The Cheat Code & Friends

Bad sales reps have always had places to hide. AI is starting to remove them.In this episode, Matthew Whyatt shares what happens when sales teams finally see the truth: which reps are really performing, which managers are actually coaching, and where deals start breaking down. The conversation focuses less on AI hype and more on what sales leaders can do with better visibility, better data, and better training.Matthew gives his opinion on why strong sales remains a human-to-human skill, even as AI reshapes how teams prepare, practice, and improve. He talks through the role of discovery, the danger of over-explaining in demos, and why guiding the buyer is often just as important as pitching the product.They also dig into objection handling, onboarding, sales management, and the growing pressure on leaders to raise standards rather than rely on instinct. Chapters00:00 Introduction and Light Banter02:59 Sales Backgrounds and Early Experiences06:01 The Impact of AI on Sales11:51 Sales Management and Coaching Challenges18:00 The Future of Sales with AI19:38 AI in Sales Training and Onboarding22:29 Challenges in Mid-Market and Enterprise Sales25:15 Real-Time Coaching and Sales Skills27:16 The Importance of Human Connection in Sales30:01 Guiding the Buyer Through the Sales Process36:01 The Role of Marketing in Modern Sales42:54 Tech Talk: Insights from Matthew WhyattReferences in the Show:https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ai-wont-replace-your-sales-team-itll-just-expose-lazy-matthew-whyatt-kpq9c/?trackingId=a%2BGQ6EiGSH%2BeaPS8yVR63Q%3D%3D https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ceo-and-the-salesman-podcast/id1635865557 Quote of the Show:“AI is removing the nooks and crannies that crappy salespeople can hide in.” - Matthew Whyatt Ways to Tune In:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5GpM8myxsUinc5bfLIbjJz?si=0af576adfb8e49f8 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-cheat-code/id1692445190 Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/cb0b3afa-063f-4f3b-96be-b98214c74912 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CheatCodePodcast

This episode will change the way you think about sales leadership, buyer behavior, and what growth teams need to do next.Join the hosts for a conversation with Jake Dunlap, CEO of Skaled, on how AI is reshaping the modern revenue engine from the inside out. Jake breaks down why CROs are running out of time to treat AI like a side project, where most teams are misapplying it, and how the biggest opportunity isn’t in automating more noise, but in improving how sellers think, work, and create value.From prospecting and deal strategy to coaching, hiring, and customer experience, Jake shares a sharp perspective on what’s changing fastest in B2B sales. Listen in as he explains why buyers are moving ahead of most sales teams, why traditional sales playbooks are losing relevance, and why the future belongs to organizations that remove friction, move faster, and meet customers where they are.Chapters00:00 Introduction and Excitement for Snowboarding02:56 The Evolving Role of the CRO05:53 AI's Impact on Sales Processes09:04 Prospecting and Sales Strategies with AI11:53 The Future of Sales Leadership14:56 Implementing AI in Organizations18:01 Hiring and AI Proficiency21:04 The Changing Buyer Landscape24:03 Customer Experience and Sales27:11 Conclusion and Key TakeawaysReferences in the Show:https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbesbusinesscouncil/2025/12/15/the-winning-ai-strategies-of-high-growth-companies https://synoviadigital.com/insights/the-state-of-ai-in-2025-what-mckinseys-data-tells-us-about-2026 Quote of the Show:“AI is more of a shift in how we solve problems as humans, less of a new interesting technology.” - Jake DunlapWays to Tune In:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5GpM8myxsUinc5bfLIbjJz?si=0af576adfb8e49f8 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-cheat-code/id1692445190 Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/cb0b3afa-063f-4f3b-96be-b98214c74912 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CheatCodePodcast

Startup land can be complete chaos… shifting buyer behavior, distributed teams, tighter budgets, and AI changing how work gets done. In this episode, John Eitel, CRO at Orum, explains what it all means for modern revenue leaders and why agility is no longer optional.Together, the hosts and John explore the death of the linear funnel, the resurgence of outbound, and why what was “old” in sales is suddenly working again. John also dives into the real leverage point most teams ignore: coaching and how AI can finally make it scalable without losing the human edge.The conversation questions long-held assumptions about SDRs, role specialization, and career paths, pushing leaders to rethink how their sales org is actually structured. This is about building revenue teams that experiment faster, learn quicker, and adapt before the market forces them to.Chapters00:00 Introduction to the Podcast and Guest02:55 Navigating Chaos in Startup Land05:52 The Impact of AI on Sales08:49 Balancing Scale and Personal Touch in Sales12:06 The Evolution of Sales Roles15:06 Understanding Ideal Customer Profiles (ICP)17:53 The Importance of Coaching in Sales21:02 Rethinking Sales Development Roles23:59 Career Pathing in Sales27:10 The Future of Sales Teams29:46 Final Thoughts on Experimentation and AdaptabilityReferences in the Show:https://www.sellingpower.com/23217/from-pipeline-to-prediction-the-ai-playbook-for-high-growth-sales-teams https://www.forbes.com/sites/lilianraji/2025/12/31/your-2026-marketing-strategy-edge-email-education-and-authenticity/ Quote of the Show:“No longer do our buyers all come into an office and sit at a desk with a phone on it. They're in a coffee shop, they're in their homes. They're now moving targets that buy differently. And then you put AI on top of that. I think that really was the third domino in this effect. But I think probably, again, those things all coming together have really sent this thing into a spin of change here.” - John EitelWays to Tune In:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5GpM8myxsUinc5bfLIbjJz?si=0af576adfb8e49f8 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-cheat-code/id1692445190 Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/cb0b3afa-063f-4f3b-96be-b98214c74912 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CheatCodePodcast

Joey Gilkey, CEO of TitanX, joins the show to tear down one of the most sacred ideas in go-to-market: that more activity equals more revenue.Joey argues that most sales teams aren’t failing because reps aren’t working hard enough. They’re failing because the system they’re operating inside is broken. Cold calling still works, but only if you stop treating every prospect the same. Most people will never answer the phone, and pretending otherwise destroys rep productivity, forecasting, and morale. By identifying who is actually reachable before a call is made, teams can radically change the economics of outbound.The conversation covers why SDR teams should be treated like a signal engine, not a meeting factory, and why founders keep defaulting to headcount when efficiency is the real constraint. By the end of the conversation, it’s hard to look at SDRs, outbound, or ‘activity metrics’ the same way again.Chapters00:00 Introduction and Setting the Stage05:05 Understanding Titan X's Value Proposition10:29 The Shift in Sales Strategies17:14 Redefining Sales Development as an Ad Channel20:15 The Importance of Messaging and Targeting21:21 Understanding Messaging by Persona24:41 The Importance of Follow-Up and Data27:49 Dispositions and Their Impact on Sales30:46 Data Aggregation and Coordination Drag34:22 The Reach Rate and Cold Calling Strategy39:18 Identifying Skill Gaps and Data Quality40:05 Customer Success and Operationalizing Sales43:01 The Challenges of Product-Led GrowthReferences in the Show:https://www.marketingbrew.com/stories/2025/12/18/cmos-on-overhyped-marketing-trends-in-2025 https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/growth-marketing-and-sales/our-insights/the-cmos-comeback-aligning-the-c-suite-to-drive-customer-centric-growth Quote of the Show:"An ad doesn't give us feedback. An email doesn't give us feedback. It's why I love the phone. It's just conversational advertising. If we can activate an audience, not even around conversions and appointments and meetings, and instead we can uncover interest and intrigue and intent, the three I's, and we can take that intel, that could be the mitochondria, the powerhouse of the go-to-market cell, which is, I'm on the front lines getting information that no one else has from my SDRs.” - Joey GilkeyWays to Tune In:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5GpM8myxsUinc5bfLIbjJz?si=0af576adfb8e49f8 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-cheat-code/id1692445190 Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/cb0b3afa-063f-4f3b-96be-b98214c74912 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CheatCodePodcast

Mike Huffaker, CRO, Planet DDS, joins the show to share what actually drives real growth in a vertical SaaS market where “going broad” is the default trap.Mike explains why narrowing to a true ideal customer profile can feel terrifying, but becomes a growth cheat code once you commit: higher win rates, higher ASPs, clearer messaging, and less competitive deal cycles. He also gets candid about the part most teams underestimate after they move upmarket: implementation. In Mike’s dental niche, going live means data conversion, workflow change, training across roles, and real internal leadership from the customer side. If you can’t deliver outcomes post-sale… none of the bookings matter.Chapters00:00 Introduction to Growth Strategies02:56 Targeting Ideal Customer Profiles05:51 Internal Buy-In for Market Focus09:12 Team Structure and Talent Acquisition11:59 Implementation Challenges and Customer Success14:58 The Role of AI in Implementation18:13 Revenue Growth and Account Management20:56 Navigating Complex Sales Processes23:59 Hiring for Success in Enterprise Sales26:50 Conclusion and Key TakeawaysReferences in the Show:https://www.forbes.com/sites/jodiecook/2025/08/08/5-chatgpt-prompts-to-define-your-ideal-customer-profile/ https://www.entrepreneur.com/growing-a-business/how-defining-my-ideal-client-profile-transformed-my-business/498064 https://martech.org/the-biggest-ideal-customer-profile-mistakes-businesses-make-and-how-to-fix-them/ Quote of the Show:"We did a lot of modeling on what we were generating from an MQL perspective, what we expected we could do from an outbound motion as well. And we got everyone pretty comfortable with it. And it's turned out to be something where the team now appreciates not having to work through. I guess, for lack of a better term, things that just keep you busy that don't really drive results.” - Mike HuffakerWays to Tune In:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5GpM8myxsUinc5bfLIbjJz?si=0af576adfb8e49f8 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-cheat-code/id1692445190 Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/cb0b3afa-063f-4f3b-96be-b98214c74912 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CheatCodePodcast