I help organizations create modern learning strategies for their people, partners, and customers | AE @ Docebo | 🎙Host of Stories of Selling Human

Sometimes in your life it feels like you lose everything.  

Like the year I was laid off.  Interviews pushed from COVID 19,  But then the real bomb hit,

My Dad got diagnosed Leukemia.

Just 5 months later, unfortunately my Dad passed away.  Despite losing so much, I'll never lose what my Dad taught me about life.  Things like selflessness, a relentless work ethic, and a thirst for knowledge.

His best lesson was how to create genuine connections with everyone in your life.  I've taken that approach to sales my whole life.  I’m still the 8 yr old kid who loved meeting people so much that he went door to door selling Ham and Cheese out of a catalog.

I got genuine connections out of it and the Sony Boombox I won wasn’t half bad either!

Highlights from 15 years in professional sales:

🔥 I launched a new team where I successfully recruited financial producers for a firm owned by Fran Tarkenton, Hall of Fame QB.

🔥I was named the top sales rep in an office of over 50 media sales people.  Judged not just by sales attainment but also by activity.

🔥At Monster, I sold the biggest partnership contract in the history of our team. $300k ARR, 3 year deal. 

What am I most proud of professionally?

A 15 minute meeting.  I drove 3 hours to Chicago to meet a client I’ve never met in person.  For 15 mins to say hi and drive back.  It wasn’t to close a deal.  It was just a Tuesday. 

Those “Just Tuesday” moments are why I love this gig.

I’ve had success in my career because I genuinely seek to understand people. 

An understanding strategy IS my sales strategy.

My relentlessness isn’t driven by my product or a sales number. I'm motivated by digging deeper to discover the “un-discovered” problem.   Sales is something that happens for and with your buyer not to them.  You're a guide on a discovery together with the intention to help and add value.  ALWAYS.

The best feeling in sales isn’t ringing a bell, (even though that’s always fun). 

The real joy is in being told three simple words.

“I trust you.” 

That’s what really lights me up and what I'm going for.

Finally, my approach in sales is guided by attuning yourself to what someone’s entire world is like, actively listening without any agenda, being genuine, and putting them first.

I call these things, “Selling Human”.  I practice it daily.  I think we can all do it.

I choose to study it.

If you want to learn it with me, listen to my podcast:  Sell By Being Human 
(wherever you get your podcasts)

AND for more,

Follow #sellbybeinghuman

Alex Smith

It’s Wednesday, and instead of putting out a podcast episode, I’m putting out a shout out.

Shout out to my friend Jen Mueller.

I get reached out to by lots of people to be on the Sell By Being Human Podcast  

But I was absolutely giddy when Jen’s team reached out to me to have her on.

Jen is a long time sports reporter in Seattle.

She’s covered the Mariners, Seahawks and many of the famous teams and events in that region for years.

And if that’s not enough, she has an awesome cooking show and is an engaging keynote speaker.

I always say we all can sell things through the lens of human connection.

Jen sells the value of spending time with her to the players on the team.

She’s not just asking questions.

She’s building relationships.

It’s how she sees the players that gets them to want to tell her things most reporters don’t hear.

Take a listen to how she does that effectively in our episode below. 👇 

So it meant so much for me to see this pic this morning of her on the team plane with the Superbowl trophy!

Congrats Jen.  🏆. 

You are the Champion!

#sellbybeinghuman

I help organizations make learning enjoyable across their people, partners, and customers | AE @ Docebo | 🎙Host of Sell By Being Human

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I’m getting on a plane to see my mom this week but I also need your help.

Hoping someone out there has worked with a parent that is searching for assisted living or memory care.

This week we’ll be looking at some places and its a whole journey I’ve bever been a part of before.

So always good to find people that have travelled that same journey.

I also know its big to shout out birthdays on Linkedin recently so shouting out my Mom for turning 79 this past week!

79 has brought a lot of joy and tough realizations.

She’s the same age as my Dad was when he passed away 6 yrs ago.

As your parents age you start counting experiences you’ll have with them in person on your hands.

Trying to squeeze in more time because you know it’s finite.

I always hear people say, 
I’m not ready for my parents to get there.

But its not about being ready.

You’ll never be ready.

Its about being present.

So value the time you have before it’s too late.

Lucky that we have this week and hopefully more weeks in our future to be present.

Presence is the present at 79.  😊

She wasn’t trying for the Gold.

But she got it.

I love a good comeback story and what it can teach us all.

A skater that won world championships as a 16 year old in 2019.

Her whole life was skating.

Pressure.

But she said she didn’t have the time to know herself so she left the sport.

She found joy on a ski trip.

Instead of chasing medals.
She chased joy.

The medal was a residual of joy.

In practice rounds where others were thinking over every jump.

She was taking pictures on the ice.

So it’s no wonder she skated flawlessly.

Alyssa Liu teaches us all.

Find joy first.

Your goals will follow.

#teamusa #olympics

Hey, I know that guy on the TV!  Props to Keenan for an awesome move this weekend.

Jim Keenan aka Keenan . has been a huge mentor to me from afar with his book Gap Selling.

Excited for his coming book Gap Prospecting.

Anyone who wants to know the essence of sales, I always direct them to his book.

Sales is about finding problems worth solving and he outlines it perfectly in this book.

For Christmas this year, he surprised his family with a trip to The Olympics.

To make it even sweeter, one of his daughters is in serious competition to be an athlete there one day in moguls.

Dual moguls is wild, a race to the finish with tricks in between.

I love it bc you can fall but still win with the difficulty of your tricks.

Congrats to all the medalists but especially Elizabeth Lemley who go on the podium with bronze after a tough fall.

And props to the entire Keenan clan cheering them on.

And also, like your sales skills, your sign game is on another level.

#teamusa #olympics

Today, I'm posting the last episode of my podcast.  Well sort of.  The last episode before a new look.

I've always thought that everyone in the world is in sales.
But the only ones that admit it are those with it in their job description.

So I set out to find people in every profession.
That sell things through the lens of human connection

Nurses
Magicians
Parents
Teachers
Entrepeneurs
Speakers
Marketers
HR Leaders
Learning Professionals

I've interviewed them all.

And some themes emerge when I ask people:

What does it mean to you to Sell By Being Human?

To Be Curious
To Align Yourself
To Care About The Person
To Find Value
To Listen
To Solve Problems

My 153'rd episode is with Amos Balongo.

Amos moved from Africa to America when he was a boy.
Learned English and how to make an impact through relationships.

He's now a keynote speaker and executive communications coach.

Unlikely road, maybe.  But not when you meet him.

I love his approach to speaking below.

There's a difference between:

Speaking At People
Speaking To People
And Speaking Into People

Can't wait for you to see a new look.  

More on this coming!

This year, I'm going hard into this.
Maybe it doesn't grow.  Maybe it does.
Or maybe it's a foundation for something else.

Either way, look to see more as I dig into even more professions that you never thought were in sales but are.  

And contrast them with professional sellers.

And help everyone unlock the human side of sales in your own work.

#sales #sellbybeinghuman

Leslie Venetz

Outbound sales strategies, processes & skill sets for 15-50M SaaS & service orgs that need revenue-generating pipeline | Keynote Speaker | Top Sales Voice ✨#EarnTheRight to your buyer's time & attention ✨

🔥 Discover the Power of Effective Sales Training & GTM Strategy with Me 🔥

As a corporate sales trainer and sales-led GTM consultant, I am dedicated to transforming the way your team engages with prospects. Say goodbye to one-sided conversations and hello to meaningful interactions that drive results. 

Want your team to talk WITH prospects instead of AT them? Reach out to learn more today.

✉ Let's Connect! ✉

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youtube.com/@leslievenetz

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💡 Why Choose The Sales-Led GTM Agency? 💡

🚀 Extensive C-Suite Enterprise Selling Experience: With 15 years spent in C-suite enterprise selling, I have opened doors and penetrated the biggest logos, including AT&T, KraftHeinz, Walmart, ExxonMobil, JPMorgan, Verizon, and Target. I understand the intricacies of navigating high-level negotiations and building fruitful partnerships.

🚀 Accomplished VP & Head of Sales: Thriving in leadership roles, I have achieved remarkable success as a three-time Head of Sales. My strategic vision and ability to inspire teams have consistently led to over-achievement and revenue growth.

🚀 Early-Stage Startup Smarts: As employee #1 in a business intelligence startup, I fueled rapid growth by ramping up revenue from zero to 412K & 21 logos within 9 months post-MVP launch. I possess the expertise to guide startups through critical stages and drive substantial sales momentum.

🚀 Stellar Track Record: By nurturing SDR, BDR, ISR, AE, and CS teams, I have consistently surpassed targets and elevated overall performance. My proven ability to build high-performing, buyer-centric sales teams has resulted in tangible results and increased customer satisfaction.

🎯 Specialties 🎯

 B2B Sales & Sales Management | C-level Fortune 1000 Sales | Blue Chip Sales | SME Sales | Sales Collateral & Materials | Sales Training & Coaching | Sales Presentations | Cold Calling | Lead Sourcing | GTM Strategies | Email Sequence Creation | Outbound Campaigns | Sales Coaching | Pipelines | Business Development | Sales Strategy & Leadership | Sponsorship Sales | Marketing Campaigns | Social Selling | Content Creation | Recruitment | Onboarding | Customer Success | Account Management | Account-Based Marketing | HubSpot | SalesLoft | ZoomInfo | Prospecting | SDR & BDR Management | Customer Relationship Management (CRM) in a B2B Sales Culture

GTM  Partner

Follow Leslie Venetz, Founder of Sales Team Builder at @SalesTipsTok for daily sales tips and inspiration. 

Leslie is here to help you reach more people, build more value and close more sales.

Go from 0.02% to 30% reply rates by stopping one habit: 
Treating every signal like permission to pitch.


The signals they used did not change. 

Their sales messaging did.


Most reps get a notification, a job change, a webinar attendance, a pricing page visit, and they send the same outreach. 

Different trigger, same email. 

That mismatch is what kills trust before you ever earn the meeting.


I use a framework called POV to fix this. 

It sorts every signal into one of three buckets based on where the buyer actually is, not where you want them to be.

Join me for a live convo on how to decode signals here: https://bit.ly/3OKgMFy



📌 POV SIGNAL FRAMEWORK:

P is for Problem Unaware. 

A new job title, a funding announcement, a leadership change. 

These signals tell you something has shifted in their world, not that they are ready to talk to a vendor. 


O is for Option Aware. 

Your prospect downloaded a white paper or attended a webinar. 

They know a problem exists but they are still figuring out what solving it even looks like (or even if it’s worth solving). 

This is where most reps blow it by jumping straight to a pitch. 

Instead, keep educating and become a trusted resource while you have their attention.


V is for Vendor Aware. 

Pricing page visits, direct product questions, competitor comparisons. 
Now they are evaluating options to move from the status quo. 

Your job is to remove friction and provide answers that make it easier to buy from you.



The wrong message at the wrong moment does not just underperform. 

It actively destroys trust you already worked hard to build.


📌 I am going deeper on this with Mixmax AI on March 18th. 

Join Heath Barnett 🤙 & Melissa Gaglione ⭐️ and me  LIVE to learn how to decode your signals and use them to build and close pipeline: https://bit.ly/3OKgMFy

Leslie Venetz 

USA Today Bestselling Author | Keynote & SKO Speaker | Sales Strategist for Orgs That Outbound ✨ #EarnTheRight ✨ 2026 Goals: Read More Books & Pet More Dogs

Open article: Live Webinar: the difference between market signals and engagement signals for sales by bit.ly

Live Webinar: the difference between market signals and engagement signals for sales

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