WISE: Women Inspiring Sales Excellence

Leading at the Top: Women, Revenue & Real Influence with Penny Orme

What can women in sales do to manage a successful career progression? Today our guest is Penny Orme, a leader with over 30 years of experience in B2B software companies. Now, she supports B2B tech companies through advising and consulting. During the episode, Penny emphasizes why it’s important to champion women to be successful in sales, and shares tips on how women can utilize their unique characteristics to reach senior levels of leadership. Topics discussed in this episode include: - How sales led Penny into a career in B2B leadership. - How the tech industry is relatively recession proof and why that matters to Penny. - What sales is really all about and why this makes it somewhat AI-proof too. - What it takes to build trust and show up as a true leader. - The book Penny co-authored and what the mission of it is. - Why it’s important to champion for more women in the B2B tech space. - The reasons we don’t see enough women in sales senior management. - The unique capabilities women bring to sales and leadership roles. - How the power of empathy is underestimated in sales. - The types of people drawn to a CRO role and what you need to succeed in it. - Key differences between a mentor, a champion, and a sponsor. - How male allies can show up as champions and support women in sales. - The best way of creating the support network you need to become a CRO. - Tips for moving up in sales successfully and when to simply ask for what you want. - The most critical trait for women stepping into sales leadership today. Penny on LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/penny-orme-0a61053 [https://uk.linkedin.com/in/penny-orme-0a61053] Melissa Di Donato on LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/penny-orme-0a61053 [https://uk.linkedin.com/in/penny-orme-0a61053] Join the Sales Revolution community: https://female-leader.com/sales-revolution [https://female-leader.com/sales-revolution]

How To Never Miss A Target with Erica Neal

What does it take to be consistent and authentic in your sales performance? Today we’re joined by Erica Neal, the Director of Sales Alignment at tmp, and she has amazingly never missed a target. In our conversation, Erica reveals the unique perspective she has on approaching targets and how it helps her meet them in advance. She also discusses the importance of a human approach to sales, how sales leaders can better understand and support their teams, and the innate skills women bring to sales roles. Topics discussed in this episode include: - Why having a plan (and fiercely protecting it) is so important to your performance. - Shifts you can make in managing your calendar that help you get to your target faster.  - What happened when automation entered the sales industry, and what the result is. - Common myths about sales and which ones are absolutely not true. - The importance of personalization in messaging and why it matters. - What happens when marketing creates the sales copy (and what to do instead). - Why there’s no excuse for sending a generic message with the tools we have today. - How to avoid giving your prospects more work by “thinking and linking”. - Tips for avoiding losing the human element in your process even when using AI. - Simple steps you can take with your team to understand and support them. - Why recognizing effort-based goals and mini-wins are important for resilience. - The power in honouring the skills that make each of your team members unique. - How to work alongside marketing to make the sales and marketing process better. - Why more women in sales should embrace visibility and their own personal brand. - The unique skills women bring to sales and how it helps produce results. Erica on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erica-neal-b2b-sales-and-marketing-alignment/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/erica-neal-b2b-sales-and-marketing-alignment/] Join the Sales Revolution community: https://female-leader.com/sales-revolution/ [https://female-leader.com/sales-revolution/]

Lessons from the Follow Up Queen with Evelyn Oluwole

How can you use following up as a cheat code to success in sales? Our guest today is Evelyn Oluwole, AKA the Follow Up Queen, who is known for turning ambition into action. With over two decades of experience, she’s held senior roles at ASOS, Yahoo, Viacom, and now at WeTransfer. Evelyn emphasizes follow up as a mindset that helps shape careers and lives. During the episode, she shares her experiences in overcoming barriers as a black woman in leadership as well as her grounded perspective on balancing ambition with real life. Topics discussed in this episode include: - What Evelyn originally found interest in and studied before going into sales. - What having the “gift of the gab” really means and how she owns it. - How important it is to be comfortable chatting on the phone today. - Why you can’t be successful at sales without actually caring about other people. - How following the journey of your customer digitally can help you build relationships. - Why sellers sometimes get a bad reputation and how it isn’t always true. - The unique situations where clients become friends (and why it’s not surprising). - How a follow up strategy can help you find success in work and in life. - Tips for an effective follow up strategy and the tools that can help. - How Evelyn handles cold reach outs, especially the ones with mistakes. - Why inviting a new generation of ambitious women into sales matters. - Why she’s against toning down your uniqueness (and what she says to do instead). - One of Evelyn’s biggest inspirations and why this person resonates with her so much. Elelyn’s website: https://www.evelynoluwole.com Evelyn on LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/evelynoluwole Join the Sales Revolution community: https://female-leader.com/sales-revolution

Rest as a Strategy: The New Playbook for Leaders in 2026

How does rest help teams and leaders thrive and create long-term success? Today our guest is Hannah Godfrey, Founder of I am pausing, which helps leaders and teams achieve sustainable high performance through a combination of science-backed psychology and embodied practices. Hannah has her own experience with burnout, so during the episode she shares how hustle culture impacts teams, the role the brain and body play in stress versus sustainable energy, and why rest is the answer to long-term growth. Topics discussed in this episode include: - Hannah’s background in sales and how it led her to found I am pausing. - The view on hustle culture when she started her career and how that changed. - Why always being “on” is not realistic for the long term. - Why doing more is not always better, and won’t get greater results. - The role that time management plays in maintaining sustainable energy. - How to integrate rest as a central part of performance in sales. - Where dopamine spikes in the sales process (and how this changes everything). - The seven different types of rest and what it might look like for you. - The biggest misunderstandings about rest and how to shift perspective. - What leaders can do to support a healthier culture in their organization. - How vulnerability (when it feels right) can help you embrace rest when you need it. - What to do when you identify a team member who might headed for burnout. - The power of breathwork and when to use it as a practice. - Hannah’s advice for women in sales who want to thrive without burning out. - Why women fit perfectly into the sales space almost innately. Join the Sales Revolution community: https://female-leader.com/sales-revolution/ [https://female-leader.com/sales-revolution/]  Hannah on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannahgodfrey/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannahgodfrey/] I am pausing: https://www.iampausing.com/ [https://www.iampausing.com/]

The Corporate Human Playbook with Casey Calkins

How can sales leaders better understand and support their team members? Today we’re joined by leadership coach and business consultant Casey Calkins. In 2023, Casey founded C2it Partners, a consultancy that specializes in sales leadership development as well as small and medium business advising services. In our talk, she shares her expertise on sales leaders, and explains the many ways they can best support and guide their team using emotional intelligence without burning out.  Topics discussed in this episode include: - The unique way Casey approaches what’s missing in corporate America. - Why human skills are seen as less valuable (even though they’re not). - How operating at a high speed can come at the cost of human capital. - Why top-performing sales individuals need more support transitioning to leadership. - How to execute more successful one-on-one meetings as a sales leader. - Building systems of mutual accountability within a team. - How to diagnose issues within your team without micromanaging. - What taking ownership of conversations with your team looks like. - Why revisiting the basics is crucial to leading well (especially when under stress). - The simple steps to uncovering what really motivates your team. - Why you need to deeply understand yourself to be a great leader. - The importance of connecting with people who can help you be better. - The most critical trait sales leaders must have to be successful today. - Female sales leaders who have inspired Casey in her career. - The book your team needs to read if they want to feel more confident. Join the Sales Revolution community: https://female-leader.com/sales-revolution/ [https://female-leader.com/sales-revolution/] Casey on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caseycalkins/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/caseycalkins/]