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Conversations with Women in Sales

Conversations with Women in Sales

215 episodes — Page 2 of 5

Conversations with Women in Sales Year in Review, Lori Richardson, Women Sales Pros

We had a big year at Women Sales Pros and now are going through the review of all of our wonderful podcast guests in 2023. I would like to thank all of our guests for their focus and contribution to topics we discussed such as: Getting into sales in the first place as a woman or another "only" Growing in your sales career Becoming a sales leader - what is required? Dealing with a "male majority" environment and if you are a leader, how you can improve it. Various industries, like avation, SaaS, and manufacturing. Fundamentals for sellers. And other topics. We also discussed how you can give us a "5 Star" rating and you can post comments on iTunes which greatly helps our visibility. I'll personally give you a shout out if you and two other people go to iTunes, listen to an episode, and rate it - if all 3 rate it, I'll talk you up on the next episode. Donate to the Sales Education Foundation's Giamanco Memorial Scholarship for Women in sales programs here: https://salesfoundation.org/barbara-giamanco-memorial-scholarship-fund/index.php Follow us @WomenSalesPros on Instagram, X, LinkedIn and Facebook. Send us names of amazing women we should interview - or male counterparts. They must be in B2B selling or managing currently. Thank you to our listeners, we'd be nothing without you!!

Dec 13, 20238 min

163: Greatness is Defined by Character, not Gender; Male Ally Riley Blaisdell, Paycor

Riley Blaisdell is currently a Major Market Account Executive at Paycor. In his AE role, I'd say Riley has done more for helping shine a light on women in sales than many senior leaders I know. He has done this through his growing visibility on LinkedIn. Right now during "Women in Sales" month, he's talking up different women in sales each day. I noticed that Riley has this list of women he gladly shares anytime one of the "bro's" in sales will post a number of guys and here will come Riley's list of some amazing women in sales and sales leadership he's been introduced to. We wanted to talk Riley up in this episode to show that as a male ally, you don't have to wait until you have a power role in your company to speak up and support the effort for more #womeninsales - you can do it now. If you like the episode, please comment and share it. Ultimately a 5 star review and comment about the podcast on iTunes is a winning move we'd love to see. Riley Blaisdell on LinkedIn - connect with him! He references the work of Brene' Brown If you enjoy this podcast, consider a donation to the Barbara Giamanco Memorial Scholarship to give scholarships to women in Sales Education Foundation recognized Universities and Colleges here. More at Women Sales Pros - where we're working to help change the face of sales. Follow Women Sales Pros on LinkedIn, as well as President Lori Richardson Recommend a woman in a sales role or awesome male ally! They could be featured next.

Oct 19, 202317 min

162: From Research to Sales, Rana Salman, PhD, Salman Consulting

Rana Salman, MBA PhD, is the author of the new book, Sales Essentials: The Tools You need at Every Stage to Close More Deals and Crush your Quota. She is CEO of Salman Consulting, started in research, and stumbled (as she says) into sales and consulting. Rana is also co-founder of WISE (Women in Sales Enablement) We had a great conversation about her childhood and how her dad's sales role made a huge impact on her. For more info: www.salmanconsulting.com Follow us on Twitter: @SalmanConsult email me: [email protected] Women Sales Pros can be found on Instagram and X @womensalespros Connect with us on LinkedIn! https://www.linkedin.com/company/women-sales-pros/

Sep 22, 202321 min

161: For the Love of Sales, Miram Ebrahim, Yelp

Miram (Mimi) Ebrahim is Brand Sales Leader for the GTM Team at Yelp. She has been in sales and sales leadership for more than eight years and has a background in television production and has an MBA. We talked about how she got into sales in the first place, what she loves about sales, and has tips for reaching prospects in addition to lots of other great advice. "When I think of No, I think of KNOW" and she tells her reps, "Your goal is to build momentum" Miram talked about staying motivated and being not just a woman in sales, but Egyptian and also a mom. More on Miram here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/miramebrahim/ Conversations with Women in Sales podcast now has over 160 episodes with amazing sales contributors and sales leaders - large companies and small - new reps and seasoned veterans. If you like the podcast, please SHARE it with another woman or a male ally. Please rate it and review it as we do not get many reviews and really could use them. For more help with adding women to your sales team, reach out to Lori at Women Sales Pros. https://womensalespros.com/

Jul 31, 202313 min

160: Lessons from a Senior Biz Dev and Sales Manager, Rhasheeda Hughes, PowerReviews

After hearing Rhasheeda Hughes on a panel webinar, I had to invite her to join our podcast so that others could learn about her journey and her strategies for being a successful woman in sales leadership. Rhasheeda has a proven record as a sales expert, trainer, and team leader with a reputation for enhancing organizational capabilities. She led a national team of 10 Account Managers with full responsibility for team hiring, development, and performance coaching. She is adept at consultative sales strategies based on data-driven analysis and a relentless focus on customer service. Rhasheeda has a reputation as an empathetic leader who builds inclusive culture while coaching individuals to develop high-performing teams. https://www.linkedin.com/in/rhasheeda-hughes-mba-4a81b313/ Conversations with Women in Sales podcast now has over 160 episodes with amazing sales contributors and sales leaders - large companies and small - new reps and seasoned veterans. If you like the podcast, please SHARE it with another woman or a male ally. Please rate it and review it as we do not get many reviews and really could use them. For more help with adding women to your sales team, reach out to Lori at Women Sales Pros. https://womensalespros.com/

Jul 29, 202329 min

159: Perspective From a Sales and Leadership Coach, Tara Ryan, InfiniDEI

It was a LinkedIn post that got my attention. Sales managers are acting poorly, according to Tara Ryan's coachees. As an Executive and Leadership Coach, she's heard more complaints from women in sales roles about managers with lack of empathy, perhaps fear-motivated. I couldn't let the conversation go - so we recorded. What is important to you in a sales manager? I wrote about making reps more coachable, with some very interesting data. Learn more about what a coach does in this conversation with Tara Ryan, Founder of InfiniDEI. Host Lori Richardson speaks, writes, hosts this podcast, consults, trains and coaches B2B sales leaders and helps their teams grow. Find out more here.

Jul 19, 202323 min

158: Amazing Careers in RevOps, Bayley Fesler and Annie Jones, Xactly

When you think about careers for women in sales, we typically talk about revenue responsibility roles plus sales leadership. In the past 5-7 years we started to see sales enablement roles as well as RevOps. .Personally I get a little confused between enablement and ops, so I brought on a team of RevOps leaders at Xactly to help us understand what their roles are and how they both got into them. Meet Bayley Fesler, Director, Revenue Ops, and Annie Jones, Revenue Ops Business Partner. Together these women break things down for us and dispel myths about forecasting - it isn't hard anymore, for one thing! Bayley Fesler, Director, Revenue Ops, Xactly Corp Annie Jones, Revenue Ops Business Partner, Xactly Corp Their latest article about AI and Sales Podcast is hosted by Lori Richardson, President of Women Sales Pros, a community helping to get more women into sales and sales leadership. Lori is also author of "She Sells: Attract, Promote, and Retain Great Women in B2B Sales" available here on Amazon. Learn about and donate to the Barbara Giamanco Memorial Scholarship for women in university sales programs here.

Jun 30, 202322 min

157: Dreamed of Being a Supreme Court Justice, Ended Up in Cyber Security Sales, Jaquelin Jenkins, Tangible

Jaquelin Jenkins is Executive Director of Client Services at Tangible Security, having worked previously at Citrix and other orgs. She graduated from University of Alabama with degrees in Political Science and Communications - so how'd she end up in sales roles? Listen to this episode and learn how she pivoted once she realized how much she loved working with people and the idea of sales in her head for some reason. As a 5th generation North Carolinian, Jaquelin has a passion for serving her community. If you find this episode inspiring or helpful, please share it! Our goal is to expose more women to all of the roads into B2B sales opportunities and to encourage those in sales to grow in their role - build a career and if it makes sense, to consider sales leadership.

Jun 15, 202317 min

156: Traits and Qualities of a Sales Leader, Radhika Shukla

Radhika Shukla is a long time sales leader in the tech sales space, working for big brands like Microsoft and IBM. in Radhika's own words, she wants everyone to master the art of Sales: Serve passionately, Connect authentically and Thrive collectively. We have a wonderful conversation about all of the skills and traits that women bring to the table when we are able to be our authentic selves. Join us to learn more. Reach out to Radhika on Linkedin.

Jun 7, 202322 min

155: On Getting Fair Compensation, Dan Goodman, TruCommish

This is an important episode for anyone who has ever been paid less than their peers doing the same role, or who was fired while pregnant (yep, it still happens in 2023) or who got downsized and didn't negotiate severance - my guest, Dan Goodman will cover it all. Dan is Founder and CEO of TruCommish, an app that helps verify true commission - and Dan also has been shining a light on horrible compensation situations that companies have been doing quietly - to advocate on the part of the seller or sales leader. We appreciate Dan as a supporter of women in sales and his work with dozens and dozens of women working to solve employment, PIP, and severance issues - in addition to offering advice to others at the same time. Follow Dan Goodman on LinkedIn - he is an amazing resource and a treasure for us in a time of big layoffs and sometimes poor leadership choices.

May 23, 202332 min

154: Life in the US in a Sales Career, Niyanta Khatri, Logitech

Niya Khatri is a long way from her home of Kathmandu, Nepal. She is a Millenial b2b seller who has lived in Pune, India, Colorado Springs, Toronto, and now the Bay Area, SF. She brings a wonderful and different perspective as a woman of color, as a woman "up and coming" in sales, and has openly helped her employers to improve revenues by looking through a different lens. We had a fun conversation.

May 18, 202329 min

153: Keep Your Personal Brand Positive, Katherine Andruha, Simpplr

Katherine Andruha has been leading sales teams for 14 years at brands like Aruba Networks, Anaplan, Sugar CRM, Cloudflare, and now at Simpplr. Katherine's advice, "Focus on your job, and hit your numbers - you'll be OK" - She also advises to speak up about your career goals and be intentional. Katherine is now focused on strategy in her leadership roles. She encourages women to not just settle for a position - "life is too short to work for a crappy boss" - words to live by.

May 9, 202319 min

152: Lessons from a Global Sales Leader, Lori Harmon, Cloudflare

Lori Harmon is a consummate tech sales leader. I've had the pleasure to know her over 8 or 9 years. In her recent role at Cloudflare, Lori is Global Head of Business Development. Reflecting on her 20+ years of building, leading, and transforming inside sales organizations, and as author of "42 Rules for Building a High-Velocity Inside Sales Team: Actionable Guide to Creating Inside Sales Teams That Deliver Quantum Results," Lori has an immense passion for developing meaningful strategy, executing tactfully, and working to inspire people early in their careers to perform and advance, which she is working to impart to her teams at @Cloudflare. In this conversation, Lori shares some of her lessons learned and about her journey into sales leadership - a place not enough of us are at.

Apr 13, 202318 min

151: One Woman's Success in Enterprise Sales, Karen Keating, Salesforce

Karen Keating is a Strategic Account Director at Salesforce. She's created a great life through professional selling - and always working at the Enterprise level of selling. She lives in Utah where her passion for the snow continues. We had a great conversation about how she got into sales in the first place and someone "saw" something in her to encourage her to consider selling. Once she got bit by the sales bug, she has spent her career selling.

Mar 21, 202318 min

150: The Approachable Sales Leader, Ang McManamon, Crunchbase

It doesn't seem fair that our society has developed boys and men who can be loud and agressive and everyone thinks that is fine. When a woman is not even agressive but assertive, and speaks up, she is often labeled one of an assortment of names - one is five letters and starts with a B. Women who thrive in sales leadership learn the "dance" between not being "too much" and being "enough". There is no road map for this - that's why we talk to amazing leaders like Ang McManamon, who has been at Gilt Groupe, Amazon, Knotel (among others) and now VP Sales at Crunchbase. Ang talks about her climb into leadership and how she supports her people so that they feel like she has their back.

Mar 15, 202321 min

149: An Amazing Leader in the Aviation Industry, Stephanie Chung, Global Brand Ambassador & Speaker

Stephanie Chung is a transformational expert and a commercial strategist with passion for people. Stephanie serves on many boards. She's led businesses through significant change in unprecedented times which has given her great appreciation and resolve to align organizational goals and amazing teams behind a shared vision and purpose to achieve the desired results. As an accomplished, innovative leader, Stephanie has 20+ years of demonstrated success of steering companies from start-up into maturity, propelling record sales growth, and building highly engaged and loyal teams for global entities. Deemed the first African-American to lead a major private aviation company, Stephanie was honored to earn accolades as a "Trailblazer" on the 2020 Ebony Magazine Power 100 list, "Top Visionary Changing The Luxury World Right Now" Robb Report 2021, "Top Executive" 2022 Savoy Magazine, and "Most Influential Female Executive" Women's Inc 2022 . We had a great conversation. I had no idea what her first job in aviation was at Logan Airport - amazing - and shows how one can climb the corporate ladder all the way to the C-Suite.

Feb 23, 202323 min

148: Rising in Sales Leadership Alongside Motherhood, Tonni Bennett, VP Sales, Daily

Tonni has been a sales leader in tech companies for over 14 years. I wondered how she started out in a leadership role so early in her career. We also talked about momhood / parenthood as she now has two kids so juggling family as well as work and a sales team is a lot. We talked about how great leaders who ARE parents can be in hitting goals and being productive. We also talked about how many women coming up in newer sales roles don't visualize that they could actually have a family some day and stay in sales or be in a sales leader role. Tonni's success dispels this myth. We'd love your feedback on this episode - consider posting on iTunes - and thank you in advance!

Feb 8, 202329 min

147: Women who Rise in Sales Roles: Nirvanna Lildharrie, Column

If nothing else, connect with Nirvanna to follow her LinkedIn posts and shares - she is so great at putting things "out there" on topics like leadership, stress, inspiration, and dealing with change. I met Nirvanna in Boston a number of years ago. She's always been focused on her professional development, and committed to being in a leadership role. Learn how she rose from individual contributor to a leader - she would not settle for another individual role. I am inspired by her "can-do" attitude and how she is sharing what she is learning through her posts on Medium here as well as on LinkedIn.

Jan 31, 202329 min

146: For Best Prospecting Results, Know Your Value Prop and Pain Points, Nancy Calabrese, One of a Kind Sales

Nancy Calabrese is Founder and CEO of One of a Kind Sales - a lead generation and appointment setting firm working primarily with B2B companies, helping them grow revenue. Her team loves cold calling, lead development, and top of the funnel services. Most people don't, so this has given Nancy a robust business for many years. In our conversation she'll share her story, how she grew to love sales so much, and some tips and ideas for success in getting meetings and in speaking with future buyers. Nancy sees calling as one of the marketing channels and assuming you are professional and use the multi-channel approach to reach prospective customers, between all of the channels, you'll be successful. You need to be open to where your buyer is and where what you say or do resonates with them.

Jan 21, 202317 min

145: What's New for Women in Sales in 2023, Quick overview, Lori Richardson, Women Sales Pros

This is a quick teaser about what is ahead for 2023 on the podcast, Conversations with Women in Sales, as well as with the "women in sales" community. Lori is solo on this one to share some information and perhaps a little inspiration at the end.

Jan 13, 202311 min

144: Brief Wrap Up of the Year in Review on Conversations with Women in Sales 2022, Lori Richardson, Women Sales Pros

We had so many wonderful episodes this past year. Lori Richardson, podcast host, will share the top listened to episodes and some of her favorite topics and guests. Plus she puts out a call at the end for everyone to do a hard look at their past year and review, then set some stretch goals and find an accountability partner or team. Lori mentions free tools to download for helping you evaluate 2022 and to kickstart 2023. You can reach out to her if you don't know how to reach the ones she's referring to. lori AT womensalespros DOT com. IF YOU LIKE THE PODCAST, we ask that you go to iTunes, log in, download an episode or two and then give us a FIVE STAR rating - and then give us a review. It will go a long way and it matters if you have 100 reviews or if you have 20. Thank you in advance.

Dec 29, 202217 min

143: Sales Leader in a Telecom Company, Laura Colón, Vonage

Laura Colón focused on public relations in college at the suggestion of a counselor. She learned, however, that PR does not pay well right out of college. She went a different direction and ended up in sales, but is grateful for the learning she got about communication and PR which has helped her first as an individual contributor in sales, then as a sales leader. Laura has worked on both coasts, and is currently Regional VP, Mid-Market West for Vonage. She is also a Mentor at #GirlsClub and recently spoke on the main stage at the #GirlsClub "RISE UP" conference, where I met her and realized her energy would be a great addition to the podcast.

Dec 14, 202222 min

142: From Teaching and Physical Fitness to Sales Career, Porchia Jenkins, TripActions

Porchia Jenkins is currently Manager of Mid-Market Sales Development at a company called TripActions. But Porchia didn't start out in college thinking about going into sales... nope, she was focused on kineseology and exercise science. Got her Bachelors degree, and then her Masters in it. She was ready for her career in physical fitness - first working with adults, and then with kids. Somehow she ended up at a holiday party or two with folks in software sales. That got her thinking about a change - the rest is history. Porchia and I shared stories about formerly being a teacher then getting into sales. We laughed at how it "used" to be that hiring managers in sales didn't see a correlation sometimes for "grit" and "perserverance" as we toiled away with kids in classrooms. Really? Porchia also talked about being a Black woman in a while male world - sales. How she's used being an "only" often to her advantage and who is really clear about who she is and the huge value she offers. I think this episode will inspire a woman - maybe a Black or Brown woman - to consider sales - or consider staying in sales (don't leave...) or moving into sales leadership as Porchia has done. I think the sky is the limit for Porchia and I can't wait to see what is ahead for her. This time of year, we could use a "gift" of a 5 star review on iTunes if you are so moved! Please write a comment too, on iTunes as it makes a difference. Thanks!

Dec 7, 202229 min

141: Love Your Team: A Survival Guide for Sales Managers in a Hybrid World, Helen Fanucci, Microsoft

Helen Fanucci has written a much-needed book in "Love Your Team" and it is different from so many other sales management guides because it helps managers, whether new or experienced to understand what to say, when to say it, and actual wording suggestions. Helen has brought her years of sales leadership currently as a senior leader at Microsoft and previously at Sun Microsystems. There are sections of the book on these conversations - on connection, performance, strategy, customer engagement, and internal alignment, Helen emphasises that "words matter" in sales - internally and with our customers - and I could not agree more. Check out our conversation and download a copy of her book to help your sales team - whether you are a sales manager, leader, or individual contributor - you will receive some great, practical ideas.

Nov 30, 202222 min

Ep 140140: An Endurance Runner Moves into B2B Sales, Katie Visco, ADP

Katie Visco was the youngest woman to run across the United States in 2009. Not only did she run across the U.S., but she gave talks all along the way. She repeated a cross-nation run ten years later, running across Australia with only bicycle support throughout the ride. Now Katie is in a sales role at ADP in their retirement services - and winning awards doing it - no surprise. Listen to Katie's transition into sales (she's also an entrepreneur) and learn what keeps her going. This is our 140th episode to inspire women and appreciate our male allies in B2B sales and revenue growth. #shesells #seeitbeit #womeninsales

Nov 23, 202226 min

139: When Knowledge is Shared, Everyone Wins, Heidi Messer, collective[i]

Let's talk about the drop in outbound call connections - buyers have changed. How do we adjust and prepare and work to hit our sales numbers? Meet Heidi. Heidi Messer is an entrepreneur, board director, builder of networks and investor who founded several global businesesses including Linkshare and collective[i]. She serves on a number of boards, was granted two patents connected to collective[i]'s data analytics network and is listed in Wikipedia. The name collective[i] stands for Collective Intelligence-- a concept that when knowledge is shared, everyone wins. Heidi says the greatest sales leaders she's seen are resilient. She wants people to question logic from the past instead of being open to the future. Technology is not the change itself, but it helps enables change. Her latest venture works to remove time forecasting as well as inputing data. It connects buyers and sellers in modern ways - deep collaboration. People need the ability to collaborate and that is the next experience in selling. Check out the collective[i] forecast at https://www.ciforecast.com/

Nov 9, 202229 min

138: The Power of Science in Selling, Wesleyne, Transformed Sales

Wesleyne went to college to become a chemist. She was a chemist for four years, then got into a sales career - tripling the sales in her region in one year! She takes a scientific approach to selling, and uses data to prove what a sales team possesses and what it needs. Take a listen to this fun conversation with my friend and colleague, Wesleyne and see how someone with a scientific background totally excelled at selling. Find more about Wesleyne at https://www.transformedsales.com/ She also has a podcast called Transformed Sales.

Oct 26, 202221 min

137: Heart Powered Sales, Robin Treasure, Author & Sales Trainer

This podcast aims to highlight so many women in sales who have created success without being "salesy" - you know that "icky" feeling after being "sold to?" that can happen in a bad sales situation. Robin Treasure wrote a book, "Heart-Powerd Sales - Grow Your Sales Exponetially with Emotional Intelligence and Intuition" and is a great resource for anyone in sales wanting to be in the admirable profession of selling, using heart. Robin is a sales trainer and sales coach as well as a multi-lingual world traveler who has lived abroad in several different countries. She began her career as an Italian translator in Rome. www.robintreasure.com

Oct 19, 202225 min

136: Sales is an Admirable Profession, Mandi Graziano, Author & Sales VP

Her book starts with the powerful sentiment: "Sales isn't a dirty word!" and so did our conversation. Mandy is not only the VP, Global Accounts at Hospitality Performance Network but is also the author of a great book called, "Sales Tales: The Hustle, Humor, and Lessons from a Life in Sales". Mandy has a very down to earth style in sharing what she loves about the sales profession and how everything we do involves selling - so embrace it rather than shy away from it.

Oct 12, 202232 min

135: Heels to Deals, Heidi Solomon-Orlick, GirlzWhoSell

Heidi Solomon-Orlick is a force to be reckoned with. In our conversation she will talk about her career in sales (currently now Sr. VP, Bus Dev at Arise Virtual Solutions) and the impetus to launch her organization, GirlzWhoSell. Heidi has amazing amounts of energy as it seems she is always working on a new project or idea for more women in sales. I met Heidi when we both lived in New Hampshire and I was impressed with her networking to key people, and for believing in the idea to put a book together with 30+ women sharing their sales journeys to inspire other women to consider a sales career. GirlzWhoSell has a non-profit foundation and an academy where young women can learn about sales and be mentored.

Aug 31, 202225 min

134: Financial Abundance and Growth Mindset for Sales, Elyse Archer, She Sells

I met "my people" when I met Elyse Archer - she has a big abundant mindset and is helping men and women entrepreneurs and professional sellers to gain success through mindset, too. Elyse has a soft spot for women and founded She Sells to offer programs specifically for women - also a She Sells podcast. Elyse is also a personal brand strategist and a video confidence coach. I hope you find this episode inspiring - would love any feedback. Check out Elyse at https://elysearcher.com/

Aug 17, 202227 min

133: Sales Truly Helps, Not Hustles, Sam McKenna, #SamSales

Samantha McKenna is Founder of #SamSales Consulting. We had an amazing conversation about the negative stereotype sales still has - and the wonderful attributes a sales career actually offers. Do you have the ability to have a conversation, to run a process? You could be great in B2B sales. This is a profession where you can impact your earning potential by how you "run" your territory. It is very entrepreneurial. You can also customize your lifestyle with a sales career. "If you master the foundational skills in sales, you can crush it forever" according to Sam. Follow Sam on LinkedIn - Follow this podcast and please share it!

Aug 10, 202235 min

132: The Grass Isn't Always Greener, Katie Walsh, Hubspot

Katie Walsh was a Division 1 College Field Hockey player and atributes a lot of her success in sales and leadership to her collegiate athletic career. Katie is Director of Sales at Hubspot. Unlike most of us in software and SaaS, she's been at Hubspot for the past NINE years. Yep - sometimes you find a great work home and have talented leaders who inspire you to stay and grow with the company. Katie received a solid foundation in selling through her work at EMC making lots of calls and setting up meetings for the AEs there. She said that time at EMC, while not a career "fit" for her, was critical for her future success. We talk about preconcieved notions about sales, growth within one company, and what the future holds. #sales #seeitbeit #shesells #womeninsales

Jul 27, 202232 min

131: Managing Difficult Conversations, Roberta Matuson, Author

Our guest today wrote a fantastic book that will help you to build more empowered conversations as you rise through the sales organization or the company in general. Roberta Matuson is the author of "Can We Talk: Seven Principles for Managing Difficult Conversations at Work" Roberta and I had a rousing conversation and you'll find some gems to take away if you want to be a better, more effective communicator.

Jul 14, 202226 min

130: Bet on Yourself and You'll Always Win, Amy Franko, Amy Franko Assoc

Amy Franko is a keynote sales speaker and the author of "The Modern Seller: Sell More and Increase Your Impact in the New Sales Economy" Amy is also the Chair of the Board of Directors of Girl Scouts of Ohio's Heartland where they are building an amazing STEM project for their Girls Scouts which we also discuss. Learn how Amy got into sales as an English and Communication college grad and how she's been drawn to tech during her career. Learn more about Amy at https://amyfranko.com/

Jun 30, 202223 min

Ep 129129: On Becoming a Good Storyteller, Jen Allen, Challenger

Jen and I talked about a lot of different things but what grabbed me was her speaking about how becoming a podcast host helped her be better at storytelling. Storytelling is such an important skill within professional selling that I wanted to highlight that - we talk about a leader who made a big impression on Jen and our first sales experiences. Who you work for early on in your career matters - which is why we need female voices to help encourage women up and coming in sales today. Jen says, "There is a much wider network than within your company" Jen and I both encourage women to build their brand on LinkedIn. Build YOUR brand - not your company's brand. We can build trust at scale. It is important. Check out Jen's podcast as well.

Jun 23, 202230 min

128: Know Who You are; Natalia Gallo, GAF

Natalia Gallo is a changemaker in the male-dominated world of roofing. She has risen through the ranks to Regional Sales Director and spent years helping to mentor and support other women to succeed. Natalia brought the idea of getting the women in sales within GAF together to learn from each other, and the WinS program was created. Listen to how she started as an architect and is now one of the top women in the roofing profession.

Jun 9, 202222 min

127: It Is OK to Evolve and Change, Natasha Hemmingway

Natasha Hemmingway took her college degree in Biology and a leap of faith into pharmaceutical sales and never looked back. After eight years she pivoted into medical device sales, and did that successfully for another eight years. Now she runs her own coaching practice and is focused on teaching others how to Sell with Heart Not Hustle (R) Natasha has a powerful story she shares in this episode about losing her full term baby and how poorly a situation like that is handled in most companies - many sales teams are not prepared to help women get back to their team after a devastating loss. Natasha went on to create her own company and coaches others on how to sell. I really appreciated our conversation and hope you do too. If you do, please share it with others. Rate it on iTunes. Thanks.

May 25, 202225 min

126: Ask, Do Not Assume, Yamini Bhat, Vymo

Before a woman leaves a sales role due to issues she isn't comfortable with - such as her environment or a life event, she needs to ask about a different accomodation rather than us losing another woman in sales. My conversation with Yamini Bhat, CEO & Co-Founder at Vymo covered the many unconscious biases there are in the workplace. Vymo is a sales enablement platform and so we talked about within her company as well as with clients and customers how women and men differ. It was a varied and interesting conversation sure to be of interest. We cover: Women exceeding men in conversion rates, but also women exceeding men in attrition. Join us as we dive into the data.

May 18, 202229 min

125: Right on the Money Book Review, Colleen Francis

In her new book, "Right on the Money - New Principles for Bold Growth", author and sales strategist Colleen Francis discusses the current sales landscape and offers some great strategies - and tactics - to win over today's buyers. One of the #WomenInSalesAuthors with bold strategies for revenue growth.

May 1, 202227 min

124: The Killer Pitch Master Precious Williams

Precious Williams KNEW there was a STAR inside of herself - she was not raised with confidence but she learned to embrace herself and own who she is. She is a world class master communicator and a shining light in our sales world (and the world at large) Sales and pitching skills are vital to charting your own destiny. Precious shares part of her story and you should be watching for Precious - she is going big places!

Mar 30, 202233 min

123: Why We Share our Story, Jen Ferguson, Salesforce

Jen is an author contributor to the new book, "Heels to Deals" with 33 women's stories about their journeys in B2B sales. It was pulled together by Heidi Solomon-Orlick of Girlz Who Sell and is a GREAT read! Jen does a popular LinkedIn Live show where she shares stories, as she did in the book and on this episode about challenges she ran into as a woman in sales - in hopes that other women coming up in sales will learn from others and not get stuck in the same corner or be speechless if and when someone says something totally inappropriate or disrespectful. We cover a lot of topics in this one.

Mar 23, 202243 min

122: Think Big in Your Sales Career, Natasha Sekkat, EMC

Natasha has had a most interesting journey into and through sales. She grew up with a most unconventional upbriging (you'll have to listen to see what I mean) and had no idea what business was, let alone sales. Through her education and early roles she learned about sales and has been involved in it now for the past 20 years. Listen to Natasha's journey and get inspired.

Mar 9, 202233 min

121: Sell Without Selling Out , Andy Paul, Sales Author

Andy Paul is a mentor, coach, supporter, and champion of more women in sales. He is also a global sales advisor and top podcaster. In his new book, Sell Without Selling Out, he shows you how to take charge of your own sales career without selling out using the four "Sell In Pillars" of connection, curiosity, understanding, and generosity. These are pillars women have used in sales for YEARS. Now it is a must for everyone in sales because these soft skills are what bots and computers cannot yet replace. Check out Andy's book and you will thank me! It is an easy read, and a one-sitting read if you are as engaged with the topic as I am.

Mar 2, 202236 min

120: Sales Pros are Helpers not Snipers, Leslie Venetz, Sales Team Builder

What does an inclusive sales culture look like? How do we get men to be our advocates, not just allies? I talked with TikTok B2B Sales standout Leslie Venetz, Founder, Sales Team Builder, about her 15 year sales journey and how far we still need to go for more women in sales. We talk about working remotely and how that can be a game changer for a mom with child or kids at home - and how you don't need to be a "road warrior" to be a sales leader anymore. That is great for more women sales leader candidates and ultimately more women in sales leadership. #SheSells #SeeItBeIt @SalesTipsTok "Breaking Corporate Bro Culture"

Feb 10, 202222 min

119: Tips to Plan Your Sales Career, Meg Hewitt, Salesforce

Meg Hewitt has had a number of varied roles which we talk about this episode. She's been a rep, a manager, a head of sales dev, trainer, coach, Director of Sales, Regional VP, and now a Strategic Account Executive, Retail & Consumer Goods at Salesforce. Meg shares that it's not the title but what you learn, and how you can work to plan out what it is you need or where you want to go in sales. What is wonderful about B2B sales is that you can take your career many different directions. Meg shares about her geographical moves as well as climbing the career ladder.

Feb 2, 202230 min

118: Imposter Syndrome and More, Alli Rizacos, Alli Rizacos Coaching

In this session Alli and I talk about the topic of feeling like an imposter and what you can do. Why is it so prevalent in women, and can men have it too? Join us and learn.

Jan 20, 202230 min

117: Leading a PLG Sales Team, Grace Tyson, Reprise

We kick of 2022 with a new sponsor, Reprise. Big thank you to them. They have some amazing women in sales, including their head of sales. VP Sales Grace Tyson sat down with us to share about her journey and stops along the way to her current role. We discussed the idea of product led growth and got some inspiration from a top sales leader. If you know of a woman sales leader or amazing sales rep, let us know - if they inspire, we want to share their insight and story here.

Jan 12, 202223 min

116: 2021 Episodes in Review plus a Look at 2022 She Sells Summit, Lori Richardson

We had an awesome, amazing year of interviews here at Conversations with Women in Sales. I'll review all 36 episodes and share what is ahead for Women Sales Pros and the She Sells Summit. If you know of a woman in sales or woman sales leader in B2B who would make a great guest, please refer them our way AND please share this podcast with your sales leader or company leader, whether they are male or female. We depend on our male allies to help affect change in B2B. Also, reviews are welcome and appreciated on iTunes as well as any endorsements on LinkedIn or elsewhere.

Dec 29, 202123 min

115: Design Thinking and Sales, Ashley Welch, Somersault Innovation

Ashley is co-founder of Somersault Innovation and the author of "Naked Sales: How Design Thinking Reveals Customer Motives and Drives Revenue" In this episode we discussed what design thinking is, what her journey in sales has been like, and some great insights she had to share with us.

Dec 15, 202124 min