On the fence about whether the AA-ISP 2015 Leadership Summit is for you? We re here to help! The 2015 Leadership Summit is not just a run-of-the-mill sales conference, but don t just take our word for it. We ve reached out to past and current attendees and contributors to get their thoughts and highlights. The 2015 Leadership Summit will be packed full of innovative topics, practical ideas, and best practices you can implement immediately in your sales teams. We ll see you in Chicago! Your AA-ISP Team
Lauren Bailey President Factor 8 Phoenix Chapter Co-President I saw it on a printer at a company and I thought, WOW! A conference just for Inside SALES? Not Telemarketing or Customer Care? I m going to nab it! One thing we hear often following the Annual Leadership Summit is about the connections and new friends made during the event. Did you find this true for yourself and your experience? Yes. I ve started mentoring two amazing up-and-coming Inside Sales Leaders since meeting them at the Leadership Summit. Is there a certain part of the Annual Leadership Summit you look most forward to? I love the Technology Expo, it s how I keep current. What topics or speakers are you excited for this year at the Leadership Summit? I enjoy hearing the industry trends and challenges from the Annual Top Challenges Research. What was an interesting fact or statistic you learned at the 2014 Leadership Summit? Speed to lead, baby, and development of our people is STILL a top challenge! One of the focuses of the Leadership Summit is the networking between industry leaders. Have you been able to collaborate with or form a lasting relationship with anyone you met at a past Summit? I ve formed relationships with Anneke Seley and Trish Bertuzzi. Now the three of us refer business to each other. What would you say to an Inside Sales Leader who is on the fence about attending the 2015 Leadership Summit? I say this all the time: this is the best conference out there. I ve been to Sales 2.0 and others and they don t provide the same in-depth industry-specific info the Leadership Summit does. You have been an active member in the association for the past 4 years, do you have any tips for prospective members or attendees? AA-ISP is literally my number-one referral source today. Fifteen years ago, I wished for an industry association, four years ago, I didn't know we had an industry association, and today the AA-ISP is my number one-source for market data and new clients. You are speaking at the 2015 Leadership Summit can you give us a teaser? I love to collect the real-world stories from the trenches. This year I m starting a new talk called LB s Top 10. It s a collection of lessons learned, dumb things I ve seen out there, and lessons I have learned the hard way. It s from the trenches and a fun way to learn new ideas, trends, and even avoid mistakes. You won t believe the way we re screwing up our pipelines as an industry!
Amy Appleyard Vice President of Sales Staples Advantage I found it first through LinkedIn while I was searching for Boston-area networking opportunities for Inside Sales professionals the conference in Chicago seemed like a great way to meet Boston folks and also connect with others across the country. What convinced you to attend the 2014 Leadership Summit? I wanted to build/expand my network and to gain exposure into tools and technologies and ideas/thought leadership that could help me to enable my sales teams to achieve more. The venue looked great and was easily accessible, also the event packed a lot into a couple of days! Which is helpful as I am always trying to maximize my time! Was there anything you experienced at the 2014 conference you didn t expect? I fully appreciated the number of people I was able to connect with at each of the sessions and the breakfast Birds-of-a- Feather roundtables were a great idea. One thing we hear often following the Annual Leadership Summit is about the connections and new friends made during the event. Did you find this true for yourself and your experience? I met several vendors with compelling products stayed connected via email, phone, and also introduced them to my Sales and Sales Operations teams. We are currently piloting a few productivity enhancing tools as a result of those connections. I also connected with Lauren Bailey, Founder and President of Factor8. I had seen her speak previously and connected following her breakout session. After connecting we decided to work together. Her team developed and is now implementing training specific to the needs of my inside sales organization. What was the best professional branding statement or elevator pitch you remember from the 2014 Summit? John Baker s Asking Formula you have to ask for the business. What topic or speaker are you most excited for this year? Social selling I am still trying to get this off the ground for my teams. Hoping 2015 will be the year! What would you say to an Inside Sales Leader who is on the fence about attending the 2015 Leadership Summit? It s a small investment of time with a big payoff! Bring colleagues and friends as you will want to attend every session and will need to develop a divide and conquer approach. I attended the 2014 Summit alone last year and am bringing my entire leadership team this April!
Jeff Perkins VP of Marketing & Inbound Sales, PGi @jeffperkins8 PGi has been a sponsor of the AA-ISP Leadership Summit for several years. We ve always had a great experience attending the conference and connecting with sales leaders. What experiences did you have that you didn t expect? The speakers are always excellent, but...it s the networking after the training sessions that really enhances your knowledge. Getting to meet with sales leaders from different companies and industries is invaluable. I've gotten many great ideas from the people I ve met that I ve taken back and implemented at my company. What convinced you to attend your first Leadership Summit? Sales is changing very rapidly. As a sales leader, it s critical that you re staying on top of the latest trends. AA-ISP does an excellent job helping marketers keep up with the pace of change. Have you made any lasting connections during the Leadership Summit? At the 2014 Summit I met Kyle Porter, CEO at SalesLoft. We had never met before, but it turns out we both lived in Atlanta and worked down the street from each other. We ve stayed connected ever since. We now use Kyle s software at PGi and he s a great resource to consult with on sales effectiveness. What speaker or topic are you looking forward to at the 2015 Summit? It s a great lineup this year. I m really excited to hear from Judy Buchholz from IBM, Matt Heinz from Heinz Marketing and Kyle Porter from SalesLoft. Did you learn anything specific last year you were able to take back into PGi? Last year there were a lot of sessions about listening skills. I went back and worked with my sales team on how we can be better listeners with our customers. The result was our best year ever achieving 100% growth! You are speaking at the 2015 Leadership Summit can you give us a teaser? The title of my presentation is There s no I in Sales. I m going to talk about the importance of the relationship between sales and marketing. B2B organizations with tightly aligned sales and marketing operations achieved 24% faster 3-year revenue growth, and 27% faster 3-year profit growth. My presentation will discuss how to build and maintain a collaborative relationship that will drive better results for your company. What advice would you give to an Inside Sales Leader who is on the fence about attending the 2015 Summit? In today s challenging business environment, sales is more challenging than ever. The AA-ISP conference can give you the insights and ideas to get a competitive edge in the marketplace.
Chad Burmeister VP of Sales & Marketing ConnectAndSell As the original Chapter President for the Silicon Valley Chapter, I have always been an active participant in the AA-ISP. When I heard about the level of sales leaders who attend, I couldn t pass it up! What experiences have you had at the Summit you didn t expect? Meeting Senior Executives from companies like IBM, ADP, and others is incredible. Hearing the challenges they face, getting to influence them, and being influenced by them is incredible. One thing we hear often following the Annual Leadership Summit is about the connections and new friends made during the event. Did you find this true for yourself and your experience? Trish Bertuzzi, Anneke Seley, Kevin Gaither and many more lifetime connections have been made at these events. Meeting live and staying connected through Social Media is key! What were you able to cross off your bucket list because you attended the Leadership Summit? Becoming a Top 25 Inside Sales Professional 5 years in a ROW! One of the focuses of the Leadership Summit is the networking between industry leaders. Have you been able to collaborate with or form a lasting relationship with anyone you met at a past Summit? I began working with VorisghtBP, Factor8, and several Sales 2.0 companies as a direct result of attending past AA-ISP Leadership Summits. What was the best professional branding statement or elevator pitch you remember? Don t amplify suck when using advanced sales acceleration. Proper training is required. - Chris Beall, CEO, ConnectAndSell. What would you say to someone on the fence about attending the 2015 Leadership Summit? If you are serious about a career in inside sales and you haven t attended the AA-ISP Leadership conference, then you are missing the boat! What was an interesting fact or statistic you learned at the 2015 Summit? Inside Sales jobs will grow by 42,000 in 12 months! You are speaking at the 2015 Leadership Summit can you give us a teaser? Are top sellers born...or are they made?! Chris Beall and I will share the latest findings learned in our research and also share some insights from analysts like Objective Management Group and CSO Insights.
These Member interviews and publication were produced by AA-ISP Associate Editor, Christian Wolfe. Christian provides the AA-ISP community with various editorial content including member interviews, event coverage, and press releases. In addition to his work for the AA-ISP, he is a Vice President with PNC Bank with over eleven years as a payments and financial services inside sales professional. He has been the Inside Salesperson of the Year for five years running and was the top overall unit producer in 2013. Christian graduated Summa Cum Laude from Washington & Jefferson College.