I recently sat down with Pete Smith, a sales veteran and the founder of SpotLogic, to talk about a problem we are all feeling: The Treadmill.

Sales organizations are cranking up the speed, flooding reps with tools that demand data entry rather than providing data insight. Pete shares his journey from the old-school days of NCR’s "Sugar Camp" (where they taught you how to dress) to building a tool simply because he needed a way to survive the cognitive load of modern selling.

We discuss why 84% of enterprise deals die in the first meeting, why "winging it" has become a survival mechanism for overbooked reps, and how to earn the right to sit on the same side of the table as your buyer.

Key Highlights & Takeaways:

• The Origin Story: Pete didn't set out to build a startup. He built SpotLogic for himself because he felt he needed a "force multiplier" to handle complex deals. When he realized it made him twice as effective, his friends forced him to turn it into a company.

• The "Insider" Threshold: There is a moment in every deal where the buyer decides you are no longer an outsider pitching a product, but an insider helping them solve a problem. If you don't cross that threshold, you are just "column fodder."

• Discovery is Not a Phase: We agreed that treating discovery as a checkbox in the sales process is a death sentence. Discovery is a state of mind that starts before the first call and continues long after the contract is signed.

• The "Pajama" Problem: We laughed about the shift from the suit-and-tie culture of NCR to the "socks are the new tie" reality of Zoom sales -- and the time Sun Microsystems had to remind reps not to film internal enablement videos in their PJs!

• The Goldman Sachs Lesson: Pete shares a brutal story about losing a deal not because the product wasn't better (it was), but because the organizational risk of switching infrastructure was too high. It’s a masterclass in understanding the buyer's ecosystem, not just their pain points.

Memorable Quotes:

• "Customers buy from the reps who understand them best." — Pete Smith

• "Discovery is the most important part of the job in complex sales... No, it IS the job." — Pete Smith

• "I've got three critical meetings today. I prepared three hours for one of them. And I'm going to have to wing the other two." — Pete Smith (quoting his son on the reality of modern sales)

Call to Action:

• Stop Winging It: Check out how SpotLogic helps reps reduce cognitive load and prep for meetings in minutes.

• Connect with Pete: Reach out to Pete at pete@spotlogic.com.

• Subscribe: If you enjoyed this deep dive into the psychology of buying, hit subscribe on Thoughts on Selling so you never miss an episode!

For this episode of Thoughts on Selling, I sit down with my good friend and fellow sales enablement veteran, Tom Kiernan. Tom is a runner, a dad, and a practitioner who cut his teeth at powerhouses like American Power Conversion (APC) and Schneider Electric.

We dive deep into the real difference between "training" (the forbidden T-word) and true enablement. Tom explains why the "Reticular Activating System" is the secret weapon for cutting through the noise in a prospect's brain, and we debate why sales organizations are so bad at the one thing that makes professional athletes great: Practice.

We also touch on a topic close to Tom’s heart—his unique "Books as a Service" non-profit, Lumpy Bones, which helps kids (and adults) deal with difficult topics like cancer through humor and adventure.

Key Findings & Takeaways:

• The "T-Word" vs. Process: Tom argues that training is just an event, while enablement is a process. He shares lessons from the "Toyota Way" and how rigorous process management at APC set the stage for global success.

• The Reticular Activating System (RAS): Ever hear your name over a loudspeaker in a crowded airport? That’s your RAS. Tom explains how "Other Centered Selling" triggers this same mechanism in buyers, stopping them in their tracks because you are talking about them, not your product.

• The Purpose of Selling is Buying: We discuss why the goal isn't to sell, but to help the customer buy. When you shift your motive, you shift your results.

• The Practice Deficit: Professionals practice; amateurs just play the game. We look at the stark contrast between how NFL teams or Broadway casts prepare versus how little practice happens in corporate sales.

• Motive is Transparent: As Tom says, if you are only in it for the commission, it’s written on a "yellow sticky note on your forehead." Customers can smell commission breath a mile away.

• Lumpy Bones: Tom shares his passion project, Lumpy Bones—a "Books as a Service" 501(c)(3) that gets inspiring children's books into classrooms for free through corporate sponsorship.

Memorable Quotes:

• "Motive is transparent. It's written right up on that yellow sticky that [is] slapped up onto your forehead." — Tom Kiernan

• "The best swing is the one that I didn't think about... I practiced to get there, but I just hit the ball." — Tom Kiernan

• "If you don't have a defined process, there's nothing to practice." — Lee Levitt

The Bottom Line:Sales enablement isn't just about teaching reps about new products; it's about building capabilities. Whether it's triggering a buyer's attention or building a coaching culture that actually coaches, success comes down to being "other centered."

Call to Action:

• Check out Tom's Book Series: Visit LumpyBones.com to see how Tom is bringing humor and life lessons to kids.

• Connect with Tom: Find Tom Kiernan on LinkedIn.

• Subscribe: If you enjoyed this conversation, hit subscribe on Thoughts on Selling so you never miss an episode!

In this episode of Thoughts on Selling, I sit down with Ben Perreau, a recovering music journalist turned entrepreneur and leadership expert. Ben joins me from Los Angeles to discuss a problem that plagues almost every growing company: the "Accidental Manager."

We explore Ben’s fascinating journey from the BBC newsroom to consulting for Fortune 50 C-suite executives, and why the transition from superstar Individual Contributor to Team Leader is the most dangerous leap in a career. We geek out on photography as a metaphor for leadership, discuss why we are all just "emotional meat sacks" trying to be professional, and dive into how his new company, Parafoil, is using AI-driven "listening circles" to help new managers survive their first year.

Key Findings & Takeaways:

• The "Man in the Arena": Ben shares how Theodore Roosevelt’s famous speech defined his transition from observing the world as a journalist to shaping it as an entrepreneur.

• The Accidental Manager Crisis: A staggering 82% of early-career managers consider themselves "accidental"—thrust into leadership because they were good at their technical job, not because they were trained to lead.

• Leadership vs. Photography: We discuss the difference between staying in "Auto Mode" versus mastering "Manual Mode." Great leaders, like great photographers, need to know the technicals but ultimately succeed through composition and vision.

• The "Emotional Meat Sack" Reality: We try to breed emotion out of work, but we are emotional creatures. Ben argues that suppressing this leads to burnout and failure; effective leadership requires integrating your emotional self with your professional self.

• Listening Circles: Ben highlights his new platform, Parafoil, which uses "Listening Circles" to create safe, high-trust environments where managers can practice feedback and difficult conversations without fear of judgment.

Memorable Quotes:

• "I think Ben Perreau... is a complex mix of dualities in search of trying to find the one version of myself in amongst all of that." — Ben Perreau

• "Never doubt that a small committed group of people can change the world. In fact, it's all it ever has." — Ben Perreau (quoting Margaret Mead)

• "There's a reason why 82% of early career managers consider themselves accidental managers. And there's a reason why a third of their teams leave within a year." — Ben Perreau

• "We've almost constructed... our own landscape to help us find our own way out of the sort of emotional meat sacks that we all are... but actually it's the counter narratives." — Ben Perreau

The Bottom Line:

We often promote our best salespeople, engineers, or marketers into management and then abandon them. Ben’s work with Parafoil reminds us that leadership is a craft that must be practiced, not just a title that is bestowed. If you want to stop the churn of "accidental managers," you have to provide a safe space for them to fail, learn, and grow.

Call to Action:

• Stop the Churn: Are you an "accidental manager" or leading a team of them? Check out how Parafoil is changing the game.

• Connect with Ben: Visit Parafoil.co or find Ben Perreau on LinkedIn.

• Subscribe: Enjoyed this deep dive on leadership? Hit subscribe on Thoughts on Selling so you never miss a conversation.