Sharing bold Insights that position you as a guide, not a seller
Release Date: 05/22/2025
EQ vs AI - Why emotional beats artificial intelligence
Sales Today
Uncover the secret to achieving consistent sales success by enhancing your emotional intelligence. Join me, Fred Copestake, as I engage with James White, an experienced sales mentor and trainer, to explore how Daniel Goleman's five characteristics of emotional intelligence can revolutionise your sales approach. James passionately advocates for listening over pitching and stresses the importance of truly understanding client needs to foster genuine connections. Our goal is to help you achieve consistent sales results, reduce stress, and enjoy a more balanced life. ...
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Why Most LinkedIn Training Fails B2B Salespeople (and What Works Instead)
Sales Today
In this episode of Sales Today, I am joined by Brad Eather, a digital communications consultant and the creator of the Digital Sales Mastery framework. Brad shares why LinkedIn should be treated as a communications tool rather than a marketing broadcast channel, and how salespeople can use it to connect with the right people in the right way. The conversation explores the difference between influencers and business professionals, showing how salespeople can move from passively consuming content to engaging and producing it in a way that attracts the right audience. ...
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How I sold myself into a new job
Sales Today
What if a sudden layoff could lead to the career transition of a lifetime? Meet Luis Alan, who after twenty years in IT, found himself navigating the thrilling world of tech sales at Deel. Through his personal journey from technical support in Costa Rica to unexpected roles on cruise ships, Luis turned a layoff in the oil and gas industry into a springboard for success in sales. He shares how LinkedIn became his secret weapon and how skills acquired from IT played an essential role in reinventing his career path. The episode unpacks the art of career...
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Tech in Sales: Having the right conversations
Sales Today
In this third episode of the Sales Today podcast miniseries, sales tech expert Hanneke Vogels shifts the focus to how technology can elevate the right conversations with prospects and customers. From virtual calls to face-to-face meetings, the discussion centres on using tech to prepare more intentionally, uncover fresh angles, and deliver conversations that help buyers think in new ways. Hanneke highlights the often-overlooked art of meeting preparation - knowing your objective, anticipating the customer’s goals, and having well-crafted questions ready. She...
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Tech in Sales: Driving the right outcomes
Sales Today
In this fifth and final episode of the Sales Today podcast miniseries, sales tech strategist Hanneke Vogels returns to wrap things up with Fred Copestake as they delve into the last part of the modern sales framework: delivering the right outcomes. But before they get there, the conversation begins with one of the most critical (and often messy) phases in sales: negotiation. Hanneke shares how tech can help streamline this complex process - from collaborative contract tools to AI-powered note-takers that analyse sentiment and conversation flow. They explore...
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Tech in Sales: Creating the right solutions
Sales Today
In this fourth episode of the Sales Today podcast miniseries, sales tech expert Hanneke Vogels joins Fred Copestake to explore the future of proposals, presentations, and how we bring solutions to life for buyers. Hanneke kicks things off with a strong rallying cry - “Death to the PDF!” - challenging the outdated way many salespeople still share proposals. She explains how today’s proposal tools and digital sales rooms allow sellers to create interactive, trackable micro-sites that not only look better but also provide rich data on buyer engagement. From...
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Tech in Sales: Doing the right research
Sales Today
In this second episode of the Sales Today podcast miniseries, Fred Copestake continues his conversation with sales tech expert Hanneke Vogels - this time addressing how modern technology can transform your research process before engaging with prospects. The focus is on understanding who you’re talking to, what they care about, and how to personalise outreach in meaningful ways using tools already at your fingertips. From mapping complex Decision Making Units (DMUs) to exploring individual communication styles with DISC-based AI profiling, this episode highlights how tech...
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Tech in Sales: Finding the right opportunities
Sales Today
Modern technology is reshaping how sales teams identify and qualify opportunities. In this conversation, Fred Copestake speaks with sales tech expert Hanneke Vogels to explore how tools like HubSpot’s Breeze and other sales intelligence platforms can help define and refine your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). They examine how existing customer data can reveal key patterns and shared traits, enabling teams to pinpoint lookalike companies and prioritise outreach more effectively. There's also a focus on how AI can support deeper customer understanding, allowing...
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Developing and using Partnering Skills - Procurement Special
Sales Today
This episode is a live recording of Fred Copestake’s show for the Alchemie Network, where he dives deeper into what makes true collaboration between sales and procurement work. Picking up from the last session on the evolution of sales, Fred explores selling through partnering skills – a practical approach to creating better, more productive relationships. With his usual energy, hard-won experience, and a few lighthearted moments, Fred unpacks six key elements of PQ (Partnering Intelligence) – the lesser-known but equally vital cousin of IQ and EQ. In this episode, you’ll...
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Sales Today Rewind – 15 Essentials For Your Sales Process
Sales Today
Too many sellers treat sales like a checklist. It’s not. Sales is a system - and when every part is strong, the whole thing works better. In this special recap episode, we take a step back to zoom out and review the 15 core skills, tools, and mindsets covered so far on Sales Today. Whether you're new to the series or have been with us since episode one, this is your chance to assess, reflect, and reset your approach to modern ethical selling. What’s Covered: • The 15 essential skills for modern B2B selling • Why sales isn’t just a series...
info_outlineToday’s buyers aren’t struggling with a lack of information -they’re overwhelmed by it.
Reports, webinars, emails, stats… it’s a constant barrage. But what they really need is someone who can help them cut through the noise and bring clarity to complexity.
In this episode of Sales Today, I explain what ‘insight’ actually means in modern B2B sales - and why it’s more than just sharing clever stats or flashy trends.
The conversation explores how sales professionals can shift from simply offering options to actually reframing how customers view their own challenges and opportunities.
I share a simple yet powerful framework - Trend, Impact, Action - that enables sellers to deliver insights that are timely, relevant, and genuinely useful.
I also share actionable strategies for uncovering these insights without turning into a full-time researcher.
Whether it's spotting patterns in current customer activity, tracking competitor moves, or understanding industry shifts, there are practical ways to surface meaningful ideas that drive value.
Of course, delivering insight effectively is just as important as the insight itself.
This episode breaks down five golden rules for sharing insights with humility, clarity, and empathy. These include asking for permission, making it specific and personal, tying insights to both emotional and business impact, and inviting collaboration - always positioning the customer as the hero of the conversation.
When used well, insight becomes a catalyst for trust, momentum, and truly differentiated sales conversations.
WEEKLY CHALLENGE:
Ahead of the next sales call, sales professionals are encouraged to identify one insight that could shift the customer’s current perspective. Using the Trend–Impact–Action framework, prepare how it will be introduced, and ask for permission to share it. The result? A conversation that feels less like a pitch - and more like progress.
Connect with Fred:
📘 Author of Selling Through Partnering Skills, Hybrid Selling, and Ethical Selling
🔗 https://linktr.ee/fredcopestake
Take the Collaborative Selling Scorecard
https://collaborativeselling.scoreapp.com/
Watch this episode on YouTube