Software Sales Career Guide: Pay, Progression & How to Break In

Today we sit down with Doug May, SVP of Productivity at Harness, to discuss one of the most critical yet overlooked aspects of a healthy organization: Sales Productivity. Doug has had an illustrious career at elite organizations including Datadog and Databricks, and he brings that expertise to Harness, where he has cut ramp time in half and increased per-rep contribution by 43%. We explore the "F1 engineering team" analogy of GTM support, why productivity metrics are the ultimate indicator of a company’s health, and the specific questions every candidate should ask to de-risk their next career move. 🙌 Thanks To Our Sponsor! Aurasell AI: https://www.aurasell.ai   🏹 Key Topics Covered 00:00 - In this episode 02:44 – What is Sales Productivity Strategy? 04:00 – The F1 Analogy 05:15 – Measuring Every Step of the Process 07:45 – Cutting Ramp Time in Half at Harness 09:05 – Optimizing the Hiring Profile 12:02 – How Investors Use Productivity as a Health Signal 13:57 – Questions to Ask During Recruiting 18:23 – Benchmarks for Rep Attainment 20:00 – The Six Secrets of Excellence 25:34 – Productivity Leadership and the CRO 31:12 – Understanding CAC and Scalability 42:45 – The 5X Win Rate Improvement   💥 3 Biggest Lessons: The F1 Engineering Team Approach: Doug views the productivity function as the engineering team behind an F1 driver. Elite sellers are the drivers, but they shouldn't be dropped into any car. A world-class productivity strategy provides the fuel (pipeline), the GPS (RevOps), and the tools to optimize every contributor's horsepower to ensure they reach "elite" status. De-Risk Your Career with Data: Candidates should scrutinize an organization’s health through productivity metrics, not just OTE. Key indicators include ramp time (e.g., 7 months vs. 15 months), the percentage of ramped reps achieving quota, and average deal size. If a CEO does not list sales productivity as one of their top three success metrics, it is a sign that the organization may view sales as a cost center rather than an investment engine. Decision Velocity is Critical for Growth: In a high-growth environment, waiting to make decisions is not an option. Doug highlights the concept of one-way vs. two-way doors: identifying which decisions are reversible so the team can maintain high velocity. This agility allows an organization to respond to data in real-time and win the competitive race. 💬 Notable Quotes "We are basically there to optimize the horsepower of every single seller in the organization." "Any change is incremental until you pile them on top of each other." "If sales productivity is not one of [the top three metrics], I should probably walk away." "Great talent... can make hay in any field if they’re supported properly." "You have to be willing to do the hard, hard stuff." 🙌 Thanks for listening! This episode was hosted by Simon Kouttis and Ollie Kuehne, founders of Hunters & Unicorns, and post-produced by the team at videoforce.pro. If you enjoyed this episode, please drop a like/share and subscribe to our channel! 🦄 Connect with Hunters & Unicorns Website: http://huntersandunicorns.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/HuntersUn1corns Instagram: http://instagram.com/huntersandunicorns Blog: http://huntersandunicorns.com/blog #softwaresales #huntersandunicorns #playbookuniverse #salesproductivity

In this episode, we sit down with Anish Agarwal, CEO and Co-founder of Traversal, for a deep dive into the substance behind the AI noise. Anish, a former Columbia professor and researcher in causal AI, shares his unique journey from academia to founding an organization disrupting the site reliability engineering (SRE) and observability space. We explore the critical difference between "AI wrappers" and companies building genuine infrastructure, the emergence of the "Forward Deployed Engineer" in the sales pod, and how to identify technical moats in a world where models are rapidly evolving. 🙌 Thanks To Our Sponsor! Aurasell AI: https://www.aurasell.ai 🏹 Key Topics Covered 00:00 - Intro 01:53 – Traversal: the AI Site Reliability Engineer 03:14 – AI Wrappers vs. AI Native 04:58 – The Importance of a Technical Moat 07:27 – Human Error and Data Scarcity 08:56 – From Experimental Budgets to Production Reality 14:42 – The Rise of the "Forward Deployed Engineer" 22:50 – From PhD to Founder 34:50 – Rethinking the Observability Stack 💥 3 Biggest Lessons: A Technical Moat Lives in Infrastructure and Data: Anish argues that a sustainable AI company must be an infrastructure and data company at its core. If your value is purely in prompt engineering or simple workflows, model companies (like OpenAI) will eventually "eat" those features. A true moat is developed through context engineering—managing petabytes of data in a way that is consumable for LLMs—and functioning on systems elements haven't been trained on, such as private observability logs. Target Workflows Where Humans Are "Bad": When assessing the longevity of an AI solution, look at the tasks it automates. If a human is already good at the task, data for that workflow is easily collected and fed into public models, making the solution easy to replicate. The most defensible AI companies solve superhuman problems—tasks humans are inherently bad at or data types (like time-series logs) that are not publicly available for training. The Chasm Between Pilot and Production: We are entering a phase where the "experimental AI budget" is drying up. Winners in the next two years will be companies that can connect their year-long pilots to hard labor or software spend. This requires tight technical scoping and a "pre-sales mindset" that lasts long after the initial check is signed to ensure the product survives the first renewal cycle. 💬 Notable Quotes "As much as we’ve been an AI company, we’ve been an infrastructure and data company." "If you are creating prompts or simple workflows, the models will just keep eating those up." "The un-sexy part of AI—how you actually deploy this and comply with regulation—that is what is now maturing." "Sales is a first-class citizen in the company... a less good product can win if you have the right team to bring it to market." "I’ve become a student of sales... it eventually becomes a systems engineering problem." 🙌 Thanks for listening! This episode was hosted by Simon Kouttis and Oli Kuehne, founders of Hunters & Unicorns, and post-produced by the team at videoforce.pro. If you enjoyed this episode, please drop a like/share and subscribe to our channel! 🦄 Connect with Hunters & Unicorns Website: http://huntersandunicorns.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/HuntersUn1corns Instagram: http://instagram.com/huntersandunicorns Blog: http://huntersandunicorns.com/blog #softwaresales #huntersandunicorns #playbookuniverse

Today we tackle the noise surrounding the AI movement with Paul Klein, CEO and Founder of Browserbase. With a career spanning early-stage Twilio to raising $70 million in under two years for his own infrastructure startup, Paul brings much-needed critical thinking to the "AI bubble" debate. We explore the bridge between old-world sales principles and modern, developer-first GTM strategies. Paul breaks down why Product-Led Growth (PLG) should be viewed as a pipeline engine rather than just a revenue machine and explains the power of the "Logo Flywheel" in creating executive FOMO. 🙌 Thanks To Our Sponsor! Aurasell AI: https://www.aurasell.ai 🏹 Key Topics Covered 00:00 - Intro 02:20 - AI Bubble: Hype vs. Genuine Technology Value 05:19 - Building the "Logo Flywheel" 08:42 - Raising $70M in 2 Years 10:15 - Infrastructure Power 11:13 - PLG as a Lead Engine 19:15 - Selling Inspiration, Not Just Problems 32:14 - From Twilio to Browserbase 36:00 - Building a Generational Company 💥 3 Biggest Lessons: Bring Critical Thinking to the AI Wave: While technology is creating real value, Paul warns against blindly buying into the financing hype. He emphasizes that both sellers and buyers must look for sustainable business models and long-term viability. Success in the AI era requires a "critical eye" to separate genuine innovation from experimental revenue that may not renew. The "Logo Flywheel" is the Ultimate De-Risk: For infrastructure companies, social proof is invaluable. Executives often make decisions based on FOMO (fear of missing out), looking for established logos to validate their choice. By landing high-profile customers early, you create a flywheel effect that makes subsequent sales easier and de-risks the purchase for the next executive buyer. PLG and Sales are Not a False Dichotomy: Paul challenges the idea that you must choose between being a PLG company or a sales-led company. Instead, use PLG as a lead engine. Letting developers self-serve allows them to "try on" the software like a jacket, while the sales team focuses on high-value "graduation" opportunities—converting active users into enterprise-level champions. 💬 Notable Quotes "We need to bring critical thinking to the AI bubble and the AI wave." "If you can get these great logos that inspire other companies, it's going to be much easier to sell." "Developers... want to try it on. You don’t just buy a jacket without trying it on." "You have to think a lot more like an angel investor or a VC than like a salesperson." "First move is often lose... someone can copy everything... but they won’t get the 10,000 hours of customer understanding." 🙌 Thanks for listening! This episode was hosted by Simon Kouttis and Ollie Kuehne, founders of Hunters & Unicorns, and post-produced by the team at videoforce.pro. If you enjoyed this episode, please drop a like/share and subscribe to our channel! 🦄 Connect with Hunters & Unicorns Website: http://huntersandunicorns.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/HuntersUn1corns Instagram: http://instagram.com/huntersandunicorns Blog: http://huntersandunicorns.com/blog #softwaresales #huntersandunicorns #playbookuniverse

Today we sit down with John Lack, Global Head of Sales Development at Airtable, to demystify the world of software sales as a profession. John breaks down the immense rewards of the industry—from earning six figures right out of college as a successful BDR to mastering the "autonomy, mastery, and purpose" of high-level tech sales. We explore why the BDR role is the most critical time in a career for building foundational grit and why 90% of AE struggles stem from poor front-end pipeline generation. John also shares his own unconventional journey, starting as a BDR at age 30 and scaling teams through massive growth phases at Oracle and MongoDB. 🙌 Thanks To Our Sponsor! Aurasell AI: https://www.aurasell.ai 🏹 Key Topics Covered 00:00 - Intro 01:53 - Software Sales as a High-Trajectory Profession 03:48 - The Six-Figure Entry: SDR/BDR Realities 06:47 - Why PG Sets You Free 10:27 - Grit and Resilience: Pushing the Boulder 16:51 - How to Assess the Right Organization 20:25 - Uncommon Investment in Development 33:28 - John’s Story: Starting as a BDR at 30 43:32 - The AE and BDR Partnership Dynamics   💥 3 Biggest Lessons: Pipeline Generation is the Foundation of Success: Most Account Executives who struggle do so because they lack consistent pipeline generation skills from the front half of the sales process. The BDR role is not just a stepping stone; it is where you learn the "meat and potatoes" of sales—doing the gritty work in the dark, from cold calls to disqualification, that eventually sets a field seller apart. Seek "Uncommon Investment" in Development: When interviewing, candidates must challenge organizations on their training programs. A high-quality program can clearly articulate its methodology (Learn, Practice, Do), validates skills through real-world application, and provides double the industry standard of coaching time—dedicating specific hours to both pipeline strategy and individual skill development. Habits Determine Your Fate: Success in sales is fueled by a consistent "operating rhythm" and discipline. Resilience—the ability to view 70,000+ cold calls as a way to learn rather than just experiencing rejection—and the discipline to maintain consistent prospecting habits are what ultimately determine a leader's career trajectory. 💬 Notable Quotes "You can easily make six figures right out of college as a successful BDR and it just goes up from there". "PG is life. It sets you free". "You don't determine your fate. You determine your habits and your habits ultimately play a huge part in determining your fate". "I made somewhere in the neighborhood of 70,000 plus cold calls in my life... that teaches you a certain level of resilience". "There is no AI without APIs... AI is not going to have that first conversation and really do phenomenal qualification".   🙌 Thanks for listening! This episode was hosted by Simon Kouttis and Ollie Kuehne, founders of Hunters & Unicorns, and post-produced by the team at videoforce.pro. If you enjoyed this episode, please drop a like/share and subscribe to our channel! 🦄 Connect with Hunters & Unicorns Website: http://huntersandunicorns.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/HuntersUn1corns Instagram: http://instagram.com/huntersandunicorns Blog: http://huntersandunicorns.com/blog #softwaresales #huntersandunicorns #playbookuniverse

In this episode, we welcome Joe Eskenazi, CRO at Kong, to discuss the critical transition from an elite salesperson to a top-tier business leader. Joe shares how he bypassed the typical "salesperson" label by treating every interaction as a business consultancy, fueled by a concurrent MBA and an early career in sports broadcasting. We dive deep into the reality of the CRO role—orchestrating cross-functional ecosystems rather than just closing deals—and the personal journey of managing high-intensity burnout. Joe also offers powerful advice on finding an authentic leadership voice and why organizations must prioritize leadership training to protect their talent. 🙌 Thanks To Our Sponsor! Aurasell AI: https://www.aurasell.ai 🏹 Key Topics Covered 00:00 - Intro 01:57 - The Reputation and Rise of a CRO 03:39 - Viewing Sales as Business Optimization 06:47 - The Calling Card for Success 13:50 - The Cross-Functional Ecosystem 19:30 - The Strength and Weakness of Intensity 25:00 - Navigating Burnout 33:14 - The Kobe Bryant Lesson 42:34 - Finding Your Own Voice 46:36 - The Era of AI Governance and APIs   💥 3 Biggest Lessons: Be a Business Leader, Not a Sales Leader: To reach the executive level, you must shift your mindset from selling products to solving strategic business challenges. Joe argues that a true business leader drives cross-functional alignment and won't do "bad deals" just for a commission because they are focused on the long-term health of the organization. You Can’t Outwork the Job: High-performers often fall into the trap of trying to out-hustle every problem, which inevitably leads to burnout. True leadership requires ruthless prioritization, mental resilience practices like breathwork or cold plunging, and recognizing that your effectiveness is compromised if you neglect your health or family. Never Compromise the Standard: Influenced by mentors like Cedric Pech and Luca Lazzaron, Joe believes in maintaining an unshakeable standard of excellence. He uses the "Touch the Line" philosophy to remind leaders that shortcutting small details eventually leads to personal and professional erosion. 💬 Notable Quotes "Find your voice. Find out who you are as a leader". "I tell AEs who become leaders, you can't outwork the job. Just know that". "I realized that I love what I'm doing because I love to help businesses optimize and transform". "Preparation was always my calling card... I absolutely have a big fear of failure". "There’s no AI without APIs... we like to be the picks and shovels leading to the gold". 🙌 Thanks for listening! This episode was hosted by Simon Kouttis and Ollie Kuehne, founders of Hunters & Unicorns, and post-produced by the team at videoforce.pro. If you enjoyed this episode, please drop a like/share and subscribe to our channel! 🦄 Connect with Hunters & Unicorns Website: http://huntersandunicorns.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/HuntersUn1corns Instagram: http://instagram.com/huntersandunicorns Blog: http://huntersandunicorns.com/blog #softwaresales #huntersandunicorns #playbookuniverse

In this episode, we sit down with Carl Mattsson, VP & GM EMEA at Kong, to discuss one of the most remarkable scaling journeys in the industry. Carl joined Kong when it was at just $1M ARR in the EMEA market and has since spearheaded its growth to nearly $100M ARR. We explore the unique sales principles that shaped the organization, the "heart surrounded by science" culture, and how Carl navigated the transition from a single-product company to a dominant AI-governance platform. Carl also shares the incredible story of a founder’s personal commitment that kept him at the company during a critical turning point. 🙌 Thanks To Our Sponsor! Aurasell AI: https://www.aurasell.ai 🏹 Key Topics Covered 00:00 - intro 02:30 - Joining Kong at $1M ARR 04:34 - Pivoting from Family to Team Culture 07:42 - Hiring for Character over Industry Experience 17:22 - The Open Source to Enterprise Transition 22:31 - The Pasta Story: A Founder's Commitment 31:46 - Kong’s Role as the AI Governance Layer 50:39 - Scaling Careers in 4-Year Increments 💥 3 Biggest Lessons: Hire Character, Teach Technology: In the early stages of a high-growth startup, it is more effective to hire for sales character and drive than for specific industry knowledge. Carl emphasizes that while API technology can be taught, the innate curiosity and grit required to traverse from developers to the C-suite cannot be coached. Heart Surrounded by Science: While many elite sales organizations focus 99% on "science" (metrics and process), Carl advocates for a culture of kindness over niceness. This means having the "heart" to challenge each other uncomfortably and care for the human, while using "science" to provide the repeatable structure needed for scale. The "Because Of" Journey: Carl encourages leaders and reps to seek out roles where their personal contribution leaves a visible mark on the company's trajectory. Success in a "because of you" environment sharpens a salesperson more than a fully-oiled machine, preparing them for the highest levels of business leadership. 💬 Notable Quotes "Our culture should be: we’re not going to be nice every day, but we’re going to be kind". "I can teach it (the playbook), but I can't teach you character". "If you're in something you believe in... I don't tend to pick up the phone, even when great people like you call in". "We put the customers first, the company second, and ourselves last". "I look at my career in four-year increments... that’s always helped me be pretty focused about where I need to go and learn". 🙌 Thanks for listening! This episode was hosted by Simon Kouttis and Oli Kuehne, founders of Hunters & Unicorns, and post-produced by the team at videoforce.pro. If you enjoyed this episode, please drop a like/share and subscribe to our channel! 🦄 Connect with Hunters & Unicorns Website: http://huntersandunicorns.com Twitter:   / huntersun1corns   Instagram:   / huntersandunicorns   Blog: http://huntersandunicorns.com/blog #softwaresales #huntersandunicorns #playbookuniverse

In this episode, we welcome Steve Rog, CRO at Cyera, one of the fastest-growing technology companies in the world. Steve opens up about his journey from a technical networking background to becoming a high-impact leader in cybersecurity. We unpick how he landed one of the industry's most sought-after CRO roles and why Cyera’s culture of humility and teamwork keeps them winning. Steve shares profound lessons on seeking out mentors, the critical importance of Emotional Intelligence (EQ) in delivery, and why he views leadership as a responsibility to help others reach their "ceiling". 🙌 Thanks To Our Sponsor! Aurasell AI: https://www.aurasell.ai 🏹 Key Topics Covered 00:00 - In this episode 01:53 - Landing the Industry's Hottest Role 02:45 - Culture: No One is Bigger Than the Team 05:02 - The Science Behind the Playbook 06:45 - The Debt of Gratitude: Seek Mentors 13:05 - Overcoming Early Career Insecurity 35:57 - EQ: Why the Way You Deliver Matters 39:15 - A Turning Point: When My Boss Joined Me 💥 3 Biggest Lessons: EQ is About Delivery, Not Softness: Emotional Intelligence isn't just about being "likable"; it's about the strategic delivery of information. Steve emphasizes that the way a leader delivers good or bad news determines how it is received and acted upon, requiring the leader to put themselves in the other person's shoes. Authentic Leadership is Altruistic: The most authentic form of leadership is surrounding yourself with people better than you and not being insecure about having "weapons" on your team. Steve attributes his success to Cyera's altruistic culture, where teams prioritize the customer first, the company second, and themselves last. Active Mentorship Drives Careers: You cannot wait for an introduction; you must proactively seek out mentors and ask for help. Steve advocates for paying this forward by investing in everyone from BDRs upward, ensuring team members have the guidance they need to navigate "highs and lows" without entering a tailspin. 💬 Notable Quotes "I love seeing the team win. I love seeing career progression and I love the thought that I'm helping people achieve their career goals". "No one person is bigger than the team". "Measure six times, cut once. It's the philosophy across the company". "You almost have to have imposter syndrome to go figure it out". "You can't coach charisma, you can't coach likability... and you can't really coach desire". 🙌 Thanks for listening! This episode was hosted by Simon Kouttis and Oli Kuehne, founders of Hunters & Unicorns, and post-produced by the team at videoforce.pro. If you enjoyed this episode, please drop a like/share and subscribe to our channel! 🦄 Connect with Hunters & Unicorns Website: http://huntersandunicorns.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/HuntersUn1corns Instagram: http://instagram.com/huntersandunicorns Blog: http://huntersandunicorns.com/blog   SEO Tags: Steve Rog, Cyera, CRO, Sales Leadership, Cybersecurity, Servant Leadership, Emotional Intelligence, Mentorship, GTM Strategy, Force Management, Career Progression, Software Sales, Hunters & Unicorns Tags: #softwaresales #huntersandunicorns #playbookuniverse

Jason Eubanks is back to answer the question every revenue leader is asking: Will AI kill sales jobs or make great sellers unstoppable? He drops hard stats (91% of B2B teams missed quota, top 25 % drive 80% of revenue at 11× productivity) and explains why AI is a superpower for elite performers, a wake-up call for the bottom quartile, and a complete game-changer for SDR outreach, buyer trust, and hiring. If you lead a sales org, this 35-minute conversation is required listening. 🙌 Thanks to Our Sponsor! Aurasell AI The first AI-native GTM platform: https://aurasell.ai 🏹 Key Topics Covered 00:00 - Intro & Jason returns 01:38 - AI: replace or superpower? 03:07 - Top 25% dominate revenue 04:38 - 91% teams miss quota 09:40 - AI’s impact on SDRs 12:46 - Outreach volume vs buyer fatigue 16:52 - Human trust + real-time signals 25:14 - Hiring for the AI era 28:25 - Will AI make sellers lazy? 31:12 - Keeping top talent engaged   💥 3 Biggest Lessons: 1. AI Widens the Performance Gap Top 25 % already produce 11× more — AI will make them unstoppable while exposing under-performers. 2. Bottom Quartile Must Adapt Fast If you don’t aggressively adopt AI tools, you’ll fall further behind as others 2–4× their productivity. 3. Hire Character, Teach Skills Work ethic and engagement can’t be automated — get these right and AI turns good sellers into great ones. 💬 Notable Quotes “AI will be a superpower… it will unlock new levels of productivity that allow your top sellers to become even more productive.” “91 % of all B2B sales teams didn’t hit their revenue targets.” “80 % of the revenue was generated by only 25 % of the sellers.” “I don’t buy that AI makes sellers lazy — laziness exists for other reasons.” 🙌 Thanks for listening! This episode was hosted by Simon Kouttis and Ollie Kuehne, founders of Hunters & Unicorns, and post-produced by the team at videoforce.pro. If you enjoyed this episode, please smash like/share and subscribe! 🦄 Connect with Hunters & Unicorns Website: http://huntersandunicorns.com X: http://x.com/HuntersUn1corns Instagram: http://instagram.com/huntersandunicorns Blog: http://huntersandunicorns.com/blog #softwaresales #huntersandunicorns #playbookuniverse

In this episode, we talk to Jason Eubanks, CEO and Co-founder of Aurasell (our brand NEW Sponsor!), about his transition from a 20-year go-to-market operator to a builder and founder. Jason shares the exact moment he became obsessed with solving a major product problem, the complexity and low productivity caused by massive tool sprawl (over 20 products) and unintentional data silos in the go-to-market stack. He details the crucial steps of founding Aurasell: partnering with a complementary CTO, validating the huge market problem (estimating over $1 billion in services spend), and securing a significant seed round to build the world's first AI-native CRM platform focused on customer-problem-centric design. 🙌 Thanks To Our Sponsor! Aurasell AI: https://www.aurasell.ai 🏹 Key Topics Covered 01:36 - Founder Journey & Co-Founders 03:24 - From Operator to 3:15 a.m. Spark 05:00 - VC Detour & Market Gap 07:42 - Tool Sprawl & Unified AI Context 11:22 - Mapping the Problem to $30M Seed   💥 3 Biggest Lessons: The Spark of Product Obsession: Jason’s 20-year career as a CRO never led him to chase founding a company—until he woke up obsessing over a core product problem firsthand: the low productivity and operational cost caused by 20+ disconnected tools in the go-to-market stack. Tool Sprawl Handicaps AI: The reliance on 20+ legacy SaaS products unintentionally creates data silos where crucial contextual metadata lives, rather than the core CRM. When companies try to "sprinkle" AI on this brittle structure, they severely handicap the potential for high-quality automation. The Opportunity is in AI Native: To maximize productivity and solve the tool sprawl problem, the necessary solution is a single, AI-native platform built with a unified logic layer. This approach moves beyond small "AI tricks" to actionable automation that frees expensive sellers to attack the market. 💬 Notable Quotes "I don't wake up at 3 in the morning and obsess over product. And then one day I did wake up at 3:15 in the morning obsessing over a product problem." "I think it's important to make sure that your co-founding partners are complementary in skill set, like Minded and Alind on the problem." "On average, every dollar of software you spend, historically has carried with it $3 of services." "The problem... is that those sellers are being asked to interface with... the contextual awareness that allows us to use AI to automate with high quality outcomes, often that contextual awareness lives in the metadata."   🙌 Thanks for listening! This episode was hosted by Simon Kouttis and Ollie Kuehne, founders of Hunters & Unicorns, and post-produced by the team at videoforce.pro. If you enjoyed this episode, please drop a like/share and subscribe to our channel! 🦄 Connect with Hunters & Unicorns Website: http://huntersandunicorns.com Twitter:   / huntersun1corns   Instagram:   / huntersandunicorns   Blog: http://huntersandunicorns.com/blog   SEO Tags: Jason Eubanks, Aurasell, AI Native CRM, Founder Journey, CRO to CEO, Tool Sprawl, Data Silos, Sales Productivity, GTM Platform, Seed Round, Co-founder, Venture Partner #softwaresales #huntersandunicorns #playbookuniverse

In this episode of the Great Leaders UK series, we welcome Emma Maslen, author, angel investor, and founder of inspir'em. Emma draws on her successful career in large organizations like SAP and BMC to discuss the crucial difference between theoretical playbooks and their real-world, behavioral application. She stresses that the playbook is a framework to drive curiosity and risk mitigation, not a tick-box exercise. Emma also shares why networking is a constant professional necessity, detailing the common mistakes people make and how leaders can intentionally build their networks to gain knowledge and accelerate their careers.   🙌 Thanks to Our Sponsors! PGAI: https://www.getpg.ai Selr: https://selr.ai 🏹 Key Topics Covered 01:40 - What's inspir'em? 03:06 - It's about curiosity, not checklists 04:36 - The flaw of the "100% Med-Pic score" 06:50 - Why the playbook can't be a preach 11:09 - Leaders not present during sales training 12:05 - Verbalizing questions and intentionally 14:13 - Customizing the discovery process 16:48 - Discovery is a Two-Way Dating Process 18:05 - Career Shift from corporate MD 25:37 - The Power of Networking 30:50 - Good vs. Bad Networking 35:51 - Networking for internal success. 41:05 - The value of community 51:37 - The value of coaching   💥 3 Biggest Lessons: The Playbook is a Framework for Curiosity, Not a Checklist: When Meddic, Med-PICC, or any framework becomes a mere tick-box exercise, it becomes pointless. It should instead function as a tool to continuously drive curiosity, expose risks in your pipeline, and prompt deeper questions. Winning Requires Leadership Buy-In (Not Dictation): Sales training fails when executives and leaders see it as something "done to the sales team," often not even attending the training themselves. Successful adoption requires the playbook to be a dialogue driven by empathy and shared accountability. Networking is a Professional Must (Not Just a Job Hunt): Many people only realize they have a networking problem when they desperately need a new job or advice. Good networking is about proactive investment: focusing on who you can help, giving back to the network, and making small, specific asks to gain knowledge, not just taking.   💬 Notable Quotes "There are still a lot of organizations out there that think Meddpicc is something to be done to the sales team." "If it's become a tick box exercise, you might as well just get rid of it because it becomes pointless." "It should be a framework to drive curiosity." "People feel like networking is about finding another job rather than being better at your current job." "I once said to him, why are you mentoring me because I'm like here and you're here and he said, because you've got a whole different perspective." 🙌 Thanks for listening! This episode was hosted by Simon Kouttis and Ollie Kuehne, founders of Hunters & Unicorns, and post-produced by the team at videoforce.pro. If you enjoyed this episode, please drop a like/share and subscribe to our channel! 🦄 Connect with Hunters & Unicorns   Website: http://huntersandunicorns.com Twitter:   / huntersun1corns   Instagram:   / huntersandunicorns     Blog: http://huntersandunicorns.com/blog   #softwaresales #huntersandunicorns #playbookuniverse