Panelists pictured above:

• Robert Callaci (TransUnion – Senior Vice President of Sales)
• Kevin Hooper (Lenovo – President of the Data Center Group)
• Jonathan Leaf (Amazon Web Services – Area Sales Leader, Central US & Private Equity)
• John Thackston (SOAR Performance Group – Vice President, Business Development)

Listen to or download the audio from the meeting:

We appreciate everyone that came out to the meeting. A big thank you to our panel for their perspectives on optimizing the sales coverage model to best engage prospects and customers. Here is a list of questions discussed at the event:

• One of the areas where we are seeing a lot of discussion across our communities is the topic of sales coverage. How does your organization define your market and allocate resources to cover the market?
• What are some of the initiatives that you have put in place to better optimize sales coverage?
• One of the big drivers that we are seeing impacting sales coverage is customer buying preferences. What kind of changes are you seeing in your market as it relates to how customers prefer to buy?
• What types of initiatives have you put in place to better cover your market and align with these changing expectations? (examples might include: inside sales, alliances/partners, redefining market segments and roles, etc.)
• How have you measured the success of different sales coverage initiatives?
• What have you seen that differentiates sales coverage changes that drove strong business impact vs. those that haven’t?
• What recommendations would you make to other sales leaders as they think about enhancing or evolving their coverage model?

Finally, thank you to our hosts for the meeting, DePaul University’s Center for Sales Leadership.

Panelists pictured above (left to right):

• John Thackston (SOAR Performance Group, Vice President, Client Engagements)
• Dr. Rich Rocco (DePaul University, Assistant Professor)
• Matt Forcey (SaaS, Senior Vice President of Sales)
• Joe Super (Shearer’s Snacks, Senior Vice President of Sales)

We appreciate everyone that came out to the September 28 meeting. We would like to send a big thank you to our panel for their perspectives on changes in customer decision making and the impact on sales organizations. Here is a list of questions discussed at the event:

• How is customer decision making changing in your market?
• Who is involved in purchasing decisions now that wasn’t 5 or even 3 years ago?
• How are these changes impacting your sales team?
• What kinds of initiatives are you putting in place to deal with these changes in decision making?
• What are some of the pitfalls or ‘gotchas’ that you would suggest other sales leaders watch out for as they deal with changing decision making processes?
• How are you tailoring your sales experience to deal with new and changing stakeholders in the decision process?
• What other advice would you give to other sales leaders that are looking to better address changing decision making processes within their customers?

Finally, thank you to our hosts for the meeting, DePaul University’s Center for Sales Leadership.

Panelists pictured above:

• John Thackston (SOAR Performance Group, Vice President, Client Engagements)
• Shane Trigg  (Salesforce, SVP, Marketing Cloud)
• Debbie Schmidt (IDS Group, SVP, Sales and Marketing
• Pat Loridas (Optum, National VP, Enterprise Employer Market)

We appreciate everyone that came out to the May 10 meeting. We would like to send a big thank you to our panel of sales executives for their senior executive perspectives on sales enablement. Here is a list of questions discussed at the event:

• Thinking about the generational make-up of your sales team, how has it changed from 5-10 years ago?
• What has been the impact of these changes on your role as a Sales Leader?
• How are you leveraging each generation’s skills and strengths to enhance your overall selling efforts?
• What types of approaches have you deployed to achieve the best results for your sales team?
• What advice would you give to others on how to best address similar changes within their sales team?

Finally, thank you to our hosts for the meeting, DePaul University’s Center for Sales Leadership.

Panelists pictured above:

• John Thackston (SOAR Performance Group, Vice President, Client Engagements)
• Barry Dixon (Acuity Brands, VP Sales, Holophane and Utility Channels)
• Charlie Thackston (SOAR Performance Group, President, Co-founder of the Sales Leadership Community)
• Daniel Barrett (Micro Focus, ITOM VP of Sales, Enterprise IT Software)

We appreciate everyone that came out to the March 02 meeting. We would like to send a big thank you to our panel of sales executives for their senior executive perspectives on sales enablement. Here is a list of questions discussed at the event:

• What does sales enablement mean to you and your organization?
• Which functions are involved in sales enablement and how do you manage handoffs between groups?
• At your company, what types of sales enablement initiatives have you put in place?
• Of these initiatives, which have been the most impactful and what results have you seen?
• Why do some sales enablement initiatives drive greater results than others?
• As you are making investments in sales enablement initiatives, how do you evaluate the ROI?

Finally, thank you to our hosts for the meeting, DePaul University’s Center for Sales Leadership.

Thank you to everyone that came out to the September 15th meeting. Special thanks to the our panel of sales and marketing leaders that provided valuable perspectives and advice on aligning sales and marketing to drive results. Finally, thank you to our hosts for the meeting, DePaul University’s Center for Sales Leadership.

Panelists pictured:

• Jim Grass (VP, Public Sector Sales for Zones)
• Mike Finke (General Manager for Medco Sports Medicine)
• Phyllis Millikan (SVP, Career Management for Right Management)
• John Thackston (VP, Client Engagements for SOAR Performance Group)