Welcome to Sales Tech Podcast, the show that talks about sales technology, what’s working, what’s not, and where the industry is going. In this episode, Thom sits down with Hang Black, Vice President of Global Revenue and Enablement at Juniper Networks.

In her role at Juniper, Hang supercharges the sales and service community within her company to help them sell more and close bigger deals. Hang has a unique Revenue Enablement origin story which she shares today with Thom. They touch on how Revenue Enablement works, what smaller companies need to know about it, and what Hang wishes every sales professional knew about the work she does.

Finally, Hang shares the inspiration behind her book, Embrace Your Edge, and provides advice to those looking to make a major career change.

What We Covered:

00:39 – Thom introduces today’s guest, Hang Black, VP of Global Revenue and Enablement at Juniper Networks, who shares her Revenue Operations origin story

02:02 – Skills Hang took from her Engineering background that have been integral in her sales career

03:51 – How Hang defines Revenue Enablement and how it’s been a critical component of closing bigger deals

05:17 – Hang shares her thoughts on the evolution of sales technology

06:16 – How to get sales professionals to embrace and utilize new sales tech stack

08:43 – Advice Hang would give to smaller companies on how to approach Revenue Enablement

10:58 – Hang speculates on the future of Revenue Enablement and sales technology

11:47 – One thing Hang wishes all salespeople knew about Revenue Enablement

12:28 – Hang talks about her book, Embrace Your Edge

13:37 – Advice Hang would give to those with diverse backgrounds looking to make a significant career change

16:00 – Thom thanks Hang for joining the show and let’s listeners know where to connect with her

Tweetable Quotes:

“I always say I started engineering because I like numbers and I like complex problems. I ended up in sales because I like numbers with dollar signs in front of them a lot better.” (01:49) (Hang)

“It took me a while to shed the skin of ‘I know better than the salespeople do.’ It’s not until you sit under the umbrella of sales that you actually understand that we are the ones who have the privilege to represent the voice of the customer and what they need.” (03:11) (Hang)

“The customer journey is no longer a linear model; it’s an infinity model. Customers can enter and exit at any moment or any point. Just because you close a deal doesn’t mean that you don’t have to continue to nurture them through their experience.” (04:49) (Hang)

“I’d rather have one or two tools that are very good at certain things than having a tool that says that it does everything and not well.” (08:35) (Hang)

“The future is continued consolidation, I believe. And I do think that the tool stacks will definitely start collapsing, the vendors will start collapsing, which will make jobs for people like me a lot easier. But just as they collapse, there will be more technology and more innovations around the corner.” (11:04) (Hang)

“I would hope the sellers know that we’ve got your best intentions. We’re not trying to feed you too much stuff, even though you will probably get too much stuff.” (11:55) (Hang)

Links Mentioned:

Hang Black on LinkedIn

Hang Black Website

Juniper Networks

Embrace Your Edge: Pave Your Own Path as an Immigrant Woman in the Workplace

Welcome to Sales Tech Podcast, the show that talks about sales technology, what’s working, what’s not, and where the industry is going. In this episode, Thom sits down with Director of Revenue Operations at QuotaPath, Ryan Milligan.

In his role, Ryan works to help and support sales teams with their sales tech processes so that they can do their jobs better and hit quota. Ryan is passionate about connecting systems together, building scalable processes, and geeking out on sales technology.

Today, Thom and Ryan engage in a rich discussion about the evolution of Revenue Operations, the relationship between Marketing and Sales, and how the future of sales will require a balance between automation and personability.

What We Covered:

00:36 – Thom introduces today’s guest, Ryan Milligan, Director of Revenue Operations at QuotaPath who discusses his buying process and the evolution of Revenue Operations

08:51 – How to get sales professionals to utilize their sales tech stack

12:27 – How Revenue Operations can be a bridge for sales professionals

14:17 – The biggest challenges Ryan faces in the Revenue Operations space

15:28 – How to measure success once you’ve implemented a new sales technology

17:38 – Ryan speculates on the future of sales tech

20:06 – Will traditional sales professionals become automated out of their roles?

22:26 – The personal aspect of sales

24:05 – One message Ryan would relay to every sales professional

25:47 – Thom thanks Ryan for joining the show and let’s listeners know where to connect with him.

Tweetable Quotes:

“I think people are realizing that Marketing and Sales need to be super tightly connected. I think, historically in this world, there was this invisible fence where Marketing gets leads and throws them over the fence for Sales to run with. And I think people are realizing that decision cycles are much more complicated, the buyers are much smarter and everything is getting much more crowded.” (04:02) (Ryan)

“I, very intentionally, want to be incredibly and closely aligned to a sales team. It is sales tech. You’re doing systems to help a team.” (11:29) (Ryan)

“I think you’re going to continue to see a massive amount of automation in these sales processes, but I think you’re also gonna see a lot of people wanting to make sure, as customers, that the automation is still feeling very personalized and finding new paths to talk to customers.” (19:07) (Ryan)

“It’s a shame that you can’t be in-person as much for sure. But it does give you access to people all over the globe.” (23:26) (Ryan)

Links Mentioned:

Ryan Milligan on LinkedIn

QuotaPath 

ryan.milligan@quotapath.com 

Vlad Voskresensky is the co-founder and CEO of Revenue Grid, a leading AI Guided Selling Platform that nudges sales teams with step-by-step guidance towards actions that bring the best results, shows deals at risk, and prioritizes tactics with the greatest impact.

Vlad has been driving the product vision and leading the company’s technology direction for over a decade, reinforced with more than 20 years of deep expertise in connecting enterprise (CRM systems) and personal environments.

Vlad gained numerous helpful insights while collaborating with such tech giants as Salesforce, Oracle, SAP, as well as other Fortune 100 companies in the field of business workflows automation, sales enablement, sales, and service acceleration.

Today, Scott and Vlad sit down to talk all about the work Vlad is doing at Revenue Grid, what it means to embrace the rise of sales technology, and what the best sales organizations are implementing to excel in this competitive industry. Vlad dives deep and explains the difference between Guided Selling and Revenue Intelligence. Scott and Vlad discuss the importance of relationship building and differentiation in sales.

Finally, Vlad speaks to productivity trends he has noticed in other organizations, the ‘why’ behind data, and the challenges of adapting to our new world and society that has increasingly become remote.

What We Covered:

00:54 – Scott introduces today’s guest, Vlad Voskresensky
01:07 – The top three things Vlad has noticed about the best sales leaders and organizations
01:45 – Number One: Differentiation
02:29 – Number Two: Implementing the Latest Tech Stack
03:25 – Number Three: Adapting to this new ‘Remote World’
04:05 – Vlad expounds on his background and his company, Revenue Grid
08:31 – ‘Revenue Intelligence’ vs. ‘Guided Selling’
14:03 – The rise of Sales Ops roles and increasing tech stack
18:27 – Scott takes a moment to promote the upcoming Sales Tech Expo
20:28 – What’s missing from the current sales tech stack
21:49 – Why all conversations are not created equal
25:17 – Relationship building and other best practices for differentiation
28:23 – Vlad reiterates the importance of Sales Operations
30:57 – Trends Vlad has noticed that organizations utilize to increase productivity
34:06 – The ‘Why’ behind the data
38:07 – Zoom vs. audio-only phone calls
43:58 – How listeners can learn more about Revenue Grid
44:35 – Scott thanks Vlad for joining the show today

Tweetable Quotes:

“I would say that there are three pillars of value in any revenue intelligence platform, and we are no exception. And these are: capturing the data from where it should be captured, putting the data into play and providing the meaningful insights for sales leadership and sales reps, literally guiding them through the next steps.” (04:34)

“Revenue Intelligence is the answer to the question, ‘what?’ While Guided Selling is the response to the question, ‘How?’” (09:05)

“You may think that your problem is with quality of leads. But then, after the analysis, you may figure out that the problem is with the quality of speech you deliver to those leads.” (21:18)

“There is one very interesting conversation I had with a RevOps guru. He said, ‘Look, there are no silver bullets which you may start doing in your sales org that others are not doing. And even if you find that silver bullet, the next day your competitors will be doing the same.’” (36:24)

Links Mentioned:

scott@top1.fm
2022 Sales Success Summit
Vlad Voskresensky on LinkedIn

Welcome to Sales Tech Podcast, the show that talks about sales technology, what’s working, what’s not, and where the industry is going. In this episode, Thom sits down with sales guru, Dan Heffernan.

Dan is the Chief Growth Officer at Dale Carnegie, and he works with customers all over the world, helping them grow their teams and shape their cultures. Dale Carnegie is a unique company because they actually work in eighty-eight countries.

They do training in thirty-five different languages and they have over three thousand trainings. To say that Dan knows a little bit about sales, sales training and sales technology would be a gross understatement!

Today, Thom and Dan talk about the many offerings Dale Carnegie provides to their clients and customers. Dan expounds on his role as Chief Growth Officer and shares what he wishes everyone knew about sales technology.

Finally, Dan speaks to the impact the global pandemic has had on sales on B2B sales and the important role face-to-face interaction continues to play in sales. 

What We Covered:

00:38 – Thom introduces today’s guest, Dan Heffernan, who joins the show to share his background in sales, sales training, and sales technology

02:12 – How sales managers can ensure sales professionals utilize the sales tech available to them

03:42 – Dan talks about the company he works for, Dale Carnegie, and some of the unique tools they offer their clients

06:02 – Dan expounds on his role as Chief Growth Officer and what he wishes more people knew about sales technology

07:33 – Areas where Dan hopes his organization can improve upon

08:17 – Social selling

10:05 – Dan talks about some of the most exciting innovations we’ve seen in sales tech and speculates on what the future may hold

11:12 – Tools Dan is currently using to sell to those in a buying cycle

13:01 – How a global company approaches sales technology

15:01 – How the global pandemic has changed B2B

18:23 – The importance of face-to-face interactions in sales

21:00 – What Dan wishes every sales leader understood about sales technology

22:33 – Thom thanks Dan for joining the show and let’s listeners know where to connect with him

Tweetable Quotes:

“No matter how big your company is, adoption is always a challenge because sales reps usually have their own flow and their own focus. They know what works for them and trying something new could get in the way of their production. And salespeople avoid that for obvious reasons.” (02:37)

“Sales reps and sales leaders that are effective are all doing the same thing. They’re testing something, making sure it works and they’re finding success and sharing that success quickly.” (07:19)

“Social selling is a world where buyers are doing most of the decision making independently before they have to engage with a salesperson. And so we need to make that easy for them.” (09:35)

“I’m excited about the whole idea that, as salespeople, we no longer should be wasting our time selling to people who don’t want to buy. And that we’ve got an opportunity to really just be selling to those who are buying because we know who’s buying now.” (10:33)

“If we’re feeling like our sales reps and our teams and our leaders are wasting time selling to people who will never buy our products then we’re definitely not using technology the right way.” (22:16)

Links Mentioned:

Dan Heffernan on LinkedIn

Dale Carnegie Website

Dan Heffernan's Email – dan.heffernan@dalecarnegie.com

Welcome to Sales Tech Podcast, the show that talks about sales technology, what’s working, what’s not, and where the industry is going. In this episode, Thom sits down with friend and Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) at Quantum Computing, David Morris. Quantum Computing is a cloud-based quantum software vendor, offering ready-to-run software for complex constrained optimization computations.

Today, Thom and Dave dive deep into Dave’s eclectic sales background in enterprise sales and distribution. Dave has always been a scrappy salesperson looking to push out the latest fresh ideas that enhance his ability to sell. Dave explains the concepts of expected value, the importance of profitability while selling, and why relationships in sales will always matter regardless of the evolution of sales technology.

He provides best practices for sales professionals to fully take advantage of sales technology and speculate on what the future holds. 

What We Covered::

00:39 – Thom introduces today’s guest, Dave Morris, CRO at Quantum Computing who explains its mission and the work he does there

03:43 – The biggest changes Dave has observed throughout his nearly three decades of sales experience 

05:09 – Dave speaks to the evolution in sales technology and what’s going on today 

08:57 – Dave provides his thoughts on those who think automation will replace salespeople 

10:18 – Dave stresses the importance of profitability and profit margin in sales 

12:37 – Expected value explained 

14:22 – Best practices companies can utilize to get sales professionals to utilize their sales tech stack 

16:23 – How to funnel these sales tech tools upward to executives and the C-Suite 

18:02 – What are the most successful sales professionals doing right with sales tech 

20:00 – What sales professionals are doing wrong 

21:32 – Dave speculates on the future of sales tech 

25:14 – The best tip Dave would give to sales professionals 

26:48 – Thom thanks Dave for joining the show and let’s listeners know where to connect with him 

Tweetable Quotes:

“Quantum Computing is the next generation of computing.” (02:23) (David)

“What people are really looking for is a business advisor. They’re looking for somebody who can understand their business, hopefully, has some experience in their business and then can understand the technology and figure out how that technology is gonna impact their business.” (09:33) (David)

“In the VC world, a VC is basically interested in a new technology that has a ten times impact for the customer. And the basic model is, ‘We’ll give the customer five times and we’ll take five times.’ I know that’s an overly simplistic way to look at it, but I think that’s what customers are looking at.” (11:21) (David)

“When somebody says, ‘That’s too expensive. Can I have a discount?’ what they’re actually saying to you is, ‘I don’t see your value.’” (12:37) (David)

“The most successful people like winning and they like helping the customer out. And whatever amount of money they get, and it’s likely going to be substantial, they don’t even know until it shows up how much it’s going to be.” (20:22) (David)

“I really like that there are more and more tools coming out, from a technology perspective, that allow me to connect with the customer not just on a business level but in a way that validates that we are a trusted advisor.” (22:15) (David)

Links Mentioned:

Dave Morris on LinkedIn

Quantum Computing Website

Welcome to Sales Tech Podcast, the show that talks about sales technology, what’s working, what’s not, and where the industry is going. In this episode, Thom sits down with Julie Greenfield.

Julie is the Head of Revenue Enablement at Central Square, an organization with a mission to innovate on behalf of the public sector to create the broadest and most agile software platform to help solve some of the most pressing issues facing local governments today. Julie is passionate about helping others identify and reach their goals through the development of individual growth plans.

Today, Thom and Julie talk about the role that Revenue Enablement plays in an organization as it pertains to Sales and Marketing. They discuss the amazing technological leaps that have been made in sales and how it impacts how organizations operate.

Finally, Julie speaks to the importance of having world-class CEOs and Executive Leadership teams in order to foster a culture of innovation and better selling.

What We Covered:

00:46 – Thom introduces today’s guest, Julie Greenfield, who joins the show to share her background in Revenue Enablement

02:30 – Bridging the gap between Sales and Marketing

03:59 – How sellers can partner with people in enablement roles in order to achieve more success

07:10 – Julie speaks to why she believes there’s an aversion to the adoption of new sales technologies

09:47 – Trends Julie has observed in the world of sales technology

12:01 – Julie discusses the ‘Big Brother’ issue and speaks to the monitoring of sales technologies

16:03 – Strategies for getting sales professionals to utilize the sales tech available to them

19:02 – Fostering a team atmosphere in sales

21:05 – Julie speculates on the future of Revenue Enablement and sales technology

23:54 – Thom thanks Julie for joining the show and let’s listeners know where to connect with her  

Tweetable Quotes:

“Revenue enablement focuses on all of those areas that touch the customer.” (01:35)

“Really when you talk with enablement professionals, we want to improve efficiency and effectiveness of our sellers. I’m trying to remove the barriers to their success. I want to maximize their selling time and minimize that dreaded time they have to do with putting things in CRM, following processes, whatever the tech stack is. That’s our goal. We want to partner.” (05:28)

“I will say that a positive of the situation we’ve had over the last year and a half is that a lot of people are really looking for learning. And of course, there’s the pivot more to virtual-instructor web training, online learning, self-paced learning.” (09:07)

“This remote world is here to stay. Embrace the technology, be able to set yourself apart by using it, embracing it and meeting the customers where they’re at.” (11:36)

“I’m here to help support [Sales]. I use this terminology all the time. We’re looking to help go from good to great or great to world-class.” (13:39)

“It starts at the top. It really truly starts with that world-class CEO. It starts with that world-class Executive Leadership team. They have to provide the culture, at the company level, that we are one team.” (19:24)

Links Mentioned:

Julie Greenfield on LinkedIn

CentralSquare Website

Welcome to Sales Tech Podcast, the show that talks about sales technology, what’s working, what’s not, and where the industry is going. In this episode, Thom sits down with author and serial entrepreneur, Garin Hess.

Garin is the founder and CEO of Consensus, an intelligent demo automation software company that helps sales professionals be more successful. Garin has spent his entire career in enterprise software and is passionate about combining technology and methodology to make B2B buying easier.

Today, Thom and Garin talk about the buying aspect of sales and why Garin believes it can actually be harder than selling. Garin speaks to challenges that sales engineering professionals are facing today and provides best practices for buyer enablement.

Finally, Garin speculates on the future of sales technology and what it means for B2B buying. 

What We Covered:

00:38 – Thom introduces today’s guest, Garin Hess, who joins the show to share his background in buyer enablement and B2B buying

04:56 – Garin speaks to why there seems to be a lack of sales technology to support Sales Engineering

09:11 – Challenges that sales engineering professionals are facing today

13:01 – Garin provides best practices for overcoming issues of qualification

14:49 – What makes it so hard to buy in the B2B environment

18:26 – Trends Garin has observed in the world of sales technology

20:11 – How to get sales professionals to utilize the sales tech available to them

22:07 – Garin provides one final piece of advice to sales professionals and sales leaders

23:44 – Thom thanks Garin for joining the show and lets listeners know where to connect with him

Tweetable Quotes:

“Our focus is on demo automation because the demo and engaging sales engineers is one of those things that’s inherently difficult to scale and make really efficient. And so that’s why we focus there.” (03:21)

“Sales engineering has traditionally been looked at as a necessary evil rather than a strategic function. Marketing and sales are always looked at as strategic functions.” (06:20)

“This issue of qualification is such a problem because it steals time away from their most important deals.” (11:06)

“The premise of buyer enablement is you, as the seller, should be in charge of the buying process.” (17:37)

“One of the main things I would emphasize in sales, in general, is we focus a lot on financial ROI, which is great. I’d like to emphasize that we should be focusing on emotional ROI as well.” (22:13)

Links Mentioned:

Garin Hess on LinkedIn

Consensus Website 

Selling Is Hard. Buying Is Harder 

Welcome to Sales Tech Podcast, the show that talks about sales technology, what’s working, what’s not, and where the industry is going. In this episode, Thom sits down with Mark Magnacca and Yuchun Lee, co-founders of the sales enablement software platform, Allego. Allego ensures that sellers have the skills, knowledge, and content they need to optimize team success in a virtual world. 

Today, Thom talks to Mark and Yuchun about what inspired them to launch Allego and the incredible growth they’ve seen this past year despite the global pandemic. Mark and Yuchun speak to the power of video and how they are getting their clients to embrace this tool as part of their tech stack. They talk about the book they recently released, Mastering Virtual Selling, and what they are seeing currently in the world of sales technology.

Finally, Mark and Yuchun provide best practices for sales professionals to fully take advantage of sales technology and speculate on what the future holds for this exciting industry.

What We Covered:

00:39 – Thom introduces today’s guests, Mark Magnacca and Yuchun Lee, co-founders of the sales enablement software platform, Allego

01:12 – Mark and Yuchun share the origin story of Allego and speak to some of the incredible capabilities they’ve been able to achieve recently 

04:53 – What Mark and Yuchun are doing to help get clients to embrace the power of video

06:18 – Mark and Yuchun speak to what inspired them to write a book on Virtual Selling 

12:46 – What Mark and Yuchun see in the world of sales technology 

16:13 – Best practices companies can utilize to get sales professionals to utilize their sales tech stack 

20:12 – Mark and Yuchun speculate on the future of sales tech 

24:00 – The best tip Mark and Yuchun would give to sales professionals 

25:49 – Thom thanks Mark and Yuchun for joining the show and let’s listeners know where to connect with them 

Tweetables:

“I would say that the pandemic actually has helped our business quite a bit because it has opened the eyes of folks that there’s a possibility out there that you can be successful in selling and do that not in person but in addition to in-person.” (03:59) (Yuchun)

“Video is a unique form factor. If you think about it, it’s kinda the closest thing to the way most of our brain works, with visual imagery and sound and movement. So, why not use something that is similar to the way we learn anyway?” (07:00) (Mark)

“I began to realize that there’s this flow. And, when done properly, salespeople can orchestrate and use their time way better by setting the stage before you get on a live Zoom call.” (11:43) (Mark) 

“In the area of sales enablement, regardless of what kind of technologies or vendors or tools you have, you really have to solve a set of problems. And they are very straightforward. You gotta help onboard effectively. You’ve gotta be able to launch product successfully. You’ve got to make sure the seller can access important content to share with their prospect. You’ve gotta make sure sales managers can coach sellers properly and lastly you’ve got to be able to engage your buyers virtually.” (13:47) (Yuchun)

“Part of the entire ethos of our business is all about customer success and we’re known in the market for that. ” (18:53) (Yuchun)

Links Mentioned:

Mark Magnacca on LinkedIn

Yuchun Lee on LinkedIn

Allego

Mastering Virtual Selling Book

Benjamin Zander’s TED Video ‘The Transformative Power of Classical Music

Crystal Knows