Accelerate! With Andy Paul

My regular guest on Frontline Friday is Bridget Gleason. Bridget is VP of Corporate Sales at SumoLogic. With more than twenty years of sales and sales management experience in the technology sector, Bridget joined SumoLogic’s executive team to lead and grow their inside sales organization. Her recent experience includes being VP of Sales for Yesware and SVP of Worldwide Sales for Engine Yard. Bridget and I cover a lot of topics in this episode that you won’t want to miss. Among other issues, we discuss the overuse and misuse of the term “sales acceleration” by sellers and provide guidance about how to precisely define in order to align your sales process to help buyers make faster decisions. We dive into a discussion about how sellers need to understand their “lead deficit” and what the roles of sales and marketing should be in lead generation. Also, we talk in depth the sales metrics that individuals and teams should be using to measure their activity levels and outcomes.

Alen Mayer is the author of Selling for Introverts, and the self-described Chief Introvert. Research is increasingly clear that the most successful sales reps are those who are customer focused, service-oriented and lead with thoughtful questions. Those qualities best describe an introvert, not the classic extrovert or hunter type that is often mythologized in sales literature. In this episode, Alen talks about why most sales leaders and hiring managers still define their ideal sales candidates using outdated terms like “hunter” or “closer” or “extrovert.” He outlines the strengths of introverts and how they can fill the gap that exists today between how modern customers want to buy versus how most companies continue to sell. Alen draws a clear picture of the strengths that introverts bring to any sales organization and lays out the case for sales managers to hire more of them. This is a don’t miss episode for every hiring sales manager. And, for introverts that are wondering if sales is the profession for th

In Part 2 of my conversation with Miles Austin (Founder of Fill the Funnel AKA ("The Web Tools Guy”) shares even more recommendations for tools you absolutely should be using to improve your sales productivity today. He is the expert on the sales automation tools and technologies that can truly drive improved sales performance. He’s my go-to resource when I need help choosing a technology solution in my business. Miles ran high-performance sales teams for Dell during their high-growth days so there isn’t much he doesn’t know about sales. Combined with his technical savvy Miles has become the expert who know the apps and hacks that can make a big impact in your sales results.

In this episode, Lori Richardson (the founder and CEO of Score More Sales, a sales training firm, and President of Women Sales Pros) shares her own journey as a single mother through the ranks of the sales profession, overcoming the numerous obstacles placed in her way to become the founder and CEO of her own sales training company.

My regular guest commentator on Frontline Friday is Bridget Gleason. In this episode we take a look at some of the advice and wisdom given to sales leaders that is found on sales blogs. If you’re a sales manager, what constitutes good advice? We’ll help you sort that out.

In this episode, Peter Winick, (Founder and CEO of Thought Leadership Leverage, Inc.) discusses how thought leadership must be an important component of any company’s sales and marketing strategy.

In this episode, Chris Beall (CEO of ConnectAndSell) shares his unusual journey from his first sales job as a Fuller Brush salesman to becoming a physicist and then applying his problem solving skills as a successful CEO, entrepreneur and sales leader.

In this episode, Jeb Blount (author, founder and CEO of SalesGravy) explains why companies must not only be proactive in developing new prospects, but also fanatical in their devotion to the discipline of the prospecting process

My regular guest commentator on Frontline Friday is Bridget Gleason. Bridget is VP of Corporate Sales at SumoLogic. With twenty years of sales and sales management experience in the technology sector, Bridget going SumoLogic’s executive team to lead and grow the inside sales organization. Her recent experience includes being VP of Sales for Yesware and SVP of Worldwide Sales for Engine Yard. Prior to Engine Yard, Bridget was the founder and principal of the BLG Consulting Group, a strategic sales consulting organization. She is an advisor to several early stage start-up companies. Over the coming weeks we’ll tackle a range of topics associated with the challenges of rapidly growing sales and scaling a high performance sales team in a competitive market. In this episode we talk about how hard it can be to find sales advice that you can trust. Bridget and I examine some of the advice and wisdom that is found on sales blogs. It’s a free world and everyone is entitled to their opinion. But, is doesn’t mean that t

In this episode, Doyle Slayton (CEO of xoombi.com) shares his journey from would-be sports broadcaster to a leading marketing and sales expert who has helped many companies transform their sales results.

Is your CRM system not a sales tool for improving performance? Nancy Nardin, Founder of Smart Selling Tools, Inc., explains that a CRM system is not the tool that is going to increase your sales productivity. Instead she shares her outlook on the new generation of sales enablement apps that are purpose built to increase customer engagement, improve conversion rates and win more deals. So, which sales tools should your team be using to amp up its sales productivity? 

In this episode, Anthony Iannarino shares what he learned about sales from being the leader of a hair metal cover band in LA. We also discuss his strategies for capturing your dream customers, developing business acumen in sales reps and how to learn from your sales failures.

In this episode, Robert Terson (author of "Selling Fearlessly") reveals his highly effective triangle of sales success, and the sales habits that he religiously followed.

In this episode, Steven Rosen (best-selling author of "52 Sales Management Tips: The Sales Manager’s Success Guide") shares his invaluable and practical tips about how to transform sales managers into star coaches!

In this episode, sales management guru Ken Thoreson lays out the foundation of his Smart Business Roadmap and explains the steps successful companies go through to develop and execute a plan for success.

In this episode, Leanne Hoagland-Smith (noted sales blogger, business coach and author of “How to be the Red Jacket in a Sea of Gray Suits” ) dishes out the straight talk advice on how to deliberately plan for sales success. She also shares her strategies that sales reps and small business can use to create meaningful sales differentiation. If you’re selling in a crowded and competitive market, what steps can you take to stand out in the crowd and attract the attention of your dream customers? Listen today to learn how!

In this episode, James Obermayer (CEO of Sales Leakage) draws on his hands-on experience of turning around more than 30 underperforming sales teams, and shares his go-to formula for reviving stagnant sales organizations and achieving sales success (which involves marketing, too!).

In this episode, Part 1 of our extended conversation, Miles Austin (Founder of Fill the Funnel AKA "The Web Tools Guy") shares his recommendations for tools you absolutely should be evaluating and using today.

Jim Keenan is CEO of “A Sales Guy, Inc.,” whose growing empire includes a national sales recruiting firm. Keenan is also a top sales blogger who is regularly featured in Forbes. He has a reputation for extreme straight talk and he doesn’t disappoint in this episode.

In this episode Meredith Bell (President and Co-Founder of Performance Support Systems, Inc) dishes out the straight talk on a radically effective framework that managers can use to become effective sales coaches, and to help their sales team achieve great results.