Turning exhibitions into sales opportunities

Great sales teams still lose opportunities they expected to win, but those losses can offer some of the most valuable lessons.In this Quick Win episode, we revisit the key takeaways from our conversation with Anna Betts, Head of Business Development & Sales Enablement at JLL.We'll explore why organisations should examine lost deals as closely as successful ones, how earlier client engagement can improve the chances of success and why sales performance depends on more than technology or CRM systems.If you want to build a stronger sales culture, this episode offers practical ideas for learning from setbacks and improving future opportunities.

Welcome back to the Mastering Sales & Negotiations podcast.Anna Betts joins us this week to share what she has built over 22 years in professional services, including more than 15 years at PwC and her current role as Head of Business Development & Sales Enablement at Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL). Drawing on experience across marketing, pursuits and proposals, business development and account management, she explains what stronger sales teams do differently.A strong team, a well-prepared pitch and an established client relationship do not always lead to a win. Anna examines what can sit behind an unexpected loss and how involving the right expertise can create a more consistent client experience throughout the sales cycle.We also consider what separates average sales organisations from exceptional ones, from coaching senior sellers and measuring productivity rather than activity to identifying whitespace opportunities and creating a culture of accountability.As technology and AI continue to reshape professional services, Anna explains why curiosity, agility and a willingness to step outside your comfort zone remain essential for sales professionals and leaders.

Exhibitions create a rare opportunity to engage prospective customers face-to-face, but many teams fail to make the most of those interactions.In this Quick Win episode, hosts Rachel Massey and Robin Hoyle revisit some of the key lessons from their conversation with Tracy Shah, exploring what sales teams can do to improve their performance before, during and after an event.Together, they discuss why preparation matters, how asking the right questions can lead to better conversations, and the role follow-up plays in turning brief interactions into genuine sales opportunities. They also share practical advice on avoiding common stand behaviours that can undermine results.If you're preparing for an upcoming exhibition or looking to improve the return from events, this episode offers simple actions that can help you generate more value from every conversation.

Welcome back to the Mastering Sales & Negotiations podcast.This week, we're joined by Tracy Shah, Joint Managing Director at Venture Marketing Group. Having spent decades working across exhibitions, conferences and events, Tracy has seen first-hand what separates organisations that generate meaningful opportunities from those that simply show up.In our conversation, we explore why exhibitions remain such a powerful sales channel, despite the growth of digital marketing and AI. Tracy shares common mistakes businesses make before, during and after an event, from poor preparation and passive stand behaviour to weak follow-ups that leave valuable opportunities untapped.We discuss how the best exhibitors approach events strategically, why effective stand conversations start with understanding a customer's challenges rather than delivering a sales pitch, and how meaningful interactions can create opportunities long after the exhibition doors have closed.Whether you're exhibiting at a trade show, conference or industry event, this episode offers practical insights into creating better conversations, stronger opportunities and greater return from your investment in face-to-face selling.

Sales teams are surrounded by data, yet many still struggle to make confident decisions.In this Quick Win episode, Rachel Massey and Robin Hoyle unpack some of the most practical insights from our conversation with Simon Hefti, exploring why so much sales data fails to drive action and what leaders can do differently. Together, they discuss how to distinguish meaningful customer signals from background noise, why outdated CRM habits undermine trust in data, and how AI can help identify patterns that support better decision-making. They also explore the vital role coaching plays in turning insights into action, helping sales professionals focus on the behaviours and conversations that really matter. If your team is collecting more data than ever but seeing little return from it, this episode offers practical advice on where to focus first and how to start turning information into commercial advantage.

Welcome back to the Mastering Sales & Negotiations podcast - and welcome to the first episode of series 3. This week, we're joined by Dr Simon Hefti, co-founder and chairman of D ONE, a leading Swiss data and AI consultancy. With a background in physics and decades of experience helping organisations make better use of their data, Simon brings a unique perspective on one of sales' biggest challenges: turning information into action.  In our conversation, we explore why so many organisations are collecting more customer and sales data than ever before, yet still struggle to generate meaningful insights. Simon explains why data has become an administrative burden for many sales teams, how valuable customer signals become trapped across disconnected systems, and what separates organisations that use data to create value from those that simply accumulate it. We also discuss the rise of AI in sales, where the technology can genuinely help sales professionals make better decisions, and why even the most advanced tools still depend on trustworthy, connected data. Along the way, Simon shares practical advice for sales leaders looking to move from dashboards and reports to real commercial impact. Whether you're looking to improve forecasting, identify opportunities earlier, or simply make better use of the information your business already has, this episode is packed with practical insights. It’s a useful listen for anyone looking to make data work harder for their sales team. 

Welcome back to the Mastering Sales and Negotiations podcast.This week on the podcast, we were joined by Claus Klein‑Ipsen, Chairman of the Board at Peak Systems and a long‑time advisor to founder‑led start‑ups and VC‑backed scale‑ups. In our conversation, we explored what really breaks as organisations move from founder‑led selling to repeatable, scalable sales.We're joined by Will Ockenden to unpack the key takeaways from that discussion — including how founder passion can quietly undermine customer discovery, why VC pressure often leads to process without progress, and how treating sales as a craft rather than a personality trait creates sustainable performance.And why Will? A founder himself, he’s experienced this first hand and now also works closely with sales leaders and organisations navigating growth, helping teams turn start-up passion into methodology into everyday commercial behaviour.In short, he’s right at the sharp end of this challenge. Let’s dive in.

Start-ups, Scale-ups and SPIN In this episode of Mastering Sales and Negotiations, we’re joined by Claus Klein‑Ipsen, Chairman of the Board at Peak Systems, board member, and long-time advisor to founder‑led start-ups and VC‑backed scale-ups. Claus lifts the lid on what really happens as companies move from “I can sell” to “we can sell” and why both start-ups and scale-ups keep making the same discovery mistakes. He explains how founder passion can quietly turn into a monologue, how VC pressure can create beautiful dashboards but weak conversations, and why treating sales as a craft (not a personality trait) changes everything. You’ll hear how SPIN Selling gives teams a shared commercial language that works at every stage of growth; from protecting customer discovery in early-stage chaos to creating consistent, coachable deal reviews in complex scale-ups. Whether you’re building something new, scaling fast, or trying to lift commercial capability across sales, CS and leadership, this conversation is packed with practical stories, tough lessons, and real-world ideas you can apply immediately.  

This week on the Mastering Sales and Negotiations podcast, we sat down with Casper Guldager, who shared some refreshingly honest insights about why AI so often stalls inside commercial teams, and what leaders can do to change that.In this Quick Win episode, Rachel Massey is joined by Robin Hoyle to unpack the biggest takeaways from that conversation, including:Why leaders need to go first and use AI themselvesHow AI can take on the admin, prep and process-heavy workWhy the future of sales means doing more of what you love and less of what you don’t

In this episode of Mastering Sales and Negotiations, we sit down with Casper Guldager, AI consultant and co‑founder of Adaptig, whose career spans a decade of helping organisations like LEGO and KPMG integrate AI into commercial performance.Casper argues that while AI technology is accelerating rapidly, the real barrier to adoption isn’t tools — it’s leadership. He explains why AI transformation must start at the top, how leaders can model the right behaviour, and what an effective “executive AI blueprint” actually looks like.We explore the practical side too: where AI genuinely improves sales effectiveness, how high‑performing teams use AI for deep account research, and what separates the reps who thrive with AI from those who give up too early.Casper also shares why commercial mindset is becoming one of the most important human skills in an AI-enabled world — and what the next 3–5 years will mean for the role of the salesperson.Packed with practical examples, honest reflections, and lessons from both successful ventures and failed experiments, this episode gives leaders a grounded, actionable view of what it really takes to build an AI‑first sales organisation.