Hit Your Numbers

If your discovery calls create activity but no momentum, this episode is the reset. Most reps leave discovery with a list of things the buyer wants and a pipeline full of deals that were never real.This is the Free Edition. The full, unedited conversation between Kevin "KD" Dorsey and James Bissell lives in Behind Closed Doors, our members-only content, where you can watch the complete recording and hear every question and answer in full. Create a free account to unlock it: https://learn.therevenueenabler.com/join?invitation_token=fb0b994baab003bc6b714ffbc3282b9a73e129b4-1c9c314c-2a97-4fdf-bffb-535222cdd806Kevin "KD" Dorsey has built startup sales teams for 16 years, trained Snowflake, HubSpot, Atlassian, and Databricks, and unusually for a trainer, still does the job. He joins James Bissell to break down the three mistakes that inflate pipeline and kill deals: asking questions you could have Googled, confusing qualification with discovery, and collecting wants instead of getting problem agreement.They go deep on KD's bucket question, how to make it safe for a buyer to admit the problem, and how tonality makes it land as a poll rather than a trap. Plus how to turn a stated want into a lack, why you should make the status quo undesirable instead of pain-selling, and how to earn the next step with a "might make sense" agreement.If you want discovery that produces urgency, clarity, and a clean next step, start here.In this episode:- The three discovery mistakes that inflate pipeline and kill deals- Why qualification is not discovery, and the difference that matters- Turning a stated want into a lack to reach problem agreement- Make the status quo undesirable, and why pain-selling backfires- The bucket question and the psychology that makes buyers open up- Tonality: landing a question as a poll, not a trap- Suggestive leads and showing you know the buyer's world- Using AI to build a discovery hypothesis, and why customers come first- The six things to capture before earning a next step- Selling through questions and the "so that" frameworkGet free access to the full Behind Closed Doors recording: https://learn.therevenueenabler.com/join?invitation_token=fb0b994baab003bc6b714ffbc3282b9a73e129b4-1c9c314c-2a97-4fdf-bffb-535222cdd806Connect with Kevin "KD" Dorsey on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kddorsey3/Connect with James Bissell on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-bissell1/Hit Your Numbers, all episodes: https://www.therevenueenabler.com/podcast

Motivation runs out. Systems don't. And the sellers and leaders who win aren't the most motivated, they're the most consistent.James Bissell is joined again by Mark Burrett, Growth Director at HubWorx and a former personal trainer, for a conversation you won't find much of online: how holistic health and hard-won discipline underpin everything in a high-pressure go-to-market role. Mark completed an Ironman seven months after major surgery, and the biggest lesson wasn't fitness, it was the compound effect of showing up every single day.Together they get into what a genuinely productive day looks like, why winning the morning sets the tone, and how to define the non-negotiables that actually move the needle. Mark shares why burnout only ever gets discussed at the point of burnout, and what leaders should do to get ahead of it. And they dig into the systems both use to stay consistent, from the Win the Day planner to time-blocking, to building a holistic health plan inside Claude.If you're carrying a number and running on empty, this one is worth your time.KEY THEMES- Why consistency beats motivation every time- Defining your non-negotiables and winning the morning- The Win the Day planner and breaking down the big number- Going into the gym, and the day, with a plan- The compound effect: small habits that make you a weapon- Why burnout is only discussed at the point of burnout- Building preventative wellbeing pillars as a leader- The four pillars: physical, mental, social, and financial health- You become the people you spend your time with- Using AI to build a personalised holistic health plan- Hiring on attitude over experienceMORE ABOUT JAMES- Host: James Bissell, founder of The Revenue Enabler- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-bissell1/- Website: https://www.therevenueenabler.comMORE ABOUT MARK- Guest: Mark Burrett, Growth Director at HubWorx- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markburretthubworx/

Open your CRM, pick any account, and ask why that company needs to meet with you now. If the answer is silence, that's exactly why you can't build enough pipeline. This episode gives you the framework that fixes it.James Bissell is joined by Frances Ingham, Head of Sales Development for EMEA at Vimeo, where she grew qualified leads by 59% over five years. With 20 years across every seat in go-to-market, Frances makes the case that relevance, not volume, is what cuts through in this market, and that most teams have automated their way out of actually thinking.If your pipeline is thin and your outreach is getting ignored, this is the episode to fix it.KEY THEMES- Why POV and account hypothesis are different, and how to use both- Customer-specific value versus generic value- The what is, what does, what means, why matters model- Make me money, save me money, save me time: the only three reasons companies buy- Using signals and intent data to build a specific hypothesis- Why 99% of sellers need an automation detox- Relevance and personalisation over volume and cadence- Why sequences kill critical thinking and grit- The PRI framework: problem, root cause, impact- Why "why does this account need to meet us now?" belongs in your CRMMORE ABOUT JAMES- Host: James Bissell, founder of The Revenue Enabler- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-bissell1/- Website: https://www.therevenueenabler.comMORE ABOUT FRANCES- Guest: Frances Ingham, Head of Sales Development, EMEA at Vimeo- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/francesinghamrevenueleader/

The best sales leaders build teams that eventually don't need them. Most build teams that can't function without them.In this second appearance on the podcast, James Bissell sits down again with Nick Pegram, now Enterprise Sales and GTM Lead for EMEA at Workera. Together they get into the AE playbook and coaching shift for elite sellers, why strategy is worthless without the capability to execute it, and the retire-yourself mindset that separates genuine leaders from bottlenecks.If you lead a team, or you're stepping into your first leadership role, this one is essential listening.KEY THEMES- The three layers: strategy, operating cadence, and coaching- Why strategy fails without the capability to execute it- Simple scorecards over data-heavy QBRs- Drive the Five and the zero-one-two scoring model- Gated exit criteria that lifted win rate 75%- The retire-yourself coaching mindset- Why the team's performance is a reflection of your leadership- Servant leadership, curiosity, and coaching with vulnerability- Building a skills database to audit, coach, and hire- Equal business stature and the power of saying no- Win the Day: small repeatable discipline over big goalsDownload the Proficiency Plans: https://www.therevenueenabler.com/downloads/proficiency-plansMORE ABOUT JAMES- Host: James Bissell, founder of The Revenue Enabler- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-bissell1/- Website: https://www.therevenueenabler.comMORE ABOUT NICK- Guest: Nick Pegram, Enterprise Sales and GTM Lead, EMEA at Workera- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/1nickpegram/- Watch Nick's first episode, Coaching the Coaches: https://www.therevenueenabler.com/videos/coaching-the-coaches

Everyone has the same AI now. Which means everyone's outbound is starting to sound exactly the same. So how do you actually stand out?In this episode, James Bissell is joined by two of The Revenue Enabler team, Emma Paton (Helt) and Salva Jimenez, who turn the tables and put the questions to James. The theme: AI slop versus human selling, and why leaning into the human side of the job is becoming the sharpest differentiator a seller has.If your team has AI licences but no real lift in win rate or pipeline, this conversation will show you where it's going wrong.KEY THEMES- AI slop vs human selling as a differentiator- Why teams repeat the 2017 sales tech mistake with AI- Using AI to improve execution, not just automate it- Practical AI use cases: Prompt Cowboy, custom GPTs, projects- Vibe coding your own sales tools without buying bloat- Why video is becoming a top outbound channel- In-person workshops to multi-thread and build consensus- Why AI is eroding critical thinking and how to protect it- Financial storytelling and building buyer confidence- The small human touches that win six-figure dealsMORE ABOUT JAMES- Host: James Bissell, founder of The Revenue Enabler- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-bissell1/- Website: https://www.therevenueenabler.comMORE ABOUT EMMA- Guest: Emma Paton (Helt), The Revenue Enabler- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmabpaton/MORE ABOUT SALVA- Guest: Salva Jimenez, The Revenue Enabler- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/salvajimenez/

The trait that makes or breaks a sales team is the one almost nobody hires for. And the fifteen minutes that separate an average deal from a won one is the bit most reps skip.This week on Hit Your Numbers, we're handing over to Field Notes, the podcast from James Bissell and Richard Washington covering what they're seeing in the go-to-market world that week. Two topics, straight from the field.If you hire, coach, or carry a number, this one is packed with things you can use this week.Subscribe to Field Notes wherever you get your podcasts.KEY THEMES- Collaboration as a hiring criteria- Why 89% of mishires are attitude, not skill- Compliant vs cooperative vs collaborative culture- Assessing candidates by treating hiring as a sales process- Defining core behaviours and anti-values before you hire- Just-in-time coaching and the pre-call plan- Using AI to prep and scenario plan a deal- Known problems vs root cause in discovery- Financial storytelling to build buyer confidence- Why saying no to a deal wins respectMORE ABOUT JAMES- Host: James Bissell, founder of The Revenue Enabler- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-bissell1/- Website: https://www.therevenueenabler.comMORE ABOUT RICH- Host: Richard Washington- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richwash/

Scaling an enterprise sales team isn't about beanbags, ping pong, or the latest tool.In this episode, James Bissell sits down with Chris Colley, VP of Global Sales at Attest, to break down what actually holds up when you scale: a culture built on learning, a clear hiring bar, coaching that happens on the job, and a prospecting engine that still works in the age of AI. KEY THEMES- Sales culture built on learning and psychological safety, not perks- Mastery Monday: turning team meetings into enablement sessions- Enterprise AE hiring: motivation, self-sourced pipeline, handling complexity- Managing out the wrong hire early and avoiding surprise exits- Micro promotions as a talent attraction and retention strategy- Using MEDDIC to run deal reviews, not as a checkbox exercise- Sales call prep and why it separates good AEs from great ones- Discounting vs deal construction in enterprise negotiation- Why outbound prospecting isn't dead and AE-led prospecting wins- PG Tuesdays: dedicating a full day to pipeline generation- How AI will reshape the AE role and why context is everythingMORE ABOUT JAMES- Host: James Bissell, founder of The Revenue Enabler- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-bissell1/- Website: https://www.therevenueenabler.comMORE ABOUT CHRIS- Guest: Christopher Colley, VP of Global Sales at Attest- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chriscol/

Most teams define their ICP as a size, a sector, and a location, then wonder why the pipeline is thin. In this clip from the Hit Your Numbers episode "Drive More Pipeline With SDR And AE Pods", James Bissell and Simon Edmunds break down what a genuinely strong ICP looks like, how BeyondTrust rebuilt theirs by analysing over 1,800 closed lost deals with AI, and why getting the account right is only half the job.KEY THEMES- Where are we winning, why are we winning, and how are we winning: the questions that started the rebuild- Analysing over 1,800 closed lost deals from the previous two years using AI and sales ops- Matching the data against Gartner and the Forrester Wave to plot the ideal customer profile- Why taking ICP priority one opportunities to AEs drives more engagement and cleaner deals- How 85% of opportunities now sit inside the ICP across commercial and enterprise- The HR headcount signal that drove 50% win rates and why the classic ICP definition isn't enough- Moving from a list of 500 accounts to the best 50 using ICP and intent signals- Why you have to get the persona and the message right, above the line, on the line, and below the lineMORE ABOUT JAMES- Host: James Bissell, founder of The Revenue Enabler- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-bissell1/- Website: https://www.therevenueenabler.comMORE ABOUT SIMON- Guest: Simon Edmunds, Senior Manager at BeyondTrust- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-edmunds/

Everyone is racing to put AI into their sales process. Most are using it to dodge the one part of the job that actually makes them money. In this clip from the Hit Your Numbers episode "Will AI Replace Sales Reps?", James Bissell and Mike Pritchett get into where AI is being deployed the wrong way right now, and why trying to automate your way out of the hard part of sales will catch up with you fast.KEY THEMES- Why using AI to avoid calls, conversations, and relationships is a mistake that shows up in next quarter's numbers- The difference between using AI for admin so you can sell more, and using it to sell less- Why "let me ChatGPT that for you" is the new "let me Google that for you"- The rabbit hole trap: how AI convinces you that you can build a rocket step by step, and why salespeople who aren't coders should be careful- How James built James GPT, an AI twin trained on MEDDIC and The Champion Playbook that coaches him out loud before an economic buyer meetingMORE ABOUT JAMES- Host: James Bissell, founder of The Revenue Enabler- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-bissell1/- Website: https://www.therevenueenabler.comMORE ABOUT MIKE- Guest: Mike Pritchett- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-pritchett/