Summary:Joseph Bennet Jacobi is an American former slalom canoeist who competed from the mid-1980s to the mid-2000s. He had a nineteen year career as an elite athlete with the US canoe and kayak, including ten national championship titles, two Olympic games appearances and has won an Olympic gold medal in the C2 event at Barcelona. Today Joe works as a performance coach, collaborating with leaders and teams by getting them outside of the rush of day to day life and bringing focus to what truly matters most.This episode we talk about how Joe learned to build connection and trust from his life as an Olympic athlete. We dive in to what makes great winning teams and how you can sell to people who may have completely different personalities than you. Key Moments:03:45 - Joe's views on success after retiring from professional sport11:06 - Setting up space and time for having important conversations17:17 - The step that preceeds trust is connection25:25 - Embracing uncertainty35:45 -Asking the right questionsConnect with JoeLinkedINWebsiteConnect with Us!LinkedIN: Website:

SummaryJason Walker is described by his colleagues as a "Down to Earth Seller". He describes himself on LinkedIN as The Conscious Seller and an LMS Whisperer. He showed me how he is all these things and more in our conversation.So much of sales is making people feel that they have someone that cares about them and Jason goes even farther with an approach that says - his client's deserve someone that cares about their problems. His approach to sales is framed by his personal life and he translates that into what he does every day. This conversation we chat about how he uses experiences in his personal life to inform his sales approach, how he connects with people that may not always want to open up, and what he does to frame problems in a relatable way. Stay to the end and you'll meet Jason's family through a funny family picture that may or may not involve multiple middle fingers. Down to earth through and through!Key Moments:03:33 - We're all human and want to be treated the same way. Framing and solving problems in a clear way. (Jason's only job)8:59 - How Jason's experiences have lead him here and what characteristics have really informed how successful he is in sales. Jason's personal story of how he understands people.15:12 - A fun line Jason uses to break the ice on calls17:51 - When people don't connect with Jason what he does. Overwhelming with value so they can trust him a little.20:00 - Jason's line about how he frames problems using a CD example35:10 - Something that is so totally Jason.Connect with JasonLinkedINConnect with Us!LinkedIN: Website:

Summary:Creative outreach. Wacky prospecting ideas. Gimmicks! How do you separate out the difference between an out of the box prospecting idea that's effective and ones that are really just cute gimmicks in the moment? I brought on Jeremiah Griffin, Head of Sales at the Sales Rebellion to talk about this. Jeremiah describes himself as a professional attention getter and crafter of creative copy.In this episode we break down differences of creative outreach, and gimmicks. He shares out of the box ideas that take planning and creative campaigns that can be run in minutes. Everything from the "Unwritten Story" to the "Coffee Stained Letter" to a story of how he was able to get a meeting using a personalized cutting board and a BINGO card! This is some creative stuff and using his frameworks, it might spark some ideas to you the next time you want to get creative and send someone something good to get you remembered in a good way.Key Moments:2:35 : Jermiah's definition of Selling by Being Human - remember the Golden Rule - treat others the way you want to be treated on the other end. 13:00 - Difference between gimicky outreach and effective creative outreach19:00 - Measuring success on different outreach21:07 - A personalized cutting board sent to VP of SalesConnect with Jeremiah:LinkedINConnect with Us!LinkedIN: Website:

Summary:Emily Davidson Dukes is an Account Executive at Docebo - a Cloud-based, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) Enterprise Learning Management System. Before discovering her passion for sales, she worked as a high school English teacher for Madison County Board of Education. In this episode we explore the links between teaching and selling and how Emily utilized her teaching skills to become a better seller. What did she do to sell importance of reading to her students? Emily stays true to herself in her sales role and we discuss how to let more of the best of you come to the surface in service of your clients.Emily also works as a freelance photographer and hosts the Learning Elevated Podcast by Docebo. As a person she is always genuine, Passionate about education, learning, & development, Optimistic about the future and Focused on the deltas.Key Moments:02.18 - Selling by being human, treating people with respect. Being herself.11:08 - Connection between teaching and selling19:13 - Asking the right questions and building trustConnect with EmilyLinkedINEmily's PhotgraphyConnect with Us!LinkedIN: Website:

Summary:Jack Wilson is the Senior Director of Enterprise Sales at Seismic - The industry leading enablement platform.Jack's superpower is the ability to guide complex organizations and individuals to discover unique super powers of their own. Traditionally he's done this through consulting and one to one coaching helping his clients and students to surface untapped potential, blow past their goals, and maximize revenue and earnings.In this episode we're finding out if becoming a parent has changed the way he views the process and the art of selling, how to develop the right interpersonal dynamics with buyers, and considering the uniqueness of each deal. Jack is our first repeat guest on the podcast, and it's for good reason!Key Moments:01:57 - Jack meaning of to Sell by being human, sales as a responsibility18:00 - Buyers do not set roadblocks, buyers and sellers want the same outcome, being transparent with buyers??27:00 - The importance of learning interpersonal dynamics inside an organization31:30 - There is no keeping score, every deal is uniqueConnect with JackLinkedINConnect with Us!LinkedIN: Website:

Summary:Tyler Meckes is an Account Manager at Dooly - a company focusing on winning more deals by improving Salesforce hygiene, running a winning sales process, and eliminating low-value work for salespeople. In college, he obtained both a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Exercise Science from Bloomsburg University. Hi graduate studies allowed him to further hone his research/analysis, professional conference presentation, and teaching skills. He didn't realize it but all skills that he uses every day in his current sales role.Tyler is also the founder and host of The 20% Podcast, where he interviews professionals across all industries to discuss how they got to where they are, and tips/tricks to their success in their industry. He shares the 20% of information of what will teach listeners the most beneficial 80% of what you need to know about a subject.We had a great conversation about how Tylers saw his dad employ sales skills as a construction worker, how he learned sales from being a customer service person at Lowe's, and the importance of how he honed his human skills in life and how they serve him well in his current account manager role. Key Moments:03:56 - Sales skills are life skills20:00 - Is sales art or science?28:30 - Listening, collecting information and asking the right questionsConnect with US!LinkedINConnect with TylerLinkedIN:

Summary:Torin Ellis is a diversity strategist, Founder/CEO at the Torin Ellis Brand, Co-Host of the Crazy and the King Podcast, and a published author. As a tenured diversity practitioner, he leads a nimble diversity boutique consultancy with a focus on diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) strategy through the lens of recruitingThrough his work he ensures teams effectively attract, nurture, and retain the most dynamic talent necessary to not only meet, but transcend business vision.Torin's HR consultancy is on the front lines of corporate diversity. He'e worked with clients including Nike, Redfin and ESPN find diverse executives, create DEI strategies and create programs to mentor and nurture young, diverse talent. In this episode we talk about how to come across as a great people person, how to move through life and lead with love, and how to Torin convinces companies of the importance of Diversity strategies. Torin's appraoch to humanity can be used by anyone to who wants to forms strong bonds with people that may not always look or think like you.Key moments:13:35 - Learning respect, Service is sales19:00 - Commanding A Frequency of Love24:44 - Being human instead of being right29:20 - How to be a good leaderConnect with TorinLinkedINConnect with Us!LinkedIN: Website:

Summary:Rachel is on a mission to humanize the workplace by igniting resilience, connection, engagement and compassion in organizations, associations and their leaders and teams. Recognized by Forbes as a Next1000 honoree in 2021, the #1 Health Promotion Professional in the U.S. in 2015, a 40 Under 40 Game Changer in 2019, and one of The Daily Record’s Leading Women of 2020, Rachel is a national thought leader in the field of employee engagement and wellbeing.In this episode we go through how important it is to do the work to understand what your strengths are and harnessing them to connect to others. Rachel offers powerful questions you can ask yourself to find your essence. We talk about how Rachel went from being a perfectionist to finding vulnerability, what Rachel learned through burnout, and how her personal story can help you create genuine trust and connection with people.Stay to the end to hear Rachel sing and give you some inspiration in your day!Key Moments:3:00: How Rachel defines Selling By Being Human through finding your essence.6:20: Rachel's personal story of connecting to herself through being very disconnected to herself.9:05: How You Can Find Your Essence. The Two Questions You Can Ask Yourself to Find It: What Shows Up When I do? What Qualities Do I Bring in A Room?19:12: A story of how a teacher made Rachel feel warmth and really safe.20:37: How Rachel changed perspectives of her colleagues around what Wellness should actually be. Through sharing her own personal story.37:53: How Rachel thinks about building a brand - being more of what you are at your your core to fill a need for someone else.42:29: Rachel's approach to how she sells through offering to meet needs vs selling to someone.Connect with RachelLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelbdruckenmiller/LinkedIn Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/unmute-yourself-6862381507273605120/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unmutedlife/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/racheldruckenmiller Facebook: http://facebook.com/unmutedllcConnect with Us!LinkedIN: Website:

Summary:Priya Kumar is a heart centered entrepreneur. She's the founder of Pivot My Profit, a consultancy practice centered around helping business owners find freedom with their financial literacy. She's also a hospice volunteer, an entrepreneur, a transformation coach, a blogger, an author, and a marathon runner. She started out as a Tax Investigator and now coaches entrepreneurs on finance strategy. All the while doing it with a service mindset.Priya is East Indian and her family immigrated from Figi. She has had to reinvent herself through some incredibly tough life experiences but she has grown through the way she shows up for herself and others.This episode we chat about the meaning of Karma and how it relates to sales, how you learn from clients who may take advantage of you, and what you can do to help people in ways to get them to listen even if its about something difficult to hear.Key Moments:6:30 - Priya's story of her Dad and Karma9:55 - How Priya rebuilt her life after a divorce and decided how she wanted to show up for others. Defining her mission.16:56 - Concept of Trust in sales even when people may want to take advantgage of your generosity18:07 - Your mindset in sales of selling first, why that's not serving you.20:00 - Flipping your approach of your vision as a business to your vision for your clients. Connect with PriyaLinkedINWebsiteConnect with Us!LinkedIN: Website:

Scott Leese is the CEO/Founder of Scott Leese Consulting, LLC and one of the most sought after people to help startups scale their sales organizations. Through domestic and international consulting as a strategic advisor, he has trained an army of salespeople and sales leaders thousands strong. Scott puts his nearly two decades of sales and leadership experience to use as the CEO/Founder of Scott Leese Consulting, Surf & Sales, and Thursday Night Sales.He wrote an Amazon #1 best-selling book on sales called: Addicted to the Process- that was released in 2017, is a 3-time winner of the Top 25 Inside Sales Professionals by the American Association of Inside Sales and a highly sought-after consultant, advisor, leader, and sales trainer.This conversation is how you make your sales process focused on having more real conversations, how you can find your own way to connect, and how to shift the typical messaging you use to make people believe there's a real person on the other end.Summary:Is love a feeling or is it a skill? Maybe it's a bit of both. Love isn't normally a skill you're taught to develop in your professional life but this conversation will teach you how you can.Matt Tenney defines love as the deep concern for the well being of another. He develops highly effective leaders who serve and inspire greatness in others.We discussed things like how love can show up in business and in sales. We went over how servant leadership and sales are synonymous. And we talked about how your mindset of love can effect how you approach everything in sales.Key Moments:2:30 - Why sales is about having a normal conversation. What that means. it's about the style and the skillsets required.9:25 - Scott's story about how he first learned business and sales. How he started and learned sales on his own.13:37 - A trick of coaching - Having reps give feedback to other reps and then how to get those people to admit to their weaknesses without being defensive.23:30 - Why Scott's approach resonates with Founders and how he's had to say no to business at some points.35:58 - How Scott thinks about deploying vulnerability to make it workConnect with ScottLinkedINConnect with Us!LinkedIN: Website:

Summary:Jeremy Torisk is the President of Torisk Pro Advisors, a company he founded to help people change their lives build around three basic principles:𝟭) 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝟮) 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗗𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝘆 𝗘𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝘆𝘀𝟯) 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗣𝗦He helps companies understand the science behind true employee engagement by putting people in the positions they are naturally suited for, creating happy productive employees. Jeremy does this through coaching, his public speaking, and through his sales training business.Like many ultra-successful people, Jeremy had his share of adversity. He crafted a negative view of himself, mostly from growing up in an environment influenced by the ever presence of of alcohol and drug abuse, having various mental illnesses in the family, leaving high school at 17 years old without a diploma, and escaping the madness by moving out on his own. He had no clue, however, that he would go on to help so many people and change so many lives for the better.In this episode we talk about how to build personal connections quickly, how to leverage vulnerability in the right ways to connect, and how he used his adversity to be the person he is today.Key Moments:04:30 - Having virtual coffees and build personal relationships15:25 - The importance collaboration. Dropping the sales persona.18:17 - How Jeremy used his past experiences to change other peoples lives in a positive way24:25 - Why so many people struggle with adversity?33:14 - Acting at the speed of instruction40:27 - Who do you help and how do you help themConnect with JeremyLinkedINConnect with Us!LinkedIN: Website:

SummaryAndy Paul is the author of three award-winning sales books, "Zero-Time Selling" , "Amp Up Your Sales", and his latest book "Sell Without Selling Out" presenting fresh new perspectives on the sales processes that drive sales success. He specializes in teaching sales teams how to maximize the value and power of their individual selling styles, teaches on understanding what buyers want and delivering that, and how we can all leverage our innate capabilities to better collaborate with buyers. He has consulted with some of the biggest businesses in the world including Square, Philips, Grubhub and more, making him one of the leading voices in the sales industry today.Andy also hosts the host of the "Sales Enablement with Andy Paul" podcast, acquired by Revenue.io in 2020. and he is ranked #8 on LinkedIn's list of Top 50 Global Sales Experts. In this episode you'll learn frameworks to go beyond surface level with people, questions to ask to to deliver insights, and why being friendly is distinctly different than "being a friend" to your buyer.Key moments:08:40 - Has anything really changed in sales? What were the misses from the pandemic in sales?15:25 - The importance collaboration. Dropping the sales persona. Selling to people.22:50 - Trust instead of command and control29:18 - Tips for sellers and buyers and stories of how our car buying experiences went well and how others fell off.Connect with AndyLinkedINWebsiteConnect with Us!LinkedINWebsite

Today's episode is a solo episode with your host, Alex Smith. We're approaching 2 years in May and by podcast standards that's a huge milestone. I thought I'd share a brief episode of why I started this journey and why I'm still doing it two years later.This is a wild story that began with an elevator, a mop, and a New York Times Besdt Selling author. Listen to the full episode, I promise it'll be interesting. Also, I'm committing to asking all of my guests - What Does Selling By Being Human Mean to you? I'd like to pose that question to you. Drop me a review to answer that question or send me a note!LinkedIN

Summary:Jerome Deroy is the CEO of Narativ - a company seek to transform how people engage with their work by using the power of storytelling to provide organizations with programs that create ownership, empower, and engage employees. He joined the company after leaving his position at BNP Paribas, Hong Kong when the company founders - Murray Nossel and Paul Browde, handed him a shoebox full of notes and told him, “we think there’s a company in here.”Jerome has since worked closely with clients as diverse as Prudential, Cigna, Boerhinger Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Kaiser Permanente, and Warby Parker. He also regularly lectures at Parsons New School of Design in New York City, where he teaches the Art of Storytelling.In this episode we discuss where people get caught up in telling stories, how to allow people to go on a journey with you, and how you can better listen to yourself and others when crafting the best way to tell stories.Key Moments: 02:25 - Selling by being human. What's that mean to you?10:50 - Listening and storytelling method. Being a good story listener.16:05 - How to craft a good story. Where do people get tripped up?21:00 - What happened next in the story. Cardinal rule of story.27:25 - Speaking with conviction. Importance of telling personal stories. Letting your audience go on a journey with you through the story.41:08 - Selling is based on emotionConnect with JeromeLinkedINWebsite - Narativ - Tell your own story with confidence!Connect with Us!LinkedIN: Website:

Notes:Larry Levine is the best-selling author of Selling from the Heart and the co-host of the Selling from the Heart Podcast. With 30 years of in-the-field sales experience within the B2B technology space, he knows what it takes to be a successful sales professional. He know coaches sales teams on what he taught himself on how to truly connect with buyers.In a post-trust sales world, Larry Levine helps sales teams leverage the power of authenticity to grow revenue, grow themselves and enhance the lives of their clients.In this episode, you'll learn how to build strong connections with people quickly, doing the work to discover yourself, and how to really build trust with people.Key Moments:4:00 - How to do the work to find out whats in your heart13:12 - Who taught Larry the power of caring for people. What it can teach you.16:00 - The best advice Larry ever got from his mother in law.21:00 - Reaching out to people to find self awareness and using that knowledge in sales.Connect with Larry (and please mention the LA Dodgers when you do)LinkedINConnect with Us!LinkedIN: Website:

Summary:Brent Keltner is the President at Winalytics - company using a unique software-enabled services model to help clients achieve their top growth potential by consistently positioning and qualifying around buyer at each phase of the buyer journey. Brent created Winalytics’ value-driven growth methodology and has positioned the company as the market leader for repeatable revenue solutions. Winalytics works with growth-stage to enterprise customers in a range of industries, including the education, human capital, SaaS, business operations, retail and marketing communications sectors.Before starting Winalytics, Brent was a revenue leader in both early-stage and enterprise companies where he successfully scaled growth. He began his career as a Ph.D. social scientist and qualitative researcher at Stanford University and the RAND Corporation.Key moments:01:51 - Authenticity and integrity in sales10:50 - Buyers really close deals12:30 - Authentic buyer journey21:00 - Revenue acceleration framework32:09 - Good selling is good questioning28:37 - Experience is not a predictor of successConnect with Brent!LinkedINConnect with Us!LinkedIN: Website:

Brian G. Bachand is the Founder & CEO at evolution evolution - a Global Coaching Company working with individuals to evolve in career, executive leadership, personal evolution and more. He founded evolution evolution after over 20+ years of evolutionary growth from working with influential senior leaders, conscientious career change, international work, complex team management, the power of engaged networking and realizing true leadership is about being your authentic self.Before discovering his passion for sales, Brian was working as a parish priest in a historic, picturesque New England town. While passionate about the work - he began to have thoughts about a life beyond the priesthood. Recognizing his true desires as invitation for taking action, Brian decided to take his life in a different direction, by standing in his truth and embracing what was in his heart. This, he says, gives individuals freedom to do what they really need to in life.Key moments:02:40 - Three key aspects of living a fulfilled life13:38 - Desire as an invitation for taking action23:30 - Tips for building personal and professional relationships28:22 - How to be a successful leader or a CEO and how to positively influence your teamsConnect with BrianConnect with Us!

Summary:Galem Girmay is a Revenue Enablement Manager for User Testing. User Testing helps brands get human insights about their customers to deliver exceptional products and experiences. She is also the host of the "What's Your Legacy Podcast" which dives deep into asking her guests the stories of what they want their legacy today. Galem has been recognized as a Top Sales Influencer to follow by Salesforce and she has been a primary force in building many sales communities.This episode we talk about how to really build deep human connections with people. Galem lives her life with alot of intention of how she wants to leave the world when she is no longer here. You'll. learn how to know yourself better, how to see others better, and how to set your intentions.Key Moments:8:29 - Why you shouldn't focus on the goal of selling things in your interactions11:39 - Galem's story growing up and how she learned to move forward in life as a foster child living in two foster families. What thats taught her.13:55 - How she views showing up for other people. Being the firend people wished theyd had.20:29 - How she coaches reps29:37 - Galems' story in an Uber when an Uber driver told her a beautiful personal story.Connect with GalemLinkedINConnect with Us!LinkedIN: Website:

Summary:Crista Beck is a matchmaker, dating, love & relationship coach, speaker, co-creator of the Jumpstart Your Heart Process, creator of the Dating Compass and author of the Amazon best-selling book, Break The Glass Slipper: Free Yourself of Fairy Tale Fantasies and Find True Love in Real Life. For over 12+ years, Crista Beck has lead people in the area of love and relationships, being featured as a dating and love expert on ABC, NBC, FOX, and TEDx, and her message has reached over 1 million people around the world.Every relationship is an opportunity for someone to give you more of their time. Dating and meeting your soulmate are all sales situations and we talk about ways Crista coaches her clients to sell themselves online, in person, and even whats happening when people fall in love. Key Moments:07:50 - Elements of sales in love and relationships.12:00 - How Christa develops relationships with her clients? Tips for opening up to and developing new relationships. How to approach dating?24:00 - Tips for individuals new to selling, building connections and relationships.30:35 - What Crista learned about dating and matchmaking through her own relationships? What causes people to think they love somebody?Connect with CristaLinkedINHer websiteConnect with Us!LinkedIN: Website:

Summary:AJ Bruno is an entrepreneur and SAAS startup founder with a blend of sales, business development, and leadership skills. He's founded two companies. He's built, and run the GTM methodology for sales, lead gen, and account management teams. His first company he took from 0-$25 million ARR.His second company company he co-founded is QuotaPath - SaaS sales company whose vision is to create a work where sales people and revenue teams ditch spreadsheets and have a much stronger visibility into commissions, quota, and their goals . AJ is also a father of three girls, commercial multi-engine pilot, and owner of a Beechcraft Baron 58.In this episode we talk about how a guy went from Shakespeare plays, to a call center, to founding his own company. How his approach to sales was a common thread throughout all these roles.Key moments:07:47 - The importance of clarity and emotion in communication12:00 - Learn sales through resilience. Setting goals and expectations.18:30 - Choosing the right company to support you in your sales career25:40 - AJ's approach to planning the future and living a fulfilled lifeConnect with AJLinkedINConnect with Us!LinkedIN: Website:

Jaclyn Fidler is a Relationship Manager at LinkedIn, experienced in Fine Art, Adtech and B2B sales. She views the world through a creative lens and operates with a touch of gumption and humor. Jaclyn recently joined LinkedIn as a Relationship Manager where her primary focus is supporting her colleagues & their clients for all things Talent Solutions. In her free time, Jaclyn enjoys oil painting and a competitive game of Scrabble.This episode we talk about how someone goes from being an art major, to a successful career in sales. We break down what skills crossover between photography and sales. We chat about how to thoughtfully bring your personal life into your LinkedIN profile (and also how displaying her love of the band Phish, landed her a job at LinkedIN).We also break down what it means to be a pizza bagel from New York and still lead clients with empathy even though as a New Yorker her mode is to move fast!Key moments:13:58 - The link between art and sales21:45 - The importance of developing "human" skills and showing that you care.25:24 - Jaclyn's advice to her younger selfConnect with Us!LinkedIN: Website: Connect with JaclynLinkedIN:

Summary:This episode I'm sharing a personal story about me about gratitude. I thought with Thanksgiving this past week, it made me think of how I view gratitude and how powerful it is to help get hyou out of some really hard times. You can actually use it to create joy, not the other way around.I share a really personal glimpse about working through a layoff, cancer, and how it only got worse from there. It was gratitude that helped me not get defeated. It's something that isn't practiced always but it can help bring you joy and also connect with others in powerful ways.Connect with Us!LinkedIN: Website:

Meshell R Baker is a DEI certified sales confidence igniter and an accomplished, high-energy sales leader with over 20 years of proven success. She teaches business owners and sales leaders how to tap into the unlimited human potential to create diverse and inclusive culture change and disrupt the sales training status quo. After 25+ years of successful sales and leadership career and entrepreneurial expertise working with companies that include Johnson & Johnson, Thermo Fisher, Merck, Sharpe & Dohme, Dell, Microsoft, YMCA, she is on a mission to change the way Selling is perceived. She believes when sales training is delivered by incorporating confidence, diversity, equity, and inclusion as part of their core tenets, it becomes transformative for organizations, sellers, and buyers.In this episode you'll learn how to strengthen your purpose mindset, strengthen confidence, and the differences between goals, visions, purpose.Key moments:08:30 - It didn't happen to you, it happened for you16:00 - Building confidence in sales28:00 - Frameworks for building an optimistic mindset34:50 - Meshell's favorite transformation stories41:15 - What is sales all about?Connect with MeshellLinkedINWebsiteConnect with Us!LinkedIN: Website:

Summary:Todd Caponi fell into sales, then fell in love with the decision science surrounding it. He turned that into a career encompassing multiple sales leadership roles. He's building the revenue capacity of one tech company from the ground-up into Chicago’s fastest-growing, another where his efforts helped drive the organization to a successful IPO followed by an acquisition worth almost $3B, and another where his turnaround efforts were rewarded with the American Business “Stevie” Award for Worldwide Vice President of Sales of the Year. He left his role as the Chief Revenue Officer to write his first book, The Transparency Sale; which has since earned 2019’s “Best Book Award” in the “Business: Sales” category at the American Book Awards, while also earning International Best-Seller status. Todd also hosts The Sales History Podcast, bringing the incredible (and sometimes strange) brains from the earliest days of sales' past into the present. Much of the sales wisdom from the past hasn't changed.Key Moments:03:00 - Is saying "yes" always the way to go?09:15 - Expectation inflation25:00 - "How are they better than us?". How Todd turned the question of tell me why your better than your competitor into a transparent conversation and disarmed a meeting.27:00 - Lead with your strengths and reveal your weaknessConnect with ToddLinkedINConnect with Us!LinkedIN: Website:

For this very special, 50th episode of The Stories Of Selling Human podcast we are joined by Nina Butler. She is the Director of Event Experience at Alyce - the AI-powered B2B gifting platform that’s redefining direct mail, swag and gifts with its scalable, sustainable, hyper-personalized approach to account-based marketing. Nina is an experienced Director with a demonstrated history of working in the event and hospitality industry and start ups. She is skilled in Event Management, Marketing, and really understands personalized gifting. We talk about gifting in your personal life, what to look for to be thoughtful with gifting, wyas to approach gifting in different stages of the buyer journey and so much more!Key moments:08:55 - The concept of "Emotional Resonance" and the mindset shift of thinking of your sales interactions as a "Touch"13:15 - Tactical tips for gifting. The connection between gifting and sales.17:58 - The art of personalized gifting with some examples27:00 - Adding a personal touch when communicating at scaleConnect with NinaLinkedINConnect with Us!LinkedIN: Website:

Summary:Amy Volas is the CEO and founder of Avenue Talent Partners, a recruiting firm focusing on sales leadership recruiting for SaaS startups, helping it's clients build the right team with the right leaders and drive growth for the long haul. With sales being her first business love and startups her second, she cares deeply about improving the hiring process. During her 20+ year long career in enterprise sales she has closed more than $100MM in revenue and keeps counting. Amy is also a co-host of Thursday Night Sales, the #1 weekly virtual sales happy hour and networking group, where she answers most pressing sales questions and helps listeners connect with other sales leaders.This was so fun because Amy has meant so much to me personally in helping me network in to the company I now work for. We talk about the power of seeking to understand, selfless giving, and the surprising gifts she's found starting her community and so much more!Key moments:03:45 - Whats kept her growing her community. The abundance mindset and the power of the concept of getting better together.6:00 - Story of how Amy introduced me and helped me get a job12:00 - How sales found Amy. How she shifted from protecting herself in sales to playing a long game mindset.13:51 - Lessons from Amys grandparents and stories of her growing up.23:10 - Tactical tips for sales professionals. Being human in sales. How you open up yourself to new ideas. 25:14 - The power of being seen, heard, and understood in sales. 28:40 - Hiring sales leaders without the cringeCool resources from the episode:Thursday Night Sales Community - (free to join)Jeffrey Gitomer - Little Red Book of SellingConnect with AmyLinkedINHer websiteConnect with Us!LinkedIN: Website:

Summary:Brandon Fluharty is the VP of Strategic Account Solutions at LivePerson. He is a senior individual contributor for the organization focused on acquiring top tier, strategic enterprise accounts by enabling a major digital transformation centered around helping brands more easily communicate with their customers and employees at scale. He also uses his active role as a Strategic SaaS Seller to create a personal brand and content that helps elite sales professionals learn from successes and failures. In his work he puts focus on avoiding burnout to achieve optimal results consistently, because, as he says, he fell into the trap of needing to hustle and grind to get to the top like many others in Enterprise SaaS sales. This episode, you'll learn how someone selling over $10M in revenue a year stays grounded, how the money doesn't effect his approach, and how to structure your philosophy of sales to sustain you for the long term.Key Moments:4:00 - Why should kids look up to sales as much as professions like teachers, doctors, lawyers?6:15 - Brandon's first conscious sale as a kid15:05 - Human qualities in sales21:05 - Developing an "Operating System" for consistent success. Avoiding burnout.33:20 - Staying grounded, how to handle stress and sales tips for sales people and non-sales individualsConnect with BrandonLinkedINConnect with Us!LinkedIN: Website:

Malvina EL-Sayegh is a Head of Sales Enablement at Silverfin - a high growth cloud-first SaaS post-accounting solution focused on providing software for accounts preparation and adjacent workflows such as statutory accounts and tax. She is an experienced Relationship Manager & Training Consultant with a 10-year history of working in the Financial Services Industry and has achieved outstanding success in sales and closing new business as well as assisting clients to see the value in Fintech solutions. Malvina also hosts the #STAYHUMAN podcast, which she started with a purpose of demystifying sales and exploring what it means to be a "great" salesperson.Summary:Key Moments:04:05 - How sales changed over the years. Active listening and problem solving.13:35 - Natural curiosity. Asking meaningful questions.21:44 - What is "Sales Enablement"?25:26 - Tips for sales professionals and a "non-sales sales person".37:38 - Self-reflection and salesConnect with MalvinaLinkedINConnect with Us!LinkedIN: Website:

Summary:Daniel H. Pink is the author of seven books, including the forthcoming The Power of Regret: How Looking Backward Moves Us Forward. His other books include the New York Times bestsellers When and A Whole New Mind — as well as the #1 New York Times bestsellers Drive and To Sell is Human. Dan’s books have won multiple awards, have been translated into 42 languages, and have sold millions of copies around the world. This conversation is a seminal moment in the history of this podcast and Dan's book To Sell is Human was one of the main inspirations for starting this podcast.Key Moments:01:53 - The new ABC's of selling 15:40 - Sales and persuasion done by groups24:20 - Unlocking your selling potential. Tips for non-sales people and professionals37:53 - Dehumanising salesConnect with DanWebsiteConnect with Us!LinkedIN: Website: Key moments:

Tara Horstmeyer is a ghostwriter, award-winning editor and a LinkedIn Top 100 Sales star. As a "friendly neighborhood ghostwriter" she helps her clients bring the real them to the surface by writing with or for them. She also offers social media consulting, communication coaching, newsletter writing and sales and marketing resourcing services. In this conversation, we talk about the differences between being corporate vs. being professional, tips for becoming a great communicator, right ways for reaching out to people, sales tips and more...Key moments:03:35 - Being serious about what you do without being serious about who you are14:00 - How to be a great communicator20:15 - How to reach out to people and draw them into you31:15 - Sales tips for professionals and every human Connect with TaraLinkedINConnect with Us!LinkedIN: Website:

Catherine Brown is a corporate sales trainer teaching people B2B sales "with no sleaze or cheese" She is the author of the book "How Good Humans Sell" and she specializes in Hi-Tech & high-end professional services. In her work she puts an emphasis on the framework, which she believes every good sales person always has in the back of their mind, while utilizing their creativity, spontaneity and the ability to listen. In this episode, you'll learn how human make decisions, how to approach sales without needing to convince, how to deploy emotional intelligence, and how to unlock your own flavor of a human focused approach to sales.Key moments:03:11 - Do people "fall into sales"?11:24 - The link between sales and music15:36 - About Catherine's book "How Good Humans Sell"27:35 - Whats important to the prospect. The difference between asking and convincing.31:17 - Meaning produces wellbeing.Connect with CatherineLinkedINExtraBold SalesRead Catherine's BookConnect with Us!LinkedIN: Website:

Summary:Jason Bay is a Chief Prospecting Officer at Blissful Prospecting. He specialises in cold calling and cold emails and runs programs and boot camps for individuals and sales teams to help boost their cold calling confidence and e-mail reply rates. He uses a proven structure he used to train successful reps at companies like Zoom, CBRE, Databricks, Bolton & Company, Fortinet, and many more. His accelerator program provides sales teams with hands-on training and coaching to overcome call reluctance, build meaningful relationships with prospects, and land more meetings through cold outreach. He also hosts a podcast called Blissful Prospecting which we are big fans of too...11:16 - What lessons Jason learned doing door-to-door sales16:30 - Conversation vs. Conversion19:39 - "The three shifts" to boost your sales results, conversations and relationships.30:30 - "You-centric approach" for conversations and conversions. How ti lead up to the close.Connect with JasonLinkedINConnect with Us!LinkedIN: Website:

Summary:Sarah Brazier is an educator, an actress, and she's in sales. She is a nationally awarded speaker and works as an Account Executive at Gong, Sales Coach at SDR Nation and Instructor at Sales Impact Academy. We talk about soft skills that translate from acting and public speaking to sales and how to develop them. Sarah shares a bunch of practical tips for both trained sellers and non-sales people. We also share some advice when using your unigue voice to build a personal brand while also building a human connection with our prospects.Key moments:03:42 - Lessons from the book "To Sell Is Human" by Daniel H. Pink10:30 - Which soft skills translate from acting and public speaking to sales?18:45 - Personal brands and sales personas. How to think about using your voice25:32 - Practical advice for a non-sales person and trained sellers. LinkedIn messaging tips. Connect with SarahLinkedINConnect with Us!LinkedIN: Website:

In this special episode of The Stories Of Selling Human Podcast we are for the very first time joined by two guests, introducing a new dynamic to the show.Blake Hudson is a Brand Manager at Victory Lap. Victory Lap trains future and current sales leaders through our virtual bootcamps, corporate training programs, and partnerships with educational institutions. They also team up with businesses to make sure that they are hiring and retaining the best people for their sales teams. Terry Arbaugh is the Vice President of Sales & Marketing at SEACOMP, a company specializing in electronics manufacturing, design engineering, and electronic components for products in consumer, industrial, and medical industries. Together they co-host a Clubhouse event "Emotional In$ELLigence", discussing EQ related topics combined with practical and tactical sales advice.We focus on emotional intelligence as the ability to recognize one’s emotions and the emotions of others and to manage those emotions to achieve more effective results. Developing and utilizing it allows us to promote and share the spirit of change, leadership and compassion. Knowing how to approach and connect with people aids understanding and builds respect. The ability to demonstrate emotional and social intelligence helps strengthen relationships, reduce stress and anxiety and increase understanding in a time where meeting goals and expectations is often valued more than people.Key moments:03:10 - Emotional and social intelligence. How to develop and apply it?12:52 - Universal human traits and the language of love. Are we all driven by the same things?17:50 - Utilizing your human skills in your sales career.27:00 - Tips and advice for developing self-awareness, sympathy and emotional intelligence.Connect with Blake and Terry:Blake Hudson LinkedINTerry Arbaugh LinkedINConnect with Us!LinkedIN: Website:

Megan Bowen is a Chief Customer Officer at Refine Labs, a demand gen accelerator for B2B SaaS companies. Refine Labs help companies increase marketing’s contribution to qualified pipeline and revenue while lowering customer acquisition costs. Embracing a human-first leadership approach, her style is to focus on achieving excellence through empowerment and accountability while leading with empathy, kindness, and vulnerability. This approach, she says, creates trust and fosters a collaborative culture which is the foundation of all high performing teams. Finding success is creating the conditions for others to do the same. We discuss how to create conditions for others to be successful and what it means to meet people where they are in sales and in human connections.Key moments:03:17 - Rejecting the Status Quo in human connection.09:10 - Creating the conditions for personal and professional success.15:50 - Playbooks and guidelines. Concept of creating intersections at work vs "round abouts".20:05 - How to deliver bad news effectively26:00 - The difference between customer support and customer success.

Amy Blaschka is a master storyteller and an amazing listener. She is a social media ghostwriter who helps leaders craft their stories and she has made a career offering “stories as a service.”. She is also a leading contributor for Forbes where she covers personal transformation and it's impact on career growth. She runs a newsletter called Illuminate me where she Illuminates nuggets of wisdom on all her favorite topics: communication, storytelling, writing, creativity, emotional intelligence, soft skills, leadership, and human behavior. Join us for this episode where we talk about how to craft your story to attract the right people into your life and take the steps towards clarity and inspiration...Key moments:05:00 - Steps towards clarity and inspiration. Helping people discover what they already know.9:58 - concisely introducing yourself.10:44 - Where the best ideas come from.21:00 - asking questions to help people align to their "why".22:00 - How to tell your story concisely and creatively to attract the right people36:14 - Connecting with relationship based instead of transaction based peopleConnect with Amy:LinkedINWebsite: Love What You're Listening To?Please write a quick 5 Star review. It's a virtual gratitude thing to do and please let me know if you do. I have gratitude to send back!Contact me here:LinkedIN: Website:

In this episode of Stories of Selling Human podcast we put focus on the concept of giving and receiving gratitude. A concept that is sometimes considered a weakness in the world of business and sales. However, the lack of reciprocal gratitude in our lives makes us feel lonely, disconnected and insecure - certainly not the traits of successful sales people. We often forget and underestimate the benefits that gratitude can have for us an others and we have to remind ourselves that profit is aligned with dreams, passions and purpose. People don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it...Our very special guest is Chris Schembra, USA Today's “Gratitude Guru” and the bestselling author of "Gratitude and Pasta: The Secret Sauce for Human Connection". He is founder of the 7:47 Gratitude Experience: An evidence based framework used to strengthen client and team relationships in profound ways. He's worked with Fortune 50 CEO's, Olympians, Academy Award Winners, SuperBowl Champions, and so many more!Key moments:00:00 - Introduction04:11 - What does gratitude mean and how has Chris seen in it change our emotional well being07:08 - The importance and benefits of intentional gratitude. False metrics of success.15:13 - How the concepts of gratitude and emotional connection translate to sales and business.23:37 - Caring for people before business. Client appreciation.29:50 - If you could give credit or thanks to one person in your life, that you don't give enough credit or thanks to, who would that be? How that question brings people togetherConnect with Chris:LinkedINWebsite: Chris's Bio:Short BioConnect with Us!LinkedIN: Website:

Summary:Nicole Miceli was so fun to talk to. She made a round a bout way into office technology sales. She rose up to being a top salesperson by working in her parents warehouse before moving into sales.Her approach is always to approach buyers as letting them decide whats best and never projecting what she thinks they need. She'll help you build your perspective of putting buyers decisions first. You'll learn how you can bring this approach into your own interactions.Key Moments13:08 - What are the traits of successful sales people?18:54 - Importance of transparency and building trust.22:20 - It is a buyers decision. Help the buyer decide what's beneficial for them.31:08 - Do job titles and hierarchies create fake narratives? Seeing through them to builld trust.34:50 - Stigma around sales. Helping people better understand the profession of sales.CHECK OUT THIS EVENT! Oct 11th-12thThe 2021 Sales Success Summit(Mention You Heard About It From the Stories of Selling Human Podcast)Connect with NicoleLinkedINConnect with Us!LinkedIN: Website:

Summary:Our guests name perfectly describes how talking to her and listening to her speak makes us feel. Joy Hewitt Carvajal is a coach with Sales Rebellion born in New Zealand. She discovered her passion for sales at an early age and has sold everything from batteries, lightbulbs to sales coaching. Her positive attitude and motivational talks have helped thousands of people improve their sales experience and changed their views on life for the better in general.In this episode we talk about developing the right attitude to help us genuinely care about all people and establish meaningful connections with our clients, how we all sell ideas every day, elements of sales in personal relationships and much more..Key moments:10:05 - How Joy leveraged donation based work to make more money than naming a fixed price as a teenager washing windshields at a local gas station.15:24 - What does it mean to be "the light" for other people.25:50 - How our imperfections make us more relatable.31:24 - If something matters, everything matters. Genuinely caring about all people.37:55 - Joy's advice for salespeople and people from any walk of life. How we all sell ideas.Connect with Joy:LinkedINConnect with Us!Website:

Summary:When you meet James Buckley, you see his smile. He eminates joy, kindess, and curiosity. These traits have taken him from a Publix bag handler to software sales, to Director of Business Development at a leading sales training company, JB Sales Training.We discussed alot in this episode about James's threads in his sales career, what genuine curiosity really is, the power of learning from different generations, and most importantly why kindess is the common characteristic in all the worlds salespeople.Key Moments:7:00 - How James used his personal skills throughout his entire career. And what got him a $250 tip at Publix as a bag handler.14:53 - You have to be willing to grow personally if you want to be able to grow professionally.20:15 - Difference of genuine curiosity vs selective genuine curiosity.30:00 - What James learned in his sales career that most sales trainers dont teach.Connect with JamesLinkedINJB Sales On DemandConnect with Us!LinkedIN: Website:

Summary:Do you think that there's a fine line between confidence and arrogance? How can you display confidence in a way that isn;t perceived as icky? It starts with realizing everyone is different and putting yourself in the mindset of the other person.Billy Saleeby is so good at this. His career has spanned making movies, to selling solar, to VP of sales and training, to leading Global Sales Enablement for Tesla. And now as a CEO and podcast host.His approach has always been about honesty over the sale, empathy over relentlessness, and knowing how to frame things differently for different people.This episode you'll learn about how he viewed how to sell in any career, balancing confidence with selling, gaining self awareness and so much more!Key Moments:4:00 - What Billy loves about podcasting and how it creates a human connection.7:00 - The through line of his career is creating experiences and how he's don't that throughout his career.11:00 - His path from selling solar door to door to Heading Globals Sales Enablement at Tesla.14:30 - His selling style. People will shut down the minute they think you look at them as a dollar sign. Be frank with people.17:00 - Practicing casual confidence in a way of an offer not an ask.34:17 - Getting people to take actions on your behalf through understanding them.Connect with Billy!LinkedINConnect with Us!LinkedIN: Website:

Summary:Nick Capozzi knows rapport. Some people manufacture rapport with people by asking "hows the weather were you are". Or, man it's Friday, busy day! Nick takes it a step further and really tries to engage in meaningful conversation and get people to feel like the experience with him was worth their time.Nick did this successfully while selling duty free items on cruise ships and he now coaches sales reps on their pitch.You will walk away with powerful tips on how to quickly generate rapport where people perk up after meeting you, how to engage people that are disengaged, and how you can get people to enjoy their experiences with you.Key Moments:3:18 -Nick's pitch about his story - in 45 seconds!6:00 - How Nick pulls Easter Eggs out of peoples LinkedIN profiles to generate rapport24:03 - How do you bring people back so they're engaged?Connect with Nick!LinkedINConnect with Us!LinkedIN: Website:

Summary:Michelle Hecht has been in professional sales for over 20 years and she's now found her calling as a sales coach and trainer. Her superpower is her ability to have a deep empathy for people and she strives to bring a human approach to her sales process. She calls it "humanizing the sales process". You'll learn what it means and also how you can break the fear of breaking patterns in your professional and personal relationships.We talk about mindset shifts, how she got celebrities to do some unique things with her, and how she thinks we can all tap into our soft skills more.Key Moments:4:36: How grit and empathy have helped her relate to others.17:30: What does Humanizing the sales process mean?21:15: How did she create deep connections with celebrities and get them to do some remarkable things with her.36:41: The power of "How can I help you".48:01: What could only and would only happen to her.Connect with Michelle!LinkedINConnect with Us!LinkedIN: Website:

Summary:Is love a feeling or is it a skill? Maybe it's a bit of both. Love isn't normally a skill you're taught to develop in your professional life but this conversation will teach you how you can.Matt Tenney defines love as the deep concern for the well being of another. He develops highly effective leaders who serve and inspire greatness in others.We discussed things like how love can show up in business and in sales. We went over how servant leadership and sales are synonymous. And we talked about how your mindset of love can effect how you approach everything in sales.Key Moments:4:50 - Why You don't have to like someone to love them.8:27 - How love plays out in leadership and in sales.11:10 - What to think before phone calls or in person meetings to help frame a successful outcome.21:30 - Matt's story of living as a monk in prison and how that transformed him.Connect with MattLinkedINConnect with Us!LinkedIN: Website:

Summary:Bruce Marable is the CEO and Co-Founder of the HR Tech Company, Employee Cycle and also hosts the Employee Cycle podcast. In his words, he is literally selling all day.This was really interesting because we broke down all the different activities he's doing and how he finds success in his approach. The way he approaches sales in business, his personal life, and his podcast are very similar. We'll show how and why.You'll learn how to frame what you do succinctly, his cheat codes on understanding his buyers, how to break down points into steps, and so much more!Key Takeaways by Time! 3:31 - Enthusiasm can be inauthentic, passion can't8:25 - Brian's first cold call story and how it relates to his days as an opera singer17:40 - Exercise on writing out concerns, Top 5 industry concerns, top 5 personal concerns28:40 - When people put a wall up, there's a reason for it. How to address it.Connect with BruceLinkedINConnect with Us!LinkedIN: Website:

Summary:I knew I wanted to have Bryan Elsesser on as soon as someone told me, you gotta interview this guy. He's a former opera singer turned salesperson. If that isn't a more unique profile for a salesperson, I don't know what is. This is certainly a road that few people travel so I needed to talk to Bryan about how that happened.Bryan also happens to be a father of 3, a volunteer firefighter, real estate enthusiast, and sales leader.We spoke alot about what themes connect those roles. We also dove into ways you can practice thinking about what concerns people and letting that be our guide in sales. Bryan will show you how to be open to new situations and also how to ask questions to allow you to break down walls that may exist between yourself and others. Key Takeaways by Time! 3:31 - Enthusiasm can be inauthentic, passion can't8:25 - Brian's first cold call story and how it relates to his days as an opera singer17:40 - Exercise on writing out concerns, Top 5 industry concerns, top 5 personal concerns28:40 - When people put a wall up, there's a reason for it. How to address it.Connect with BryanLinkedINConnect with Us!LinkedIN: Website:

Summary:Elena Valentine helps organizations capture more of the humanity of their workplaces through stories that matter. She runs a company with her co-founder Abby Cheesman that seeks to help companies sell their job opportunities. But they're not using standard things like bulleted requirements, responsibilities, and about us sections.They bring workplaces to life through the power of film and stories.This episode we talk about the art and science of the humanity of sales. A philosophy that's guided her human approach to sales as a business owner and in the films she makes. We go over what questions you can ask to get people to build deeper connections with you. Finally, we discuss how you can grow stronger relationships with your internal teams.Key Takeaways by Time! 9:41 - Elena's Why of starting Skillscout. Changing the narrative of work through film10:47 - Capturing the humanity of work through stories that matter. Film just happens to be the medium23:40 - We're a special kind of spice. Why understanding why finding the right business is key in sales not winning all the business. Winning the right business is.25:11 - What makes your heart sing?27:25 - How to get people to advocate not just for your product but for you.36:29 - Being good story listenersConnect with ElenaLinkedINHumans of Work Film Festival - Check out some sample videos!SkillScoutConnect with Us!LinkedIN: Website:

Summary:We sometimes think that you should always let other people talk about themselves and that's true but that doesn't mean it's at the expense of you not letting people know you.Amy Quick originally came from customer service and she made a living letting her clients new she was a real person trying to solve their very real problems.This episode we talk about how her parents influenced her conversational style, how to build relationships with stand off ish people, and also how to leverage your personal story in a business context. Like her tagline says, Amy is the most seriously non-serious salesperson you'll meet and she can help you find your own voice in sales.Key Takeaways by Time! 6:00 - Story of what she learned from watching her mom and Dad connect with higher up people.11:17 - How Amy's Mum and Dad met at a bar and how it applies to not being afraid of being yourself.23:40 - Energy Matching: How Amy got an irate customer to calm down and how she solved more than a "bandaid on a gunshot wound."30:55 - Amy's strategy on LinkedIN and how its evolved or devolved over the years but how its successful for her to gain 20k plus LI followers40:45 - Why you shouldnt be afraid to talk about yourself in sales.Connect with Amy!LinkedINConnect with Us!LinkedIN: Website: