-
Discovery doesn’t end just because the deal's moving forward
One of the habits I have built over time as a solutions engineer is this simple idea. Discovery never really stops. That does not mean I am constantly peppering a customer with discovery questions late in a deal cycle. By the time we are deep into evaluation, a lot of the foundational discovery should already be known. We…
-
Your Pipeline Is a Strategy Document, Not Just a List of Deals
Most sellers look at their pipeline as a list of opportunities. Leadership looks at it as a forecast. But the best sellers treat their pipeline as a strategy document — a real-time reflection of where deals stand, what risks exist, and where to focus their time. In today’s sales environment, pipeline quality matters more…
-
People want to help, but need to know what you want
For a long time, I assumed that if I worked hard enough, people would just “notice.” They would see my effort. They would recognize my ambition. They would connect the dots and think I'm ready for more. That is not how it works. Most managers are busy. Most peers are focused on their own goals. And most leaders are not…
-
Your Tech Stack is Your Advantage
Most sales teams today have more technology than ever. Conversation intelligence. CRM dashboards. Mutual action plan tools. Forecasting platforms. Internal collaboration channels. The irony is that the reps who win the most are rarely the ones asking for more tools. They are the ones who squeeze value out of the tools…
-
It shouldn't sound ALL good.
When I leave a call and the prospect says, “This looks great.” “We love it.” “This is exactly what we need.” I don’t relax, but I instead get curious and cautious. Not because I enjoy being skeptical. Not because I assume the worst. But because in real buying cycles, meaningful change usually creates friction. It raises…
-
Share your wins and teach others
A lot of sellers are quietly proud. They close a complex deal, navigate procurement, multithread a tough account, get real Economic Buyer access, and then move straight to the next opportunity. No post, internal recap, or breakdown of what actually worked. It's not that you don't want to share what you've learned or that…
-
How and why I roleplay
Now that I’m back in a quota-carrying role, I’ve made roleplay a regular part of my prep. Not as a box to check. Not as a team exercise that goes nowhere. But as a deliberate way to sharpen conversations before they matter. The difference between average and excellent performance in sales is rarely knowledge. It’s…
-
Are Your Sales Goals Still Real or Just Written Down?
At the start of the year, most of us set ambitious goals. Presidents Club. Pipeline coverage. New logo count. Better MEDDICC discipline. Stronger access to Economic Buyers. Cleaner forecasts. Then the year gets loud. Deals slip. Priorities shift. A reorg happens. The market tightens. And suddenly we’re running hard without…
-
Settling in at a new organization without pretending I have everything figured out.
Starting at a new organization is humbling. New acronyms. New systems. New personalities. New expectations. And if you’re in a revenue carrying roll, there's a new quota. I recently stepped into a new role, and while it’s exciting, I’ve been very intentional about how I’m settling in. I don’t want to rush the process. I…
-
Presidents Club Is Built in the Margins: What Top Sellers Do Differently
Every year, Presidents Club looks glamorous from the outside. The trip. The recognition. The leaderboard. But when you talk to the sellers who consistently earn it, you hear something different. It’s not luck. It’s not one monster deal. It’s disciplined execution in the day-to-day — especially in today’s environment where…
-
How I’m Using AI for Call Research Without Letting It Think for Me
AI has become a constant topic in sales conversations and I have it pretty well baked into my workflow. I didn’t want shortcuts that made me lazy, and I definitely didn’t want to show up to calls sounding like I copied and pasted a summary I didn’t fully understand. What I’ve landed on is this: AI is incredibly useful for…
-
Why the Paper Process Deserves Your Attention Earlier
In today’s selling environment, deals are scrutinized more heavily than ever. Procurement and legal teams are involved earlier, reviews take longer, and internal approvals are tighter. That makes the Paper Process a frontline selling issue — not a backend task. Sellers who wait until the end to understand paperwork…
-
The Pre-Call Is Where the Call Is Won or Lost
For a long time, I thought my job started when the meeting started. Show up prepared. Know the product. Answer questions. Run a clean demo. What I’ve learned—sometimes the hard way—is that the real work happens before the call ever begins. The pre-call is where alignment is built, mistakes are avoided, and trust with the…
-
Decision Process Is How You Protect Your Time
In today’s selling environment, time is your most limited resource. Deals that lack a clear Decision Process drain pipeline, forecasting accuracy, and mental energy. If you don’t know how a deal gets done, you don’t know if it deserves your focus. Strong sellers use the Decision Process as a qualification tool. They ask…
-
Discipline Beats Heroics
In today’s environment, closing is rarely clean. Deals face more scrutiny, approvals take longer, and competitive threats appear late. Sellers who rely on end-of-quarter heroics are often the ones surprised by slips. Strong closing strategies today are scenario-based. Sellers anticipate obstacles, align internal resources…
-
Making sure I give the client what they asked for.
For a long time, I thought I was good at running calls. I had an agenda. I covered my talking points. I advanced the deal. And on paper, things were moving. But lately, I’ve realized something uncomfortable: it’s incredibly easy to leave a call feeling successful without ever confirming whether the prospect got what they…
-
Communicating With Intention During Demos
Over the last few months, I’ve been taking a hard look at how I run demos. Not because something was “broken,” but because I realized something uncomfortable: it’s incredibly easy to show a lot of impressive things and still miss the mark with a customer. I’ve seen it in my own demos and in coaching others. We move…
-
The Courage to Ask Up
Deals are more complex, budgets are tighter, and cycles are longer. That means you can’t afford to stay low in an account. To change deal momentum, you need to work higher and create urgency with people who actually have the authority to prioritize your solution. It takes courage, but the payoff is worth it. Three things…
-
Treat SKO Like a Strategic Reset, Not a Pep Rally
In today’s selling environment, SKO isn’t just a kickoff — it’s a strategic reset. Buying cycles are longer, scrutiny is higher, and sellers can’t afford to leave value on the table by showing up unprepared. The sellers who benefit most from SKO already know where they’re stuck. They arrive with questions about territory,…
-
Starting the New Year With a Blank Slate
There’s something both exciting and intimidating about the start of a new year, especially when you carry a number. The pipeline resets. The leaderboard clears. Last year’s wins don’t count, and neither do last year’s misses. This year feels even more personal for me. I’ve accepted a new role, and I’m back in a…
-
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…
-
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…
-
Wrapping Up Carefrontation: My Top 10 Moments (Number 1)
After counting down through ten incredible moments from our Carefrontation series, we’ve reached the most important takeaway—the one thing I hope every salesperson and leader carries with them long after the series is over. Number 1 is this: Carefrontation is a mindset, not a checklist. #1: Embrace the Mindset, Not Just…