Developing a Performance Mindset in B2B Sales with Joe Eskenazi
In this episode of the Revenue Builders Podcast, hosts John McMahon and John Kaplan are joined by Joe Eskenazi, Chief Revenue Officer at Kong. Joe discusses the importance of developing a performance mindset over a knowledge mindset in sales, emphasizing the focus on outcomes and achieving goals. He shares insights into training and development practices that enhance sales performance, including preparation, role-playing, and handling objections. The discussion also explores the role of intuition, human behavior, and the application of AI in optimizing API management. Joe highlights how these practices have cultivated a high-performing, collaborative culture at Kong and underscores the company's hiring objectives.ADDITIONAL RESOURCESLearn more about Joe Eskenazi:https://www.linkedin.com/in/joeeskenazi/Read Force Management’s Guide to Embedding AI In Your B2B Sales Organization: https://hubs.li/Q03ldrzD0Download the CRO Strategy Checklist: https://hubs.li/Q03f8LmX0Enjoying the podcast? Sign up to receive new episodes straight to your inbox: https://hubs.li/Q02R10xN0HERE ARE SOME KEY SECTIONS TO CHECK OUT[00:01:45] Performance Mindset vs. Knowledge Mindset[00:02:31] The Art and Science of Sales Mastery[00:05:38] Training and Developing Sales Skills[00:07:21] Handling Objections and Building Confidence[00:17:19] The Importance of Intuition and Experience in Sales[00:30:27] Slowing Down the Conversation[00:31:18] The Importance of Experience in Sales[00:33:04] Preparedness Reduces Stress[00:35:12] The Role of Development in Sales[00:40:19] The Power of Role-Playing and Team Exercises[00:48:56] Empowering Your Team to Solve Problems[00:50:14] The Impact of a Performance Mindset[00:54:37] Kong's Role in the API RevolutionHIGHLIGHT QUOTES"The best leaders focus on the how in sales.""Our development often focuses on what could go right; the real bar is how you handle things when they don’t.""Skills need to be done hundreds of times, if not thousands, to be performed flawlessly.""Openers are closers; the groundwork you lay in the beginning determines your success.""You empower people by recognizing and rewarding the behavior you want to see.""You have to give them the way. But make it simple."
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59:48
Scaling and Hiring with George Mogannam
In this short segment of the Revenue Builders Podcast, we revisit the discussion with George Mogannam, CRO of Celigo, to explore the foundational gaps that hinder scalable growth—particularly in recruiting, onboarding, and team cohesion. George unpacks what most companies miss when trying to scale, including the absence of ideal hiring profiles, lack of onboarding discipline, and broken internal processes. He also emphasizes the power of in-person connection, the hidden cost of remote culture, and the importance of aligning internal teams during growth surges.KEY TAKEAWAYS[00:00:25] Common Gaps in Scaling Sales Teams: Many organizations lack ideal hiring profiles, onboarding processes, KPIs, and operational rhythms.[00:01:40] Remote Work’s Cultural Void: Remote work has eroded the informal peer-to-peer learning and camaraderie critical to high-performing sales teams.[00:02:37] Why In-Person Teams Outperform: George shares research that shows 4x higher churn in remote teams versus co-located ones—highlighting the need for centralized sales orgs.[00:03:37] The True ROI of Sales Kickoffs: More than training, it's the peer interaction, story-sharing, and cross-learning that drive culture and performance.[00:04:30] The Overlooked Bottleneck in Scaling: Many CROs underestimate internal readiness for hiring sprees, especially around slow offer letter processes and internal misalignment.[00:06:59] Fixing Internal Bottlenecks: George details how his team automated contract counter-signatures to reduce booking delays and avoid customer disruptions.QUOTES[00:01:14] “There’s a sales process, but no one’s really utilizing it… there’s no discipline around it.”[00:02:01] “You will get four times higher churn when everybody's remote versus when people are together.”[00:03:37] “The priceless part comes from them all engaging together... more powerful than all the formal training.”[00:04:59] “Companies don’t realize they’re a walking audition for what it’s going to be like to work for them.”[00:06:41] “That’s how you burn cash in an organization—when internal readiness doesn’t match external hiring urgency.”[00:07:27] “If the order isn’t executed at the proper time, we can accidentally shut the customer off.”Listen to the full conversation through the link below.https://revenue-builders.simplecast.com/episodes/scaling-high-growth-sales-organizations-with-george-mogannamEnjoying the podcast? Sign up to receive new episodes straight to your inbox:https://hubs.li/Q02R10xN0Check out John McMahon’s book here:Amazon Link: https://a.co/d/1K7DDC4Check out Force Management’s Ascender platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
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8:04
Mastering Sales Leadership with Eric Erston
In this episode of the Revenue Builders Podcast, hosts John McMahon and John Kaplan are joined by Eric Erston, CRO of RegScale. They explore the characteristics of top sales teams and delve into the importance of focus, understanding the ideal customer and persona profiles, and the balance of technology and human connection in sales. The conversation also highlights the critical role of leadership in fostering vulnerability, accountability, and continuous learning within sales teams. Eric shares valuable lessons from his extensive career, emphasizing the importance of hiring the right people, empowering teams, and adapting sales strategies to evolving market demands. The episode is rich with practical tips and heartfelt anecdotes, making it a must-listen for sales leaders and professionals aiming to elevate their game.ADDITIONAL RESOURCESLearn more about Eric Erston:https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericerston/Read Force Management’s Guide to Embedding AI In Your B2B Sales Organization: https://hubs.li/Q03ldrzD0Download the CRO Strategy Checklist: https://hubs.li/Q03f8LmX0Enjoying the podcast? Sign up to receive new episodes straight to your inbox: https://hubs.li/Q02R10xN0HERE ARE SOME KEY SECTIONS TO CHECK OUT[00:02:07] Qualities of Top Performing Sales Teams[00:05:37] Understanding the Ideal Customer Profile[00:07:53] The Importance of Persona Profiles[00:18:43] Creating a Culture of Vulnerability[00:34:17] Leadership Authenticity and Empowerment[00:35:18] Balancing Vision and Execution[00:37:14] Setting Standards of Performance[00:41:14] Accountability and Rewarding Overachievers[00:41:48] The Importance of Simplicity in Leadership[00:44:40] The Role of Coaching and Feedback[00:51:05] Adapting Sales Strategies[00:56:44] The Impact of Video Calls on Sales[01:00:43] Opportunities at RegScaleHIGHLIGHT QUOTES"You have to earn the right to get to that personal discussion.""Enablement without accountability is a failure to lead.""Get the right people, everything is so much easier.""Lots of sales teams aren't focused.""In order to know how to qualify out, we've gotta know what success is.""The most elite people devour the information provided by the company and then invest their intellect and curiosity into getting to know the individual human component.""How you sell can be just as important as what you sell.""In the old days, one of the best pieces of advice I ever got was if it’s in print, expect that they expect you’ve read it.""If you're not making enough calls, you're not going to succeed.""Find a culture where it's comfortable being vulnerable."
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1:04:19
Make the Number with Matt Maloney
In this short segment of the Revenue Builders Podcast, we revisit the discussion with Matt Maloney, SVP of Global Sales at Fireblocks, to dissect a critical lesson in sales leadership: the unwavering focus on hitting the number. Maloney recounts a pivotal mentoring moment at CloudLock that reshaped his approach to sales strategy, team structure, and market calibration. The episode also explores common missteps in early-stage startups—like trying to pursue too many use cases or building teams misaligned with the product’s true market fit. It’s a candid and practical masterclass for CROs, sales leaders, and founders navigating go-to-market chaos.KEY TAKEAWAYS[00:01:52] The #1 job of a sales leader isn't building teams—it's figuring out how to hit the number.[00:02:41] Calibration of resources is critical: Balance dominance in core markets with smart expansion into emerging ones.[00:03:41] A hard lesson: Building the wrong sales team for the product’s actual market fit can derail everything.[00:04:24] Why focusing on 3-4 key use cases is more effective than spreading thin across many[00:05:50] Avoid copying old playbooks—be objective about your current product and ICP[00:06:35] Collaborate with technical founders: Align sales goals, use data, and define outlier strategies together.[00:07:24] Operating without a clear ICP is dangerous—know how to scale, train, and forecast from it.QUOTES[00:02:15] "Your job is not to build an enterprise sales team or an SMB team—it's to build the right team to hit the number.[00:03:41] "I was convinced our guiding light was to build an enterprise team. What I didn’t realize was that our product was really suited for mid-market."[00:05:08] "You can’t build world-class products, marketing, or sales training for 13 use cases. Focus is everything.[00:07:00] "Outliers are okay, but you need a plan for them. Don’t pretend they’re your core ICP."[00:07:47] "If you can't identify your ICP and scale from it, you're operating in dangerous water."Listen to the full conversation through the link below.https://revenue-builders.simplecast.com/episodes/blockchain-the-future-of-finance-with-matt-maloney-loysynttEnjoying the podcast? Sign up to receive new episodes straight to your inbox:https://hubs.li/Q02R10xN0Check out John McMahon’s book here:Amazon Link: https://a.co/d/1K7DDC4Check out Force Management’s Ascender platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
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7:56
AI-Driven Sales Innovation with Bobby Morrison
In this episode of the Revenue Builders Podcast, hosts John McMahon and John Kaplan are joined by Bobby Morrison, Chief Revenue Officer of Shopify, to discuss the transformative power of AI in the sales domain. Bobby shares an in-depth look at Shopify's innovative approach to structuring their go-to-market strategy using pods, which integrate sales, customer success, and engineering teams for optimal client engagement and business growth. He delves into the role of AI in streamlining tasks, enhancing craft, and orchestrating workflows, while highlighting Shopify's AI-first philosophy and the democratization of AI tools across the company. Bobby also touches on the importance of industry-specific knowledge, the benefits of the Chaos Monkey practice to prevent organizational entropy, and the evolving expectations of modern buyers. This episode provides invaluable insights into leveraging AI to drive sales performance and organizational agility.ADDITIONAL RESOURCESLearn more about Bobby Morrison:https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobby-morrison-60663327/Watch Force Management’s Panel Discussion on AI in Sales Leadership: https://hubs.ly/Q03rlW4Z0Read Force Management’s Guide to Embedding AI In Your B2B Sales Organization: https://hubs.li/Q03ldrzD0Enjoying the podcast? Sign up to receive new episodes straight to your inbox: https://hubs.li/Q02R10xN0HERE ARE SOME KEY SECTIONS TO CHECK OUT[00:01:25] Understanding Shopify's Business Model[00:02:57] Shopify's Go-to-Market Strategy[00:04:55] Transition to Pod Structure[00:09:21] Industry Expertise and Pod Implementation[00:14:00] AI Integration at Shopify[00:17:17] Hiring and Training for AI Proficiency[00:21:38] Challenges and Future of AI in Sale[00:29:41] Enhancing Employee Performance Through Observation[00:30:21] Leveraging Call Recordings for Better Coaching[00:32:17] The Role of AI in Job Security[00:33:25] Importance of Deep Domain Expertise[00:35:30] Customer Expectations and Specialized Software[00:37:22] The Pod Structure and Compensation Models[00:41:31] Partner Ecosystem and Collaboration|[00:42:47] Managing AI and Intellectual Property[00:45:54] Chaos Monkey and Organizational Flexibility[00:51:50] Future of Sales Teams with AIHIGHLIGHT QUOTESOn AI: “AI is not gonna replace your job, but the people using AI will.”On Culture: “Toby [the CEO] advises that Shopify should intentionally destabilize enough to avoid ruts and maintain agility.”On Alignment: “We win best when we win with our partners.”On Future Vision: “I dream one day that our sales teams will wake up and just have great conversations with customers, free from low-value tasks.”
Welcome to the Revenue Builders podcast, a weekly show featuring B2B sales leaders and executives. Hosted by Five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management’s Co-Founder John Kaplan, the show goes in the barrel, behind the scenes with the people who have been there, done that and seen the results. Revenue Builders covers the best practices for scaling and growing your business, while sharing the pitfalls to avoid. Great conversation. Solid interviews. Tangible takeaways to help you succeed. If you enjoy our content, please subscribe, rate and review the show to help us reach more people.
This show is brought to you by: Force Management where we help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Check out forcemanagement.com more information
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