Articles

The Machines Are Coming?
“The machines are coming.” What was once a cheesy line in sci-fi movies is now a regular headline on your LinkedIn feed. But could AI replace salespeople? Recruiters? Real-estate agents? etc? Across the corporate board, reactions to this proposition may vary. Most...
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The Strategy in Stacking the Deck
You’ve just landed the leadership role you’ve been waiting for. You’ve done your due diligence on the market, product fit, demand, and leadership team. It’s go time, and all eyes are on your performance. You’re responsible for filling 9 open headcounts...
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Upping the Talent Game with Experience Based Recruiting
I spent 25 years as a sales executive and hiring leader. From high-end sub-components and complex engineering to data-management solutions and HR-tech HCM solutions, I sold a diverse mix of technologies. At corporations like PTC, from the top down I heard philosophies...
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Citizen Salespeople: Top of Their Game, And No Place to Go
What makes an A-Player walk away from tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of dollars in commissions? Many I’ve talked to reference their desire to leave the game as a winner. But with further digging I’ve learned that, more often than not, the real reason for their...
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Conversational Equity: The Confidence in Giving up Control
I met a top salesman who drove a $2.4 M W2. Of course, I asked him how. He wasn’t a natural at sales, he admitted. In truth, his success stemmed from an insight he gleaned a few years back. After observing an unnecessary power play between two colleagues striving to...
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Ken Larson Joins Bespoke Talent as Partner and Senior Vice President of Sales and Technology
Jennifer Bell, Founder and CEO of Bespoke Talent, the talent acquisition and optimization firm specializing in finding, keeping and developing senior sales and marketing professionals with pre-IPO SaaS B2B companies, announced that seasoned enterprise sales leader Ken...
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The Backside of Backchannels
Ever been burned by a backchannel? Ever lost a candidate because a backchannel was handled poorly? Some might say that the backchannel (unofficial reference checks on candidates) is as old as time itself. Hiring a new candidate is hard to do and there’s risk with all...
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Film Fiction: Sales and The Movies
Many movies claim to “represent” the life of a salesperson. Films like The Wolf of Wall Street, Glengarry Glen Ross, Tin Men and Boiler Room depict slick, ego-driven and often demeaning environments that give cringe to most professional, career sales people and...
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ABL – Always Be Learning
Take the sales person quiz if you haven't already. Nothing you don't know already, but we hope to inspire you to think about what skills you've developed and which ones you want to hone. Remember: if you aren't growing, you're...
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The Game of Work (hint: it’s supposed to be fun)
Hemingway said, “When you stop doing things for fun you might as well be dead.” I talk to people all day long, most of whom I ask, “Why are you talking to a recruiter?” Responses range from the authentic to inauthentic, brief to exhaustive but boil down the majority...
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Offers Aren’t Trophies
Tip from top performing hiring manager: Never provide an offer letter unless your candidate has answered the “if.” He thinks the practice of candidates acquiring multiple offer letters is almost as bad as hiring managers providing written offers without having a...
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Software Sales People: Suits or Khakis?
Do you think sales people should dress up or dress down: Suits or Khakis? How much is the way you dress connected to your professional identity? Perhaps more than you think. According to a Center for Professional Excellence national poll, “appearance ranked second...
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The Second ROI That You Don’t Want To Ignore
Last week, a top sales performer shared some insight as to what makes him so successful. He said that he always thinks of how buyers buy: Buyers make emotional decisions and justify them logically. That means he needs to present two ROIs to a prospective buyer. He...
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Day 7/7: 7 Days To A Better LinkedIn Profile
This is final day of a 7-day article series that was kicked-off by “4 Ways You’re Looking at Your LinkedIn Profile Wrong and 7 Days To Fix It” and is designed for any sales person, whether happy or looking. It offers profile ‘must-haves’ and attempts address to...
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Day 6/7: 7 Days To A Better LinkedIn Profile
This is Day 6 of a 7-day article series that was kicked-off by “4 Ways You’re Looking at Your LinkedIn Profile Wrong and 7 Days To Fix It” and is designed for any sales person, whether happy or looking. It offers profile ‘must-haves’ and attempts to anticipate...
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Day 5/7: 7 Days To A Better LinkedIn Profile
This is Day 5 of a 7-day article series that was kicked-off by “4 Ways You’re Looking at Your LinkedIn Profile Wrong and Seven Days To Fix It” and is designed for any sales person, whether happy or looking. It offers profile ‘must-haves’ and attempts to address...
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Day 4/7: 7 Days To A Better LinkedIn Profile
This is Day 4 of a 7-day article series that was kicked-off by “4 Ways You’re Looking at Your LinkedIn Profile Wrong and 7 Days to Fix It” and is designed for any sales person, whether happy or looking. It offers profile ‘must-haves’ and attempts to address...
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Day 3/7: 7 Days To A Better LinkedIn Profile
This is Day 3 of a 7-day article series that was kicked-off by”4 Ways You’re Looking at Your LinkedIn Profile Wrong and 7 Days to Fix It” and is designed for any sales person, whether happy or looking. It offers profile ‘must-haves’ and attempts to anticipate...
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Day 2/7: 7 Days To A Better LinkedIn Profile
This is Day 2 of a 7-day article series that was kicked-off by “4 Ways You’re Looking at Your LinkedIn Profile Wrong and 7 Days To Fix It” and is designed for any sales person, whether happy or looking. It offers profile ‘must-haves’ and attempts to address...
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Day 1/7: 7 Days To A Better LinkedIn Profile
This is Day 1 of a 7-day article series that was kicked-off by “4 Ways You’re Looking at Your LinkedIn Profile Wrong and 7 Days To Fix It.” It is designed for any sales person, whether happy or looking. It offers profile ‘must-haves’ and attempts to anticipate...
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