Open Source Selling -- A Thoughtful Exchange of Ideas in the Art and Science of B2B Selling
Have you ever wondered what it takes to become a top performer in the field of B2B Selling? Regardless of your role on the account team, this podcast highlights the talents, skills, abilities, and techniques of the best and brightest in the field of B2B selling. My guests have been top performers for decades. They come from unique backgrounds, different locations, and industries. They have had a wide variety of experiences and diverse styles and approaches. Each conversation is led by a simple framework of selling topics, such as account planning, prospecting, managing the sales cycle, discovery, the art of asking great questions, and so much more. At the core of each conversation is one simple question: ”What does it take to become a top performer?” Join me as we ask, listen, and learn together!
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Episodes
Tuesday Jun 13, 2023
Tuesday Jun 13, 2023
On this week's episode of Open Source Selling, I sit down with Kathleen Hartmann from BI Worldwide. Kathleen has been in B2B Sales for more than 30 years and one big reason she has been a top performer for so long is her ability to authentically connect with people, earn their trust, and then deliver solutions with results!
On this first of four segments, Kathleen and I discuss how being a mother, her volunteer work in the community over the years, and involvement in organizations like CHIEF has given her a broader perspective to more authentically connect with her clients and serve them. She said to me, "Luke, establish a real connection with your clients and everything else will take care of itself." And it does and Kathleen is going to share with us how she does it and how it works.
Join me as we ask, listen, and learn together!
Saturday Jun 10, 2023
Saturday Jun 10, 2023
Matt Petrovick is deliberate, consistent, and patient and his level of preparation is at the intersection of these skills and his success! They are also required of anyone who wants to successfully navigate the enterprise sales cycle and become a top performer. There are no shortcuts to the top!
In case you missed it this week or just enjoy a full length, uninterrupted conversation, this is my discussion with Matt in its entirety. In it, we discuss his approach to navigating the sales cycle, the value of following a mutual activity plan (MAP), red and green flags that reps should be looking for in the process, the importance of being in the right mindset, asking the right questions, and how you can know if you are winning the deal. Of course he answers one of my favorite questions, what it takes to become a top performer. And shares some timely advice on what reps can do when things are not going well.
Join me as we ask, listen, and learn together!
Friday Jun 09, 2023
Friday Jun 09, 2023
In this final segment of my conversation with Matt, we discuss how to become a top performer by effectively working with your mentors, finding purpose in your work because sales is tough, and what to do when things are not going well.
Join me as we ask, listen, and learn together!
Thursday Jun 08, 2023
Thursday Jun 08, 2023
On today's episode of Open Source Selling, Matt and I continue our conversation about navigating the sales cycle by discussing red flags reps should be aware of, the intersection of preparation and success, asking the right questions, getting feedback, and being in the right mindset.
Join me as we ask, listen, and learn together!
Wednesday Jun 07, 2023
Wednesday Jun 07, 2023
On today's episode of Open Source Selling, Matt and I continue our conversation and discuss how creating a narrative for every interaction with the customer and following the structure and flexibility of a mutual activity plan (MAP), account executives and their team can more effectively navigate sales cycles, build trust and lasting relationships with their customers, and earn more business.
Join me as we ask, listen, and learn together!
Tuesday Jun 06, 2023
Tuesday Jun 06, 2023
On this week’s episode of Open Source Selling, I sit down with Matt Petrovick, Enterprise Sales Leader at GitLab. In this first of four segments, Matt shares how his education in finance helped give him an initial edge when entering B2B Sales. When he was first hired at IBM over a decade ago he was told that anyone can be taught products and services, but knowing how to sell financially is much harder to teach and critical to successfully selling enterprise solutions.
When selling enterprise solutions, he discusses the importance of understanding business outcomes and then tying those outcomes to specific customer initiatives. If an account executive can do that in the context of a financial impact to the customer, he/she will be able to more effectively navigate the sales cycle and earn more business.
Join me as we ask, listen and learn together!
Saturday Jun 03, 2023
Saturday Jun 03, 2023
In case you missed it, or you just enjoy an uninterrupted podcast, here is the complete and uninterrupted conversation I had with Marc this week. We discussed many topics including: optimizing your time to revenue, surrounding yourself with the best and brightest people to become a top performer, recognizing the importance of pipeline generation, and to keep top of mind that you are selling the solution against the customer pain, not products, because rookies sell products!
Join me as we ask, listen, and learn together!
Friday Jun 02, 2023
Friday Jun 02, 2023
On the final segment this week of Open Source Selling and my conversation with Marc, he answers the question of 'what he would tell his younger self if he were just starting out in the business", by comparing the "Hillary Step"--what some climbers of Mt. Everest called one of the trickiest parts of the climb and the last obstacle before the summit--to a sellers first 18 months on a job and how to prove themselves and become a top performer. Where should they spend their time? What distractions should they avoid? How and what to prioritize?
Join me as we ask, listen, and learn together!
Thursday Jun 01, 2023
Thursday Jun 01, 2023
On today's episode of Open Source Selling, Marc and I continue our conversation and discuss sales methodologies, the art and science of selling, taking care of your customers, learning to see failure as key to your growth, and what it takes to become a top performer!
Join me as we ask, listen, and learn together!
Wednesday May 31, 2023
Wednesday May 31, 2023
On today's episode of Open Source Selling, I continue my conversation with Marc and we discuss how everything we do as sellers around account planning and strategy should be viewed through the lens of how it optimizes our time to revenue.
Join me as we ask, listen, and learn together!