Revenue Builders

In this short segment of the Revenue Builders Podcast, hosts John McMahon and John Kaplan delve into the importance of preparation and coaching with Joe Eskenazi, CRO at Kong Inc. They discuss how vital it is for salespeople to be prepared to reduce stress and build trust with clients. Joe shares personal experiences from his early sales career, emphasizing the need for genuine conversations over mechanical responses. He outlines various training exercises and strategies for developing a high-performing sales team, highlighting the fusion of preparation and development in achieving success. Listen for valuable insights on how preparation transforms pressure into confidence and effectiveness in sales. KEY TAKEAWAYS [00:00:26] The Power of Preparation in Sales [00:01:23] Embracing Authenticity Over Mechanics [00:02:17] The Role of Preparedness in Reducing Stress [00:02:57] The Importance of Self-Driven Development [00:04:25] Coaching and Training for Sales Success [00:05:41] The Impact of Exhaustive Preparation QUOTES [00:02:29] "The difference between stress and pressure is preparedness." [00:02:49] "You bring the character, the courage, the art, the curiosity by applying your style to the skills and knowledge." [00:03:40] "You gotta participate in your own rescue. You gotta put in the work." [00:07:20] "There's no such thing really as closing. It's how openers are closers and opening the sales cycle is where all of your ground is laid." Listen to the full conversation through the link below. https://revenue-builders.simplecast.com/episodes/developing-a-performance-mindset-in-b2b-sales-with-joe-eskenazi [https://revenue-builders.simplecast.com/episodes/developing-a-performance-mindset-in-b2b-sales-with-joe-eskenazi] Enjoying the podcast? Sign up to receive new episodes straight to your inbox: https://hubs.li/Q02R10xN0 [https://hubs.li/Q02R10xN0] Check out John McMahon’s book here: Amazon Link: https://a.co/d/1K7DDC4 [https://a.co/d/1K7DDC4] Check out Force Management’s Ascender platform here:  https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/ [https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/]

In this episode of the Revenue Builders Podcast, hosts John McMahon and John Kaplan are joined by Carsten Neuhaus, a European Tennis Promotion Manager at YONEX. Carsten shares his extensive experience in scouting and recruiting tennis talent across Europe, drawing parallels between identifying potential in sports and business. He discusses the importance of long-term commitment in recruitment, the role of intuition, intangibles such as champion attitude and coachability, and the challenges of supporting young athletes on and off the court. The conversation delves into the importance of inner drive, adaptability, and the significance of maintaining balance and mental health. Carsten also highlights the pleasure and responsibility of seeing young talent succeed, as well as the intricate process of selling and embedding a brand's values within the rising stars. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Learn more about Carsten Neuhaus: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carsten-neuhaus-4a929a12a/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/carsten-neuhaus-4a929a12a/] Watch Force Management’s Panel Discussion on AI in Sales Leadership: https://hubs.ly/Q03rlW4Z0 [https://hubs.ly/Q03rlW4Z0] Download the CRO Strategy Checklist: https://hubs.li/Q03f8LmX0 [https://hubs.li/Q03f8LmX0] Enjoying the podcast? Sign up to receive new episodes straight to your inbox: https://hubs.li/Q02R10xN0 [https://hubs.li/Q02R10xN0] HERE ARE SOME KEY SECTIONS TO CHECK OUT [00:02:41] Carsten's Scouting Success Stories [00:05:54] The Journey of Niels McDonald [00:14:51] The Importance of Intangibles in Scouting [00:21:55] Challenges and Realities of Modern Scouting [00:32:48] Parallels Between Sports Scouting and Sales Recruitment [00:37:22] The Role of Intuition in Talent Scouting [00:39:57] The Importance of Team Effort in Scouting [00:41:03] Challenges and Rewards of a Scout's Life [00:44:54] The Likability Factor in Recruitment [00:52:26] The Coachability and Adaptability of Athletes [00:56:20] The Mental Game and Social Media Impact [01:02:28] The Business Side of Scouting and Recruiting HIGHLIGHT QUOTES [00:06:58] “He had no fear. He came in and for me, it was the first time I realized he has attitude of a champion.” [00:14:06] “It was the first time that I was fighting against my own team because they didn’t believe. And I took all the risks and it paid off.” [00:18:47] “The biggest talent is the will to work hard.” [00:32:53] “The two things that we always look for when we're looking for salespeople is drive and coachability.” [00:34:22] “We show them the door and they need to go through themselves.” [00:37:40] “AI can help to find a talent, but it will never replace a recruiter or a scout. No chance.” [01:09:40] “Sometimes you win and sometimes you learn. If you’re not winning, you’re learning.”

In this short segment of the Revenue Builders Podcast, we revisit the discussion with veteran sales leader and CRO of RegScale, Eric Erston, to unpack what truly sets top-performing sales teams apart. From the importance of laser focus and understanding your ideal customer persona to evolving qualification strategies and leveraging modern tools to decode human motivation — Eric shares hard-won wisdom from decades in enterprise sales and leadership. Whether you're a rep or a revenue leader, this conversation reveals why success depends on where you spend your time — and who you spend it with. KEY TAKEAWAYS [00:00:25] Top performers exhibit relentless focus — not just on numbers but on aligning activity with outcomes. [00:01:10] Teams with process clarity and metric discipline stand in stark contrast to disorganized teams [00:01:52] The “measure twice, cut once” principle applies in sales — especially in qualification and time prioritization. [00:02:16] Beyond BANT: Success requires knowing the ideal company profile and persona profile — both matter deeply. [00:03:14] Not all CISOs are equal — role scope and influence vary by industry and product category. [00:03:54] Many teams ignore the depth of the human behind the persona — a costly oversight. [00:04:16] Use modern tools (social, blogs, panels, LinkedIn) to research what excites and motivates decision-makers. [00:05:36] There’s a work persona and a human persona — both drive behavior. Understand them both. [00:06:00] Success in scale comes not from personal talent, but repeatable frameworks others can execute. QUOTES [00:00:25] "Top performers are always focused… focused on what they sell, their metrics, and what success actually looks like. [00:01:52] "Measure twice, cut once — you can’t qualify without knowing what success looks like. [00:02:38] "I didn’t spend enough time thinking about the role of the human… I thought if you get to the exec, you’re good. Well, maybe." [00:03:54] "We know how they’re measured — but we rarely go deeper into what drives them as a person." [00:06:49] "As a seller, I could get deals done. But when you're leading a team, you realize you have to teach those nuances." Listen to the full conversation through the link below. https://revenue-builders.simplecast.com/episodes/mastering-sales-leadership-with-eric-erston [https://revenue-builders.simplecast.com/episodes/mastering-sales-leadership-with-eric-erston] Enjoying the podcast? Sign up to receive new episodes straight to your inbox: https://hubs.li/Q02R10xN0 [https://hubs.li/Q02R10xN0] Check out John McMahon’s book here: Amazon Link: https://a.co/d/1K7DDC4 [https://a.co/d/1K7DDC4] Check out Force Management’s Ascender platform here:  https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/ [https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/]

In this episode of the Revenue Builders Podcast, hosts John McMahon and John Kaplan welcome Steve McCluskey to delve into the essentials of data-driven sales leadership. They discuss why a foundational "playbook" is crucial before implementing metrics, how to balance activity with accomplishment, and the importance of creating a simple, effective operating rhythm. Drawing on extensive experience, Steve shares practical examples, like the "Magnificent Seven" principle, to illustrate how leaders can use data not for micromanagement, but for targeted coaching, developing talent, and ultimately, driving predictable revenue growth. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Learn more about Steve McCluskey: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevemccluskey/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevemccluskey/] Watch Force Management’s Panel Discussion on AI in Sales Leadership: https://hubs.ly/Q03rlW4Z [https://hubs.ly/Q03rlW4Z0] Download the CRO Strategy Checklist: https://hubs.li/Q03f8LmX0 [https://hubs.li/Q03f8LmX0] Enjoying the podcast? Sign up to receive new episodes straight to your inbox: https://hubs.li/Q02R10xN0 [https://hubs.li/Q02R10xN0] HERE ARE SOME KEY SECTIONS TO CHECK OUT [00:01:45] The Playbook: The Foundation of Data-Driven Leadership [00:06:12] The Three Dimensions of Sales Metrics [00:08:30] Balancing Activity vs. Accomplishment [00:13:21] The "Magnificent Seven": Learning from Top Performers [00:19:05] Adapting the Playbook to the Buyer's Journey [00:21:48] Holding Leaders Accountable for New Rep Ramp Time [00:29:45] Rock Management: How to Settle on the Critical Few Metrics [00:34:10] The Importance of a Cross-Functional Operating Rhythm [00:41:02] Why Data is Just the Starting Point for Coaching [00:44:31] Churn, Accountability, and Regretted Attrition [00:46:15] The Criticality of a Rep's First Deal [00:52:19] Management vs. Leadership: It's a Mindset [00:55:01] The Power of Simplicity in Metrics [00:58:12] Getting Emotionally Connected to Measurement HIGHLIGHT QUOTES "I don't think that data-driven leadership really means anything without that playbook foundation." "One man's micromanagement is another man's success formula. It's just mindset." "The biggest point of leadership is the coaching aspect of it. You're not gonna read a list of metrics and be able to tell somebody what they're doing great... You have to watch the swing." "People don't leave their job. They leave their leaders." "If you can navigate that simply and, and in a, you know, through those metrics, that's so important. But then the second piece... is the difference between management and leadership."

In this short segment of the Revenue Builders Podcast, we revisit the discussion with Shopify's CRO Bobby Morrison. We dive into the transformational "pod structure" they've adopted to align cross-functional teams more closely with customer outcomes. Drawing on lessons from his tenure at Microsoft, Morrison explains how Shopify’s industry-specific pods streamline collaboration across sales, solution engineers, marketing, and customer success—leading to improved speed, accountability, and customer satisfaction. He also reveals how aligning incentives within these pods reduces internal friction and creates scalable, enterprise-grade execution. This episode is packed with strategic insight for CROs, sales leaders, and go-to-market operators aiming to drive operational efficiency and growth. KEY TAKEAWAYS [00:00:28] Shopify’s shift to 16 industry-specific pods was designed to bring cross-functional teams closer to the customer. [00:01:00] Each pod includes sales, solution engineering, launch engineers, and partners all aligned around a single outcome. [00:02:00] At Microsoft, the team spent 70% of their time on internal orchestration, highlighting the inefficiency of siloed roles. [00:03:00] Shopify’s pod structure includes defined primary and secondary roles with centralized responsibility and incentives. [00:03:49] All roles in a pod are measured against the same customer cohort, improving continuity and reducing disruption. [00:04:12] Morrison explains how aligning marketing with outcomes (not just MQLs) is helping Shopify eliminate interdepartmental friction. [00:05:00] Shopify is close to assigning at-risk compensation to marketing teams based on segment performance—creating real ownership. [00:05:49] The pod model drives faster decisions, stronger accountability, and less tug-of-war between siloed departments. QUOTES [00:01:00] "All aligned around a single outcome, which is helping our customers win." [00:02:39] "A sales rep could have as many as 87 different people they're working with internally to hit their objective." [00:03:49] "Now the pods are incentivized off of the same customer cohort." [00:04:59] "We're very close to assigning at-risk targets to our marketing team." [00:05:49] "Less tug-of-war that happens between siloed parts of the organization that have different KPIs." Listen to the full conversation through the link below. https://revenue-builders.simplecast.com/episodes/ai-driven-sales-innovation-with-bobby-morrison [https://revenue-builders.simplecast.com/episodes/ai-driven-sales-innovation-with-bobby-morrison] Enjoying the podcast? Sign up to receive new episodes straight to your inbox: https://hubs.li/Q02R10xN0 [https://hubs.li/Q02R10xN0] Check out John McMahon’s book here: Amazon Link: https://a.co/d/1K7DDC4 [https://a.co/d/1K7DDC4] Check out Force Management’s Ascender platform here:  https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/ [https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/]