Derek Baer returns to the Industrial Growth Institute podcast for a candid, unscripted conversation about the sales accountability issues most companies avoid talking about.
Ed and Derek dig into four core topics with plenty of detours, war stories, and a little friendly disagreement along the way:
- Do Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs) actually work? Why most companies wait too long, what a PIP should really look like, and how to handle a rep who's crushing quota but showing all the wrong behaviors
- "Telephonobia" — why so many salespeople avoid the phone, the self-limiting beliefs behind it, and a real story of a single cold call turning a "maybe in November" into an immediate opportunity
- Where marketing ends and sales begins — handling chatbot leads, using website visitor intent data, and why sales reps ignore some of the best tools they already have
- Creating deals vs. uncovering them — the real stats behind buyer shortlists, why only 3% of buyers are "in market" at any given time, and what that means for how you should actually be prospecting
Plus: PIP horror stories, a secret side project proving that "our industry is different" is almost always an excuse, and why compensation structure quietly shapes rep behavior more than most leaders realize.
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What is Industrial Growth Institute?
Ed Marsh is a founder, Army veteran, independent board director, manufacturing marketing expert, and industrial sales leader. He has marketed and sold millions of $ of B2B industrial manufacturing stuff worldwide. Each week on the Industrial Growth Institute, he chats with makers and thinkers, experts and specialists to gather innovative insights, recent trends, and tried & true best practices for B2B business growth. Each episode provides both actionable tips and theory, for everyone from owners and executive management through managers & directors to individual contributors - all in an enjoyable and energetic conversation format.