Closing Time: quick insights from sales & marketing experts

Hiring your first marketing agency? Get prepared now. In this episode of Closing Time , we break down everything you need to know before making the leap—like when it's the right time to bring on outside help, how to choose between full-service or boutique agencies, and the key questions you should ask during the selection process. What's the tipping point for outsourcing? How can you ensure the ag...

Discounting in B2B sales is one of the quickest ways to erode trust and credibility—so why does it happen so often? In this episode of Closing Time, John Barrows, CEO of JB Sales Training and author of I Want to Be in Sales When I Grow Up, breaks down why proactive discounts often do more harm than good, how they devalue your offering, and why they signal to buyers that your pricing isn't credible...

Still waving a whiteboard in desperation on your sales videos? Or kicking off with a screen share in your intro? Let's leave those habits in 2024. Chris Bogue, sales coach and author of The Complete Guide to Selling on Video , believes video is a goldmine for storytelling and connection—if done right. In this episode of Closing Time, Chris shares actionable tips for mastering video prospecting in...

Pricing a SaaS offering is probably the hardest issue most leadership teams will tackle. In this episode of Closing Time, we sit down with Bill Wilson, founder and CEO of Pace Pricing, a B2B SaaS pricing consultancy. Bill brings his expertise to unpack the complexities of SaaS pricing, from determining who within an organization should own pricing decisions to common mistakes companies make—and ho...

No matter your industry, media isn't optional—it's essential to your go-to-market strategy. Think launching a B2B podcast is enough to check the media box? Think again. In this episode of Closing Time, Ben Shapiro, founder of I Hear Everything, explains why businesses need to think bigger. Discover how to use media as a strategic channel—just like email or events—and learn how to repurpose a singl...

Few decisions shape your business quite like choosing a CRM. That's why you need a solid CRM buying guide to steer you clear of the pitfalls. Meet Jason Kramer, Founder and CEO of Cultivize, a CRM consultancy. In this episode of Closing Time, Jason shares the must-ask questions to ensure your CRM fits your needs today—and scales with you tomorrow. Plus, he reveals why a top-down commitment is the...

Is fractional sales leadership right for you? In this episode of Closing Time, LinkedIn Top Voice and fractional sales leader Louie Bernstein shares what it takes to succeed in this unique role. Louie covers the essentials, from finding clients to setting contract terms and pricing engagements. Plus, he dives into the highs and challenges of the job to help you decide if it's the best next step fo...

With so many sales frameworks to choose from, it's easy to get lost in the rules and lose sight of what makes each approach effective. We met Sales Coach Jeff Bajorek in a recent episode of Closing Time, where he walked us through the highs and lows of various sales methodologies like the MEDDICC sales methodology, Miller-Heiman strategic selling, Sandler sales methodology, and the Challenger sale...

Challenger vs. Sandler vs. Miller-Heiman vs. MEDDICC. How do you choose a sales methodology? In this episode of Closing Time, we welcome Sales Coach Jeff Bajorek as he walks us through the what, why, and when of the top sales methodologies on the market. Whether you are a new sales leader searching for the right program or a salesperson wanting to get a bit of knowledge of what's out there, this e...

Today's most successful agencies know that real growth comes from putting the customer at the center of every strategy. But shifting to a truly customer-centric approach means rethinking traditional marketing tactics and rallying entire teams around a shared vision. In this episode of Closing Time, Tony Mohr, former CEO of strategic marketing agency Quarry and now Managing Director of Marketing Se...

The stigma is gone when it comes to sales enablement. Once the red-headed stepchild, sales enablement has grown into a key part of a successful go-to-market program. Join Danny Wasserman of Databricks in this episode of Closing Time as he talks about all things enablement - from answering the question 'What is sales enablement' to the tech stack, paths to an enablement career, and metrics that you...

Mergers and acquisitions are seemingly everywhere. The latest Deal Barometer forecasts that the 2024 US corporate M&A deal volume will increase by 20%, and US private equity M&A deal volume will be up by 16%. What does that mean for sales leaders managing teams through the process? How do you keep selling business as usual when there's nothing usual about the business? In this episode of Closing T...

Successful CRM adoption can make or break a company's ability to streamline processes and improve team efficiency, but it doesn't stop there—customizability is key to making it truly work for your unique business needs. In this special Customer Spotlight edition of Closing Time, Anastasia Dorsheimer of Buffalo Computer Graphics shares how her team tackled the challenges of implementing a new CRM,...

You know you've arrived as a sales professional when you have repeatable business as an enterprise seller. Large deal sizes and a 7-figure W2…you've arrived. How can you start your career off on the right foot to end up a successful enterprise seller? Is sales leadership your end goal? In this episode of Closing Time, meet Craig Surgey, head of sales at Comtrade 360 and co-host of the Struggle Bub...

There's nothing funny about sales…or is EVERYTHING funny about sales? That's the question for this week's Closing Time guest, Tom Boston. The daily trials and tribulations of the modern seller are happening in offices and homes across the world every day. As a former Brand Awareness leader for SalesLoft, Tom created a safe, fun place for salespeople to relate to each other and find camaraderie in...

Simple copy wins now more than ever. That's what data from Unbounce, the global leader in landing page creation and optimization software, showed in the newly released 2024 Conversion Benchmark Report. Analyzing proprietary Unbounce data from over 57 million conversions across multiple industries, the report found a 2x conversion rate with simple copy and some eye-opening results on mobile vs. des...

Getting your startup from the minimum viable product (MVP) to unicorn status doesn't happen by chance. In this episode of Closing Time, we meet Stijn Hendrikse, GTM sales coach and author of T2D3 - a handbook for early-stage SaaS leaders. T2D3 stands for tripling your annual revenue for two years in a row and then doubling it for three more years. Stijn talks through the six stages of successful s...

You've heard of the six go-to-market motions, but there's a new kid on the block...buyer-led growth. Meet Sean Piket, a fractional CRO and founder of RevXsell. Sean is passionate about buyer-first, customer-centric B2B selling, and he coined buyer-led growth to help sellers recognize the way today's buyer wants to buy. This isn't a new motion but rather a driver that influences all six current mot...

B2B sales has never been more of a challenge than it is today—buying committees are complex, sales cycles are long, and buyers are inherently risk-averse. When you're focused on the big picture (closing deals and hitting quota), it's easy to forget how your daily activities drive your success or hold you back.  In this episode of Closing Time, Kevin Dorsey, a SaaS Sales Consultant, Keynote Speaker...

Many businesses aspire to move upmarket to enterprise, but there's a catch—long, sometimes painfully long , deal cycles and demanding customers can make it a challenging arena. If your small business deals aren't fueling your growth, here's a tip: don't underestimate the mid-market advantage. Mid-market companies (typically with 50-250 employees) offer a sweet spot for scaling your business. In th...

You can't argue with the data—today's business leaders are on LinkedIn, networking and building relationships with sales reps like you. In this episode of Closing Time, we welcome Morgan Ingram, CEO of AMP, a B2B Influencer Marketing firm, to share his advice for using LinkedIn (& Sales Navigator) to increase win rates. He'll provide tips on what to do—and what NOT to do—on the platform, share his...

It's a new month/quarter, and you are back to zero again. Staying motivated in any role is difficult, but it's even more so in B2B sales. In this episode of Closing Time, we welcome Jordan Benjamin, host of the Peak Performance Selling podcast. Jordan shares tips for avoiding sales burnout, bringing his perspective as a salesperson, sales leader, meditation coach, and yoga instructor. He'll talk t...

Free trials can be a double-edged sword in B2B sales. While they offer prospects a hands-on experience with your product, they can also lead to prolonged sales cycles and missed opportunities if not managed correctly. In this episode of Closing Time, Dave welcomes Salman Mohiuddin, a seasoned sales trainer and coach, to explore his framework for free trials in sales cycles. They delve into underst...

It's midway through 2024, and you're a new sales leader…congratulations! Now you've got to get to work. The current and future state of the organization is on your mind. How can you make an impact right away, keep 2024 goals moving, and still begin to plan for 2025 quotas? In this episode, Dave welcomes Meg Peterson of On Deck Leadership Consulting to discuss what it's like to join an organization...

To gate or not to gate? Or "Gate-gate." Either way, this is a controversial topic in B2B marketing. In this episode of Closing Time, we welcome Anthony Kennada of AudiencePlus, an online content experience platform. Anthony walks us through the value of owned media and talks about how to determine what is 'exclusive content' and therefore worthy of a gate of some kind. He also explains how having...