Podcasts

In this episode, Mandy answers questions about the importance of a use case for PLG, her journey from in-house operator to founder to investor, the benefits and challenges of being an entrepreneur, and KPIs and product market fit. Don’t miss out on this final part of Mandy’s appearance in the latest episode of Tech Sales Insight. INSIGHTS OF THE DAY MANDY: FROM IN-HOUSE OPERATOR TO FOUNDER TO INVESTOR “What I really like to do is understand the customer, you can coach people, and drive revenue, like, that's actually what I like to do, and I don't want to be a founder and CEO and have to go raise money and do a bunch of that stuff. That doesn't sound fun to me.” Don’t miss out on the previous episodes with Mandy and watch out for the next ones! E105 Part 1 - TAKING THE LEAP: Growth Benchmarks And Planning For 2023 with Mandy Cole E105 Part 2 - DATA-DRIVEN ADVICE: Planning Ahead With A Data-Driven Approach With Mandy Cole Find out more about Bennett in the links below: Mandy Cole …

IF YOU FAILED TO PLAN, YOU PLANNED TO FAIL Mandy and Randy discuss the importance of profitability and cash flow for startups. Mandy advises that companies should have a plan for how they would become profitable if they needed to, as the future is uncertain. Randy adds that many companies have had to lay off employees due to overhiring in the past. They both advise startups to be thoughtful about their use of money and hiring in order to be successful. INSIGHTS OF THE DAY MANDY: CUSTOMER FIRST, EVERYTHING FOLLOWS “Think about not just what's best for the salesperson, but actually what's best for the customer first, because whatever is best for the customer should be best for the company and for us.” MANDY: DRIVE WITH DATA “Whatever you do, make sure that you're using a data-driven approach to it. It's really easy for us to make emotional decisions. But the reality is that data all day long is going it's sitting right in front of you, and it's gonna tell you what you should be doin…

Ever thought of growing to your Stage 2 and beyond? THE TIME IS NOW. Mandy Cole, a partner at Stage 2 Capital, joins Randy to discuss growth benchmarks for 2023. Mandy shares her own experience in handling growth and presents her personal benchmark for growth with the companies she is working with. Stay tuned to the end as Mandy also talks about the book she is currently working on that you might be interested in. Find out more in this latest episode of Tech Sales Insights. INSIGHTS OF THE DAY MANDY: HER PERSONAL BENCHMARK FOR GROWTH “We want to see that people are being smart about their growth that their focus first on how do I make my current customers successful, and make sure I'm growing them versus just throwing more into the portfolio or into their customer base.” BENNETT: THE BLOCKCHAIN AND CRYPTOCURRENCY RELATIONSHIP “” Find out more about Bennett in the links below: Mandy Cole | www.Stage2.Capital | mandy@stage2.capital Send in a voice message to us: Sales Communi…

INTO THE RABBIT HOLE Our interview with Bennett Collen is coming to a close, but Randy still has a lot more to ask, so in this episode, Bennett will be discussing more about Blockchain and Crypto in-depth. Tune in to learn more and find out what awaits for Blockchain and Crypto in the coming years, only here, in the latest episode of Tech Sales Insights. INSIGHTS OF THE DAY BENNETT: PREDICTIONS FOR CRYPTO AND BLOCKCHAIN “I think the crypto and blockchain will have made it when people stop talking about it when it kind of like fades into the background as a technology that enables these better experiences.” Don’t miss out on the previous episode/s and watch out for then ext ones! E104 Part 1 - META-PURSE: Blockchain, Cryptos, and NFTs with Bennett Collen E104 Part 2 - NFTs FOR SALE! Utilizing, Marketing, And Selling NFTs With Bennett Collen Find out more about Bennett in the links below: Bennett Collen | Endstate | Endstate.io Send in a voice message to us: Sales Community at …

WHAT DOES AN NFT DO? HOW DO YOU EARN FROM IT? NFTs, though have been in the market for quite some time, are still a pretty new concept in the eyes of a lot of people. In this episode, Bennett explains from his experience what NFTs do, how they are being marketed, and how they are sold. If you are interested in NFTs as a revenue stream, tune in to the latest episode of Tech Sales Insights. INSIGHTS OF THE DAY BENNETT: HOW NFTs ARE USED OR DISPLAYED “In terms of like the digital artwork itself, there are digital galleries where you can display all the entities that you own, I think the use cases for that eventually will get more interesting right now is more of a novelty, but from an Endstate perspective, we think of it as the utility that it gets you in the real world, as opposed to what you do with the digital artwork itself.” BENNETT: REVENUE-GENERATING INVOLVEMENT OF COLLABORATORS “We take a different approach to the traditional companies where we are involving the collaborator …

WE ARE NOW LIVING IN THE ERA OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION Welcome to another episode, and today we have Bennett Collen, CEO of Endstate who has been an active principal in the blockchain space for several years. Bennett will be joining Randy to discuss what a lot of people think is the future, which they all get crazy about… Blockchain, Cryptocurrencies, and NFTs. Learn how each is defined and how they are interrelated in this latest episode of Tech Sales Insights. INSIGHTS OF THE DAY BENNETT: DEFINITION OF A BLOCKCHAIN “A blockchain is just a form of a database that is typically a distributed ledger that has multiple participants who are all contributing to the consensus, or really how new entries get added to the ledger.” BENNETT: THE BLOCKCHAIN AND CRYPTOCURRENCY RELATIONSHIP “Crypto when people use it as a shorthand for Cryptocurrency is a subset of blockchain, so blockchain is the enabling technology that allows cryptocurrencies to function in this permissionless and distribute…

IT’S NOT HOW LONG THE RELATIONSHIP IS THAT MATTERS, IT’S THE VALUE THAT COMES FROM IT It’s part 3 with John Barrows, CEO of Sell Better by JB Sales, and the author of I Want To Be In Sales When I Grow Up. In this episode, John will be talking about the future of sales, particularly on the benefits of getting fired, the power of values in sales, sales rep job hunting tips, the importance of personal branding in today's job market, the value of relationships in sales, importance of a good customer relationship. So tune in and learn more! HIGHLIGHT QUOTES JOHN: FIND YOUR CORE VALUES FOR FINDING COMPANIES TO WORK FOR “What I encourage people to do right now is go through the value exercise, start, if you just got laid off, go through the value exercise, you can Google it, say I want a core value exercise. And usually what it is, is like 50 core values, you choose 20 of them, then you get down to five, and then you prioritize those five. And if you really think through those values of …

IS TECHNOLOGY FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE? It’s part 2 with John Barrows, CEO of Sell Better by JB Sales, and the author of I Want To Be In Sales When I Grow Up. In this episode, John will be talking about the future of sales, particularly on the benefits of in-person networking for sales reps, the importance of work-life integration, the impact of platforms on sales, the generational divide in the workplace, and the impact of recent layoffs in tech sales. So tune in and learn more! HIGHLIGHT QUOTES JOHN: NETWORKING IS CRITICAL IN SALES “I think that a sales rep has to be in the office for the first two years of their sales career. Because you've learned so much just by being around other people, and listening in and osmosis and all that other stuff. So I just think it's a critical part that I'm worried right now is being ripped away from their development,” JOHN: THE SECRET TO SUCCESS IS WORKING YOUR ASS OFF “what's the secret to success? And it's easy, it's working your ass off. T…

WHAT AWAITS US IN THE FUTURE OF SALES? Welcome to another series in Tech Sales Insights, and in this series, we have John Barrows, CEO of Sell Better by JB Sales, and the author of I Want To Be In Sales When I Grow Up. To kick off this series, John will be talking about the future in sales, particularly on design thinking, how technology is taking over and the impact of technology on sales. So tune in and learn more! HIGHLIGHT QUOTES JOHN: DON’T SELL IT IF YOU’RE NOT EVEN USING IT “I can't stand trainers that don't use their own stuff when they're selling I mean it's weird to even experience that. So yeah, we use our own techniques. We do everything I mean, obviously, and other people's stuff too. I mean there's no one right answer and sales anymore.” JOHN: THE BOTTOM-UP APPROACH “There's the bottom-up approach, which I think a lot of people look at, from like a PLG standpoint, like a product-led growth approach, where you get it in the users, and then you cross it, and then you…

It’s Part 3! Stu and Randy discuss the ins and outs of sales leadership, the importance of initiative, flexibility, and action, success in sales being dependent on the whole team, and many more. Don’t miss out on this final installment of the Stu Gold series, only here in the latest episode of Tech Sales Insights. HIGHLIGHT QUOTES STU: Flexibility + Initiative = SDR’s Success “Flexibility is very, very important, and you need to be able to kind of go with the flow a little bit and shift to different priorities as they come up. To do that, you also need to be very proactive on our teams, and you have to have to take initiative, and I'd rather see people take initiative and make some mistakes along the way, than kind of sit back and just wait for things to happen.” Don’t miss the previous part/s of this amazing series with Stu Gold: E102 Part 1 - OLD BUT GOLD: Stu Gold On The Innovative Legacy Of Blattner Technologies - https://youtu.be/Qq074xezVg8 E102 Part 2 - GAME-CHANGING: Bene…

Welcome to Part 2 of this series with Stu Gold, CRO of Blattner Technologies. In this second installment, Stu and Randy will talk about the benefits of and importance of AI (Artificial Intelligence), ML (Machine Learning), and Data to businesses, particularly in Sales and Marketing. Tune in and learn more about these benefits in this latest episode of Tech Sales Insights. HIGHLIGHT QUOTES STU: DATA IS THE NEW OIL “We recognize and have a project in place to focus on the data, data is the new oil man, if I can leverage all the data of the companies that are not part of Blattner out Our ability to accelerate growth and be even more knowledgeable about what's working in sales. And marketing is, is really critical for us. And we recognize that's a huge opportunity.” Don’t miss the previous part/s of this amazing series with Stu Gold: E102 Part 1 - OLD BUT GOLD: Stu Gold On The Innovative Legacy Of Blattner Technologies - https://youtu.be/Qq074xezVg8 Find out more about Stu in the lin…

For over a century of pioneering innovation, Blattner Technologies is geared to be the leading provider of predictive transformation services and tools in the Data Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning industry, and with that, we have Stu Gold today to talk about Blattner’s mission and it’s go-to-market strategy, only here, in Tech Sales Insights. HIGHLIGHT QUOTES STU: Focusing on making the most of your data “Blattner Technologies is focused on being a leading provider of what would be considered predictive transformation services, and solutions, which is utilizing artificial intelligence and machine learning to really get the most out of your data.” Find out more about Stu in the link below: About Stu Blattner Technologies BlattnerTechnologies.com Send in a voice message to us: https://anchor.fm/salescommunity/message This episode of Tech Sales Insights is brought to you by: Sales Community | https://www.salescommunity.com/ OpenSymmetry | https://www.o…

This episode of Tech Sales Insights is the last part of our conversation with Nick Candito, Founding Investor at Flatfile and Co-Founder of Angel Collective Opportunity Fund (ACOF). He explains the need for balance between technical and go-to-market founders and how each plays a pivotal role in defining the product that will ultimately solve the customer's problem. And just as important, Nick also discusses the need for feedback to climb to the next stage of growth. HIGHLIGHT QUOTES Have a feedback loop between the technical and strategic founders - Nick: "Every technology-first company needs a product and I think that's... the skillset of the founders. I think the ones that have a founder around the table who knows how to think about strategy, ops, go-to-market, they tend to be able to have every part of that conversation." "You represented the fastest. But I also think there's something to be said about the feedback loop with strictly technical founders that know how to kind …

This episode of Tech Sales Insights is the second part of our conversation with Nick Candito, Founding Investor at Flatfile and Co-Founder of Angel Collective Opportunity Fund (ACOF). He discusses how companies need a great product and customers to even begin a PLG motion. Nick also talks about determining product-market fit using product signals, as well as choosing the right customers that help you define the market together. HIGHLIGHT QUOTES You need a great product and actually have customers to be successful at PLG - Nick: "The reality is, to build a great company, you're going to need the best product, good marketing, and probably exceptional go-to-market, which means everything that goes into how you think about predictably finding, acquiring, and then making a customer successful." Finding product-market fit early and picking the best customers - Nick: "You really want to optimize for how do you get in the door for those customers, and picking great customers means they'r…

This episode of Tech Sales Insights is the first part of our conversation with Nick Candito, Founding Investor at Flatfile and Co-Founder of Angel Collective Opportunity Fund (ACOF). He shares his professional journey in investing and operations and how he ensures the health of their portfolio today together with their fund managers. He also explains how they do not lead rounds and instead facilitate the introductions that lead to the next rounds of financing. HIGHLIGHT QUOTES Working with large family offices with an emerging manager problem - Nick: "It's been helpful right now to be more active with existing companies, especially the ones that are doing better than maybe the broader market knows because they're not out fundraising." Making introductions to facilitate the next rounds of financing - Nick: "We're not leading rounds. We do facilitate a lot of introductions. If our managers are inception stage, we describe ourselves as inflection. So right when the business is sta…

This episode of Tech Sales Insights is the last part of our conversation with Carl Eschenbach, Partner at Sequoia Capital. He shares his wisdom on the secret sauce to effective leadership and how to become a leader who motivates, inspires, and lives the true meaning of servant leadership as well. HIGHLIGHTS The CRO's scope of responsibilities and leadership across roles Aim to become the motivational and inspirational leader Understanding the servant leader QUOTES The true meaning of servant leadership inspires success - Carl: "If you go and study what true servant leadership is, think about the very first word of servant leadership, and that is to serve. And I fundamentally believe the greatest leaders, regardless of role or capacity, are the ones that serve their people. They're not leading them. And through that servant-type approach, your leadership gets displayed and everyone becomes more successful." First level is motivational leader, second is inspirational, third is…

This episode of Tech Sales Insights is the second part of our conversation with Carl Eschenbach, Partner at Sequoia Capital. He provides deep insights into how they choose companies to invest in, as well as the primary importance of change management to survive economic headwinds. Carl also gives actionable tips on how companies must sell and the shift in messaging that this requires. HIGHLIGHTS "Look inside and outside the building" to decide when to invest in a company Get things done by focusing on change management How to sell effectively in a down market QUOTES Adapt as fast as the changes come to survive - Carl: "In the climate we're in today and potentially even broader headwinds going forward, if your company is not changing as fast as what's happening outside the walls of your company, death is near. You just got to be open to change. You have to communicate change." Show a strong ROI to attract buyers during a downturn - Carl: "In down markets, nothing sells like a …

This episode of Tech Sales Insights is the first part of our conversation with Carl Eschenbach, Partner at Sequoia Capital. Today, Carl shares his remarkable career journey, from working at a PBX company in 1987 to the present day at Sequioa, and all the sales jobs in between. He discusses what they do and do not do as a company and how working in a VC keeps him young. HIGHLIGHTS Carl's professional journey to becoming a legend in tech sales sales Taking care of a growing family and joining Sequioa QUOTES From sales to sales leadership and culminating in becoming partner at Sequioa - Carl: "I got a fortunate opportunity to join Sequoia and I've been here six and a half years and it's been a great experience. I've learned how to be an investor. I think I'm a better executive. I'm much more detailed on how to operate and run a company here." Find out more about Carl in the link below: About Carl Send in a voice message to us: https://anchor.fm/salescommunity/message T…

Welcome to another episode of the Tech Sales Insights Podcast! We have a special episode for you today as we check out the best moments from our conversation with Craig Hinkley, CEO of WhiteHat. He discusses the key attributes of successful sales reps and leaders alike and how to lead your team from within. HIGHLIGHTS The key attributes for success for sales reps and leaders Every great team needs a coach, and so do sales leaders Be a leader that pushes an organization with a vision "Stop wearing the clothes of the CEO. Stop pretending that you have to do this and just be yourself. So lead from within because confidence that comes from knowing who you are and what you stand for and what you believe is far more authentic." - Be yourself and let your vision and passion emanate from you Find out more about Craig in the link below: About Craig Send in a voice message to us: https://anchor.fm/salescommunity/message This episode of Tech Sales Insights is brought to you by:…

Welcome to another episode of the Tech Sales Insights Podcast! We have a special episode for you today as we revisit the best moments from our conversation with Andrew Ettinger, CRO at Astronaut. He digs into some early mistakes that founders make and how grit, passion, and intellectual curiosity remain the top characteristics that indicate future success. HIGHLIGHTS Early founder mistakes and traits to watch for in sales reps Spotting grit, passion, and curiosity and building these skills Listen to implicit and explicit signals from all channels "It was really trying to take the time to not rush into the sale, the sales engagement, or rush through things without really trying to build that proper connection with people. I know it sounds very silly, but when you double click on that, it's sort of the old adage that, as a sales professional, you've got two ears and one mouth for a reason and so it's to listen right really well." - Create a connection and be intentional about l…

Welcome to another episode of the Tech Sales Insights Podcast! We have a special episode for you today as we throwback to some of the most memorable moments from our conversation with Jennifer Haas, CRO and Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing, on the 3 "ships" for growing young leaders into their full potential and much more. HIGHLIGHTS "Clarity is kindness" and creating a team culture based on integrity Hiring virtually and revops for forecasting Develop rising talent with Leadership, Mentorship, and Sponsorship "By sponsorship, I mean finding a project or leading a program, something that you can pull somebody up and say, this person would be perfect to lead this program, lead this project. Something that's highly visible that they can really showcase their skillset." - Sponsorship means providing younger reps a visible platform for their skills Find out more about Jennifer in the link below: About Jennifer Send in a voice message to us: https://anchor.fm…

Welcome everyone to a special episode of the Tech Sales Insights Podcast! This is the last part of the discussion on SKO by David Nour, CEO of The Nour Group. Today, he shares ten ideas to consider to make your SKOs more consistent, and ultimately, more successful. David also talks about using image and story to deliver your path forward and how that relates to the customer lifecycle journey. HIGHLIGHTS Align image and story to cascade the vision throughout the organization The sales loop vs the sales funnel 10 ideas to make your SKO more impactful David's planned marquis events “If it's all rosy, then it looks too manufactured. But every healthy relationship goes through some challenges, right? We had this challenge and your team took over, I am now drinking Kool-Aid. I am eating our own cooking of "Oh my God, how amazing are we" because now there's an independent. And that's the key.” - David on having an independent identity that can say how great the organization is F…

Welcome everyone to a special episode of the Tech Sales Insights Podcast! This is the second part of the discussion on sales kickoffs (SKO) by David Nour, CEO of The Nour Group. Today, he dives deep into the biggest mistakes those in leadership roles make when doing SKO and, of course, how to effectively address them. HIGHLIGHTS 10 costly mistakes leaders could make Using new technologies and tools to present ideas A sales kickoff is an opportunity to create new excitement “If you inspire them to really think about what and how they should behave differently, what skills and what knowledge they need back in their territories and back with their relationships, you'll create [a] much longer-term impact.” - David on not confusing motivation with inspiration Find out more about David in the links below: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidnour/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/davidnour Website: https://nourgroup.com/ Check out the first part of the discussion in: https:…

Welcome everyone to a special episode of the Tech Sales Insights Podcast! Today we have David Nour, CEO of The Nour Group, taking the helm to talk about approaching your sales kickoff (SKO) in more effective and cost-efficient ways.  Tune in as he shares a few misconceptions about growth, challenges leaders face when it comes to SKO, and many more valuable insights! HIGHLIGHTS Leading and thinking differently about your sales kickoff A good analogy for approaching SKO Misconceptions around COVID growth and forever growth On infusing a sense of urgency “We've got to get beyond these things before we get those sellers together. It's a "we" challenge and "we" opportunity. Anytime I go into a company and hear us and them, what I'm not hearing is that we're all rowing with the same velocity and voracity in the same direction.” - David on working around some of the dysfunctions and challenges in organizations Find out more about David in the links below: LinkedIn: https://www.l…