000 - Introducing the SalesFounders Podcast

Every entrepreneur needs an occasional moment of honest, personal reflection. How are things really going, and to what extent you are aligning with the needs of your business? The tendency for most founders is to add more process and clutter when they should be finding ways to simplify.  Meet Steve Krebs; the accountability coach. His mission is to rescue entrepreneurs from the process holes and bottlenecks, cut through the BS, and establish some accountability to systems that generate growth. This is an episode unlike any we've done. Join us for a blunt, no holds barred assault on mediocrity, fear, and the limiting beliefs that are robbing your business.  ON THIS EPISODE WE DISCUSS: The biggest personal challenges that prevent entrepreneurs from finding success? Protection, Projection, Posturing and Punishing - How to break out of the unworthiness cycle  Two questions to embrace vulnerability and identify exactly what is holding you back Why vulnerability as an entrepreneur will actually help you succeed How to develop your weaknesses into strengths Living with Purpose and why your purpose can change throughout your life  The power of meditation - taking time each to day to reconnect with yourself Keeping it simple - focusing on base hits, not home runs The power of being consistent and persistent Exploring the coaching business - how to find and convert clients  Framing the deal to allow your customers to qualify to work with you

12 Sep 201738min

Burnout can be a major problem for entrepreneurs . In spite of a seemingly limitless supply of automation tools, entrepreneurs still over-extend themselves to the point of exhaustion. Every entrepreneur needs help, and specifically, the right help. Meet Nicole Wipp - entrepreneur and small business consultant whose speciality is helping entrepreneurs create powerful teams. Leadership requires a very different mindset than entrepreneurship and on this episode, Nicole shares 5 strategies that will help you develop and lead a world-class organization. There's a good chance your next hire is the not the right hire. ON THIS EPISODE WE DISCUSS: Why the majority of entrepreneurs burn-out before they find success The power of "letting go" to realize sustainable growth Why entrepreneurship and leadership can create conflict with each other Self awareness and the importance of knowing your strengths Developing your own hiring plan that complements your weaknesses. How to find the best people for your business and reduce turnover The secret to employee engagement - a little trick that goes a long way The challenges with virtual teams 4 Resources to help build your team

5 Sep 201737min

On the heels of a failed startup in 2002, Aaron Ross stumbled into a call-center position at Salesforce.com. Looking for sales perspective, Aaron discovered something much bigger. The discovery, covered in his best-selling book Predictable Revenue, was a revolutionary approach to outbound selling that led SalesForce from $5M to $100M in sales. Since then, Aaron has helped companies like Uber, SAP, and Oracle figure out how to build scalable, predictable revenue. These strategies, as well as the concepts of "hypergrowth" covered in his recent book with co-author Jason Lemkin, are a just few of the topics we cover as we explore the secrets of predictable sales growth. “The things that will change your growth rate are often the things you don’t feel comfortable doing.” On this episode, you'll learn: How Aaron went from a failed startup to helping SalesForce.com grow from $5m to $100M in revenue The sales challenges at Salesforce that led to "Predictable Revenue" and Cold Calling 2.0 3 factors to determine whether an outbound strategy is right for your organization How to get your SDR's to think for themselves and away from email template fixation A compensation model for Outbound SDR's The sales mindset or SDRs - how to promote consultative selling and adaptability "Nailing A Niche" and knowing when you’re not ready to grow How to cross the trust gap and reach customers who don’t know you How to go upmarket and increase your average deal size From 0-9 kids in 6 years - how to promote an entrepreneur work-life balance

29 Aug 201740min

Surviving the early stages of a startup to reach growth is a significant milestone for any founder. It is also the beginning of new chapter of challenges and opportunities. There is a science to accelerating growth, and few who know it better than Greg Warnock, managing director and co-founder of Mercato Partners.  Greg is a technologist, innovator, and PhD-equipped entrepreneur who is well versed in every stage of entrepreneurship. On this episode, Greg walks us through his formula for success, the benchmarks he uses to qualify opportunities, the 3 pillars of growth that define the Mercato performance team, and some of the most common pitfalls that challenge and stifle growth. Drawing on a portfolio that includes companies like SkullCandy, Domo, Stance, and Observepoint, this episode is guaranteed to change the way you look at growth.  ON THIS EPISODE YOU'LL LEARN: The qualities of top performing entrepreneurs and how to spot them Differentiating between Venture and Growth: The origin story of Mercato 4 benchmarks Mercato uses to to evaluate their investments 3 "red flags" of unsustainable growth The 3 biggest growth challenges and how to avoid them Why pricing and process are the most costly sales mistakes entrepreneurs are making How Skull Candy turned Brand Equity into "Irrational Brand Loyalty" An innovative approach to gain sales confidence and process

22 Aug 201747min

Efficient and scalable sales growth is the common goal of every startup. My guest, Trish Bertuzzi, is the best-selling author of the Sales Development Playbook and President of The Bridge Group. Trish joins us this week to discuss account-based marketing, outbound strategy, and how to survive the early stages of sales development.  Visit salesfounders.com for show notes and additional information.

15 Aug 201732min

There is more to a viral marketing strategy than a great product or a clever tag line. With so much noise in market, it has become increasingly difficult to connect your message with your target audience. My guest, Jace Vernon has the solution to this problem. Jace is the founder of both YDraw and MarketingHy.  YDraw is a white board video and animation company helps companies find a better way to tell the story behind their product or service. MarketingHy is a full-service digital marketing agency which helps companies deliver that story to their target audience. On this episode, we explore the challenges that most startups face when it comes to telling their story and engaging their customers. We’ll talk about the 5 steps of a viral marketing strategy, effective content and email copy, a system for finding your customers, and a simpler way for startups to approach the daunting task of marketing. Your story is the bridge across the sales gap so buckle up as we take a dive into the the world of story-telling with Jace Vernon. Jace, welcome to SalesFounders.

8 Aug 201737min

LinkedIn has become a powerful platform for entrepreneurship. Whether your objective is exposure or lead generation, LinkedIn should be a key ingredient of your sales growth strategy. My guest this week is nationally recognized linked in expert Yakov Savitskiy. Yakov is the founder of Linked Lead enteprises and joins me to explore 10 ways you can leverage linkedin to develop or accelerate sales growth. We talk about things like the 3 P’s of a great profile, 8 Publisher best practices, how to be more visible to your target audience, and how to use Linkedin in your sales funnel.

1 Aug 201737min

A deep dive into the apparel industry to talk about the massive disruption that is changing the way we interact with brands and apparel. My guest Matt Falcinelli, is the founder of TheDrop.com. Matt has leveraged more than 20 years of industry experience to prepare for what will be the iTunes of the apparel industry. On this episode we talk about the 5 ingredients of his go to market strategy. Social Influencers, Conversion funnel story telling, leveraging data, drawing on past domain experience, and learning from the customer.  There is a reason TheDrop has oversubscribed their first round and how they plan to revolutionize the apparel industry is worth a listen.

25 Jul 201750min