Winning With Indirect Sales: Driving Results Through Third-Party Partners w/ John Rosati
Building Your Sales Engine
How to build a repeatable channel sales engine—from partner selection to enablement to metrics—with a 30-year channel sales veteran. Selling through channel partners without a system feels like that old vibrating football game—everyone's running around hoping to score. John Rosati has spent 30 years building channel sales engines that create predictable revenue, and in this episode, he reveals exactly how he does it. As a channel sales leader at Motorola with experience across distribution, manufacturers reps, and two-tier channels, John knows what separates successful channel programs...
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Dissolving Limiting Beliefs: The Neuroscience of Getting Unstuck Fast w/ Rochelle Carrington
Building Your Sales Engine
Why traditional therapy can make emotional triggers worse—and how neuroscience-based techniques dissolve limiting beliefs in minutes, not years. What if reliving your past trauma actually makes it stronger? Rochelle Carrington explains why traditional approaches to emotional healing can deepen the very patterns you're trying to break—and reveals a faster, neuroscience-based alternative. As a coach specializing in subconscious emotional patterns, Rochelle works with CEOs, business owners, and high achievers who look successful on the outside but are burnt out inside. In this episode with...
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Beyond Your Main POC: Build New Relationships That Protect Your Accounts w/ Josh Pitchford
Building Your Sales Engine
How to expand relationships in your accounts, identify all the influencers, and protect yourself before your main contact leaves or competitors wedge in. If you're only talking to one person in your account, you're one resignation away from losing everything. Josh Pitchford reveals why the "best defense is a good offense" when it comes to account relationships—and shares practical frameworks for expanding higher, deeper, and wider. As a Sandler trainer and coach at Sales Engine, Josh helps sales teams protect and grow their key accounts through strategic relationship building. In this...
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How to Lead When You Don't Manage: Influence, Trust & Career Growth w/ Darryl Stromberg
Building Your Sales Engine
How to build influence and lead without a title—from an individual contributor to recognized leader in your organization. Can you be a leader without managing anyone? Absolutely. Darryl Stromberg reveals exactly how to position yourself as a leader even when no one reports to you. As a Sandler Coach at Sales Engine with 30+ years of experience, Darryl knows what separates people who get promoted from those who get stuck. In this episode, he shares the strategies that helped him mentor 18 people—16 of whom earned promotions, above-average raises, or recognition as top performers. You'll...
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Setting Vision With Your Sales Team: Making SKOs Work w/ Lisa Gosselin
Building Your Sales Engine
How to run sales kickoffs that actually work—align, enable, inspire—from a CCO who's transformed 3+ organizations. Most sales kickoffs overwhelm teams with content and drain energy by day three. Lisa Gosselin has cracked the code on SKOs that inspire action, not confusion. As Chief Commercial Officer at Cars Commerce, Lisa has transformed go-to-market organizations at three different companies—and she's phenomenal at setting vision. In this conversation with Mark McGraw, she breaks down her SKO framework: align the team around vision, enable them with simple playbooks (not 100-page...
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Mindset During Adversity: Turning Brain Cancer Into a Blessing w/ David Karp
Building Your Sales Engine
How a brain cancer diagnosis became the best thing that ever happened—and what it teaches us about responding to adversity in business and life. "It was one of the best things that ever happened to me." That's how David Karp describes his brain cancer diagnosis—and he means it. On his 60th birthday, David got a call from a neuro-oncologist confirming he had a tumor in his brain. Instead of falling into despair, he made a choice—and that choice changed everything. In this conversation with Mark McGraw, David shares the mindset shifts that helped him navigate adversity: deciding it's not...
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Quality Over Quantity: Prospect with Purpose w/ Rich Simons
Building Your Sales Engine
How to build a sustainable sales career by prioritizing quality prospecting, strategic partnerships, and giving value—without burning out on empty activity. 🔗 Download exclusive sales resources at: Most salespeople start their careers chasing numbers—60, 70, 80 dials a day—hoping volume will lead to wins. Rich Simons did exactly that. But 17 years later, he's built a thriving sales career by flipping the script: quality over quantity, relationships over transactions, and giving over taking. In this conversation with Mark McGraw, Rich shares his journey from cold-calling burnout to...
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Q4 Urgency: Fewer Selling Days, Faster Decisions w/ Josh Pitchford
Building Your Sales Engine
Why Q4 isn’t 92 selling days — and how to keep deals from slipping to January. 🔗 Download exclusive sales resources at: The calendar says 92 days in Q4. The reality? Subtract weekends, holidays, PTO, and slowdowns in legal and purchasing — and you’ve got a fraction of that. In this conversation, Mark McGraw and Sandler trainer Josh Pitchford map out how to close strong when time is short: Count your real selling days and plan around them Start earlier — budgets are set sooner every year Get higher in the organization to accelerate decisions Map the path to the PO:...
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Manage the Exceptions: Build the Right Sales Dials w/ Chris Blum
Building Your Sales Engine
How to build validated sales dashboards, manage exceptions, and make better decisions—without flying by gut feel. To find our handout for this episode, click . Static reports are lagging. In this conversation, Mark McGraw and Chris Blum (EH Blum Company) walk through moving from canned outputs to interactive, validated dashboards. Start simple (revenue, mix, low-margin drivers), manage the exceptions, hunt the 1% margin gains, and use leading vs. lagging indicators to forecast. Chris shares a private-pilot “six dials” framework (trust instruments, not feel), how to...
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How to Use Assessments to Hire & Coach Sales Teams w/ Rachel Chang
Building Your Sales Engine
How to hire, place, and coach sellers with assessments—so you avoid hunter/farmer mis-hires and reduce burnout. Assessments aren’t paperwork—they’re how you hire better, place smarter, and coach faster. Mark McGraw and Rachel Chang break down using work style/DISC, personality, sales capacity, and object reasoning assessments to prevent bad hires, align roles with natural strengths, and target training where it moves the needle. Interviews show experience; assessments reveal potential and capacity. 🔗 Download exclusive sales resources at: Guest: Rachel Chang — Project and...
info_outlineMark McGraw sits down with Scott Foernsler to discuss what it really takes to sell to the C-suite. They talk about building champions inside a company, how to stand out in sales events, and ways to have real, effective conversations with top execs like CMOs and CEOs. Scott shares stories from the field, lessons on trust, and what most salespeople miss when trying to land big deals.
To find our handout for this episode, click here.
Tune in to hear how to break through the noise, connect with decision-makers, and close deals faster.
- Scott starts by sharing why sales success is never a solo achievement. The right support team—both personal and professional—makes all the difference.
- Mark explains why selling is a team sport—until you miss your number. When things are going well, everyone celebrates the team. But when results dip, it can become about solo performance real quick.
- Scott breaks down what most people get wrong about events. They sit quietly in the back and hope something happens. The real connections come from showing up, asking questions, and putting yourself out there.
- How to stand out at events: Stop asking business questions and instead ask something that makes people smile or think. That spark of authenticity is what gets you remembered.
- Scott shares how a single personal question at an event led to a CEO-level meeting. Asking authentic and relevant questions is how you earn time with high-level decision makers.
- Why trust matters more than charm in enterprise sales. A client once told Scott, “I trust you not to fail me.” That kind of confidence is not built through slick talk—it’s earned through delivering on your promises.
- Scott shares one of his boldest sales questions: “What would get me fired?” It instantly uncovers what the client really values and opens the door to the kind of honesty that moves deals forward.
- Mark explains why brand promises only matter if you deliver. It sounds obvious, but most sellers fall short after closing a deal. Real credibility comes from doing exactly what you said you would.
- Scott breaks down the importance of upfront contracts. When you clearly define what success looks like, you avoid confusion later.
- Why Scott says clicks are the wrong thing to measure when analyzing ad performance. Impressions don’t mean anything if they don’t convert.
- How to turn happy clients into your best salespeople. Peer validation carries more weight than any sales deck ever could. When you tell the story of how you helped them, the deal moves faster.
- Scott shares his referral strategy. He delivers value first—then asks for an intro only when it makes sense. That’s how you build a warm, high-trust referral tree.
- How to stay top of mind without being annoying. Scott calls his contacts once a quarter—or even once a year—to check in. That small gesture keeps relationships strong over time.
- Scott shares why sitting in the back of the room at events is a missed opportunity. If your company is investing in you, act like you belong up front. Visibility leads to connection—and connection leads to deals.
- Why Scott avoids drowning people in product features. Buyers don’t want a list—they want a story. Show them how real problems have been solved, and they’ll pay attention.
- Mark explains why your champion is your best sales asset. When they’re pitching your product in meetings you’re not in, you’ve already won. That kind of advocacy closes deals faster.
- Scott reveals how he uses AI in his sales processes. It won’t replace your skill, but it will save you serious time. What can take five days now takes minutes with AI.
- Mark breaks down what separates great sellers from everyone else. When everybody else is focused on pitching, the best reps walk in with insights, actionable tips, and relatable problem-solving stories.
- Scott shares why in-person meetings still matter—especially at the C-suite. Nobody spends millions without knowing who they’re buying from. So show up, shake hands, and build trust faster.
- Mark explains why everyone in the room now has influence. The number of people who can say no has doubled. So treat every voice like it matters—because it does.
Mentioned in This Episode:
BuildingYourSalesEngine.com/follow
BuildingYourSalesEngine.com/sandler
Scott Foernsler on LinkedIn
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Building Your Sales Engine on Linktree