Sales Today

Hosted by Fred Copestake

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300

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Aug 2026

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About the show

'What a time to be in sales' People say this various times in many different ways – excited, exasperated, worried, pessimistic, optimistic, happy, sad, confused – the whole range of human emotions. This is an exciting time to be in sales, if you are selling B2B complex solutions. It's a time when you can bring huge value to your customers; it's a time to thrive. But you need to know how, as it is a time unlike any before. The rules have changed and as a sales professional you can have a hand in redefining how the game is played. Challenges salespeople face are: · 'Busy Busy Busy' – being ineffective; it results in wasted opportunities, is tiring and stressful and means the focus is on the wrong activities to deliver results · 'Olde Worlde' – being old-fashioned; when salespeople are self-centred rather than customer-focused, too technical in their approach or use bad techniques better suited to a bygone era of selling · 'Muddled Mindset' – being misaligned; it can happen at organisation, management and individual level and the confusion leads to frustration and wasted effort. By using a more collaborative approach salespeople can make a difference and sales can become a force for good and fight against the negative image it can often be associated with. The Sales Today podcast explores how sales professionals can adapt and futureproof themselves by using the best practice shared by host Fred Copestake and the guests of the show. What a time to be in sales! Host Fred Copestake is Founder of Brindis, a sales training consultancy, and bestselling author of 'Selling Through Partnering Skills' and 'Hybrid Selling'. Connect with Fred on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. www.linktr.ee/fredcopestake

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60 recent

August 20, 202638 min

Why Should Customers Choose You?

Why should a customer choose you over your competitors? If the answer is "because we're innovative, experienced and provide great service" … there's a good chance your competitors are saying exactly the same thing. In this episode of the Sales Today podcast, Fred Copestake is joined by John Ravaris , author of Define Value, Drive Growth and founder of UVP Solutions, to explore what really makes a Unique Value Proposition unique. They discuss why being different isn't enough - your difference has to matter to the customer - and how businesses can connect their strengths with the problems customers need solving and the success they want to achieve. In this episode: Why most value propositions aren't particularly unique The difference between being different and being meaningfully different Why customer discovery is essential How to connect your strengths to customer pain and success Why you shouldn't tell every customer everything you do John's Discover, Develop, Deploy and Delight approach Why your UVP should initially be written in pencil Turning happy customers into advocates Why sales, marketing and customer-facing teams need to tell the same story The big question to ask yourself? Why should customers choose you? And if your answer could just as easily describe three of your competitors, it might be time to rethink it. Listen now to Why Should Customers Choose You? About John Ravaris John is the founder of UVP Solutions and author of Define Value, Drive Growth , a practical guide to creating unique value propositions and using them to enable business growth Connect with John LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-ravaris Website: https://uvpsolutions.com Get John's Book: https://amzn.eu/d/0e8FDb38 Follow Fred : https://linktr.ee/fredcopestake Watch this episode on YouTube : https://youtu.be/Y024Lz_Li3M More from Fred Take the free Collaborative Selling Scorecard to see how your sales approach suits today's selling environment. https://collaborativeselling.scoreapp.com/ Watch Fred's FREE YouTube Course: Sales Mastery for Engineers: https://bit.ly/Sales-Mastery-For-Engineers

August 13, 202637 min

Telephone selling made simple

Why do perfectly confident people suddenly become nervous when they pick up the phone to sell? In this episode of the Sales Today podcast , Fred Copestake is joined by sales trainer and coach Anna Bates to explore how to make telephone selling simpler, more natural and far less intimidating. Anna shares her straightforward approach to phone conversations — from getting your mindset right before the call, to using tone effectively, asking better questions and actually asking for the sale. They also explore Anna's "corridor" analogy : rather than pushing someone towards a decision, your role is to calmly help them move from where they are now towards the right next step. In this episode: Why people become nervous selling on the phone Why selling doesn't mean being pushy How tone of voice changes a conversation Why you don't need a clever opening line How to use structure without sounding scripted Why gatekeepers can be incredibly valuable How to recognise buying signals Why so many people simply forget to ask for the sale How better questions help customers think The big message? Stop trying to sound like a salesperson. Be human, understand the customer's world, have a useful conversation and help them decide what to do next. Connect with Anna LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-bates-woodhart Website: https://www.room11coaching.co.uk Follow Fred : https://linktr.ee/fredcopestake More from Fred Take the free Collaborative Selling Scorecard to see how your sales approach suits today's selling environment. https://collaborativeselling.scoreapp.com/ Watch this episode on YouTube : https://youtu.be/6Einmxxg9EA Watch Fred's FREE YouTube Course: Sales Mastery for Engineers: https://bit.ly/Sales-Mastery-For-Engineers

August 6, 202632 min

Selling is like tracking serial killers

Why complex sales are won by great investigators, not great presenters. Most salespeople think they've found a champion. In reality, they've found a friendly contact. In this episode, Fred Copestake is joined by Tom Stearns, go-to-market consultant and co-author of the bestselling book Graphic Sales, to explore one of the biggest reasons complex B2B opportunities stall. Together they discuss why relationship building alone isn't enough, how to identify a genuine champion, and why mapping buying teams is remarkably similar to investigating a crime scene. If you sell technical, engineering or enterprise solutions, this episode is packed with practical ideas that will help you navigate complex buying decisions more effectively. In this episode you'll learn · Why most salespeople misunderstand what a champion really is · The difference between a contact and someone who can genuinely move a deal forward · How to test whether your champion has real influence · Why complex sales require multiple stakeholders - not just one relationship · How account mapping helps uncover hidden decision-makers · Why technical experts often talk too much · How to engage finance, procurement and senior leaders more effectively · Why understanding your customer's world matters more than knowing your own product · How short personalised videos can help unlock stalled opportunities Key Takeaways ✔ A champion has desire and capability. ✔ One relationship rarely wins a complex sale. ✔ Great salespeople investigate buying organisations. ✔ Customers buy differently than salespeople often expect. ✔ Technical expertise builds credibility - but curiosity wins conversations. ✔ The best salespeople understand customer problems before talking about products. ✔ Complex sales are managed, not chased. Episode Highlights The Champion Myth Many salespeople mistake a friendly contact for a champion. Tom explains why genuine champions have influence, understand the buying process and are prepared to advocate internally. CSI Selling One of the standout moments of the episode compares enterprise selling to investigating a crime scene. By visually mapping stakeholders, relationships and influence, salespeople gain a far clearer picture of how decisions are actually made. Technical Sellers Talk Too Much Fred and Tom discuss why technical experts often lead with product knowledge when they should be leading with questions. Listening creates more credibility than demonstrating expertise. Know the Buyer Before the Product Rather than obsessing over product features, organisations should spend more time helping salespeople understand procurement, finance, operations and executive priorities. About Tom Stearns Tom Stearns is a Go-To-Market Consultant and co-author of Graphic Sales - a practical sales playbook presented as a graphic novel. His work focuses on helping sales teams build repeatable prospecting processes, improve account planning and navigate complex buying groups. Connect with Tom : https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomstearns Website: https://www.stearns.io Get the book ' Graphic Sales' by Tom Stearns & Peter Cleary: https://www.stearns.io/book About Fred Copestake Fred Copestake helps engineering and B2B sales teams create commercially stronger conversations through Trust First Selling and the VALUE Framework. Connect with Fred : https://linktr.ee/fredcopestake Watch this episode on YouTube : https://youtu.be/3PhzTIM56ao Watch Fred's FREE YouTube Course: Sales Mastery for Engineers: https://bit.ly/Sales-Mastery-For-Engineers Useful resources Take the free Collaborative Selling Scorecard: Check how well your sales approach fits today's buying environment https://collaborativeselling.scoreapp.com/

July 30, 202621 min

Training vs Coaching

Why telling people isn't enough to change behaviour Sales organisations spend millions every year on training, yet many still struggle to see lasting improvements in performance. In this solo episode, Fred Copestake explores one of the biggest misconceptions in sales development: the belief that training and coaching are the same thing. Using questions supplied by Bec Turton from My Sales Coach, Fred shares his approach to diagnosing sales performance, explains why "one and done" training rarely works, and introduces a simple distinction that can transform how organisations develop their people. If you're responsible for leading, developing or coaching sales teams, this episode offers practical ideas for creating learning that actually changes behaviour—not just knowledge. In this episode you'll learn Why product-focused teams often struggle to have commercial conversations The first thing Fred looks for when working with a new sales team Why "One and Done" training rarely delivers lasting results The simple difference between training and coaching Why coaching creates faster behavioural change than many leaders expect How to align learning with real customer opportunities Why sales development should focus on implementation, not information The importance of quick wins in building coaching momentum Why meaningful improvement always requires consistent effort Key Takeaways ✔ Great salespeople solve problems before they explain products. ✔ Training puts information in. Coaching pulls potential out. ✔ The best development programmes combine learning with real-world application. ✔ Coaching conversations should focus on results, not activity. ✔ Lasting improvement comes from consistent practice—not one-off events. ✔ There are no shortcuts to commercial excellence. Product vs Problem Thinking Fred explains why many technical sales teams already know their products exceptionally well - but become significantly more effective when they learn to lead conversations with customer problems instead. The Coaching Difference Rather than simply transferring knowledge, coaching uses questions to unlock thinking, helping salespeople discover better solutions for themselves while remaining focused on measurable business results. Why Training Doesn't Stick Too many organisations invest in isolated training events without embedding the learning into day-to-day customer activity. Fred explains why implementation is where real development begins. No Magic Wand There are no shortcuts to becoming commercially stronger. Sustainable improvement comes from deliberate practice, coaching and putting new skills to work with real customers. Connect with Fred https://www.linkedin.com/in/fredcopestake Subscribe to Sales Today - New episodes every week If you enjoyed the episode, please subscribe and share it with your network. Watch this episode on YouTube : ttps://youtu.be/weTzIHaeNXM Watch Fred's FREE YouTube Course: Sales Mastery for Engineers: https://bit.ly/Sales-Mastery-For-Engineers

July 23, 202635 min

Salespeople Can't Be Trusted to Run QBRs!

Why Quarterly Business Reviews should be about customer value, not sales pitches Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) are supposed to strengthen relationships, demonstrate value and identify future opportunities. Too often, however, they become little more than product presentations. In this episode, Fred Copestake is joined by Celia Sanchez Garcia (Celia SGAR), Founder of Vendor Manager Hub, to discuss why many QBRs fail and what salespeople can do differently. Drawing on over 16 years of supplier and vendor management experience, Celia shares why customers should often take the lead in QBRs, how suppliers unintentionally damage trust, and the framework she uses to ensure every review focuses on delivering outcomes rather than promoting the latest products. Whether you're an account manager, customer success professional or sales leader, this conversation offers practical ideas for building stronger, longer-lasting customer relationships. In this episode you'll learn: Why many QBRs fail to deliver value The biggest mistake salespeople make during customer reviews Why customers often lose trust during supplier-led meetings The difference between operational meetings, QBRs and executive reviews How Customer Success and Sales can work together more effectively A proven QBR agenda that keeps conversations focused on customer outcomes Why improvement opportunities should come before innovation discussions How active listening creates better commercial relationships Why making life easier for customers is often your greatest competitive advantage Key Takeaways · Cu stomers don't buy products. They buy outcomes. · Great QBRs review value already delivered before discussing anything new. · Customer Success often understands how to maximise existing value better than Sales. · Trust is lost when suppliers ignore what customers have asked for. · The best account managers bring insight, not just information. · Continuous improvement creates future sales naturally. · The easiest way to become a strategic supplier is to make your customer's life easier. Resources Vendor Manager Hub Helping organisations build stronger supplier relationships through better vendor management. Vendor Score It A platform for measuring supplier performance, scorecards and KPIs. Connect with Celia SGAR LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/celiasgar Vendor Manager Hub: https://www.vendormanagerhub.com Vendor Score It: https://www.vendorscoreit.com About Fred Copestake Fred Copestake helps organisations create commercially stronger conversations through Trust First Selling and the VALUE Framework. His work focuses on helping salespeople move beyond products and features to create better buying decisions through trust, curiosity and commercial thinking. Connect with Fred https://linktr.ee/fredcopestake Take the Free Collaborative Selling Scorecard How collaborative is your sales approach? Take Fred's free Collaborative Selling Scorecard and discover how your current approach compares with today's buying environment. https://collaborativeselling.scoreapp.com Watch this episode on YouTube : https://youtu.be/gu85qPEOccA Watch Fred's FREE YouTube Course: Sales Mastery for Engineers: https://bit.ly/Sales-Mastery-For-Engineers

July 16, 202633 min

What Can Sales Learn From Customer Success?

Take the free Collaborative Selling Scorecard https://collaborativeselling.scoreapp.com/ Winning new customers is only half the story. The real commercial advantage comes from helping customers achieve the outcomes they were promised, long after the contract has been signed. In this episode of Sales Today, Fred Copestake is joined by customer success expert Anika Zubair to explore what sales professionals can learn from one of the fastest-growing disciplines in modern business. Together they discuss why customer success isn't simply account management, why discovery remains the most valuable commercial skill, and how focusing on outcomes rather than products creates stronger customer relationships and longer-term growth. Whether you work in sales, account management or customer success, this conversation is packed with practical ideas you can apply immediately. In this episode you'll discover: • What Customer Success really means and why it is much more than post-sales support • Why keeping existing customers is often far more valuable than constantly chasing new ones • The importance of selling outcomes rather than features and functionality • Why discovery remains the foundation of every successful commercial conversation • How customer success teams proactively create value instead of reacting to renewal opportunities • Why executives don't buy products, they buy business improvement • How "value amnesia" causes organisations to forget why they purchased solutions in the first place • Why connecting the dots is one of the most valuable commercial skills today • How sales and customer success should work together to create better customer experiences • Why AI makes human curiosity and commercial conversations even more valuable One idea worth remembering Customers don't wake up thinking about your product. They wake up thinking about their business. The organisations that consistently win are those that help customers understand their problems more clearly before explaining their solutions. About Anika Zubair Anika Zubair is the CEO of Customer Success Pro, an international customer success consultant, coach and podcast host. She helps organisations improve customer retention, drive growth and build customer success teams that create measurable business value. Connect with Anika · LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/anikazubair · Website: https://www.thecustomersuccesspro.com Follow Fred : https://linktr.ee/fredcopestake Watch this episode on YouTube : https://youtu.be/Ja_mTyZjTCQ Watch Fred's FREE YouTube Course: Sales Mastery for Engineers: https://bit.ly/Sales-Mastery-For-Engineers Useful resources Take the Collaborative Selling Scorecard – free Check how well your sales approach fits today's buying environment https://collaborativeselling.scoreapp.com/

July 9, 20267 min

A Smarter Way to Sell in Engineering Businesses

Free Collaborative Selling Scorecard If you would like to assess how your sales approach aligns with today's buying environment, you can take the free Collaborative Selling Scorecard: https://collaborativeselling.scoreapp.com/ In this final episode of the Sales Today mini series, Fred brings the threads of the series together and explains the deeper issue sitting underneath many of the challenges explored in the previous episodes. Deals stall. Price becomes the focus. Conversations stay too low in the organisation. Teams struggle to engage senior stakeholders. Sales training makes sense, but behaviour doesn't really change. At first glance, these can look like separate problems. Fred argues they are not. They are symptoms of one core issue: Misalignment between how we sell and how customers buy. In this episode: Why so many common sales frustrations are connected The hidden cost of misalignment in B2B and engineering sales How stalled deals, price pressure and low-level conversations often share the same root cause Why "this is how we do things around here" can quietly hold teams back What it means to realign your sales approach to the customer's buying journey How the five core elements of selling work together Why customers buy outcomes, not products Key Insight Across the mini series, Fred has explored a range of common sales problems: entering the conversation too late getting trapped in tenders and RFPs allowing value to sit too low stalled deals that never quite say no struggling to engage senior stakeholders overwhelming customers with expertise instead of creating clarity sales training that never really sticks The key point in this final episode is that these are not isolated issues. They all stem from the same gap: a mismatch between the way sales teams are operating and the way customers are actually making decisions. The Real Opportunity: Realignment If the issue is misalignment, the opportunity is not to do more. It is to realign . Fred explains that this means stepping into the customer's world earlier, understanding what is driving their need, and shaping your sales approach around how they think, decide and buy. The Five Core Elements of Selling Fred frames this through five connected elements: The right opportunities The right research The right conversations The right solutions The right outcomes Each one builds on the next. When you focus on the right opportunities, you can do better research. That leads to better conversations. Those conversations shape better solutions. And better solutions create the outcomes the customer actually wants. Key Takeaway Customers do not buy products. They buy outcomes. They are trying to move from where they are now to somewhere better. When sales teams start from that point — rather than from product, process, or internal habits — everything becomes more aligned: conversations become more relevant value becomes clearer decisions become easier sales feels less forced and more natural Questions to Consider Are the challenges in your sales process actually separate issues, or symptoms of one bigger problem? Are you aligned to how your customers buy, or expecting them to align to how you sell? Are your opportunities, research, conversations and solutions all connected around customer outcomes? Is "this is how we do things around here" helping or limiting progress? Connect with Fred https://www.linkedin.com/in/fredcopestake Subscribe to Sales Today - New episodes every week If you enjoyed the episode, please subscribe and share it with your network. Watch this episode on YouTube : https://youtu.be/5mxHxtT4VxM

July 2, 20265 min

Why Most Sales Training Fails Engineering Teams (And What Actually Works)

If you would like to assess how your sales approach aligns with today's buying environment, you can take the free Collaborative Selling Scorecard: https://collaborativeselling.scoreapp.com/ In this episode, Fred explores a frustration shared by many engineering and technical businesses: You've invested in sales training. The team enjoyed it. The ideas made sense. But six months later… very little has actually changed. Fred explains why the problem is rarely the quality of the training itself. More often, it's the gap between understanding new ideas and applying them in real sales situations. In this episode: Why good sales training often fails to create lasting behaviour change The difference between understanding and application Why engineers naturally revert to technical expertise under pressure How deeply embedded habits influence sales conversations Why classroom learning rarely survives real customer situations on its own The importance of connecting learning to live opportunities How practical application turns knowledge into lasting behaviour Key Insight Most sales training doesn't fail because the content is poor. It fails because people understand the ideas… …but never truly apply them. Real customer conversations are unpredictable, complex and constantly changing. Without practical application, people naturally fall back to familiar habits. Why Engineering Teams Are Different Engineering professionals are trained to: Solve problems Demonstrate expertise Explain technical detail These are valuable strengths. But when introducing a more collaborative sales approach, those existing behaviours often take over during real customer conversations. The result? The training is remembered. The behaviour stays the same. Key Takeaway Information creates awareness. Application creates change. Real improvement happens when new ideas are connected directly to live opportunities, allowing people to see: "This works here." "This works now." Because when people experience success, they gain confidence. And when confidence grows, new behaviours begin to stick. Questions to Consider Does your team understand collaborative selling… or are they actually applying it? Are sales conversations changing, or simply the language used to describe them? Is learning connected to real customer opportunities? Connect with Fred https://www.linkedin.com/in/fredcopestake Subscribe to Sales Today - New episodes every week. If you enjoyed the episode, please subscribe and share it with your network. Watch this episode on YouTube : https://youtu.be/y9STF2STmUg Watch the full mini series playlist here https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxxcms2Z3FxOjuzT83uI08ZQdVIFq36tJ Watch Fred's FREE YouTube Course: Sales Mastery for Engineers: https://bit.ly/Sales-Mastery-For-Engineers

June 25, 20265 min

The "Ah" Moment That Changes Every Sale

June 18, 20266 min

Why Being Too Technical Can Cost You Deals

Take the Collaborative Selling Scorecard: https://collaborativeselling.scoreapp.com In this episode of the Sales Today Podcast , Fred Copestake explores a pattern he often sees in engineering-led sales organisations: What he calls The Engineering Super Ego . Despite the provocative name, this isn't a criticism of engineers. In fact, it comes from one of their greatest strengths: deep expertise, technical excellence, and the ability to solve complex problems. The challenge is that, in sales conversations, this strength can sometimes become a weakness. Fred explains why customers don't necessarily need more information, more detail, or more technical depth. What they often need is clarity. In this episode: What the "Engineering Super Ego" really means Why technical expertise can sometimes create distance in customer conversations How sales discussions unintentionally become demonstrations of knowledge Why customers often nod politely without truly moving forward The difference between informing customers and helping them think Why clarity creates more value than complexity How to use expertise as a guide rather than a showcase Key Insight Customers rarely buy because they have been overwhelmed with information. They buy because they understand: What is happening Why it matters What they should do next The real value of expertise isn't demonstrating how much you know. It's helping customers make sense of their situation. Key Takeaway Technical expertise remains incredibly important. The shift is not to remove it. The shift is to use it differently. Instead of asking: "How can I explain this better?" Ask: "How can I make this easier to understand?" Because customers value clarity far more than complexity. Questions to Consider Are your sales conversations helping customers think? Are you simplifying or complicating? Are you using expertise to clarify or to impress? Connect with Fred https://www.linkedin.com/in/fredcopestake Subscribe to Sales Today - New episodes every week If you enjoyed the episode, please subscribe and share it with your network. Watch this episode on YouTube : https://youtu.be/SMkOTBIws94 Connect with Fred: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fredcopestake Watch Fred's FREE YouTube Course: Sales Mastery for Engineers: https://bit.ly/Sales-Mastery-For-Engineers Watch the full mini series playlist here