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 

In this Sales Readiness Podcast episode, our host Ray Makela, SBI’s Managing Director of Talent Development, is joined by Dave Lingebach, SBI’s Senior Research Manager, to break down the findings of SBI’s latest research report, in partnership with the Revenue Enablement Society, Closing the Training Gap for Frontline Sales Managers. In this conversation, they break down the implications of continually investing in the upskilling of frontline sales managers, as this role has the greatest influence on the performance of a sales team.  

Key Takeaways:  

• Organizations with dedicated sales manager training outperformed those without by a 7% increase in quota attainment.  

• The skills required to be a great sales manager or coach are vastly different from the skills that make a great seller.  

• Competing priorities are the number one reason frontline sales manager training is overlooked.  

In this episode of The Climb podcast, our host, Cliff Simon, CRO of Carabiner Group, a part of SBI, sits down with Kevin “KD” Dorsey, Founder of Sales Leadership Accelerator, to unpack the transformative role of AI in frontline sales management.  

 
Key Takeaways:  

• Repetition drives mastery. Real progress comes from focused repetition beyond initial exposure to a new skill.  

• Frontline managers are often ill-equipped to lead. Investing in their development pays of exponentially across the team.  

• AI tools can reinforce what good looks like and help managers deliver consistent, targeted coaching.