Sales Talk for CEOs

From mastering conversations to commanding the stage, dive into the mind of communication expert Nancy Duarte.

Alice and Nancy’s conversation reveals that, in an era of fleeting attention, CEOs must craft compelling narratives.

For these leaders, understanding their audience isn't just a tip - it's a mandate. Nancy stresses the significance of empathy and preparation, urging CEOs to don the shoes of their audience.

Gone are the days of static presentations. The modern CEO story unfolds with dynamic gestures, vocal versatility, and perfectly-timed pauses, all backed by Vanessa Van Edwards’ groundbreaking research on TED Talks.

But, how do CEOs craft this captivating narrative? It starts with the big idea, gauges the audience's current state, and projects a vivid future. Visual aids. Essential. Practice. Non-negotiable.

As businesses evolve, CEOs mustn’t just communicate; they should inspire. Embracing storytelling, these corporate narrators don't just lead businesses, they sculpt industries.

Join Alice and Nancy as they decode the art of impactful communication and envision a future where CEOs aren’t just heard but remembered. Tune in to the Sales Talk for CEOs podcast and let your leadership voice be the difference!

Chapters

01:19 Need for CEOs to improve their communication and presentation skills

02:50 Importance of empathy in effective communication

04:41 Three key factors to consider: story, visualization, and delivery

10:42 Ongoing conversations for long-term success and reinvention

13:28 Staying updated on news and developments related to the audience

15:49 Using a triangle framework to outline the big idea and desired transformation

19:41 Recognizing qualitative signs of audience engagement and understanding

23:12 Challenges of gauging audience engagement in virtual presentations.

29:14 Considering alternative presentation formats, such as interviews.

31:08 The importance of practicing and getting comfortable with the material.

35:07 Have experts prepared to answer questions you can't.

40:48 Gestures, pausing, and purposeful movement enhance delivery.

44:55 Research on how to end a talk effectively

47:08 CEOs as thought leaders and gaining an unfair advantage

About Guest

Nancy Duarte: A Luminary in Communication and Storytelling

Nancy Duarte, the CEO of Duarte, is renowned for her expertise in the realm of communication and storytelling. With a career spanning decades, Nancy has firmly established herself as an American writer, speaker, and business leader Nancy Duarte - Wikipedia. Her profound knowledge is encapsulated in her books, one of which is titled "Slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations" Slide:ology® |.

Beyond her literary contributions, Nancy is recognized as a communication expert who has offered her expertise to help brands articulate their stories compellingly Nancy Duarte Built A 30 Year Career In Silicon Valley On The Art Of Storytelling (forbes.com). Her achievements and insights have caught the attention of renowned publications such as Fortune, Time Magazine, Forbes, and the Wall Street Journal, to name a few Nancy Duarte — Faith Driven Entrepreneur.

Throughout her professional journey, Nancy has encountered various adversities, which she has transformed into learning experiences, further enriching her expertise and perspective Interview | Nancy Duarte, CEO | The Industry Leaders

In essence

Alice Heiman reveals critical strategies to ensure your sales team is at peak performance before expanding your team.
Connect with Alice Heiman
LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliceheiman/
Alice’s Website: https://aliceheiman.com/
Alice Blog: https://aliceheiman.com/want-more-sales-hiring-more-salespeople-may-not-be-the-answer/

As an entrepreneur, when you first launch your company, you often start out doing most of the work yourself. However, at a certain point, it’s time to hire a team so you can focus on the higher-level work required of a CEO and grow your business. But who should you hire first? When should you bring on a sales team? What hiring strategies can help you find the best talent? How should you organize your team for top performance and growth? All these questions (and more!) are answered in my latest Sales Talk for CEOs podcast.
This episode features Jacco van der Kooij, Founder of Winning by Design, a global B2B revenue consulting and training company founded in 2012. In this interview, Jacco takes us back to those early days when he was running the company by himself, through his years as CEO, and up until today when he has passed the CEO baton on to someone else and stepped back into the role of Founder of the multi-million-dollar international company.
In this interview, you will learn why Jacco suggests not to hire your sales team first (and who you should hire instead!). He also shares two hiring strategies his company uses to make it easier to find the best candidate for your position (and quickly eliminate those who won’t make the cut!). Finally, you will find out about the intriguing way he groups his team members into customer-focused pods to enable them to become powerhouses for customer service. At the heart of it, this episode is all about growth and how your hiring and team organization can set your business up for success. Listen in, and you are sure to get amazing insight to grow your company too.

Highlights:

3:22 Growth via recurring revenue

8:10 Why you shouldn’t hire for sales early

15:37 Two unique elements to include in your hiring process

17:14: Taking a multi-dimensional approach to growth

21:50 Organizing your team: units instead of individuals

27:25 The evolving role of CEO in sales

31:05 When it’s time to step back

35:35 Marketing: entering the realm of science

“Selling is not what the customer wants. What the customer is involved in is buying. Instead of selling to them, which is against their nature, help them to buy, which is human nature from the get-go.”

Connect with Jacco van der Kooij in the links below:

Website: https://winningbydesign.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaccovanderkooij

You can learn more about and connect with Alice Heiman in the links below:

Website: https://AliceHeiman.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliceheiman/

Episode Summary: Ever felt the frustration of navigating customer service bots that just don't get your problem? Alex Levin of Regal.io understands this pain all too well and is transforming customer interaction with a human touch. He shares his journey from working to build Angie’s list to cofounding Regal.io, getting customer feedback in the early days and growing sales to $3M ARR in the first year.

Here's what you'll discover:

• After taking Angie's List from 1 million to 1.5 billion, why Alex craved the startup world.
• The founding story of Regal.io and its mission.
• How personalized customer interactions can drive sales.
• The importance of a hands-on approach in the early stages of a startup.

From Angie's List to Regal.io: The Founding Story After helping Angie's List grow from 1 million to 1.5 billion in revenue, Alex Levin yearned for the dynamic environment of a startup. Recognizing a gap in how companies interact with customers online, he co-founded Regal.io. “People were nervous about making big decisions online. What worked was actually talking with the customer,” says Alex. He found that for complex services, customers preferred real conversations to feel reassured and confident.

Personalized Customer Engagement Regal.io was born from the insight that certain industries, like home services, healthcare, and education, benefit immensely from personalized customer interactions. At Angie's List, Alex saw that conversion rates improved significantly when customers had real conversations. He explains, “We had a team of 5000 people engaging directly with customers, but the tools were not made for proactively engaging them.” This meant using a large team to personally interact with customers, build trust, and guide them, even though existing tools weren’t designed for this proactive approach.

Building the Business Alex and his co-founder took a calculated risk, leaving their jobs to build Regal.io without a finished product. They validated their concept by showing potential customers mockups and iterating based on feedback before raising money. Alex emphasizes, “Don't raise any money until you've convinced yourself it's a real business.”

Scaling and Sales Strategy Initially, Alex led the sales efforts himself, leveraging his industry knowledge and personal network and was able to close $3M in ARR the first year. When you are doing all the selling and decide you are ready for some help, he advises, “Get somebody to shadow you, see what you're doing, figure out how you're doing it.” This hands-on approach helped them get others up to speed more quickly.

The Role of Human Interaction In a world increasingly driven by digital interactions, Regal.io stands out by emphasizing the value of human touch. “If you’re lucky, people go to that one feature they like, and you end up spending years building that,” Alex notes. This approach has helped Regal.io grow rapidly, reaching significant milestones in a short time.

Action Steps for CEOs

• Emphasize Personal Interaction: Identify areas where direct engagement can significantly impact customer experience and conversion rates.
• Validate Early: Before investing heavily, use mockups and direct customer feedback to refine your product concept.
• Build a Dedicated Team: Hire individuals who can shadow and learn from your sales process to create a scalable sales strategy.

Making real connections with your customers can make a big difference. Alex Levin's journey with Regal.io shows how personal touch can drive business success. For more insights and detailed strategies, watch the full episode below.

Chapters

01:02 Guest Welcome - Introduction of Alex Levin, founder of Regal IO, and his journey from Angie's List to starting his venture.

01:32 Regal IO Explained - Alex provides insights on Regal IO's conception from his exp

"It's how you sell that becomes your differentiator in a crowded market," explained Ross Rich. Alice was excited to talk with Ross, whom she’s known since the early days of his entrepreneurial journey. Ross, the CEO of Accord, started his company to solve a critical problem in sales: lack of transparency between teams and customers. His insights are not just about Accord’s journey from idea to successful product, but about the transformative lessons learned from evolving from a sales rep to a CEO.

Key Takeaways for CEOs:

1. The Genesis of Accord: A Lesson in Identifying Market Gaps

Ross’s journey began at Stripe, where he recognized a recurring challenge across sales teams—aligning the "why," "how," and "who" of deals was cumbersome and opaque. This realization spurred him to develop Accord, demonstrating the power of addressing specific market needs with precise solutions. “The whole idea behind Accord is taking those best practices that pretty much every top seller uses...and building that into software to make it really easy for both the seller and the customer to understand those three key aspects,” Ross shared.

2. Embracing the Entrepreneurial Leap: Overcoming Fear with Preparation

Ross’s transition from employee to founder wasn't spontaneous. It was calculated and gradual, emphasizing that making 'the leap' should feel like a natural next step, not a risky jump into the unknown. He advised, “It shouldn’t feel like a crazy leap at the time...By the time that you’re ready to do it, it should be, hey, I have an overwhelming amount of work to do on this project.”

3. The Importance of Early Customer Success Management

One of the critical early mistakes Ross acknowledged was underestimating the importance of customer success management. Before scaling the product or marketing efforts, ensuring that the initial customers are successful and well-supported is vital. This focus helps in refining the product based on real user feedback and solidifies the foundation for scaling.

What to Do Next? Actionable Steps for CEOs:

Ross’s experiences underline the necessity of not just starting a business but nurturing it through thoughtful steps and strategies. For CEOs aiming to replicate such success, here are actionable steps to consider:

1. Evaluate Market Needs: Just as Ross identified a gap in sales transparency, CEOs should look for unmet needs in their markets that align with their expertise and business vision.
2. Gradual Transition into Entrepreneurship: Transitioning to a full-time entrepreneurial role should be a process rather than a sudden shift. This approach reduces risk and ensures a solid foundation for the business.
3. Prioritize Customer Success: Invest in customer success early on. This focus will not only improve your product through genuine feedback but also increase customer retention and satisfaction.

To grasp the complete range of insights Ross offers about enhancing your business operations through these foundational strategies, watch the full episode on our youtube channel.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction - Alice opens the episode touching on the need for CEOs to update sales strategies and the joy of reconnecting with early-stage entrepreneurs she had met.

02:07 Welcome Ross Rick - Ross Rich, founder of Accord, joins the conversation, reminiscing about the initial connection with the show host, Alice.

02:41 Discussing Accord - Ross introduces Accord, sharing insights from his early days as a seller at Stripe and the concept behind his company.

03:21 Technical Interruption - A sudden audio cut forces a pause in the conversation, prompting troubleshooting efforts.

05:43 Resuming Conversation - With technical issues resolved, they restart the discussion, focusing on Accord's role in sales transparency and customer understanding.

06:27 Why Accord Was Founded - Ross de