The Sales Machine

On this episode, Ian Koniak, President and Founder of one of America's top Sales Coaching Groups, joined us to share his remarkable journey from overcoming a near-death experience to becoming a leading authority in enterprise sales coaching.Discover Ian's insights on building high-performing teams, effective strategies for closing sales, and fostering meaningful client relationships. Gain practical tips on effective communication, leadership, and maintaining persistence in sales.Don't miss out on Ian Koniak's valuable advice and unique sales techniques! Tune in now to elevate your understanding of enterprise sales and leadership.Episode Highlights"You've got to be smart to be able to be a great salesperson. You can hustle, you can grind, but if you want to be the best, you have to be more strategic and you have to be committed."- Ian Koniak"I always say to my people, when you come from service, you're never nervous. Because your ego's out the door and it's all about helping others." - John Rankins"People want to solve problems and achieve goals. No one wants to be sold to." - Ian Koniak"If you ask for the sale and you haven't gone through the challenges of the customer and you haven't handled their pain or objections, then that's why you haven't made the sale." - John Rankins"The best sellers are the ones that genuinely care about helping their customers succeed and knowing that their own success is an outcome of how many other people they help and how much value they bring to the market. And the more I care about making my customers successful and helping them succeed, the more revenue and the more income that I get as a seller." - Ian KoniakChapters(03:16) - Ian's Journey into Sales(09:12) - Qualities of Top Salespeople(14:36) - Transitioning to Coaching and Building a Team(27:46) - Tips and Strategies for Closing Deals(36:18) - Understanding Customer Pain Points(37:32) - The Importance of Meaningful Conversations(40:26) - Persistence and Hard Work(51:55) - Qualities of a Great Sales Leader(56:15) - Detaching from Outcomes(01:00:46) - Giving Customers OptionsConnect with Ian KoniakWebsite: https://iankoniak.com/meet-ian/ X: https://x.com/drivesalesnow?lang=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iankoniaksalescoaching/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iankoniak/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKwbDwBK_adh4AgzprZb5FQ Visit these links:👉 https://untapyoursalespotential.com/top-traits👉 https://www.untapyoursalespotential.com/predict-selling-free-training Connect with John RankinsWebsite: https://thesalesmachine.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheSalesMachineOfficialInstagram:https://www.instagram.com/thesalesmachine_official/LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/company/thesalesmachineofficial/YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@JohnRankinsOfficial

Adam Goyette, your go-to guy for turbocharging growth in B2B startups and founder of GrowthUnion.co, is joining us on the podcast! With experience leading marketing at Help Scout and G2, Adam knows what it takes to succeed.In this episode, Adam talks about how to stand out in a busy market, get marketing and sales on the same page, and dodge those common startup pitfalls. He'll share tips on omni-channel marketing, really connecting with your audience on social media, and why great copywriting is a game-changer.Don't miss out—tune in now and boost your B2B marketing game!Episode Highlights"First of all, identify who's your avatar or your ideal customer. Second, what is the industry that you're gonna really focus on? And third, what are your goals in achieving that? So, I get it, but it's not as simple as that." - John Rankins"Next time you're on your phone, you'll realize how many ads you just scrolled past and you didn't even have to stop and think, is this an ad? You don't want to engage with an ad, but if you see a picture of someone, you probably are going to stop and be like, wait, who is this person? And so that's the goal of the image of the ad is to get someone to stop scrolling." - Adam Goyette"You guys, we get a lot of likes and some comments, but the only thing that's happening is you're sending an emoji or a thanks. That's not engagement. That's acknowledgement, and that doesn't drive business and build relationships. If you want to build a relationship, you have to engage." - John Rankins"The reality is marketing is not picking up the phone and calling anyone. And so you really need to be connected with what's happening on the sales side so that it feels like a seamless experience. If you're the end user, you can't talk to everyone, you have to talk to no one." - Adam GoyetteChapters(03:01) - Challenges for B2B Startups(09:01) - Standing Out in a Crowded Market(13:50) - Connecting Marketing and Sales(25:45) - Aligning Marketing Goals and Expectations(27:31) - Executing the Value Proposition(28:09) - The Importance of Omni-Channel Marketing(29:04) - Engagement vs. Acknowledgement on Social Media(30:04) - The Power of Social Media for Marketing(33:07) - Creating an Omni-Channel Marketing Blueprint(36:09) - The Value of Giving and Engaging(37:00) - Scaling Marketing Strategies for Different Company Sizes(38:33) - Taking the Leap to Start Your Own Venture(41:34) - The Power of Copywriting in MarketingConnect with Adam GoyetteWebsite: https://www.growthunion.co/ X: https://x.com/adamcgoyette LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-goyette/ Connect with John RankinsWebsite: https://thesalesmachine.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheSalesMachineOfficialInstagram:https://www.instagram.com/thesalesmachine_official/LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/company/thesalesmachineofficial/YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@JohnRankinsOfficial

Get ready for an eye-opening conversation with Gloria Chou, a true game-changer in the world of public relations. With her CPR pitching framework—Credibility, Point of View, and Relevance—Gloria shares invaluable insights on leveraging PR to compete with bigger brands.Learn the art of crafting non-salesy pitches that land headlines in top-tier publications like The New York Times and CNBC. Discover the role of social media in PR, and the importance of establishing a personal brand.Plus, Gloria provides details on where to access her PR masterclass. Don't miss out—tune in now and unlock the secrets to PR success!Episode Highlights"I think the number one myth is that you need to be somewhere further along in your business to get PR. It's simply not true. Journalists want to interview people from all walks of life, especially fresh voices. So journalists absolutely want to talk to small business owners. They absolutely want to talk to people who are even beginning, who have never gotten PR before." - Gloria Chou“It's advertising what they're selling out there because they're selling you packages of advertising, which is not public relations. And public relations are done to expound upon what kind of problem you solve, right? And what credibility do you have? So I love that.” - John Rankins“You are the best spokesperson for your business. You're the best advocate and hero for your business. It's time you own it. And here's the thing, if you pay an agency, they own the relationships. And the moment you stop paying them, they walk away with the relationships. I'm not saying that there's no place and time for agencies. They do great work if you have a lot of money and a lot of runway. But for the average small business owner, it's absolutely not feasible.” - Gloria Chou“If you're going to approach a journalist and you're using the word pitch, I like the word collaborate, cooperate more. But essentially that's what you're doing. You're pitching your idea. And what comes out of all of that with what you're saying in your CPR framework to me is. It's gotta be newsworthy, help a journalist out, help a reporter out, right? It's gotta be newsworthy and add value to their readers.” - John RankinsTime Stamps(06:28) - Using PR to Compete with Bigger Brands(09:24) - Establishing Relationships with Journalists(13:29) - The CPR Pitching Framework(29:14) - The Role of Social Media in PR(32:56) - Turning a Crisis into an Opportunity(35:47) - The Importance of Personal BrandingConnect with Gloria ChouWebsite: https://www.gloriachoupr.com/ X: https://twitter.com/gloriachoupr Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gloriachoupr LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gloriaychou/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gloriachoupr/ Connect with John RankinsWebsite: https://thesalesmachine.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheSalesMachineOfficialInstagram:https://www.instagram.com/thesalesmachine_official/LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/company/thesalesmachineofficial/YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@JohnRankinsOfficial

Unleash your leadership potential with Liz Wiseman!Join us for a dynamic conversation with Liz Wiseman, former Oracle executive and renowned Executive Advisor. From empowering teams to fostering a culture of high performance, Liz shares actionable insights to elevate your leadership game.Drawing from her extensive experience working with global giants like Apple, Google, and Microsoft, Liz provides actionable strategies for creating a culture of high performance. Learn how to cultivate a meritocracy where individuals are recognized and rewarded based on their contributions.Tune in now and discover the keys to becoming a multiplier leader!Episode Highlights"At The Sales Machine, we drive performance to help companies increase their sales. And we do that with rewards, recognition, competition, compensation, with levels of development so that they continually grow. That's the environment I want to foster. That's the service I want to provide for other companies." - John Rankins"One of the things I see that creates toxicity in organizations is a gap between what people are able to contribute and what they want to contribute." - Liz Wiseman"A lot of people interpret quiet quitting as someone just resigning and they leave. But in actuality, quiet quitting happens when they don't leave. They don't resign. They're just sitting there." - John Rankins"We take care of things we own and we grab onto things that we own. If you want to increase performance, you have to give people ownership. And sometimes that is some influence on setting the right goals, influence on how they do things, how to break the rules, but sometimes it's just letting go of ownership, I find that there's something common that a lot of managers tend to do." - Liz WisemanTime Stamps(03:13) - Building an Organization and the Journey of Leadership(06:13) - The Culture at Oracle and Liz Wiseman's Experience(09:06) - The Impact of Different Leadership Styles on Organizational Culture(13:39) - The Gap Between What People Want to Contribute and What They're Able to Contribute(23:28) - The Importance of Situational Intelligence and Social Intelligence(29:52) - The Role of Service in Sales and Leadership(33:29) - Being a Multiplier Leader: Using People's Full Intelligence(35:25) - The Power of Service-Oriented Leadership(38:11) - Creating a Culture of High Performance(43:01) - Building a Meritocracy: Recognizing and Rewarding Contributions(49:37) - Driving Performance Through Clarity, Direction, and Support(56:55) - Open Communication and Feedback: Keys to a Performance CultureConnect with Liz WisemanWebsite: https://thewisemangroup.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/liz.wiseman.author/ X: https://twitter.com/LizWiseman?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizwiseman/?trk=public_post_follow-articles Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bylizwiseman/?hl=en Connect with John RankinsWebsite: https://thesalesmachine.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheSalesMachineOfficialInstagram:https://www.instagram.com/thesalesmachine_official/LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/company/thesalesmachineofficial/YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@JohnRankinsOfficial

From building and scaling sales organizations to the success of targeting specific segments, Victoria and John delve deep into the strategies and tactics behind niche marketing.Victoria, a highly respected marketing mentor who has helped dozens of startups scale from 6-7 figures. Victoria specializes in fixing sales and marketing strategies, building effective teams, and developing leaders to create sustainable and profitable 7-figure marketing machines.Don't miss out on this enlightening episode—tune in now!Episode Highlights“Pick one segment that you could go all in on, right? That you're gonna tailor your website, all your comms, everything. And you're gonna say, all right, give yourself a target. I'm gonna stick with this segment until I reach X amount of revenue, and then know that I've kind of capped out the opportunities there.” - Victoria Hajjar"A lot of folks wanna talk to everyone. They wanna capture all the opportunities. But the problem is that you're not actually talking to anyone." - Victoria Hajjar"You got to know what are the advantages of your features that are unlike everybody else. And the founder, the owner, they don't give a shit about any of that. He only cares about the benefit. He only cares about the benefit, but you gotta know your audience. You got to be able to read the room when you're making that sale or creating a new partnership." - John Rankins"Once you start tailoring all your message and communication to solving that problem for that one group, and of course, the total tangible market for insurance companies is gigantic, the opportunity's ginormous. You can make a shit ton of money just going into balls to the wall with this one vertical." - Victoria HajjarTime Stamps(03:02) - The Importance of Iteration and Improvement(06:06) - The Journey of Building and Scaling Sales Organizations(09:04) - Learning Marketing Through Experience(15:59) - The Five Steps to Clarity(21:54) - Narrowing Down and Targeting a Specific Segment(25:14) - Tailoring Messaging to Solve Specific Problems(28:11) - The Success of Niche Marketing(28:30) - The Importance of Communication and Targeting(37:26) - The Power of Niches and Deepening Relationships(56:03) - The Four Stages of Marketing(01:05:01) - Implementing the Marketing Flywheel(01:10:35) - Using Accountability and Achievement to Drive Results(01:12:28) - The Role of AI in Marketing(01:13:46) - The Challenges of Giving and Receiving Feedback(01:25:10) - The Importance of Engagement in MarketingConnect with Victoria HajjarWebsite: www.ugliventures.com/resources LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoria-hajjar-66211618/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ugliventures/?hl=en TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ugliventures Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tori.hajjar/ Connect with John RankinsWebsite: https://thesalesmachine.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheSalesMachineOfficialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesalesmachine_official/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thesalesmachineofficial/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@JohnRankinsOfficial

Step into the world of sales mastery with our latest episode featuring Mitch Matthews!Prepare for a captivating conversation with Mitch Matthews, a seasoned elite coach and success expert. From his humble beginnings in pharmaceutical sales to carving out a niche in coaching and training, Mitch's journey is nothing short of inspiring. Throughout our discussion, Mitch shares invaluable insights on navigating career transitions, overcoming toxic work environments, and the profound impact of personal development.Join us as Mitch Matthews takes us behind the scenes of his remarkable career trajectory, offering actionable wisdom that resonates with both seasoned professionals and aspiring entrepreneurs alike.Don't miss out on this enlightening episode—tune in now!Episode Highlights“What I love about speaking is to introduce a new vernacular. Introduce some new language that everybody can start using that helps everybody get on the same page, whether it's getting clear on what we're actually doing or how we're going to deliver that.” - Mitch Matthews“Success or comfort is the enemy of success. And the dichotomy is everybody wants to be successful so they can be comfortable and that becomes kryptonite.” - John Rankins“You have to commit to the process yourself. You have to commit to continuing it growing. You have to commit to continuing to experiment. You have to commit to continuing to build your business. You don't have to do the exact same things, but you have to continue to live out a journey that people can learn from. And I see some people, they start to get dormant.” - Mitch Matthews“At the end of the day, you're either the real dealer or you're not, and people can smell it. It's called commission breath. Like you can just smell it. You can smell it when they walk by or if they're trying to bullshit you.” - John RankinsTime Stamps(00:49) - Transition from Pharmaceutical Sales to Coaching and Speaking(05:56) - Building a Coaching and Speaking Business(08:49) - Getting the First Client(09:11) - Scaling the Business(13:30) - Expanding into Corporations(17:42) - Vetting Legitimate Coaches(22:28) - Selling and Valuing Time(26:02) - The Most Important Attribute for CoachesConnect with Mitch MatthewsWebsite: https://mitchmatthews.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mitchmatthews/X: https://x.com/mitchmatthews?lang=enInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/mitch.matthews/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@mitchmatthewsthebigdreamga206Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mitch.matthews.104/Connect with John RankinsWebsite: https://thesalesmachine.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheSalesMachineOfficialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesalesmachine_official/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thesalesmachineofficial/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@JohnRankinsOfficial

Achieve Sales Success with Scott Ingram!Get ready for an enlightening conversation with Scott Ingram, the Sales Success Guru! Founder and CEO of Sales Success Media, Scott is a renowned figure in the sales world, featured in prestigious outlets like Forbes and Entrepreneur. In this episode, Scott shares invaluable insights from his book "Sales Success Stories" and his hit podcast. Dive deep into topics like pipeline management, relationship-building, and the transformative power of servant leadership.Join us as Scott reveals the secrets of top sales performers, emphasizes the importance of authentic connections, and explores the future of sales technology. Whether you're a seasoned sales professional or just starting, this episode will equip you with the tools and mindset for unparalleled success.Episode Highlights"Nobody cares about your product, your service, your solution. They only care about their own situation and their problem." - John Rankins"The very best sales professionals on the planet care the very most about their customers and their success." - Scott Ingram"CRM was built backwards. CRM was built backwards. Here's why. It was built for sales leaders as a management tool, and so leadership has to flog and beat the heck out of and threaten the salespeople to put in the information so that they can get the visibility that they're looking for in the business." - Scott Ingram"I realized that a lot of CRMs are just a digital address book. They really don't move the needle. They don't grow people." - John RankinsTime Stamps(02:27) - Products and Competitors(03:22) - Managing a Pipeline(04:35) - Selling Professional Services(05:48) - Software Integration and Scaling(07:11) - Creating Impactful Relationships in Sales(09:50) - Building and Scaling Sales and Marketing(14:50) - The Power of Relationships in Sales(20:44) - The Importance of Servant Leadership in Sales(27:02) - The Influence of Top Sales Professionals(30:47) - The Beginning of a Sale(36:48) - The Role of AI in SalesConnect with Scott IngramLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottingram/ X: https://x.com/scottingram?lang=en YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsMQpIW7HW_G_nu0XiZsCTw Connect with John RankinsWebsite: https://thesalesmachine.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheSalesMachineOfficialInstagram:https://www.instagram.com/thesalesmachine_official/LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/company/thesalesmachineofficial/YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@JohnRankinsOfficial

Unleash the Power of AI and Virtual Teams with Jeff Hunter!Don't miss this mind-blowing episode with Jeff Hunter, the Savage Marketer! Featured on top platforms like Entrepreneur, Forbes, and CBS, Jeff is a true expert in using AI and virtual teams to skyrocket businesses. As the creator of the AI Persona Method and Founder of VA Staffer, he'll share his journey, introduce the game-changing TalkBoss AI platform, and reveal actionable strategies to integrate AI ethically, empower your team, and take your brand to new heights.Get ready to have your mind blown!Episode Highlights"Two types of companies out there: the quick and the dead." - John Rankins"Companies that adopt AI see a 20-40% increase in productivity." - Jeff Hunter"If your company's not growing, it's because your people are not growing it." - John Rankins“Humans are very bad at asking the right questions. And someone who's a new person in a certain role can just have a little AI bot that they can rely on to help in situations.” - Jeff Hunter“The Sales Machine is a total sales system, right from fucking A to Z, like we get it done. But we empower the people and we've already integrated AI within our platform. Like literally, you can just push a button. And you can talk to The Sales Machine and say, “Hey, tell me the top 10 performers and what scripts were they using over the last month to create the best sales.” Right. So, you know, AI is not the future. It's here.” - John RankinsTime Stamps(06:12) - Transitioning from IT to leveraging AI in business operations(11:30) - The relevance of AI in business growth and the human bias towards AI(26:15) - The four toxic roles in a business and the importance of working above the business(30:04) - Jeff Hunter's new venture: TalkBoss AI and its capabilities(38:06) - Top five ways businesses can leverage AIConnect with Jeff HunterWebsite: https://jeffjhunter.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jhunter101Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeffjhunter/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffjhunter/X: https://twitter.com/jhunter101YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/jeffjhunterTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jeffjhunterConnect with John RankinsWebsite: https://thesalesmachine.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheSalesMachineOfficialInstagram:https://www.instagram.com/thesalesmachine_official/LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/company/thesalesmachineofficial/YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@JohnRankinsOfficial

Discover LinkedIn Lead Generation Secrets with Matt Clark!Join us for an eye-opening discussion with Matt Clark, the mastermind behind The Virtual Edge's Rainmaker system. With a track record of helping over 1,200 clients, Matt is a trailblazer in revolutionizing lead generation on LinkedIn without ads.Don't miss out on this opportunity to uncover the secrets of scaling your business on LinkedIn with Matt Clark!Episode Highlights"There was a stage where LinkedIn was just shutting accounts down left, right and center. So we had to lower what we could do. What we have found though, is especially in the last three to six months with all this new AI technology coming out, it has been a game changer. So for us, we've actually got our own system that uses automation and AI." - Matt Clark"You can't scale chaos. You really do have to have a system, right? Otherwise it always blows apart." - John Rankins"We want to know their pains, their fears, their goals, desires. Then we go and position them as the expert so that they can solve one big problem for one ideal client. And that gets put everywhere across all their social media, across their websites. That is what we call the pickup line. It opens up the conversations." - Matt Clark"I have a system called MTM, Manage, Track and Measure. And we have a weekly meeting called MMA. Just like MMA, we manage, measure and adjust, otherwise you're gonna get knocked out in the marketplace. There's always gonna be evolution and innovation to take advantage of." - John RankinsTime Stamps(02:08) - Creating the Rainmaker System(04:43) - Adapting to Changes in LinkedIn(06:25) - The Rainmaker and Fabulous Frameworks(19:11) - Tools for LinkedIn Lead Generation(21:18) - The Biggest Mistake on LinkedIn(24:26) - Working with Individuals and Companies(27:14) - The Future of LinkedIn Lead GenerationConnect with Matt ClarkWebsite: https://thevirtualedge.com/profile/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattclarkrainmaker/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mattclarkrainmaker/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/matthewclarksa/ Connect with John RankinsWebsite: https://thesalesmachine.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheSalesMachineOfficialInstagram:https://www.instagram.com/thesalesmachine_official/LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/company/thesalesmachineofficial/YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@JohnRankinsOfficial

Unlocking Sales Success with Dave Kurlan!Get ready for an insightful conversation with Dave Kurlan, a true pioneer in the sales development industry. Founder of Objective Management Group and CEO of Kurlan & Associates, Inc., Dave brings decades of expertise to the table as a top-rated speaker, best-selling author, and successful entrepreneur.From the importance of sales culture to effective training and building relationships with prospects, this episode covers it all. Tune in now and unlock your sales potential with Dave Kurlan!Episode Highlights“Most companies don't understand that in the absence of value, it's a race to the bottom. And you're going to be working off of the crumbs left over by the companies that understand that the number one thing you've got to do.” - John Rankins“Your problems are never closing skills and never negotiating skills. Those are just symptoms of some problem going on earlier in the sales process that your sales team is screwing up really badly.” - Dave Kurlan“I kind of want to get a sense for where the major issue is and work from that point backwards. Everybody thinks it's about closing but it's never really that.” - John RankinsTime Stamps(09:47) - Dave's Sales Journey and Goal Setting(11:15) - Recruiting, Training, and Retaining a Sales Force(15:25) - Key Factors in Selecting Salespeople(18:28) - Hiring Salespeople in B2B(20:02) - What Tech Giants Lack Today(27:55) - The Difference of “Can Sell” and “Will Sell”(28:32) - Best Practices for Hiring The Best Talent(33:19) - Advice for Sales Trainers(34:27) - Importance of Urgency in Sales(41:27) - B2B’s Biggest Challenges When Growing a Sales Team(52:27) - Sales is Service(58:28) - Sales Systems and AutomationConnect with Dave KurlanWebsite: https://www.kurlanassociates.com/ X: https://twitter.com/kurlanassoc?lang=en LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davekurlan/ Connect with John RankinsWebsite: https://thesalesmachine.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheSalesMachineOfficialInstagram:https://www.instagram.com/thesalesmachine_official/LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/company/thesalesmachineofficial/YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@JohnRankinsOfficial