Ep 10 - Strategy Changes the Game

Ep 10 - Strategy Changes the Game

Are your sellers busy — or are they actually executing a strategy?  In Episode 10 of Think Big, Win Bigger, host Dennis Sorenson — CEO of Cove Group and architect of the process-driven sales system — makes the case that strategy is the pillar that changes everything. Drawing on his own evolution as a seller, from door-to-door beauty supplies in college to strategic account selling at NCR Corporation and Teradata, Dennis delivers a framework that is direct, personal, and immediately applicable. His central question is sharp: "If they're busy, but are they busy operating from a strategy or are they just busy simply reacting to what's in front of them?" This episode breaks down what strategy actually is — and what it is not. Dennis draws a clear line between transactional sellers and strategic sellers, covering how strategy transforms prospecting, discovery, and relationship building. He unpacks the danger of becoming single-threaded in accounts, the power of relationships built high, wide, and deep, and why writing your strategy down is the moment it becomes real. He also references the foundational selling disciplines of his good friend Mike Weinberg — New Sales Simplified and Sales Management Simplified — and explains how Horizons West layers intentional growth strategy on top of those fundamentals. Whether you sell paper rolls or enterprise infrastructure, the principles, as Dennis puts it, are all the same. IN THIS EPISODE: * (00:00) Strategy is the second pillar of the process-driven sales system * (03:00) Ambition discovers the opportunity — strategy creates the path * (05:30) What strategy actually is and what it is not * (07:00) From hustle to strategy — lessons from NCR Corporation and Teradata * (11:30) How strategic sellers think differently than transactional sellers * (15:00) How strategy changes prospecting and discovery at every level * (19:00) Building relationships high, wide, and deep inside customer accounts * (23:01) How strategy gets built — writing it down makes it real * (28:00) Strategy forces prioritization and creates leverage * (29:54) Stop sounding like a vendor and start competing as a partner * Share with a sales leader or seller who's ready to build something that lasts. Subscribe to hear all future episodes! ABOUT THE SHOW Think Big. Win Bigger is hosted by Dennis Sorenson, CEO of Cove Group, a strategic partner for companies seeking to optimize sales performance and achieve sustainable growth. With deep expertise in enterprise sales and fractional CRO leadership, Dennis specializes in addressing challenges at the point of friction—where inefficiencies, misalignment, or resistance occur within the sales process. The podcast is built on Process-Driven Sales and the three pillars of Ambition, Strategy, and Execution. Each episode breaks down the systems and operating rhythms that drive predictable performance, giving leaders and sellers practical insights they can use immediately. This is for professionals who are ready to stop improvising, start operating with intention, and build repeatable success over time. RESOURCES: Dennis Sorenson: LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/dennisdealsorenson/] Cove Group [https://www.linkedin.com/company/covegroup/posts/?feedView=all]Horizons West [http://horizonswest.com]

Ep 9 - Discovery Reveals the Path

“If we move too quickly from discovery to selling, the true discovery stops." - Dennis Sorenson Dennis Sorenson, CEO of Cove Group and host of Think Big, Win Bigger, brings decades of enterprise sales experience — from his years at Teradata to founding his own strategic sales consultancy — to Episode 9, dedicated entirely to one of the most underestimated disciplines in the profession: discovery. His framework is built on process-driven sales and three core pillars: ambition, strategy, and execution. In this solo episode, Dennis makes the case that discovery "is not a stage in what we do in sales" — it is a continuous muscle that runs through everything, and the difference between sounding like a vendor and becoming a true strategic partner. Dennis breaks down how discovery shapes ambition planning, sharpens sales strategy, and accelerates execution. Drawing on Dr. Bob Rotella's How Champions Think and John McMahon's The Qualified Sales Leader, he explores the discipline of arriving with perspective instead of a pitch, the value of going high, wide, and deep inside customer organizations, and why slowing down in discovery actually speeds the entire sales motion. He also introduces the GHOST framework as a tool for aligning discovery to customer goals and strategy — setting the stage for upcoming episodes on strategic account planning. IN THIS EPISODE: * (00:00) Discovery reveals the path to ambition, strategy, and execution * (03:35) What elite performers notice that average sellers miss * (11:17) Discovery before the engagement: research preparation and immersion * (18:00) Arriving with perspective instead of a pitch changes everything * (21:20) The power of slowing down and going high, wide, and deep * (25:21) Using the GHOST framework to align discovery to customer strategy * Share with a sales leader or seller who's ready to build something that lasts. Subscribe to hear all future episodes! ABOUT THE SHOW Think Big. Win Bigger is hosted by Dennis Sorenson, CEO of Cove Group, a strategic partner for companies seeking to optimize sales performance and achieve sustainable growth. With deep expertise in enterprise sales and fractional CRO leadership, Dennis specializes in addressing challenges at the point of friction—where inefficiencies, misalignment, or resistance occur within the sales process. The podcast is built on Process-Driven Sales and the three pillars of Ambition, Strategy, and Execution. Each episode breaks down the systems and operating rhythms that drive predictable performance, giving leaders and sellers practical insights they can use immediately. This is for professionals who are ready to stop improvising, start operating with intention, and build repeatable success over time. RESOURCES: Dennis Sorenson: LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/dennisdealsorenson/] Cove Group [https://www.linkedin.com/company/covegroup/posts/?feedView=all]Horizons West [http://horizonswest.com]

Ep 8 - The Difference Between Big Ideas and Real Results with John Giese (Part II)

What would it mean for your business if your sellers stopped selling and started making an impact? Dennis Sorenson, CEO of Cove Group and host of Think Big, Win Bigger, brings back serial entrepreneur and Horizons West co-founder John Giese for Part 2 of their two-part Ambition series. In Part 1, John and Dennis broke down how leaders see opportunity that others miss and why structure and accountability are what separate ambition from results. Part 2 goes deeper. John's conviction here is simple: winning never sleeps, most people are afraid to tap into the frequency, and intent—real intent—is what separates the sellers who leave opportunity on the table from the ones who change the size of their companies entirely. From an unforgettable airplane story that proves ambition is a frequency you can live at, to the sales math that makes even 50% wrong still wildly successful, to what a martial arts master in Jacksonville, Florida taught John about discipline, etiquette, and building something that lasts—this episode ends with a direct challenge. What would you tell every seller to do differently starting tomorrow? And what does John say to the CEOs who still haven't formalized their revenue function? "Can you afford not to do this?" The answers are here. In This Episode: (00:00) Why companies and sellers keep missing the biggest opportunities right in front of them (01:53) Ambition as a frequency and the airplane story that proves it works (09:27) When preparation meets opportunity and why intent changes everything (11:51) Seeing total potential and why once you see it you cannot unsee it (13:44) The sales math that makes even 50% wrong wildly successful (14:52) What a martial arts master in Jacksonville taught about discipline and impact (20:46) Think bigger: direct advice for sellers and a challenge for CEOs Share with a sales leader or seller who's ready to build something that lasts. Subscribe to hear all future episodes! About the Show Think Big. Win Bigger is hosted by Dennis Sorenson, CEO of Cove Group, a strategic partner for companies seeking to optimize sales performance and achieve sustainable growth. With deep expertise in enterprise sales and fractional CRO leadership, Dennis specializes in addressing challenges at the point of friction—where inefficiencies, misalignment, or resistance occur within the sales process. The podcast is built on Process-Driven Sales and the three pillars of Ambition, Strategy, and Execution. Each episode breaks down the systems and operating rhythms that drive predictable performance, giving leaders and sellers practical insights they can use immediately. This is for professionals who are ready to stop improvising, start operating with intention, and build repeatable success over time. Resources: John Giese LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-giese/ Dennis Sorenson: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dennisdealsorenson/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/dennisdealsorenson/] Cove Group: https://www.linkedin.com/company/covegroup/posts/?feedView=all [https://www.linkedin.com/company/covegroup/posts/?feedView=all] Horizons West: http://horizonswest.com [http://horizonswest.com]

Ep 7 - What Becomes Possible When You Think Bigger with John Giese (Part I)

"I was the typical sales guy. Yeah, I'll just go get it. I know everything. And I was successful, but I would have been deadly had I had this operational framework." - John Giese Dennis Sorenson, CEO of Cove Group and host of Think Big, Win Bigger, sits down with serial entrepreneur and business partner John Giese in this first part of a two-part Ambition series. John has built and led multiple businesses as CEO from the ground up, served on several boards, and co-founded Horizons West alongside Dennis. His perspective is forged through decades of real enterprise sales and leadership—not theory. John's core conviction? Ambition without structure is potential left on the table. "I was the typical sales guy," he says. "I was successful, but I would have been deadly had I had this operational framework." What happens when an $8.5 million company decides to pursue a $900 million contract—and wins half of it in 24 months? That's where this conversation starts. John and Dennis break down why most companies operate off of hope instead of opportunity, why the companies John advises can't see what's possible in front of them, and how slowing down—really slowing down—is exactly what unlocks bigger outcomes. From guerrilla-warfare CEO instincts to the discipline of trusting the process, this is what ambition looks like when it has a plan behind it. IN THIS EPISODE: * (00:00) John Giese and the ambition series * (03:50) John's consulting world in 2023 and the one problem every client shared * (08:17) How companies fail to see the opportunity sitting right in front of them * (15:32) The $900 million pursuit and the 24 months that changed everything * (20:27) Why slowing down is the competitive advantage most sellers never develop * (25:47) Why seeing the bigger picture gives you patience in any deal * Share with a sales leader or seller who's ready to build something that lasts. Subscribe to hear all future episodes! ABOUT THE SHOW Think Big. Win Bigger is hosted by Dennis Sorenson, CEO of Cove Group, a strategic partner for companies seeking to optimize sales performance and achieve sustainable growth. With deep expertise in enterprise sales and fractional CRO leadership, Dennis specializes in addressing challenges at the point of friction—where inefficiencies, misalignment, or resistance occur within the sales process. The podcast is built on Process-Driven Sales and the three pillars of Ambition, Strategy, and Execution. Each episode breaks down the systems and operating rhythms that drive predictable performance, giving leaders and sellers practical insights they can use immediately. This is for professionals who are ready to stop improvising, start operating with intention, and build repeatable success over time. RESOURCES: John Giese LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-giese/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-giese/]Dennis Sorenson: LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/dennisdealsorenson/] Cove Group [https://www.linkedin.com/company/covegroup/posts/?feedView=all]Horizons West [http://horizonswest.com]

Ep 6 - Seeing Total Potential: Whitespace, Initiatives & Strategic Alignment

When was the last time your sellers stepped back far enough to actually see the full potential of their territory — or have they been too busy fighting uphill toward a number to ever look? Dennis Deal Sorenson, CEO of Cove Group and host of Think Big, Win Bigger, returns for Episode 6 with a practitioner's breakdown of one of the most underused tools in sales planning: white space mapping. A veteran sales strategist and fractional CRO who has coached sellers and teams through ambition planning work for years, Dennis knows what it costs when reps spread themselves thin. How do you stop chasing everything and start competing for what actually moves the needle? This episode is his answer. Building directly on the ambition thinking framework from Episode 5, Dennis moves from mindset into mechanics — walking through the exact white space exercise he uses with clients, the simple spreadsheet structure behind it, and why "writing things down makes them real." He covers the 80/15/5 account prioritization rule, how to identify hidden revenue across buying centers, and how the law of large numbers creates confidence in your ROI story. He also connects white space directly to the "go high, wide, and deep" relationship strategy that drives executive engagement and positions sellers as strategic partners — not vendors. IN THIS EPISODE: * (00:00) Why spreading yourself thin across accounts is a losing game * (01:25) The 80/15/5 rule for prioritizing where your effort goes * (03:02) A few big things done very well can change the game * (06:23) How to build a white space map and see revenue hiding in plain sight * (17:51) The magic of large numbers and what it means for your ROI story * Share with a sales leader or seller who's ready to build something that lasts. Subscribe to hear all future episodes! ABOUT THE SHOW Think Big. Win Bigger is hosted by Dennis Sorenson, CEO of Cove Group, a strategic partner for companies seeking to optimize sales performance and achieve sustainable growth. With deep expertise in enterprise sales and fractional CRO leadership, Dennis specializes in addressing challenges at the point of friction—where inefficiencies, misalignment, or resistance occur within the sales process. The podcast is built on Process-Driven Sales and the three pillars of Ambition, Strategy, and Execution. Each episode breaks down the systems and operating rhythms that drive predictable performance, giving leaders and sellers practical insights they can use immediately. This is for professionals who are ready to stop improvising, start operating with intention, and build repeatable success over time. RESOURCES: Dennis Sorenson: LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/dennisdealsorenson/]Cove Group [https://www.linkedin.com/company/covegroup/posts/?feedView=all]Horizons West [http://horizonswest.com]