Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast Revenue Builders
| Titre | Date | Durée | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rebuilding a Team with Scot Loeffler | 01 Sep 2024 | 00:07:24 | |
In this episode of the Revenue Builders Podcast, John McMahon and John Kaplan are joined by Scot Loeffler, head football coach at Bowling Green State University and a former quarterback coach for Tom Brady at Michigan. The discussion centers on the challenges and strategies of rebuilding a football team, including the importance of hiring experienced staff and aligning them with a shared vision. Loeffler emphasizes focusing on the majority who contribute positively rather than the minority who resist change, and expresses gratitude for the time and support provided by Bowling Green to properly rebuild the program. This episode offers valuable insights for leaders looking to build the right team and drive successful organizational change. KEY TAKEAWAYS [00:00:35] Challenges of Rebuilding a Team HIGHLIGHT QUOTES [00:02:16] “We simply took the business model that we knew at the University of Michigan and translated it into Bowling Green.” Listen to the full episode through this link: Check out John McMahon’s book here: Check out Force Management’s Ascender platform here: Read Force Management's eBook: Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: | |||
| Key Reasons Deals Don't Close | 29 Aug 2024 | 01:12:47 | |
In this episode, John Kaplan and John McMahon dive deep into the intricacies of why B2B sales deals often don't close successfully. Special guest Anne Gary joins the discussion for the third time to offer insights into the common pitfalls in the sales process, from poor discovery and scoping to failed champion development and suboptimal engagement with economic buyers. They provide actionable advice on how to slow down and properly align your sales strategy with the customer's pain points, metrics, and decision criteria to close deals effectively. They emphasize the importance of thorough preparation, understanding customer pain points, building solid champions, and creating a compelling proof of value. The episode is a must-listen for any sales professional looking to refine their approach and increase their close rates. Tune in and learn more on this episode of The Revenue Builders Podcast. HERE ARE SOME KEY SECTIONS TO CHECK OUT [00:02:04] Why Deals Don't Close: Discovery Stage HIGHLIGHT QUOTES [00:03:08] "The biggest mistake we make is hoping the customer will connect the dots from the features and functions to the quantifiable impact that you have on solving the business problem." Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: | |||
| Product Market Fit and Scaling a Startup with Jeremy Burton | 28 Jul 2024 | 00:09:25 | |
In this curated episode of the Revenue Builders Podcast, John McMahon and John Kaplan discuss the challenging journey to achieving product market fit with Jeremy Burton, CEO of Observe. The conversation touches on the iterative nature of developing successful product features, the importance of humility and field feedback, and the dynamic process of identifying the ideal customer profile. Burton shares insights on adapting sales strategies for larger enterprises, the evolving demands of educated customers, and creating a culture where honest feedback is valued. A must-listen for sales leaders at startups navigating their own path to market fit. KEY TAKEAWAYS [00:00:49] Defining a Great First Line Leader HIGHLIGHT QUOTES [00:00:49] "You're obviously driving results through leaders, right? And there's something different about that." Listen to the full episode with Jeremy Burton through this link: Check out John McMahon’s book here: Check out Force Management’s Ascender platform here: Read Force Management's eBook: Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: | |||
| Learning Leadership with Jeremy Duggan | 10 Sep 2023 | 00:15:39 | |
In this episode, hosts John McMahon and John Kaplan sit down with Jeremy Duggan, a seasoned sales leader with a track record of success. They delve into the challenges and strategies of building a sales team from scratch and inspiring them to achieve greatness. Jeremy emphasizes the importance of data, facts, and transparent leadership. He shares insights on the three R's of leadership, leading indicators for success, and the role of education and development in reaching sales goals. The episode highlights the value of constant self-improvement and learning in the dynamic world of sales leadership. KEY TAKEAWAYS [00:01:09] Starting from Scratch and Inspiring Teams HIGHLIGHT QUOTES [00:02:27] The Winning Lottery Numbers of Leadership - "What I say to people here is, when I talk to you about leadership and the three R's or the leading indicators in sales, what I'm actually doing is handing you the winning lottery numbers. All you've got to do is go down to the shop and buy a ticket." Listen to the full episode with Jeremy Duggan in this link: Check out John McMahon’s book here: Amazon Link: https://a.co/d/1K7DDC4 Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: | |||
| Product-Led Growth in B2B Sales with Oliver Jay | 07 Sep 2023 | 01:08:02 | |
Oliver Jay is a former Chief Revenue Officer of Asana and an advisor and leadership coach for various companies. In this conversation with John McMahon, Oliver Jay discusses the concept of product-led growth (PLG) and its impact on B2B sales. PLG is a methodology that focuses on using the product as the primary conduit for acquiring users, driving sales, and retaining customers. Oliver explains that PLG is effective for certain personas and products, but it requires careful planning and consideration as companies scale. He also highlights the importance of understanding the buyer's perspective and the need to articulate the value of the product in terms of revenue, profitability, and risk. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
HERE ARE SOME KEY SECTIONS TO CHECK OUT [00:01:29] Oliver Jay's background and experience in PLG HIGHLIGHT QUOTES [00:03:27] Oliver Jay: "PLG is an elegant model that uses the product as the primary conduit for acquiring users, driving sales, and increasing retention." Learn more about Oliver Jay through this link. Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064 Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: | |||
| Perfecting the Process with Terry Tripp | 31 Aug 2023 | 00:54:44 | |
Terry Tripp is the Chief Revenue Officer of Tines, a high-growth company in the security orchestration, automation, and response (SOAR) space. With a background in sales and recruiting, Terry brings a wealth of experience to his role. In this conversation with John McMahon, Terry Tripp, CRO of Tines, discusses the importance of a well-defined sales process and the top three things he focuses on when starting a new role. He emphasizes the need to understand the people, get feedback from customers, and identify early opportunities for improvement. Terry also explains the concept of SOAR and how Tines is disrupting the cybersecurity market. HERE ARE SOME KEY SECTIONS TO CHECK OUT [00:02:01] Overview of Tines and its role in the cybersecurity market Additional Resources: Connect with Terry: https://www.linkedin.com/in/terrytripp/ HIGHLIGHT QUOTES [00:13:21] Terry Tripp: “I think you've got to have things that you know that as you look across your deal portfolio, your pipeline, your current quarter forecast, next, next quarter forecast that you have confidence that if you see certain deals that are at a certain point in that process, if we're, you know, true to those, to those criteria and, and the stages along the way.” Learn more about Terry Tripp through this link. Website: https://www.tines.com/ Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064 Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: | |||
| Lessons Learned in Growing Sales Organizations | 24 Aug 2023 | 00:56:34 | |
In this episode of the Revenue Builders Podcast, we take a second look at some of our sales leader interviews over the past few months. This episode features lessons learned from three powerhouse revenue builders. Hear from Veteran Sales Leader Carlos Delatorre on hiring while you scale. Founding CRO of Procore Dennis Lyandres talks about leadership lessons learned and the hard reality of letting people go. And, Tenable Chief Operating Officer Mark Thurmond talks about Command and Control leadership and removing friction for your sales teams.
HERE ARE SOME KEY SECTIONS TO CHECK OUT [00:01:51] Carlos Delatorre shares a common mistake made by first-time sales managers. [00:05:57] The importance of assessing the readiness of leaders. [00:08:20] The challenges of scaling without the right leaders. [00:15:22] Taking care of oneself is crucial for making good decisions. [00:18:15] Importance of managing time and prioritizing tasks as a leader. [00:19:21] Paying attention to small actions to understand people better. [00:23:56] Dennis Lyandres discusses his journey in recruiting and training his team. [00:25:26] The importance of taking ownership in hiring. [00:26:44] The need to learn from failure in recruiting. [00:39:29] Communication, work ethic, becoming an SME, mentors [00:45:53] Mark's ability to simplify and remove obstacles for his team. [00:46:31] Mark's approach to removing friction in the system. [00:48:25] The importance of influential leadership over command and control leadership. [00:52:27] The power of persuasive power over positional power. [00:53:34] The importance of explaining the “why” to get people emotionally connected. [00:54:49] The impact of the why on successful M&A integration. [00:55:23] The focus on validating conviction over compliance in leadership.
Learn more about our guests through the links below: Dennis Lyandres’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dlyandres/ Mark Thurmond’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-thurmond-350a4628/ Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064 Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: | |||
| Building the Business Case with Dick Thomas | 17 Aug 2023 | 00:58:58 | |
Dick Thomas is a sales consultant and founder of RW Consulting. He has over 25 years of experience in sales and has sold the largest deals in the history of four different companies. In this conversation with John McMahon, Dick Thomas emphasizes the importance of quantifying the value a solution brings to a customer in order to drive bigger deals. He talks about how salespeople can differentiate themselves and gain access to higher levels in an organization by focusing on solving business problems and showcasing the value of the solution. Thomas outlines four major components of selling business value: the value pyramid, gold miner discovery, value-based demo, and the business case ROI model. These strategies equip salespeople with an unfair competitive advantage and position them as trusted business partners for their customers. Tune in to this episode of Revenue Builders for specific strategies, real-life anecdotes and inspiration on selling on business value. HERE ARE SOME KEY SECTIONS TO CHECK OUT [00:03:00] Importance of quantifying the value of a solution [00:06:11] Breakdown of the major components of selling business value [00:06:35] Value pyramid and its importance in understanding the prospect's business [00:08:46] How to build a value pyramid and prioritize prospects [00:11:24] Where to find information for the value pyramid [00:15:19] Importance of gold miner discovery in uncovering pain points [00:34:14] How to get the customer to discuss pain points [00:36:46] The value of a value-based demo [00:40:56] Importance of the business case and ROI model [00:46:08] Difference between operational value and business impact [00:56:03] Unfair competitive advantage from building value pyramids [00:56:12] Differentiation as a business partner and dealing with procurement [00:57:13] Negotiating discounts and preserving solution functionality HIGHLIGHT QUOTES [00:06:11] Dick Thomas: “There's four major components [people need to go into selling business value]. One is the value pyramid. That's where you gain a deep understanding of prospects' business. The second, I call it gold miner discovery because it's like swinging a pick and you got to discover down to annualized dollars. The third is a value based demo, which is an interesting methodology to discover and quantify value during the demo itself and actually confirm it with the customer and the last is the business case ROI model, comprehensive business case with an ROI model.” [00:55:27] John McMahon: “That's how they sold in the future. They weren't just doing demos to do demos. They weren't just getting meetings to get meetings. They were doing value pyramids everywhere they went. In fact, I remember going to a meeting in London and the team did such an effective job of discovery and building the value pyramid that one customer in the room banged his fist on the table and said, ‘where did you get this type of information?’” Learn more about Dick Thomas through this link. Website: https://www.rwtsalesconsulting.com/ Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: | |||
| Little Things That Make a Big Impact in Sales with Anthony Palladino | 10 Aug 2023 | 00:55:21 | |
Anthony Palladino is the Chief Revenue Officer at mabl. mabl is the enterprise SaaS leader of intelligent, low-code test automation that empowers high-velocity software teams to embed automated end-to-end tests into the entire development lifecycle. Prior to mabl, Anthony spent five years at Splunk from pre-IPO through $1 billion in revenue as the leader of their Americas Field Organization. As Chief Revenue Officer at Aisera, the industry’s first AI Service Management solution, he helped define the company’s product market fit, built and ramped their customer-facing functions, and increased revenue eightfold. Prior to Aisera, Anthony was the Senior Vice President at CloudBees overseeing global field operations. In just over three years, CloudBees quadrupled its revenue. A holistic growth leader with experience in building customer-facing organizations, go-to-market strategies, and diverse partner networks. In this conversation with John McMahon, Anthony discusses the importance of focusing on the little things in sales to drive big results. He emphasizes the need for disciplined execution, maintaining urgency with customers, and developing compelling energy in sales conversations. By identifying the deltas and addressing them, sales teams can build good habits and drive successful outcomes. Palladino also highlights the significance of documenting fit and gaining consensus in sales conversations. HERE ARE SOME KEY SECTIONS TO CHECK OUT: [00:02:03] Overview of Mabl and its impact on revenue, profitability, and risk [00:05:26] Top priorities for exploring with the salesforce [00:08:02] Importance of focusing on the little things that make a big difference [00:11:01] Example of using a sequence to drive pipeline generation [00:20:26] Importance of identifying and teaching people the knowledge areas [00:32:59] Creating compelled energy to compel customers to move forward [00:39:18] Importance of documenting the fit and gaining consensus in the first meeting [00:44:46] The components of compelled energy and the exit criteria for the first meeting [00:50:41] Importance of documenting customer requirements and identifying champions [00:55:24] The challenges of being a CRO and the importance of hiring well [00:58:00] Building a leadership team and establishing a common goal HIGHLIGHT QUOTES [00:53:41] "Who do we think is the champion? Right? And it's probably who do we think is the champion? Because an understanding if you're new to the organization, there's probably not a firm notion of what a champion is. And, you know, the definition we have is person with political respect and or technical authority who fights for us when we're not there and I have the and or in their job, because I think in a lot of cases with consensus, certain environments, those 2 things are very distinct today in some cases." - Anthony Palladino [00:57:59] “I think establishing a leadership team that is with each other. They're supporting each other. They're with each other. You're sharing that common goal to the mission. And but doing it, you know, as people and really creating that that's that's I think it doesn't come easy because you have to create a special relationship.” - Anthony Palladino
Learn more about Anthony through this link: Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064 Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: | |||
| Driving Accountability and Building Trust with Chris Riley | 03 Aug 2023 | 00:55:41 | |
Chris Riley serves as President of Worldwide Field Operations of DataRobot, where he is responsible for accelerating the company’s revenue growth and global footprint, bringing DataRobot to organizations across all industries and geographies. Riley previously served as Chief Revenue Officer for Robotic Process Automation (RPA) leader Automation Anywhere, where he led global sales in over 90 countries and managed an ecosystem of over 1,900 partners. Prior to Automation Anywhere, Riley served as President of Global Sales at Dell Technologies, where he was responsible for a multi-billion dollar route to market. Riley also served as Vice President and General Manager for HP’s storage business at HPE. Riley lives in Naples, FL with his family. In this conversation with John McMahon, Chris discusses the importance of understanding the culture and processes of a new organization when stepping into a leadership role. He emphasizes the need for leaders to be adaptable and willing to learn from their teams. Chris also highlights the significance of metrics and productivity in managing a sales organization, as well as the importance of hiring the right people and providing them with the necessary training and development. He shares insights on building trust with the sales team, prioritizing pipeline generation, and the role of mentors, coaches, and godfathers in a leader's career. HERE ARE SOME KEY SECTIONS TO CHECK OUT: [00:01:51] Overview of what DataRobot does and its applications [00:15:13] The importance of work ethic, coachability, and aptitude in hiring [00:23:47] Characteristics of successful leaders and the consequences of failure [00:38:48] The most critical step in the sales process and the importance of a champion [00:47:26] Navigating a sluggish economy and advice for salespeople [00:54:15] The importance of hard work, generating pipeline, and following the process HIGHLIGHT QUOTES [00:22:02] "A mentor is somebody you can speak openly without fear of judgment." - Chris Riley [00:36:35] “A good leader builds trust with the team and shows genuine interest in their success.” - Chris Riley Learn more about Chris through this link: Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064 Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: | |||
| Scaling Sales and Qualifying Deals with Adam Aarons | 27 Jul 2023 | 01:01:45 | |
Adam Aarons is a seasoned sales executive with extensive knowledge of the risk and compliance space. Adam is well known and admired for his time as the CRO of Okta, during which Okta grew from a $1M startup to a publicly traded $300M+ ARR category winner. Adam was previously an active advisor to Drata, and has now joined the company full time to drive revenue at scale as CRO. In this conversation with John McMahon, Adam discusses the keys to scaling a salesforce, including productivity per head, average deal size, and ramp times. He emphasizes the importance of understanding the ideal customer profile and where they are located. Adam also highlights the critical role of qualification in the sales process, focusing on the ICE framework (Identify pain, Champion, Economic buyer). He stresses the need for continuous discovery and the importance of establishing decision criteria. Adam shares insights on forecasting, metrics, and the value of customer success in reducing churn and driving revenue. He also discusses the challenges and lessons learned when transitioning from a sales rep to a manager, VP, and CRO on this episode of Revenue Builders. HERE ARE SOME KEY SECTIONS TO CHECK OUT: [0:00:42] Introduction to Drata and its automation of compliance data collection [0:49:52] Using an automation platform to coordinate customer outreach and marketing campaigns [0:55:18] The need for effective communication and expectation setting between managers [1:00:55] The importance of coaching for young CROs HIGHLIGHT QUOTES [0:57:08] "Having respect and empathy for people that haven't done it before, that you're working with to make sure that they understand the why versus just saying, hey. Trust me, let me go do my job like I know what I'm doing.” [0:52:03] "If you're a leader and you're doing this work, it's hard work. You should expect it to be hard. You should enjoy the grind and enjoy the challenges because you learn so much in these jobs that even with the things that you and I have talked about, there's so much more depth that you could dive down into." Learn more about Adam through this link: Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064 Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: | |||
| What the Best Sales Leaders Do with Brian McCarthy | 20 Jul 2023 | 01:18:25 | |
Brian McCarthy is an accomplished executive and leader with progressive sales and leadership experience building and leading talented teams to achieve hyper-growth within the enterprise software and information services industry. Brian serves as Rubrik’s Chief Revenue Officer, where he leads the global go-to-market sales strategy. Previously he led the sales, services and support teams at ThoughtSpot, where he led the go-to-market function and the company’s SaaS transformation. Preceding his time at ThoughtSpot, Brian came from AppDynamics, which was acquired by Cisco, where he was responsible for leading the Americas organization as GVP and from QlikTech where he served as President of the Americas. He graduated from Franciscan University. Join us as Brian shares shares insights on managing and enabling sales teams. He emphasizes the importance of caring for and developing employees, and the need for leaders to have a secure mindset. McCarthy and John McMahon discuss tracking deals and stages in the sales process, forecasting, and improving the probability of closing deals. Tons of lessons from two top-tier sales leaders shared on this episode of Revenue Builders. HERE ARE SOME KEY SECTIONS TO CHECK OUT: [0:01:15] Brian's background and experience in sales and leadership roles [0:09:30] Brian's approach to managing and training people [0:17:23] The importance of listening skills in leadership [0:24:33] The unique approach to enablement at Rubrik [0:42:04] The critical stage in the sales process for forecasting [0:56:50] The metrics Brian tracks during and after the quarter [1:02:03] The importance of focusing on productivity in a growth company [1:04:35] The impact of churn on productivity and the importance of recruiting and training [1:14:55] Leaders who consistently over forecast or wear rose-colored glasses HIGHLIGHT QUOTES [0:40:33] Leaders job as an ultimate success - John McMahon: “Your job is to get the best players and coaches on your team. And then if you do, you're going to look like a freaking hero, right? And you also hit on something that's really critical is that ‘when is a leader's job done?’. A leader's job's done is when they've been able to prove that they were able to recruit people, train and develop those people to take their spot.That's when it's ultimate success” [1:13:49] The importance of looking at new and existing deals in the forecast - Brian: “I have a much better idea of exactly where they're going to land, plus or minus. And I usually tell them too, as I'm going through, I'll go through and be like, okay, so here's where each of your people are. Here's the range: worst is this all right, I think you're going to be about two and a half million more than you're calling here, but okay, got it.”
Learn more about Brian through this link: Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064 Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: | |||
| Always be Learning: Scaling through a Focus on People with Dennis Lyandres | 13 Jul 2023 | 00:58:22 | |
Dennis Lyandres spent more than 8 years with Procore during which time Procore grew from $10m to over 900m+ in revenue. Dennis started at Procore as Executive Vice President of Sales in 2014, before moving to the Chief Revenue Officer role in 2018 where he was responsible for driving revenue across all customer-facing functions including Sales, Marketing, Customer Success, Rev Ops, Procore.org and Business Development. From Nov 2022 to June 2023, Dennis served as a Strategic Advisor to the CEO working on key strategic projects such as procore’s emerging fin tech business, key partner and customer relationships, and mentoring and developing key leaders. Before joining Procore, he held various sales and sales management roles at Cloudera and Pentaho. Dennis began his career in mergers & acquisitions with BTI Group and holds a BA from UC Berkeley where he finished with highest academic honors. Join us as Dennis shares his journey to sales leadership, from his early days to the phenomenal success he had at Procore. He discusses the core fundamentals he had to learn, including prospecting, business acumen, account planning, and building urgency. Dennis highlights the human aspect of sales leadership and the important lessons he learned in recruiting, training, and developing the right people; as well as the need to trust and empower his team. Dennis also emphasizes the value of continuous learning and the role of leadership in creating a culture of success. Dig into the lessons he learned on his road to sales leadership in this inspiring episode of Revenue Builders.
HERE ARE SOME KEY SECTIONS TO CHECK OUT: [00:05:57] Importance of business fundamentals and financial literacy [00:09:39] Skills needed for sales leadership: recruiting, training, developing, promoting, and terminating [00:19:11] Unique aspects of training and development: clear expectations, self-service, certifications, coaching and buddy systems [00:34:42] Transitioning to the CRO role: prioritization, managing time effectively, hiring great leaders, aligning cross-functional teams [00:46:26] The importance of leadership and building more successful leaders [00:49:31] The value of showing care and having each other's backs [00:50:43] Assessing the most important problems and finding solutions [00:51:06] Scaling challenges: assessing the most important problem and finding a solution [00:52:09] Adapting to new challenges and focusing on the next problem to solve [00:54:13] Transitioning from a private company to a public company [00:56:16] Learning from mistakes and being proud of Procore's impact
HIGHLIGHT QUOTES [00:08:48] “If you're talking to someone low level, and maybe that's some way to build a groundswell or get intelligence or whatever your account strategy is there, then yeah, I think you can talk more feature function, more jargon. But certainly, as you get more and more senior, and as you demonstrate more and more of a mastery of the subject. Simplicity is absolutely essential, right?” - Dennis Lyandres [00:46:34] “My mindset really crystallized by this role, which was like, leadership is the most important thing to whether I wouldn't. Right and so I've got to be spending my time hiring great leaders and making sure they can be wildly successful and within leadership. I've come to believe that the highest calling of a leader is to obsolete yourself is to work yourself out of the job.” - Dennis Lyandres
Learn more about Dennis Lyandres through this link: Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064 Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: | |||
| Know Your Story to Achieve True Success with Doug Holladay | 25 Jul 2024 | 01:08:00 | |
In this episode, John McMahon and John Kaplan welcome back Doug Holladay to delve deeper into the themes of Doug's best-selling book, 'Rethinking Success.' The discussion focuses on the importance of understanding and embracing one's personal story to avoid living someone else's narrative. They explore how life experiences and backgrounds shape emotions, perceptions, and actions. Practical strategies for self-discovery and self-improvement are shared, emphasizing the significance of authenticity and addressing deep-seated emotional triggers. The episode also explores storytelling in leadership and the profound impact of understanding colleagues' backgrounds. This conversation is essential for anyone striving to integrate personal growth with professional excellence. Tune in and learn more about this episode of The Revenue Builders Podcast. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Listen to the earlier episodes with Doug here: Rethinking Success: https://www.forcemanagement.com/rethinking-success-and-finding-purpose-with-doug-holladay Connect and learn more about Doug Holladay: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dougholladay/ Learn more about Doug’s CEO programs: https://www.pathnorth.com/ HERE ARE SOME KEY SECTIONS TO CHECK OUT [00:02:40] Understanding Personal Narratives HIGHLIGHT QUOTES [00:03:19] "It's really easy to misinterpret the actions of others when you don't understand the story they were born into or the demons they're wrestling with." Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: | |||
| Best Practices from Elite Sales Leaders | 06 Jul 2023 | 00:43:33 | |
The best advice comes from people who have been there, done that. In this episode, we bring you insights from sales leaders who have led their teams to incredible outcomes. You’ll hear what it’s like to be the first salesperson into a raw startup, why it’s vitally important for leaders to give their people a purpose, how to keep your top sales performers from leaving your company, why execution of all the details in a process matter, the 3 H’s of Interviewing, why sales leaders need to remove “friction” in the sales process and other wisdom shared on this podcast. We’ll hear from Mark Roberge, former CRO at Hubspot, current Harvard Sales Professor and Managing Director of Stage 2 Capital, Cedric Pech, the CRO at MongoDB and Chris Degnan, the CRO at Snowflake: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markroberge/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/cedricpech/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-degnan-524470/
Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064 Learn More About Force Management: https://www.forcemanagement.com/ Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: | |||
| Driving a Sales Discipline with Carlos Delatorre | 29 Jun 2023 | 00:59:48 | |
Carlos Delatorre is a seasoned sales leader with a career spanning several companies, including PTC, Oracle, Symantec, BMC, VMware, ClearSlide, MongoDB, Vera, and TripActions. He is also an active investor and advisor in several software companies and sits on the board of Yellow. In this episode, Carlos talks about the three basic things he considers when making a career move: market size, product differentiation, and the team. He also discusses the importance of focusing on the customer and the value proposition when selling. Additionally, Carlos delves into the complexity of a product and the selling environment, highlighting the importance of having a sales team that can effectively differentiate from the competition and create demand.
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Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: | |||
| Communicating Like a Leader with Kevin Haverty | 22 Jun 2023 | 01:04:08 | |
Communication is a critical element of any team. Today, our guest Kevin Haverty, Vice Chairman of the Global Public Sector at ServiceNow, talks about the importance of consistent and approachable communication as a sales leader. Drawing on over 15 years of sales leadership experience and his background as a veteran, Kevin shares insight on communication styles that he’s seen drive success across his career. His conversation with John McMahon touches on recruiting, leading by example, and increasing value for customers. Tune in for lessons on building a stronger and more collaborative team on this episode of Revenue Builders.
Here are some key sections to check out: 07:25 Developing executive presence 23:50 How do you stay in touch with your reps? 36:35 The power of being a good listener 45:20 Recruiting and hiring a great salesperson 49:50 Managing teams with effective communication as a leader 55:55 Help your customers gain value Additional Resources:
QUOTES Recruiting as a leadership must-have: “Recruiting, it’s probably your most important sale. Look at your biggest deal. Hiring a great salesperson, if you’re a manager, is way more important than your biggest deal. Because that person is going to affect dozens of deals, and if they don’t make it, that’s probably going to set you back for a year… So that’s when you should really be turning on your charm; that’s when you should really be selling – is landing that great prospect.” Advice for young leaders on handling rejection in a tough economy: “Don’t retract and lick your wounds because it’s tough. You gotta stay in the game and just persist. Tough times are made for tough people, and they are the ones who are going to come out the other side – and be better for it. We’ve been through these cycles, and every time we hit these tough times, people get shedded and some leave the industry. But the ones who have great careers are the ones that persist and find a way to grind through it.” If you're confused, there are probably others who are confused too: "Confused people don't buy. If you have a customer and your product pitch is confusing them, you're not getting the deal. And so we all have a lot coming at us, so we've got to keep it simple. We've got to just have the language be crisp and communicate to be understood, don't communicate to sound sophisticated or to use all the buzzwords." Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064 HOST: John McMahon GUEST: Kevin Haverty Revenue Builders Podcast Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: | |||
| Growing Revenue: Perspectives from Investors | 15 Jun 2023 | 01:08:53 | |
Today’s episode features world-class insight on driving revenue growth from investors behind some of the most successful startups in recent history. We offer perspectives from both Venture Capital and Private Equity with our guests, Neeraj Agrawal, General Partner Battery Ventures, Dave Tiley, Senior Operating Partner Align Capital Partners, and Izhar Armony, General Partner CRV. Tune in for tips on what to look for when investing in early-stage companies, the attributes investors seek when making leadership hires, and the four key dimensions of investing: market, team, technology, and the deal itself. Learn all of this and more in this conversation with our hosts John Kaplan and John McMahon. Here are some key sections to check out: 01:42 Successful versus unsuccessful start-ups 7:50 How CEO selection determines success 16:47 The investor’s “Rule of 40” 21:47 Differences between VC and PE investors 29:47 Focus on growth or earnings? 35:10 Attributes to look for when hiring leaders 45:10 Common mistakes of early-stage companies 53:07 Product-market fit in early-stage companies HIGHLIGHT QUOTES Neeraj on looking for a strong sales mentality when hiring CEOs: “The art of sales is more important than it was a few years ago because there's scrutiny in every decision. Having somebody who can connect the dots between the business problem, the value property or product, ROI, dealing with CFO scrutiny… that's all gone from “nice-to-haves” to super important right now.” Dave on the mindset of going from good to great: “If we're not getting better each and every day in every phase of the business, and we think somebody else is, then we're not putting our best foot forward for our employees, shareholders and investors… You're just trying to optimize it and take it to the next level. Building companies to get to $20 million is one thing, but to get to $50 and then $100, you know, they're just different stages and steps; there's a different playbook for each.” Connect with our amazing guests in the links below:
Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064 HOST: John McMahon GUESTS: Neeraj Agrawal, Dave Tiley, and Izhar Armony Revenue Builders Podcast Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: | |||
| Getting to the Economic Buyer with Anne Gary | 08 Jun 2023 | 00:35:18 | |
In today's episode of Revenue Builders, we have another conversation with Force Management Director Anne Gary. Anne is a skilled sales consultant and trainer with more than 20 years of experience in direct and indirect and channel sales, sales management, sales development, and sales operations. This time, we talk about misconceptions around who the economic buyer actually is, how their role has shifted with recent economic challenges, and strategies for gaining access to the economic buyer effectively by training and educating the champion. Here are some key sections to check out: 01:58 Who is the economic buyer? 08:24 The key to a successful EB meeting 15:11 Critical things to do prior to the meeting 20:33 Salespeople need to understand the pains of the customer process 28:13 What questions should you expect from the economic buyer?
Additional Resources:
Listen to our first conversation with Anne: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/finding-your-champion-with-anne-gary/id1610203369?i=1000567466279 QUOTES We should recognize that we should convert KPIs: “This is why, as salespeople, we need to have done all the correct work prior to the EB meeting. So we can ensure that the proposal that we're providing is strong enough for the EB to want to allocate budget, and reallocate budget dollars to our project instead of other projects. And the other thing that salespeople need to think about here is you're not just competing against your competition in the sale, a lot of times you're competing against all the other things that people are fighting for to steal budget dollars also.” Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: | |||
| Coaches vs. Champions with Anne Gary | 01 Jun 2023 | 00:34:02 | |
Force Management Facilitator Anne Gary joins the Revenue Builders. Anne is a skilled sales consultant and trainer with more than 20 years of experience in direct and indirect and channel sales, sales management, sales development, and sales operations. John and I both worked with her at PTC – she was there when PTC was a startup and helped us grow to a $10 billion dollar market cap. Anne spends her time now working with companies and leadership teams – helping them improve their sales performance and helping their reps grasp those key sales fundamentals that are so critical. In this episode, John McMahon and Anne Gary talk about the MEDDICC concept of Coaches and Champions. They discuss common mistakes salespeople make distinguishing a Coach from a Champion, as well as what sales leaders need to do to push their teams to identify and test the coveted role.
Additional Resources:
Listen to our first conversation with Anne: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/finding-your-champion-with-anne-gary/id1610203369?i=1000567466279 Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064 Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: | |||
| The Navy SEAL Approach to Leadership | 25 May 2023 | 00:30:09 | |
As we commemorate Memorial Day, we wanted to share some of the great lessons shared by some of our veteran guests. There’s no higher-stakes environment in which to learn about leadership, teamwork, and perseverance, and we in the sales world can learn a lot from their service. Tune in as VMWare Chief Operating Officer Mike Hayes and TakingPoint Leadership CEO Brent Gleeson talk about the importance of taking the harder path versus easy decisions, key leadership traits, and adapting the right mindset to succeed. Learn all of this and more on this episode of Revenue Builders. Here are some key sections to check out: 02:24 Mike Hayes on high-performing people living in "two places at once". 08:34 Mike on taking the harder decisions and helping others do so as well 19:23 Brent Gleeson differentiating between the ones that excel and those that didn't make it 23:52 Brent on channeling pain pathways
Additional Resources:
QUOTES You're only excellent if you know you're never excellent enough - Mike: “Whatever ways we definite 'better', I think it has nothing to do with seniority, age, or where we are in our careers. You can be ninety-something years old and still be trying to get better at different things.” Brent on having a passion for what you're trying to accomplish: “If you think about any lofty goal we've ever pursued in life whether it's sports, work, charitable organizations, or in relationships, no lofty goal is ever achieved without some stress, pain, and adversity.” Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064 The Shift Group works to place Veterans in sales roles. If you have open roles to fill, please contact them here: https://www.shiftgroup.io/companies-registration Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: | |||
| Executing a Winning Strategy with Chuck Bamford | 18 May 2023 | 01:05:31 | |
What makes a winning strategy? According to today’s guest Chuck Bamford, PhD, author of The Strategy Mindset 2.0, strategy is about developing and aligning on a competitive advantage that actually moves the needle in your customer’s experience. It’s aligning on strategy from the top down that can often be a challenge for sales organization. Chuck is the author of multiple strategy books used in MBA and Entrepreneurship courses around the country. He joins us today to talk common pitfalls, new realities, and winning implementation processes for strategy. Tune in for some truly golden insights shared in this conversation with our hosts John Kaplan and John McMahon. Here are some key sections to check out: 03:47 Defining strategy and how not to complicate it 16:06 The two disconnects in business 25:04 The importance of aligning goals with compensation 33:13 Avoid knee-jerk reactions during slow economic times 43:30 Hygiene around the ideal customer profile 50:08 Company culture tied to strategy 53:59 Creating a differentiation strategy
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QUOTES Chuck on converting KPIs: “I think one of the big disconnects in business is that everything that leadership does is hypothesis. They believe that if we invest here, here and here, and our employees do this, this and this, that as we move forward, the number of customers will go up or returning customers or our EBITA, but they don't want to address what the activities are, or to convert it to activity metrics. Chuck on aligning with employees: “I tell everybody that the entire game in alignment with all my employees, I'm trying to get as many employees as I can to buy into my strategy. And the entire game is that it fits with how they view the company in the world, and that they are compensated and rewarded for making that happen.” Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: | |||
| Becoming a Transformative Leader | 11 May 2023 | 00:45:33 | |
Truly great leaders transform the people and teams that they work with. We’ve been lucky enough to have some conversations with some truly transformative leaders on the Revenue Builders Podcast. This week, we’re sharing some of our favorite golden nuggets from some memorable guests.
Tune in as MongoDB CRO Cedric Pech, War Veteran & Mentor Anthony Anderson, Former CEO of Iron Mountain & Chairman for Fairwinds Bob Brennan, and JD Brookhart talk emotions in times of chaos, different types of leadership and leadership issues, and how to help people reach their true potential. Learn what it takes to be a great leader on this episode of Revenue Builders.
Here are some key sections to check out: 01:08 Cedric Pech on transactional leadership vs transformative leadership 16:13 Anthony Anderson on emotions and understanding the why of everything he does 26:42 Bob Brennan on what it means to keep people from themselves 30:24 JD Brookhart on building trust in a team and how bad character can affect the morale of the entire team
Additional Resources:
QUOTES Cedric quotes a French author on training people on the sales process: “If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people to collect wood and don't assign them task and work only but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea. When you define the sales process, when you train the people on qualifying things, these are all incredibly important things to do you make them competent at doing that.” Anthony on navigating your environment in times of chaos: “This kind of what you're being told and what you're supposed to act on but ultimately what you're observing and what you're feeling. So some of the chaos of war is not just what's happening outside. It's what's happening in your heart and in your mind.”
Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064 Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: | |||
| Developing Elite Sales Habits with Richard Rivera, Part 2 | 04 May 2023 | 00:52:08 | |
Today we continue our conversation with Richard Rivera, Founder of GENNOW Sales Consulting and author of The Champion Sell. This time we discuss his formula for sales success: what he calls the E.L.I.T.E. method for aligning with the buyer. E.L.I.T.E. stands for Emotional Connection, Leading Vision, Inspiring Commitment, Trust Building, and Empowering Champions. Tune in to this episode of Revenue Builders to hear Richard break down these 5 game-changing strategies in an insightful conversation with our hosts John Kaplan and John McMahon.
01:23 The 5 ELITE Sales Habits 07:02 Going deeper on emotional connection 14:27 Elite sellers allow buyers to visualize our solution in their world 20:52 Identifying integrated outcomes 29:18 Deals begin and end with trust 42:19 Addressing gaps of commitment
Additional Resources:
Recognize the Survive, Thrive, Think pattern: “I've got to first disarm those survival instincts and the way I do that is I attach myself to the problems that they care about. In other words, what are they surviving in the job today? How many of us have been in an opportunity where we're presenting all of this really cool stuff and all of a sudden the buyer just pushes back and says you have no idea what I'm trying to deal with, I've got problems to solve.” Be intentional with trust-building: “Trust is a force. Out of all the different emotions, whether it's stress, tension, or conflict, trust can make the kind of impact on a deal that will completely stop a locomotive in its tracks. We don't think of it that way, we think of it as this passive thing and say they like me, they trust me, we're good. No, trust is a force and you've got to respect it.”
Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064 Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: | |||
| Effective Second-Line Leadership with Carl Cross | 21 Jul 2024 | 00:07:51 | |
In this curated episode of the Revenue Builders Podcast, John McMahon and John Kaplan are joined by Carl Cross, the CRO of Alchemy Technology, to delve into the complexities of second line leadership. The discussion centers around the critical skills required to train and lead first line leaders, the common pitfalls second line managers face, and strategies to ensure that leadership at every level is effective and empowering. This episode offers valuable insights for those looking to elevate their leadership capabilities and drive better results through their teams. KEY TAKEAWAYS [00:00:49] Defining a Great First Line Leader HIGHLIGHT QUOTES [00:00:49] "You're obviously driving results through leaders, right? And there's something different about that." Listen to the full episode with Carl Cross through this link: Check out John McMahon’s book here: Check out Force Management’s Ascender platform here: Read Force Management's eBook:
Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: | |||
| Developing Buyer Champions with Richard Rivera, Part 1 | 27 Apr 2023 | 00:43:46 | |
The buyer champion is a crucial part of any deal, but especially important in a challenging sales environment. In this episode, Richard Rivera, Founder of GENNOW Sales Consulting, joins the show to discuss his book The Champion Sell and his insights on what makes a great buyer champion.
In his conversation with John Kaplan and John McMahon, Richard shares his view on the different archetypes of champions, along with the risks and benefits of each. The episode contains advice for sellers and leaders on how to incorporate stronger champion practices into their sales rhythm. Don’t forget to tune in next week to catch Part 2 of Richard Rivera on Revenue Builders.
Here are some key sections to check out: 03:01 Why Richard decided to write The Champion Sell 06:44 The three common selling habits for reps 10:49 Criteria for defining a champion 18:25 Sales in the information age 26:19 The four champion tendencies 34:19 Working with someone that blows past the buying process
Additional Resources:
QUOTES Differentiating the power and influence of a champion: “Typically power is a trait of strength. I can move something, I can make something happen. So power is really about authority whereas influence is about people. So I may have an enormous amount of authority but I can't influence people.”
Find evidence that they're doing the work: “The third part of the definition that they have the willingness to sell for you when you're not there or sell on your behalf. That means that you have evidence that they're taking action for you. Then I started relating to my experiences. Regardless of what I'm doing, there's a certain people that don't have a tendency to take action as much as we'd like.”
Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064 Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: | |||
| Selling to the CFO | 20 Apr 2023 | 00:36:00 | |
Understanding the CFO perspective is becoming increasingly crucial to closing deals in today’s economy. This week, we’re sharing some highlights of the best wisdom shared by financial leaders on our show. Tune in as Six-time CFO and Board Advisor Murray Demo, Drift CFO Jim Kelliher, and Managing Director of Madrona Venture Group Hope Cochran talk forecasting, budgeting, and what a CFO’s priorities really are when the economy presents challenges. Whether you’re a seller, a champion, or a leader, you’ll get a valuable glimpse into the mind of a CFO on this episode of Revenue Builders. Here are some key sections to check out: 02:14 Murray Demo on giving the decision-making power to the CIO 20:51 Jim Kelliher on value, forecasting metrics, and accurate forecasting 29:50 Hope Cochran on balancing forecasts, accuracy, and transparency Additional Resources:
QUOTES Murray on giving the decision-making power to the CIO: “I would never take a CFO job unless IT reported to me. So in any software purchase, I felt that if I got too involved too early, I undermined the CIO, and instead of it being sort of their decision and their commitment to the success of implementing that software, because I got too involved in it, I let them off the hook.” Hope on balancing forecasts, accuracy, and transparency: “I want to establish the ability for everyone to be as transparent and honest as they can and to take the game plan out of it. I know that's hard, and I know that there are a lot of reasons why the game plan comes in, people have career ambitions, etc. But that's the moment where we can all help each other.” Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: | |||
| Mastering the Art of Customer Success with Allison Pickens | 13 Apr 2023 | 00:50:34 | |
Your existing customer base is a vital part of your future sales pipeline. Today’s conversation with Allison Pickens explores how to reduce churn and ensure that your retention revenue pipeline stays full. Allison is an experienced investor, board director, and customer success expert. She joins John Kaplan and John McMahon today to discuss the importance of viewing customer success not as a separate activity from sales, but as an integral part of the sales process and, ultimately, the value of your solution. Allison shares strategies for assessing customer health during economic uncertainty, harnessing the power of AI for customer success, and aligning customer success with your overall sales objectives.
00:56 Introducing Allison Pickens: Investor, board director, and CS expert 01:48 Why has customer success become so important? 06:43 Why are companies slow to adopt customer success? 10:48 Importance of understanding the customer’s ROI 15:18 How do you monitor and manage customer health? 25:55 How do you measure customer success? 29:38 The importance of strong product documentation and user support 35:33 Understanding the root cause of churn 42:25 How can CEOs and founders learn from churn? 48:53 Injecting CS into the business
QUOTES Allison - You need to invest in supporting your customers: “The revenue model has shifted and because you can't just sell a customer and ignore them after the fact, you actually need to pay attention to them in order to generate revenue for them later. You now need to invest in actually supporting them. So I think that, you know, we go where the revenue goes.” Allison - Not taking customer success seriously will cost you getting left behind: “Nowadays, I would say that we're in the late majority stage of the adoption curve of customer success that, actually, if a company hasn't really started taking customer success seriously, they will probably be left behind in pretty short order.” Allison - Documentation is a product itself: “I think the best companies think of documentation as a type of product in itself where they release updates to documentation in a structured way. They think about the impact of a new release on past documentation and past documentation that was written and ensure that it's kept up to date.”
Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064 Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: | |||
| The Secrets of Sales Negotiation with Tim Caito | 06 Apr 2023 | 01:05:45 | |
The problem with most negotiation training approaches is they often fail to account for the nuances of a sales negotiation based on value. In this episode, Tim Caito, Senior Partner at Force Management, joins John McMahon and John Kaplan to discuss competencies and common pitfalls associated with negotiation.
The conversation covers the perception of power and emotions, early preparation and value-building throughout the sales process, the role of champions in negotiation, handling give-gets and package options, and many more negotiation topics. Learn how these concepts apply to your sales team and the current economic environment in this episode of Revenue Builders.
Here are some key sections to check out: 01:58 Introducing Tim Caito, Senior Partner at Force Management 05:47 Time, Power, and Knowledge in negotiations 09:46 The power of emotions and perception of power 14:40 Perceptions of value vs. better alternatives 21:00 Power and knowledge and the power of champions 28:38 Negotiation is a process, not an event 56:03 The concept of multiple options
Additional Resources:
QUOTES Tim - Negotiations are a battle of perceptions: “In a negotiation, the side that is perceived to have the better alternative is perceived to have more power, and the science and negotiation are pretty clear on this, the side that is perceived to have more power almost always captures more value in a negotiation.” Tim - Start negotiating before they believe you’re negotiating: “Start the negotiation process before the other side believes we're negotiating, and the good news for our sellers out there; when you are executing an effective sales process, you're simultaneously executing a negotiation process, you just got to be aware of it.” Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064 Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: | |||
| Recruiting and Hiring Top Talent | 30 Mar 2023 | 00:33:21 | |
A company's ability to recruit and hire top talent is directly related to its ability to scale effectively. In this episode, we pulled together some of the best moments from three of our best interviews on recruiting and hiring in a growing organization.
01:55 Mike McSally on challenges with the recruitment process 07:58 Hollie Castro's efficiency method for team interviews 19:38 Bill Cea's interviewing components, including the importance of quantifiable success and hiring for cultural fit
Additional Resources:
QUOTES Mike - The Six-Second step of checking resumes: “The average recruiter, even with all the advancement in technology and machine learning and AI, their eyes are trained to look for two or three certain buzzwords. And they're going to spend about six seconds determining my 30 years of domain expertise.” “If those buzzwords don't pop out and make it easy for them, they're just going to move right on to the next candidate. So, you know, not only does it just suck the life out of talented people that are trying to engage with the right employers, employers are missing out on great talent because of this broken six-second step that happens all too often.” Hollie - Embedding values into career competency: “Our values are embedded in our sort of career competency. Each team is given a competency that they are supposed to test that aligns with our leadership competency. So we've embedded that all the way through.” Bill - The importance of past performance: “Past performance is not indicative of future results, but there has to be a past performance because we can determine the attribute that's most important, which is a quantifiable success.”
Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064 Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: | |||
| Leading Through Economic Challenges with Murray Demo | 23 Mar 2023 | 01:04:16 | |
“The best sales leaders are actually business leaders.” Murray Demo joins John McMahon and John Kaplan on a new episode of the Revenue Builders Podcast. A six-time CFO and board director for Citrix, Easy Software, Centrify, Qualtrics, and Lacework, Murray joins us to discuss the importance of the big picture for sales leaders. He explores how leaders can start to zoom out from just sales success into constructing a full-scale business strategy, and shares advice for CFOs and CROs approaching economic downturn.
Here are some key sections to check out: 08:29 The key metrics to look for in sales performance 13:47 Balancing fiscal responsibility with agility 20:40 Compensation programs’ impact on company performance 29:37 Expectations of cost justification and commitment 42:38 Defining a good company 56:31 Defining a down round and how to handle it Additional Resources:
QUOTES Murray - Where the best leaders come from: “What I have found, though, is the best sales leaders are actually business leaders, they made a transition from carrying the bag and trying to make their number and tunnel vision and closing business, which is what you have to do to start your career, but as you progress up, the ones that are the most successful, they turn into business leaders and trying to solve a problem more at a company level than just for a specific sales oriented activity.”
Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064 Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: | |||
| Staying Calm in a Crisis with Sarah de Lagarde | 16 Mar 2023 | 00:53:00 | |
Sarah de Lagarde is a living miracle. Her story is one of resilience and is filled with lessons for all of us. Sarah is currently the Global Head of Communications at Janus Henderson in London, but last September her life changed forever when she was involved in a horrific accident that claimed her arm and leg. Somehow, throughout an ordeal that could have been fatal many times over, Sarah remained calm and refused to give up. In this episode, John Kaplan and John McMahon talk with Sarah about her journey, adjusting to a new reality, and the power of gratitude. They explore how her background in crisis communication helped her on the tracks that night, and Sarah shares some expertise for founders and leaders on how to handle internal and external communications for their teams, particularly in times of crisis.
Here are some key sections to check out: 03:15 Sarah’s miracle story 06:09 Gratitude above all emotions after the accident 10:42 Pushing through the pain of an accident 16:38 Journey to recovery and raising money 21:38 Sarah’s background in crisis communication 32:26 Advice for companies that don’t have a corporate communications team 38:35 Resilience and living in the moment 44:06 The psychological immune system and living in the present
Additional Resources:
QUOTES Sarah - choosing gratitude every day: “It's a very conscious decision that I make every day when I wake up. When something like this happens, there's a whole range of emotions that you feel every day, and one overwhelming emotion is that of gratitude, and that is because I could have died so many times that night, and yet I didn't, I clung on to dear life, I made it. And now, everything I see is 10 times more beautiful than before, because I'm here, because I could have not seen it.” Sarah - Take time, no shortcuts: “If you want to do this, right, you have to take your time, there are no shortcuts, you have to just go and accept it.”
Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064 Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: | |||
| Assembling a Top Sales Team with JR Butler | 09 Mar 2023 | 00:55:49 | |
What’s the ultimate factor to success? A competitive and committed mindset, according to today’s guest JR Butler. A lifelong athlete, he saw the opportunity for sales teams to recruit from groups with a next-level work ethic and passion for growth: athletes and veterans. Drawing on his own experience of transitioning to the sales world, JR founded Shift Group, a company that develops these specially qualified groups into elite sales professionals. Today he joins John McMahon and John Kaplan to discuss how leaders can build a success-driven culture, develop A-Players, and make great hires in today’s challenging market. Dig in to great insights for building an all-star team on this episode of Revenue Builders.
Here are some key sections to check out: 03:48 The impetus for starting Shift Group 07:40 Learnings from being coached by his father 19:15 The pros and cons of hiring athletes in sales 24:52 The mindset of an athlete who wants to be great 30:07 The importance of having a culture of success 34:21 Why would somebody want to work for this company? 38:54 Practice starts from the top down 42:44 What is a sales boot camp? 52:30 Rapid fire questions and answers
JR - Learnings from his dad: “My dad has a saying, he says plant tomatoes, get tomatoes, and what he means by that is sports, hockey specifically, is a meritocracy. Like nobody really cares what your parents accomplished, what you did, where you're from. It's like, how hard are you willing to work to get better every single day? And that's what you're gonna get rewarded for.” JR - Being a great teammate: “When I think back to every team I've ever played for that was great, everybody in that locker room played for each other. And that was it, like a full stop. It was like the old Patriot saying, you did your job because you knew the guy next to you was going to do their job.” Tony - Leaders walk the talk: “What I see is great leadership is like, you're not just telling people what to do, you're showing them what to do, and you're not afraid to do what you're asking your team to do.”
Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064 Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: | |||
| Selling to Decision Makers Part 2 with Tony Parinello | 02 Mar 2023 | 01:18:04 | |
One of our MOST requested guests is back for Part 2! Tony Parinello is the bestselling author of Selling to VITO - the Very Important Top Officer. A sales veteran, Tony knows how C-suite leaders think, what they look for in a sales conversation, and what it takes to get them on your side in a deal. Today, Tony is diving even deeper into this critical topic for sales success in 2023, when multiple C-suite leaders are getting more involved in every deal. John McMahon and John Kaplan talk to Tony about VITO priorities and how to win consistently with this stakeholder group in a game-changing episode for both sellers and leaders. Dig in and get in the mindset of how your team should be approaching these high-stakes conversations. Here are some key sections to check out: 5:00 What’s on VITO’s To-Do List 6:50 How to make sure you’re targeting the right VITOs 10:00 what a company owes its sellers 12:20 Speaking the language of VITO 25:40 The three outcomes to strategize around when you try to reach VITO 33:25 The right questions to ask VITO 34:50 Voicemail best practices 44:52 Active listening 54:00 The problem with premature questions 55:20 VITO Call Objectives 1:05:40 How many slides do you need for a VITO presentation?
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HIGHLIGHTS
QUOTES Tony - Forget the word “I”: “Forget the word ‘I’. The up word ‘I’ should be totally out of your vocabulary like, I wanted to know where, I was wondering if or, I had an idea. These executives, these VITOs don't care about us until they understand what we could do for them, and so take the word ‘I’ out of your vocabulary, just replace it with the word we or our.” Tony - The importance of having a process: “Every successful VITO has a process in place for doing everything they want to measure and achieve. Processes are critically important for us to show VITO that whether we're leaving voicemail messages or we're sending them correspondence, we need to follow an identifiable process. So VITO sees what we're doing and can identify with it. So this is why examining our sales process and examining our prospecting process is so critically important.”
Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064 Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: | |||
| Building Memories, One Field at a Time with Robert Kessler | 23 Feb 2023 | 01:01:24 | |
An inspiring story of love, perseverance and the power of football - Bob Kessler is in awe of where his family was and where they are now. His son Tyler is a walking medical miracle. Tyler suffered from kidney failure when he was just four years old and received a transplant from his grandmother. But, in 2000 he was diagnosed with cancer and his body rejecting the kidney. Suffering from Post Transplant Lymphatic Disorder, he was the only child in the U.S who was undergoing chemo and dialysis at the same time. But Bob didn't want Tyler's childhood memories to only be hospitals and doctors. That's why he set a goal to visit every NFL stadium in the country. Starting the year Tyler was diagnosed, they traveled the country meeting player after player and coach after coach. Their story is not only a football fan's dream, but a lesson to us all to never let our struggle define our story. Additional Resources:
HIGHLIGHTS
QUOTES Bob - Remaining positive: “I will tell you, my wife and I, we agreed at a very early part of this journey that there's no complaining, there is no asking why? Because there's no answer there. All we know is what we can do.” Bob - Building community: “At first, you may be like, Hey, I don't need that. That's what we said, but give it a shot, and try to network and learn from others. You know, we learned a lot from families who have gone through, you know, you meet families in the hospital, who are going through similar challenges, some worse, and we've learned a lot by observing and talking to folks and sharing our story, and, what's the best way to work through all these challenges.” Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: | |||
| Selling in a New Category | 18 Jul 2024 | 00:19:43 | |
If you’re trying to demonstrate value in a new category or sell a new solution like AI, then this podcast is for you. We pulled together three segments on the topic featuring: Neeraj Agrawal - General Partner, Battery Ventures ADDITIONAL RESOURCES For more information on Selling in a New Category, check out Force Management’s eBook: https://hubs.li/Q02GXNTZ0 HERE ARE SOME KEY SECTIONS TO CHECK OUT [00:01:28] Understanding market transitions and spotting opportunities.
[00:01:46] "Spotting these transitions and being there at the right point is a key component here." Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: | |||
| Growing in the Valleys with Dr. Tommy Watson, Ed. D., ACC | 16 Feb 2023 | 01:12:26 | |
The most impactful leaders turn challenges into growth opportunities. In this episode, our hosts welcome Dr. Tommy Watson, Ed. D., ACC, one of America's leading experts on turning transitions into triumphs, to their podcast. Dr. Watson has authored two books and is considered an authority on resilience, change, motivation, and leadership. Dr. Tommy explains his definition of resilience as the ability to bounce back from adversity. He believes that no matter what area of life someone comes from or what they do, they will always face challenges and must be able to bounce back in order to be successful. Learn more about Dr. Tommy’s philosophies for life and leadership in this latest episode of Revenue Builders.
HIGHLIGHTS
QUOTES Dr. Tommy - Definition of resilience: “Resilience, John, and John, is really about just bouncing back from adversity because no matter what area of life you come from, or what you do, we're always going to face some challenges when it comes to life, life is gonna throw things at us, and we got to be able to bounce back. But I think oftentimes people look at resiliency as simply surviving, that's an aspect of it. But resiliency is really about bouncing back and thriving.” Dr. Tommy - Focus on the positive: “Sometimes in the midst of a lot of chaos, you have to hone in on the one thing that's going right, find one thing that's going right and hold on to it.”
Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064 Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: | |||
| Maximizing Your Impact with Zack Rosenburg | 09 Feb 2023 | 01:05:09 | |
As sales leaders, our success isn’t defined solely by revenue. Today’s guest Zack Rosenburg is the co-founder of SBP, an organization that supports communities affected by natural disasters. Originally founded as a disaster relief volunteer group in 2006, SBP has evolved to now include government advisory, loan funding programs, and disaster risk education and prevention into their activities. A former defense attorney, Zack has built a career on serving others. His story is inspiring as is his approach to his non-profit. Zack and SBP adopted a unique approach to non-profit growth that focuses on efficiency and the customer experience. He discusses his dedication to continuous improvement and a people-first culture. Listen to the full conversation with John McMahon and John Kaplan to learn about maximizing your impact.
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HIGHLIGHTS
Zack - Inspiration from Toyota’s Yokoten Notion: “If a for-profit global company can take their resources to drive efficiency with others, we can do the same thing. And that's what started our share intervention when we began, not just investing money, but time resources in the Toyota Production System.” Zack - Think about what the customer wants: “We realized that just being reactive wasn't enough. Just building houses wasn't enough. They talked about upstream solutions, and the best upstream, and they talked about what would the customer want? Think about does the customer want us to rebuild their house? Or would they want to never need our help in the first place?”
Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064 Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: | |||
| The Entrepreneurial Mindset with Jim Baum | 02 Feb 2023 | 01:00:43 | |
What characteristics make a successful entrepreneur? Jim Baum has over 25 years of tech industry experience as an entrepreneur and board leader. According to Jim, it takes “the smarts, the drive, and just enough of the craziness to make it happen.” As a seasoned president, CEO, and advisor of high-growth, venture-backed B2B software environments, he shares his insights on the limits of technology, the importance of customer-defined value, and how entrepreneurial values are critical to the success of all sales individuals and leaders. Dig in to strategies for personal and organizational growth in this conversation with John McMahon and John Kaplan on Revenue Builders.
Jim - Get to know the customer: “Not to downplay the importance of technology, and the quality of the technology and the architecture and the systems that are used, and the way they're deployed, and the way they scale and all of those things. But on top of all that, there's an end user, there's a person, there's a human or a system that needs to somehow derive value from what this technology is doing. And so I really think the advice is, get to know the customer get to know the use case, get to know, in deeply understand the value.”
https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064 Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: | |||
| Mastering Work/Life Balance with Marcy Stoudt | 26 Jan 2023 | 01:06:07 | |
Work/life balance is often something we strive for, but have difficulty achieving. This week’s guest Marcy Stoudt, CEO and co-founder of Revel Coach, helps leaders avoid burnout and become their best selves. Marcy offers advice for all leaders to avoid burnout and achieve work-life balance without sacrificing success in either area. She also discusses how diversity and new generations are changing the corporate landscape, diving into how both women and their teams can ensure success throughout and after the maternity leave process. Tune in for actionable items on leading, and rising the ranks within, a modern sales workforce in this latest episode of Revenue Builders.
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HIGHLIGHTS
QUOTES Marcy - What Revel Coach is all about: "Specifically, we serve that time-starved working mom whose vision of success includes a very successful career, but without the sacrifice of personal wellness or quality time at home." Marcy - Leading beyond generational judgment: “The best leaders see the strength and people's unique style, and basically you want to flourish that mute, get that person to flourish…”
Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064 Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: | |||
| Thinking Like an Executive with Dali Rajic | 19 Jan 2023 | 01:01:57 | |
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE A GREAT LEADER? John McMahon and John Kaplan welcome Dali Rajic, Chief Operating Officer at Zscaler, as he discusses his career in sales leadership, starting as a first-line manager and eventually becoming a Chief Revenue Officer (CRO). He gives advice for fron-tline managers, those coaching front-line managers, and those wishing to take their career to the next level. Dali discusses the difference between working hard and working efficiently, the anatomy of a great team culture, and explains an approach to results-based enablement. Learn more about Dali’s work and achievements in this latest episode of Revenue Builders. Additional Resources:
HIGHLIGHTS
QUOTES Dali - A leader doesn’t have all the answers: "Actually it's okay to be vulnerable because you think you got promoted, and you got to know everything except you don't know everything. All this talent on your team, and if you create a culture of mutual learning from one another, then it becomes really an approach of exchanging ideas, weighing them, trying to figure out what the best one is forward, you become a sounding board, you learn, evolve your thinking, now you can add more value." Dali - Celebrate every small win: “Everybody waits for like this big miracle to happen this big enlightenment this moment, and what you miss out is, if you're just waiting for the big moments, you miss all the little moments. And what we brought in is a concept of marginal gains, where we celebrated every small win.”
Check out John McMahon’s book here: Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: | |||
| From Good to Great With Dave Tiley | 12 Jan 2023 | 01:02:01 | |
John McMahon and John Kaplan welcome Dave Tiley in this latest episode of Revenue Builders. In this conversation, Dave shares his journey of being a serial entrepreneur, growing and selling multiple successful startups, and how it led him to become a private equity investor. He discusses his experiences running and growing businesses and developing his “good to great” approach along the way. With this approach, Dave and his firm Align Capital Partners get radically honest about what’s working in their companies and what is not benefitting the end goal. Applying this philosophy to culture, accounting, sales and talent is what enables them to help the companies they work with graduate from just good to truly great.
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HIGHLIGHTS
QUOTES Dave - Keep your mind open to new opportunities: "What I would encourage people is financially, they get rewarded no matter what, and it's usually a pretty life-changing event, and that's why we really focus on the journey, not the exit. It's that journey, because they just, they quiver just got richer and bigger, because they've done now a private equity exit, and that just makes them more right open and the door opens for other opportunities."
Dave - You can learn in every situation: "I just want to tell people, man bloom where you're planted. Everyone was trying to think, Well, I gotta get to the next three jobs, or I gotta get over here. I gotta get over here. And they're missing the blessing of what this job can give you. Because I think you can learn something in every situation."
Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064 Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: | |||
| Mission, Meaning, and Impact with Mike Hayes | 05 Jan 2023 | 01:00:50 | |
John McMahon and John Kaplan welcome Mike Hayes in this latest episode of Revenue Builders. In this conversation, Mike shares some of the lessons he learned as a Navy SEAL and how they have helped him in his current role as the Chief Operating Officer at VMware. He conveys the importance of collective accountability, humility, and purpose in leading any successful team. Mike’s book about his SEAL experiences, “Never Enough”, donates proceeds to his charity the 1162 Foundation, which helps families of fallen special operations heroes.
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HIGHLIGHTS
QUOTES Mike - You already have the skill set to repeat your success: "What's really interesting is sure you can diagnose the winds and say what do we need to keep repeating, but by and large, you already have the skills that you need in order to keep repeating closing deals." Mike - Diagnose your losses and learn from there: "What you want to do is think well, look at the deals that you lost in to diagnose the loss and say, What did I learn? And that feedback and that incorporation in a very open way, and having no ego and saying I could have done something better? What was it? That to me is the biggest ingredient." Mike defines the true first decision: "The point that what I would say is the first decision in decision making is not the decision. The first decision in decision-making is when you need to make your decision."
Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064 Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: | |||
| Hiring for Growth: Strategies for Scaling Sales Teams With Bill Cea | 29 Dec 2022 | 01:06:36 | |
Today we are joined by Managing Director from Foster Beck Associates, Bill Cea, to discuss hiring for sales organizations of every size, from seed stage to market. Bill gives insights on making great long-term hires by sharing startup hiring strategies according to three stages. In the first stage of growth, companies should focus on hiring people who fit the product and market. In the second stage, companies should focus on hiring people who can help them scale. In the third stage, companies should focus on hiring people who can help them mature.
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HIGHLIGHTS
QUOTES BILL: PRE-REQUISITES OF BUILDING A PROFILE “When you're building a profile, what else you really need to understand is, how is the company going to go to market. In other words, there are many different ways companies go to market, they're going to do a vertical approach, they're going to do geo-named accounts. I don't believe the Rolodex question is applicable anymore. But I think it's much more important that they at least sold to like industries where they understand the buying process.” BILL: CREATE A DEFINITIVE AND EXPEDITIOUS PROCESS “A smart company has that definitive process, while that process is going on, they're doing their due diligence, background perspective, they're ready to strike, you have to be expeditious through the process, or you're gonna lose to a company that is doing it right.”
Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064 Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: | |||
| Connecting to Value With Michael Cremen | 22 Dec 2022 | 01:07:11 | |
Michael Cremen is the Chief Sales Officer at Elastic and has nearly 20 years of experience in executive roles at firms like Hitachi, IBM, and Veritas. Through his robust experience as a sales decision maker, he knows a thing or two about the decision making process for a purchase. He discusses with John Kaplan and John McMahon what he calls the “CFO factor” - the need for sales teams to consider executive financial decision-maker involvement in the sales process, particularly now in a price-conscious economy. He also shares strategies for effectively communicating value, driving great front line manager performance, and hiring. Get his advice for sales teams and leaders in this latest episode of Revenue Builders.
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HIGHLIGHTS
QUOTES MICHAEL: BE THE ONE TO CONNECT THE VALUE “Companies only really care about three things at the highest level, making money, saving money, and mitigating risk, and at some point, you have to rise up to that and what are you doing there, that's the value that you're getting to for those customers.” MICHAEL: LEADERS SHOULD BE ENGAGED “One thing I've noticed over the years is leaders that are engaged with their teams, they love to be involved with the deals of that to happen, they want to go in there and close that deal and get it done, and like it’s glory time... Spend the time early stage. Spend it during the development time, because as a leader, you can have more impact there.”
Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064 Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: | |||
| The Sport of Sales Leadership with Bob Brennan | 15 Dec 2022 | 01:02:54 | |
In this episode of Revenue Builders, our hosts John Kaplan and John McMahon talk with Bob Brennan. Bob has worked in multiple VP and CEO positions throughout his career and is currently a board chairman for Fairwinds, BitSight, and Thoughtworks. They discuss the metaphorical ‘athleticism’ required to be a successful leader of a high-growth sales organization, gained through self-improvement and practice. Bob’s advice for sales leaders is to own your mistakes, never assume you’re the expert, and not be afraid to ask for help. He reminds us that it takes a team mentality to succeed, so positive energy and true comradery are your best assets.
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HIGHLIGHTS
QUOTES BOB: The kind of people you want around you "I think you want to have people around you that are going to be supportive, but clear-eyed about, like when you're off or when you're wrong, and can you know, say, hey, wait a minute. So you don't end up betting the farm inadvertently, or, you know, chasing the wrong truck.” BOB: Don’t be so hard on yourself "I think you want to hold up the mirror and be honest with yourself about screwing things up because it is a game of misses business. But then, let yourself off the hook too, just take that on board is don't do it again. But like, would you let it go?
Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064 Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: | |||
| Training Your Teams on a POV with JP Bolen | 14 Jul 2024 | 00:09:03 | |
In this curated episode of the Revenue Builders Podcast, John McMahon and John Kaplan are joined by JP Bolen, Vice President of Sales Productivity at Rubrik, to discuss the importance of equipping sales teams with a compelling point of view (POV). JP emphasizes the necessity of thorough research and understanding of the client's business, industry trends, and specific challenges before approaching potential customers. He shares insights on how a well-prepared POV can boost confidence, earn respect, and open productive dialogue with clients. The episode also highlights practical training methods and the benefits of utilizing customer stories to relate to business problems. For additional resources on enhancing sales performance, listeners are encouraged to check out Force Management's ebook linked in the show notes. KEY TAKEAWAYS [00:00:22] The Importance of a Compelling Point of View HIGHLIGHT QUOTES [00:01:06] "The POV is absolute power. If you do it right, you immediately earn respect from the person on the other side of the table." Listen to the full episode with JP Bolen through this link: Check out John McMahon’s book here: Check out Force Management’s Ascender platform here: Read Force Management's eBook: Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: | |||
| Hard Work, Grit, And Removing Friction For Your Teams | 08 Dec 2022 | 01:05:02 | |
In today’s episode, John McMahon and John Kaplan chat with COO of Tenable and veteran sales leader Mark Thurmond. Mark shares his experience with both the personal and professional actions that lead to success, and what he looks for when hiring to build a powerhouse team. He imparts valuable advice for both sellers and leaders on patience, persistence, and humility. His #1 piece of advice? Keep it simple - in sales, in leadership, and in strategy. Hear Mark explain why the basics, done well, can actually be the most powerful approach.
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HIGHLIGHTS
QUOTES MARK: It’s all about messaging, positioning, metrics, and strategy "The leaders that could actually truly impact and simplify messaging, positioning, metrics, and strategy. They're the ones that actually drove the most productive teams. So kind of early, my career communication was a massive big part of the kind of the foundation of building my career and the characters that I want it to fall throughout my career. MARK: Hard work is the greatest equalizer, wherever it is "My dad used this term all the time it’s hard work is the great equalizer, and I know it sounds corny, but it is stuck with me for my entire life, and it is truly proven both in athletics and in business. That hard work is the great equalizer.”
Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064 Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: | |||
| Building Unicorn Companies with Izhar Armony | 01 Dec 2022 | 01:09:45 | |
On this episode of the Revenue Builders Podcast, our hosts John McMahon and John Kaplan welcome Izhar Armony, a venture capitalist who has been featured on the Forbes Midas list of top tech investors. After 7 years running marketing and raising money at a startup, he crossed the aisle to become the investor he once pitched to. He has now been a seed investor in over 40 startups, including six ‘unicorn’ startups and four multi-billion dollar IPOs. He shares his history in the Israeli army, his passion for off-road racing, and how these experiences make him a successful risk-taker. Izhar discusses how leadership is an indicator of the success of a company, and the mindset sales teams must adopt to achieve high-level growth like that of the unicorn startups he’s worked with.
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HIGHLIGHTS
QUOTES IZHAR: The qualities he seeks from a person "I think if you're humble, it allows you to listen well. and to test your hypothesis again, again, when to admit that you might have made a mistake, you might be wrong, and readjust. So I like that combination of smarts, ethical, energetic, but also courageous, disciplined, and humble, and when we get that, I think something magical happens.” IZHAR: A great leader blames no one but himself "If you're a great sales leader, and now we are getting right to the heart of your audience, one of the best that you can do is instill a culture of true and honest debrief, and the first rule is to blame no one but yourself will get to the truth, you can do it but blame no one but yourself.” JOHN K: What to remember in a debrief "Planning and preparation and collaboration, and then debrief, like no matter what you do in life like these are high skill sets, and, and execution categories. And the last one for me on the debrief. I think one that we can all take away today is like, no matter what, in a debrief, come with the mindset of own your mistakes no blame.”
Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064 Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: | |||
| The Power of Service with Manny Ohonme | 24 Nov 2022 | 01:17:03 | |
In this inspiring episode of the Revenue Builders podcast, our hosts John McMahon and John Kaplan talk to the Founder of Samaritan's Feet International, Manny Ohonme. Manny regales us with his life story of hope, faith, and selfless leadership that all started with a pair of shoes. Once a poor kid selling water and soda in Lagos, Nigeria, Manny worked hard to earn a basketball scholarship that became his ticket to the US. There, he devoted himself to his studies and eventually led a successful career in tech sales. Pursuing a search for greater purpose, Manny left his corporate career to establish a non-profit that would change the lives of millions around the world, one pair of shoes at a time.
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HIGHLIGHTS
QUOTES Manny on servant leadership: "From CEOs to the president of companies to presidents of countries humble themselves to wash these people's feet. Let the greatest among you first be a servant. That's the power that Samaritan's Feet is all about." How a pair of shoes can change someone's life, says Manny: "We are able to bring people together to invest and educate those kids and now you're going to help them rebuild their home and give them a new job opportunity all began from the gift of a pair of shoes." Manny's message to people experiencing hardships: "Keep that dreaming part of you. Don't forget to keep dreaming. Because the situation gets so bad sometimes, they stop and forget to dream."
Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064 Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: | |||