In this episode of Selling the Cloud, hosts Mark Petruzzi and Kristin Anderson sit down with Stephen Messer, co-founder of Collective[i], to unpack why traditional sales playbooks are failing in today’s volatile markets—and what elite revenue organizations are doing differently.

Stephen brings a bold, data-backed perspective on why so many sales teams are flying blind and how AI-powered feedback loops are becoming essential for navigating constant change.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why playbooks break down when market conditions shift
• How reliance on historical data leads to broken forecasts
• The growing gap between buyer behavior and seller actions
• What boards and executive teams really want from forecasting
• Why superintelligent sellers outperform rigid process followers
• How AI transforms pipeline visibility, speed, and decision-making

Key Quote:

“In volatile markets, you don’t need a better playbook—you need a better way to listen, learn, and adapt in real time.”

Guest Bio:

Stephen Messer is the co-founder of Collective[i], an AI-powered platform designed to transform the way revenue organizations operate. A pioneer in tech and data-driven strategy, Stephen has spent his career building companies that help businesses make smarter, faster decisions.

Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.

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In Part 2 of our powerful conversation with Doug Brown—CEO of CEO Sales Strategies—we dig deep into what it really takes to scale a high-performing sales organization.

From identifying your ideal buyer to designing repeatable sales systems and aligning with customer psychology, Doug shares the process-driven, mindset-first strategies he’s used to help top-performing teams accelerate revenue with confidence.

This episode is packed with frameworks, real-world stories, and sharp insights that sales leaders, CROs, and founders can implement immediately to boost productivity, predictability, and team performance.

Topics Covered:

• Sales Process Optimization: Why most companies never define their ideal right-fit buyer and how that derails scalability
• Metrics that Matter: Doug’s 11 core metrics that reveal productivity bottlenecks—and the gold hidden in your top performers
• Customer-Centric Selling: The 3 reasons people buy—and how to align your pitch to their definition of value
• Business vs. Personal ROI: Why focusing only on business outcomes causes missed deals (and what to do instead)
• Sales Leadership that Works: How real leaders inspire performance by getting in the trenches, not behind the desk
• Compensation & Motivation: Why money only motivates up to a point—and what truly drives high rep retention
• The Future of Sales: How buyer behavior is shifting toward convenience and connection, and why AI is now a must-have in your sales workflow

Memorable Quotes:

“Sales isn’t about selling what you think is valuable. It’s about selling what they believe is valuable.”

“You don’t need to reinvent the wheel—just find what your top performers are doing and replicate it.”

“AI isn’t coming. It’s here. If you’re not using it to offload tasks, your competitors already are.”

Work with the Selling the Cloud team: Visit www.get-ags.com

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In Part 1 of this conversation with Doug Brown—CEO of CEO Sales Strategies and one of the most trusted voices in revenue acceleration—Mark and KK dive into what it really takes to build a high-performance sales team.

Whether you're scaling a startup or optimizing a mature sales org, this episode is your blueprint for hiring top producers, increasing predictability, and improving performance from day one.

What you'll learn:

• Why clarity before hiring is the foundation of world-class sales teams
• How mindset, not just skillset, separates top performers from average reps
• The power of structured interviews, role simulation, and assessments like OMG
• A modern take on “ego strength + empathy” and how to calibrate for your culture
• Real-world examples from Tony Robbins, telecom sales, and PhD-led orgs
• How to hire for potential (not just experience) in a rapidly evolving sales world
• The overlooked importance of drive, commitment—and the "why" behind performance

Doug brings decades of proven experience, and KK adds her own perspective as the global leader in OMG sales assessments. Together, they unpack what most hiring managers miss and how to get it right.

Want help building a high-performance team?

Contact AGS at www.get-ags.com/contact

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