Revenue Real

How many times have you questioned your value as a seller? 

You’re not alone. It’s the existential question that most of us carry, and confronting it head-on takes strength. As does challenging the transactional nature of relationships and the realities of aging out of sales. 

This episode kicks off Season 4 with an impactful discussion featuring Nikki Ivy, a seasoned tech sales professional and coach helping women business owners secure corporate clients.

The conversation dives into the nature of uncomfortable conversations, exploring existential crises in tech sales, the impact of age on perceived relevance in the industry, and the journey toward finding purpose and power in work. 

Nikki shares insights on her journey to embrace inspiration as a key differentiator and the importance of having uncomfortable conversations with oneself. 

Additionally, the episode touches on the challenges women face in the tech industry and the significance of building meaningful, non-transactional professional networks. 

Nikki's work focuses on empowering women entrepreneurs through practical frameworks for business positioning and storytelling, aiming to address the significant disparity in revenue achievements among women-owned businesses.

02:52 - Exploring the Value of Self in Sales and Beyond

04:49 - The Hope for Tech Sales: Challenges and Opportunities

08:51 - Embracing Uncomfortable Conversations for Growth and Justice

18:50 - Navigating Age and Perception in Sales

23:33 - Starting the Conversation on Age and Relevance

24:56 - Empowering Women in Business: Strategies and Challenges

Where to Find Nikki Ivey

Amy’s guest today is kind of a badass. Not only in the world of selling and sales enablement, but she’s also a world record holder in strength competitions! Kathryn Bennett is a Tech Co-Founder, TEDx Speaker, and author. They talk about what best motivates a team, and how emotional intelligence is so vital to be able to best inspire and interact with each individual member. She stresses the importance of putting new focus on how people work, and to ask how the systems we use support them to create their best work most efficiently.

Kathryn also discusses the new, and unusual phenomenon she is encountering during the job interview process, what the cause of it might be. 

In part 2 of Amy’s conversation with Nick McGowan, Nick talks about his work with MediaLab, which then segues into a discussion on being able to identify and solve problems effectively for clients and customers. Amy identifies three main types of problems and why some are much more difficult to address than others.

Nick and Amy also talk about feeling trapped as an AE. Nick reflects on the fact that all of us build our own cages, and gives his advice on how to get out. They finish with Nick’s most uncomfortable conversation and some great advice on how to start the changes that you want to make in your life.

Amy jumps right into the second half of her conversation with Yoav Susz, asking him about the most uncomfortable conversations that he is having right now. He talks about the difficulty for sales teams to understand that people don't care about them or their product; they care about themselves and their own problems. He knows that shifting into that mindset opens a new world to you when working with clients, and reiterates that the best sellers are the most empathetic, skilled listeners that move to solve problems. 

Yoav also delves into the interview process and the importance of connection, curiosity, and generosity when building a sales team which has been shown to result in higher win rates.