-
Doing the small things that prevent big problems
The day-to-day sales environment at year-end is chaotic. Buyers go dark. Internal deadlines stack up. Everyone wants certainty where there isn’t much. In this reality, small execution details make a huge difference for Ops. Incomplete close plans, missing paperwork, or unclear next steps don’t just slow deals — they create…
-
The Perfect Holiday Gift You Can Give Ops
As the year winds down, everyone feels the pressure — especially Sales Ops. Forecast calls get tighter, scrutiny goes up, and gaps in deal clarity become painfully visible. This is where MEDDICC stops being a checkbox and becomes a service to the entire organization. When Metrics are vague, Economic Buyers are assumed, or…
-
Why Sales Engineers Need to Anticipate Customer Needs (and How to Do It)
One thing I’ve been talking about a lot lately—both with my team and with sales leadership—is how critical it is for Solutions Engineers to stay two steps ahead of both the customer and the salesperson. In today’s sales environment, customers expect more than a good demo. They expect partnership. They expect insight. They…
-
Preparing for SKO Like a Pro
The sellers succeeding today aren’t waiting for SKO to “kick off the year.” They’re preparing in advance so SKO becomes an accelerant, not a reset button. With budgets tightening and buying committees expanding, you need every SKO session to tie directly to your territory, your accounts, and your plan. If you walk into SKO…
-
Greetings
Name: Mike Free Title: Enterprise Account Executive Industry: HR Technology Sales Goals I want to achieve: Building relationships with other hi potential sellers & Max out comp Hobbies: Hanging with Family and Friends One thing you want to get out of being an Ascender: Connect with other sales professionals
-
Helping Your Sales Teams Use Their Solutions Engineers the Right Way
One thing I’ve learned across multiple teams and multiple companies is this: the partnership between Sales and Solutions Engineering can be a competitive advantage—or an underutilized asset. Rarely anything in between. When the relationship is aligned, intentional, and structured, deals move faster, customers feel…
-
Everyone Owns Their Pipeline
In the current selling environment, deals take longer, buying committees are larger, and inbound isn’t what it used to be. That means pipeline creation can’t be delegated. Even top-performing sellers today are going back to basics — researching accounts deeply, building relevant outreach, nurturing stale leads with value,…
-
Raising the Overall Discovery Standard
Enablement pros often see trends across deals that reps don’t — repetitive shallow questions, failure to follow up, or missing the chance to dig deeper. Raising your discovery standards is one of the fastest ways to improve pipeline health, deal velocity, and win rates across the board. Your reps need clear examples, safe…
-
The Secret Sales Skill Hiding in Plain Sight
When we talk about sales skills, we tend to default to the usual suspects: discovery, qualification, negotiation, storytelling, objection handling, and all the frameworks that guide us through the motions of a deal. But there’s a force that sits underneath all of those skills—one powerful enough to transform not just our…
-
Discovery in a Tougher Market
In this environment, every conversation counts. Customers are inundated with outreach and have little patience for sellers who don’t bring insight. That’s why great discovery questions are becoming a superpower. They help you stand out, build connection, and move the deal forward without force. Customers don’t want a…
