Conversations With Women In Sales

I first met Andrea Sittig-Rolf in the early 2000's - we had both recently launched our B2B sales consulting businesses and she was about to get her first of several books published.  Fast forward to now, and she has a 22 year track record of success in helping thousands of sellers and hundreds of companies with the "top of funnel" prospecting part of professional selling.  More about Andrea:  2021 - 2024 CRN Woman of the Channel. Trusted co-selling partner for the world's top tech giants since 2002. Her company, BLITZMasters does workshops and has a co-selling platform. In this episode we talk about some sales and prospecting fundamentals. Andrea will give some hints to their formula for success in their Blitzes and prospecting in general.  Follow Andrea here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theblitzmaster/ More about Women Sales Pros - we have a website, we are on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.  Subscribe to our 2x a month news, and share the podcast with others! We'd love a 5 star rating and comments on iTu

Our goal at Women Sales Pros is to help support women in existing B2B sales roles to thrive, to get into leadership if they want to, and to recognize the companies and allies doing great things.  This is a short episode with host Lori Richardson to cheer on 2025 and share resources like these ones:  Find podcasts, women in sales organizations, and more here at Women Sales Pros - https://womensalespros.com/resources/ Get an e-newsletter 2x a month with stories about women in sales and more resources subscribe: https://bit.ly/thewspnews Contribute: https://forms.gle/v9rRiPDUtgGqKaXA6 Past News Issues: bit.ly/past_news_issues Follow "Conversations with Women in Sales" for previous episodes here:  https://womensalespros.com/podcast/ On LinkedIn: https://womensalespros.com/podcast/

Ayana Gardner was recently named as one of "300 Women Making an Impact in B2B SaaS" so it is great that she kick off our first episode of 2025. Ayana is a ZCX Channel Leader at Zoom.  We are also starting 2025 with our Q1 sponsor, RapidScale. Ayana has been in sales for a number of years and loves her current position which involves working with Zoom channel partners - a huge opportunity in B2B sales as so many companies sell through channels of one type or another.  Because she works for Zoom Ayana is virtual, and does virtual events and enablement within her role.  Ayana talks about being a lifelong learner- how our company we work for will provide some foundational training and learning, but it is up to us to learn what we think we need or want so we can grow.  More about Ayana: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ayanagardner702/ More about Women Sales Pros - we have a website, we are on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.  Subscribe to our 2x a month news, and share the podcast with others! We'd love a 5 star rat

I always laugh about how so many women do wait to be tapped on the shoulder by a leader in the company to move into a different role - this did happen to Tania who began her career in her 20's in marketing.  Tania now is a successful author, former corporate enterprise seller, and now runs Mindful Quadrant. We had a great conversation covering a lot of ground.  Tania is working on a new version of her great planner currently sold as "Work It - a Modern Day Sales Planner" and wrote a book called, "Work It, Girl - a Modern Day Career Guide for Women in Sales"  Having worked at LiveRamp, Salesforce, Yext, Segment, and other sales organizations, Tania has been through a lot and learned a lot fo share with others newer to a sales career.  Follow Tania: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taniadoub/ More about Women Sales Pros - we have a website, we are on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.  Subscribe to our 2x a month news, and share the podcast with others! We'd love a 5 star rating and comments on iTunes if you are so

When Elitsa and I spoke, we had many stories about competent women in sales and leadership roles who wait to get the "tap" on the shoulder to be promoted. Our male counterparts TELL their boss that they expect to be promoted many times and they initiate introductions with some of their C-level leaders, heads of other teams in their company and proudly state their accomplishments.  Are we too shiy to also do that, or is it in how we were raised - "don't brag," my dad would tell me.  Today in 2025 we say, "It isn't bragging if it is true."  Listen to Elitsa share about her career. Born in Bulgaria, Elitsa visited the US a number of times, going back and forth, then moved to the DC area in 2011 and started working for CEB (which became Gartner later). She got great sales training (these were the "Challenger" folks) and really fell in love with sales.  Due to an opportunity for her husband, she moved to Ukraine back in 2015 (no hint of a future war then). What was amazing was that when they did hear of turmoil h

April Marks leveraged the communication skills she got in college to help her launch into a sales career - first as a BDR, then right into an Enterprise Sales role. She is currently at Pangea.  My current role enables customers to leverage processes integrating API-based security services and strategically managing enterprise accounts, currently at Pangea. I am driven by the mission to streamline security processes, which resonates with Pangea's innovative approach to delivering comprehensive services through a single framework. My commitment to fostering a collaborative culture and bringing diverse insights to the table ensures alignment with many organizational values and goals. In my experiences, I've led strategic customer engagements, expanding their use of services during crucial business periods such as new technical use cases, DevOps transformations, onboarding, and M&A events. I successfully proposed DevSecOps and AI processes, demonstrating my proficiency in these areas, and partnered closely w

Kaivona Parker works with companies and individuals to help get more underserved folks into tech sales and support and champion them to success.  We talked about the notion of people saying to bring your "whole self" to work, but in reality we can't all do that.  Kaivona wants to help build up those in sales to help them grow and flourish. She trains, coaches, and is an all around sales enablement pro, with career stops at Grainger, Yelp, Nestle', and Teachable, among others.  Listen and share your thoughts - we'd love to hear them.  Kaivona Parker: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaivona-parker/ Women Sales Pros: @womensalespros on Instagram https://www.linkedin.com/company/women-sales-pros/ 2x a month newsletter about getting more women in sales; championing female sellers and sales leaders, and shining a light on our male allies:  sign up: https://bit.ly/thewspnews Contribute a story: https://forms.gle/v9rRiPDUtgGqKaXA6 Past News Issues: bit.ly/past_news_issues

The book Ask Like an Auctioneer has a mission: to help 1 Million women ask for more and get it.  But it’s not just for women.  It’s for you if you want to: Get the raise of your life Land that partnership that can change everything Expand your influence in your domain Secure that whale of a client Refuse to lowball yourself Use asking as a success strategy I was thrilled to interview Dia because as a former fundraising auctioneer myself, I know a bit about Dia's successes -  A Communications Coach for two decades, Dia Bondi works with top CEOs, VC-backed founders, innovators, and creatives to speak powerfully and elevate their impact. After training as an auctioneer, Bondi translated the strategies she learned from the fundraising auctioneering stage into a program that helps women ask for more in their career and life. Based on the wildly successful keynotes and workshops, Ask Like an Auctioneer is an actionable guide that shows you the secret to getting out of your comfort zone and into your “zone of fre

Anna rose from inside sales support to a sales role at Oracle, to startup PlanGrid, then Autodesk (acquired PlanGrid) and now at TigerEye as VP of Sales. How did she do it?  Anna is very conversational and I really enjoyed hearing her tips in doing well in sales and also what she has to say about AI. Listen to what she has to say about being a "lone wolf" and why you don't want to be that. Follow Anna here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-r-a375483/ Follow Women Sales Pros: @womensalespros on Instagram Sign up for our 2x a month e-news: subscribe: https://bit.ly/thewspnews Contribute: https://forms.gle/v9rRiPDUtgGqKaXA6 Past News Issues: bit.ly/past_news_issues

Do you know what you want in your career?  Many of us know we don't like where we are at or our role, but we don't know what we DO want.  Jaime Diglio's new book, "Moneyball Leadership" is not just for leaders - it is a quick read for anyone wanting to get out of the "war room" as Jaime puts it, and into the "win room".  Mindset is so important in business - especially sales and sales leadership.  Jaime explains:  "Today’s leaders are burning out at higher rates than ever before because they're measuring the wrong things and using outdated methods that work against the results they are trying to achieve — losing them money, time, and energy every day. In Moneyball Leadership, I reveal a better way to win that most are blind to. I offer a unique, proven blueprint you won’t find anywhere else, revealing the secret formula behind my clients' successes." Jaime will teach how to play (money)ball and Master the New ROI: Return on Interactions,  changing how you see the game you’ve been playing your whole life. Mor

My guest today is Sarah Gross,  VP of Global Enablement at RingCentral. Sarah and I go way back, and most recently she became a new mom which has given her new perspectives about women and work.  Sarah is also a top sales enablement professional who helps design process and support for sales teams like the ones at RingCentral. When Sarah and I first met, she was with Gartner, and has also worked at Procore and Vorsight in addition to others.  Sarah calls enablement the "octopus" of an organization because it is the only department that touches every other department.  Follow Sarah on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahfricke/ Follow Women Sales Pros on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/women-sales-pros/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/womensalespros/ 2x month newsletter on all things women in sales:  signup: https://bit.ly/thewspnews Contribute: https://forms.gle/v9rRiPDUtgGqKaXA6 Past Issues: bit.ly/past_news_issues

Brilliant business author Tamsen Webster has just released her newest book, Say What They Can't Unhear: The 9 Principles of Lasting Change.  Tamsen describes the new book: The book is a compact and actionable guide that will get leaders (and others!) thinking differently about where change comes from and how to initiate it. By introducing and exploring nine “persuasion proverbs,” I highlight the behavioral, cognitive, and psychological principles that underpin lasting change, and offer a powerful alternative to the standard tactics of influence and persuasion. The outlined concepts are easy to remember, simple to implement, and will give readers the tools to transform any audience of lukewarm prospects into passionate believers. We started off talking about "ethical persuasion" - a huge important aspect in professional selling. Join the conversation and check out Tamsen's book.  https://tamsenwebster.com/ More on Tamsen https://womensalespros.com/ More on Women Sales Pros https://womensalespros.com/podcast/ A

Her parents were Somali refugees who ended up in the U.K. As a child, Misky Sharif learned to be careful around the drugs and crime in her low income neighborhood. She rose above it, while learning as she grew up. How many kids would dodge all of the negative and find something positive in that? Listen as Misky explains how.  Misky overcame obstacles and currently is in FinTech as an Account Executive for Revolut, and if you are in sales and don't have an "accomplishment bank" - take a listen to the full episode  - great action item to start one on your own today!  Misky Sharif can connect via LinkedIn Womnen Sales Pros can be found on LinkedIn, Instagram, X, and other social posts. 

Now more than ever, we are seeing the importance of how sales fits in pre-sale and after the sale, and how sales needs enablement like the examples Deirdre offers are what helps grow . Learning, practicing, executing and coaching is the repeatable cadence   Lori and Deirdre talk about creating "work life harmony" and the value of keeping in touch with those you've enjoyed working with previously.  We talk about "just in time" coaching and how adults learn.  Deirdre helps Skillibrium to:  Assess your team's skills Remediate with Learning paths Practice with Stand and Deliver Implement an Operational Cadence Execute with Sales Playbooks Predicably grow revenue Promote based on objectivity  and Deliver exceptional experiences. More is at https://skillibrium.com/  Women Sales Pros tracks top podcasts, books and speakers and has a 2x a month newsletter in addition to this award-winning podcast. @womensalespros   

Xactly is a tech platform for assisting companies with compensation and forecasting with the sales team, and has been around since 2005. They started sharing research about men in sales roles versus women in 2014 or so - quite some time ago, and just released their 2024 research results which includes the following: ● Representation disparities: The gender ratio in sales is alarming. Women are underrepresented in sales roles, constituting only 34% of the sales force and only 29% of sales managers. ● Female salespeople earn less: On average, men earn 3.5% more than women as salespeople, and 3.7%* more as sales managers when it comes to fixed pay. Without adjustment of outside factors, men earn 9% more than women as salespeople, and 13% more as sales managers. ● Pay gaps widen over time: At the start of salespeople’s careers, men earn 2.2% more on average than women. After 2 years, this gap widens by 30%. After 5 years, the gap increases even more significantly, with a 77% increase. ● The gaps differ from indus

Gretchen launched Unbound and Unbothered, a career coaching business for women in tech in  2021. She helps high achievers who are stuck, stifled or at a crossroads ditch the stress and overwork to have a life and a job without burning out.  Since she and I both got into tech in the "early days" (me earlier than her) we had a great conversation - I reference the title because we both worked for at least one company where the bathrooms were both for the guys since we were the first or second female hires.   Be sure and follow Gretchen here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gretchend/ Follow Women Sales Pros on LinkedIn, Instagram, X, and Facebook.  Our 2x month newsletter, The News is all about celebrating women in sales with upcoming events, feature articles, and stories about our male allies supporting us.  Past issues of The News here.  Please share this podcast episode if you find value in it! We love reviews on iTunes! 

"A billion dollar quota is like a 100K quota - you have to be comfortable talking about money with others" - one of the topics guest Marva Bailer and I bond on in our conversation shared today. I'm thrilled that our sponsor, Skillibrium, brings on advisors like Marva so that we can have real discussions around how to be successful.  Marva was in sales before she learned how to drive - she and I share that young entrepreneurial spirit as well. Marva got into health, wellness and personal development before it was cool - and these are big topics in a successful sales career today.  Join us for a fun conversation about coaching, personal growth, and professional development as well - share your thoughts, and please share the podcast with one other woman or male ally if you can.  @womensalespros on Insta @marvabailer on Insta  

Ashley Philipps is the author of the new book, The Teacher's Guide to Changing Careers. Being a former teacher myself, I am always up for hearing about others who left the admirable profession of teaching due to the lack of pay, and who got into sales roles.  Ashley's book showcases other careers, but she did go into B2B sales and we talk about that on this episode.  You will also hear my tip for those in the job market - what is the best way to approach someone who is well connected, instead of saying, "Hey if you know of anyone hiring...." What do you say instead?  Ashley's book will certainly help teachers who feel like they are underappreciated, underpaid, and who are interested in continuing to be a teacher as a professional seller.  The good news about the B2B sales profession is that IT is also an admirable profession - a helping profession. Even with new AI tools, complex sales won't happen without empathetic, communicative, collaborative sellers like many former teachers can be.  Follow Women Sales

I have known Michelle Benfer over the years and it was great to catch up with her in her role as SVP Sales, Business Line Owner at BILL. [Bill is (according to their website) the intelligent way to create and pay bills, send invoices, manage expenses, control budgets, and access the credit your business needs to grow—all on one platform.] Michelle is a sales leader and in our conversation we talked about how things have changed in sales, how there is some "bad behavior" happening more than before due to the tougher economy and some advice for reps about taking control of their destiny and the big job that front line sales managers have.  Fun fact: Michelle's mom was her sales role model, setting up calls like today's BDRs and SDRs do. When her parents started thinking about college for her and her siblings her mom got a job at Boston College so her kids would get free tuition (perk of working at a university). Mom was smart!  More about Michelle Benfer, ex Hubspot, Limited Partner at Stage 2 Capital - now at

What is it like when two data focused people get together and talk? It does get a bit nerdy, but that's what I like about Sara, who lives in Stockholm, Sweden.  Sara has been doing nearly all roles - from individual contributor - like SDR, BDR, AE and all the way up to VP and CRO. Now she is running two companies, "Break the Box" and "Skills." Like many of us who came from little money, Sara was amazed when she got her first paycheck in her sales career and said to herself, "I will never have to be hungry again."  That's why we talk about sales being a game-changer for those new into professional selling. If you are having a tough time at the moment - stick with it because sales can be such an amazing career if you are motivated, good at it, and have support from the company you're at.  Sara talks about her journey from selling consumer products where half of the sellers were women to being the only woman in the room and how she adjusted - and what many of us learn over time to "fit in" versus being ourselves