The Adapter’s Advantage: Breakthrough Moments that Lead to Success

In this episode of The Adapter’s Advantage podcast, host Deniz Olcay, Vice President of Marketing at Allego, steps in for Mark Magnacca to welcome the multi-faceted Sam Richter. Sam, a bestselling author, hall-of-fame speaker, and innovative technology entrepreneur, delves into the groundbreaking realm of generative AI and its profound impact on sales and technology. With a career that spans delivering keynote presentations globally and developing AI-driven technologies, Sam shares his expert insights on the rapid evolution of these tools and their capabilities to transform sales practices.

In this episode of The Adapter's Advantage podcast, host Deniz Olcay, Vice President of Marketing at Allego, steps in for Mark Magnacca to welcome the multi-faceted Sam Richter. Sam, a bestselling author, hall-of-fame speaker, and innovative technology entrepreneur, delves into the groundbreaking realm of generative AI and its profound impact on sales and technology. With a career that spans delivering keynote presentations globally and developing AI-driven technologies, Sam shares his expert insights on the rapid evolution of these tools and their capabilities to transform sales practices.

In Episode 62 of The Adapter’s Advantage podcast Hannah Ajikawo, Founder of Revenue Funnel, shares her insights into fixing the broken B2B buying experience. Discover how sales enablement can help buyers and the challenges faced by high-growth organizations. Explore strategies for value creation and service-oriented selling, including the power of Digital Sales Rooms (DSRs). Hannah created Revenue Funnel to push the boundaries of what’s possible and accepted in B2B organizations. She is obsessed with rethinking the ways organizations can continuously deliver value to their customers. A Mum, a Go-to-market Strategy Consultant, and an experienced sales leader. Hannah recently led the EMEA business at Skaled, building out global onboarding, training, and enablement programs for high-growth organizations.

In Episode 62 of The Adapter’s Advantage podcast Hannah Ajikawo, Founder of Revenue Funnel, shares her insights into fixing the broken B2B buying experience. Discover how sales enablement can help buyers and the challenges faced by high-growth organizations. Explore strategies for value creation and service-oriented selling, including the power of Digital Sales Rooms (DSRs). Hannah created Revenue Funnel to push the boundaries of what’s possible and accepted in B2B organizations. She is obsessed with rethinking the ways organizations can continuously deliver value to their customers. A Mum, a Go-to-market Strategy Consultant, and an experienced sales leader. Hannah recently led the EMEA business at Skaled, building out global onboarding, training, and enablement programs for high growth organizations.

Join host Mark Magnacca in a dynamic conversation with Alycia Anderson, the Senior Director of Sales Enablement and People Development at Total Expert, a remarkable leader with a track record of academic excellence. Alycia's impressive journey blends her expertise in people development, sales enablement, organizational development, employee engagement, and team performance, all of which reflect her deep passion for continuous learning and employee growth. With over 15 years of successful experience in delivering award-winning programs and fostering opportunities for individuals to excel in their careers, Alycia is a true advocate for creating the best possible employee experiences. In this episode, Alycia shares her transformative vision and leadership style that has reshaped the landscape of sales enablement at Total Expert. She draws on her academic background, specializing in educational psychology, to design learning experiences tailored to how adults learn best. Alycia's approach focuses on enhancing the mental, emotional, and physical experiences of learners, ensuring that information is not just absorbed but effectively applied. Discover how Alycia's visionary perspective aligns with Total Expert's goals, allowing her to develop a comprehensive enablement strategy that bridges gaps and drives the company toward its objectives. Furthermore, Alycia dives into the importance of data-driven decision-making, highlighting the exceptional insights gained from a comprehensive modern revenue enablement solution. With detailed analytics and reporting, Alycia and her team can identify what's working and what needs improvement, enabling them to continuously refine their approach and deliver impactful solutions.

In this episode, meet Mark Lonzo, the driving force behind a transformative shift in sales enablement at The Hillman Group. Discover how Mark's leadership and vision have reshaped the sales landscape within his organization. Mark Lonzo explains how he recognized the need for change when faced with the challenges of outdated learning management systems and fragmented information access. He takes you through his process of researching and evaluating sales enablement solutions to help drive future growth. Explore the tangible benefits of embracing a digital sales room (DSR) approach, where quick access to information and resources becomes a game-changer for both customers and employees. Mark Lonzo shares real-world examples of how DSRs have revolutionized customer follow-up, delivering instant access to valuable content. Mark shares the importance of a user-friendly interface and mobile capabilities to help elevate The Hillman Group's sales teams to access critical information on the go, leading to improved efficiency and better customer interactions. Listen in to gain insights into Mark’s successful journey in enabling future-proof sales strategies and fostering an enhanced employee and buyer experience. Show Notes: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-lonzo-93644122/

Join host Mark Magnacca in a dynamic conversation with Alycia Anderson, the Senior Director of Sales Enablement and People Development at Total Expert, a remarkable leader with a track record of academic excellence. Alycia's impressive journey blends her expertise in people development, sales enablement, organizational development, employee engagement, and team performance, all of which reflect her deep passion for continuous learning and employee growth. With over 15 years of successful experience in delivering award-winning programs and fostering opportunities for individuals to excel in their careers, Alycia is a true advocate for creating the best possible employee experiences. In this episode, Alycia shares her transformative vision and leadership style that has reshaped the landscape of sales enablement at Total Expert. She draws on her academic background, specializing in educational psychology, to design learning experiences tailored to how adults learn best. Alycia's approach focuses on enhancing the mental, emotional, and physical experiences of learners, ensuring that information is not just absorbed but effectively applied. Discover how Alycia's visionary perspective aligns with Total Expert's goals, allowing her to develop a comprehensive enablement strategy that bridges gaps and drives the company toward its objectives. Furthermore, Alycia dives into the importance of data-driven decision-making, highlighting the exceptional insights gained from a comprehensive modern revenue enablement solution. With detailed analytics and reporting, Alycia and her team can identify what's working and what needs improvement, enabling them to continuously refine their approach and deliver impactful solutions.

In this episode, meet Mark Lonzo, the driving force behind a transformative shift in sales enablement at The Hillman Group. Discover how Mark's leadership and vision have reshaped the sales landscape within his organization. Mark Lonzo explains how he recognized the need for change when faced with the challenges of outdated learning management systems and fragmented information access. He takes you through his process of researching and evaluating sales enablement solutions to help drive future growth. Explore the tangible benefits of embracing a digital sales room (DSR) approach, where quick access to information and resources becomes a game-changer for both customers and employees. Mark Lonzo shares real-world examples of how DSRs have revolutionized customer follow-up, delivering instant access to valuable content. Mark shares the importance of a user-friendly interface and mobile capabilities to help elevate The Hillman Group's sales teams to access critical information on the go, leading to improved efficiency and better customer interactions. Listen in to gain insights into Mark’s successful journey in enabling future-proof sales strategies and fostering an enhanced employee and buyer experience. Show Notes: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-lonzo-93644122/

During his career, performance driver and celebrity drummer Mark Schulman discovered that no matter what your role, you are critical to your group’s success. Whether you’re a supportive member or the star on stage, you bring something to the team that no one else can provide. And when everyone respects the importance and the validity of everybody else, your team’s ability is limitless. Schulman has worked with artists such as P!NK!, Cher, and Billy Idol, performing for sold-out audiences all over the world. Those experiences revealed to him how powerful your attitude is to achieving success. You may not be able to control what happens to you, but you have the power to control your attitude about what happens to you. And your attitude can drive many behaviors. Schulman is also a music producer, trained audio engineer, and co-owner of West Triad Recording Studio. In addition, he has taught at the Los Angeles Music Academy and is a highly sought drum clinician, hosting clinics in countries around the world. Show Notes https://www.markschulman.com https://www.markschulman.com/the-musician https://www.markschulman.com/the-author

Joe Sabatino, founder of BehindTheTalk, has a unique background that spans Hollywood, corporate America, and professional sports. Over his career, he has honed proven methods of persuasion to help CEOs and other executives refine their public speaking skills and become more effective and influential. As a media trainer and public speaking coach, Joe has created a template for success that allows each executive to create a lasting impression on their audience while staying true to their personal style, brand, and individuality. His passion is to inspire his clients to become the most effective and influential communicators they can be. One of Joe's many successes was pitching and producing his network television series "Necessary Roughness" to Sony Pictures and the USA Television network. The studio and network invested over $85 million in the series, which was nominated for a Golden Globe and won a 2012 Voice Award. Joe has worked with NBC Universal, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, ESPN, HBO Sports, Showtime, Amazon, Google, Oracle. IBM Watson, Facebook and Microsoft. Show Notes https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-sabatino/ https://www.behindthetalk.net/ https://www.behindthetalk.net/bio/ https://calendly.com/joe-behindthetalk/30min https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necessary_Roughness_(TV_series)

Marilyn Pearson Hendricks, MBA is the co-founder & managing partner of WorkTech Advisory, a global consultancy specializing in the Human Resources and Work Tech sector. The firm helps SaaS companies unlock the full market potential of the investment they have made in their technology Marilyn has over 20 years of senior leadership, strategy, sales, marketing, alliances, and subject matter expert experience. She has dedicated her career to advancing the technology, processes, and mindset that support innovative people management used by organizations across the globe. Marilyn began her career as an HR practitioner, where she focused on digital transformation, change management, and business process redesign She now helps clients achieve their revenue and growth goals, specializing in strategic repositioning, pivots, opening new revenue streams, geographic expansion, and full-stack go-to market. Her experience spans numerous HR SaaS providers including Cornerstone OnDemand, Peoplefluent/Vector VMS/Affirmity (now LTG portfolio), Lawson Software (acquired by Infor) along with global HR strategic leadership consultancy PDI Ninth House (acquired by Korn Ferry) and SAP SuccessFactors implementation firm 3D Results (acquired by Rizing). Show Notes https://www.linkedin.com/in/marilynpearsonhendricks/ https://www.worktechadvisory.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/worktech-advisory/

Melissa Finnegan possesses a broad depth of experience that comes from 25 years of service in the financial services industry. She currently serves as VP, Learning and Development at Lincoln Financial Distributors, Inc. In this capacity, Melissa and her team are responsible for conducting product, sales and technology training for all employees, which includes training on Lincoln’s annuity, long term care, life and small market retirement plan businesses. Her team supports individuals and teams in developing the skills and behaviors they need to achieve high performance and growth for the role they are taking, the role they are in, and the role that they want. Melissa has a B.A. in English from Pennsylvania State University. She is licensed in Life, Accident, and Health, and holds FINRA Series 6, 7, 26, 63, and 65. She is a certified instructor of SPIN Selling and holds the Certified Business Coach designation. She also has her black belt in Kenpo karate. Show Notes https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-finnegan-34802914/ https://www.lincolnfinancial.com/public/professionals https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Kenpo

Emily Mason is a senior learning strategist specializing in sales training at ResMed. ResMed is a pioneer of solutions that treat and keep people out of the hospital, empowering them to live healthier, higher-quality lives. Its cloud-connected medical devices transform care for people with sleep apnea, COPD and other chronic diseases. Emily has over 10 years of experience in medtech and pharmaceutical sales and sales training. Prior to joining ResMed, she held positions as a sales trainer at LEO pharma and sales roles at Pfizer and King pharmaceuticals. According to StrengthsFinder, her number one strength is “Futuristic”. Emily holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Northern Kentucky University. Show Notes https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-mason-36534726/ https://www.resmed.com/en-us/ https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/254033/strengthsfinder.aspx

William Harmon is chief client officer for Voya Financial. In his role, Harmon leads the health and wealth sales, distribution and relationship management teams at Voya. He and his team support Voya’s efforts to deliver holistic solutions that help employers and their employees address their health and wealth needs and achieve greater financial wellness. He also serves on Voya’s Enterprise Leadership Team. Prior to this role, Harmon oversaw all aspects of Voya’s Corporate Markets business, which includes 401(k) and non-qualified plans. Harmon was responsible for sales, relationship management, strategy and profitable growth for all segments of the market. Prior to joining Voya in 2017, Harmon served as senior vice president, Core Markets, for Empower Retirement. Outside of the workplace, Harmon has been very active with nonprofits that serve the special needs community, which is consistent with Voya’s own commitment to serve this community through its Voya Cares effort. This includes Adam’s Camp, a group of nonprofit organizations providing a variety of therapeutic programs for children with special needs and their families, the Special Olympics, Rocky Mountain Down Syndrome Association, and the Arc of The Farmington Valley (Favarh). Harmon holds a bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. Show Notes https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-harmon/ https://www.voya.com/ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-hire-thru-retire-podcast/id1559794591 https://adamscamp.org/ https://www.specialolympics.org/ https://www.rmdsa.org/ https://favarh.org/

Ken and Nick Valla are co-founders of The Valla Group, a sales effectiveness firm recognized as a modern sales training company. The Valla Group uses researched-based, proprietary content and an innovative, scalable approach to learning. Its customers include Amazon, Citrix, Autodesk, BASF, Avaya, Dekra, Siemens, Anthem, Crowe, and Verizon. Ken Valla is president of The Valla Group. With 30 years of experience in sales, sales management, and sales strategy consulting, Ken specializes in B2B selling to help companies transform and maximize the results of their sales organization. Ken has sold and implemented over $80M in sales effectiveness solutions and worked with over fifty Fortune 500 companies. Ken’s projects have helped these customers to measurably improve sales performance resulting in millions of dollars of return on investment. Nick is vice president of strategic sales at The Valla Group. With over 10 years of experience in sales, Nick has been a high performing producer at every organization he has worked for. Prior to starting The Valla Group, Nick sold for Citrix Systems, Wilson Learning, and Allego, where he helped grow the company’s mid- market presence from startup to sales enablement leader. Show Notes https://thevallagroup.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/ken-valla-0b72b73/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-valla-72592828/ https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/b2b-sellers-need-sense-making-sales-strategy

Cheri Lytle is Managing Director, Head of Chase Wealth Management Advice and Strategy at JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. Cheri has an extensive track record of developing leaders and advisors, implementing organizational change, and managing merger and acquisition integrations. Cheri’s organization provides market insights, investment expertise, practice management, and tools to enable financial advisors to help clients achieve their financial goals. Born a coal miner’s daughter in West Virginia, Cheri graduated from West Virginia University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Organizational Psychology and a Master’s degree in Business Human Resources & Labor Relations. Cheri began her career at General Electric Aircraft Engines, leading global systems initiatives across ten countries. She then held various leadership positions at Bank of America within bank branch operations, credit card, and small business. Prior to joining JP Morgan Chase, Cheri was head of advisor strategy and development at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, where she led the advisor development program for 3,500 advisor trainees and implemented practice management strategies for 15,000 financial advisors. Previously she led human resources and leadership development for Merrill Lynch. Show Notes https://www.linkedin.com/in/cheri-lytle-9503a0147/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/jpmorganchase/ https://www.jpmorganchase.com/ https://www.wvu.edu/

Sales influencer, keynote speaker, strategist, and author Lori Richardson runs the sales strategy firm Score More Sales, which helps company leaders in SaaS, tech, telecom, manufacturing, distribution, financial services and professional services solve sales issues and grow revenue. Lori founded Score More Sales in 2002 to help companies grow revenues through strategic sales efforts, using lessons learned from 20 years in B2B sales and leadership roles. Lori is the author of “She Sells,” written to help company executives and sales leaders find, recruit, retain, and promote more women into sales and leadership roles. She hosts the award-winning podcast, “Conversations with Women in Sales,” and is an expert worldwide on creating inclusive sales teams. Lori also is President of Women Sales Pros and the creator of the She Sells Summit. Show Notes https://www.scoremoresales.com/ https://twitter.com/scoremoresales https://www.linkedin.com/in/scoremoresales/ https://womensalespros.com/ https://womensalespros.com/podcast/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/sales-secret-book/

Ryan Thompson, Senior Director, Global Sales Training at Medtronic, has twenty-two years of experience in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries. He is a seasoned executive and people leader of international teams and large-scale change initiatives. Currently, Ryan leads the Surgical Innovations global learning innovations team that is focused on identifying, piloting, and implementing the latest technologies used in the learning and development space. Ryan is a proud member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation and in 2019 founded the Medtronic American Indian Employee Resource Group driving inclusion and diversity across the organization. Ryan is a co-founder of the VTA: Ventilator Training Alliance, which created a transformational ventilator training solution during the pandemic. The VTA app provides a free multi-vendor library of training and product materials for medical professionals. As a result of this work, he received a 2020 Global IT Award, 2020 International Stevie Award, and the 2021 Medtronic Star of Excellence Award. Ryan received his B.S. in Science Business from the University of Notre Dame. Show Notes: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-thompson-a24b2a93/ https://www.medtronic.com/ https://www.potawatomi.org/ https://www.medtronic.com/covidien/en-us/ventilator-training-alliance.html https://www.allego.com/ventilator-training-alliance/

Todd Hartley is the rockstar of remote selling, video marketing, and sales optimization. He’s one of Tony Robbins’ Business Mastery faculty speakers and delivers high-octane keynotes all over the world. His track record of being years ahead of his industry is why billion-dollar companies, celebrities, and world leaders hire him to develop their sales and marketing strategies. Some of his clients include 23andMe, Justin Timberlake, MD Anderson, The Home Depot, and an American President. Todd’s tactics earned his ROI-focused video, marketing, and sales optimization agency, WireBuzz, a spot on Inc 5000’s list as one of the fastest-growing privately held businesses in America in 2020. Growing up, Todd struggled with dyslexia and attention disorders. Today, Todd is a proud alumnus of the University of Arizona, an advisor to the Chairman of the President’s Cancer Panel, and a board member for the American Society of Breast Surgeons. He is also a member of the SALT Center advisory board — University of Arizona’s academic support program for students with learning disabilities and attention disorders. From 2003 to 2007, Todd led digital marketing campaigns for ClearChannel & iHeart Radio. Todd’s early prioritization of video as a business tool catapulted his career as a digital marketer, agency owner, and keynote speaker. Show Notes: https://toddhartley.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/videotodd/ https://www.wirebuzz.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/Wirebuzz/featured https://mobile.twitter.com/thetoddhartley

Jon Ferrara is a serial entrepreneur, CRM pioneer, speaker, and leader in the relationship economy, which is the foundation of social selling and modern-day sales. He's been recognized by Forbes as one of the Top 10 Social CEOs, one of the Top 10 Social Salespeople in the World, and one of the Top 100 Marketing Influencers. Ferrara is the founder and CEO of Nimble, an award-winning social sales and marketing CRM for individuals and teams. He launched Nimble to help people nurture their personal and business relationships across email and social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Nimble is ranked #1 in Overall Satisfaction by G2 Crowd. He’s best known as the co-founder of GoldMine Software Corp, one of the first Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platforms for Small to Medium sized Businesses (SMBs). In 1999, Goldmine was acquired by FrontRange. Ferrara is an advisor to multiple start-ups and established companies. He also donates time to local business colleges and entrepreneurial programs including the Entrepreneurial Program at USC Marshall School of Business. Show Notes: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonvferrara/ https://twitter.com/Jon_Ferrara https://www.nimble.com/ https://www.goldmine.com/