Sales Against the Odds

The global workforce is shifting, and the smartest business leaders are finding new ways to scale their teams, cut costs, and stay ahead of AI without sacrificing culture or quality. In this episode of Sales Against the Odds, host Lee Brumbaugh sits down with David Nilssen , CEO of Doxa Talent and co-founder of Guidant Financial , a leader who has built a 1,000-person global workforce across the P...

Non-profit leadership is transforming, and forward-thinking executives are finding new ways to grow impact, attract resources, and run their organizations like businesses. In this episode of Sales Against the Odds, host Lee Brumbaugh sits down with Karen Mozenter , CEO of Jewish Family Services in Columbus, Ohio, and a leader who has spent nearly a decade scaling a human services agency through en...

B2B networking is evolving rapidly, and top professionals are discovering new ways to connect and grow. In this episode of Sales Against the Odds, host Lee Brumbaugh sits down with Donnie Boivin , CEO and Founder of Success Champion Networking (SCN) , and expert in building high-impact B2B referral networks. They explore how business owners and fractional executives can leverage strategic relation...

The market is splitting in two, and smart businesses are already quietly repositioning to the right side. In this episode of Sales Against the Odds, host Lee Brumbaugh sits down with Joseph Frost, MBA, co-founder of yorCMO, serial entrepreneur, and expert in fractional marketing solutions for SMBs. They explore what founder-led companies can learn about strategic marketing, customer understanding,...

Champions are made, not found. In this episode of Sales Against the Odds, host Lee Brumbaugh sits down with Lance Black, MD, MBID , Senior Associate Dean of Innovation & Strategic Projects of Texas A&M Engineering Medicine ’s innovation program, physician, engineer, and startup advisor. They explore what healthcare innovation can teach SMB leaders about customer development, champion build...

What if the biggest thing holding your business back isn't a people problem, but a missing piece? In this episode of Sales Against the Odds, host Lee Brumbaugh sits down with Brent Robertson , CEO and Founder of Be Generative , to explore why the 150-year-old leadership narrative is leaving business owners burned out and bottlenecked. Brent introduces the choreographer mindset, the idea that leade...

Unlock the strategies that turn business success into long-term value. In this episode of Sales Against the Odds, host Lee Brumbaugh sits down with Scott Snider , President of the Exit Planning Institute (EPI) , to discuss the Four C's: Human Capital, Customer Capital, Structural Capital, and Social Capital, and their role in driving business value. Scott explains how decentralizing ownership and...

Focus on the financial insights that drive growth, not just past numbers. In this episode of Sales Against the Odds, host Lee Brumbaugh sits down with David Tramontana , Area President at FocusCFO , to discuss how fractional CFOs can help SMBs scale with clarity and confidence. They get into why understanding your gross margin and cash flow is critical to making strategic decisions and ensuring su...

Stop chasing more data and start acting on the signals that matter. In this episode of Sales Against the Odds, host Lee Brumbaugh sits down with Mehdi Tehranchi , Co-founder & CEO at KnowledgeNet.ai , to explore why revenue certainty matters, why more data does not create clarity every day, and why sales leaders should focus on the signals they are missing. Mehdi shares the three drivers of be...

Stop sacrificing profits to close deals and start maximizing your pricing potential. In this episode of Sales Against the Odds, host Lee Brumbaugh sits down with Casey Brown , founder of Boost Pricing and author of Fearless Pricing , to break down what price objections really mean, and why discounting is usually a symptom, not a solution. Casey shares the two biggest reasons sales teams cave on pr...

Sales growth isn’t just about hiring more people, it’s about building the right systems. In this episode of Sales Against the Odds, host Lee Brumbaugh talks to Jason Flanzbaum , president of Boca Bearing , and Michael Wills , Fractional Sales Leader at Sales Xceleration , about the journey of transitioning from a marketing-driven to a sales-driven organization.  Jason shares the challenges of scal...

AI doesn’t fix broken systems. It accelerates them. In this episode of Sales Against the Odds, host Lee Brumbaugh sits down with Sam Sharma , founder and CEO of Elevate AI Tech , to discuss what AI adoption really looks like inside growing SMBs. Sam reveals why most AI initiatives fail, how poor data and broken workflows breed chaos, and why AI is more of a change management challenge than a tech...

If you communicate clearly, you win. In this episode, Lee Brumbaugh sits down with Donald Miller , CEO of StoryBrand and bestselling author of Building a StoryBrand , to break down why clear messaging is the ultimate competitive advantage in sales and marketing. Donald explains why customers tune out most marketing, how the human brain is wired for survival, and why short, repeatable, zero cogniti...

The most successful businesses know how to extract hidden value from operations. In this episode, Lee Brumbaugh sits down with Tim Van Mieghem , founder of The ProAction Group , to discuss how uncovering overlooked opportunities can transform a company’s future. Tim explains the importance of replacing judgment with curiosity and shares his unique approach to operational efficiency. He reveals how...

The fastest-growing companies all share one trait: a CEO who never stops learning from customers. In this conversation, Lee Brumbaugh sits down with Bryan Cressey , Co-Founder and Partner at Cressey & Company, to reveal the traits that set great CEOs and founders apart. Bryan shares why creativity, genuine customer engagement, and the humility to hire exceptional people consistently predict st...

Growth begins to stall long before most leaders recognize the root cause. In this conversation, Lee Brumbaugh chats with Kurt Schneiber , experienced CEO and EOS Implementer, to uncover the two primary obstacles that hold many businesses back: having the wrong people in key sales roles and lacking a repeatable sales process. Kurt shares his expert insights on how to assess whether a sales leader h...

Most SMBs don’t lose because they lack effort, they lose because they lack structure. In this Challenge of the Day episode of Sales Against the Odds, host Lee Brumbaugh puts Tom Gardner , Chief Community Officer at Sales Xceleration, on the hot seat for a rapid-fire round of five questions that hit at the heart of SMB growth. From embracing AI and building repeatable sales processes to hiring and...

Grit isn’t just about working harder, it’s also about building smarter. In this episode of Sales Against the Odds, host Lee Brumbaugh sits down with Nick Friedman , Co-Founder of College H.U.N.K.S. Hauling Junk & Moving, to explore what it really takes to turn a side hustle into a national brand. Nick shares how a beat-up cargo van and a bold idea became a $300M business, why every founder sho...

Too many founders think the solution to growth is hiring a salesperson. In this episode of Sales Against the Odds, host Lee Brumbaugh sits down with Dave Parker , Serial Entrepreneur, Investor, and Managing Partner of DKParker, LLC. They explore the real challenges of startup growth, the power of storytelling, effective pricing strategies, and scaling a business without losing sight of what truly...

AI should make sales more human, not less. Host Lee Brumbaugh sits down with John Hirsh , Sales Xceleration advisor and AI strategist, to talk about how artificial intelligence is reshaping the sales landscape, from the tools we use to the way we connect with customers. John shares how he went from mechanical engineer to sales leader, and why that technical mindset helps him see AI as more than ju...

Sales Against The Odds is the podcast for SMB leaders working to grow their business, even when the odds feel stacked against them. Hosted by Lee Brumbaugh, we get into the unpolished reality of leading sales teams in small to mid-size businesses. From the grind of lead generation and pipeline development to comp models, onboarding, and accountability, each episode brings you relatable stories and...