Leadership In Sales Teams

Co-sell = Marketplace When I first joined AWS, nearly 4 years ago, I treated co-sell and Marketplace as two separate GTM activities. My partners were mostly engaged in trying to win the hearts and minds of AWS sellers and customers. Some were active in Marketplace, but some were just getting started. During my time working with those partners, all got a Marketplace listing, but not all invested as heavily in Marketplace as they did in co-sell. That is changing. Now, co-sell is Marketplace and vice versa. And you need to weave the two strategies together. In my 4th installment of co-sell best practices, I'm going to scratch the surface of how to weave these two strategies together. 1. Your listing strategy defines your co-sell motion. More and more, what you list and how customers try and buy defines how you should build your cloud co-sell strategy. Product led growth, free trials, paygo offerings and other listing strategies will determine how a cloud provider, like AWS, can drive sales with you. This may mean innovating in new sales motions, but marketplace is a new sales motion, so lean into some of the amazing benefits of this channel and innovate. 2. Focus on lighthouse wins. Sales is storytelling. I recently joined a Sales training with an ISV partner and they led with a seller talking about a joint opportunity that grew on the Marketplace. If marketplace is new for you or your buyers, find those first wins and shout them from the rooftops. 3. Be a winner. AWS has tons of data that sales through our marketplace are bigger and faster than direct deals. If you aren't seeing those results, then you have some work to do to be a leader. I know I want to win and I bet you do too. And if you aren't measuring time to close, deal size and other KPIs related to your Marketplace strategy, then you won't know how you stack up and won't be able to sell this up to your C-suite and Board. 4. Talk marketplace early and often in your sales cycle. I've seen a lot of talk lately about layering in AWS Marketplace into MEDDIC sales methodology and I love it. I love it, because partners should be built into your sales methodology as a forcing function. I've seen partners force cloud and marketplace qualifying questions into their sales stages. Your sellers should know which cloud and what procurement method early in the cycle to bring all that we have to bear into your deal. Don't wait until the end of the cycle. No one likes surprises in late stage deals. 5. Train your sellers. Maybe not all of them at first, but the ones you know can get it. Train them on the benefits of Marketplace for customers, for cloud sellers and for your company. Ride shotgun on their deals and nudge them to talk about cloud and marketplace early. And for pete's sake, put an incentive in place to drive marketplace wins quickly! There is a lot more I can say on Marketplace. For next time. What are some of your keys to winning in Marketplace? #AWS #Marketplace #cosell

I‘ve spent many years in the Channel Redesigned Channel Programs for IBM, Lucent & Avaya. Moved partners from transaction to profit by selling ‘solutions.’Today, with the same goal, we’re building ‘productized service portfolios.’   Since 2005, we‘ve expanded our client list: Amelia, CloudCoCo Plc, Deutsche Telekom, Ingram Micro, Microsoft, Motorola Solutions, NTT, O2 (Telefónica UK), Oracle, Xerox...   In 2024, we’re expanding our programs: EMEA Copilot Readiness, WW Onboarding Acceleration, Sales Journey Assessments (Secret Shopping), Portfolio Management/Packaged Offer Development, Telco Maximize GTM Workshops, CloudAscent Acceleration...   While looking at 2024, I started to think..   What to do - if I was a Channel Director today?   1. Customer Insight Know to whom, what, where & why my partners are selling. Use these insights to monitor maturity & therefore investments. Add critical updates to Partner Program & cleanup DBs for unmanaged partners. Drive Customer Insight Milestone Attainment for coop access 2. Skilling & Resourcing Most IT companies have skill & resource gaps, particularly at presales & deployment. Add value with GTM Business & technical training. Improve knowledge of & success in Marketplaces. Where it makes sense, make #P2P plays 3. White Space Want partners to sell more? Show them the business case. Analyse their portfolios-capabilities & ambitions. Identify opportunities for growth: upsell, packetized services, bundles, co-sell, skilling, IP… manage improvements through a Development Plan 4. Walk Don’t Talk Customer Experience. Jay McBain said it best while at Forrester: ‘There‘s a clear correlation between superior customer experience & revenue growth.‘ Understand what it‘s like to buy hardware, software & services from partners & help them improve where they can offer better CX. What experience do we want to offer? Is it helping to close - not abandon - the buying process? What is the Benchmark & the Improvement Plan for corrections 5. GTM Advisory Create a Business Academy for learning through best practice key product-sales & marketing motions for growth   6. Create Offer Development Guidance for Compliancy Regulations Many companies will face new compliancy regulations: CSF, CIP, or for any company selling into the EU – NIS2. These are continuous multifaceted compliancy regulations with expensive risk for noncompliance. Ensuring the People-Process-Legal & Technical compliancy for customers is a big value add for CEOs if done correctly – & a significant potential loss of reputation, revenue & maybe even the customer themselves if done incorrectly. I’d put in the planning time to do this right & provide the guidance.   7.  Leads Now that we know where we’re targeting, what we’re selling & are sure we can close, find clever ways to fill the pipeline – eg. using propensity data against customer lists with tools such as Microsoft CloudAscent & others What would You do if You were a Channel Director today? #channel

Leadership isn't headcount. It's leverage. 1 great leader can have a 10x, 20, 50x impact on an org. The 1:10 leadership multiplier effect most sales managers miss. One great leader can turn one good hour into ten better reps next week. That's the job. Especially in Q4 when "more pressure" is the default move and the worst strategy. Most teams crank dashboards and pipeline reviews. The teams that scale install clarity and coaching. What this looks like in practice: Coach champions, not just reps: Your champion isn't a trained seller. Give them the 90‑second story, a simple 3‑slide exec deck, an internal email they can forward, and rehearse it with them. If they can't sell it internally, you don't have a deal. Teach buyer psychology before pipeline: Deals don't stall for lack of features. They stall from fear, effort, and uncertainty. Reduce perceived risk, reduce the lift, increase decision confidence. Pilots, phased rollouts, clear success criteria. Manage the buying process, not just the sales stages Mutual plans with real owners and dates. Movement from meeting to proof, not meeting to "next meeting." Adjust your management style to the cycle Transactional motion? Tight cadences, clean talk tracks, speed and repetition. Enterprise motion? Stakeholder maps, multithreading, champion enablement, risk removal. Different games, different coaching. A simple 30‑day multiplier plan: Week 1: Publish "what good looks like" for discovery, recap, and next‑step design. One page each. No fluff. Week 2: Ship a Champion Kit (talk track, exec slides, CFO/IT one‑pagers, internal email). Role‑play it. Week 3: Add a 10‑minute buyer‑psych block before pipeline review. Make it a ritual. Week 4: Let two reps run the drills while you coach the coaches. Build coaches, not dependents. Track lift in: -Multi‑threading per opportunity -Movement from meeting → proof/pilot -Champion‑initiated next steps -Manager coaching hours vs behaviour changes When leaders LEAD and leverage systems, there is no greater multiplier across an org. As leaders get better the team gets better. Leverage baby. Leverage

After talking team culture and sales alignment, I’ve been thinking about something else that limits marketing impact— 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒆. #MarketerinTech: 𝐔𝐧𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐝 — 𝘐’𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘺: 𝘋𝘰𝘯’𝘵. Here’s why 👇 In B2B, there’s still a mindset among some that Marketing should “stick to its lane”—branding, leads, campaigns. Nothing more. But the reality? The best marketers don’t stay in their swim lanes—they show up at the business table, ask sharp questions, and help forge GTM strategies, especially when entering new markets. The lens we bring—market dynamics, customer insights, competitive signals, partner ecosystems—isn’t just valuable; it’s often what unlocks a smarter, faster path forward. Some of the best work I’ve seen came when a marketer challenged a product assumption, asked why a market hadn’t been explored, or flagged friction in a partner motion others hadn’t noticed. None of that happened by staying quiet in the “Marketing corner.” ------ #𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝑻𝒆𝒄𝒉: 𝑼𝒏𝒔𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝑺𝒏𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒌 ------ ✅ Top 3 Takeaways 1. Your marketing POV belongs in product, GTM, and expansion conversations. 2. Challenge assumptions—not for friction, but for forward motion. 3. New market growth is a team sport—Marketing should be in that huddle early. 💡 My 2 Cents Don't wait to be invited into strategic conversations—walk in with insights, stay with ideas, and leave behind momentum. The best marketing doesn’t just support the business—it shapes it. #B2BMarketing #MarketingLeadership #GTMStrategy #MarketingStrategy #DemandGeneration

This is the most underrated problem I've seen when trying to build or expand partnership GTM: Leadership is initially fully behind a new partnership, excited about its potential, but that enthusiasm never makes its way down to the sales teams who are expected to execute. Without alignment, even the best partnership can stall before it has a chance to succeed. Why does this happen? Sales teams are often focused on their core products, and if a partnership doesn’t clearly benefit them or fit into their day-to-day operations, it becomes an afterthought. To turn things around, you need to make sure your partnership incentives, compensation, and training are in lockstep with the teams that will be selling your product. Here’s how to align incentives and drive results: 1. Ensure your incentives are compelling enough for frontline teams. It’s not enough to excite leadership—sales teams need a clear, tangible reason to sell your product. - Introduce a financial incentive or bonus structure that’s competitive with what reps earn on their core products. This could be a one-time bonus for the first sale, or an ongoing commission that rewards consistent effort. -Tie the incentive to their existing sales goals. If your product helps them hit their targets more easily, they’ll naturally prioritize it. 2. Structure partner compensation to motivate co-selling. If your partner compensation doesn’t align with their core goals, they won’t push your product. - Design a compensation plan that aligns with both the partner’s and your business objectives. For instance, if your partner’s core offering is hardware, incentivize bundling your software as part of the sale to create a win-win situation. - Offer performance-based incentives that reward partners for hitting key milestones—whether that’s a certain number of units sold, a specific revenue target, or even customer engagement metrics. Keep it simple and measurable. 3. Provide consistent training and engagement so your product isn’t just another checkbox. Sales teams won’t advocate for your product if they don’t fully understand its value or how to sell it. - Develop ongoing, bite-sized training sessions that fit into their schedules. Instead of overwhelming them with lengthy sessions, focus on 15-minute, high-impact trainings that teach them how to identify the right opportunities. -Pair training with real-time support. Join sales calls, offer one-pagers, and provide direct assistance during key customer engagements. When they feel supported, they’re more likely to feel confident pushing your product. This kind of alignment can make the difference between a stalled partnership and a thriving one. When sales teams are motivated, equipped, and incentivized to sell your product, the partnership stops being just another checkbox—it becomes a key driver of growth.

Why are the smartest sales teams focusing LESS on their pitch? Ordinary sales teams are laser-focused on their pitch, their products, their quotas. But the key to winning more deals is to forget about yourself and deeply understand the forces shaping your customer’s world. This is where Porter’s Five Forces comes in. Originally designed to analyse industries, it’s also a game-changing framework for sales strategy. Here’s how it works when applied to your buyer’s reality: 1️⃣ Competitive Rivalry How fierce is your customer’s competition?  Are they battling for market share, undercut on price, or innovating to stay ahead? The more you know, the better you can position yourself as a strategic partner, not just a vendor. 2️⃣ Threat of New Entrants Is your customer worried about startups disrupting their space?  If so, how can your solution give them a head start or build a barrier against competitors? 3️⃣ Threat of Substitutes What’s pulling their customers away - alternative products, new trends, or cheaper options? Position your offering as their answer to this risk. 4️⃣ Bargaining Power of Suppliers Are your buyers under pressure from suppliers?  Offering solutions that improve efficiency, reduce costs, or mitigate risks makes your pitch irresistible. 5️⃣ Bargaining Power of Buyers If your customer is in a price-sensitive market, how can you help them stand out or offer more value to their end users?  Solutions that improve their value prop can tip the scales in your favour. Here’s an example.  Imagine working with a retail client whose margins are being squeezed by rising supplier costs (Force #4). Rather than pitching a generic solution, you show how your product can help them optimise inventory, streamline operations, and ultimately negotiate better supplier terms.  The value becomes clear: you’re solving their specific challenge, not just selling. 💡The main takeaway from this When you understand the external pressures shaping your customer’s business, you’re no longer a salesperson, you’re a strategist. Are you incorporating these “forces” into your sales playbook? Let’s discuss in the comments, I’d love to hear how you’re positioning yourself as the solution in your buyers world! #salesstrategy #portersfiveforces #salesinsights #customercentric #b2bsales #strategicselling #salesleadership #businessstrategy #salesgrowth

Just watched a sales leader lose 5 of his top reps after spending months perfecting a "winning" sales methodology that his team HATED. After 18 months of work, the CEO killed his career with six words: "Your team keeps missing their numbers." After analyzing 300+ sales teams and thousands of reps I've identified the exact leadership framework that separates 90%+ quota attainment from the industry average of 60%. The BIG missing piece that most sales leaders miss? Stop running meetings as status updates. And start treating them as PERFORMANCE ACCELERATION ENGINES. Here is the GOLDEN Leadership framework: GROWTH MINDSET: Start every meeting with these 3 strategic elements. → Team member shares industry insight or sales technique (creates learning culture) → Discuss application to current deals (makes learning actionable) → Rotate presenters weekly (builds leadership skills company-wide) This approach increased team knowledge retention by 72% across my client base. OPTIMIZATION SESSION: Have top performers demonstrate and teach these 4 specific skills. → Objection handling techniques (with exact language used) → Discovery questions that uncovered hidden needs → Email templates that generated 80%+ response rates → Closing language that accelerated decisions Use this exact script: "Jeff, you closed that impossible deal with [company]. Walk us through exactly how you handled their [specific objection] so the team can replicate it." LEADERBOARD ACCOUNTABILITY: Create what I call the "Performance Matrix" with columns for. → # of Booked Discovery Calls (activity metric) → New opportunities generated (pipeline metric) → Percentage to monthly target (results metric) → Weekly win or learning (growth metric) DATA & DEVELOPMENT: Each rep inputs and shares three critical elements. → KPIs for the week (leading indicators - 100% controllable) → Sales results (lagging indicators - what they actually sold) → Wins or learnings (development indicators) EXECUTION: Randomly select an AE to role play live. → Use a jar or spinning wheel to pick sales scenarios → Focus on objections, cold calls, or tough situations → Play the difficult prospect yourself → Provide immediate feedback and coaching This gets your team sharper before they jump into their day, and knowing they might be selected drives preparation. NEXT LEVEL MINDSET: End with motivation to conquer the week. → Short visionary speech or gratitude to the team → Positive reinforcement → Ensure they leave with the right mindset This is what they'll remember as they enter their next task or meeting. "REAL RESULTS from this framework: ✅ An IT services client increased sales by 37% in just 30 days ✅ Average rep retention improved from 18 months to 36+ months ✅ Team productivity increased 42% with the same headcount ✅ Top performers stopped taking recruiter calls Hey sales leaders… want a deep dive? Go here: https://lnkd.in/e2iZ7Rmv

Last year, I worked with a SaaS team where Sales blamed Marketing for “bad leads,” and Marketing blamed Sales for “not closing enough.” Sound familiar? Fast forward 6 months: They closed 4 enterprise deals worth $2M ARR. The change? They didn’t “work harder”—they worked together. If you’re running ABM and your Sales and Marketing teams are siloed, you’re leaving $$$ on the table. Here’s why: 💡 ABM isn’t a “marketing strategy.” It’s a team sport. Want Sales and Marketing to stop clashing and start cashing in? Here are 4 battle-tested moves for killer collaboration: 1️⃣ Build ONE Playbook. Share insights into target accounts. Map engagement history (no “who emailed them first” drama). Align on pipeline progress in real time. 2️⃣ Sync on Tech. Use the same CRM and automation tools. Real-time data = no excuses. Example: When an account downloads a whitepaper, Marketing preps the nurture sequence while Sales plans the next call. 3️⃣ Tailor Content Like Pros, Not Amateurs. Marketing: Create hyper-relevant content for specific accounts. Sales: Feed Marketing intel on what prospects are actually asking. Together: Deliver messaging that solves real problems, not just “thought leadership.” 4️⃣ Meet, Measure, Repeat. Weekly strategy sessions = no surprises. Shared KPIs (engagement, pipeline velocity, deal size) = accountability. Celebrate the wins together (or fight over who gets the credit later). 😉 Here’s the punchline: When Sales and Marketing stay misaligned, ABM becomes “Account Blaming Marketing.” But when they sync up, magic happens: 🔹 Better engagement. 🔹 Shorter sales cycles. 🔹 Higher ROI. The question is: Will your teams collaborate or compete in 2025? Let’s hear it—what’s your #1 tip for aligning Sales and Marketing for ABM? Or what’s your biggest challenge? 👇 #ABM #Sales #Marketing #Collab #B2B #SAAS

Every revenue leader talks about sales and marketing alignment—but most still struggle to make it work. Here’s why. Sales and marketing should operate as a single, high-performing revenue engine. But in most organizations, they function more like disconnected teams, leading to missed revenue, wasted budget, and deals slipping through the cracks. If you’re a revenue leader facing these challenges, here are the three biggest roadblocks getting in your way—and how to fix them. 1. 𝗗𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 Marketing focuses on MQLs, brand awareness, and content engagement. Sales focuses on closed deals, quota attainment, and speed to revenue. If these goals aren’t aligned, it creates tension. Fix it: • Set shared KPIs that both teams are accountable for—like pipeline velocity, win rates, and customer retention. • Regularly sync on revenue impact metrics, not just lead volume. 2. 𝗣𝗼𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 & 𝗟𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 Too often, marketing hands off leads without sales understanding the strategy behind them. Sales dismisses marketing’s efforts as “not helpful.” The disconnect creates frustration and lost opportunities. Fix it: • Implement structured feedback loops so sales can report back on lead quality. • Create joint working sessions where both teams contribute to messaging, targeting, and go-to-market execution. 3. 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀 & 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 If sales and marketing aren’t rewarded for the same outcomes, they’ll never truly work together. A sales team compensated only on closed deals won’t care about lead nurturing. A marketing team judged on MQLs won’t focus on sales enablement. Fix it: • Align compensation and incentives around revenue impact. • Ensure marketing KPIs include pipeline and sales contribution—not just lead gen metrics. 𝗕𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗺 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗲:The companies that will win in 2025 and beyond aren’t just the ones generating more leads—they’re the ones ensuring their sales and marketing teams operate as a single, high-performing revenue engine. If you’re seeing any of these roadblocks, you’re not alone. The companies solving them now will have a real competitive edge in the years ahead.

Your marketing team is guessing what your sales team already knows. I see it every single week: Marketing creates campaigns. Sales talks to customers. Zero collaboration. Wasted opportunity. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺: - Marketing creates personas (guessing) - Sales hears actual pains (knowing) - Marketing writes messaging (guessing) - Sales handles objections (knowing) - No information sharing - No collaboration - No growth 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘀: Your marketing team creates content, campaigns, and messaging based on assumptions, marketing research, and industry reports. In contrast, your sales team has actual conversations every single day with prospects who share their real pains, objections, and buying criteria. Yet somehow, these valuable insights never make it back to influence marketing strategy. [𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐨] One person creates the foundation and the other leverages it to reach new heights. Your sales and marketing teams need to function as a single unit. Sales should provide real-world insights and direct customer language, while marketing should amplify and scale these proven messages through channels that reach more people. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸: 1. 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 Not separate worlds: - Weekly sales-marketing sync - Marketing joins sales calls - Sales reviews all content - Customer language documented 2. 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐆𝐨𝐚𝐥𝐬 Unite the metrics: - Pipeline over MQLs - Revenue over activities - Quality over quantity - Customer success over volume 3. 𝐄𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐅𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 Loop Make it systematic: - Sales validates personas - Marketing tests messages - Results shared transparently - Continuous improvement 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻: 1. Schedule weekly sales-marketing sync 2. Create a shared customer language doc 3. Have marketing join sales calls 4. Build a unified dashboard Remember: Like those wall climbers, Neither one could make it alone. But together, they're unstoppable. ---- ❤️ 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬. ♻️ 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤. 🔔 Follow me for more helpful and entertaining videos to improve your go-to-market approach. 🤟