Latest Podcasts: 2025 Sales Best Practices

In the past month, the Revenue Builders Podcast has hosted some insightful conversations with experienced sales leaders. They discussed their sales journeys, critical career moves, management advice and emerging technologies. We also heard some great perspectives from our hosts, John Kaplan and John McMahon. Tune in below to hear 2025 sales best practices from a variety of established minds in the sales world.

We publish two episodes per week, sharing lessons for sales leaders at all stages of their careers. Make sure to subscribe to the Revenue Builders podcast on your favorite podcast player, so you never miss an episode.

October Featured Episodes:

A Revenue Builder’s Journey: From Seller to Leader to Operating Partner

Duration: 1 hr 33 min

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In this episode, John Kaplan and John McMahon are joined by Bill Binch, a seasoned sales leader and Operating Partner at Battery Ventures. Together, they explore Bill's extensive career, beginning at major companies like Oracle and PeopleSoft, moving to startups such as Marketo, and eventually stepping into the VC world. Bill shares key lessons on effective sales management, transparent leadership, and strategic hiring. He also emphasizes the importance of consistent messaging, proactive problem-solving, and the integration of new technologies like AI in achieving revenue goals. This episode provides practical insights into growing within the sales domain, understanding the motivations behind career transitions, and the roles of anticipation and deliberate growth for CROs looking to evolve into advisory or operating positions within investment firms.

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The Manager Curse: Being a Super Rep with Tammy Sexton

Duration: 6 min

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In this curated episode of the Revenue Builders Podcast, John McMahon and John Kaplan are joined by sales veteran Tammy Sexton, currently CRO at Aerospike, discussing the crucial transition from being an account executive to a first-line manager. Tammy emphasizes the common pitfall of new managers acting as 'super reps' by trying to sell in their style rather than coaching their teams. She shares insights on empowering sales reps, recognizing individual strengths, and fostering lasting behavioral changes through effective coaching. The conversation highlights the importance of not overshadowing AEs in client interactions and allowing them to enjoy the critical negotiation phases. Tammy provides strategies to help new managers succeed in their roles and drive revenue goals without undermining their team's potential.

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Mastering Negotiation in B2B Sales with Keno Helmi

Duration:  1hr 5 min

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In this episode, John Kaplan and John McMahon are joined by return guest Keno Helmi, a seasoned five-time CRO, to delve into the nuances of negotiation in B2B sales. Keno offers insights into effectively managing price perception and ensuring the customer's focus remains on the value of the solution, rather than cost. With a focus on crafting an impactful ROI and leveraging business cases, Keno highlights the importance of negotiation as a competency requiring strategic planning and training. Tune in to hear a detailed overview of Keno's negotiation protocol, which includes qualifying negotiation conditions, understanding the customer's alternatives, and the importance of preparing for trade-offs to secure a favorable deal.

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Demonstrating Opportunity with Your SKO

Duration:  7 min

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The best sales kickoffs are planned in a way that aligns with the company’s strategic goals and sets your revenue teams up to execute successfully. In this segment, John Kaplan and John McMahon talk through the importance of demonstrating the opportunity your company is providing your revenue teams and why committing their time to your organization is going to be worth it. 

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Cutting Through the Noise: Understanding AI Through History and Practical Application

Duration: 1 hr 5 min

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In this episode, John Kaplan and John McMahon are joined by Devavrat Shah, CEO and co-founder of Ikigai Labs and MIT professor, to demystify the rapidly evolving landscape of artificial intelligence. The conversation spans a wide array of crucial AI topics including the history and applications of AI, causal inference, explainability, and the integration of AI into sales and forecasting processes. Key highlights include the role of AI in consumption pricing, business model transformations, and job market impacts. Shah underscores the importance of governance, ethical use, and education in AI, offering valuable insights into AI tools from Ikigai Labs and their practical implementations in sectors like healthcare, supply chain, and BFSI. The discussion concludes with a focus on the explosive growth of AI, urging businesses to invest in internal education and to approach AI adoption with a 'proof of value' mindset for sustained success and global upskilling.

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Sales Management: Key Responsibilities that Will Make or Break Success

Duration:  1 hr 14 min

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In this episode, John Kaplan and John McMahon talk through each stage of sales management and the important responsibilities that must be mastered at each role.

From first-line manager to second-line to VP of Sales and all the way up to the CRO, they tackle the key responsibilities at each role and the key factors that go into coaching and developing their teams at every stage. It’s a great discussion on how these leadership roles intertwine with the ultimate goal of building a system for revenue success. 

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AI Disruption: Thinking Outside-In

Duration:  7 min

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In this short segment of the Revenue Builders Podcast, Mark Roberge shares some thoughts on AI and how to think about using it to innovate business, rather than automating isolated tasks. It’s part of a larger episode with John Kaplan and John McMahon. 

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Debriefing Our Most Popular Episodes

Duration:  29 min

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In this episode, John Kaplan and John McMahon talk through their key takeaways from the most popular episodes in our Revenue Builders Archive. We compiled our top five shows based on listener data - tune in as our hosts talk through the following conversations and lessons learned:

[00:03:03] The Difference Between Managing and Leading with Jeremy Duggan, President and Board Member at Multiverse.
[00:09:27] Sales Best Practices with Mark Wendling, VP of WW Data Cloud Sales at Snowflake.
[00:12:54] Sales Stages and Exit Criteria, with Brian McCarthy CRO at Rubrik.
[00:19:36] Business Value Assessments, with Doug May SVP of Productivity at Harness.

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We publish new episodes every week. Download, listen and share them with your teams. If there's a topic you want us to cover, email us. You can subscribe to our podcast on all the major streaming platforms, or get new episodes straight to your inbox by subscribing to email updates.

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