Sales Leadership Conversations

Why the World's Greatest Sellers Are the Opposite of Who You Think They Are

Colin Coggins and Garrett Brown set out to research and write about the common characteristics between world's greatest salespeople. They discovered the commonalities are not swagger and a know-it-all attitude, but instead focus on authenticity and include what they call "intentional ignorance." In our conversation, they discuss their book, "The Unsold Mindset," and why the world's greatest sellers are the opposite of who you think they are.

Amy Franko on Creating a Sales Enablement Center of Excellence

Defined as the strategic, ongoing process of equipping sales teams with the content, guidance and training they need to effectively engage buyers, sales enablement starts with hiring smart and ends with… well, maybe retirement. Amy Franko is a sales strategist for growth-oriented, mid-market organizations. She works with a variety of sectors to grow sales results through both sales strategy and skills development programs. In this podcast episode, we dive deeper into an article Amy wrote for a Sales & Marketing Management entitled “How to Create a Sales Enablement Center of Excellence.” [https://salesandmarketing.com/how-to-create-a-sales-enablement-center-of-excellence/] She is giving a free webinar on the same topic for Sales & Marketing Management Connect, our webinar division, on April 4. (Register here [https://www.smmconnect.com/events/3359?gref=calendar].)

Dan Gottlieb on ChatGPT's Use In B2B Sales

ChatGPT has dominated the headlines in 2023, but for all the press it has received, few people truly have a grasp on what it means for B2B sales and marketing. Dan Gottlieb, senior director analyst in the Gartner for Sales practice, admits he's hustling to stay ahead of the impact of ChatGPT and similar AI-powered technology. In an article written for SMM entitled "4 Things Sales Leaders Should Know About ChatGPT [https://salesandmarketing.com/4-things-sales-leaders-should-know-about-chatgpt/]," Gottlieb states, "ChatGPT augments but does not replace seller creativity and judgment. The technology will not replace sellers; workers that know how to use AI effectively will." Gottlieb says all sales leaders should have this technology on their radar as a potential way to improve sales productivity.  In this podcast episode, he explains how ChatGPT may impact B2B sales.

Does Sales Compensation Have to Be So Complicated?

Mark Schopmeyer, co-founder and co-CEO of sales commission software companyCaptivateIQ [https://www.captivateiq.com/], says sales compensation plans don't have to be the headache they are for many companies. And they certainly shouldn't drag on company culture and morale. We talk about how sales leaders can better communicate changes to compensation plans and structure commissions so they are clear, fair and motivating. If you have sales compensation questions that aren't addressed in this episode, we'd love to hear them. Email Paul@salesandmarketing.com and we'll have Mark back on.

What's Behind Sales and Marketing Misalignment?

Sridhar Ramanathan is the co-founder and chief operating officer of Aventi Group [https://aventigroup.com/], a Silicon Valley product marketing agency that serves high-tech clients. He expounds on a recent article [https://salesandmarketing.com/sales-outcomes-and-product-marketing-are-interconnected/] he wrote for Sales & Marketing Management on why misalignment occurs so often between B2B sales and marketing teams, and how to fix that.