Sales Pop! Podcasts

Although sales and marketing alignment has been discussed for many years, it hasn't really reached the level at which it needs to be in today's lightning pace of commerce. Traditionally Marketing's job has been to generate sales leads, which are then thrown over to Sales, whose job it then became to close them.

Sales and marketing alignment is a much talked about problem, yet remains persistent in the sales world. This is at a detriment to many companies and organizations. As Matt Heinz, interviewed by John Golden, points out, there are tremendous benefits to unifying the sales and marketing teams.

Very surprisingly, in 2017 we're still having a conversation about Sales and Marketing Alignment. Sales is still complaining about lead quality, and many marketers are looking for a one-step lead solution. Often Marketing considers that it is responsible for causing interest in prospects, and Sales is responsible for revenue. Sales and Marketing need to be focused on a common goal–and in the end it all comes back to leads. Host John Golden interviews Dan McDade on the truth about leads.

It has long been a struggle for companies to get their sales and marketing teams to align. Throughout the last decade, there have been numerous changes in the sales world, and sales and marketing departments have not been unaffected. However, with these changes have come some complications. It has become challenging to integrate sales and marketing, and the standard method of trying to encourage integration has not necessarily been successful. Instead, Mike Bosworth, interviewed by John Golden, suggests that agreement is the way to help sales and marketing align.

Sales processes and sales strategies are important parts of selling. A sales process follows from sales strategy. A successful operation does not just come about naturally; it is something that requires planning and intense consideration from both customers and companies. And yet, many companies don't put sufficient work into creating their strategies, leaving their processes weak and unsuccessful. John Flannery, interviewed by John Golden, discusses how to create a solid sales strategy and successful sales process.

Having a solid customer strategy is a crucial part of any sales organization. If you don't have a strategy, or if your approach isn't up to par, you lose out on creating a dynamic client base. This ultimately impacts your bottom line. John Golden sits down with Jeff Tanner to provide essential tips on building and improving customer strategies.

An important aspect of selling to a group with a sales presentation is selling within the presentation. It's one thing to sell one-on-one, where the person you're selling to is going to be talking as much as you. But what does it look like when you as the salesperson are doing most of the talking? Host Golden Golden sits down with Rob Jolles to discuss How to tailor a sales pitch to a presentation, help the audience understand "WIIFM", and explain what you expect from the audience.

When selling–as with anything else–there is power in words you use. Getting the words right is the difference between the winners and the losers in sales. How much do words matter? How can what you say make for a demonstrably different outcome? The worst time to think about what you're trying to say is in the time that you're saying it. Host John Gold sits down with Phil M. Jones to discuss his book "Exactly What to Say". Phil explains how much of a difference magic words in sales can make when dealing with a buyer.

You might find that prospects are not going to change their position unless they have a sense of urgency. The incumbency position is very strong, and may even consist of continuing to do nothing. Sometimes we're not trying to take the business away from a competitor–we're just trying to get someone to start a new behavior. To get them to change, a sense of urgency must be created, or an existing sense of urgency tapped into. Host John Golden sits down with Andy Gole to discuss Urgency Based Selling and how you can create urgency in your buyer.

One of the fundamental sales steps that is often missed by organizations is collaborative strategic sales planning. It's all about engaging your sales team to come up with the key activities required to grow your business. Host John Golden sits down with Joe Micallef to discuss the necessary elements of collaborative strategic sales planning and how to avoid common mistakes that companies make when planning their sales strategy.

Most people call the place that produces revenue "the sales department", but if you really think about it, selling is the activity that gets you to a result. For that reason Shawn set out to develop not just sales departments, but selling organizations. Host John Golden sits down with Shawn Karol Sandy to discuss the culture, behavior, and strategy you need to adopt in order to create a successful selling organization.

For a company, selecting software platforms for business operation is a major undertaking. What are the vital questions that must be answered, and what points should be addressed? Host John Golden sits down with Gabriel Gheorghui to discuss the process of how to select the best software for your company.

When Barbara Weaver Smith talks about whale hunting, she's talking about hunting for those big customers and big deals. It requires a skill set all to itself, with a coordinated, trained team—much like the Inuit people in the ancient practice of actual whale hunting. Listen to Barbara and host John Golden as they discuss how to strategically approach the biggest whales. Building relationships with big accounts requires a collective effort from your team to provide the resources needed for these accounts.

Social selling has revolutionized the sales world. It is no secret that the use of social media to engage with buyers and close deals has opened a new world of opportunities for salespeople. However, navigating these changes and utilizing social selling to its maximum potential can be a struggle. Listen in as host John Golden sits down with Julio Viskovich to discuss how sales people can adapt in a digital age.

Host John Golden talks to Bruce Wedderburn of Integrity Solutions who has over 20 years of global experience in the sales performance improvement industry building, coaching and directing sales teams and distribution channels to surpass growth targets. John and Bruce discuss the vital topic of coaching and training on the centerpiece of sales—the sales conversation—and Bruce shares some powerful research into the profound reaches of the various aspects of the sales conversation.

In the last decade, many things have changed about sales coaching and how to apply it correctly to get useful results. One thing that has mostly stayed the same is that there are lots of methodologies out there. What's different, however, is the degree of integration of these methodologies. Salespeople and reps learn the methods, but then they quickly go by the wayside without reinforcement and encouragement from the sales managers. Listen in as host John Golden sits down with Matt Darby, founder of United Sales Resources, to discuss the art of sales coaching.

Do you know how to open doors in sales? Perhaps you've got a good grip on the sales process. You have your elevator pitch, you've worked on boosting charisma and conversation skills, and you put in the time to go above and beyond for your clients. You can't utilize all of these skills you've worked hard on crafting if you can't open the door and get new clients. Chief Door Opener Caryn Kopp sits down with host John Golden to teach you some practical steps to open doors in sales.

John Golden sits down with Andrew Grant to talk about his book "The Innovation Race: How to Change a Culture to Change the Game". The word "culture" gets thrown around a lot, and companies discuss culture at length. What does it really mean to inject culture into a company? Does it simply mean deciding on a radical fashion trend for all employees? John and Andrew explore these topics and key insights on how to create a successful business culture.

Ago Cluytens, Sales Trainer, Coach & Consultant For Tech, Financial & Professional Services of RAIN Group, dives deep into the subject of sales management best practices.

Sales executive expert Meridith Powell talks with John Golden about her new book "Owners Redefining Responsibility". She explains some of the background about why this book was necessary and what the genesis of it. Her biggest reason, CEO's want to know how to build a culture that gets employees wanting to get engaged and take ownership of organizations. Then employees were saying what do I need to do to make sure I can hold on to my job and not lose my career.