Thoughts on Selling YouTube Video Library

Lee Levitt sits down with Drew Sechrist, CEO of Connect the Dots and an early Salesforce veteran, to dissect the evolution of enterprise sales. They explore the double-edged sword of remote work, why AI cannot replace human trust, and how to scientifically leverage your network to bypass cold outreach. Key Findings: The Remote Paradox: Remote work offers freedom but eliminates the "osmosis" learning that happens in office hallways, making it harder for junior reps to develop skills and build rapport. The Trust Deficit: You cannot close major enterprise deals without deep trust. While technology scales outreach, it cannot replicate the "broken bread" moments essential for high-stakes selling. Network Science: Success isn't just about who you know; it's about who knows you. Modern tools like Connect the Dots are evolving beyond LinkedIn to uncover hidden "warm" paths to decision-makers. Takeaways: AI vs. Human Value: As AI eats the world and automates the mundane, …

I've been saying for years that B2B selling is broken. Alex Raymond — founder of AMplify, author of The Growth Department, and host of Account Manager Secrets — thinks account management is broken too. So naturally we had a lot to talk about. Alex has spent the last decade figuring out how companies can grow faster and more profitably through the customers they already have. And the data he brings to this conversation is staggering. 73% of revenue comes from existing customers. 52% of net new revenue comes from existing customers. And nearly all profit — sometimes more than 100% — is generated post-sale. Yet most companies treat their post-sales teams like the JV squad. An inexperienced coach, ratty uniforms, smelly locker rooms. Then they wonder why things aren't working. We get into why "recurring revenue" is a dangerous myth that gives executives a false sense of security, and why the handoff from sales to account management is where customer relationships go to die. Alex sha…

I recently sat down with Carole Mahoney, a self-described "hot nerd," author of Buyer First, and a woman on a mission to redeem the sales profession. Carole didn't start out loving sales; in fact, she started in marketing specifically to make salespeople obsolete. But she realized that to help small businesses grow, she had to embrace selling—not as a manipulation, but as a mechanism for change. In this episode, we explore how she uses neuroscience and psychology to help sellers get out of their own way. We geek out on the similarities between hiking and sales (you can pack all the gear you want, but you still have to pivot when the trail changes), and why she believes the only difference between a good salesperson and a con man is intent. Key Highlights & Takeaways: From Sheet Music to Improv: Carole shares her transition from being a musician who needed "sheet music" (a script) to embracing the "Yes, And" mentality of improv. We discuss why being present in the moment is more val…

Episode Summary In this episode of Thoughts on Selling, Lee Levitt sits down with Amos Balongo—a leadership expert joining us from Hawaii who is in the business of "manufacturing leaders." We dig into a critical failure point in most organizations: the gap between Strategy and Communication. Amos argues that many leaders rely on "Positional Leadership" (people follow you because they have to), which yields the bare minimum effort. The goal is to shift to "Influential Leadership," where collaboration drives results. We also explore the Three Pillars of Transformation (Motivate, Inspire, Transform), why simplicity mobilizes teams better than complexity, and how to apply Situational Leadership to ensure you aren't sending 5:00 AM texts to the wrong people. Memorable Quotes: "The bigger you're thinking, the smaller your problems." — Amos Balongo "Motivation is an outside job; Inspiration is an inside job." "Complexity impresses, but simplicity mobilizes. If your team can't unde…

Episode Summary In this episode of Thoughts on Selling, Lee Levitt sits down with Amos Balongo—a leadership expert joining us from Hawaii who is in the business of "manufacturing leaders." We dig into a critical failure point in most organizations: the gap between Strategy and Communication. Amos argues that many leaders rely on "Positional Leadership" (people follow you because they have to), which yields the bare minimum effort. The goal is to shift to "Influential Leadership," where collaboration drives results. We also explore the Three Pillars of Transformation (Motivate, Inspire, Transform), why simplicity mobilizes teams better than complexity, and how to apply Situational Leadership to ensure you aren't sending 5:00 AM texts to the wrong people. Memorable Quotes: "The bigger you're thinking, the smaller your problems." — Amos Balongo "Motivation is an outside job; Inspiration is an inside job." "Complexity impresses, but simplicity mobilizes. If your team can't unde…

I recently sat down with Pete Smith, a sales veteran and the founder of SpotLogic, to talk about a problem we are all feeling: The Treadmill. Sales organizations are cranking up the speed, flooding reps with tools that demand data entry rather than providing data insight. Pete shares his journey from the old-school days of NCR’s "Sugar Camp" (where they taught you how to dress) to building a tool simply because he needed a way to survive the cognitive load of modern selling. We discuss why 84% of enterprise deals die in the first meeting, why "winging it" has become a survival mechanism for overbooked reps, and how to earn the right to sit on the same side of the table as your buyer. Key Highlights & Takeaways: The Origin Story: Pete didn't set out to build a startup. He built SpotLogic for himself because he felt he needed a "force multiplier" to handle complex deals. When he realized it made him twice as effective, his friends forced him to turn it into a company. The "Insider"…

In this episode of Thoughts on Selling, I sit down with Ben Perreau, a recovering music journalist turned entrepreneur and leadership expert. Ben joins me from Los Angeles to discuss a problem that plagues almost every growing company: the "Accidental Manager." We explore Ben’s fascinating journey from the BBC newsroom to consulting for Fortune 50 C-suite executives, and why the transition from superstar Individual Contributor to Team Leader is the most dangerous leap in a career. We geek out on photography as a metaphor for leadership, discuss why we are all just "emotional meat sacks" trying to be professional, and dive into how his new company, Parafoil, is using AI-driven "listening circles" to help new managers survive their first year. Key Findings & Takeaways: The "Man in the Arena": Ben shares how Theodore Roosevelt’s famous speech defined his transition from observing the world as a journalist to shaping it as an entrepreneur. The Accidental Manager Crisis: A stag…

For this episode of Thoughts on Selling, I sit down with my good friend and fellow sales enablement veteran, Tom Kiernan. Tom is a runner, a dad, and a practitioner who cut his teeth at powerhouses like American Power Conversion (APC) and Schneider Electric. We dive deep into the real difference between "training" (the forbidden T-word) and true enablement. Tom explains why the "Reticular Activating System" is the secret weapon for cutting through the noise in a prospect's brain, and we debate why sales organizations are so bad at the one thing that makes professional athletes great: Practice. We also touch on a topic close to Tom’s heart—his unique "Books as a Service" non-profit, Lumpy Bones, which helps kids (and adults) deal with difficult topics like cancer through humor and adventure. Key Findings & Takeaways: The "T-Word" vs. Process: Tom argues that training is just an event, while enablement is a process. He shares lessons from the "Toyota Way" and how rigorous proces…

Stop scaling with headcount. Start scaling with intelligence. I recently had a mind-bending conversation with Amos Bar-Joseph on the latest episode of Thoughts on Selling. Amos calls himself an "anti-capitalist capitalist." After building and exiting two startups using the traditional "growth at all costs" model, he realized something broken: we were scaling bodies before we scaled value. With his new venture, Swann, he is flipping the script. The Big Shift: Instead of hiring more people to do more work, he is using AI to find the "100x version" of the people he already has. We discussed: 🚫 Why the "Unicorn Playbook" is dead: Raising huge rounds to hire armies of people is no longer the winning strategy. 🤖 The "Zone of Genius": How to use AI to automate everything except the creative work that actually drives revenue. 🧠 Adaptive Software: Why the future isn't about static CRMs, but software that "wears the shape" of your specific workflow and learns from you daily. If you are ti…

Stop scaling with headcount. Start scaling with intelligence. I recently had a mind-bending conversation with Amos Bar-Joseph on the latest episode of Thoughts on Selling. Amos calls himself an "anti-capitalist capitalist." After building and exiting two startups using the traditional "growth at all costs" model, he realized something broken: we were scaling bodies before we scaled value. With his new venture, Swann, he is flipping the script. The Big Shift: Instead of hiring more people to do more work, he is using AI to find the "100x version" of the people he already has. We discussed: 🚫 Why the "Unicorn Playbook" is dead: Raising huge rounds to hire armies of people is no longer the winning strategy. 🤖 The "Zone of Genius": How to use AI to automate everything except the creative work that actually drives revenue. 🧠 Adaptive Software: Why the future isn't about static CRMs, but software that "wears the shape" of your specific workflow and learns from you daily. If you are ti…