Revenue Builders

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 he...

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 importanc...

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 M...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 separ...

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 val...

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.   These leaders share their top tips for getting beyond the resume, creating efficiencies in the hiring process, and key things to look for when...

“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 i...

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 remaine...

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 special...

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...

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 Trans...

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 abil...

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 f...

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,...

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 changi...

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...

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...

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...

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 sta...

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 e...

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 pr...