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”Unless you are the lead dog, your view never changes.” On the Sales Lead Dog podcast, CRM technology and sales process expert Christopher Smith talks with exceptional sales leaders that have separated themselves from the rest and achieved a sales leadership role in their organization. Hear what they did to become the alpha, lead their pack, and how they leverage CRM technology to drive sales for their organization. If your goal is to rise higher in your sales career or you currently are the alpha, this podcast gives you useful insight on how the best-of-the-best achieve success with their team and CRM technology.
Episodes
Monday Jun 06, 2022
Monday Jun 06, 2022
Donna Serdula pioneered the concept of LinkedIn profile optimization, realizing early on that the LinkedIn profile was so much more than just an online resume. A job change in 2006 led her back to LinkedIn as Donna looked for tools to help her build a sales territory. It was during this time she had her LinkedIn epiphany and forged her LinkedIn 4 point methodology. By integrating LinkedIn into her sales process, she found tremendous success.
In 2009, she walked away from her successful sales career and founded Vision Board Media and LinkedIn-Makeover.com. Donna and her team of over 40 writers have helped thousands of executives, entrepreneurs, sales stars, business leaders, and professionals from around the world create professionally branded LinkedIn profiles.
She is the author of the book "LinkedIn Profile Optimization For Dummies," published by Wiley. Donna has been featured on Forbes, Business Insider, Time's Money Section, Wall Street Journal's Market Watch, LA Times, NBC, SiriusXM Radio's The Focus Group, and many other news outlets.
Tune into this episode to hear why LinkedIn Optimization is the key to your success and why Donna Serdula has built her career on leveraging this search engine to help her clients put their best foot forward.
Quotes:
- “I remember looking at it and thinking, this looks a lot like my resume. Let me let me pull up my old out of date, boring resume. Let me just copy and paste these fields right in” (3:07-3:22)
- “We've got to really start utilizing it in a smart, strategic way and at that point I started my company.” (8:22-8:30)
- “Why would I want to go to a place where people are trying to escape?” (12:17-12:19)
- “When a person looks at your LinkedIn profile and it says this person doesn't have any activity for the last 90 days… people like to do business with sales professionals that have a strong brand.” (14:57-15:20)
Links:
Donna's IG: Donna Serdula (@donnaserdula)
Monday May 23, 2022
Monday May 23, 2022
Frank Cespedes teaches at Harvard Business School. He has designed and delivered learning programs in areas such as innovation, talent and performance management, strategy, marketing, sales, leadership skills, and managing change. He has also consulted to companies in consumer goods, information technology, professional services, retailing, telecommunications, and financial services; and has been a Board member of start-up firms, corporations, private-equity companies, and the Education for Employment Foundation.
Frank has also written for numerous publications, but on today's episode we’re talking about his most recent book, Sales Management That Works: How to Sell in a World That Never Stops Changing. One of his former students said this about the book, ‘It is structured logically, easy to read, and clear. It’s worthy of being a desk reference for any owner or senior executive looking to maximize their sales performance."
Tune into today’s episode to learn about the extensive research Frank Cespedes has done in order to write his most recent book and pick up a copy if you would like to get expert insight on sales management that will work for you and your team!
Quotes:
- “I think it's a book that will help salespeople sell better, it will help sales managers allocate their resources more effectively.” (1:35-1:46)
- “If you look at the amount of money they spend annually on sales, hiring, training, development, etc., that number is often as big or bigger than their biggest capex projects. But it typically gets much less rigorous attention than buying software does.” (7:53-8:11)
- “The job of a manager is not to test people, the job is productivity, and maximizing time, to productivity. All of that is what onboarding is about, in my view.” (13:23-13:35)
Links:
Harvard Business School LinkedIn
Monday May 16, 2022
Monday May 16, 2022
Melissa Matthews is the VP of Sales for AZUL Hospitality Group a hotel management company based in San Diego. They are one of the largest management companies in Southern California that doesn’t typically have an investment or ownership stake in the properties that they manage.
Melissa wasn’t always in sales. It was a windy road from where she started as a graduate in International Affairs. She worked for a nonprofit organization called the National Council on US Arab Relations in Washington DC post graduate college. However, after 9/11 funding for those types of organizations fell by the wayside and she was out of a job. She ended up back in Atlanta with her parents interviewing for job after job until she happened to meet a woman hiring for a sales coordinator position for a hotel.
Tune into this episode, to learn how Melissa Matthews, VP of Sales has honed the art of looking for the uncomfortable in order to avoid remaining stagnant and continue her path of growth in her career.
Quotes:
- “Once you're at the pinnacle- you feel like you've learned all that you need to learn in your current position, don't be afraid to push yourself and look for that next challenge and look for the uncomfortable.” (5:28-5:40)
- “I would say that I have learned probably more in the past two years than I learned in the prior 80 of my career, and it's been an uncomfortable time. But looking back on it, I think its skill sets and knowledge that I wouldn't have gained otherwise.” (7:39-7:48)
- “It was very humbling, being unemployed, and looking for a job and I had really tried to stay in that field and look for a number of different positions and just couldn't find anything.” (9:26-9:39)
- “We invest in training, we invest in culture, we're consistently looking at our incentive plans.” (19:10-19:16)
Links:
AZUL Hospitality Group LinkedIn
AZUL Hospitality Group Website
Monday May 02, 2022
Monday May 02, 2022
Russell Brown, is the Vice President of Sales for Computacenter US, his priorities are to his team, his customers and partners and he supports their success by bringing IT solutions to address the demands of his customers’ businesses. Computacenter is a technology partner, utilized by large corporate and public sector organizations. They help their customers to source, transform and manage their IT infrastructure.
Russell has spent the last 20 years of his life growing and evolving within the Computacenter team. He started his sales journey working in the UK and only recently moved to Los Angeles to lead the sales team for their southwest business. Russell attributes his huge success to many of the people he’s met through his career path and the insight they’ve given him. One lesson he had to learn for himself was the importance of sharing your genuine self when showing up to help, especially as a leader in sales.
Tune into today’s episode to learn from Russell Brown’s success in sales as someone who has chased worthwhile opportunity all the way to sunny Los Angeles to be the VP of Sales for Computacenter US.
Quotes:
- “I'm hugely indebted to a lot of people that have helped support me over my career, and that that ranges from people just giving me time, so that I could listen, ask questions and learn, afford me space to make mistakes and learn from those people that have given me physical opportunity to progress my career.” (2:58-3:17)
- “You know, as soon as I started to give more of myself, I felt that I built deeper relationships.” (5:28-5:33)
- “I eventually learned that failure is actually a good thing you can dive into failure, and you can understand, what can you learn from that process? What can you learn to take forward tomorrow to be a little bit better?” (12:59-13:11)
Links:
Monday Apr 11, 2022
Monday Apr 11, 2022
Rhonda Petit is the CEO & Founder of 3x5 Coaching LLC and author of The Spirit of Selling. Rhonda is a champion mindset coach who works enthusiastically with individuals, groups, and companies to guide them in discovering their deepest desires, reaching their potential, and achieving their personal and professional goals.
In today’s episode, we discuss Rhonda’s book, The Spirit of Selling, as well as coaching style. Rhonda has been leveraging the law of vibration and why it’s important for salespeople to understand that their potential lies in their habitual behavior aka the subconscious mind. Rhonda’s unique coaching style gives great perspective on how one should approach the selling mindset.
Tune into today’s episode to learn from Rhonda Petit, author of The Spirit of Selling and champion mindset coach so you can better train your mind for success.
Quotes:
- “I just kept going and I really believe the book was kind of channeled through me. It was a really cool experience being an instrument for something like this to be produced.” (4:02-4:12)
- “In the first chapter there, what I'm trying to do is pull out most of the misconceptions that hold salespeople, anybody, business owners back from selling- one of the big ones is I think some people have an association of a salesperson with a con artist.” (5:56-6:14)
- “You can give people appreciation, you can acknowledge people, you can be consistent in your performance and consistent in your word and your integrity, you can provide excellence, when you show up, leave the person with an impression of increase.” (11:52-12:12)
Links:
The Spirit of Selling on Amazon
Monday Apr 04, 2022
Monday Apr 04, 2022
Dale Merrill is a sales thought leader and co-author of the Amazon #1 New Release book in Sales and Selling, Strikingly Different Selling: 6 Vital Skills to Stand Out and Sell More. He is a global managing director in FranklinCovey’s sales performance practice where he helps clients dramatically grow revenues and profitability.
In today’s episode, Dale walks us through his book, Strikingly Different Selling: 6 Vital Skills to Stand Out and Sell More. The inspiration of his book came to him after deciding to do a multi-year research project on how sellers can stand out. What was his conclusion? “You have to be relevant, distinct and memorable.”
Tune in to today’s episode with Dale Merrill, author of Strikingly Different Selling: 6 Vital Skills to Stand Out and Sell More to learn about how you can stand out when you’re selling.
Quotes:
- “We decided that there was nothing that was meaningful that had hit the sales world for like a decade and so we kicked off a multi-year research project to figure out how can sellers stand out.” (1:27-1:40)
- “You have to be relevant, distinct and memorable.” (9:53-9:56)
- “It's in the experience and in the engagement- it's the sellers who understand the needs of the buyer the best, and then articulates that in a way that we would describe as relevant, distinctive, memorable.” (17:21-17:32)
Links:
Strikingly Different Selling: 6 Vital Skills to Stand Out And Sell More on Amazon
Monday Mar 21, 2022
Monday Mar 21, 2022
John McDonnell is the Director of Business Development for Signum Displays, before making his transition to Signum he worked at Alexis Exhibits, Inc. for 17 years. Four of those years he worked as the Vice President of Sales- making the decision to move on and start fresh at a new company was ultimately the hardest and simultaneously the easiest for his career.
On today’s episode John covers an important topic- when to make the leap of faith to your next opportunity; Recognizing when you’ve plateaued and the inevitable decisions you’ll make in order to keep leveling up. A part of this process is being aware of your goals and continually evaluating whether you’re still on that journey of growth.
Tune into John McDonnell’s episode to walk through the process of weighing all your options and continually seeking growth in your career.
Quotes:
- “That translates and speaks volumes when you're not trying to wear a mask and be somebody that you're not.” (3:10-3:16)
- “It was a way to kind of start over and start fresh and start from the ground and then build a team, the way that I wanted to build a team.” (8:44-8:50)
- “The hardest part was actually weighing the pros and cons and getting over the unknown- then finally getting there and taking that leap.” (10:40-10:49)
Links:
Monday Mar 07, 2022
Monday Mar 07, 2022
Andy Paul is the author of Sell Without Selling Out, he is also the Founder of The Sales House, a business that helps VP’s and sales managers accelerate their leadership goals. You can also tune into his podcast, Sales Enablement Podcast- the mission of the podcast being to help you exceed customer expectations and close more deals.
On today’s episode you’ll learn from Andy’s expertise as a sales coach and consultant. Get perspective on creating the most effective sales training in order to create a successful sales team. Andy also gives great assessment on sales practices that might be holding you back from accomplishing your sales goals.
Tune into today’s episode to hear Andy’s sales coaching tips as impassioned author of the book, Sell Without Selling Out.
Quotes:
- “Despite all the advantages, the technology that's at our disposal today for marketing and sales purposes, that the data suggests that we're actually performing less well.” (1:06-1:17)
- “Meaning we're doing a less good job of helping our buyers make decisions at a time when in many respects, it should be easier to do that.” (1:17-1:26)
- “It's based on four pillars: connection, curiosity, understanding and generosity, which are innate human behaviors.” (2:58-3:13)
- “That's the reputation that salespeople have in sales are being lazy, shiftless, self-centered, but on one hand, is hugely unfair to the vast majority of people who are in sales.” (6:50-7:02)
Links:
Monday Feb 28, 2022
Monday Feb 28, 2022
Greg Coonley is the VP of Sales for Centerfield Media; Centerfield’s leading platform leads end-to-end customer acquisition for millions of sales each year. Greg’s expertise is in in digital marketing and lead generation.
On today’s episode, Greg breaks down his career in sales and what has made him successful as a sales leader. Greg originally left sales to go into operations but got the itch to go back to sales after working alongside a sales team. Now as a leader in sales he wants to impart some of the skills that have allowed him to be successful.
Tune into the episode to learn about Greg Coonley’s journey into sales after the 2009 recession and how he’s rose to the top of his field and stepped into his leadership role at Centerfield Media.
Quotes:
- “If you don't have the team dynamic set up so that the support you need, or the support you need to give is there, then it doesn't matter, you're not going to be able to achieve your goals- you're not going to put forth a great product to sell.” (5:02-5:21)
- “Leaving the office with a sense that those things are tied up for the day, and that I'm starting tomorrow with the ability to focus on where the focus needs to be.” (8:21-8:33)
- "I did the majority of the legwork there and yet I'm not reaping the salary and commission benefits that my counterparts are.” (13:10-13:21)
Links:
Monday Feb 14, 2022
Monday Feb 14, 2022
Paul Steinmetz is a National Sales Manager for Travel Leaders Corporate, LLC. Travel Leaders Corporate, LLC is founded on innovation- a business travel solutions firm with a focus on customized travel fulfillment, meetings management, and data & analytics.
Paul has been a salesman before he was old enough to drive and has worked his way through some tough jobs and finally found himself in a fulfilling leadership role with Travel Leaders Corporate. This road hasn’t always been easy, in today’s episode he recounts working for some extreme leaders that helped him understand what poor leadership could look like. However, his tenacity in sales has led him to some amazing opportunities which has allowed for his success in his field.
Tune into today’s episode to learn about Paul Steinmetz’s wild twist and turns through the world of sales and some of the difficult circumstances that have molded him into the leader he is today.
Quotes:
- “I think there's a fine line between being a pain in the ass and being really persistent and effective as a salesperson.” (3:44-3:49)
- “Ironically, I found that I learned more from people who were doing it wrong and bad leaders who would throw temper tantrums.” (5:09-5:17)
- “When the FTC raided those companies, they didn't really care who was doing what they assumed everyone. But the training was great.” (9:29-9:54)
Links:
Travel Leaders Corporate, LLC LinkedIn
Travel Leaders Corporate, LLC Website