In the latest episode of the Sales Readiness Podcast, our host Ray Makela, SBI’s Managing Director of Talent Development, is joined by Annie Stefano, Senior Training Consultant at SBI, to unpack their key takeaways from the recent Gainsight Pulse Conference.  

Ray and Annie share their firsthand insights on the evolving trends in customer success and enablement, highlighting the rising impact of dedicated customer education and the shift toward value-based outcomes.  

Key Takeaways:

• The role of AI as a strategic partner to enhance customer journeys. 

• How customer education is becoming critical levers for customer success to achieve operational efficiency.  

• Why enablement leaders must evolve their teams to deliver outcomes-based value to drive growth. 

In this episode of the Sales Readiness Podcast, our host Ray Makela, SBI’s Managing Director of Talent Development, is joined by Christina Brady, CEO and Co-Founder of Luster.ai to explore why traditional sales training often falls short and how a data-driven approach can transform outcomes. The two dive into how AI and predictive analytics are setting a new standard for sales effectiveness.   

Key Takeaways:

• Relying on lagging KPIs like quota attainment is no longer enough to drive performance.

• Practical strategies for building a scalable, customized program that delivers measurable outcomes. 

• How to uncover skill gaps by using predictive proficiency measurement tools. 

In this episode of The Climb podcast, Cliff Simon is joined by Will Allred, Co-Founder of Lavender, to talk through developing messaging that aligns with the goals of the brand in order to build a cohesive story through digital presence, brand identity, and in-person events.  

With a strong focus on the value of building a strong personal and brand identity, Cliff and Will outline the evolving nature of social media and strategies to drive engagement.  

Key Takeaways:  

• Overall goal is to educate the market, establish brand identity, and become top of mind in consumers.  

• Consider: how many logical steps does your audience have to make to tie your content to your brand.  

•  Marrying the brands digital presence with in-person interactions is essential.  

In this episode of the Sales Readiness Podcast, our host Ray Makela, SBI’s Managing Director of Talent Development, is joined by Annie Stefano, Senior Training Consultant at SBI to continue their conversation on Customer Success. The two tackle what it takes to operationalize CS across the customer journey. 

Key Takeaways:

• How to reduce friction between Sales and Customer Success by establishing shared goals. 

• Metrics that showcase impact, including both leading and lagging indicators.

• The evolving role of AI in Customer Success.