Do Salespeople Need FBI Hostage Negotiation Skills?
Sales Today
In this episode of The Sales Today Podcast, Fred Copestake is joined by Sebastian Hidalgo, co-founder of DURINDAL and creator of the SWAT method - a sales framework influenced by hostage negotiation principles. Fred admits he’s often sceptical when crisis negotiation gets blended with commercial sales, so this becomes a lively, grounded conversation: what genuinely transfers, what doesn’t, and how to use “hostage” techniques ethically to improve trust, discovery, and positioning. What you’ll hear in this episode Sebastian’s unusual origin story: becoming...
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Surprisingly simple ways to use AI in sales
Sales Today
In this episode, Fred is joined by Tom Ridley, an AI sales coach, for a refreshingly grounded conversation about AI in sales. Instead of racing through a list of tools, Tom makes a different point: AI isn’t the story - being human is. The real value of generative AI (ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude) is that it removes the admin-heavy work salespeople hate and frees them up to do what matters most: have better conversations, build stronger relationships, and help customers make sense of complex decisions. They explore how to use AI to research accounts, focus on the right...
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Ethical marketing meets ethical selling
Sales Today
In this episode, Fred is joined by Chelsea Burns - marketing psychologist, brand ethicist, and non-manipulative marketer to explore where ethical marketing and ethical selling overlap… and where they can go wrong. Chelsea introduces a practical way to draw the line between persuasion and manipulation: Agency - a person’s genuine ability to choose. From there, the conversation goes deep into real-world examples of questionable tactics, why “FOMO” can backfire, and how the brain evaluates purchases immediately after the transaction. Chelsea also shares her four...
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The secret to faster training and coaching result
Sales Today
In this episode, Fred is joined by John Richardson, Co-Founder and Director of Coaching at My Sales Coach, to explore a key question: how do you get faster, more meaningful results from training and coaching? Their answer is simple but powerful: start with the right assessment. They unpack why great coaches are always assessing (without judging), how the right diagnostics can shorten the path to meaningful improvement, and why revenue alone isn’t a useful starting point for development. John explains how My Sales Coach uses assessments to build coaching plans with focus,...
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Is 'good enough' good enough?
Sales Today
In this episode of The Sales Today Podcast, Fred Copestake is joined by sales thought leader, author, and one of the kindest people in the profession, David Brock. Together, they explore David’s new book “Is Good Enough, Good Enough?” and why it’s not another “do this, do that” sales methodology book. Instead, it focuses on the mindsets and behaviours that separate high performers from those who are simply checking the boxes. With win rates often accepted at 15–20% in many SaaS environments, David challenges the idea that “making the number” should...
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The secret to faster training and coaching result
Sales Today
In this episode, Fred is joined by John Richardson, Co-Founder and Director of Coaching at My Sales Coach, to explore a key question: how do you get faster, more meaningful results from training and coaching? Their answer is simple but powerful: start with the right assessment. They unpack why great coaches are always assessing (without judging), how the right diagnostics can shorten the path to meaningful improvement, and why revenue alone isn’t a useful starting point for development. John explains how My Sales Coach uses assessments to build coaching plans with focus,...
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How to avoid AI killing your communication skills
Sales Today
In this episode of The Sales Today Podcast, Fred Copestake is joined by communications and speech coach Susie Ashfield, author of Just F**king Say It and a third-time guest on the show. This is an “emergency podcast” sparked by a moment on LinkedIn: Susie posted a video where she stumbled and left it in. No polishing. No AI. No pretending. Because as AI-generated content gets smoother, faster, and more convincing, the thing that makes us stand out is increasingly simple:- being human. Together, Fred and Susie explore what we risk losing when we outsource too...
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What is Selling? (And Has It Changed?)
Sales Today
In the final episode of the Sales Today mini-series, Fred Copestake and James Michael step back to answer a deceptively simple question: Has selling really changed? The answer is both yes - and no. This closing conversation brings together the themes explored across the series and reframes selling not as persuasion or pressure, but as something far more human, thoughtful, and aligned with how buyers actually make decisions today. In this episode, they explore: What has stayed the same in selling - and what has genuinely evolved Why selling has always been about understanding...
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CEMMT vs SaaS and an Ethical Approach
Sales Today
In Episode 4 of the Sales Today mini series, Fred Copestake and James Michael tackle a growing tension in modern selling: the contrast between SaaS-led sales thinking and the realities of selling in CEMMT industries - construction, engineering, manufacturing, mining, and transport. At the heart of the discussion is Fred’s work on Ethical Selling and why ethics isn’t an abstract concept, but a practical, tactical necessity - particularly in complex, long-term, high-consequence sales environments. This episode challenges hype-driven sales narratives and asks a bigger...
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Why Great Sales Conversations Are Built on Process, Not Personality
Sales Today
In Episode 3 in this five part mini series of Sales Today Podcast, Fred Copestake and James Michael explore a question that challenges another long-held belief in sales: do great sales conversations succeed because of personality - or because of process? This episode looks at how the most effective salespeople consciously select their mode during conversations, switching between listening, questioning, sharing insight, and guiding the discussion - always with the buyer’s outcome in mind. Rather than restricting creativity, process and structure create the space for better thinking,...
info_outlineIn 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 how sellers can use these tools to track changes, suggest alternative clauses, and avoid getting lost in version-control chaos.
Fred and Hanneke also discuss the importance of staying human during negotiations, emphasising that while tech can help prep and speed up the admin, the face-to-face connection still matters when resolving key sticking points.
From there, the duo turns their attention to outcomes and ongoing customer success. In modern sales, it’s not just about closing deals - it’s about ensuring delivery, adoption, and long-term value.
They cover:
· How to seamlessly hand off deal context to delivery teams using CRM and automation tools
· The evolving role of customer success platforms in driving upsell, cross-sell, and satisfaction.
· Automating smart reminders for relationship touchpoints and renewals.
· Using sentiment analysis and stakeholder tracking to proactively manage risk.
· The death of the QBR - and the rise of meaningful, value-led customer reviews.
· Why tech makes it easier than ever to stay connected with stakeholders after the sale.
They close out the series with a rallying call: Tech doesn’t need to be complex or overwhelming. Start small, think in processes, and automate the things you repeatedly forget.
Whether it’s helping with negotiation, driving customer success, or building long-term relationships, this episode shows how sales teams can use technology to make outcomes more predictable, partnerships more valuable, and selling a lot more human.
Connect with Hanneke: linkedin.com/in/hannekevogels
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Follow Fred: https://linktr.ee/fredcopestake
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https://collaborativeselling.scoreapp.com/
Watch this episode on YouTube