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Build sales skills they never taught you in business school
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Professors don’t tend to be comfortable teaching things they don’t know enough about. (Geoffrey Reid)
(00:00-09:21)
Geoffrey explains that business schools tend to focus heavily on finance, marketing, accounting, and HR, leaving a gap in practical sales knowledge. He recalls a visit from a former vice chancellor who highlighted the truth: “Professors don’t tend to be comfortable teaching things they don’t know enough about.” This gap motivated him to write his book as a kind of “fifth element” of business school, filling the void in sales education.
The conversation also delves into what makes effective sales. Geoffrey emphasizes that it starts with understanding product positioning—knowing whether a product is scarce or rare—and then crafting strategies that optimize revenue impact. He highlights the difference between persuasive sales, which rely on influence and relationships, and resistance sales, which require negotiation, leverage, and mutually beneficial outcomes.
Alex and Geoffrey also discuss how everyone learns to sell as children, often without realizing it—from persuading parents to buying a toy, to influencing friends as teenagers. Yet, when people enter professional sales roles, they are often told “go sell” without guidance, leaving them unprepared for the complexities of B2B sales. Geoffrey’s book provides a structured approach to teach these critical skills in a practical, actionable way.
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Rethink sales: Strategy, education, and debunking the myths
The biggest myth in sales is that salespeople are born, not made. With the right training and elements in place, people with a variety of talents can become master salespeople. (Geoffrey Reid)
(09:21-20:02)
The conversation explores how sales strategies should vary depending on a company’s market position. A premium brand with high demand, for instance, needs a very different approach than a disruptor trying to democratize the same market. Geoffrey uses a sports analogy to explain this: some companies are in a “scoring position” where closing a deal is easy, while others face a challenging path requiring skillful strategy and effort.
They discuss the common misconception that sales is purely transactional. With technology handling many routine transactions, human sales efforts are increasingly about building trust and long-term relationships. Geoffrey emphasizes that much of the stigma around sales comes from a lack of formal sales education: universities often teach finance, marketing, and management, but neglect practical sales skills, which leads to a “career of last resort” perception.
The episode also debunks major myths in sales. One pervasive belief is that salespeople are “born, not made.” Geoffrey argues this is false—anyone with motivation, intelligence, and focus can become an excellent salesperson with the right training and environment. Personality matters less than people think; introverted individuals who ask thoughtful questions and listen can excel, sometimes even more than traditional “extroverted” stereotypes suggest.
The discussion touches on how marketers and other professionals can benefit from sales thinking, blending persuasion, analytics, and strategic communication to make a greater impact in supporting revenue goals.
Marketing, sales, and building trust: Lessons from a revenue leader
Effective sales involves building trust and adding value to leaders’ decision-making. That means providing objective advice, asking the right questions, and sometimes saying, ‘This isn’t perfect for you now’ or ‘This option might be better.’ (Geoffrey Reid)
(20:02-36:14)
Geoffrey explains that in enterprise B2B, marketing isn’t just about branding—it’s about generating leads, creating strategies, and engaging decision-makers effectively. Many marketers still rely on product-centric content, which doesn’t help buyers navigate their own journey. By aligning marketing with sales—through training, workshops, and shared education—organizations can transform marketing into a strategic driver of sales rather than just a promotional function.
They also discuss subscription and repeat business models. Geoffrey highlights the importance of onboarding, servicing, and renewing clients, showing that continuous value delivery is essential. Sales teams need processes and infrastructure that support repeat engagements, not just one-off deals.
Finally, Geoffrey shares advice for improving sales acumen. Since universities don’t fully formalize sales education, aspiring sales professionals must learn from books, podcasts, interactive exercises, and curated content. He emphasizes that while there’s a lot of information out there, it must be applied thoughtfully to specific industries and situations—a key reason he wrote his book.
Check the episode's Transcript (AI-generated) HERE.
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Author
Experience-focused Leaders is the #1 Multimedia Podcast! We talk to senior business & tech leaders about the experiences that move forward organizations, customers and society at large. True to form, we mix audio, video, web and eBook formats to turn these authentic conversations into personalized nuggets you'll remember & use.
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