The Selling Well – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Is artificial intelligence a threat to the personal touch of professional sales, or the ultimate tool for execution? In this episode, Mike Sparling joins the conversation to dive deep into the intersection of AI and modern sales strategy. Discover why simply having a strategy isn't enough—you need the resources and mechanisms to drive real success at every individual sales touchpoint. Learn how growth leaders are leveraging technology to bridge the gap between high-level execution and meaningful market impact.

Sales training is often ineffective without strategic leadership and broader organizational support. Mark Cox sits down with Scott Edinger, CEO of Edinger Consulting, who shares how he successfully drives sales by becoming a strategic growth leader. He presents his Five Flags Start framework to elevate your sales approaches, create value that goes beyond tangible products, and achieve your very own idea of success. Scott also discusses how to harness the power of AI and technology in shaping the current world of sales, all while keeping the human sales experience alive and intact.

Social selling isn't just a buzzword—it's a game-changing approach to building trust, standing out, and creating meaningful relationships in today's digital world. In this thought-provoking conversation, Mark Cox welcomes Adam Gray, a leading expert in social selling and co-author of two groundbreaking books on the topic. Together, they dive into what makes social media a powerful tool for connection, how authenticity sets you apart, and why gratitude is essential for personal and professional growth. Whether you're new to LinkedIn or looking to refine your strategy, this episode offers actionable insights to help you network smarter and sell better.

How can you tell that you're already a successful business person? Is it with the number of sales that you made or the number of people's lives that you've changed?

If you're still on your way to the top of the success ladder, what are the next steps to ensure your spot at the top?

In today's episode, Mark welcomes Diane Helbig. Diane is a successful author, business advisor, sales and social media trainer. She talks about the different strategies and advice she's giving to her students to increase sales and develop their business. She also discusses the connection between business therapy and growth.

Highlights

• Mark Twain's statement - 0:39
• The common sense revolution coming to professional sales. - 2:30
• Diane's sales journey: her background that got her to where she is today. - 4:49
• What prompted her to release the book, Succeed Without Selling? - 6:38
• "Business is about people. Interacting with people. It's not about the product or the company." - 9:53
• There is a strategy for helping somebody or deciding they're wrong for you and moving on. - 11:21
• It's not the salesman's fault. It's the philosophy of the company and its "do it my way" concept as supposed to "let's really build a great client base." - 19:11
• Advice or coaching to the sales leaders right now who have a tough job. - 22:04
• If the goal really is to increase sales, we have to stop changing the goal to "do it my way". - 28:34
• What's the X Factor of this whole thing? - 32:23
• A business development program where business therapy meets growth. - 36:01
• Connection between business therapy and growth. - 36:14
• Instead of asking someone why they did something, ask them to explain their thought processes when they did it. - 40:15
• Diane's recommendations: Resources for knowledge and personal growth. - 44:13
• Where to find Diane. - 46:28

Episode Resources

• Harvard Business Review
• Hubspot
• Connect with Mark Cox
• https://www.inthefunnel.com/
• https://ca.linkedin.com/in/markandrewcox
• https://www.facebook.com/inthefunnel
• Connect with Diane Helbig
• Succeed Without Selling
• https://www.helbigenterprises.com/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/dhelbig
• Accelerate Your Business Growth Podcast 

Scott is the CEO and Co-Founder of The Whitten & Roy Partnership - a sales and management consulting firm that has guided businesses and organizations in over 40 countries to transform the way they sell. Scott actually spent the first part of his career building and running large, direct-sales organizations.

Scott wrote Decision Intelligence Selling - Transform The Way Your People Sell, with his co-author and partner Roy Whitten. Their guidance on transforming your sales organizations is grounded in a deep understanding of the human mind and immense real-world business experience. They believe that our ultimate purpose as sales professionals is not to persuade our clients to buy, but rather to increase their ability to make the very best buying decision.

Highlights

• Scott's journey in professional sales. - 4:31
• How's his business was able to work in 40 different countries. 7:31
• The challenges in professional sales today: How are we doing as a profession? - 16:09
• Helping our clients and prospects make a better decision: How does it work? - 22:14
• What decision intelligence is all about. - 26:40
• Impact on the seller: How does impact change their behavior? Why should it change other people's mindset and they should be committed to it? - 28:36
• The hard thing to do as a sales person. - 34:56
• A different approach when addressing attitude. - 40:44
• One of the best ways to drive sales people crazy. - 47:01
• How to contact Scott to learn more? - 52:21
  
  
  Episode Resources
• Sell Well, Do Good: DQ Selling for Social Enterprises
• Consultative Closing
• Connect with Mark Cox
• https://www.inthefunnel.com/
• https://ca.linkedin.com/in/markandrewcox
• https://www.facebook.com/inthefunnel
• Connect with Scott Roy
• https://www.wrpartnership.com/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottaroy 

Anthony is an author, sales leader, and highly-sought after keynote speaker. He is the President and Chief Sales Officer of Solution Staffing, faculty member at Capital University, and the author of these three bestselling books: The Only Sales Guide You'll Ever Need, The Lost Art of Closing, and Eat Their Lunch: Winning Customers Away From Your Competition.

Highlights

• Who is Anthony Iannarino and what's interesting about him? - 0:43
• Information about his new book: Things and experiences which prompted Anthony to write this book. - 4:13
• How do we help and coach our teams to get to the point where the buyer can see them as adding value? - 12:59
• His favorite saying "If you wanna reach me, teach me." - 18:08
• The first thing a sales person should go through. - 19:52
• If the individual can't actually have a live conversation and show value in a reasonably short amount of time, then the buyer doesn't want to waste their time. - 25:37
• You should never be afraid to ask the questions that are going to get you the best information so that you can actually help people. - 37:52
• The resources that Anthony likes, both for business acumen and for selling, outside of his books. - 40:16
• How to get in touch with Anthony - 43:51
  
  
  Episode Resources
• Connect with Mark Cox
• https://www.inthefunnel.com/
• https://ca.linkedin.com/in/markandrewcox
• https://www.facebook.com/inthefunnel
• Connect with Anthony Iannarino
• https://www.thesalesblog.com/
• https://www.thesalesblog.com/anthony-iannarino
• https://www.facebook.com/thesalesblog
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/iannarino/
• https://twitter.com/iannarino
• https://www.thesalesblog.com/newsletter
• The Only Sales Guide You'll Ever Need
• https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-anthony-iannarino-show/id1539409051 

Jason Jordan is the co-author of Cracking the Sales Management Code – The Secrets to Measuring and Managing Sales Performance. This is universally acknowledged as one of the top sales management books in existence. He is a recognized thought-leader and sought-after speaker on the subject of sales management. He has worked with many large clients including GE, 3M, FedEx, Essilor, and has dedicated his career to conducting research to advance the field of sales management. He teaches this subject at the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business.

Highlights

• The journey of his professional career. - 2:33
• How would you know if the sales force is really good? Is it really successful? Are you achieving this much that you possibly can? - 13:51
• How is professional sales performing as a business discipline? - 13:55
• How many companies are hitting their goal? - 14:55
• Outside of a sales team, what is Jason seeing in terms of the turnover, the transition, and level of performance? - 16:13
• The Cracking the Sales Management Code absolutely lays it out. - 20:13
• Suggestions as a sales leader: What's the game plan next year to elevate performance? - 22:05
• Everything starts with the buyer. - 23:54
• What inside sales is now. - 26:50
• Sales is going to be more sophisticated with more roles and more technology and more chop-up processes, but it comes down on conversation. - 30:40
• The big challenge: Teaching people who don't know sales. - 33:57
• Are there a lot of schools teaching professional sales as a part of their MBA curriculum? - 35:34
• How interested are the students in professional selling now? - 40:32
• Where to follow and contact Jason. - 41:59
  
  
  Episode Resources
• Connect with Mark Cox
• https://www.inthefunnel.com/
• https://ca.linkedin.com/in/markandrewcox
• https://www.facebook.com/inthefunnel
• Connect with Jason Jordan
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonjordansalesmanagement
• jj@jasonjordan.com
• https://www.audible.com/author/Jason-Jordan/B0050PIKNO
• Cracking the Sales Management Role
• https://salesfoundation.org/ 

Frank Cespedes is a sales expert and Senior Lecturer at Harvard Business School. He has run a business, served on the boards of corporations as well as startups, and consulted with companies around the world. He has written numerous publications and is the author of six books including his latest, Sales Management That Works: How to Sell in a World That Never Stops Changing.

Highlights

• The courses that are dedicated to professional sales. - 6:47
• Reasons that sales leadership jobs are accelerating. - 10:58
• What makes a sales leadership particularly vulnerable? - 14:05
• Two very important implications of the reality of buying. - 20:31
• What should the sales leaders take note of for 2022? - 22:44
• The role of relationships in sales. - 27:06
• Sources of information for compensation data. - 32:04
• Thoughts and comments on the role of a salesperson diminish over time. - 40:18
• How to get in touch with Frank and get a copy of his book. - 44:39
  
  
  Episode Resources
• Connect with Mark Cox
• https://www.inthefunnel.com/
• https://ca.linkedin.com/in/markandrewcox
• https://www.facebook.com/inthefunnel 
• Connect with Frank Cespedes
• https://frankcespedes.com/
• fcespedes@hbs.edu
• https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/profile.aspx?facId=126057 

Art Sobczak is the author of Smart Calling - Eliminate the Fear, Failure, and Rejection from Cold Calling. This book has been so successful that it's now in its third printing (2020). Art is the host of his own podcast appropriately titled, "The Art of Sales."

Using his clear and concise and powerful ideas, Art has helped countless sales professionals use the phone more effectively to break through "the wall" on a demand generation reach outs and sell better. He is the president of Business by Phone, which helps B2B salespeople get results when using the phone, and in charge of the Smart Calling College (virtual sales training).

Art's real-world, non-gimmicky ideas for sales have earned him multiple awards and recognitions, including his 2012 lifetime achievement award from the American Association of Inside Sales Professionals.

Highlights

• Why top salespeople have never stopped using the phone- 2:44
• Art's journey: How he became one of the top sales trainers in the world. - 7:46
• The Smart Calling concept. - 12:47
• Pre-call planning. - 19:10
• The process of social engineering - 23:29
• Reciprocity and how it applies to sales - 26:04
• How can you make a live conversation happen? - 27:16
• Rule of thumb: Treat everybody like how you want to be treated. - 31:37
• The Smart Calling Opening Statement. - 35:13
• The two tests. - 38:07
  
  
  
  Episode Resources
• Connect with Mark Cox
• https://www.inthefunnel.com/
• https://ca.linkedin.com/in/markandrewcox
• Connect with Art Sobczak
• https://salesbyphone.com/
• http://smartcalling.com/
• https://www.amazon.com/Art-Sobczak/e/B002ZSS5FM%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_shar
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/artsob
• https://www.youtube.com/artsobczak 

Tyler Lessard is widely recognized as an expert on online video for prospecting, selling, and B2B marketing. He is the Chief Video Strategist & VP of Marketing at Vidyard. He is also the author of The Visual Sale - How to Use Video to Explode Sales, Drive Marketing, and Grow Your Business in a Virtual World, along with co-author Marcus Sheridan.

We discuss how to leverage video across all of the stages of a sales process to increase engagement, connection, and authenticity. Tyler provides some amazing examples of how to connect and stand out with buyers in a sea of email clutter. He also references some best practices for personalizing and humanizing your prospecting activities. Tyler's energy and enthusiasm for this topic are contagious.

Besides co-authoring The Visual Sale, hosting the Creating Connections show, and speaking on topics ranging from selling with video to the customer experience, Tyler has been recognized by Demand Gen Report as the top Buyer-Focused B2B Marketer, and by Marketo as one of the top 50 Fearless Marketers.

Highlights

• Visualizing: videos in the sales process. - 2:58
• An inspiring story of using video. - 5:05
• Planning your message ahead of time. - 6:13
• Creating videos creates dynamic conversations. - 7:42
• What CEOs, sales leaders, and salespeople need to learn from video. - 29:24
• Are there any absolute things to avoid in a video? - 30:19
  
  
  Episode Resources
• Connect with Mark Cox
• https://www.inthefunnel.com/
• https://ca.linkedin.com/in/markandrewcox
• Connect with Tyler Lessard
• https://www.vidyard.com/
• https://ca.linkedin.com/in/tylerlessard
• https://twitter.com/tylerlessard
• Amazon Books