The Gartner Sales Podcast

Seizing the Moment: 3 Big Bets to Transform B2B Sales

Welcome to the “Great Sales Awakening.” In this episode of the Gartner Sales Podcast, host Betsy Gregory-Hosler and Dan Gottlieb explore this uniquely transformative era in B2B sales. Changes in labor, economics, resources and technology are driving a unique opportunity to chase a new revenue productivity frontier. Join us for a conversation about the three "big bets" sales leaders can take to lead this transformation: redefining leadership in the AI era, building the agentic sales organization and prioritizing future-fit talent over traditional experience. Dan Gottlieb is a vice president analyst in the Gartner for Sales practice. He writes about sales technology and covers a spectrum of topics related to AI for sales, generative AI, and seller/buyer engagement. Mr. Gottlieb combines over a decade of sales experience with creative thinking to collaborate with clients. His collaborative style invites clients to convert Gartner's research into actionable insights that yield scalable, repeatable growth.

Leading Sales in Turbulent Times

In the latest episode of the Gartner Sales Podcast, host Betsy Gregory Hosler talks with Gartner experts Kevin Hooper and Andy Clement to explore sales leadership in uncertain times. These seasoned executives share strategies for navigating volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environments, drawing lessons from their own leadership roles during past crises like the Great Recession and COVID-19 pandemic. Andy Clement is an Executive Partner with Gartner's Chief Sales Officer program, where he coaches, guides, and challenges sales leaders who are Gartner clients. He joined Gartner in August 2024. Andy retired from Kimberly-Clark in March 2024 after a distinguished 33-year career. During his tenure, he held various key roles, including chief customer officer, vice president of sales, general manager, strategy director, marketing director, and manufacturing director. Andy earned his executive MBA from Vanderbilt University and his undergraduate degree from Wake Forest University. Kevin Hooper is an Executive Partner at Gartner, where he leverages over three decades of experience in technology and sales to advise clients on strategic growth and operational excellence. Before joining Gartner, Kevin held leadership roles at companies including Oracle, NEC, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, and Lenovo, where he served as North America president and general manager of the Infrastructure Solutions Group. His extensive background encompasses expertise in cloud business analytics, enterprise solutions, sales operations and strategy. Kevin is dedicated to helping organizations optimize their strategies and achieve their business objectives.

Mapping the DNA of Top Sales Orgs

CSOs grapple with two challenges: the relentless pressure to hit quarterly targets and the need to sustain competitiveness in the long term. Research shows that only 11% of organizations successfully do both.  In this installment of the Gartner Sales Podcast, Gartner expert Greg Hessong takes us through recent research into what those organizations do differently in order to thrive in turbulent times. Greg Hessong is a Sr. Director, Analyst in the Gartner sales practice, where he studies the drivers of top performing sales teams and revenue leaders. Greg helps clients apply Gartner's research to improve collaboration, specifically between sales and marketing leaders, to boost pipeline generation, and operationalize go-to-market strategies and channels, such as account-based and inside sales, to drive more efficient and predictable revenue.

How Cisco Used AI to Reimagine Prospecting

In this episode of the Gartner Sales Podcast, host Betsy Gregory-Hosler interviews Nacho Castroverde from Cisco about a groundbreaking AI-powered prospecting tool that is transforming their sales process. The discussion delves into how Cisco's virtual sales organization, managing over 100 customers per seller, leverages AI to prioritize customer interactions and enhance sales efficiency.  Nacho shares insights into the development and implementation of this AI assistant, highlighting its impact on pipeline creation, territory penetration, and conversion rates. Sales leaders will find valuable lessons on integrating AI into sales processes to drive effectiveness and scalability, making this episode a must-listen for those looking to innovate their sales strategies.

5 Priorities CSOs Must Address in 2025

As challenges arise, chief sales officers (CSOs) are often trapped between their desire to take action and the fear of hurting revenue growth. In this episode, Gartner Sales Podcast host, Betsy Gregory-Hosler, interviews Gartner expert and former chief revenue officer (CRO), Brendan Condon, to discuss the changes that CSOs can confidently make in 2025. Brendan Condon is a senior director analyst within Gartner’s CSO Strategy team covering go-to-market (GTM) strategy and CSO effectiveness. Prior to coming to Gartner, Brendan served as the global chief revenue officer of the martech firm, GDS Group. Previously, he was the CRO of Captify — the world’s leading independent provider of search intelligence for global marketers and their advertising agencies. In this role, Brendan took the company to new heights of sustainable and profitable revenue, resulting in a successful sale to a private equity (PE) firm. Prior to that, Brendan was the chief revenue officer for Comcast Advertising (Effectv). He was recruited to streamline and oversee $2.5 billion in advertising revenue streams across national, regional and local agencies and clients (>25K) covering cross-screen, addressable, audience-based, linear TV and digital video solutions. Prior leadership roles include the CEO of an advanced TV ad network and a fulfilling career holding numerous positions across Time Inc., Time Warner and AOL.