Aaron Ross, co-author of "Predictable Revenue", along with Mary Lou Tyler from episode 14, is back with a new book, "From Impossible to Inevitable: How Hypergrowth companies create predictable revenue". Learn what Aaron had to learn the hard way about sales, and how he manages to write books, consult, and raise 12 kids.

Brennan Dunn wasn't always a whiz internet marketer. He started off pursuing a degree in electrical engineering, but switched gear to study Classical Languages (which did come in very handy later). 

Along the way, he learned how to do internet marketing, how to get sales without selling, and much more.

In this week’s show:

• Building awareness of a growing medium
• Systematization
• The intake process is all about the business owner
• Planning isn’t sexy
• Interrogating a problem
• Keeping it simple
• Ben’s top 3 quick tests for your website

Anil Dash has done it all, except graduate from college. He's started companies, helped launch the social media revolution, served on President Obama's Office of Digital Strategy, uses Twitter prolifically, and is the CEO of Fog Creek Software.

In this wide-ranging discussion, Anil talks about:

• how he first learned to sell (and overcome his distrust of sales reps)
• how he didn't learn to do marketing until much later (and what he did instead)
• how he tries to structure non-zero-sum incentives
• the critical concept of "bus-proofing" that's expected on the tech side, but not on the sales side of the house
• a simple way to encourage more diversity in hiring (and how this benefits the company)

And much more...

Author and productivity consultant Maura Thomas talks about how she got into the field (by accident), working with David Allen, where she agrees (and disagrees) with Getting Things Done (GTD), why time management is outdated, and how to manage your attention.

Best selling author and sales guru Jill Konrath details her own struggles with digital distractions and how to sell more in less time.

Marylou Tyler of Predictable Revenue and Predictable Prospecting fame discusses how she moved from writing code to sales success by using her engineering background instead of running away from it.

Few things cause as much stress as pricing. But it doesn't have to be that way. This episode looks at how to think about pricing, how to align better to customers' needs so you can price better, how to move from cost to value-based pricing (and why most people get this wrong), how to negotiate discounts, how to present price in your proposal, and more.

Caleb Sidel discusses how he got into consulting, why his company partners sell and stay deep in tech, the advantages of partnering with someone like salesforce.com, the simple way they train consultants to be effective sales people, and more.

Attorney (and mechanical engineer) Brian Spross on when you need a lawyer and how to protect yourself and your company.

Scott Ingram, host of the Sales Success Podcast, discusses his journey from networking engineering to sales success, including:

• The importance of great mentors.
• A great short cut for nerdy sales success.
• His morning routine.
• Why women are overrepresented in top sales performers, and what you can learn from them.

• How he taught himself to sell, including the steps of the sale, how to turn features into benefits, and how to close.
• How he taught his team to sell.
• "People hate to be sold to, but people love to buy."
• Why if you're doing too much "hard core selling", your message isn't right.
• Why introverts have a long term advantage in sales versus most extraverts. (And how to take that advantage.)
• Why he puts the message first, even before the audience.
• Why you need to turn features into benefits, and benefits into stories.
• Why stories are so important.
• What can I do above and beyond the core functional skills/services/products to give my customer an amazing experience.
• Why you don't want to spend tons of time writing "educational" proposals-- it not only wastes your time, it decreases your chances of winning. 
• If you confuse the customer, you lose the sale.
• Practical steps on niching, including a real world example (and a meta-example of Matthew's storytelling).
• Why our brains are overwhelmed by input and we have to focus.
• Focus on the people who love what you do-- not the people you can never make happy.
• Most people have been motivated by fear of not having enough money for most of their lives. They have a set of goals that are driven from here.
• Why if you do what you love, there's always more energy (as shown by Matthew in this interview after getting 4.5 hours of sleep).
• The mistake people make in underestimating themselves.

Erik Luhrs, "The Bruce Lee of Lead Generation", talks about how effective positioning creates a foundation for successful sales, and how poor positioning leads to frustration, not matter how well you execute on the tactics.

Ash Maurya talks about how to turn great ideas into great products and avoid building things that don't matter. Because, "life’s too short to build products nobody wants."

John Livesay discusses how to pitch, including:

• The 2 simple parts of a pitch
• Why most founders don't have a good pitch
• How to practice your pitch in low pressure situations, so you're ready in high pressure situations.

Master Sommelier June Rodil discusses how to pick wine as a beginner, how she became as Master Sommelier, and how she opened her own restaurant.

Plus,

• Secrets for great customer service
• How to delegate as a control freak
• Why spreadsheets are still important
• How to set up your product offerings to maximize customer happiness and minimize your stress.

Joe Williamson on how to price new offerings and more.

Adam Boyd from MarketSense, a Sandler sales trainer, discusses the importance of process, why you probably talk too much in sales, how to uncover a solution rather than prescribing it, building good habits, and more.

Jason Cohen returns for part 2, including what kind of company do you want and want to keep, why you should be honest, and more. 

Serial entrepreneur, WPEngine founder, and Smart Bear blogger Jason Cohen talks about how to sell as a technical founder against professional sales teams and big companies. You have more advantages than you think, but most small companies squander them.

We also enjoy a nice rioja.