Fred Diamond

💚 Author of “Love, Hope, Lyme: A Book about Chronic Illness Support” and “Insights for Sales Game Changers” ✔ Ask about the “Premier Women in Sales Employer” designation ✔ Host, Sales Game Changers Podcast

My Institute for Effective Professional Selling (IEPS), formerly the Institute for Excellence in Sales, helps B2B and B2G employers around the globe better engage teams, elevate leaders, and empower success. Our Premier Sales Employer and Premier Women in Sales Employer designations help companies be seen as great employers for top salespeople and saves millions in retention costs. I am an ally for women in sales.

My two books are “Insights for Sales Game Changers” and “Love, Hope, Lyme: What Family Members, Partners and Friends Who Love a Chronic Lyme Survivor Need to Know.”

The IEPS was created to helps companies solve the retention challenge with our live, virtual, and specialized programs such as our Women in Sales Leadership Forum, Premier Sales Employer designation, Sales Game Changers Podcast and Young Sales Professionals program.

Subscribe to the Sales Game Changers Podcast at http://bit.ly/sgcitunes. Thanks! You won't regret it.

My favorite quote is "Only a life lived in the service to others is worth living," Einstein.

SOME PERSONAL BACKGROUND

I'm an advocate for chronic Lyme awareness and treatment. I've written multiple blogs for LymeDisease.org, wrote a best-selling book and host a podcast for family members of Lyme disease survivors.

Before co-founding the IEPS, many people knew me as a world-class marketing consultant to companies such as Microsoft and Oracle. I helped companies develop vertical, product, and revenue-generating marketing strategies and execution programs for tech and professional services firms.

However, my motto was “Marketing that doesn’t lead to revenue reward is a huge waste of time and money” demonstrated that it's about accelerating the sales process. “It’s about sales.”

President and Co-Founder

The mission of the IES is to help employers attract, retain, motivate and elevate top tier sales talent. The IES helps sales teams improve their performance in the art and science of professional, B2B and enterprise selling. 

Our Premier designations, including our Premier Women in Sales Employer designation help recruiters, HR leaders, and DEI leaders create the optimal workplace for top sales professionals.

Subscribe to my Sales Game Changers podcast on iTunes. I interview successful sales leaders about their career journey and solicit tips about how you can sell better.

The IES is of service to sales professionals worldwide. Join the IES to get access to thought leader presentations, mentoring programs and access to great content. You will get better, stay sharp, and sell more.

The IES also holds the sales industry's only award program that recognizes corporate and organization sales excellence.

The IES Women in Sales program is the only program of its kind.

If you're in sales or BD or are a service professional who needs to make it rain, the IES is for you.

Was at the Carahsoft Conference and Collaboration Center (CCCC) this morning in Reston, Virginia participating in their annual holiday food drive.

Teams of people from partners including Equifax and Adobe built over 1,000 boxes of items supplied by Wegmans Food Markets. Each box included a gift card to cover the turkey and other perishable items.

Fun twist. The drive was organized and managed by Karen Hanscom. Her father, Larry Weiss and I worked at Apple Federal Systems Group back in the late 1980s!

[NOTE: Actually, my office is here so I'm here everyday.]

#Thanksgiving #GratitudeForVeterans #VeteransDay2025

My two books, “Insights for Sales Game Changers” and “Love, Hope, Lyme: What Family Members, Partners and Friends Who Love a Chronic Lyme Survivor Need to Know” are available on Amazon.

My Institute for Excellence in Sales (IES) helps employers around the globe attract, motivate, retain and elevate top-tier sales talent. Our Premier Women in Sales Employer designation has changed lives and helped companies implement world-class programs to ensure their women in sales professionals and leaders are served. I am an ally for women in sales.

The IES was created to help them solve this challenge with our live, virtual, and specialized programs such as our Women in Sales Leadership Forum, Premier Sales Employer designation, Sales Game Changers Podcast and Young Sales Professionals program.

Subscribe to the Sales Game Changers Podcast at http://bit.ly/sgcitunes. Thanks! You won't regret it.

My favorite quote is "Only a life lived in the service to others is worth living," Einstein.

I'm an advocate for chronic Lyme awareness and treatment. I've written multiple blogs for LymeDisease.org and wrote a best-selling book for family members of Lyme disease survivors.

The IES connects the top sales speakers, authors, and trainers in the world, such as The Challenger Sale authors, Neil Rackham, John Asher, and Mark Hunter, to sales leaders to conduct sales workshops to help selling professionals get more successful. We also help organizations determine the best sales training partner to engage with and run sales training programs for them.

Before co-founding the IES, many people knew me as a world-class marketing consultant to companies such as Microsoft and Oracle. I helped companies develop vertical, product, and revenue-generating marketing strategies and execution programs for tech and professional services firms.

However, my motto was “Marketing that doesn’t lead to revenue reward is a huge waste of time and money” demonstrated that it's about accelerating the sales process. “It’s about sales.”

I Run the Most Important B2B/G Sales Leadership Organization in the World ✔ Host, Sales Game Changers Podcast ✔ “Women in Sales” Ally ✔ Author of “Insights for Sales Game Changers" 💚 Lyme Disease Expert and Advocate 👍

🙂Was great to see Center for Elevating Women in Sales Leadership (CEWL) #WomenInSales Leadership Forum graduates Jessica Scott and Lauryn Scott at yesterday's Institute for Effective Professional Selling (formerly IES) Selling Essentials Program.

They are flanking Gina Stracuzzi, CEWL President. Gina announced the date of the first 2026  Forum yesterday. The next Forum begins February 13, 2026.

📈 Learn more and register at https://lnkd.in/e_vBeFSe.

Jessica and Lauryn shared that the Forum was one of the most transformative programs they've ever attended.

Why is Gina is so energized about the program in 2026? She shared that every year, she watched talented women walk into the Forum with strong track records and graduate from the program with greater confidence, greater clarity, and greater influence inside their organizations.

What makes this Forum different:

 🔥 It’s not a “management 101” course
 🔥 It’s not a box to check
 🔥 It’s not another virtual meeting people half-listen to

This is a serious, high-impact leadership experience, built for women ready to think bigger, lead more effectively, and strengthen their presence at every level of the business.

Who the 2026 cohorts are designed for:

 👉 Women with 5+ years leading teams
 👉 Women stepping into larger roles
 👉 High-potential talent companies want to retain and grow
 👉 Leaders who are ready to stretch, challenge themselves, and accelerate their leadership effectiveness

Gina has seen firsthand that when you invest in women leaders, it changes the trajectory of your entire sales organization.

We think 2026 will be our strongest year yet and she’s excited to welcome the next group of standout leaders, like Lauryn and Jessica.

If you're considering sending multiple women on your team, reach out to Gina. Let’s make 2026 the year your sales leaders rise.

#WomenInSales #CEWL #SalesLeadership #LeadershipDevelopment #EffectiveLeadership #IEPS #ProfessionalSelling

The Institute for Effective Professional Selling (formerly IES) held our November Selling Essentials Workshop today. (Look for our new name for this program in 2026!)

The featured panelists were Darryl E. Peek II from Elastic, Melissa Adamson from Snowflake, and Andrew Schnabel from Zscaler. Gina Stracuzzi from the Center for Elevating Women in Sales Leadership (CEWL) is in the center.

We had a great turnout to address "Planning for 2026 Selling Effectiveness."

💡 Journey to 800: As we approach the 800th episode of the award-winning Sales Game Changers Podcast, I'm excited to reflect on the significant episodes that led to it.

Episode #100

🤔 QUESTION: What does it really mean to “serve those who serve”?

That’s how Mike Maiorana, at the time the Senior VP for Public Sector at Verizon, framed the mission of sales when he joined me for Episode #100 of the #SalesGameChangersPodcast. We conducted the interview at Verizon's massive offices in Ashburn, Virginia.

Mike had been with Verizon for 27+ years and built his career around the principle that trust is earned by listening first.

🎤 EPISODE 100: Verizon Public Sector Sales Leader Mike Maiorana Teaches this Key Strategy to Continually Generate a Win-Win with Customers
🎧📖 Listen to the show or read the transcript at https://lnkd.in/e3sHqDvu

MIKE SHARED: “When you listen and give eye contact, you’re showing the person you care. That builds trust. Over time, trust turns into opportunity.”

He also shared a line I’ve never forgotten that said everything about professional selling:

“Our job at Verizon is to get our customers promoted.”

I did the first 200+ episodes in person. I used to wear that green tie at every interview. 

⁉️ Have you ever celebrated doing 100 of anything?

#SalesGameChangers #SalesLeadership #PublicSector #B2Gsales #TrustInSales #SalesExcellence

🤔 QUESTION: Who was the mentor who made the biggest difference in your career?

Maybe a Veteran, as we celebrate them Today?

💭 Think about that person for a moment. What did they do or say that changed how you lead, sell, or show up every day?

On this week’s Sales Game Changers Podcast, I talked with Colleen Stanley, President of Sales Leadership and author of "Be The Mentor Who Mattered, and Julie Jackson, one of her longtime mentees.

They reminded me that great mentoring isn’t about advice. It’s about presence, empathy, and accountability.

🎤 EPISODE 799: Lessons in Mentorship and Sales Leadership from Colleen Stanley, CEO and Julie Jackson
🎧📖 Listen to the show or read the transcript at https://lnkd.in/eKc4mXh5
📹 Watch the podcast on YouTube at https://lnkd.in/eyw-buFa

🤩 COLLEEN'S TIP: “Every morning in my gratitude time, I run through a list of mentors in my life and give thanks for those people.”

⭐ JULIE'S TIP: "Mentorship is a responsibility for everybody - older or younger. I’ve learned as much from the next generation as they have from me.”

 🙏🏻 Their conversation will make you reflect on the mentors who shaped you and the people you might be mentoring right now without even realizing it.

⁉️ Are you mentoring anyone right now?

#SalesLeadership #Mentorship #EmotionalIntelligence #SalesGameChangers #ProfessionalSelling #LeadershipDevelopment

🍾 One of the highlights of the Institute for Effective Professional Selling (formerly IES) program year is our annual Sales Excellence Awards.

I'm excited to announce that the 16th Annual Award Event breakfast gala will be held on April 29, 2026 in Falls Church, Virginia! The event is one of the most prized in the selling community. We'll also be announcing our #AI for Selling Effectiveness awards, sponsored by Viacry and Zeev Wexler.

🥁 And the award recipients will be:

👏🏻 Nick Michaelides, Cisco: Lifetime Achievement Award. Nick is a tech industry legend. As Cisco’s former Senior Vice President of Americas Sales, he led the company’s largest geographic region and oversaw $32 billion in annual revenue. His leadership spanned six major theaters including U.S. Commercial, U.S. Public Sector, Canada, Latin America, Service Provider, and Global Enterprise where his teams consistently delivered results. Known for his customer-centric approach and operational rigor, Nick strengthened Cisco’s presence across the Americas and helped customers navigate complex challenges with impactful solutions.

👏🏻 Nicole Malachowski: Sales Leadership Speaker of the Year. A National Women’s Hall of Fame inductee and former Presidential appointee, Colonel Malachowski (USAF, Ret.) served over 21 years as an officer, leader, and fighter pilot in the U.S. Air Force. One of the first women to fly modern fighter jets, she served in three operational F-15E squadrons, logging 2,300 flight hours including 188 in combat. Nicole was medically retired due to #LymeDisease and has shifted her career to become a highly in demand speaker on leadership and advocacy. She is an American hero.

👏🏻 Kimberly Napolitano, Hilton: IEPS Partner of the Year. Kim is a senior sales executive at Hilton Worldwide Sales with a strong record of driving revenue and leading high-performing teams. As Executive Director of Industry Relations & Intermediary Group Sales, she oversees strategy, execution, and a collaborative, coaching-centered culture. Her leadership has earned major honors, including the 2024 Smart Meetings Visionary Award, the 2025 Smart Meetings Hall of Fame, and Hilton’s Circle of Excellence twice.

🏫 We're excited to announce our first ever "College Sales Educator of the Year Award" to be given to Brian Collins, Director of the Sales Center at Virginia Tech! The IEPS is doing a lot of work with universities that offer professional selling programs and VA Tech is doing a great job educating these young adults. Brian is an active participant at the University Sales Center Alliance

We'll be announcing our Women in Sales Leadership awardee shortly, as well as our Jay Nussbaum Rising Sales Star award.

More info on the award event is at https://lnkd.in/ea2ZbUBf.

Join me in congratulating our winners. You'll hear more about this as we get closer to the event. If you'd like to sponsor it recognize them, find more info at https://lnkd.in/ebiXMJvY.

🎂 I saw it was 2025 Institute for Effective Professional Selling (formerly IES) Lifetime Achievement award-winner Anthony Robbins's birthday yesterday.

He gave a great speech at our 15th Annual Award Event in May.

The IEPS was honored to recognize him for his leadership role as NVIDIA Public Sector leader. Dell Technologies leader John Garrett, IEPS 2024 Lifetime Achievement recipient Jim Kelly, and Government Acquisitions President Jay Lambke introduced Anthony.

Center for Elevating Women in Sales Leadership (CEWL) director Gina Stracuzzi is on the far right.

🎥📹 Check out his acceptance speech on YouTube at https://lnkd.in/eCEP5bez.

In his speech, he acknowledged many people along the way who inspired him. He also paid tribute to his mother who had just passed away.

He also spoke eloquently about how selling professionals NEED to understand the potential and reality of #AI in everything they will encounter and shared some insights from Jensen Huang. #JensenHuang #NVIDIA

Prior to his retirement, he was doing important things in the Western North Carolina region hit hard by Hurricane Helene to help people clear out the waste from the horrific event and begin the rebuild.

#RIghtTimeRightGuyRightPlace

🥳 The award event was phenomenal and we're excited to hold our 16th annual event on April 29, 2026 in Northern Virginia.

🥳 As we continue the march to the 800th episode of the award-winning Sales Game Changers Podcast, we're reflecting on some of the most important and interesting shows from the past 7 years. When the pandemic kicked in, we did 3 shows a week. We broadcast them as webinars and then posted as audio podcasts. This episode featured two one-time Federal CIOs. I often refer to some of their comments when coaching selling professionals. Go listen to the show.

🤔 QUESTION: What do CIOs really need most from the selling professionals calling on them?

Today, I’m revisiting one of the most important customer conversations we’ve ever had. It was a special session with two powerhouse CIOs: Steve Cooper and Jamie Holcombe.

 🎤EPISODE 334: Federal CIOs Steve Cooper and Jamie Holcombe Tell How Sales Reps Should Work with CIOs
🎧📖 Listen to the show or read the transcript at https://lnkd.in/gPtyqAY.

CIO Cooper shared the insight every B2B/B2G seller needs to hear:

🙋🏻 “Help me keep up with the market.”

After decades leading technology across major federal agencies, he didn’t ask for more slides or more jargon. He asked for perspective.

Here’s what he said he needs most:

🔹 Real market intelligence even when it highlights what your competitors are doing.
 🔹 Use cases from other customers. Make them short, specific, and relevant.
 🔹 Guidance on how to navigate your own company. Give me one clear point of contact.
 🔹 Insights into my problems, challenges, and opportunities grounded in things like IG and GAO reports.

And his most powerful line:

“I relied on great salespeople to keep me informed. I didn’t have time to do all the research myself.”

In a world where CIOs are overwhelmed, the seller who brings clarity and context becomes the seller who gets the meeting.

⁉️ Can you be the sales professional who teaches your customer something they didn’t know? Because that’s how you win in 2025, 2026, and beyond.

#SalesGameChangers #B2BSales #B2GSales #PublicSectorSales #GovTech #FederalSales #CIOInsights #SalesLeadership #SellingToGovernment #CustomerValue #SalesProfessionals #IEPS #SalesEffectiveness #800Countdown #SalesCareer

🤔 QUESTION: Did you know that the 800th episode of the award-winning Sales Game Changers Podcast is coming up?

🙋🏻 I'm asking because we're looking for someone special to interview me and Gina Stracuzzi for this special event. Gina hosts the "#WomenInSales Leadership" sub-brand of the podcast.

Hosting nearly 800 episodes has been a gift. I originally started doing the show in 2017 in person, mainly to meet and interview sales leaders who would become members of the Institute for Effective Professional Selling (formerly IES), and that worked. Many of our current members started off their journey with us as a guest on the podcast.

We've interviewed leaders around the globe from world-class companies such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Salesforce, Oracle, Microsoft, Dell Technologies, Google, Hilton, Monumental Sports & Entertainment, Cvent, Carahsoft, The Dollywood Company, and Datasite.

We've launched numerous sub-brands of the show in addition to the show Gina hosts.

 🌟"The Marketing and Selling Effectiveness" podcast cohosted by Julie Murphy from Sage Communications. Here's a recent show we did with Ingram Micro Public Sector leader Tony Celeste: https://lnkd.in/eDgEFW-i.

💫 "The AI and Selling Effectiveness" podcast cohosted by Zeev Wexler. Here's an episode we did with Cvent sales executive Franci Hirsch. 

🎓 "The Office Hours - Sales Professors Unplugged" podcast where we interview program leaders at colleges with sales majors, minors, or certificates. Many of these programs are associated with the University Sales Center Alliance. Here's a show we did with Linda Alkire (née Nasr) from the McCoy College of Business at Texas State University (Texas State University). https://lnkd.in/eGCruJEk

⁉️ Ok, we want to find someone special to interview us for the 800th show. Know anyone from the sales or marketing world with a large following?

Let me know if you got someone for us!

#StarPower #AIForBusiness #LymeDisease #SuperStar #SalesQuota

🤔 QUESTION: Most people reading this post have figured out a way to use LinkedIn to their benefit, at least somewhat. Why aren't rank and file selling professionals using it most effectively? 

It's sales expert Jeb Blount's birthday today (!yadhtrib yppaH, Jeb) and I just finished his new book with our good friend Brynne Tillman called "The LinkedIn Edge." It should be on the night stand of every #B2B or #B2G selling professional.

I've read pretty much everything Jeb has written from his "People Love You" books to the books he wrote about urgency during the Pandemic. I even read "Radical Prospecting" on the Margate, NJ beach in 2015.

He was also kind enough to interview me for his Sales Gravy | Sell More podcast right after my book "Love, Hope, #Lyme: What Family Members, Partners, and Friends Who Love a Chronic Lyme Survivor Need to Know" was published.

This was a very satisfying read, and it drives home a simple truth: LinkedIn isn’t a place for passive observation; it’s a sales engine.

“LinkedIn isn’t a place for passive observation; it’s a living, breathing sales ecosystem, humming with opportunities if you know where to look.” 

Too many sales professionals still treat LinkedIn like a résumé and remain invisible to their ideal customers. That’s the gap. That’s the opportunity.

At the Institute for Effective Professional Selling (formerly IES) and on the Sales Game Changers Podcast, we believe visibility + value = closable conversations. Let’s talk about how to turn your LinkedIn presence into your strongest pipeline driver.

⁉️ Have a LinkedIn tip to share?

Jeb Blount Jr

🤔 Name a great partner of yours.

🙋🏻 I'll go first. I see it is Zeev Wexler's birthday today, so I want to give him some props.

!yadhtrib yppaH, Zeev.

Zeev's company Viacry is a member of the Institute for Effective Professional Selling (formerly IES) Selling Essentials Marketplace. We've hand-selected key sales services partners to help bring solutions to selling organizations looking to become more effective. Learn more about the SEM at https://lnkd.in/edGbz8N2.

Zeev's company is also the sponsor of the IEPS "AI and Selling Effectiveness" award, which goes to companies that are using AI effectively across the organization. Inaugural winners were General Assembly and Cvent. That's Jourdan Hathaway accepting the award at our 15th Sales Excellence Award event in May.

Zeev is also the co-host with me for the "AI and Selling Effectiveness" podcast, which is a sub-brand of the award-winning Sales Game Changers Podcast. Here's a show to check out:

🎤 EPISODE 753: Inside General Assembly’s Award-Winning AI-Driven Sales Strategy with Gretchen Jacobi and Jourdan Hathaway
🎧📖 Listen to the show or read the transcript at https://lnkd.in/e-qz9YtZ

🎂 Join me in wishing Zeev a happy birthday!

#AIForSales Center for Elevating Women in Sales Leadership (CEWL)

🎓 One of the cool things that professional selling students participate in are competitions. I'm fortunate to be judging the Northeast Intercollegiate Sales Competition at Bryant University in Rhode Island. There are 500+ attendees here. The program is in the 14th year and is led by Stefanie Boyer, PhD💧. 

A number of people here have remarked how well it's grown since it started.

The actual competition is being held in Bryant's beautiful new Sales Lab which was funded by Frank Hauck. The facility is amazing with role play and conference rooms complete with state of the art AV.

Great to meet Frank and university president Ross Gittell.

Nice to see University Sales Center Alliance friends including D. TRAVIS BRICKEY, MBA, PCM and sales enablement leaders including Carole Mahoney.

Learn more at https://nisc.bryant.edu/.

#SalesEducation #SalesGrowth #WomenInSales

It's #GivingTuesday and many people here support amazing organizations that do great work. That's great to see.

The Institute for Effective Professional Selling (formerly IES) has been fortunate to support the Northern Virginia Family Services (NVFS) at our annual award event every year.

Read more about the 16th annual award event at https://lnkd.in/ebiXMJvY.

That's Kathleen McMahon, NVFS Executive Vice President for Development and Communications, introducing our audience of hundreds of sales and business leaders at the award event this past May to the work of the NVFS.

NVFS provides critical support to individuals and families across the Washington DC region, offering services like affordable housing assistance, emergency financial aid, food assistance, mental-health counseling, and career development programs. They aim to stabilize families in crisis and help them build long-term resilience and self-sufficiency.

My friend Casey Veatch introduced me to NVFS 20 years ago and I've been amazed at the work Kathleen and NVFS CEO Stephanie Berkowitz, and her teams continue to do. It always amazes me that even in one of the wealthiest areas of the world, there's a wealth of need. Glad to have NVFS in the region to support.

👏🏻 I'm glad to see all of the support for many organizations that do important work on my friend's feeds today.

#GivingTuesday #NVFS #NorthernVirginia #CommunityMatters #BusinessForGood #SalesLeadersGiveBack #NeighborsHelpingNeighbors

🙏🏻  As we march to the 800th episode of the award-winning Sales Game Changers Podcast, we're taking a look at some of the most important and interesting shows from the first 799 episodes. 

🤔 QUESTION: What’s the most underrated skill in sales? #Gratitude.
An appropriate sales theme as we're celebrating Thanksgiving week in the US.

Gratitude has been discussed often on the show and one of my favorite guests on this topic was sales expert Alice Heiman. On Episode 295, she dropped one of the most important reminders in all of professional selling:

👉 Gratitude isn’t a tactic. It’s a mindset.

In complex sales, deals can take years. People move, priorities shift, budgets evaporate. But one thing always moves the needle:

💚 Leave every conversation in a way that makes the other person glad they spoke with you.

🎤 EPISODE 295: Well-Known Sales Strategist Alice Heiman Lists Impactful Ways You Can Show Thanks and Gratitude to Your Customers and Prospects Right Now
🎧📖 Listen to the show or read the transcript at https://lnkd.in/g47dx8F

Alice said it perfectly:

 “They still may not buy from you… but if you leave them better than you found them, they’ll remember you and they might buy someday, or introduce you to someone who will.”

This week, as we celebrate Thanksgiving, I’m thinking about the simple expressions of gratitude that still cut through the noise:
• A handwritten note
• A quick compliment (“You may not know this, but…”)
• A personal video
• A thoughtful introduction

Not swag.  Not gimmicks.  Just human appreciation expressed with intention.
In a world where everyone is overwhelmed, gratitude is one of the few things customers never forget.

⁉️ If you’re in sales, do you think today’s a good day to reach out and thank someone who made you better?

🤔 QUESTION: Wouldn't it be great if all of your sales and prospecting calls, texts, social media messages, and the like led to conversations that ultimately drove your business forward? If you're a sales manager, wouldn't that be great if your team's performance dramatically improved like that?

🙋🏻 I'm asking because on today's Sales Game Changers Podcast, David Gable, Head of Sales at Kixie, explored how #AI-driven voice and text automation is changing the way high-performing teams engage buyers.

It was a fascinating conversation on where we are in professional selling as it relates to automation, call rhythm, and connecting your value to your customers.

🎤 EPISODE 798: Enabling Better Voice and Text Conversations for More Conversions with David Gable of Kixie
🎧📖 Listen to the show or read the transcript at https://lnkd.in/e_Ryb_Er
🎥 Watch the interview on YouTube at https://lnkd.in/ep2kBRPM.

David shared interesting insights on:
✔️ Moving from prescriptive to dynamic sales processes
✔️ Using AI orchestration to act on real buying intent, not just sequences
✔️ Scaling manager effectiveness—not just rep activity
✔️ Winning more micro-battles to create macro wins

DAVID'S TIP:

🎯 “There’s no reason to call a lead at 2 p.m. on a Wednesday except that it’s day 10. Instead, use AI to know when the customer actually wants to talk.” 

This episode is a must-listen for sales leaders ready to replace rigid playbooks with responsive, intelligent engagement strategies.

⁉️ Don't you wish all of your prospecting interactions led to immediate results?

Learn more about Kixie AI Insights: A New AI-Powered Reporting & Analytics Experience at https://lnkd.in/ePrDPutp.

#SalesGameChangers #AIForsales #SalesEngagement #B2BSales #Kixie #SalesLeadership #SalesAutomation #SellingEffectiveness

🤔 QUESTION: Whew, 2025 was a transformative year to say the least, right? AI, shutdown, DOGE, financial transformation.

🙋🏻 If you had the chance to ask three world-class sales leaders what you should be doing now to have an optimal 2026, what would you ask?

The world will have that chance this Thursday in person in Northern Virginia and virtually around the globe.

November 20. Preparing for the Most Effective Year of Your Sales Career 
Register now at https://cvent.me/rmNYZ1.

The three panelists are Andrew Schnabel (Zscaler), Melissa Adamson (Snowflake), and Darryl E. Peek II (Elastic.)

In person Thursday morning at the Carahsoft Conference and Collaboration Center in Reston, Virginia, and globally on Zoom.

Breakfast served in person.

⁉️⁉️⁉️What would you ask?

Jessica Scott Chris Townsend Jennifer Chronis

🥳 As we continue the march to the 800th episode of the award-winning Sales Game Changers Podcast, we're reflecting on some of the most important and interesting shows from the past 7 years. In the summer of 2021, as the lockdown from the #Pandemic was winding down, I took a 3-week road trip from my home in Virginia to visit LinkedIn friends I'd never met, and to visit associates in their home towns. It was a life-changing experience I still think about. Zeev Wexler and I discussed it on episode 400. There are poignant lessons for 2026 success.

🤔 QUESTION: What if the biggest threat to your 2026 sales success isn’t AI, competition, or pipeline… but isolation?

Episode 400 stands out because of one message that selling professionals still overlook:

**Your best sales breakthroughs don’t happen on Zoom.
They happen in person.**

🎤 EPISODE 400: Celebrating 400 Shows with Life and Sales Lessons Learned from My Recent Road Trip to Meet IEPS Friends and Partners
🎧📖 Listen or read the transcription at https://lnkd.in/g5w9hgcQ.

The 3-week trip featured 30+ meetings. Dinners. Hikes. Coffee chats. Tequila with strangers. No agendas. No decks.

And here’s what became painfully clear:

👉 You cannot build trust at scale if you never leave your chair.
 Great sellers win because customers feel something around them such as confidence, certainty, care. Tough to replicate that at scale in a rectangle.

👉 You will not differentiate if your entire presence is digital.
 Your competitors look the same on screen. Sound the same. Pitch the same.
 In person, you become the differentiator.

👉 You will miss critical insights if you aren’t physically present.
 Customers open up differently when you’re in the room.
 That’s where you catch the nuance you can actually sell to.

Episode 400 reminded me, and it should remind every selling professional, of one truth: If you want next year to be your best sales year ever, you gotta be out there. Intentionally, strategically, consistently.

✅Your pipeline will thank you.
😃 Your customer relationships will deepen.
☑️ Your influence will grow.

 📈 And your career will accelerate.

In-person isn’t “nice to have” anymore. It’s a competitive advantage.

⁉️ Will you promise me you'll get out there more in 2026?

Start tomorrow at the Carahsoft Conference Center for the Institute for Effective Professional Selling (formerly IES) Selling Essentials Workshop.

Preparing for the Most Effective Year of Your Sales Career 
Register at https://cvent.me/rmNYZ1

🤔 QUESTION: Have you ever held back from taking bold action in your sales career because of fear?

Everyone has.

🙋🏻 I'm asking because I saw yesterday it was author and leadership coach Margie Warrell, PhD birthday. She was the keynote speaker at the phenomenal Center for Elevating Women in Sales Leadership (CEWL) Conference Gina Stracuzzi chaired last month in Tysons Corner, Virginia.

To celebrate her, it’s the perfect time to revisit her powerful book, The Courage Gap.

Margie reminds us that courage isn’t the absence of fear, and that it’s about taking action in spite of it. In sales, that might mean:

 💡 Making the call you’ve been avoiding.
 💡 Asking the question that could change the deal.
 💡 Challenging your customer to think differently.
 💡 Speaking up when silence feels safer.

As she writes, “Everything worthwhile is born of courage.”

🎧 After interviewing more than 800 top sales leaders on The Sales Game Changers Podcast, I’ve seen that same truth play out again and again. The most effective professionals aren’t the ones with perfect confidence; they’re the ones who act decisively even when they’re uncertain.

At the Institute for Effective Professional Selling (formerly IES), we see that courage drives effectiveness. It’s what separates average performance from exceptional impact.

⁉️ If you’re in sales leadership, ask yourself: Where is courage missing from your team’s process and what would change if it showed up more often?

#SalesLeadership #Courage #ProfessionalSelling #TheCourageGap #SalesGameChangers #LeadershipDevelopment #BeInspired

💚 QUESTION: When you think of what you do for a living, do you think of yourself as a #Warrior?

Like an #AI, #Analytics, or #Sales Warrior?

In addition to running the Institute for Effective Professional Selling (formerly IES) and producing the Sales Game Changers Podcast, I also wrote a book and host a podcast for #LymeDisease survivors.

And a common term survivors use is "Lyme Warrior." And I interviewed the founder of the Lyme Warrior organization, Lauren Lovejoy, for that podcast this week.

🎧"What It Means to Be a Lyme Warrior" is on YouTube at https://lnkd.in/eRCA8zHs.

🕷️ When I first began researching #Lyme disease for my book "Love, Hope, Lyme: What Family Members, Partners, and Friends Who Love a Chronic Lyme Survivor Need to Know," to understand how it affected people in your life with the disease, I came across the term Lyme Warrior. I had heard it once before in passing, and when I searched online, I was amazed to find tens of thousands of people using that title to describe themselves.

Lauren’s story is raw, powerful, and deeply human. And not uncommon. She saw 60 doctors before receiving her Lyme diagnosis. She lost her health, her career, and her sense of normalcy yet she never gave up.

Her definition of a Lyme Warrior stopped me in my tracks: “Being a warrior means saying, ‘I didn’t give up today.’ Even if you only have 1% to give—if you give that 1% to yourself, you’re a warrior.”

For anyone touched by Lyme including patients, families, or advocates, this episode is a must-listen.

🌍 Did you know that tick-borne disease is a global epidemic?

#LymeDisease #LymeWarrior #LoveHopeLyme #ChronicLyme #LymeAwareness #Healing #Advocacy #Community #Podcast The Quiet Epidemic LymeDisease.org

💡 Journey to 800: As we approach the 800th episode of the award-winning Sales Game Changers Podcast, I'm excited to reflect on the milestone episodes that led to it.

Episode #200

🤔 QUESTION: What makes a great professional selling career truly meaningful?

🙋🏻 I noticed that after 800 episodes of The #SalesGameChangersPodcast, that question had become clearer with every guest.

In our 200th show, I sat down with Shawn Rodriguez, Vice President for State and Local Government and Education at World Wide Technology, to explore what it means to build a purpose-driven career in sales leadership.

Shawn’s story is remarkable with then 25 years in tech sales, two decades dedicated to the #SLED market, and a leadership philosophy grounded in humility, authenticity, and service.

🎤 EPISODE 200: World Wide Technology Sales VP Shawn Rodriguez Explains Why the Government and Education Markets Excite Him So Much
🎧📖 Listen to the show or read the transcript at https://lnkd.in/ddJt7uK.

SHAWN’S FINAL TIP TO EMERGING SALES LEADERS: “If you want to be a sales leader, be sure to really understand why. If you aren’t willing to give up the glory and truly contribute through others, then you should really consider continuing to be the best sales rep you can be. I’ve worked for executives who felt if you didn’t want to be the CEO of the company you’re not motivated enough and I could not disagree more. Be authentic and true to yourself.”

Shawn shared the kind of wisdom we’ve been lucky to hear from 800+ incredible guests who remind us that selling at its best is about helping others succeed.

To every sales professional out there: keep staying curious, humble, and hungry.

⁉️ Are you still curious, humble, and hungry? #HungryLikeTheWolf

 #SalesLeadership #SalesGameChangers #WWT #B2GSales #SalesPodcast #Leadership #CareerGrowth

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