At this event, the panel of senior executives shared insights, perspectives, and experiences on the differences between opportunity-focused selling and account-based selling.  During the discussion, panelists commented on the people/roles involved plus engagement approaches necessary to be successful.

Host for the meeting was the Chicago Chapter of the Sales Leadership Community with support from DePaul University’s Center for Sales Leadership and SOAR Performance Group.

Panelists:

Jesse Alexander from DYOPATH (Chief Revenue Officer)

Matt Piekutowski from SOAR Performance Group (Vice President, Strategic Programs)

Charlie Thackston from SOAR Performance Group (President and Founder)

Questions explored during the discussion:

One of the trends we are seeing is a focus on moving from a lead/opportunity-based sales strategy to a more account-based sales strategy. In your opinion, why are organizations making this move?

What are some of the critical things that an organization needs to get right in order to successfully make the jump from opportunity-based selling to account-based selling?

What are some of the mistakes that you see organizations making when they think about this move?

How do you change the mindset and the skillset of a team that has been more opportunity-focused historically?

How does the move from opportunity-based to account-based change the way that sales leaders need to align with their Marketing and Customer Success counterparts?

What concluding advice would you give to a sales leader thinking about implementing an account-based sales strategy?

Episode 40: Moving From Opportunity-Focused Selling To Account-Based Selling

Senior executives share experiences, insights and perspectives on the digital economy and engagement requirements for sales and customer success. You will get ideas, approaches, and actions to help your organization meet the demands of the digital economy. Host for the meeting was the Houston Chapter of the Sales Leadership Community with support from the University of Houston and SOAR Performance Group.

Featured speakers:

Alexis Langagne from various high-tech companies (Advisory Board Member)

Carl Herman from the University of Houston (Director of Executive Education)

Eric Koach from Automation Anywhere (Vice President of Sales)

Dave Levitt from ServiceMax (Senior Vice President of Sales)

Fernando Moreno from SOAR Performance Group (Practice Leader)

John Thackston from SOAR Performance Group (Vice President)

Questions discussed:

One of the trends we are seeing is a focus on supporting sales organizations in successfully working with customers in new and different business models.   What are some of the most common new business models you are seeing in the market today?

As sales organizations are engaging with customers and prospects around new business models, what are some of the key considerations that you believe an organization needs to address in order to prepare the selling organization? 

What are some of the mistakes that you see organizations making when they think about this move?

How do you change the mindset/skillset of a team to support the change to new business models?

How do new business models change the way that sales leaders need to align with their Marketing and CS counterparts? 

What concluding advice would you give to a sales leader that is looking to make a shift in business model?

Episode 41: Evolving Business Models In The Digital Economy

Senior executives share their perspectives about “Evolution to Enterprise Selling: Transitioning Your Sales Motion”.

Speakers:

Bobby Goodman from NavigatorCRE (Senior Vice President of Growth)

Jim Murphy from Gainsight (Senior Vice President of Enterprise Sales)

Frank Tumminia from QGenda (Vice President of Sales)

Charlie Thackston from SOAR Performance Group (President)

John Thackston from SOAR Performance Group (Vice President of Business Development)

The discussion covers their views on different aspects of enterprise selling including:

Is it the right time for your organization to focus on enterprise selling?

What are the expected investments necessary to be successful with enterprise selling?

What internal and external challenges can be expected by your selling organization?

What are the keys to success for enterprise selling?

The host for the meeting was the Atlanta Chapter of the Sales Leadership Community with support from Georgia State University and SOAR Performance Group.

Episode 42: Evolution to Enterprise Selling - Transitioning Your Sales Motion

At this meeting of the Sales Leadership Community hosted by the Chicago Chapter, the panel of senior executives share insights, perspectives, and experiences on “Operationalizing Outcome-Based Selling”.

During the discussion, panelists comment on the journey to realize results from focusing sales and customer success efforts on operational and business outcomes.

The discussion explores requirements related to the organization, people, process, and tools necessary for success.

Who is on the panel?

Robert Flint from Seismic (Vice President of Customer Value and Strategy)

Laura Hall from Revegy (Vice President of Marketing and Customer Experience)

John Thackston from SOAR Performance Group (VP of Business Development)

Questions discussed by the panel:

One of the trends we are seeing is a focus on moving toward a more operationalized, outcome-focused sales strategy. In your opinion, why are organizations making this move?

What are some of the critical things that an organization needs to get right in order to effectively operationalize outcome selling? 

What are some of the hold ups that you foresee organizations facing when they think about this move?

How do you change the mindset/habits of a team when it comes to adopting a more operational approach? 

What are the risks to not operationalizing outcome selling? 

What concluding advice would you give to a sales leader thinking about operationalizing their selling strategy?

Episode 43: Operationalizing Outcome-Based Selling: Panel Discussion

Who Owns the Pipeline? (A Sales Leadership Community Panel Discussion Hosted by the Atlanta Chapter)

Senior executives share their perspectives about pipeline ownership of opportunities with customers and prospects. The discussion covers their views on different aspects of the pipeline including:

Who really has accountability for and owns the pipeline?

What is the role of marketing in driving pipeline quantity, quality, and velocity?

What is the role of sales in driving pipeline quantity, quality, and velocity?

How are marketing and sales teaming together to drive pipeline quantity, quality and velocity?

What is the ideal (or preferred) size and shape of the pipeline?

The host for the meeting was the Atlanta Chapter of the Sales Leadership Community with support from Georgia State University and SOAR Performance Group.

Who was on the panel?

Sydney Sloan (CMO. Market Leader. Startup Investor and Advisor.)

John Franco from Amazon Web Services (Head of Sales, Productivity Apps, Eastern U.S., Canada and LATAM, Amazon Connect and EUC)

Christiane Palpant from Georgia State University – J. Mack Robinson College of Business (Clinical Instructor of Marketing)

John Thackston from SOAR Performance Group (Vice President of Business Development)

The Atlanta Sales Leadership Community was co-founded by Georgia State University and SOAR Performance Group to create a forum for best practice sharing and executive networking within the greater Atlanta area.  The community is a cross-industry organization of senior sales leaders focused on building a community within the Atlanta market for advancing best practices in sales leadership.  It also creates networking and mentoring opportunities for Atlanta senior sales executives with Georgia State University students participating in the sales program.  The community is led by the advisory board with representatives from companies that represent different industries and go-to-market models.  In addition to the meetings, the community also provides online options for participation through recordings and an online community.

Episode 44: Who Owns the Pipeline? Marketing and Sales Leaders Teaming Together to Drive Results

At this special event, John Thackston from SOAR Performance Group shares experiences, insights and perspectives on finishing the current sales year strong while simultaneously getting ready to start the next sales year fast.

The presentation covers:

What is most important to finish the current sales year strong and deliver expected results?

What is most important to getting the team off to a quick start in the new sales year?

How do you balance finishing the current sales year with preparing for a quick start in the new sales year?

Host for the meeting was the Chicago Chapter of the Sales Leadership Community with support from DePaul University’s Center for Sales Leadership and SOAR Performance Group.

Episode 45: How to Finish This Sales Year Strong and Start Next Year Fast

Carl Herman, John Thackston and Fernando Moreno shared insights and perspectives on the changing role of the Chief Revenue Officer (CRO).

The discussion covers their views on:

What are the new and different expectations of the CRO?

What are the reasons that companies are redefining these expectations of the CRO?
How should CROs adjust to these changing expectations?

Carl serves as the Executive Professor and Director of Executive Education for The Sales Execellence Institute at the University of Houston.

John serves as the Vice President of Business Development for SOAR Performance Group.

Fernando serves as a Practice Leader for SOAR Performance Group.

Host for the meeting will be the Houston Chapter of the Sales Leadership Community with support from the University of Houston and SOAR Performance Group.

Episode 46: How the CRO (Chief Revenue Officer) Role is Changing

Senior executives share perspectives and insights related to selling and delivering outcomes and value during uncertain economic times.

Who is on the panel?

Jeff Depa from Gainsight (Chief Revenue Officer)

Steve Frost from TSIA (Vice President and Managing Director)

Natasha Narayan from IcebergIQ (CEO and Co-Founder)

Megs Suratkal from Hewlett Packard Enterprise (Global Vice President of Customer Experience & Customer Success)

John Thackston from SOAR Performance Group (CEO)

The discussion provides answers to these questions:

What behavior changes are you seeing in engagements with prospects and customers in today’s uncertain economic environment?

How is the uncertain economic environment impacting the customer’s buying journey?

What is your organization doing to sell outcomes and value during uncertain economic environment?

What is your organization doing to deliver of outcomes and value during uncertain economic times?
 
The hosts for the meeting were all 3 Chapters of the Sales Leadership Community (Atlanta, Chicago, and Houston).

Additional support from:

Georgia State University’s Robinson College of Business

DePaul University’s Center for Sales Leadership

University of Houston’s Stephen Stagner Sales Excellence Institute

SOAR Performance Group

About the Sales Leadership Community (SLC)

The Sales Leadership Community is a partnership between universities, executive sales leaders, and SOAR Performance Group to create a forum for best practice sharing and executive networking in local markets.

The Sales Leadership Community also creates networking and mentoring opportunities for senior sales executives with university students interested in sales careers.

Each community is led by an advisory board with representatives from companies in different industries and with different go-to-market models.

In addition to in-person and virtual meetings, the SLC provides online options for participation through an online community and recordings from past events hosted by the Atlanta Chapter, the Chicago Chapter and the Houston Chapter.

Episode 47: Selling and Delivering Outcomes and Value During Uncertain Economic Times

Senior executives share perspectives and insights related to planning for next year.

The discussion answers these questions:

What factors are you considering when planning for next year?

What is the right balance between new account acquisition and existing customer expansion?

What changes are you considering to your organization structure?

What initiatives are you putting in place to support the balance?
 
Who was on the panel?

Jim Douglass from Fulcrum Equity Partners (Partner)

Jon Rydberg from Valcre (VP of Sales)

John Thackston from SOAR Performance Group (CEO)
 
The hosts for the meeting are all 3 Chapters of the Sales Leadership Community (Atlanta, Chicago, and Houston).

Additional support from:

Georgia State University’s Robinson College of Business

DePaul University’s Center for Sales Leadership

University of Houston’s Stephen Stagner Sales Excellence Institute

SOAR Performance Group

Episode 48: Planning For Growth – Balancing New Account Acquisition And Existing Customer Expansion

In this episode, John Thackston, CEO of SOAR Performance Group, hosts Carl Herman, Director of Executive Education for The Stephen Stagner Sales Excellence Institute at University of Houston. 

Carl shares research on sales analytics and AI from Dr. Johannes Habel, Associate Professor with C.T. Bauer College of Business at University of Houston.

If you are a sales leader wondering where to start with AI, Carl discusses starting with 1) understanding your sales funnel, then 2) asking these questions: Where in your sales cycle do you lack knowledge or lack speed? And how can AI help in those areas?

Other takeaways:
 
1. AI itself isn't new, but it has become more accessible in the past year
2. The primary use case for AI relates to predictive analytics
3. These predictive analytics provide guidance and insight on what will happen in the future and what actions sales people and managers should take 
4. The sales funnel is the foundation for applying AI - what accounts should I be calling on? What message will resonate? What is the communication style of the key stakeholders? What opportunities are likely to close? What is their likely price sensitivity? These are questions that follow the natural progression of the funnel and can be answered using AI. 
5. AI is best used for parts of your sales funnel where you are currently lacking information or where things are slowing down due to repetitive tasks.

Episode 49: Sales Analytics and AI

The Sales Leadership Community podcast provides discussion between executive sales leaders on timely topics related to all types of sales and revenue generation.

Episode 48: Planning For Growth – Balancing New Account Acquisition And Existing Customer Expansion

Sales Leadership Community

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