The Exceptional Sales Leader Podcast

For years, bigger organisations have been leveraging technology to gather customer intelligence, to better identify and understand their ideal customer profile, and then create compelling solutions that speak directly to those customers. Interestingly, this is not as common in the mid enterprise, small enterprise and start up space. In fact, many of these organisations don’t actually utilise...

The brilliant thing about sales is that people can become successful in the sales game, irrespective of their background & knowledge – there are skills and competencies that can be learned, developed and magnified along the journey. In today’s episode, I have the privilege of speaking with Dipti Pandit, a sales leader with an inspiring journey. Leaving a successful sales leadership...

With 2 working weeks left until the end of the Financial Year (or end of Quarter if your company has a different Financial Year), many companies are scrounging to get the deals closed as quickly as possible – to hit the number by the end of the month. Often, as a result of this, the focus is ‘all hands to the pump’, meaning that other activities and investments take a back seat, or are disca...

In today’s incredibly competitive and instant gratification society, the definition of success is often tied directly to external factors, especially in sales. Many organisations run sales campaigns that promote internal competition, with the top sales person winning cash, a fully paid trip or some other ‘tangible’ external reward. Whilst this may create some short term motivatio...

In sales, the temptation to launch into the product and service pitch early in the sales process can sometimes be overwhelming, especially when there is direct or implied pressure being applied to hit a number. This can lead to the seller being focused more on what is in it for them, rather than being focused on what is in it for the buyer. The end result is often no sale, at least some form of ob...

In the highly competitive and increasingly overcrowded marketplace that we operate in, it is becoming more and more difficult to stand out from the competition. Capturing inbound leads through campaigns is still a legitimate marketing strategy, as is targeted outbound campaigns to build awareness in the marketplace. However, often these leads are not as qualified and the time it takes to analyse t...

In today’s business world, there is a great deal of emphasis on Customer Success, on being customer centric, as a lever to drive sustained revenue growth and market capture. Whilst organisations may ‘focus’ on that through their advertising and marketing, the reality is their sales teams often still lead with products and services. In this episode, I have the privilege of speakin...

One of the most important skills any salesperson and sales leader must learn is the ability to effectively negotiate. Often when sales people are under pressure to hit a number and to close a deal, the balance of power can sit with the buyer, especially when the person in the buying organisation is an experienced negotiator. This can result in the sales person giving too much away in order to clos...

Sales leaders and their teams are constantly searching for strategies and tactics to get in front of their ideal customer, and remain front of mind. Whether it be marketing campaigns through Facebook, LinkedIn, industry forums, or even through specific outreach via the phone, many organisations don’t play the long game and hence miss out on the harvest. Interestingly, for many organisations,...

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is continuing to creep into every area of society at a rapid rate, and with this growth comes opportunities as well as challenges. For sales leaders and their teams, AI can be an enabler to fast track opportunity and pipeline development, and as long as they can maintain the human connection with clients, there is the opportunity to leverage AI to create exceptional re...

The great thing about being successful in sales is that there is no prerequisite in terms of qualification or background. Sales is such a level playing field that it creates the opportunity for anyone who wants to work hard, stay the course, learn and develop, to become successful. William Gilchrist is the perfect example. Growing up in Chicago and then moving to South East Asia, William has forge...

In working with Sales Leaders and their teams over many years, I am still staggered at the number of sales professionals who ‘wing it’ when it comes to engaging with their customers and prospective customers. They rely on having a ‘strong relationship’ believing that this will get them through the sales call, and close the deal. In today’s episode, I have the privileg...

In this insightful episode of the Exceptional Sales Letter podcast, host Darren Mitchell engages in a deep and motivational conversation with Casey Stubbs, a veteran entrepreneur and investment educator with extensive experience in sales, marketing, and value creation. The podcast delves into Casey’s multifaceted career journey, starting from his initial investments in the stock market at a...

It was the movie, Terminator, that brought the concept of artificial intelligence (ai) to people’s awareness, albeit in quite a scary way. The reality is that artificial intelligence in some form has been with us for over 30 years, and is only now starting to exponentially accelerate in relation to the value it can add to businesses and organisations. The organisations that are able to lever...

In many business organisations, there is almost an unwritten ‘ground rule’ that sales & marketing are internal competitors of each other. When sales are not converting prospects into customers, it is often marketing’s fault, and when marketing provide what they consider to be great leads to sales that do not get converted, it is sales’ fault. To be sustainably successfu...

A key element of being in business is to grow, be profitable, and to add significant value to the marketplace. This is a key focus of almost every business on the planet. The fact that not every business achieves this is very often down to the leaders running the business as well as their ability to create and maintain a high performing environment. Too many CEO’s and leaders unfortunately a...

Even though sales is one of, if not, the oldest professions on the planet, it continues to evolve. Customers today are more savvy and educated than ever before, which means organisations and sales people need to evolve and adapt as well. Research suggests that 53% of organisations have made a buying decision before they even decide to engage with a service provider. This means that as sales people...

For many sales leaders, the path to the position of leadership often comes through being an exceptional sales individual contributor. This is almost the first pre-requisite. Some then consciously choose to take on a leadership role, yet for many, it is a responsibility that is bestowed upon them, or dare I say, forced upon them, based on their levels of performance. For many, it is an opportunity...

When working with sales leaders and their teams, I often share with them the important message around creating and maintaining a terrific reputation, both from a company perspective, and especially from a personal perspective. People want to do business with people who they know, they like and they trust, and as sales people, as business people, we cannot ever take that for granted. Reputation is...

Business owners, organisations, sales leaders, and sales people all share one common challenge – finding effective ways to gain access to their ideal future customer and then determining how to provide tangible value, so that the customer raises their hand and a business relationship can be formed. Many organisations adopt the hope and pray strategy, where they use multiple marketing channel...

In B2B sales, many sales people love to be part of the big complex deals, the ones that often have a great deal of prestige and status attached to them, because, more often than not, they include iconic brands or industry leaders. The challenge though is that many sales teams and organisations are not set up well enough in order to build a compelling proposition to attract the big sale. They lack...

I firmly believe that sales is one of the most fulfilling and satisfying careers available, and yet, when speaking with sales people, I often hear them describe their role as Customer Success Manager, Account Director, Customer Experience Manager, amongst other ‘titles’. Why don’t people simply say “I’m in Sales”? Whether we like it or not, sales is central to e...

When it comes to marketing, many organisations adopt the ‘hope and pray’ strategy, where they throw a heap of information into the marketplace hoping some of it will stick. And when the sales team is unable to convert the leads that come from this strategy, often they blame marketing for providing poor leads, and marketing blame sales for their inability to convert. Organisations that...

Just about every sales person on the planet is looking for a way to differentiate themselves from their competition, and for the most part, they look for product or service differentiation. Not nearly enough salespeople look inwardly and consider what it is about themselves that can become the catalyst for differentiation and hence miss out on the opportunity to become exceptional. Gail Kasper is...

When it comes to selling in the B2B marketplace, not only can selling become quite complex, it also requires involvement and buy-in from multiple stakeholders in the selling organisation. Whilst the sales team may take the lead on strategy development and sales execution, there is a role to play for multiple people within the organisation, so that the organisation can create a profitable revenue e...