
Manage Smarter is the bi-weekly podcast
for sales managers, entrepreneurs and emerging leaders.
Each episode is a frank, fast-paced and sometimes humorous discussion of the challenges facing managers from the front lines to the C‑Suite. We address the strategic and psychological aspects of improving team performance, sales, marketing, customer experience, company culture and overall productivity. And we do it through entertaining interviews with innovative managers, startup leaders and executive coaches to help you become a better boss.
LISTEN NOW
SUBSCRIBE WHEREVER YOU GET YOUR PODCASTS
SHOW NOTES
Eddie Yoon is the Co-Founder of Category PIrates, LLC…a business writing band and top 10 business Substack. In this episode, we discuss: what superconsumers are and how they affect your business; what is category design and how can you fine tune it for greater sales; why categories matter MORE than your brand; and how to identify new sales channels by finding the superconsumers who are at the fringes of your business category.
Andrea Waltz is the co-founder of Courage Crafters, Inc. and co-author of the best-selling book, Go for No! Yes is the Destination, No is How You Get There. In this episode, we discuss: The radically different ways hearing “NO” affects people; tangible ways you can change how you react to hearing “NO”; how leaders and managers can change the way their teams think about "no" creating a mindset that encourages persistence and tenacity; and how sales pros should view “NO” as a problem with opening, not closing.
Steve Gielda is co-founder of Ignite Selling and author of Ignite Your Sales Strategies: A field guide to accelerating the pipeline. In this episode, we discuss: Five assumptions that cause new products to fail; Steve’s latest sales pipeline management strategies; and how to better understand customers’ buying factors.
Brynne Tillman is the LinkedIn Whisperer and CEO of Social Sales Link. For over a decade she has been teaching entrepreneurs, sales teams and business leaders how to leverage LinkedIn for social selling. She is also the author of The LinkedIn Sales Playbook, a Tactical Guide to Social Selling. In this episode, we discuss: why and how to keep your social channels authentic; overhauling your LinkedIn.com profile for a different audience; the needed mindset shift for managers on their social media profiles/channels; and tips for using AI in social selling and on ChatGPT.
Darren Horwitz is the Founder of TenTen, a brand implementation firm that helps organizations plan, build, and manage brand change. Darren and his team work with clients to help them navigate the complex process of planning, executing, and bringing brands to life. In just over 8 years, TenTen has helped 100+ companies rebrand, across industries and around the world. In this episode, we discuss: when you should rebrand and why; the 5 Pillars of Successful Brand Implementation Planning; the difference between branding vs. rebranding; the timing, cost and implementation of branding; and the logistics of a rebrand.
Crista Grasso is the go-to strategic planning and systems expert for online businesses when they want to scale. Known as the "Business Optimizer", Crista has the ability to quickly cut through noise and provide clarity on the core things that will make the biggest impact to scale a business simply and sustainably. In this episode, we discuss: the methodology of time chunking; the 4 Pillars of the Lean Out method; what mistakes she made with her business that prompted her to start her company; and the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make when scaling their business.
MUST HEAR EPISODES
Brian Tracy has consulted for more than 1,000 companies and is the top selling author of more than 80 books on business and personal success. As a popular keynote speaker and seminar leader, he has addressed more than five million people in 5,000 talks and seminars throughout the U.S., Canada and 82 other countries worldwide. In episode 05, we discuss: the most important quality that a manager should have, the three most common mistakes leaders make, how to set better goals and the importance of the work culture.
Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of The New York Times best seller The Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude — which has just been published a new edition with many new tips to help you find, build and keep a winning attitude. In episode 13, we discuss: why attitude is critical to management and leadership; countering negative attitudes and how to change your attitude by changing what you think about.
Jeffrey Hayzlett is a primetime television host of C‑Suite with Jeffrey Hayzlett and Executive Perspectives on C‑Suite TV, and business podcast host of All Business with Jeffrey Hayzlett on C‑Suite Radio. Hayzlett is the author of three best-selling business books: Think Big, Act Bigger: The Rewards of Being Relentless, Running the Gauntlet and The Mirror Test. In episode 15, we discuss how the C‑Suite thinks, how to talk to them and how to become one of them.
Jennifer Gluckow is an author and founder of Sales in a New York Minute as well as host of a YouTube Channel of the same name. In episode 16, Jennifer discusses how age plays a role in the workplace and uses her professional experience to share her advice for young managers and first-time managers.
Tom Peters is a best-selling author and world renowned expert on business management practices. Peters is co-author of In Search of Excellence—the book that changed the way the world does business, and often tagged as the best business book ever. In episode 19, we discuss: Tom's new book — The Excellence Dividend, how to avoid being replaced by technology, the characteristics of a successful team and the critical need for soft skills mastery by managers at all levels.
Dr. Christine Porath is an Associate Professor and Researcher at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University and an expert in workplace incivility, its costs and remedies. She is author of Mastering Civility: A Manifesto for the Workplace and co-author of The Cost of Bad Behavior. In episode 28, we discuss her research on the decline of civility, how it affects productivity and what managers can do about it.
Cy Wakeman is a drama researcher, global thought-leader, and New York Times best-selling author who is recognized for cultivating a counter-intuitive, reality-based approach to leadership. In episode 32, we discuss: Cy's definition of drama, and the effects on the workplace, acceptable ways to react to drama that has been created and how to hire low drama employees.
Michael Houlihan is the co-founder of Barefoot Wine, now, the world’s largest wine brand. He, along with Bonnie Harvey, are consultants, international keynote speakers and New York Times Bestselling authors. In episode 50, we discuss: the definition of The Money Map and why every manager should show this to their employees; how to get employees to understand where their salaries come from; how to identify and hire a “hustle” mentality; and the unique concept of a Two-Division Company (Sales and Sales Support).
Kevin F. Davis is the founder and president of TopLine Leadership. Over the past 25 years, more than 20,000 sales managers from many of the world’s most successful companies have attended his 2‑day workshop on sales management leadership. Kevin is the author of The Sales Manager’s Guide to Greatness: 10 essential strategies for leading your team to the top. He is also the architect of SalesFuel's Sales Manager Training program and a facilitator as well. In this episode, we discuss: the #1 reason sales managers fail; the simple, common mistake sales managers make when working with AEs that blocks productivity; how to have difficult conversations with your team; and sales and marketing alignment strategies.
ean Kantambu Latting, DrPH, LMSW-IPR is President of Leading Consciously, LLC, and Professor Emerita at the Graduate College of Social Work (GCSW), University of Houston. In this episode, we discuss: the definition of the racial divide at work; how to open difficult conversations in the workplace; and best practices for initiating a diversity, equity and inclusion program in the workplace.
ABOUT THE HOSTS

Audrey Strong is a veteran public relations and communications expert. She is currently Director of Communications for SalesFuel. She previously ran her own PR firm for 10 years and was PR Director for The Ritz-Carlton in Denver. Prior to that, Audrey had a successful career as an award-winning anchor/reporter/producer in TV news, including Chicago and Denver.
C. Lee Smith has been leading and developing people for most of his adult life in sales departments, nonprofits and as CEO of SalesFuel. Lee is a nationally recognized consultant and speaker. He is also the international bestselling author of two books: SalesCred and Hire Smarter, Sell More!