#10: EP198: Pruning the Unnecessary to Focus on Strengths
Corey and Chris continue their discussion about inertia and constraints. How can leaders identify hidden constraints shaping their strategy? What fosters innovation: centralization or decentralization? Can classic texts offer counter-cultural wisdom to elevate leadership today? Pulling insights from ancient to modern thinkers, Corey and Chris tackle these questions and more. They argue consolidation often hinders progress while decentralization promotes healthy competition. Chris advocates “divisionalizing” to optimize strategy. They explore conquering inertia, maximizing strengths by pruning the unnecessary, and structuring for change.
#9: EP205: Finding Your Beachhead Beyond The Chasm
Many a promising startup has seen their lofty dreams dashed on the rocks due to lacking a bridge to cross that yawning chasm, separating early adopters from pragmatic mainstream buyers. Chris has contended with this treacherous chasm across multiple expeditions. Those early adopters feature prominently in startup lore – enthusiastic pioneers who relish new technology, derive career perks from kick-the-tires experimentation and care little about reputation risk. Yet they differ radically from that mainstream majority awaiting pragmatic proof.
#8: EP206: Mastering the Art of Silence How Pauses Can Improve Discovery
Join Chris, Corey, and their guests, Henry Wojdyla and Shawn Sease, as they battle assumptions, pregnant pauses, and the occasional restraining order. You’ll hear straight from the horse’s mouth why tonality eclipses terminology and how losing your cool in discovery can cost you deals. If your team overlooks today’s vocal victory tips, you’ll condemn them to tone-deaf discovery call defeats. Listen to this episode: Mastering the Art of Silence: How Pauses Can Improve Discovery
#7: EP204: Confidence Beats Technique in Sales Training
Alex McNaughten continues his visit with Chris to share psychological insights that challenge traditional sales training. As an AI entrepreneur, Alex emphasizes confidence should be the priority when onboarding salespeople, not technique. He advocates first building enough confidence just to “pick up the phone” and draws parallels between sales and coaching – both guide people through “the emotional journey to consider something new.” Alex tells his story about overcoming fear in sales and boxing, noting most training overlooks the emotional side. He concludes that “so much sales training, particularly cold calling, is wrong or missing” these emotional components.
#6: EP203: AI Coaching Conversations Elicit Unfiltered Rep Feedback
The guys are tackling the big question on every sales manager’s mind: Could AI replace me? With wisdom and reassurance, Corey and Chris explore the power of Taylor, an AI sales coach created by grw.ai CEO Alex McNaughten. Taylor provides a judgment-free space for reps to vent frustrations and surface red flags managers miss. As Chris explains, Taylor’s conversational skills elicit “confessions” from reps. And for managers worried an AI could do their job better, Alex gently says: “The goal here is to make leaders better…not replace them.” So breathe easy, sales managers, and get ready to be 10-50X more effective. With the power of AI augmentation Sales Managers will be unstoppable.
#5: EP201: Customers Aren’t Formulas – Navigating the Emotional Journey
Getting punched in the face is practically a rite of passage for startups with seemingly bulletproof business models. Spreadsheets might predict hockey stick growth, but, as Corey says “customers aren’t formulas on a page. They’re human beings who are often “repulsed by new technology”. Adoption requires an emotional journey and trust, not a formula. Yet founders frequently ignore reality, believing spreadsheets will magically generate growth. Chris says this quest for an easy quota can even derail progress as “salespeople focused on quota may take company backwards” by clinging to the past. Hence, leaders must prevent “retrograde motion back to what was comfortable before” by being “hard-edged on changing direction.” There are no maps for the uncharted path from startup to sustainable enterprise.
#4: EP202: Keeping Teams Future-Focused and Failure-Ready
Does solidarity trump balance sheet bravado when attempting bold new initiatives? Chris says, “I think people love to look at stuff because looking at stuff is lower risk than doing stuff. Doing stuff is very high risk. You could fail.” As Corey noted, presentations often overlook the people who drive innovation. Corey reminds us, “The people elements, traits, personas don’t live on the balance sheet.” Here’s a question posed, “When you go to a potluck, do you only eat the food you brought first?” Listen as they tackle tough topics like letting go of personnel clinging to the past versus embracing the unknown future in episode 202 of Market Dominance Guys, “ Keeping Teams Future-Focused and Failure-Ready.’
#3: EP200: Authentic Demand: Moving Past Impersonal Lead Gen
Episode 200 of the Market Dominance Guys features Corey, Chris, and special guest Jim Graf. They explore key trends shaping modern prospecting – from the diminishing returns of broad email campaigns to the rise of personalized, longitudinal selling. Jim explains how the old concept of BANT (budget, authority, need, timeframe) fails to capture the fluidity of today’s buying journeys. Rather than chasing “leads,” they advocate nurturing long-term demand through authentic relationship building. The conversation culminates in examining the overlooked value of seasoned SDRs. Chris shares examples of 60+ year-old SDRs wildly outperforming their younger peers, dispelling misconceptions that this function is merely developmental. With their seasoning, polish, and focus, many late-career reps embody the consummate skills needed to excel. Jim and Chris emphasize how this critical frontline role requires a professional, not progressive, mindset.
#2: EP199: Conversational Alchemy – Transforming Sales in the Age of Cheap Outreach
In an era overrun by cheap tricks and impersonal outreach, the MDG team explores how these practices can diminish the value of genuine, high-touch sales. With AI and automation flooding inboxes with repetitive and uninspiring messages, Chris, Corey, and Jim examine the phenomenon of how “cheap outreach actually drives out the value of good outreach.” Join the conversation as they discuss the impact of this shift on the art of selling. Can we reverse this trend? Can we, in fact, perform real “conversational alchemy” by transforming mundane interactions into genuine, meaningful connections? This episode offers valuable insights into navigating the challenging landscape of modern sales and cold outreach, where authenticity and real dialogue are held at a premium.
#1: EP145: Building Trust Must Always Be Step One
In this episode of the Market Dominance Guys, Corey and Chris agree on the importance of building trust before anything else can happen. They are joined by Transformational Coach Jennifer Standish, Henry Wojdyla, Founder and Principal at RealSource Group, Matt McCorkle, Manager of Branch Operations at Kaiser Compressors, and hosts Ty Crandall on the Business Credit and Finance Show, Jeff Lerner from Ep 150 of Millionaire Secrets, and David Dulaney on the Sales Development Podcast.
