In this episode, I’m joined by Simone Warren, Sales Director for Technology, Media & Telco at NCC Group, with a career spanning global names like Microsoft, BT, Siemens, Virgin Media, and Alibaba.

Simone shares her journey from telesales to leading international sales teams, offering powerful lessons on:

• How clarity, research, and genuine customer focus remain timeless sales principles.

• The evolving role of cybersecurity—shifting from fear and features to business outcomes and board-level conversations.

• Breaking barriers as an Asian woman in tech, and how she built credibility in a male-dominated industry.

• Coping with pressure and resilience, from growing up in Singapore’s high-stakes education system to leading teams through the intensity of enterprise sales.

Simone also discusses her memoir The Fate We Make—a planned trilogy exploring heartbreak, hurting, and healing—and how family, resilience, and perspective shape her outlook on business and life.

If you’re in sales, leadership, or simply fascinated by the intersection of tech, people, and resilience, this conversation is packed with practical insights and inspiration.

👉 Available now on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.

Performance, Points Boards & the Power of People — with Nick Martin

In this episode of The Channel Zone, host Mark Edwards sits down with seasoned consultant Nick Martin to explore the evolution of sales, consulting, and collaboration in the tech world. From early career points boards to today’s AI-powered disruption, this candid conversation covers what’s changed, what’s stayed the same, and what really matters: people, performance, and perspective.

Nick shares insights from decades in tech—reflecting on the old-school motivation of public sales metrics, how the modern workplace is evolving to support mental health, and why transparency and teamwork beat private performance conversations every time.

The duo dives into:

• 🔍 The challenges of digital transformation as an ongoing mindset shift

• ⚖️ AI’s influence on legal services and other regulated industries

• 🤝 Why genuine networking still beats LinkedIn profiles

• 📉 How private equity’s grip on the MSP space is changing client relationships

• 📈 The role of creativity, strategy, and compliance in modern consulting

Whether you’re a veteran seller, a startup strategist, or just curious about how the tech and consulting landscape is shifting, this episode delivers sharp thinking with a human touch. The video version of this podcast can be found on our YouTube channel.

In this episode, Mark Edwards sits down with Roy Ferrari, SAP GTM Lead at HCLTech, for a wide-ranging conversation on what it takes to build a billion-pound partnership in the modern enterprise tech landscape. Roy shares insights from the recent SAP Sapphire event in Madrid, the importance of face-to-face interaction in today’s digital-first world, and HCLTech’s evolution from a systems integrator to a strategic SAP partner.

They dig into the rise of AI in sales—from proposal automation to RFP response generation—and what that means for the future of the sales profession. Roy also offers a candid take on the declining quality of sales qualification, the over-reliance on relationships, and why understanding the decision-making ecosystem is more important than ever.

Key Questions Explored:

- What is the role of a go-to-market lead in tech partnerships?

- How is AI reshaping the sales process?

- Why are in-person meetings still critical in an age of automation?

Whether you're in enterprise sales, partnerships, or tech strategy, this episode delivers valuable lessons on adaptation, alignment, and authenticity in modern selling.