Onboarding

Last time, we peeled back the layers on spotting sales superstars with the Glider.ai crew. Now, in Episode 248, we're rolling our sleeves up and getting our hands dirty with the nuts and bolts of their process. Chris, Corey, Aron, and Anand aren't pulling any punches as they dissect Glider.ai's assessment approach. They're asking the hard-hitting questions: Can we really stamp out hiring bias? Where's the sweet spot between tech and human intuition in sales? And what's next in the evolution of building sales dream teams? Get ready for a no-nonsense deep dive that might just flip your hiring playbook on its head and supercharge your path to market dominance. Listen to this episode EP248: "Crafting Unbeatable Sales Teams: The Competitive Edge in B2B."
Catch the first part of this conversation here.

Aron Placencia and Anand Karasi from Glider.ai join Chris Beall and Corey Frank to tackle the perennial challenge of talent acquisition in sales. They're not just talking about finding "good" people – they're on the hunt for true "A players." How do you spot them? What makes them tick? And how can you build a team full of them? From the pitfalls of traditional hiring to the power of curiosity in sales, this conversation pulls no punches. Tune in as they break down Glider.ai's fresh approach to assessing and hiring top talent, and why it matters in today's cutthroat sales landscape. Listen to this episode, EP247: "Uncovering A-Players: The New Science of Sales Talent Acquisition."
About Glider.ai
Glider AI goes back to our CEO's humble beginnings in India. Dedication, work ethic, and a strong family network enabled Satish to find success. But he saw many others like him, equally capable, struggle and continue to struggle. This catapulted the idea of Glider into flight to create a platform helping hiring teams build their dream team and candidates land their dream job. Visit https://glider.ai.
 

In this episode of Market Dominance Guys, Chris Beall and Corey Frank are joined by special guest Griffin McGowan, a recent college graduate navigating the world of sales job hunting. The trio delves into the challenges and opportunities faced by young professionals seeking to launch their sales careers, with a particular focus on the crucial role of mentorship. Griffin shares his experiences interviewing with various companies and the valuable lessons he's learned, while Chris and Corey offer insights on what employers look for in new hires and the skills needed to succeed. The conversation also explores the idea that interviewees are not just looking for a job, but are essentially "hiring" a boss or mentor to guide them through their professional journey. Packed with wisdom gained from years of experience, this episode is a must-listen for recent grads, mentors, and interviewers alike. Join them for this episode, "New Grads: You're the Product, Choose Your Buyer."
 
Links from this episode:
Griffin McGowan on LinkedIn
Corey Frank on LinkedInBranch49Chris Beall on LinkedInConnectAndSell
 
FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT Below:
 
Corey Frank (00:00):
Welcome to another episode of the Market Dominance Guys with Corey Frank from Branch 49. And as always, the sage of sales, the profit of profit, the Hawking of Hawking, the CEO of ConnectAndSell Chris Beal. Good afternoon, Chris, how are you? 
 Chris Beall (00:16):
Hey, I just finished watching Oppenheimer. So that Hawking of Hawking thing goes pretty deep right now. I'm into physics. 
Corey Frank (00:23):
Really? Okay, we'll have to think of one that rhymes my alliteration for o the [00:00:30] blank of Oppenheimer of, I don't know, origination. How about that? Sales origination. So Chris, we have a special guest. I think this is a first for us in our 230, 40 episodes plus of the market dominance guys, because we talk about at Branch 49 and certainly a ConnectAndSell is what you've helped us build. Here is the term uco, which is a finishing school for future CEOs. And today we have Griffin McGowan, [00:01:00] who is a future CEOI think from all senses and from what we know about No pressure Griffin, but we want to track your progress on LinkedIn here over the years. And Chris, you have an interesting story about how Griffin, and then we want to hear from Griffin about what stage in this finishing school are you at and what is this concept of [00:01:30] a finishing school and what are the pieces that maybe are missing or that Chris and I certainly can help contribute to newer folks who are entering in a profession. So welcome Griffin and Chris. How do we know Griffin and why is he in a hot seat here at the Dominus guys market? 
 Chris Beall (01:48):
Well, the short version of the story is I got fired. I can't remember what day it was probably Christmas Eve or something like that from AP Par when they decided to sell the company. And [00:02:00] I said, we don't need a senior vice president of product innovation anymore. Who does need one of those anyway, when you really think about it. But I had the job and so I was flying back from the east coast where I used to commute back and forth between here and the West coast and there. And I was sitting next to somebody that I just hit it off with and we had this great conversation for the six hours it takes to fly into the wind from one coast to another. And that was Brian McGowan, Griffin's dad. [00:02:30] And we talked about venture capital and we talked about building businesses, we talked about all manner of things you can talk about a lot in six hours. 
 Chris Beall (02:37):
And so, okay, that was fine. And we did some things later. Brian helped us out at ConnectAndSell in the commercial real estate arena. Got us a great meeting with JLL. I learned that commercial real estate as a world, whether you just don't care about their salespeople and so they'd hardly want to help them with something like ConnectAndSell. But it was fascinating and we had a thesis and we ran at it and had a great time. [00:03:00] And then a couple of years ago, Griffin, you can tell the story. Did you reach out to me? It had to be your dad basically saying, look, I don't know very many good people in business, but I know this guy is semi okay but better than nothing. So why don't you chat with them or something like that. 
Griffin McGowan (03:20):
Yeah, definitely. So it was my junior year of college I was planning on doing an internship at a big company, but right after hopping out of Covid, a lot of the internships [00:03:30] I was looking at were online internships, remote, and didn't believe I'd really get that great experience doing an online remote interview would be better to be in person in the office. So my dad thought of the idea, why don't I put you through my own little just background of meeting with a bunch of people, understanding how business works, getting that little internship feeling. And one of the things he specifically focused on was [00:04:00] reaching out to his network. That's huge. So that summer I spent probably two or three months talking to a hundred ish people like-minded individuals like yourself from CEOs, the CTOs to people just getting into the business world, just trying to understand and pick their rein a little bit, learn their background, get some recommendations. I wasn't sure where I was going with my career yet. Was looking in finance, was looking in real estate, and was looking in investment banking. So it was [00:04:30] just trying to put together the pieces before graduation. And I know we got the chance to talk, you recommended some great books. I went through your background about getting into sales and now that I've graduated last May, I've chosen the path of going into sales, understanding business, understanding the sales cycle. So that's where I ended up. 
Corey Frank (04:51):
And you went to a great school at University of Alabama, right? In business school? Yes. 
Griffin McGowan (04:55):
I graduated from the CulverHouse College of Business there. Big school, big football [00:05:00] program. So it was awesome going there. 
Corey Frank (05:02):
Sure, sure. Well this will be good for Chris, for you and I because you got have great pedigree, you have great raw material and moving into sales, what Chris and I want to do is help understand what needs to be thrown out and what needs to be added to this arsenal of wisdom and knowledge and skills for the next couple of years or so as you establish yourself [00:05:30] in sales. So does that sound okay, Chris? I think that'd be fun to explore this with Griffin. 
 Chris Beall (05:38):
Sounds outstanding. And by the way, Griffin, I didn't know you'd talked to so many people. I have to say I don't know another person who has executed a summer program that's got that kind of, I don't know, range SPECT depth. I mean that's a lot of conversations to ConnectAndSell. Our motto is that conversations matter. You went out and got [00:06:00] 'em that alone. I mean, who needs to interview you, right? I'd be done. It's like, okay, well whatever that is, go do more of that, but do it on my team. I may actually poke you away from whatever it is that you're going to be doing, but you probably want to work for a better company than ours. So 
Griffin McGowan (06:19):
Yeah, my dad always kind of worded around the bigger the network you have, the more opportunities you have. He's been my mentor through this whole process. So getting out [00:06:30] and talking to as many people made me more comfortable having conversations, even like this one, understanding background, picking up on some terms. So it's just overall increased my education. 
Corey Frank (06:43):
Well, the great Harvey McKay has, he's always asked what is the one piece of advice as a new grad entry into sales or even any profession is the key to his success that he would empower on folks is your net work [00:07:00] is your net worth and the more you can focus on your net, the more that your net worth will be year after year. And I thought that's a great piece of advice that he's preached for many, many years. So let's start Griffin with, I'm curious at the University of Alabama in the college of business, was there a culture, was there a mentorship [00:07:30] or an urging to move into the sales arena at a major university like this coming out of the college of business? Or was it business writ large as this behemoth, this nondescript entity of commerce in general? 
Griffin McGowan (07:46):
So I would say it was business as a whole, depending on where you wanted to take that you can take certain classes that lean more towards others. At the time I was really undecided, so I wasn't sure of the path I was going to take. I have friends and even colleagues now that kind of chose [00:08:00] more of the path going into real estate, going into finance, going directly into sales. So there's so many classes that offer it. Even picking a nice minor, you can really dive down into it deep a little bit more. The mentorship was great though. The teachers were great. All the classes were perfect. At the time I went, the more broader route with the major was just trying to figure out the path I wanted to take. 
Corey Frank (08:23):
Sure. No, I understand that. But it's something that I think that Chris and I have seen and we've talked about a few times in [00:08:30] our personal conversations over the years is that business has nothing to do with sales. Of course it has everything to do with sales, but somehow most of these patriot universities will give you the imprimatur, the certificate, the diploma, the degree and say, okay, go forth, young traveler into the world with this business degree. But somehow that [00:09:00] this concept, this science of sales is something that is picked up on the street. It's picked up on Instagram and 62nd first necessarily from the market dominance guys, right. Chris, wouldn't you say? 
 Chris Beall (09:17):
Yeah. Well it's really interesting. I mean I've been working on occasion, been privileged to get to do some stuff with Dr. Howard Dover at a University of Texas Dallas, who runs one of the greatest sales programs, [00:09:30] maybe the greatest university level sales program in the world. It's truly about sales and they learn theory, they learn practice, they learn from really solid folks who know what they're talking about. They learn from yahoos like me and it's very sales-focused, which is interesting and unusual. I do think, and again, I never went to business school, physics was hard enough for me, business would've been completely [00:10:00] overwhelming, but I don't have any experience with it directly as a student. But my impression has been business schools will nibble around the edge of sales, but they won't hit it head on as a true discipline that you can learn deeply and that is hyper important. 
 Chris Beall (10:18):
Your entire career is going to depend on it. And yet when you go to the other end of the spectrum and you say, okay, let's talk to a bunch of CEOs, one, they almost all came up through sales. It's [00:10:30] unusual otherwise. And two, they have sales chops, they can hold a conversation with a stranger. I'll go back to meeting Griffin's dad. So you get two guys like us sitting on an airplane for six hours, well, you're going to have a conversation and it's going to be a comfortable conversation. It's going to be far reaching. It had a lot of personal elements to it actually. That's one of the things that you learn I think when you're moving in business, moving [00:11:00] up, moving out and around is it's okay to be a person, but you don't have to be some sort of a statue or something, but you can be yourself and that's going to be helpful. 
 Chris Beall (11:11):
That's actually going to be part of the thing that you're doing. So I think it's all quiet, it's fascinating. I think sales is starting to make its way into business schools formally, but it's still considered to be more of an art that's picked up in the rough and tumble than a science [00:11:30] that you can learn. You could learn finance and modeling and stuff like that, I guess is what I would call it. So to me, I've gotten an opportunity to talk to a lot of young people about their careers and older people about their careers. And I always say the same thing, which is that in business you're responsible for helping folks get to a point where they can accept your help. That turns out to be a big part of business because everybody's busy [00:12:00] and everybody's busy doing whatever they're doing. And if you can be helpful, you have to break through that somehow. It's change management where it's not your organization, it's somebody else's. And the number one thing you need is you need to be respected. And in the world of business, if you've never sold anything, it's hard to get a lot of respect. 
Corey Frank (12:23):
Yeah, yeah, for sure. Well, and the art of getting to the point where you've sold something, [00:12:30] we see this a lot, Chris, right? That people wander like a ship without a rudder from sales gig to sales gig to sales gig. It takes three, four sales gigs where they maybe have six months, 18 months in or before they settle or they find the one that they're now going to spend the next 3, 4, 5 years in. And it's as if they're looking for something and then they settle for something [00:13:00] or it's that, Hey, I wasn't successful at the sales gig because my manager, the leads, the market, the comp plan, the commute, what have you. And they do that a couple of times until they realize, wait a minute, I think that I've realized what the problem is and it's the person in the mirror and I better plant my feet. 
Corey Frank (13:19):
And so what a lot of great sales, mentors, sales skills are out there on the market today. If there's one thing over the last 15, [00:13:30] 20 years, Chris, it's that there is no excuse for a new grad not to have education in this profession without spending the thousands of dollars that you would have to do for a sales certification for the price of a couple of overdue charges at your local library or for a YouTube subscription, which is free. You should have no problem imparting some of the basics. So let's get into it. Griffin. So [00:14:00] you just interviewed with a number of companies, but particularly some of the interviews that you had just recently, I think Chris and I and the audience are curious of what are the type of questions for a sales role that the sales folks, leadership execs, peers, et cetera, we're asking somebody with you, with your qualifications to find out if there's a real snug fit in their organization. 
Griffin McGowan (14:27):
So definitely, yeah. The first question of course they're [00:14:30] going to ask is why sales? They want you to be able to understand that question and be able to express that question in a way that shows why you're interested in it. Of course, they want to hire somebody that's hungry for sales. And then that correlates into other questions about what skills do you possess that are like skills and then going into other questions about tough situations if you've dealt with in the past, either if it's a smaller job or working as a professional job, just trying to pick your brain a little bit, ask [00:15:00] you those tough confusing questions and then really see if you're able to bring up experiences and if you're able to sell yourself, I would say 
Corey Frank (15:13):
Anything surprising about some of the interview questions that you've been asked, 
Griffin McGowan (15:17):
I would say some companies that I've interviewed at some of the questions are a little, I would say overcoming a tough situation. Some of the questions don't correlate directly with sales. I [00:15:30] would say some of the questions are a little too out of the ballpark sometimes. I've had weird questions when it comes to tell us a time that you were last stressed out at work, which I understand how that would correlate to sales, but it's more of one of those questions that I believe it's if you search up the list of 25 basic interview questions, it aligns in that way. 
Corey Frank (15:54):
Well, that's interesting. Let me ask you, and Chris can chime in on [00:16:00] this, but from your perspective, Griffin, from this hunt, this searcher on to find the next gig in the profession of sales, do you think that it is more nature or more nurture to succeed in the profession? And what do you think of the folks who are interviewing you at these larger companies, what do you think they think the answer to that is? And I'd love Chris's opinion on this as well. 
Griffin McGowan (16:30):
[00:16:30] I would say it's both in the middle of that nature nurture. I think you really have to be driving and outgoing when it comes to it. And I would say the most difficult part about interviewing for a sales job is since Covid, we've noticed that the interview process has turned into online interviews not as much being held in person. And I think it's difficult to be able to sell yourself through a Zoom call and especially go through all these interview processes. It just doesn't work as well. I think more in person is where [00:17:00] it aligns. 
 Chris Beall (17:03):
Well, I'll jump on that. I mean this whole zoom thing has been fascinating to me. For one thing, we've been running this company remotely since 2014, so we got pretty used to not being together because I couldn't, I wanted top talent and I didn't want to pay for two floors of an office building that was a long commute to get there and kept the top talent far away where I [00:17:30] could get 'em anywhere. What I learned through that process is it's possible to be very human and very open and vulnerable and to have fun with people, whether you're in person or whether you're on a zoom, but you're going to have to bring it. It's you who has to bring that, we'll call it the softness, a willingness to have fun with people even though you're a [00:18:00] long distance away and you don't get to sit down right with them. 
 Chris Beall (18:02):
And in a way it's almost easier. But you've with that attitude and as Corey, my approach to talking to people is just to talk to 'em and see what happens. One of the things that I posted about this yesterday, I think one of the things I think is weird about sales and weird about a lot of business is there's this idea that we should know the outcome of the conversation before we start the conversation. That is the purpose of the conversation [00:18:30] is for me to get what I want. You decide to sign the contract or whatever it happens to be. That's the hopefully foregone conclusion. And yet the beauty of conversations is they always offer an opportunity to discover something that's completely unexpected and that's where new value shows up. So I'm wondering, Griffin, did you feel like in any of these interviews that anybody was trying to let the completely unexpected come out of your mouth? 
 Chris Beall (19:00):
[00:19:00] Or did you feel like there's going, okay, one from column A, one from column B, which was it, and then they're going to go talk about you among themselves and say, well, this area was like this and this area is like this. Whereas you could imagine folks talking about something and going, oh my God, that guy was just like it was to be in the same room with them and there's going to be a lot of sales on Zoom. We better pick this guy up. So what did you feel like? Were they checking boxes or were they having [00:19:30] fun? 
Griffin McGowan (19:31):
I would say it's a lot of checking boxes of what I've noticed that you can tell the questions that they're asking. You can see them staring to the screen next to them and you can hear them on the keyboard or writing on the side, taking notes. I would say a lot of the interviews are structured like that. They're given a set of questions to ask, seeing how you respond to them and then formulating and talking to the team after to come up with more of a conclusion. I would say only some of the interviews I'd have that I've seen more really [00:20:00] just trying to understand you as a person by just having natural conversation with you. Some of it seems just very robotic. 
 Chris Beall (20:08):
Fascinating. 
Corey Frank (20:10):
Have you been, again, without naming certainly any of these names, but when you've interviewed at some of these larger organizations, have you sat in awe of the person who is interviewing you and thought, my gosh, this is a scientist, [00:20:30] this is a master craftsman, this is somebody who I want to emulate, epitomize rise to that level from how they handle themselves and the charisma, how they light up a room, albeit virtually how they have the master of the art of the conversation? Or has it been candidly, maybe fairly underwhelming when you think of these large organizations should have the best rock stars on planet earth? 
Griffin McGowan (21:00):
[00:21:00] I think it's a mixed batch of both. I've applied for smaller companies and soft and tech. We're all the way up to bigger companies and it depends who you talk to. There's definitely been people that I've talked to that I've been blown away by wanting to work right under them, even viewing them as a mentor, even just having a 20 minute conversation with them. And then other account executives I've talked to that just sound robotic that you wouldn't even think they were in sales in the first place. So it's bouncing around. Within those interviews, [00:21:30] you'll talk to somebody that's a rockstar, then you'll talk to somebody that was just trying to get through the interview, hit all the boxes and just do their job. 
Corey Frank (21:39):
Well, first of all, love to hear that. I think that's one of the pieces that I think that I've learned from Chris over these 20 plus years of knowing him and as a mentor. And one of the pieces of advice that I received early on is you choose your boss, you're hiring for a boss and [00:22:00] a mentor as much as you're hiring for the job and whether it's a small organization, but somebody who's a dynamic esteemed craftsman, I would take that even at less pay than going for the resume builder, which I think would be the traditional VC funded company, Chris, right? With the fast track and the folks who are going through the robotic mentor, and sometimes we chase the vanity metrics of what shows on our LinkedIn or our resume [00:22:30] versus really what's going to do the best work to build our network down the road. Chris, any thoughts on that? Well, 
 Chris Beall (22:38):
To me it's the whole game. I mean, the fact of the matter is there are some people that are just dynamite to work with where the freedom that you have to bring your best out to explore well so you're going to be held to a high doing standard. That's a good thing. And my standard, which is if you're joining in order [00:23:00] to advance your career, I'm going to fire you immediately anyway. So that's not going to work out. We're going to actually accomplish something together and it better be something almost everybody would fail at, and that's the fun of it. If that's fun for you, then let's go do that thing. If it's not, then it's probably going to be worse than you think. So the question of what are you getting? I mean, you're actually buying something when you take a job with somebody, you're buying that boss. 
 Chris Beall (23:30):
[00:23:30] That's what you're buying. What are you buying them with? You're buying them with a chunk of your career with time and time you can't get back. So it's a very important purchase that you're making. And I think a lot of people don't realize that when you are looking around for companies to join up with and people to work with, you're the buyer. They think that they're the buyer. Trust me, it's like when you're raising venture capital, you are the product. [00:24:00] They don't have the product. All they have is money and time. It's not that interesting, but you're the product, you're the differentiated offering. That's why they have to talk to so many and you may have to talk to a lot of them. They got to talk to more of you. So I think it's the same kind of dynamic that, and I think it's when times are tough for getting certain kinds of jobs. 
 Chris Beall (24:20):
And Griffin, you mentioned before we started, this is not the easiest time in the history of life to get a sales job. A lot of people are going, Hey, give me somebody with the big Rolodex [00:24:30] or give me somebody who's got the depth of my industry or whatever it is that they've got going on and they've been doing cuts. And so especially in the SDR kind of end of things, which has become the traditional entry point, teams have gotten smaller. I don't know if the standards have gotten higher, they should, but the number of opportunities and the flow rate has gone down a little bit. But I think the most important thing for anybody to remember is that you're purchasing that boss. Now, one of the [00:25:00] challenges I've always had with big companies and why I haven't worked for a lot of them is you don't know what's going to happen to your boss. 
 Chris Beall (25:08):
Your boss is going to get reorged to some other part of the world. My wife Helen had a deal at Microsoft where she ended up with a switch out of bosses and it just became untenable. And then she managed to get back to the previous boss and then they reorged around something completely new, which is all this AI stuff. And [00:25:30] here she is now starting her own company. But when you think about it, that's what you're buying. You are purchasing a boss and you're purchasing them for as long as you want to get 'em, which we don't know how long that is, and it's probably the most important purchase you ever make. People talk about a house as nothing compared to a boss. 
Corey Frank (25:52):
Yeah, for sure. For sure. So with that Griffin, what would you [00:26:00] describe, maybe speaking personally, but also from maybe some of the peers that you graduated school with? What are folks at the stage of your career? What are you looking for in a boss? 
Griffin McGowan (26:13):
You're just looking for somebody that can give you a lot of guidance that can really help support your career. Talking to other people, I've noticed that some of my peers are looking for a job with high income where they can make money straight out of school. Some are looking for just that great entry level job that can [00:26:30] really position and set them up for a great opportunity into the future. Personally for me, I'm just looking to work around smart people, work at a great company, have a mentor, and of course at the end of the day, make money work somewhere with an uncapped commission where the sky's the limit of how I can earn money. 
 Chris Beall (26:51):
Uncapped commission see right there. That's a good answer to a good thing to say in any sort of interview situation around [00:27:00] sales, it's like, if the product's great enough and the opportunity is big enough, I work just for commission. You ever want to get a sales job, just go ahead and say that. I would go ahead and I would just work for straight commissioning and go, oh, I respect you already. I used to work as a fuller brush man in Phoenix in the summer. I was desperate to do something. I needed to make some money [00:27:30] within a week or two, and I found myself with my first all commission job. And it was so interesting because it's like so many things in life. Until you step across that threshold, you really don't know what that feels like and what it feels like is going to determine what you act like. So that was a great answer right there. Absolutely. 
Corey Frank (27:51):
It wasn't a 
 Chris Beall (27:51):
Interview question was just a great 
Corey Frank (27:56):
Right. Well, let's keep that vein going for another question [00:28:00] or two here. Griffin, what would you describe, let's say you were having a chat with my good friend Chris and myself here, and we were two sales leaders, and we asked you what's the strongest part of your sales process, this arsenal you bring to our organization? You're attracted by the mentorship and the untapped commission, maybe based off of the recent grad. A lot of folks are interested in the flexibility [00:28:30] and when the balance, et cetera, which are admirable things. But when you look at your sales arsenal of the things you need to succeed to tap into that on a commission, what would you say Griffin says is the strongest part of your sales process? What do you do really well? 
Griffin McGowan (28:47):
Yeah, I would say to reiterate, just working in a strong company where the onboarding is great. I've noticed interviewing with some companies, and I've had some offers sent out that there really isn't an onboarding process. [00:29:00] They just hold you to that, call 300 people a day, call 400 people a day, and that's all they really give you. They just give you a script and just with small stuff like that, they're just going to work you to death at that point. They don't really care on your professional development. They're just using you as another person in the door, another person to be on the phone just to call, call and just bleed you dry. 
Corey Frank (29:25):
Well, let's drill down into your specific skill set. If we were to [00:29:30] rank 23 and Me to do a stress test on your sales skills that you have as a recent grad, what are you better at than others? What's the strongest part of your Griffin McGowan skillset? 
Griffin McGowan (29:46):
I would say the big thing I've been focusing on is empathy and active listening, bringing that into sales, having empathy, being able to connect with the prospect that you're talking to, and then also being able to listen, understand their problem, [00:30:00] keep your mouth quiet, let some silences go out, but to let them overall talk because if you're going to be on the call with a prospect and you're dominating the call the whole time and not letting them speak and express things, you're not going to progress that any longer. Well, 
Corey Frank (30:17):
That's fascinating because that's what I've observed in this chat with you thus far. This 30 minutes that we spent is you are an active, engaged listener. You don't step on other people's lines. [00:30:30] And I think that's admirable to a large degree. I would push back just colloquially, just conversationally, that when you're engaged in a good debate, a good conversation, that there does need to be an element where there is some tension. Because if there's too much active listening where there's a pause and [00:31:00] it's a question, answer question, answer question, answer, the status is diminished. The supplicative behavior, although not overt, is there. So I would just, Christian, I know Rich, what your thoughts are on that, but you're a phenomenal listener already. We can tell and just know you and meet you. But I think in the realm of sales, especially as a newer sales rep representing a product, and if you're talking to a seasoned executive [00:31:30] like Chris in a discovery call, there needs to be this authenticity in a conversation. And I think there does need to be a little bit of tension introduced with some control. But Chris, what are your thoughts on that? 
 Chris Beall (31:47):
Hey, when you're in sales, you're catching whales on a five pound test line. You got to know on the letter run and when to set the hook. I mean, it's a delicate business, there's no doubt about it. [00:32:00] It is a lot more, I don't know, it's doing something like figure skating or something like that. It doesn't look like a big difference to the layperson, whether you're landing on that inside edge of the outside edge. But one of them, you go down and the other one you look great and things happen and there is a lot of delicacy. And that balance between empathy, which you need. I mean, Griffin, you're dead, right? You need it, right? And then the thing [00:32:30] that you bring, so you have this baseline of, Hey, I can listen. I like to listen. I like to know what's going on with you. But you've got the question of, well, why are you talking to somebody in the first place? Unless there's some conflict between what they have and what they want? You wouldn't be having the conflict uncovering the world without pissing anybody off too much, which is pretty interesting. So I hope it won't piss anybody off here. Going back [00:33:00] to the beginning, I'm catching a ferry in 24 minutes. That is a 22 minute walk from here. Beautiful. 
 Chris Beall (33:07):
Beautiful. Yeah, it's going to be fun. I want to thank Griffin for coming on. I want to recommend to anybody that by the time you just drop by, which will be like two or three days from now, he'll already have 10 job offers. But if you want to get ahold of him and make him a job offer just based on this, which I think you should, I think he's easy to get ahold of, right? Griffin, how does somebody get a hold of you? 
Griffin McGowan (33:30):
[00:33:30] LinkedIn, best phone number. Email my LinkedIn's Griffin McGowan. Feel free to reach out there. My email's [email protected]. Those are the best ways to contact me. 
 Chris Beall (33:43):
Wasn't crazy enough to put a cell phone out there. Just anybody wants to know. My cell phone's (408) 203-4321. Sometimes I answer, sometimes I don't. But when I do, it's very interesting. 
Corey Frank (33:56):
That's right. Well, we look forward to following your journey [00:34:00] here, Griffin, here at the Market Dominance. Guys, we want to have you back and listen to your first weeks of onboarding and see how well you really tap into the untapped commission that you certainly will enjoy. So with that, with Griffin and for Chris Beal from the CEO of ConnectAndSell, this is Corey Frank from the Market. Ominous Guys. Until next time.

In the last episode, our Sales sultans, Corey and Chris tackled the folly of chasing too many shiny objects. Now, Chris shares pragmatic insights on building resilient teams for the marathon versus the sprint. Should staff know the messy truths from day one? Chris believes people need full commitment to the mission. 
Does solidarity trump balance sheet bravado when attempting bold new initiatives?  Chris says,  "I think people love to look at stuff because looking at stuff is lower risk than doing stuff. Doing stuff is very high risk. You could fail.”
As Corey noted, presentations often overlook the people who drive innovation. Corey reminds us, “The people elements, traits, personas don't live on the balance sheet.” Here’s a question posed, "When you go to a potluck, do you only eat the food you brought first?"  Listen as they tackle tough topics like letting go of personnel clinging to the past versus embracing the unknown future in episode 202 of Market Dominance Guys, “ Keeping Teams Future-Focused and Failure-Ready.’
 
Full episode transcript below:

Episode 200 of the Market Dominance Guys features Corey, Chris, and special guest Jim Graf. They explore key trends shaping modern prospecting – from the diminishing returns of broad email campaigns to the rise of personalized, longitudinal selling. Jim explains how the old concept of BANT (budget, authority, need, timeframe) fails to capture the fluidity of today's buying journeys. Rather than chasing "leads," they advocate nurturing long-term demand through authentic relationship building.The conversation culminates in examining the overlooked value of seasoned SDRs. Chris shares examples of 60+ year-old SDRs wildly outperforming their younger peers, dispelling misconceptions that this function is merely developmental. With their seasoning, polish, and focus, many late-career reps embody the consummate skills needed to excel. Jim and Chris emphasize how this critical frontline role requires a professional, not progressive, mindset.In an era of noisy outreach, the guys explore timeless ways to cut through the clutter – with patience, personalization, and wisdom accrued over decades. Listen to this episode, "Authentic Demand: Moving Past Impersonal Lead Gen."
 
Links from this episode:
Corey Frank on LinkedInChris Beall on LinkedInJim Graf on LinkedIn
KazzcadeBranch49ConnectAndSell
 
Full episode transcript below:

Welcome to the continuation of a conversation with Hitesh Shah, CTO and CPO of ConnectAndSell. This episode delves into the world of sales and coaching for sales managers. Hitesh shares his experience and insights on coaching by the numbers and how to effectively manage and coach a sales team.
Corey and Chris share their thoughts on how to analyze sales data and determine the strengths and weaknesses of individual sales reps. They stress the importance of getting granular with data and looking at it with a critical eye. By understanding the patterns and details of sales interactions, sales managers can take the necessary steps to help their reps improve and drive better results.
Chris also offers his advice for new sales managers on how to stay up-to-date with fast-moving sales trends and how to effectively manage a sales team in a fast-paced environment. He suggests starting the day by looking at sales data and focusing on the critical details of sales interactions.
So whether you're a seasoned sales manager or just starting out, join us for this exciting episode as Chris, Corey and Hitesh help you take your sales management, training, and sales skills to the next level in this episode, "Get Granular to Boost Your Sales Performance".
If you missed the first half to this interview, you can listen here:
The Power of Childlike Curiosity in the Digital World of Sales
 
Full episode transcript below:

“It costs five times more to get a new client than to keep one you already have.” Today, Rick Elmore, Founder and CEO of Simply Noted, elaborates on his commitment to customer retention and to his company’s practice of over-delivery with our Market Dominance Guys’ host, Chris Beall. Rick believes that building relationships with clients is vital to any company’s success, so he begins by onboarding each new customer himself, answering all the frequently asked questions, and personally checking back to make sure the customer’s initial experience with Simply Noted’s products and services is a happy one. “When you’re truly on your client’s side, they’ll hear it in your voice,” Rick explains. Listen to this podcast, and you too will hear the commitment to customer retention in Rick’s voice in today’s Market Dominance Guys’ episode, “Focus on Over-Delivery.”
 
About Our Guest
Rick Elmore is founder and CEO of Simply Noted in Tempe, Arizona, a company that utilizes software and robotic technology to create personalized handwritten notes for its 300,000 monthly users.