Kevin "KD" Dorsey

CRO at finally - Founder of Sales Leadership Accelerator - The #1 Sales Leadership Community & Coaching Program to Transform your Team and Build $100M+ Revenue Orgs - Black Hat Aficionado - #TFOMSL

Formal Education will make you a living… Self Education will make you a fortune. – Jim Rohn

Sales Leadership Accelerator - The #1 SaaS Sales Leadership program - 
www.salesleadershipaccelerator.com


Patreon Group - Monthly Live Trainings, Podcasts, AMA's and more!
https://www.patreon.com/insidesalesexcellence

Awards and Recognition

- DemandBase Top 25 Sales Leaders
- Salesforce - Top Sales Influencer to Follow
- InsideSales top 10 Sales Leader
- Pavillon 🗣 Lecturer of the Year
- Salesforce Top 16 Sales Influencers to Follow
- Ambition Top 100 Sales Coaches
- SalesLoft Rev Star
- TOPO Sales Development Exec of the Year
- LinkedIn Top Sales Voices
- LinkedIn Sales Star
- The Modern Sale Top 100 Global Sales Leaders
- Crunchbase Top Sales Leaders You Should Know

I believe in focusing on the "person" in "salesperson" 

As I've grown as a leader I have a better understanding of what truly drives behavior, motivation, and long term success. If we can make better people, the sales will follow. 

I love scaling sales teams. I have built multiple teams from 0-150+ reps, revenues from 0-100M+ ARR (multiple times). 2 Unicorns (ServiceTitan and Tebra) I believe in processes and systems, paired with skill development, as the code to success. 

I also love to share what I have learned, and what I am learning with others. I consult all sorts of different companies and people as they look to improve their results. I mentor and consult early, mid, and late-stage SaaS companies all across the world. Sharing my playbooks and processes for scaling sales teams successfully.

I have spoken at the top conferences across the country, mentor/coach start up's across the country, and love sharing as I go. 

If there is a book on sales, psychology or influence I have probably read it. I am a voracious learner and am constantly pushing myself and my team to reach new heights of achievement. Because of my own internal desire to learn and grow, that also gets translated out to my team with non-stop growth, coaching and training.

Founder & CEO

The Sales Leadership Accelerator is #1 SaaS Sales Leadership Program

https://www.salesleadershipaccelerator.com/slamembershipoverview

Ya’ll these are the exact trainings, systems, processes I’ve used to build 4 teams over 100 people, 2 unicorns (working on my third) and have trained 1000s of others on as well. 

That's part of what makes this different, is I'm still doing it. 

I'm still in the game. I'm still executing on these things, fine tuning, improving, and growing. 

These aren't the tactics that worked 8 years ago, this is the stuff working NOW.

That’s what the Sales Leadership Accelerator is all about. 

A program to level up the LEADERS!

Leaders need systems, processes,and skill development too. 

That's what this is all about.

Over 15 hours of leadership training (sorry ya’ll, no micro course here, if you want one of those, go somewhere else! it takes more than 90 min to learn this stuff. ) That has been incredibly highly reviewed by 100s of sales leaders and companies. 

Covering things like… 

The BIPSY Leadership Methodology
The WGLL and 4Ds
How to run 1x1s
How to truly develop skills
Coaching and Motivation
Tough Conversations and Accountability
Issue Diagnosis and Metrics
And much more!

Plus over 12 Templates you can take and make your own tomorrow. 

1x1s
Coaching Plans
Issue Diagnosis Checklists
Calls Scorecards
Goal Calculators
And more

Plus monthly group calls, AMAs, and outside experts.

Join today!

Everyone gets ICP wrong.

What people think ICP stands for is 'Ideal Customer Profile.'

But here's the problem:

Most companies define it like this:

→ 200+ employees
→ Technology industry
→ Series B or later
→ VP of Sales is the buyer

That's not an ICP.

That's demographics and firmographics.

I want you to think about ICP differently.

ICP = Ideal Customer PROBLEMS.

Your real ICP isn't a company size or an industry.

It's the customers who have the specific problems you solve.

I was recently speaking at a conference with 150 CEOs in the room. I asked them: "What problems do you solve?"

Four or five of them answered.

Every. Single. One. talked about benefits. Not problems.

"We help companies scale faster."
"We improve operational efficiency."
"We drive revenue growth."

Those aren't problems. Those are outcomes.

Problems sound like:

"Our reps are wasting 3 hours a day on manual data entry."
"We're losing deals because our follow-up takes 5 days."
"Our managers have no visibility into pipeline until it's too late."

THAT'S the level of specificity you need.

Here's the truth:

There are plenty of 200-person tech companies that don't have the problems you solve.

And there are 50-person companies outside your "ICP" that are DESPERATE for what you do.

Firmographics are just prerequisites. They increase the likelihood of the problem existing.

But the problem is the actual qualifier.

When you take a problem-based approach:

→ Your prospecting gets sharper
→ Your messaging gets clearer
→ Your discovery gets deeper
→ Your win rates go up

Stop defining ICP by company size.

Start defining it by customer problems.

This will change how you target, who you target, how you message and most importantly how quickly you can close.

Honored and humbled to be speaking at PeakSpan Capital Scale Up summit in Boulder, CO. 

To be in a room of over 150 CEOs and executives, being taught by one of the best CEO coaches in the game John Hamm is always just something that is exciting. 

Then to get to present, drop some knowledge, some insight, some acronyms (you know WGLL had to make an apperence) and receive rave reviews just makes it all that much better. 

Fun Fact - At almost every conference I go to I make a joke when checking in about did they get my fog machine and my custom bedazzled name tag. 

Why?

For fun. Because why not. 

EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE... The team goes and makes it happen. 

Haha shout out to the Peakspan team for going along with my ridiculousness and brining some fun to this thing called business and GTM. 

I feel so fancy now..

It's one thing to want more.

It's another thing to be worth more.

Everyone wants the shortcut.

The new title. The new comp. The new bonus. The new car. The new watch.

They want to become a new version of themselves without developing a new skill. Without actually being better at anything.

That's not how it works.

Worth follows skill.
Worth follows ideas.
Worth follows collaboration.
Worth follows execution.

Even career-wise — people think longevity is the key.

"I've been here 3 years, I deserve a raise."

No. The only point of longevity is that you're also getting BETTER year over year over year.

If you're the same as you were two years ago skill-wise, you don't deserve more money. You just deserve more time on the clock.

Harsh? Maybe.

But it's the truth.

And this doesn't just apply to reps. Leaders, this is for you too.

You want more? Become worth more.

Here's how:

→ Read more this year. Consume knowledge relentlessly.
→ Buy the course. Invest in yourself before asking others to invest in you.
→ Find the mentor. Get in rooms with people better than you.
→ Practice more. Reps aren't just for reps — leaders need reps too.
→ Seek feedback from those ahead of you. Ego kills growth.
→ Try new things. Measure them. Improve them. Repeat.

That's how you earn more.

Not by wanting it. By being worth it.

Money follows worth and value. 

Become WORTHY of more money and you'll be shocked how it shows up. 

Level up, ya'll.

Hot take or best practice?

Send candidates a training module before their final interview.

Here's the idea:

Before the role play or scenario call, you send them a recording of an actual training. They watch it. Then in the interview, you see how well they apply it.

I've done it in the past and am thinking of brining it back again as we start to scale up. 

Here's why:

→ You see how well they prep
→ You see how fast they learn
→ You see if they can apply new information under pressure
→ And you're actually giving them VALUE — they walk away having learned something whether they get the job or not

But I know some people will push back.

"You're asking candidates to do work before they even have the job."

I get it. But here's where I think this is a bit different. 

This isn't "build me a 90-day plan for free."
This isn't "create a strategy doc we'll use whether we hire you or not."

This is training. Development. Something they keep forever.

You're investing in THEM before they've invested in you.

They're going to do the role play/scenario call anyway... so why not give them the best shot at it?

And honestly? If a rep or manager doesn't want to watch a 20-minute training to land a job...

What does that tell you about how they'll show up once they have it?

But I want to hear from ya'll.

I'm genuinely curious. 

Is this a smart interview tactic or asking too much?

What would you do if your salary and rent were covered for a full year?

That's not a hypothetical.

Stanley (Your Content Coach) is giving away $100K to help one person go all-in on their dream.

Here's why this matters:

Only 4% of creators earn enough to support themselves full-time.

4%.

The rest are grinding nights and weekends. Squeezing in content before the kids wake up. Recording in parking lots between meetings. Burning out trying to build something while working for someone else's vision.

Most people don't quit because they don't have talent. They quit because they run out of gas trying to do it all.

Last year, Stan ran this same campaign. Over 3,200 people signed up. 2,500 shared their dreams on camera. The videos generated 12.9 million organic views.

It became more than a giveaway. It became a movement.

And they're doing it again.

Imagine having a full year where you didn't have to worry about paying rent. Where you could actually focus on building the thing you've been dreaming about.

Think about what you could actually do:

→ Write every single day
→ Record content without rushing before work
→ Start that podcast you've been talking about for 2 years
→ Interview the people you've always wanted to learn from
→ Travel and speak at events
→ Build an audience without burning out

This isn't side hustle energy. This is full hustle. All-in. No excuses.

Here's how it works:

1. Sign up for Stanley (free)
2. Post a video (2 mins or less) on a public isntagram or tiktok sharing your story, your dream, and how you plan to bring it to life using #standaretodream26 and tag @stanleyforcreators
3. Complete the Typeform after signing up

That's it.

The Stan team will review every single entry and pick a winner in February.

I've seen what happens when someone goes all-in. 

The growth compounds faster than you can imagine when you're not splitting your energy 47 different ways.

This is someone's shot to skip years of the grind.

Is it you?

Join Dare to Dream & enter to win $100K → 

https://lnkd.in/g_pQjXkX

What's your dream?

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. For Official Rules, visit DaretoDream.Stan.Store

Brand partnership • CRO at finally - Founder of Sales Leadership Accelerator - The #1 Sales Leadership Community & Coaching Program to Transform your Team and Build $100M+ Revenue Orgs - Black Hat Aficionado - #TFOMSL

🔢I Coach Sales Teams to achieve consistent results by prioritizing accountability, strategic coaching, ICP focus and performance metrics | 1 on 1 and Group Coaching | LI Live and Podcast Host

When I first got into sales, I had a similar path as most. I was trying to figure out how to sell, and once I did that had my eye on being the top performer on my team, so I would be thought of as a leader and have a chance to be promoted into management.

A short year and a half later, I did all of that and was promoted. I was going to change everyone's life and get to teach the low performers how to be successful and sell. About a month and a half later, I was wondering what happened. Nobody seemed to be listening to me or at least improving like I thought they should. I was really good at chasing and closing deals because that is all I knew how to do. My boss kept telling me you are trying to be a hero "You can't save everyone."

My problem was I was subjective and emotional about everything. I had no management process. It wasn't until I figured out that I had to take the emotion out of it and make everything objective that I started to see results. 

Fast Forward 10 years later, with many successes and failures I created a 6 step process that helps takes the complication out of managing salespeople with a heavy focus on your team's Structure vs Pipeline:

1. ATM Approach- Where am I at with my team today
2. Interview Process- How do I hire more awesome Reps
3. Onboarding- How do I get new reps to revenue faster
4. Expectations- Set clear expectations so people know if they are good at their job or not
5. Coaching- How do I develop people using data
6. Ideal Customer Profile- Who are your target accounts

If interested in learning more you can visit my website to book a call or download my e-book on the ATM Approach.

mattdferguson.com

Matt Ferguson

Sometimes it takes longer than you think.

If you told Curt Cignetti back in 2008 that he wouldn’t get his first Power Five head-coaching job until 63, he would’ve laughed.

And he would have laughed harder if his only opportunity was Indiana.
The worst program in college football history.

But that’s what happened.

One of my favorite quotes ever is from Herb Brooks.
Coach of the 1980 US Olympic Hockey Team.

“Great moments come from great opportunity.”

You don’t know when your opportunity is coming.

Some people get theirs early.
Some people have to wait.
A long time.

But the people who eventually win?
They keep moving forward.

Small wins = Big Wins

My friend and fellow Hoosier Fan Greg Stanley sent me photo that last night.
Can't get enough of the coach Cigs Memes.

GO HOOSIERS!

People always ask me about going out on my own.
Because they want to do it.

My response is always the same.

What are you making right now?
What's your situation at home?

Because if you make a bunch of money
And your spouse/partner isn’t on board.

You don’t have a great shot of making it.

Thankfully for me.
My wife has a good business of her own.

And has always supported me.

Not once over the first couple of years was it:

Make more money or go get a job.
If it were, I prob wouldn’t have stuck through it.

Today is our 7 Year Wedding Anniversary.

Going out on your own is hard.
Doing it without support is almost impossible.

Small wins at home.
Made the Big wins possible.

Happy 7 years to my best teammate

I laughed at the situation below.
The truth is, I find it sad.

And I see it far too often.

Big Companies
Small Companies
Start Ups

It doesn't matter- I have horror stories for Days.

My biggest problem with the situation below.

No real data, plan, or path to get to the bigger number.
When noone hit the smaller number last year.

When you do this, your reps:

Have no belief and are demoralized.
Sending texts and talking behind your back.
And yes, probably looking for another job.

Your biggest job as a leader is selling your team.
Just like you used to sell your clients.

How did you do that?
You took them through a sales process.

What’s the problem?
How do we fix it?
Here is how we can do it.

It’s so easy to forget.
But if you don’t have buy-in.

You don’t sell anything.
The same goes for your team.

If they don’t believe
They won’t sell anything either.

What’s the “MAGIC” behind the biggest turnaround in sports history?
Here’s the answer every sales team needs to hear.

When the Hoosiers’ head coach was asked, “What’s the magic?”

His response was simple:
“There is no magic. It’s fundamentals.”
“A leader with a blueprint and a plan.”
“Create the intangibles: culture, mindset, philosophy.”

There’s no magic in sales either.
If you're wondering why your sales team is struggling, ask yourself if you have the things above in place.

My sales fundamentals have always been the same:
- Do we have the right people?
- Are we targeting the right accounts?
- Do we solve problems people actually care about?
- Is there a clear process from start to finish?

And the real differentiator:
Are you sticking to them and coaching them every day?

Will this guarantee the biggest turnaround ever?
No. But I guarantee it will create better results.

My dad has talked about the Rose Bowl my entire life.
Growing up in freezing Cleveland, it always felt unreal that it could be warm and sunny somewhere on Jan. 1st.

When Indiana made it this year, we finally went.
He grew up visiting his aunt in Bloomington and watching IU practices in the summer.

We watched one of the historically worst programs dominate a former powerhouse, 38–3.

Amazing what fundamentals can do.

Go Hoosiers.

You don’t have to Google him anymore.
2 years ago, very few knew who Curt Cignetti was when he said, “Google me, I win.”

Now everyone does, and the team he built will be studied by leaders forever.
He turned a team around so fast that some wondered if he was cheating.

How does he do it?

No 5 stars
Players who had been passed on
Fits the culture he was looking to build

One of the stars of the game last night was the WR Becker.

Kirk Herbstriet remembered him from high school.
“He was a solid player, but not highly recruited.”

He did not drop a ball this year and made every big catch last night.

I am often asked, what should I look for in salespeople.
My answer is simple:

“What type of culture do you have or are you trying to build?”

Then find some people who have had some success and fit the traits you want, then build them from there.

What it's not is go find “A players” (5 Stars) and hope they fit.
Why? Because I have found that “A players” often don't fit the way you want them to.

Indiana may be the best example of that I have ever seen.
Hopefully, we all learn from it.

Sales Leaders- If you micromanage one thing, MICROMANGE this.



YOUR LISTS

I learned this lesson years ago, when we created an SDR Team.

A couple of months in, the AE team was complaining.
So we looked at the meetings that were booked.

I laughed. I wouldn’t have run any of those meetings.
So I took a look at the comp plan.

They were paid the same for every meeting.
So they did what every sales rep does.
Took advantage of the plan.

Booked meetings that were easier to book.
Smaller companies that weren’t a fit.

Easy fix:
-Objectively define the ICP.
-Create the lists based on this.
-Pay them based on the quality of the meeting.

Problem solved.

A mutual complaint all sales leaders have when I first start working with them?

Our team closes too much of the wrong stuff.
There is only one person to blame.

-Objectively define your best accounts.
-Make it easy to understand why they are.
-And then hold people accountable to it.

And if you have to MICROMANGE- Do IT.
Everyone will thank you later.

Target the right accounts = closing the right accounts.

If you have hired a sales rep within the last year, you should listen to what Chris Mader says below in 64 seconds.

What I have experienced over the years is similar.
The mistake people make is thinking people should be better sooner.

It takes time!

Chris, Casey, and I talked for over an hour about all we have seen in 2025, working with over 50 Sales teams.

Topics Include:
- Why so many teams are missing quota
- Strategies for B and C Players
- Building a culture of Trust
- Understanding your reps and how they want to be led

If you want to hear more, links to Apple and Spotify are in the comments.

Hopefully, your customers don’t view your company like I view my Car wash.

A couple of months ago, my car wash changed names and ownership.

I never had any issues with the old one.
Every time I went to the new one, I notice issues:

-My car is soaking wet after going through
-Always a vacuum not working
-No clean towels

And the best part my monthly fee went from 15.99 to 24.99.

Yesterday, when I was about to go through I recognized the employee directing me in.

I asked, “Hey, you worked here before the name change, right?”

“Yes”

“Have people been complaining since the change?”

“Ya, a lot.”

“What’s the biggest difference?”

“The old one was family owned, and they cared; now we're owned by corporate.”

That was all I needed to hear.

The family owner cared much more than the corporate owner.

Leadership starts at the top.

Customers don’t feel ownership changes.
They feel standards slipping.

When leadership stops caring:
-Small issues pile up
-Prices go up
-Pride goes down

Culture shows up in the details.
Leadership always does.

A couple of things I wish I had known earlier in my Sales Management career.

25 Seconds to better discovery on your sales calls.

How do you stay top of mind, without being annoying?

A question I get asked a lot.

My advice is simple. Be different than everyone else.

A simple way I have used over the years.
And the text below is a perfect example of it.

Before the break, I had a meeting with someone.
We set the next steps, and I wasn’t able to make it.

And the next steps were never set after that.

Instead of hounding me every day to book the meeting, he used a tactic of mine without even knowing it.

He sent me a text about something else we had discussed.

I saw it and responded, and it reminded me of him without me being annoyed.

The timing for me just isn’t right at the moment.
But sooner or later it will be.

Salespeople have a bad reputation for always asking for something.

Differentiate yourself by not doing that.

Send something interesting about
-The Industry you are both in.
-Personal you may have learned about them.
-A topic that was discussed on the call.

And then don't ask for anything else.

You will separate yourself from all of the people “Checking in”
I can promise you that.

Bad Math leads to a Bad Path
It's why I always question it.

I have a new client who is starting a sales team.
He asks great questions on how we should judge them.

Without much data, it is hard to know.
He has done most of the selling.

The good thing is that he has good relationships in his industry.
Which means he can get some info.

When going through the math, I kept questioning one area.
He stood by it.

When we did the math, an A player could do over $1 million.

Which pumped him up, because it meant it would be easier to recruit top talent based on the commissions they could pay.

As I was still questioning the math, I received a text from him.
He admitted he had misunderstood the math.

Which cut the outcome by almost 1/3
Good catch, early.

Because bad math doesn’t just miss targets.
It creates bad expectations, comp plans, hires, and culture

Fix the math first.
Everything else depends on it.

You might be surprised by the type of REP that used to annoy me the most.

And it wasn’t the bottom performers.
It was the middle performers.

Yesterday, I listened to a client complain about a rep for a while.

When I asked where he ended up last year, I knew the answer.

“He hit his goal for the year.”

I understood why he said it.
He felt the goal was low.

Why, because the manager used to sell way more than that.

Here is what we forget.
Most people aren’t A players like we were.

Teams break down like this.

- Top Performers- Awesome Reps- 0-20%
- Middle Performers- Typical Reps- 60-80%
- Bottom Performers- Mess Reps- 0-20%

I have run my ATM exercise with clients for over 3 years.
Over 60 Times on teams from 7 different Countries.

I have never seen the %’s change much.

If you are frustrated all the time because people don't perform like you.
It’s gonna rub most of your team the wrong way.

Once you lose your team, your job becomes a lot harder.
Don’t be annoyed because people aren’t you.

If you would like to learn more about ATM
Send me a DM, and I can send you some info.

2 Types of Discovery Sales Reps miss too often.

Most discovery refers to pain.
And yes, we need to find pain to close deals.

Here are 2 others that are overlooked and also lead to more closed deals.

1. WHO ARE YOU TALKING TO?
Personality
Nice
Mean
Open
Closed
Tell you anything
Tell you nothing
Talks sports
Hates sports

You can usually tell right away.
And need to adjust based on who it is.

2. HOW DO THEY BUY?
Is it easy
Is it hard
What's their process
Who would be against it
Who wants it
Who else is involved
What's the biggest hurdle

Some are as much project managers as salespeople these days.
The more you know, the more you can navigate.

Don’t think of Discovery just as pain.
There is so much more to uncover.

Below is a classic mistake so many reps make.

I am not gonna lie, the $200 gift card was intriguing.
And the product could be something I need.

But like most LI spam messages, I have seen this one before.
Not even here to hate on it.

Just a lesson a lot of people need to hear.

I am not their ICP- Not even close.

Not only is it a waste of my time
It’s a bigger waste of their time.

The biggest mistake I see Reps make.

They want to sell everyone:
-They will be bigger someday.
-This will lead to something better.
-If we can get this ROI, they said they will spend more.

I have heard it all, and it rarely comes true.
And leads to so much wasted time.

Every second you spend on something that is not a fit.
You take time away for something that is.

Easy to say, Hard to do.
But is it the path to better deals and more success.

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