I help organizations create modern learning strategies for their people, partners, and customers | AE @ Docebo | 🎙Host of Stories of Selling Human

Sometimes in your life it feels like you lose everything.  

Like the year I was laid off.  Interviews pushed from COVID 19,  But then the real bomb hit,

My Dad got diagnosed Leukemia.

Just 5 months later, unfortunately my Dad passed away.  Despite losing so much, I'll never lose what my Dad taught me about life.  Things like selflessness, a relentless work ethic, and a thirst for knowledge.

His best lesson was how to create genuine connections with everyone in your life.  I've taken that approach to sales my whole life.  I’m still the 8 yr old kid who loved meeting people so much that he went door to door selling Ham and Cheese out of a catalog.

I got genuine connections out of it and the Sony Boombox I won wasn’t half bad either!

Highlights from 15 years in professional sales:

🔥 I launched a new team where I successfully recruited financial producers for a firm owned by Fran Tarkenton, Hall of Fame QB.

🔥I was named the top sales rep in an office of over 50 media sales people.  Judged not just by sales attainment but also by activity.

🔥At Monster, I sold the biggest partnership contract in the history of our team. $300k ARR, 3 year deal. 

What am I most proud of professionally?

A 15 minute meeting.  I drove 3 hours to Chicago to meet a client I’ve never met in person.  For 15 mins to say hi and drive back.  It wasn’t to close a deal.  It was just a Tuesday. 

Those “Just Tuesday” moments are why I love this gig.

I’ve had success in my career because I genuinely seek to understand people. 

An understanding strategy IS my sales strategy.

My relentlessness isn’t driven by my product or a sales number. I'm motivated by digging deeper to discover the “un-discovered” problem.   Sales is something that happens for and with your buyer not to them.  You're a guide on a discovery together with the intention to help and add value.  ALWAYS.

The best feeling in sales isn’t ringing a bell, (even though that’s always fun). 

The real joy is in being told three simple words.

“I trust you.” 

That’s what really lights me up and what I'm going for.

Finally, my approach in sales is guided by attuning yourself to what someone’s entire world is like, actively listening without any agenda, being genuine, and putting them first.

I call these things, “Selling Human”.  I practice it daily.  I think we can all do it.

I choose to study it.

If you want to learn it with me, listen to my podcast:  Sell By Being Human 
(wherever you get your podcasts)

AND for more,

Follow #sellbybeinghuman

Alex Smith

I’m getting on a plane to see my mom this week but I also need your help.

Hoping someone out there has worked with a parent that is searching for assisted living or memory care.

This week we’ll be looking at some places and its a whole journey I’ve bever been a part of before.

So always good to find people that have travelled that same journey.

I also know its big to shout out birthdays on Linkedin recently so shouting out my Mom for turning 79 this past week!

79 has brought a lot of joy and tough realizations.

She’s the same age as my Dad was when he passed away 6 yrs ago.

As your parents age you start counting experiences you’ll have with them in person on your hands.

Trying to squeeze in more time because you know it’s finite.

I always hear people say, 
I’m not ready for my parents to get there.

But its not about being ready.

You’ll never be ready.

Its about being present.

So value the time you have before it’s too late.

Lucky that we have this week and hopefully more weeks in our future to be present.

Presence is the present at 79.  😊

I help organizations make learning enjoyable across their people, partners, and customers | AE @ Docebo | 🎙Host of Sell By Being Human

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Common Room

Enterprise Account Executive

RightBound

- Led a team of SDRs and AEs
- Managed strategic deals

Vice President of Sales

Director of Sales

Bravado

- Promoted to run revenue (GTM strategy, BD, Sales, and CS)
- Managed AEs and CSMs

Head of Revenue & Go-To-Market

- Led a team tasked with building a new product to help salespeople have successful careers
- Launched Bravado Flex, the company’s then-fastest-growing business unit

Head of Skunkworks (New Product Development)

Bonjour.io

- Joined as first US employee
- Managed Sales, Product Marketing, and Customer Success through company pivot
- Departed after board-level decision to wind down operations

IdeaScale

- Sold to accounts including Aegon, Medtronic, Emerson, Pfizer, Graybar, H&R Block, GoPro, Mozilla, and Emirates NBD
- Top Enterprise AE by ARR and number of new logos in 2019 and 2020

ExecVision

Mid Market Account Executive

Sales Development Representative

Chrona Sleep

- Won an Arch Grant (archgrants.org)
- Acquired by private equity
- Also waited tables and tended bar during this time

Co-Founder

VP of Sales @ RightBound

Ben Bronsther

Complete buyer intelligence inside Claude!  

Awesome to see this partnership come to life.

#claude #AIGTM #EnterpriseAI

Every buying signal. Actionable in one place.

We're introducing updates to plugins in Cowork, designed to help enterprises customize Claude for better collaboration across their teams.

Admins can create private plugin marketplaces to distribute them across the org. A unified "Customize" menu also gives you more control over plugins, skills, and connectors in one place.

We've added connectors from Google Workspace, Docusign, Apollo.io, Clay, Outreach, Similarweb, MSCI Inc., FactSet, WordPress, and Harvey, and partners like Slack, LSEG, S&P Global, Common Room, and Tribe AI have built plugins for joint customers. 

We've also created plugins across HR, design, engineering, ops, financial analysis, investment banking, equity research, private equity, and wealth management to help users see what's possible and start building their own.

Now in research preview: Claude can work across Excel and PowerPoint end-to-end, running analysis in one and building the presentation in the other.

Our team is live now covering these updates. Tune in: https://lnkd.in/gG_G8nZj

Read the full post for more: https://lnkd.in/eFuFb5gB

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The Battle

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Ben Bronsther

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taplio

The Battle

Alex Smith

Ben Bronsther

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Alex Smith's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreBen Bronsther's LinkedIn Performance

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Performance ScoreAlex Smith's LinkedIn Performance