Selling Fundamentals Episodes
Selling isn't about pitches, demos, or closing tricks. It's about curiosity, listening, and helping another human being solve a problem. Selling fundamentals are the core skills and mindsets that make everything else work — discovery that's co-creation instead of interrogation, the ability to stay in the question instead of rushing to the answer, knowing when to say no because it's not the right fit, and understanding that your intent is written on your forehead whether you like it or not. These episodes get back to the basics that matter: how to be authentically curious, how to earn trust by putting the customer's objectives ahead of your own, and why the purpose of selling isn't selling — it's buying. Whether you're a 19-year-old making your first cold call or a 20-year veteran who needs a reset, this is the foundation everything else is built on.
81
Dec. 9, 2025
Gen Z Grit: NISC Finalist Nina Iannuzzi on Hockey, Slime & Closing the Deal
Episode Summary
What do selling gum in the 5th grade and playing defense in hockey have in common with high-stakes Enterprise Sales? According to Nina Iannuzzi, absolutely everything.
In this episode of Thoughts on Selling, Lee Levitt sits down with Nina, a sophomore at the Isenberg School of Management (UMass Amherst) and a top-tier finalist at the recent National Intercollegiate Sales Competition (NISC).
If you think the next generation of sales talent is "soft," you haven’t met Nina. We...
What do selling gum in the 5th grade and playing defense in hockey have in common with high-stakes Enterprise Sales? According to Nina Iannuzzi, absolutely everything.
In this episode of Thoughts on Selling, Lee Levitt sits down with Nina, a sophomore at the Isenberg School of Management (UMass Amherst) and a top-tier finalist at the recent National Intercollegiate Sales Competition (NISC).
If you think the next generation of sales talent is "soft," you haven’t met Nina. We...
78
Nov. 25, 2025
The Human Side of Sales: Ikigai, Trust & Extreme Ownership w/ Lester Sidney
Episode SummarySales is human work. And humans run on purpose, energy, and trust. Lee Levitt sits down with Lester Sidney, a 17-year tech sales veteran and "brother from another mother," for a raw and authentic conversation.
Lester opens up about his battle with depression after leaving a company he helped build and his journey to rediscovering his "Why" through the Ikigai Framework. We discuss why Vulnerability is a sales superpower, why walking away from a bad deal is the ultimate credibility...
Lester opens up about his battle with depression after leaving a company he helped build and his journey to rediscovering his "Why" through the Ikigai Framework. We discuss why Vulnerability is a sales superpower, why walking away from a bad deal is the ultimate credibility...
Guest: Lester Sydney
77
Nov. 18, 2025
You Can’t Build AI on Chaos: Fixing Broken CRM Data w/ Torquil Thomson
Episode SummaryIs your "Pipeline Problem" actually a "Data Problem"? In this episode of Thoughts on Selling, Lee Levitt sits down with Torquil Thomson, founder of The Conversion Architects, to explore a hard truth that most revenue leaders ignore: Your Go-to-Market engine is only as good as the data beneath it.
Joining from Barcelona, Torquil shares astonishing stats from the field—like companies with 40–50% duplicate records or databases with 2 million accounts but only 1 million contacts. We ...
Joining from Barcelona, Torquil shares astonishing stats from the field—like companies with 40–50% duplicate records or databases with 2 million accounts but only 1 million contacts. We ...
74
Oct. 22, 2025
Improv for Sales: "F* Your Good Idea" & The Power of Callbacks w/ Kevin Hubschmann
Episode SummaryIs your sales pitch a rehearsed monologue or a collaborative improv scene? In this episode of Thoughts on Selling, Lee Levitt sits down with Kevin Hubschmann, former enterprise rep turned comedian and founder of Laugh.Events.
We dig into the fascinating parallels between stand-up comedy and enterprise sales. Kevin shares his story of balancing daytime sales calls with nighttime open mics, realizing that skills like Presence, Timing, and Curiosity are missing from modern playbooks...
We dig into the fascinating parallels between stand-up comedy and enterprise sales. Kevin shares his story of balancing daytime sales calls with nighttime open mics, realizing that skills like Presence, Timing, and Curiosity are missing from modern playbooks...
73
Oct. 15, 2025
Filmmaking & The Art of Sales: Presence, Storytelling & Personal Brand w/ Jake Isham
Episode SummaryIs sales a science or a performance art? In this episode of Thoughts on Selling, Lee Levitt sits down with Jake Isham, a filmmaker, creative director, and founder of Creative Minds Agency.
Jake’s story is pure art-meets-entrepreneurship. He started as an actor, moved behind the camera to direct, and eventually became what he calls an "accidental marketer." We dig deep into the intersection of Storytelling and Revenue—exploring how the best salespeople are actually performers. Not...
Jake’s story is pure art-meets-entrepreneurship. He started as an actor, moved behind the camera to direct, and eventually became what he calls an "accidental marketer." We dig deep into the intersection of Storytelling and Revenue—exploring how the best salespeople are actually performers. Not...
69
Oct. 7, 2025
Sales is Psychology: Reclaiming the "Human" Side of Enablement w/ Laura Keith
Episode SummaryIs sales a business process or a psychological one? In this episode of Thoughts on Selling, Lee Levitt sits down with Laura Keith, CEO of Hive Perform and Hive Learning (and self-proclaimed "Chief Entertainment Officer" to three kids).
Laura’s journey is fascinating: she never planned to work in sales. She studied psychology. But she quickly realized that the traits required to understand the human mind—Curiosity, Empathy, and Motivation—are the exact same traits required to clos...
Laura’s journey is fascinating: she never planned to work in sales. She studied psychology. But she quickly realized that the traits required to understand the human mind—Curiosity, Empathy, and Motivation—are the exact same traits required to clos...
66
Aug. 26, 2025
10,000 AI Conversations vs. One Human One: Which WIns?
In this episode, I sit down with Matt Wilkinson — life sciences marketer turned AI strategy partner, Visiting Fellow at Cranfield School of Management, and board member at the Association of Key Account Management. Matt brings a sharp lens to the challenges of sales and marketing alignment, the rise of AI in B2B, and what it really takes to create customers in today’s environment.
We cover a wide range of topics, from why account-based approaches are so powerful when done right, to how culture ...
We cover a wide range of topics, from why account-based approaches are so powerful when done right, to how culture ...
Guest: Matt Wilkinson
51
July 15, 2025
Sales Improv: "Yes, And...", Midwest Values & Dropping the Ego w/ Stacy Bishop
In this episode of Thoughts on Selling, Lee Levitt is joined by Stacy Bishop, a veteran of banking and fintech sales, to dismantle the "Sales Persona." We dig into the intersection of Midwest values and Improv comedy, exploring why trying to act like a salesperson is the fastest way to lose a deal. Stacy shares why every objection is actually an "offer," how to apply the "Yes, And..." principle to complex B2B negotiations, and why slowing down your brain is the only way to speed up your sales cycle.
Guest: Stacy Bishop