2 3 Dilemmas: Hunter or Farmer

In this episode, we explore key dilemmas faced by sales leaders, including can you transition from farmer to hunter, handling 'creepy' behaviour, and managing client presentation pressures. Our expert panel offers nuanced insights and practical advice for navigating complex situations in sales management.

Topics

·      Transitioning account managers to new roles

·      Hunters vs Farmers

·      Handling uncomfortable workplace behaviour

·      Managing client presentation pressures

·      Leadership strategies in sales dilemmas

·      Importance of transparency and communication

Guests

Guests

Richard Bounds:

Richard brings more than three decades of sales and leadership expertise across startups, scale-ups, and global enterprises, with experience leading teams of 30+ sellers and driving consistent, high-impact growth. His track record includes doubling turnover at Box-it by transitioning to a cloud-first model, scaling a business from zero to $4M in just 18 months before a successful trade sale. Built a $25M partner channel at Software AG and delivered record results at OpenText as VP EMEA. Today, Richard supports technology companies as a Board Advisor and Fractional Leader, helping organisations build stronger sales functions, implement best practices, and accelerate revenue through structured coaching, advisory, and modern sales approaches

https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardbounds1/

Sophie Steel: 

Sophie is a coach, trainer, and recovering sales manager who now spends her time figuring out what actually makes people perform. She loves mindset, behaviour, and all that good stuff—but mainly she enjoys calling out the gaps between what we say we do… and what’s really going on. She’s an ICF PCC coach, EQ-i qualified, and specialises in brain and behaviour change—working across sales teams and senior leaders to turn insight into actual behaviour change, not just good intentions.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophie-steel-72218817/

Special Guest: Scott Cassie

Scott brings a different perspective to our discussions. He is a seasoned and very successful sales person and sales leader, with vast experience in the financial services sectors, leading teams in both client management, what many people call account management, and also new business. He has great experience of the North American market as well as Europe. In my experience, having worked with Scott in different ways over the last few years he is a consummate professional as a sales person and sales leader and has particular skills in developing sales talent.

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

 Sound bites

"Can account managers become successful hunters?"

"Handle uncomfortable behaviour with HR support."

"Always be transparent with your team and clients."

"we kid ourselves sometimes"

"we should ask the sales person"

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Sales Dilemmas

02:04 Navigating Team Dynamics: The Case of Andy

17:18 Addressing Workplace Behaviour Concerns

22:32 Navigating HR Dilemmas in Management

28:27 Handling Client Presentations and ROI Expectations

34:05 Key Takeaways from Complex Scenarios

Keywords

sales management, account transition, workplace behaviour, client presentations, leadership dilemmas