In this episode of The Climb podcast, our host Cliff Simon, Vice President of SBI Technology, is joined by Alina Vandenberghe, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Chili Piper, to unpack how growth-stage companies can build scalable, highly efficiency marketing funnels and why precision, speed, and culture alignment and critical to GTM success.  

Together, they explore how AI is transforming modern marketing and what it means to operationalize brand identity

 
Key Takeaways:

• Why having a maniacal focus on efficiency across the funnel is a competitive advantage. 

• How to leverage AI insights for decision making, personalizing outreach at scale, and generating measurable pipeline within your target buyers. 

• The underestimated link between company culture and brand identity. 

In this Sales Readiness Podcast episode, our host Ray Makela, SBI’s Managing Director of Talent Development, is joined by Annie Stefano, Senior Training Consultant at SBI, to break down how to rethink Customer Success roles, close key skill gaps, and build enablement programs that help CS teams deliver commercial impact. 

Key Takeaways:

• Three foundational skills every CS team needs today.

• The value in defining the CS role to limit friction in the buying process. 

• Ways to say no to a customer that delivers more value.

In this episode of the Sales Readiness Podcast, our host, Ray Makela, SBI’s Managing Director, welcomes back Ethan Radoff, Partner at SBI, to unpack the nuances between sales and account management, and why getting it right matters more than ever. The conversation explores how todays complex customer journey demands clarity of the role, intentional segmentation, and tailored skill sets to drive results.  

Key Talking Points

• The traits and competencies that define top-performing salespeople vs. account managers. 

• How sales leaders can design org structures and success profiles that reflect todays customer expectations. 

• Why it’s increasingly unrealistic for one person to own the entire lead-to-renewal process.   

In Part 2 of The Climb podcast Episode 1, Cliff Simon, Vice President of SBI Technology, continue his conversation with Kevin “KD” Dorsey, Founder of Sales Leadership Accelerator, In this discussion, they explore how sales leaders can operationalize AI to drive team-wide performance improvements without sacrificing coaching quality. 

 
Key Takeaways:

• Sales performance thrives when systems are designed to scale coaching.

• AI can uncover patterns and coaching opportunities frontline managers often overlook.

• High-performing teams build intentional habits reinforced by managers with the assistance of AI