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

In this episode of B2B Sales Trends, Harry Kendlbacher speaks with Sonia Bizier, VP of Sales at Hexagon, about what it takes to build sales teams that succeed with today’s hyper-informed buyers.

With over 30 years in sales leadership, Sonia shares why old playbooks no longer work — and how neuroscience, deliberate practice, and courageous leadership can transform sales organizations for the modern era.

Inside the conversation:

- The biggest shifts in buying behavior and why sellers must provoke thought, not recycle old questions.
- Why sales teams need a process of unlearning and new mental models.
- Moving beyond hunter/farmer models to sellers as corporate athletes with AI as a thought partner.
- How to build transformation into everyday scaffolding, feedback loops, and practice, not one-off training.
- Using neuroscience to anticipate resistance, shift teams from fight/flight/freeze into creativity, and lead change effectively.
- Hiring and developing sellers with the right mix of skill and will, and aiming for elite, fearless, curious teams.

If you want to understand how to build and enable sales teams that thrive with modern buyers, this episode is full of insights you won’t want to miss.

71. Building Sales Teams for Modern Buyers

In this episode of B2B Sales Trends, Harry Kendlbacher speaks with Susana Klotz, VP of Global New Client Acquisition at Kaseya, about what it takes to embed strategy into daily habits and build revenue that endures.

Susana leads a global team she calls “go-to-market sales killers,” focused on putting solutions in the hands of IT professionals and solving real problems. She shares how to balance vision with execution, shift sales culture beyond product pitching, and ensure strategies don’t just sound good in the boardroom but actually get lived out across hundreds of sellers.

Inside the conversation:

- How to work backwards from growth goals into daily behaviors and execution.
- Why strategies often fail in the field — and how to connect them to what sellers actually do every day.
- Shifting sales culture from pitching products to solving real-world challenges.
- Moving beyond the “toothache sale” to uncover long-term business impact and partnership.
- Standing out in crowded markets where products look similar and buyers care more about post-sale value.
- Turning strategy into a lived sales culture, with buy-in, proof, and internal marketing.

If you want to understand how to align strategy with execution and create a sales culture that drives revenue long-term, this episode is packed with practical insights.

72. From Funnel to Culture: Building Revenue That Lasts

In this episode of the B2B Sales Trends Podcast, Harry Kendlbacher speaks with Olga Traskova, VP of Revenue Operations at Birdeye, about why coherence makes or breaks complex deals — and how to keep opportunities from drifting as buying groups and priorities shift.

Olga shares how she rebuilt core go-to-market mechanics at Birdeye — from forecast hygiene to AI-assisted call intelligence — with one goal: ensuring sales processes stay consistent and trustworthy from first call to close.

Inside the conversation:

- Why deals slip as stakeholders change — and how to keep stories, pain points, and success metrics aligned.
- How tight stage criteria and system enforcement ensure reps actually follow the process.
- The role of weekly big deal reviews in revisiting assumptions, uncovering risks, and pulling in cross-functional support.
- Balancing outcome-based conversations with fundamentals like champion-building, pain discovery, and compelling events.
- Why mutual action plans are Olga’s “ultimate source of truth” for deal progress and customer accountability.
- How leadership and culture — not just checklists — turn coherence into a daily habit.

If you want to understand how to keep large, complex deals on track and build a sales culture around consistency and outcomes, this episode is full of practical insights.

73. Staying Coherent in Complex Deals

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.

72. From Funnel to Culture: Building Revenue That Lasts

B2B Sales Trends

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