Conversations With Women In Sales

I met "my people" when I met Elyse Archer - she has a big abundant mindset and is helping men and women entrepreneurs and professional sellers to gain success through mindset, too. Elyse has a soft spot for women and founded She Sells to offer programs specifically for women - also a She Sells podcast. Elyse is also a personal brand strategist and a video confidence coach.  I hope you find this episode inspiring - would love any feedback. Check out Elyse at https://elysearcher.com/ 

Samantha McKenna is Founder of #SamSales Consulting. We had an amazing conversation about the negative stereotype sales still has - and the wonderful attributes a sales career actually offers.  Do you have the ability to have a conversation, to run a process? You could be great in B2B sales. This is a profession where you can impact your earning potential by how you "run" your territory. It is very entrepreneurial. You can also customize your lifestyle with a sales career. "If you master the foundational skills in sales, you can crush it forever" according to Sam. Follow Sam on LinkedIn - Follow this podcast and please share it! 

Katie Walsh was a Division 1 College Field Hockey player and atributes a lot of her success in sales and leadership to her collegiate athletic career. Katie is Director of Sales at Hubspot. Unlike most of us in software and SaaS, she's been at Hubspot for the past NINE years. Yep - sometimes you find a great work home and have talented leaders who inspire you to stay and grow with the company.  Katie received a solid foundation in selling through her work at EMC making lots of calls and setting up meetings for the AEs there. She said that time at EMC, while not a career "fit" for her, was critical for her future success.  We talk about preconcieved notions about sales, growth within one company, and what the future holds. #sales #seeitbeit #shesells #womeninsales  

Our guest today wrote a fantastic book that will help you to build more empowered conversations as you rise through the sales organization or the company in general. Roberta Matuson is the author of "Can We Talk: Seven Principles for Managing Difficult Conversations at Work" Roberta and I had a rousing conversation and you'll find some gems to take away if you want to be a better, more effective communicator. 

Amy Franko is a keynote sales speaker and the author of "The Modern Seller: Sell More and Increase Your Impact in the New Sales Economy" Amy is also the Chair of the Board of Directors of Girl Scouts of Ohio's Heartland where they are building an amazing STEM project for their Girls Scouts which we also discuss. Learn how Amy got into sales as an English and Communication college grad and how she's been drawn to tech during her career. Learn more about Amy at https://amyfranko.com/

Jen and I talked about a lot of different things but what grabbed me was her speaking about how becoming a podcast host helped her be better at storytelling. Storytelling is such an important skill within professional selling that I wanted to highlight that - we talk about a leader who made a big impression on Jen and our first sales experiences. Who you work for early on in your career matters - which is why we need female voices to help encourage women up and coming in sales today. Jen says, "There is a much wider network than within your company" Jen and I both encourage women to build their brand on LinkedIn. Build YOUR brand - not your company's brand. We can build trust at scale. It is important. Check out Jen's podcast as well. 

Natalia Gallo is a changemaker in the male-dominated world of roofing. She has risen through the ranks to Regional Sales Director and spent years helping to mentor and support other women to succeed. Natalia brought the idea of getting the women in sales within GAF together to learn from each other, and the WinS program was created. Listen to how she started as an architect and is now one of the top women in the roofing profession. 

Natasha Hemmingway took her college degree in Biology and a leap of faith into pharmaceutical sales and never looked back. After eight years she pivoted into medical device sales, and did that successfully for another eight years. Now she runs her own coaching practice and is focused on teaching others how to Sell with Heart Not Hustle (R)  Natasha has a powerful story she shares in this episode about losing her full term baby and how poorly a situation like that is handled in most companies - many sales teams are not prepared to help women get back to their team after a devastating loss. Natasha went on to create her own company and coaches others on how to sell. I really appreciated our conversation and hope you do too. If you do, please share it with others. Rate it on iTunes. Thanks.

Before a woman leaves a sales role due to issues she isn't comfortable with - such as her environment or a life event, she needs to ask about a different accomodation rather than us losing another woman in sales. My conversation with Yamini Bhat, CEO & Co-Founder at Vymo covered the many unconscious biases there are in the workplace. Vymo is a sales enablement platform and so we talked about within her company as well as with clients and customers how women and men differ. It was a varied and interesting conversation sure to be of interest. We cover: Women exceeding men in conversion rates, but also women exceeding men in attrition. Join us as we dive into the data. 

In her new book, "Right on the Money - New Principles for Bold Growth", author and sales strategist Colleen Francis discusses the current sales landscape and offers some great strategies - and tactics - to win over today's buyers.  One of the #WomenInSalesAuthors with bold strategies for revenue growth. 

Precious Williams KNEW there was a STAR inside of herself - she was not raised with confidence but she learned to embrace herself and own who she is.  She is a world class master communicator and a shining light in our sales world (and the world at large)  Sales and pitching skills are vital to charting your own destiny. Precious shares part of her story and you should be watching for Precious - she is going big places! 

Jen is an author contributor to the new book, "Heels to Deals" with 33 women's stories about their journeys in B2B sales. It was pulled together by Heidi Solomon-Orlick of Girlz Who Sell and is a GREAT read!  Jen does a popular LinkedIn Live show where she shares stories, as she did in the book and on this episode about challenges she ran into as a woman in sales - in hopes that other women coming up in sales will learn from others and not get stuck in the same corner or be speechless if and when someone says something totally inappropriate or disrespectful. We cover a lot of topics in this one. 

Natasha has had a most interesting journey into and through sales. She grew up with a most unconventional upbriging (you'll have to listen to see what I mean) and had no idea what business was, let alone sales. Through her education and early roles she learned about sales and has been involved in it now for the past 20 years. Listen to Natasha's journey and get inspired. 

Andy Paul is a mentor, coach, supporter, and champion of more women in sales. He is also a global sales advisor and top podcaster. In his new book, Sell Without Selling Out, he shows you how to take charge of your own sales career without selling out using the four "Sell In Pillars" of connection, curiosity, understanding, and generosity. These are pillars women have used in sales for YEARS. Now it is a must for everyone in sales because these soft skills are what bots and computers cannot yet replace. Check out Andy's book and you will thank me! It is an easy read, and a one-sitting read if you are as engaged with the topic as I am. 

What does an inclusive sales culture look like? How do we get men to be our advocates, not just allies?  I talked with TikTok B2B Sales standout Leslie Venetz, Founder, Sales Team Builder, about her 15 year sales journey and how far we still need to go for more women in sales. We talk about working remotely and how that can be a game changer for a mom with child or kids at home - and how you don't need to be a "road warrior" to be a sales leader anymore. That is great for more women sales leader candidates and ultimately more women in sales leadership. #SheSells #SeeItBeIt @SalesTipsTok "Breaking Corporate Bro Culture"

Meg Hewitt has had a number of varied roles which we talk about this episode. She's been a rep, a manager, a head of sales dev, trainer, coach,  Director of Sales, Regional VP, and now a Strategic Account Executive, Retail & Consumer Goods at Salesforce. Meg shares that it's not the title but what you learn, and how you can work to plan out what it is you need or where you want to go in sales.  What is wonderful about B2B sales is that you can take your career many different directions. Meg shares about her geographical moves as well as climbing the career ladder. 

In this session Alli and I talk about the topic of feeling like an imposter and what you can do. Why is it so prevalent in women, and can men have it too? Join us and learn. 

We kick of 2022 with a new sponsor, Reprise. Big thank you to them. They have some amazing women in sales, including their head of sales. VP Sales Grace Tyson sat down with us to share about her journey and stops along the way to her current role.  We discussed the idea of product led growth and got some inspiration from a top sales leader. If you know of a woman sales leader or amazing sales rep, let us know - if they inspire, we want to share their insight and story here. 

We had an awesome, amazing year of interviews here at Conversations with Women in Sales. I'll review all 36 episodes and share what is ahead for Women Sales Pros and the She Sells Summit. If you know of a woman in sales or woman sales leader in B2B who would make a great guest, please refer them our way AND please share this podcast with your sales leader or company leader, whether they are male or female. We depend on our male allies to help affect change in B2B. Also, reviews are welcome and appreciated on iTunes as well as any endorsements on LinkedIn or elsewhere. 

Ashley is co-founder of Somersault Innovation and the author of "Naked Sales: How Design Thinking Reveals Customer Motives and Drives Revenue"  In this episode we discussed what design thinking is, what her journey in sales has been like, and some great insights she had to share with us.