Why do so many sales conversations fail before they even begin? In this episode of Sales Lead Dog, Christopher Smith sits down with Darren Haygood, Chief Revenue Officer and Managing Partner at Streamline Auto Solutions, to talk about the real skills behind successful sales leadership, customer relationships, and long-term business growth. With more than 25 years of experience across OEM, dealership, and automotive SaaS organizations, Darren shares practical lessons on leadership, active listening, CRM adoption, customer experience, and building authentic client relationships that last. From launching innovative automotive technology solutions to leading high-performing sales organizations, Darren explains why the best salespeople focus less on pitching products and more on understanding problems. The conversation also explores mentorship, leadership development, CRM implementation challenges, and why trust still matters more than technology in modern sales. If you work in sales, automotive, leadership, CRM, SaaS, or customer experience, this episode offers practical insights you can apply immediately. What You’ll Learn • Why active listening is the most important skill in sales • How top salespeople build trust and credibility faster • Why product demos fail when done too early • How to identify the real customer problem before selling • The role mentorship plays in leadership development • Why most companies fail to fully utilize their CRM systems • How authenticity improves long-term client relationships • Why education works better than hard selling • Leadership lessons from automotive SaaS and dealership operations • How process and technology should improve customer experience Guest Information Darren Haygood Chief Revenue Officer and Managing Partner, Streamline Auto Solutions Proud father of four, adventure enthusiast, triathlete, and automotive SaaS sales executive with 25+ years of experience across OEM, dealer, and digital marketing organizations. Darren focuses on driving meaningful change for dealers through technology solutions, data insights, and scalable processes that improve the customer experience. Connect with Darren Haygood: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrenhaygood/ Learn more about Streamline Auto Solutions: https://streamlineautosolutions.com/ About Sales Lead Dog Sales Lead Dog is hosted by Christopher Smith, CRM technology and sales process expert, and founder of Empellor CRM. Each episode features sales leaders who have separated themselves from the rest of the pack, sharing how they achieve success with their teams and their CRM strategy. Unless you are the lead dog, the view never changes. Connect and Learn More All episodes and show notes: https://empellorcrm.com/salesleaddog/ If this episode brought you value: 👍 Hit Like and help more sales professionals find this conversation. 🔔 Subscribe so you never miss a Sales Lead Dog episode. 💬 Drop your biggest takeaway in the comments. What sales lesson stood out most to you from Darren’s approach?

What does it take to lead a global sales team selling drone navigation technology to the Department of Defense, in environments where GPS cannot be trusted?

Kara Kramer, Vice President of Raptor Sales at Vantor, joins Sales Lead Dog to break down her journey from the intelligence community to the front lines of defense technology sales, and the leadership philosophy she built around one core principle: being the shield for her team.

This episode covers mission-driven sales, building diverse global teams, why women are underrepresented in sales leadership, and a CRM take that will change how you think about your pipeline tool.

What You'll Learn:

• How 9/11 redirected Kara from vet school to a career built around national security mission
• What GPS-denied environments mean and why Raptor exists to solve it for military drone operations
• The shield leadership model: absorb the pressure so your team can close
• Why she hated CRM as a seller and now calls it the tool that protects her entire team
• What she actually looks for when building a globally diverse sales team
• The real reason there are not enough women in sales leadership and what the data says
• How to run demos that move defense tech deals forward when no PowerPoint will do it
• How to build a team career path without assuming everyone wants what you wanted

About Kara Kramer:

Kara Kramer is the Vice President of Raptor Sales at Vantor. She leads the global go-to-market team for Raptor, the company's vision-based software suite enabling precise drone navigation and target coordinate extraction in GPS-denied environments. Vantor is a spatial intelligence company that fuses data from satellites, drones, and ground sensors to create a real-time digital representation of Earth, delivering mission-critical insights for defense, intelligence, and commercial operations.

She previously held leadership roles at AeroVironment, Shift5, and Istari, and earlier in her career served in the intelligence community and worked at Booz Allen Hamilton and Thomson Reuters.

Connect with Kara

Learn more about Vantor

Vantor on LinkedIn

Drone autonomy without GPS

About Sales Lead Dog:

Sales Lead Dog is hosted by Christopher Smith, CRM technology and sales process expert, and founder of Empellor CRM. Each episode features sales leaders who have separated themselves from the rest of the pack, sharing how they achieve success with their teams and their CRM strategy.

Unless you are the lead dog, the view never changes.

All episodes and show notes: https://empellorcrm.com/salesleaddog/

If this episode brought you value:

👊 Hit Like and help more sales professionals find this conversation. 🔔 Subscribe so you never miss a Sales Lead Dog episode.

💬 Drop your biggest takeaway in the comments. What principle is most relevant to where you are in your career right now?

What actually holds businesses back from scaling?

In this episode of Sales Lead Dog, Christopher Smith sits down with Wayne Hunter, President & CEO of AvTek Solutions, to break down the real challenges behind growth, leadership, and operational success. Wayne brings over 30 years of experience in IT, cybersecurity, and compliance. He shares practical insights on why most businesses struggle not because of tools, but because of missing process, poor data governance, and weak execution. If your business feels stuck, inconsistent, or harder to scale than it should be, this conversation will help you rethink how you operate. What You’ll Learn • Why process and procedures are critical for business growth • How poor data governance creates serious risks • Why most CRM failures are actually process failures • The role of leadership in building accountable teams • How to scale without breaking your operations • Why listening is one of the most important leadership skills • How mentorship and peer groups accelerate growth About the Guest Wayne Hunter President & CEO, AvTek Solutions Wayne Hunter is a seasoned IT leader with over 30 years of experience in storage systems, systems integration, and IT management. As President & CEO of AvTek Solutions, he helps organizations simplify complex technology, strengthen cybersecurity, and maintain compliance in regulated industries. A two-time Amazon Best-Selling Author, Wayne is known for turning technical uncertainty into clear, actionable strategies grounded in integrity and long-term client success. Connect with Wayne: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/waynehunteravtek/ About AvTek Solutions Website: https://www.avteksolutions.com/company LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/avtek-solutions/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@avteksolutions9241

About Sales Lead Dog Sales Lead Dog is hosted by Christopher Smith, CRM technology and sales process expert, and founder of Empellor CRM. Each episode features sales leaders who have separated themselves from the rest of the pack, sharing how they achieve success with their teams and their CRM strategy. Unless you are the lead dog, the view never changes. Connect and Learn More All episodes and show notes: https://empellorcrm.com/salesleaddog/ If this episode brought you value 👍 Hit Like and help more sales professionals find this conversation. 🔔 Subscribe so you never miss a Sales Lead Dog episode. 💬 Drop your biggest takeaway in the comments. What principle is most relevant to where you are in your career right now?

Why do some salespeople consistently win while others struggle to close deals? In this episode of Sales Lead Dog, Christopher Smith sits down with Michael Ritsema, Principal and President of I3 Business Solutions, to discuss persistence, sales discipline, and why consistent outreach still drives results in modern selling. Michael began his career in sales in the early days of technology distribution and went on to build I3 Business Solutions into a managed services company supporting more than 150 clients with cybersecurity, productivity, and IT reliability. His journey includes navigating economic downturns, pivoting business models, and building a recurring revenue technology services company. In this conversation, Michael shares practical lessons from decades in sales leadership. He explains why persistence still separates successful salespeople from the rest, why CRM systems are essential for tracking long term opportunities, and why many modern sales teams give up far too early in the engagement process. Michael also talks about leadership, accountability, and the importance of soft skills in building strong teams and lasting client relationships. This episode is a practical look at the fundamentals of selling that still matter today. What You’ll Learn • Why persistence is still one of the most important traits in sales • How consistent outreach creates opportunities over time • Why many sales teams quit too early in the process • How CRM systems help track long term sales opportunities • The difference between sales activity and real engagement • Why leadership requires clarity and accountability • How strong culture supports sales performance Guest Michael Ritsema Principal and President, I3 Business Solutions Website https://i3bus.com

linkedin:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeljritsema/

Guest Bio Michael Ritsema is the Principal and President of I3 Business Solutions, a technology services company based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. After starting his career in technology sales in the 1990s working with IBM systems, Michael built and led a successful business focused on managed services, cybersecurity, and technology productivity solutions. Over the years he has guided the company through major economic shifts including the 2001 technology recession and the 2007 financial crisis. Today I3 Business Solutions supports more than 150 clients by helping organizations improve reliability, security, and productivity through technology. Michael is known for his focus on persistence in sales, strong leadership culture, and disciplined use of CRM systems to manage long term relationships and opportunities. About Sales Lead Dog Sales Lead Dog is hosted by Christopher Smith, CRM technology and sales process expert, and founder of Empellor CRM. Each episode features sales leaders who have separated themselves from the rest of the pack, sharing how they achieve success with their teams and their CRM strategy. Unless you are the lead dog, the view never changes. Connect and Learn More All episodes and show notes https://empellorcrm.com/salesleaddog/ If this episode brought you value 👍 Hit Like and help more sales professionals find this conversation. 🔔 Subscribe so you never miss a Sales Lead Dog episode. 💬 Drop your biggest takeaway in the comments. What principle is most relevant to where you are in your career right now?

Why do so many sales conversations fail before they even begin?

In this episode of Sales Lead Dog, Christopher Smith sits down with Ian Spandow, Sales & Dog Whisperer, Author, and Sales Enablement Consultant, to explore one of the most common mistakes in modern selling: pitching before understanding the buyer.

Ian has worked with sales teams across the world and previously led the sales coaching team for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa at Oracle. Over his career he has coached thousands of sales professionals and helped organizations rethink how they approach discovery, qualification, and customer conversations.

Today’s buyers are more informed and more cautious than ever. When salespeople rush into presenting solutions before fully understanding the customer’s situation, they often lose credibility and miss the opportunity to guide the conversation.

Ian shares lessons from decades of experience in sales leadership and coaching. The discussion covers how discovery should work today, how AI is influencing sales training and enablement, and why personality and curiosity matter more than ever when building high performing sales teams.

Ian’s personal journey is also remarkable. After a major turning point in his career, he founded a nonprofit dog rescue and sanctuary. Today he balances helping animals with coaching sales professionals, proving that leadership and empathy matter in every field.

This episode offers practical insights for sales leaders, founders, and professionals looking to improve their sales conversations and build stronger relationships with buyers.

What You’ll Learn

• Why pitching too early damages sales conversations • How better qualification leads to stronger sales outcomes • The biggest discovery mistakes sales teams make • How modern buyers are changing the sales process • Why personality and curiosity matter when hiring sales talent • How AI is influencing modern sales training and enablement • What sales leaders should focus on when coaching their teams

Guest

Ian Spandow, Sales & Dog Whisperer, Author, and Sales Enablement Consultant

LinkedIn

Guest Bio

A web search for the phrase “Plucky Irishman” will return Ian Spandow’s name as the top result.

His audacity led to him being fired from a senior role at a global technology firm for defending an H-1B recruit from India. As an immigrant worker living in the United States, Ian worked with several Silicon Valley start ups after first finding and later losing a fortune during Ireland’s Celtic Tiger years.

Once slated for the cover of Newsweek, Ian suddenly faced deportation and a mid life restructuring that led to marriage and the rekindling of his passion for dogs.

Today Ian runs a nonprofit dog rescue and sanctuary, helping animals while also coaching sales professionals and organizations. His work connects two worlds that share a common theme: helping others find a better path forward.

About Sales Lead Dog

Sales Lead Dog is hosted by Christopher Smith, CRM technology and sales process expert, and founder of Empellor CRM. Each episode features sales leaders who have separated themselves from the rest of the pack, sharing how they achieve success with their teams and their CRM strategy.

Unless you are the lead dog, the view never changes.

Connect and Learn More

All episodes and show notes: https://empellorcrm.com/salesleaddog/

If this episode brought you value

👍 Hit Like and help more sales professionals find this conversation. 🔔 Subscribe so you never miss a Sales Lead Dog episode. 💬 Drop your biggest takeaway in the comments. What principle is most relevant to where you are in your career right now?

What if AI is not the solution to your sales problems?

In this episode of Sales Lead Dog, we sit down with Jim Iyoob, President of ETS Labs, to break down what actually drives performance in sales and contact centers.

Jim shares his journey from call center agent to building a global organization, along with practical insights on leadership, accountability, and why most companies struggle with CRM and AI adoption.

This conversation cuts through the noise around AI and focuses on what truly matters: process, people, and leadership.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why AI cannot fix broken sales processes • The biggest mistake companies make with CRM • How mentorship shapes long-term success • The role of accountability in high-performing teams • What servant leadership looks like in real organizations • Why involving your team is critical when implementing new tools • Lessons from scaling a company from 400 to 4000 employees

About the Guest: Jim Iyoob serves as President of ETSLabs and Chief Revenue Officer at Etech Global Services, leading AI innovation and customer experience strategy across both organizations.

With over 35 years in contact centers, Jim focuses on practical AI implementation that works in real operations. At ETSLabs, he helped develop QEval, an AI quality management platform designed for real time coaching and full interaction coverage.

At Etech, he leads global sales and quality operations while helping transform the business using insights from large scale customer interaction data.

Connect with Jim Iyoob: LinkedIn LinkedIn Newsletter Podcast Etech Insights Newsletter

About Sales Lead Dog

Sales Lead Dog is hosted by Christopher Smith, CRM technology and sales process expert, and founder of Empellor CRM. Each episode features sales leaders who have separated themselves from the rest of the pack, sharing how they achieve success with their teams and their CRM strategy.

Unless you are the lead dog, the view never changes.

Connect and Learn More

All episodes and show notes: https://empellorcrm.com/salesleaddog/

If this episode brought you value:

👍 Hit Like and help more sales professionals find this conversation. 🔔 Subscribe so you never miss a Sales Lead Dog episode. 💬 Drop your biggest takeaway in the comments. What principle is most relevant to where you are in your career right now?

What if the secret to a long, successful sales career had nothing to do with scripts, tactics, or closing techniques?

Richard Cassell, Senior Director of Business Development at Black Box, learned his most important sales lesson at age 12 working at his family's gas station in Valdosta, Georgia. That moment set the foundation for a career built on one core idea: stop focusing on yourself and start focusing on what the customer actually needs.

In this episode of Sales Lead Dog, Richard sits down with host Christopher Smith to unpack the mindset shifts, mentorship moments, and hard-won lessons that have shaped his approach to sales, leadership, and relationship building over multiple decades.

From a pivotal two-year comeback at Washington Mutual to reframing an entire enterprise deal around mission instead of ROI, Richard shares real stories with real lessons that any sales professional can apply immediately.

What You'll Learn

• The three principles a retired sales veteran gave Richard early in his career, and why they still drive his success today
• How a chance encounter at a Franklin Covey store in Seattle changed how he manages time and priorities
• Why being transparent about product gaps can actually win you the deal in the long run
• The Washington Mutual story: how Richard lost the room, came back two years later, and closed a career-defining deal
• How to build multi-threaded relationships inside complex enterprise accounts
• Why reframing around mission (not ROI) was the key to winning a major deal in Salt Lake City
• What Richard looks for in a mentor and how he recommends approaching high-level professionals
• His honest take on CRM: necessary evil or genuine sales tool
• Why AI is now changing the prospecting game and what that means for sales reps who want to stay competitive
• How Richard leads through nonprofit work and why giving back is a core part of his professional identity

Guest Credentials

Richard Cassell Senior Director of Business Development, Black Box Black Box is a global solutions provider specializing in IT infrastructure design, deployment, and management for enterprises, with a strong focus on healthcare across the United States.

Richard covers large healthcare systems nationally, working within a portfolio of 1,700 hospitals and 300+ healthcare systems.

Richard also serves as Vice Chairman of the Board at The Breakfast Group, a 50-year-old Seattle-based nonprofit focused on education and economic development for inner-city minority youth.

About Sales Lead Dog

Sales Lead Dog is hosted by Christopher Smith, CRM technology and sales process expert, and founder of Impeller CRM. Each episode features sales leaders who have separated themselves from the rest of the pack, sharing how they achieve success with their teams and their CRM strategy.

Unless you are the lead dog, the view never changes.

Connect and Learn More

All episodes and show notes: https://empellorcrm.com/salesleaddog/

Connect with Richard Cassell on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardcassell/

If this episode brought you value:

👍 Hit Like and help more sales professionals find this conversation.

🔔 Subscribe so you never miss a Sales Lead Dog episode.

💬 Drop your biggest takeaway in the comments. What principle is most relevant to where you are in your career right now?

AI is not coming for sales. It is already here. In this episode of Sales Lead Dog, Victor Antonio joins us to break down what AI agents really mean for sales teams, sales leaders and the entire buying process. Victor’s background is rare. Electrical engineering. MBA. Global sales leadership. President of global sales and marketing for a $420M company. VP of international sales for a Fortune 500 organization. Today, he is one of the most recognized sales educators in the world and author of The Future of Selling: The Rise of AI Agents. This conversation goes beyond ChatGPT. We dive into AI agents, agent-to-agent communication, model context protocols, and how buying behavior is changing faster than most sales teams realize. The biggest shift is not just how we sell. It is how customers buy. And most organizations are not ready. 🔍 What You’ll Learn in This Episode • Why AI agents will change sales faster than CRM ever did • The difference between AI replacing jobs and eliminating hiring altogether • How AI is transforming the buyer journey before sales even gets involved • Why simple, low risk sales are already at risk of automation • The rise of agent-to-agent workflows and what that means for sales teams • Why CRM as we know it is becoming obsolete • How to prepare your sales organization before disruption hits • Why human conversation is becoming a competitive advantage 💡 Key Takeaways AI is not just a productivity tool. It is an infrastructure shift. Organizations that treat AI as a small pilot project will fall behind. Those that rethink their entire sales enablement strategy will gain margin, speed and insight that was impossible just a few years ago. Victor explains why companies must stop asking “Will AI replace sales?” and start asking “Which sales roles will AI replace first?” He also shares why picking up the phone may soon become a rare and powerful differentiator. 📘 About Victor Antonio Victor Antonio is a globally recognized sales trainer, keynote speaker and author of more than a dozen books. He has led global sales teams across Europe, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and South Africa. He is the host of the top 100 US podcast Sales Influence and runs the Sales Velocity Academy used by sales teams around the world. Learn more at https://victorantonio.com 🎧 Listen to More Sales Lead Dog Explore all episodes at: https://empellorcrm.com/salesleaddog/ 👉 If You Found This Valuable Like this video Subscribe for more sales leadership insights Comment below: Is AI a threat or an opportunity for your sales team?