Levership Kyle Racki and Matt Symes

Evan Santa discusses his background in building sales teams for Canadian tech companies and his current role at Keep, a fintech company. He shares his experience at Vidyard and how he challenged the sales system to sell to smaller customers and improve the buying experience. Santa emphasizes the importance of creating a strong sales system and finding hungry individuals with a drive to compete with themselves. He also discusses the need for transparency in pricing and providing enough information for buyers to qualify themselves for a product. In this conversation, Evan Santa and Kyle discuss the importance of building trust and providing value in the sales process. They emphasize the need for salespeople to be seen as assets and sources of information rather than just trying to close deals. They also highlight the importance of setting clear expectations and being transparent about pricing. The conversation touches on the relationship between sales and customer success, and the need for alignment in providing a consistent and positive customer experience. They also discuss the shift towards a more partnership-oriented approach in sales, where the focus is on helping customers succeed rather than just making a sale.
 
Takeaways Building sales teams for Canadian tech companies requires a focus on creating a strong sales system and finding individuals with a drive to compete with themselves. Challenging the sales system to sell to smaller customers and improving the buying experience can lead to success. Transparency in pricing and providing enough information for buyers to qualify themselves for a product is essential. Sales leaders should prioritize individuals who are putting in the most effort and have a hunger to succeed. Salespeople should aim to be seen as assets and sources of information for customers, rather than just trying to close deals. Transparency and clear communication about pricing and expectations are crucial in building trust with customers. There should be alignment between sales and customer success teams to ensure a consistent and positive customer experience. The focus in sales should be on helping customers succeed and providing value, rather than just making a sale. Sound Bites

"Building out sales teams for Canadian tech companies" "Selling to smaller customers and improving the buying experience" "Competing with themselves and setting realistic goals" "Make them feel informed enough. So they're like, okay, this is great. I'm not reaching out to somebody because they're trying to sell me. I'm reaching out to somebody because they are going to be my key to information." "How do we make our salespeople complete assets from the moment they're engaging with a prospective customer, that customer is going like, you're my person who's given me the information. I trust you. I enjoy speaking with you and you're giving me all the information I needed lightning fast in a lightning fast speed and manner." "I think it's really, really important to be able to provide your sales team with ballparks that they can sit, that they can provide. Cause really what's happening a lot of times when we get asked for prices, salespeople on the first call is the buyer knows that they're going to have to spend."

The conversation explores the power of networking and finding communities as an entrepreneur. The hosts discuss the importance of having a network outside of your immediate business team where you can vent and share experiences. They highlight the value of being able to skip small talk and have meaningful conversations with like-minded individuals. The conversation also touches on the higher prevalence of mental health issues among entrepreneurs and the need for support networks. The hosts share their own experiences with formal and informal communities and the benefits they have gained from them.
Keywordsnetworking, communities, entrepreneurs, support, mental health, meaningful conversations
 
Takeaways Finding a network and community as an entrepreneur is crucial for personal and professional growth. Having a network outside of your immediate business team allows for honest venting and sharing of experiences. Meaningful conversations with like-minded individuals can provide valuable insights and support. Support networks are important for addressing mental health issues that are prevalent among entrepreneurs. Curating your communities and investing time in them is essential for maximizing their value.
Titles Curating and Investing in Your Communities The Power of Networking and Finding Your Community
Sound Bites "I think there's value in getting really curious about what other people are doing." "Having an outside outlet, having a community outside of your business where you can honestly vent is very important." "Find your formal or informal community and make sure you are leveraging it."
Chapters 00:00Introduction and Setting the Scene
08:32Curating and Investing in Your Communities

The Christmas tree effect refers to the tendency to keep adding more and more tasks without considering the finite amount of time available. This leads to a lack of focus and the inability to prioritize important tasks. The effect can be seen in both personal and professional life, resulting in missed deadlines, longer checklists, and decreased productivity. Strategic teams should focus on subtraction before addition, identifying what is no longer important and eliminating it. To combat the Christmas tree effect, individuals can use productivity frameworks like the Getting Things Done method or the calendar audit.
Takeaways
The Christmas tree effect occurs when people keep adding tasks without considering the finite amount of time available. To combat the Christmas tree effect, individuals and teams should focus on subtraction before addition, identifying what is no longer important and eliminating it. Productivity frameworks like the Getting Things Done method and the calendar audit can help individuals prioritize tasks and stay focused. Strategic teams should prioritize what matters most and avoid spreading themselves too thin by taking on too many projects. The Christmas tree effect can lead to missed deadlines, longer checklists, and decreased productivity.

Summary
 
In this conversation, Kyle and Matt discuss the process of restarting and resetting after losing key executives in an organization. They emphasize the importance of the people you surround yourself with and the impact they have on the success of the company. They share their personal experiences and lessons learned when dealing with the departure of key executives. They discuss the need to get curious and ask questions when someone announces their departure, as well as the importance of maintaining a good relationship with the departing individual. They also explore the steps to take in order to fill the gap left by the departed executive, including taking on their responsibilities, understanding the functional area, and recruiting a replacement.
 
Takeaways The people you surround yourself with make all the difference in the success of your organization. When a key executive leaves, it is important to get curious and ask questions to understand their reasons and the impact on the organization. Taking on the responsibilities of the departed executive can provide valuable insights into the functional area and help identify areas for improvement. When recruiting a replacement, it is important to define the desired skill set and character traits and consider fractional support or alternative roles. Hiring someone with experience in scaling can bring valuable insights and help drive the growth of the organization.
Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Disney World
01:06 Restarting and Resetting After Losing Key Executives
07:30 Understanding the Impact of Losing Key Executives
10:03 Handling Different Types of Departures
23:19 Digging into the Functional Area and Processes
25:35 Recruiting a Replacement
31:18 Avoiding Overindexing on Finding Someone Like the Departed Executive
35:03 Hiring Someone with Experience in Scaling
40:03 Summary and Conclusion

Summary
In this episode, Scott Tower, Director of Sales at Proposify, shares his journey in sales and provides insights into growing sales within a team. He emphasizes the importance of process-driven sales and the need for patience and perseverance. Scott also discusses the challenges of transitioning from founder-led sales and offers advice for hiring sales reps. He highlights the qualities he looks for in sales hires, including grit, openness to following process, and coachability. Additionally, Scott emphasizes the value of outbound sales and the importance of always being recruiting.
 
Takeaways
Process-driven sales is essential for success in growing sales within a team. Transitioning from founder-led sales requires trust in the sales leader and a focus on documenting and transferring knowledge. When hiring sales reps, look for qualities such as grit, openness to following process, and coachability. Outbound sales can complement inbound efforts and provide more opportunities for success. Always be recruiting by engaging with potential candidates and building relationships.  
Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Background
01:16 Scott's Journey at Proposify
25:14 Hiring Sales Reps
33:08 The Importance of Outbound Sales
35:14 Always Be Recruiting
37:10 Conclusion

SummaryIn this conversation, Kyle and Matt discuss the importance of understanding competition in business. They highlight the different ways businesses compete, including with the status quo and competing alternatives. They emphasize the need to identify and understand competitors in order to position oneself effectively in the market. The conversation also covers methods for gathering competitive intelligence, such as monitoring customer reviews and analyzing competitors' marketing strategies. They discuss the creation of battle cards to equip sales reps with the necessary information to address competitors during sales conversations. Finally, they share a hack using Chat GPT to quickly generate battle cards.  



Takeaways Competition is an important aspect of business that should not be overlooked. Understanding and identifying competitors is crucial for effective positioning in the market. Gathering competitive intelligence through methods like monitoring customer reviews and analyzing marketing strategies can provide valuable insights. Creating battle cards can equip sales reps with the necessary information to address competitors during sales conversations.
Chapters 00:00 Introduction and the Importance of Understanding Competition 02:13 Competition with the Status Quo 03:52 Positioning and Competing Alternatives 05:04 The Buying Process and the Role of Sales 06:36 Different Types of Organizations and Competition 07:26 Understanding Competitors in the Small and Medium-Sized Business Market 08:26 The Importance of Monitoring and Understanding Competitors 10:21 Utilizing Customer Reviews for Competitive Research 11:41 Methods for Gathering Competitive Intelligence 13:28 Using Competitive Research for Demand Capture 15:59 Key Elements to Look for in Competitors' Marketing 22:14 Using Chat GPT for Competitive Analysis 25:00 Arming Sales Reps with Competitive Information 25:55 Summary and Next Steps