We kick off our July marketing theme by tackling personal branding — which, despite sounding like something you’d find printed on a suspiciously expensive notebook, is actually quite useful.We talk about why personal branding isn’t really about vanity, self-promotion, or becoming a LinkedIn superstar — thankfully, because that sounds exhausting. It’s about being deliberate with how people understand who we are, what we stand for, and why we might be useful before that first proper conversation even happens.We also get into the awkward early days of posting online, why AI can help shape a narrative without replacing the actual thinking, and why deleting your professional history when changing industries might create more work than it solves. Along the way, there’s Canada Day, Paris, old-fashions with maple syrup, and the usual amount of self-inflicted microphone-related anxiety.Personal branding may not close deals on its own, but it can make the next conversation a lot easier. And honestly, we’ll take all the help we can get. In this episode, we make the case that personal branding doesn’t have to be cringe.It’s not about pretending to be a guru.It’s not about posting for the sake of posting.And it’s definitely not about outsourcing your entire personality to AI and hoping nobody notices.It’s about being intentional.Because whether we like it or not, people already form an opinion of us before we’re in the room. They search. They scroll. They ask around. And if we haven’t shaped that narrative at all, someone — or something — else will do it for us.We talked about:why personal branding helps before the first conversation, not magically at the end of the sales processwhy showing up consistently feels awkward before it feels usefulhow AI can support the thinking without replacing the thinkerwhy your career history still has value, even when you change industriesand why “nobody liked my post” is not the same as “nobody noticed”Also, there’s Canada Day, Paris, and a suggestion involving maple syrup in an old-fashioned. So, you know, serious business thinking as always.

This week, we wrap up our month on sales methodologies by getting practical: what tools actually help teams turn clever frameworks into real commercial outcomes?We start, naturally, with a highly professional sports briefing involving Blue Jays baseball, Canadian hockey confusion, and cricket formats that may or may not require a week off work. Then we get into the useful stuff: training, coaching, playbooks, process diagrams, call-planning cards, stakeholder maps, opportunity strategy documents, scorecards, and the slightly awkward truth that none of these matter unless you actually use them.We also get an accidental live demonstration of contingency planning when the UK internet/power situation decides to contribute to the episode. Very on-brand. Very educational. Slightly stressful.If you’ve ever wondered how to make sales methodologies less like a poster on the wall and more like something your team can apply every day, this one’s for you.

This week, we continue our sales methodology mini-series with Sandler, the one that politely asks: “Is this actually a real opportunity, or are we just getting excited because someone said the word ‘proposal’?”We look at how Sandler fits alongside Challenger and SPIN, especially in complex B2B sales where enthusiasm, budget, authority, and commitment are definitely not the same thing. We also get into the importance of uncovering the real pain—or ambition—behind a buying conversation, mapping who else is affected, and knowing when to protect your time by walking away from a deal that was never really a deal.There’s also a very modern detour into AI-written briefs, AI tropes, and the uncomfortable moment when something sounds brilliant because a robot made it sound brilliant. As ever, we learn lessons the easy way, by admitting the slightly awkward bits out loud.

We’ve all had that moment when a prospect says, “We need you to build X.”And the tempting response is: “Brilliant. Where do we send the invoice?”But this week’s episode reminded us that the better response is probably: “Interesting — how did you get to X?”That’s where SPIN Selling comes in.Situation.Problem.Implication.Need-Payoff.It’s a simple framework, but a useful one. Not because it magically closes deals while we sit back looking smug — sadly, no methodology has managed that yet — but because it helps structure better conversations.We talked about how SPIN can be used in discovery, prospecting, account management, customer service, and even those moments when someone arrives already convinced they know the solution. It gives us a way to slow down, understand the real issue, and reflect the customer’s world back to them before leaping into advice mode.We also compared it with Challenger Selling and landed on something that feels pretty important: these frameworks work best when they’re combined thoughtfully, not treated like sacred tablets from Mount Sales.Because, as usual, the answer is: “It depends.”Deeply annoying. Often true.

Sales methodologies month has begun, and we’re starting with the Challenger Sale.This one is all about helping customers think differently — which sounds noble until you realize it also means saying, “Are we sure that’s actually the problem?” without getting escorted out of the room.In this episode, we talk about:How Challenger is built around teaching, tailoring, and taking controlWhy it works best in complex salesThe danger of using a heavyweight methodology on a lightweight opportunityHow consultative selling can uncover the real business issue hiding behind the obvious oneWe also get into the Digital Momentum Summit and how to think about ROI across prospects, clients, partners, and brand amplification — because apparently “it felt useful” is not always accepted by finance.A useful one for anyone selling complex work, running events, or trying to prove that business development is more than just a mysterious cloud of coffees, conversations, and hopeful follow-ups.#Sales #BusinessDevelopment #ChallengerSale #ConsultativeSelling #B2BMarketing #TeaAndTimbits

Complex selling sounds like it should require a giant tech stack, seven dashboards, and at least one acronym nobody fully understands.But in this episode, we discovered something slightly annoying: the best tools are often the simplest ones.We talked about:– borrowing ideas from completely different industries– using design thinking to untangle messy business problems– reading broadly, not just another sales book– showing up at events and learning from real conversations– using note-takers, AI transcription, or even the ancient technology known as “pen and paper”– managing complex sales more like projects– turning repeated customer friction points into useful contentThe slightly humbling conclusion?Complex sales do not always need complex tools. They need curiosity, structure, perspective, and a willingness to say, “I don’t know — who can help?”Which is far less glamorous than a new platform subscription, but probably cheaper. And harder to lose than an Apple Pencil.

Complex selling is never just about “the buyer” and “the seller.”We wish it were. It would make life much easier, and we could probably all spend less time in meetings pretending the spreadsheet is “basically under control.”In this episode, we talk about stakeholder engagement — the people inside and outside the deal who can quietly make everything work… or loudly make everything fall apart.That includes executives, delivery teams, partners, suppliers, finance, operations, customer service, and sometimes the person who appears halfway through the process with a very strong opinion and absolutely no context.The big takeaway?Stakeholder management does not have to be perfect. But it does have to exist.Even a simple list of who is involved, what they care about, what they are worried about, and how they affect the outcome can prevent a lot of firefighting later.And if you are always firefighting, well… we may have accidentally diagnosed the problem.In this week’s episode, we get into:Why stakeholder management goes beyond executive sellingHow to uncover hidden risks before they become expensive surprisesWhy internal delivery teams need to be involved earlierHow partners and suppliers shape the customer experienceWhy “known unknowns” are far better than “unknown unknowns”Have a listen, especially if your complex sales process currently relies on optimism, crossed fingers, and a heroic amount of Slack messages.

This week, we’re recording together in London for a rare in-person episode, which naturally means things go slightly off the rails before we even get to the topic.We kick things off with a story about hiring event security, where we learned the hard way that ticking qualification boxes doesn’t always mean someone can actually do the job. Turns out “having the badge” and “being able to climb stairs without needing a lie down” are apparently separate competencies.From there, we dive into the world of complex selling and executive selling — and why most big deals are won (or lost) long before the final proposal lands.We explore:Why executive selling is more than just presenting to senior leadershipHow to use your own executives as part of the sales strategyThe importance of coaching leadership teams before customer meetingsWhy one uninformed stakeholder can derail an entire dealHow to tactfully expand conversations to include hidden decision-makersThe role of context, repetition, and preparation in complex salesWhy executives need exposure to real customer conversationsAlong the way, we also accidentally turn the conversation into relationship advice and realise that executive communication skills might be just as useful at home as they are in the boardroom.It’s a practical, slightly chaotic conversation about influence, credibility, preparation, and the human side of complex deals.

This week, we dive headfirst into the world of complex deals and team selling — and discover that the secret to winning big opportunities isn’t bringing eleven people and a 300-slide deck into a meeting. In fact… it’s usually the opposite. We explore why complex deals are more often lost to internal chaos than to competitors, how healthy businesses create healthier sales processes, and why clarity beats noise every single time. Along the way, we talk about overloaded pipelines, managing urgency without panic, executive sponsorship, customer alignment, and the importance of having one person truly “own” the opportunity.There’s also a cautionary tale involving eleven people heading into a defense contractor meeting… which thankfully became two people and three slides before anyone got hurt.As always, we manage to make complex sales sound both strategic and mildly ridiculous — which, honestly, is probably the most accurate description of enterprise selling anyone’s ever come up with.

In this bonus episode, we doubled down on what actually drives healthy teams and results—and spoiler alert: it’s not luck, and it’s definitely not another fancy spreadsheet.We kicked things off with a simple but powerful reminder: just showing up (literally, in person) can unlock opportunities you didn’t even know existed. Turns out, a casual “while you’re here…” can be worth six figures. Not bad for a day out of the office.From there, we unpacked our slightly cheesy but surprisingly effective framework: capability, culture, capacity, and consistency. We talked about why consistency is usually the first thing to slip (guilty), and how without it, everything else quietly falls apart.We also got into the habit most teams get wrong—only reviewing what went badly. Instead, we made the case for digging into wins and understanding what actually worked (because let’s be honest, “we lost on price” tells you absolutely nothing).And finally, we brought it all together with one key idea: healthy businesses are built by design, not by accident. No shortcuts, no magic—just deliberate effort, reflection, and a bit of resilience when things don’t go to plan.If you’ve been chasing better results without stepping back to look at how you’re operating, this one’s for you.