If you’re not currently using podcasts as an integral part of your learning and development, you’re missing out.
Podcasts are the ultimate tool in flexible learning. Listen in the bath, at the gym, on your commute, while folding laundry, or cleaning the house – basically any time you’re doing something mindless and you have brain space to spare.
Aside from the true crime and comedy podcasts that top most people’s lists, there’s a wealth of educational content out there on just about every topic imaginable, including sales and marketing and – increasingly – sales enablement. We recently put out a call on the Sales Enablement Society forum to find out what the Sales Enablement experts are listening to. From that list, we’ve curated this ‘Best Of’.
Disclaimer: there are a lot of sponsorship messages and occasional boring guests.
Yes, many of these podcasts are created by people who sell sales training of some sort. Every podcast listed here includes some form of advertisement. If you can get past that, there’s a lot to learn. It’s not just sales trainers monologuing until your ears fall off. Most of the time, the podcasts take an interview format and you get to hear the perspectives of many different people with varied kinds of experience.
That being said, the strength of each individual episode is going to depend on the quality of the interview. Some people are naturally engaging and easy to listen to. Others are…not. We’ve indicated an episode we particularly enjoyed for each of these podcasts, which will hopefully ease you in nicely!
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TIP: See how the best sales enablement software can help you close more deals in 2019!
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In no particular order, let’s begin with the best sales enablement podcasts you should listen to in 2019.The 10 best sales enablement podcasts
Show description: No BS Allowed - Are you sick of empty suits telling you just work harder?
Our take on it: If you’re a Sales Enablement professional without very much sales experience, this is a must-listen. Brian Burns is obviously a seasoned professional and he does exactly as he promises, getting right to the heart of the matter with very little fluff. And yet his tone is kindly – like a mentor giving advice – rather than arrogant or condescending. His evident understanding of sales and buying processes leads to plenty of ‘Aha’ moments. Plus the recording quality is really good, which always helps!
Try this one: What Differentiates the Top 1% of Salespeople and How We Can Do It.
This interview with Mike Esterday looks at how salespeople can identify and use their ‘why’ to improve their performance. We spend a lot of our energy identifying our customers’ ‘why’, sometimes neglecting the importance of applying the same technique to sales reps. The reality, as this episode shows, is that our employees are as important as our customers to the success of our business.
Show description: You have sales questions and I have some great answers. Just connect with me on LinkedIn and send your questions and I will answer them here.
Our take on it: Brian Burns impressed us so much, he gets a second listing. This podcast takes questions from the listeners via LinkedIn and answers them in mini episodes of less than 10 minutes. These tend to be just Brian talking rather than interviews with other speakers, but the advice is pretty solid and the brevity makes them very easy to listen to. What’s most interesting for sales enablement professionals, though, is finding out what questions salespeople are asking. It might give you some food for thought as to where your salespeople might need some more support.
Try this one: What is value and how do I bring it to a sales situation?
I picked this one because ‘adding value’ is something we talk about in sales enablement a lot. Brian gives a great answer and the episode is a good reminder that we should take the time to consider our words rather than repeating the same old biz-blab.
Show description: Bill Caskey and Bryan Neale: B2B sales trainers for the past twenty years share their strategies, frameworks, tips and tricks to help you leverage your talent, grow your skills and create your own sales success.
Our take on it: This podcast has a drivetime radio feel to it, which makes it very easy listening. Rather than interviewing guest speakers, the two presenters riff off each other – sometimes literally – and take questions from listeners to make up the bulk of their topics, which cover everything from the psychology of sales to lead generation to rejection, and everything in between.
The dynamic between the two presenters is really engaging and the production value is pretty high – even for episodes on the road. In terms of relevance, there’s a lot of sales support-type content – as in, supporting salespeople – which makes it ideal for sales enablement professionals.
Try this one: Preparing for a Meeting, ASP Style.
Bill and Bryan are on the road, preparing for a meeting. I enjoyed hearing about their process, comparing it to how we do things in our company and working out if there are bits we could borrow or things we could improve. It’s also a good intro to their dynamic, and a very manageable length at less than 15 minutes.
Show description: Actionable insights for the modern seller
Our take on it: I was dubious going into this – how can there be an entire podcast with 100+ episodes about social selling? – but the range of topics is vast and there’s so much to learn. The host, Mario Martinez Jr, clearly knows his stuff and is able to engage with his interviewees in a more complex way than occurs in some of the other podcasts that didn’t make this list. Social selling is a really important aspect of the salesperson’s job right now – and an area where Sales Enablement can offer a lot of support.
Try this one: How Little Changes To Your Sales Message Can Have Incredible Results, with Tim Riesterer.
I loved this one! A perfect combination of words and science had me hooked from start to finish. It’s all about how the little nuances in our communications can draw customers in or put them right off. I particularly enjoyed Tim’s advice not to ‘we we we’ all over your social messages. Well worth a listen.
Show description: Explore how to strategically align B2B Sales and Marketing to drive growth by tapping into exclusive conversations with top subject-matter experts in sales, marketing, tech, analytics, psychology, neurology and more.
Our take on it: The sound quality isn’t quite so good as some of the others, but the topic is so relevant to Sales Enablement that this podcast had to make our list. Alignment has to be a top priority of Sales Enablement professionals so a podcast that covers things like aligning on content, revenue, data, leadership, etc. is incredibly valuable.
Try this one: How to Create Alignment In a Company Culture That Doesn't Support Change w/ Paul Bickford.
I picked this one for this quote alone: ‘When it comes to ham and eggs, the chicken’s involved but the pig is committed’. Aside from that, there are some great examples of language that encourages open discussion without finger-pointing.
Show description: Hosted by Ken Coleman, the EntreLeadership Podcast features lively discussions and tips on leadership and business by some of the top minds in the business, like Mark Cuban, Seth Godin, Jim Collins and Simon Sinek.
Our take on it: This isn’t specifically a sales or marketing podcast, but leadership is also a really important aspect of Sales Enablement and the high quality of guests on offer makes this a great go-to. There are over 300 episodes to go back through, typically around the 1-hour mark, and guests range from authors to filmmakers to hot-shot business people to pastors! We think there’s something for everyone here and more often than not these insights will open the doors to new ideas for your business.
Try this one: How Talk Triggers Create Customers.
An interview with Talk Triggers’ author Jay Baer about the strategy behind building word of mouth. A really interesting discussion that’s followed up with a chat with EntreLeadership Senior VP Sarah Sloyan with insight on the unexpected power of moments.
Show description: Conversations about sales, social selling, social media, marketing and doing business in a digitally disrupted world.
Our take on it: Hosted by Barbara Giamanco, who describes herself as being on ‘a mission to ignite sales transformation’, this podcast looks at the challenges facing salespeople and talks to various industry experts about how these can be overcome. Sales Enablement is all about enabling salespeople to improve their processes and close more deals. This podcast is full of ideas and resources to help achieve that.
Try this one: Ready or Not, Here They Come: What the Arrival of Gen Z means for the Future of Business with Josh Miller.
Some really interesting insights about Gen Z based on research conducted by Josh Miller, CEO of Deciding Age and just 16 years old. Very impressive!
Show description: Sales Hacker is the leading community for modern sales professionals, and this podcast is an extension of that.
Our take on it: Sam Jacobs is a very accomplished host who interviews a wide range of sales experts. I’d say the language assumes a certain level of sales experience, so it’s perhaps not for the novice, but if you’re willing to listen along with a dictionary there’s a lot to take from every episode. Overall, it’s a smooth listening experience, though at ~50 minutes for a regular episode it’s among the longer podcasts on this list. The Friday Fundamentals are a nice easy 5 – 10 minute titbit for when you’re just looking for the golden nuggets without all the context.
Try this one: How to Move from Feature Selling to Gap Selling with Keenan.
For all the Keenan fans out there, this episode gives you both sales insights and some Keenan backstory.
Show description: The Tony Robbins podcast gives you access to Tony's proven strategies for success so you can accomplish your goals, too.
Our take on it: Tony Robbins is an entrepreneur, best-selling author, philanthropist, and America’s #1 life and business strategist – so says his website. But you don’t need to know who Tony Robbins is to enjoy this podcast. It’s another one that makes the list without being specifically about sales or marketing, but it’s got enough ideas about growth (business and personal), leadership and development to keep all hungry Sales Enablement professionals interested.
Try this one: Timing is everything.
An interview with Dan Pink about his book When, which might give you some ideas about how to support your larks, owls and third birds to work in the way that best suits them.
Show description: Sales Enablement Radio talks with CEOs and authors, Chief Sales Officers, CMOs, VPs of Sales Enablement and Sales Operations, as well as salespeople about sales enablement.
Our take on it: You couldn’t have a ‘best of’ list for Sales Enablement professionals without including Sales Enablement Radio. This podcast aims to bring clarity to a topic that seems to mean different things to different people, so the discussions focus on the various aspects of sales enablement, from technology to alignment to strategy, and so on. No new episodes have been released this year, but there’s still quite a few to go through from last year and plenty to learn. The sound quality isn’t the best, but with a good pair of headphones you should be able to get the most from it.
Try this one: What Every Sales Leader Wants Sales Enablement to Know.
A discussion of how sales leaders should partner with sales enablement for optimum results. Solid insights and some helpful strategies.
That you enjoy giving each of these podcasts a try! Maybe you’ll even find a new favorite. At the very least, there’s plenty of content to keep you going on the treadmill, or sifting through the stack of unfolded laundry.
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