‍Podcasts have changed how content has been consumed in the last five years. The reason why podcasts are such a great medium to digest content has to do with the ease of use, the ability to multitask and the ease of revisiting them when needed. 32% of Americans are monthly podcast listeners. Young people (18-44 Yrs) make up 67% of the podcast audience.

In the busy life of a salesperson, time is always of the essence and hardly available. This makes podcasts the best medium to stay updated and learn new tricks of the trade.

Sales and life are intertwined and so is my listening list. Here is a list of top 10 sales podcasts from 2019. 

#1: The Man who launched a Thousand Podcasts - Alex Blumberg interviewed Ira Glass

Link: https://gimletmedia.com/shows/without-fail/kwhj49

(Duration: 49:22)

Every podcaster must know Ira Glass and the legend that is This American Life (TAL). It wasn’t until a few episodes into TAL more than 5 years back did I discover the ‘Easter egg’ segment at the end of every TAL episode. In this episode, Ira Glass talks about the most important sales lesson - find a way to help your customers make money. TAL was a pioneer in innovative and entertaining advertisements/fundraisers for the radio stations.

#2: Finding your sweet spot In a Sales Career

Link: https://jbarrows.com/blog/sales-career-amy-volas/ 

(Duration: 49:00)

Being in sales can often feel unauthentic. I loved how Amy talked about authenticity and helping new reps find their own unique voice and authentic self. It can be the difference between respecting and being respected in sales versus being or feeling slimy & icky. There is a lesson here for #salesmanagers and #salesreps both.

#3: The 5 Levels of Listening

Link: https://www.mixcloud.com/thebrutaltruthaboutsalessellin/the-5-levels-of-listening-and-what-we-are-all-missing-b2b-sales/

(Duration: 48:00)

As salespeople and leaders, we have heard a lot about the merits of listening. Surprise - level 1 listening isn’t about 'hearing’ or repeating & paraphrasing. It is listening to yourself. Our internal conversations are often the most common blocker to effective listening. We are filtering things based on our interests or prejudicing the information with our own lens. This episode was absolute gold!

#4: The MOST IMPORTANT B2B Selling Skill  - the salesman podcast

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gr8j2ojgfYE

(Duration: 42:13)

"Selling is not what you can tell them, but what you can learn from them”. This podcast episode has some great tips on what questions to ask and how to ask them. I can’t wait to lay my hands on the book. I wasn’t a big fan of the somewhat self-promotional banter towards the end but I thought the discussion could benefit both #salescoaches and #salesreps.

#5: The Empathy Gym

Link: https://www.npr.org/2019/07/22/744195502/you-2-0-the-empathy-gym

(Duration: 53:04)

Empathy is considered an important attribute across different walks of life, not just sales. This podcast talks about empathy at a general level. An ‘empathy test’ across many decades shows how the score has been dwindling over the years. A great and different perspective on empathy. 

#6: The Secret to SMB sales - Agnes @ Doctolib

Link: https://www.saastr.com/the-secret-to-smb-sales-2/

(Duration: 38:57)

“Do things that don’t scale” - can be an easy mantra in theory but a tough one in practice. This podcast to me was a great set of small lessons of putting that into action. Making it easy for your customers to use you and see value quickly doesn’t always mean designing fancy onboarding flows, integrations or automation. Sometimes, it can come in the form of manually entering 3,000 appointments from a hand-written diary onto your SaaS platform.

#7: SaaStr Podcast with Justin Welsh

Link: https://www.saastr.com/saastr-podcasts-for-the-week-with-patientpop-and-plaid-august-16-2019/

(Duration: 26:00)

Sales is tough and salespeople are expected to be tough. Not very different from the “boys don’t cry” stereotype. Justin talks about mental health issues and work-life balance and what it did to him personally. It takes courage to talk about these things without the mask of anonymity. I also enjoyed the rags to riches type of narrative. If you know a #salesperson having a tough time in their current role, this could be a great listen!

#8: Cars

Link: https://www.thisamericanlife.org/513/129-cars

(Duration: 72:00)

Car Salesmen have a special place in the sales world. This is a great episode on the inner workings of a dealership, the success, the strife and everything in between. With TAL’s great reporting, it makes for a very enjoyable listen for everyone, not just for sales people.

#9: Outbound prospecting tips with Jeremey Leveille

Link: https://startupsales.io/outbound-prospecting-tips-with-jeremey-leveille/

(Duration: 42 Minutes)

There is a lot of advice on outbound prospecting, but most of it is from ‘industry leaders’ or ’sales veterans’. There are probably few things more detrimental to outbound prospecting than ’tried & tested’. As soon as something becomes the mantra for success it stops working. Especially if you are selling to salespeople. Jeremy’s approach is fresh, practical and most importantly has a generous helping of fun!

#10: Pushing Boundaries in Sales & Life with Tim Ferris

Link: https://www.salesforce.com/quotable/podcasts/episode-47-pushing-boundaries-in-sales-and-life/

(Duration: 24:43)

Tim Ferris is a productivity nerd. His relationship with sales is what inspired him to think of the 4-hour work week. He charges 4-5X in CPM versus NPR but then also works with the sponsor on the landing page to help them get a better RoI. Great way to wind up and think about Customer Success.

Happy New Year!