior Partner Paul DeMore shares his best practices for aligning to the buyer in your discovery questions.
Are your sales reps missing their numbers this year? Qualification may have something to do with it. John Kaplan talks through best practices for driving a qualification process that works for your sales team.
Ivan Gomez from Next Stage joins the Force Management podcast to talk about the best ways to overcome the fear of rejection, particularly when you are in an SDR/BDR role.
How do you summarize a great discovery session in a way that moves the sales opportunity forward? Senior Director Ray de Avila discusses best practices.
Senior Director Ray de Avila breaks down key tips for outlining the purpose, process and payoff for your sales conversations
Casey Jacox, Kforce President of Client Strategy & Partnerships, talks through best practices for applying Force Management methodologies in your sales organization.
In this podcast, John Kaplan runs through best practices for enabling your front-line managers to inspect, motivate and reinforce.
Two traits that will help your boost sales? Curiosity and the ability to tell great stories. Kforce President of Client Strategy and Partnerships Casey Jacox tells us why developing those skills are critical to being a great salesperson.
Casey Jacox, President of Client Strategy & Partnerships at Kforce talks about why the concept of vulnerability can be an asset to a salesperson
Senior Delivery Partner Brian Walsh breaks down the importance of building alignment within your company around these key essential questions
How do you build positive business intent in your sales process? Senior Delivery Partner Brian Walsh walks through best practices for gaining trusted adviser status with your prospects and customers.
Senior Delivery Partner Brian Walsh runs through best practices for effective discovery. This podcast is a great listen for reps who are looking for a question flow that helps uncover business pain.
This podcast features best practices for enabling your front-line managers to reinforce a sales methodology
Best practices for reinforcing a sales initiative, including steps sales leaders and sales enablement teams can take before, during and after the training event.
Delivery Partner Patrick McLoughlin reviews his best tips for executing effective discovery.
John Kaplan discusses ways you can enable key contacts to sell for you within their own organizations.
The Sales Curmudgeon wraps up his latest series discussing the three things you need to make your sales initiative a success.
Our Sales Curmudgeon talks through why sales executives tend to "bet on the wrong horse" when it comes to their sales initiatives.
In Part 2 of the Sales Curmudgeon series, we break down key steps for managing change in your sales organization.
John Kaplan covers best practices for articulating value and differentiation with multiple buyers in a sales opportunity.
Managing Director John Kaplan breaks down best practices for identifying required capabilities early and validating them throughout your sales process.
Managing Director John Kaplan covers best practices for giving effective feedback to your sales teams.
Consulting Director Jeremy Powers discusses best practices for reinforcing a sales initiative.
Managing Director John Kaplan discusses ways to "dig deep" on negative consequences and motivate your buyer to take action.
This podcast provides some best practices for equipping front-line managers during your sales initiative.
Managing Director John Kaplan discusses his best practices for asking great trap setting questions that help you demonstrate your differentiation and rise above the competition.
In this podcast, Force Management's John Kaplan discussed how to test your Champions and ensure they're actively selling on your behalf
In this podcast, Force Management's John Kaplan runs through the five most common mistakes he sees with salespeople and the discovery process.