In this episode of the B2B Sales Trends Podcast, host Harry Kendlbacher speaks with Tim Bruins, VP of Sales at Maritz, about the key factors that drive sales success today. Drawing from over 35 years of experience, Tim shares his perspective on the importance of preparation in sales, building strong relationships with clients and procurement professionals, and effectively navigating complex negotiations involving multiple stakeholders.

Tim emphasizes how doing your homework, asking the right questions, and clearly articulating value can set salespeople apart in competitive environments. He also discusses the evolving role of procurement in business and offers practical strategies for establishing credibility and closing deals.

Whether you're new to sales or a seasoned professional, this episode is packed with actionable insights that can help you build better relationships, negotiate more effectively, and drive meaningful results in your sales process.

Tune in to discover strategies that can transform your approach and boost your sales success!

36. Sales Success Through Preparation and Relationship-Building

Channel sales is more than a route to market — it’s a relationship. In this episode of B2B Sales Trends, Mike Hennings, VP of Business Development at Hubbell Inc., joins Harry Kendlbacher to unpack what it really takes to win with and through your partners.

They cover:

- Why starting with the right mindset is critical for effective channel strategy
- How to build genuine trust and alignment with distribution partners
- What true execution looks like — from sales enablement to structured go-to-market motions

Mike also shares how his team is rethinking partner engagement and empowering field sellers to drive shared success.

If you're a leader looking to elevate your channel approach and build partnerships that truly move the needle, this episode is for you.

61. Winning Through the Channel: Mindset, Trust, and Execution

What’s the real cost of doing nothing?

In this episode, Frank Shipp — VP of Sales at Cardinal Health — joins Harry Kendlbacher to explore how healthcare sales teams can drive meaningful change in high-stakes, high-regulation environments.

They dig into:

How to quantify and communicate the cost of inaction to every stakeholder

What it takes to earn buy-in from clinical, financial, and executive audiences

Why traditional sales playbooks often fall short in healthcare

And how to prepare reps for value-based conversations that actually stick

If you're selling in a complex ecosystem with long cycles and multiple decision-makers, this one’s for you.

62. The Cost of Inaction in Healthcare Sales

Referrals aren’t just a nice-to-have — they’re one of the most powerful (and underused) levers in B2B sales.

In this episode, Harry Kendlbacher sits down with Ben Cronsberry, GTM Operations Lead at Shopify, to unpack what it really takes to build a scalable, repeatable referral engine.

They discuss:

- Why referral-based selling is about mindset, not just motion
- How to activate your internal and external networks in a way that drives results
- The role of trust, timing, and consistency in ecosystem-led growth
- And what most teams get wrong when trying to turn relationships into revenue

If you’re thinking about how to grow pipeline without burning budget — this one’s for you.

63. The Referral Advantage: Selling Through Partnerships That Scale

What does it take to build trust in high-stakes, high-complexity sales?

In this episode, Lisa Gudding, President of Strategic Growth at Ipsos, joins Harry Kendlbacher to explore what it means to sell without the hard sell — and why empathy, curiosity, and strategic insight are more important than ever.

They talk about the shift from service mindset to growth mindset, how to hire for human connection, and the power of showing up as a trusted partner instead of a pitch machine.

Whether you're in consulting, research, or enterprise sales, this conversation will resonate.

64. Selling Without the Hard Sell

Getting a meeting with a client’s executive team is tough — but getting your own executives ready to deliver the right message? That’s the real challenge.

In this episode of B2B Sales Trends, Samantha Snetselaar, VP of Strategic Sales at Qualtrics, joins us to unpack what it takes to equip your executive team to champion your deal. From mapping relationships to setting clear action plans, this conversation is a playbook for turning internal alignment into external impact.

Whether you're navigating a complex deal cycle or prepping for a big executive meeting, you’ll learn how to:

- Build credibility with your internal stakeholders
- Prepare executives to show up with the right message
- Keep senior leaders engaged from first meeting to close
- Turn your execs into true partners in long-cycle deals

Don’t just secure the meeting — make it count.

65. How to Equip Your Executive Team to Champion Your Deal

In this episode, Harry Kendlbacher speaks with Ruxandra Aldea, Senior Regional Sales Director at Oracle, about what it really takes to stand out in competitive markets. Ruxandra shares why traditional, product-led sales approaches aren’t enough, how adopting a marketing mindset can transform account engagement, and where account-based marketing often misses the mark. She explains what drives effective sales–marketing alignment, the practical steps sellers can take to cut through the noise, and the top three qualities she sees in elite salespeople.

66. Relevance Over Noise

In this episode of B2B Sales Trends, Harry Kendlbacher speaks with Christian Smith, former Chief Revenue Officer at Splunk, about what it really takes to transform a business at scale.

Christian helped lead Splunk through a massive shift — from $500M to $5B in recurring revenue and from on-prem to cloud SaaS. Drawing on his 35-year career, he shares what it means to go beyond traditional value selling and align the entire company around outcomes, impact, and economic value.

Inside the conversation:

- What it takes to lead an enterprise transformation of this magnitude.
- Why traditional value selling falls short, and how to apply the Outcome → Impact → Value framework.
- How to build a value-aligned organization where product, marketing, and sales speak the same language.
- Best practices for defending spend in front of the CFO and giving champions “defendable artifacts” of value.
- How to approach CXO conversations with confidence — without overengineering them.
- Why use case taxonomies are essential to connecting features to real business outcomes.
- What really gets in the way of transformation and how leaders can break down silos to align around the customer.

If you’re looking for practical insights on building a culture of value and showing up stronger in executive conversations, this episode is one you’ll want to hear.

67. Beyond Value Selling: Building a Culture of Outcome, Impact, and Economic Value

In this episode of B2B Sales Trends, Harry Kendlbacher speaks with Ari Capogeannis, Senior Director of Enterprise Revenue Marketing at NVIDIA, about how to move from data to deals — enabling sales with precision, not promises.

Ari explains why the old lead-based funnel no longer works and how buying groups have become the real driver of enterprise sales. He shares how to help sellers cut through complexity, use AI in ways that actually add value, and execute consistently at the customer interface. Along the way, he highlights why human connection still matters and the top three qualities elite sellers need to thrive in today’s environment.

Inside the conversation:

- Why lead funnels fall short, and how to orchestrate around buying groups.
- How to enable sellers to act on the right accounts and contacts without adding complexity.
- Where AI improves go-to-market efforts — and where it doesn’t.
- Why breaking down silos and leading with data is key to aligning global teams.

If you want practical insights on turning data into impact — and driving execution in even the most complex organizations — this episode is one you won’t want to miss.

68. From Data to Deals: Enabling Sales with Precision, Not Promises

In this episode of B2B Sales Trends, Harry Kendlbacher sits down with Nirav Sheth, VP of Global Sales Engineering at Pure Storage, to explore how the Sales Engineering role is evolving in today’s complex enterprise sales environment.

Leading a global team of 750+ SEs across 13,500 accounts, Nirav shares how SEs are moving far beyond demos to drive strategic outcomes — influencing deals, scaling impact, and shaping customer journeys from start to finish.

Inside the conversation:

- How the SE role is shifting from technical expert to trusted advisor.
- Where SEs deliver the most impact across the sales cycle — beyond the demo.
- How to scale SE expertise with account vs. specialist roles and proactive post-sales engagement.
- What healthy, high-trust SE–AE collaboration looks like in practice.
- How SEs can turn unique customer insights into real influence on opportunities and strategy.

If you want to understand how modern SEs drive value and help customers achieve meaningful outcomes, this episode is packed with practical insights.

69. The New Sales Engineer: Scaling Impact Without Spreading Thin

In this episode of B2B Sales Trends, Harry Kendlbacher speaks with Rafa Mercado, VP, US Consumer & Travel Market Leader at Kyndryl, about redefining growth and building customer partnerships that last beyond the close.

Rafa shares how Kyndryl is breaking down silos between sales and delivery, driving value after the deal is signed, and helping sellers stay relevant in a world of AI and hyper-informed buyers.

Inside the conversation:

- Why customer growth starts with helping clients grow — and how evidence-based impact builds credibility.
- How to create tighter alignment between sales and delivery to ensure value is delivered.
- Why post-sale value and proactive partnerships matter more than ever.
- How enablement must evolve — and why sellers need to embrace self-enablement with AI.
- The pillars of leading strategic conversations: industry acumen, financial literacy, challenger mindset, and executive presence.
- How buying behavior is shifting — and why sellers must move from transactions to continuous value co-creation.

If you want to understand what it takes to turn customer relationships into lasting partnerships, this episode is full of actionable insights.

70. From Handoff to Partnership: Rethinking the Customer Lifecycle

This podcast is dedicated to sales leaders in the B2B space, where we share conversations about innovative and successful sales transformations to keep you up to date on the latest trends that will help you to effectively tackle the challenge of constructing and executing a profitable and sustainable sales process.

36. Sales Success Through Preparation and Relationship-Building

B2B Sales Trends

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