In this episode of Your Winning Edge, host Skip Balch sits down with Gary Tillery, the newly appointed CEO of Skkynet, to explore leadership, AI-driven growth, and the future of customer-centric technology businesses.
Gary shares his journey from board advisor to CEO and breaks down Skynet’s strategic shift from a perpetual license model to a subscription-based revenue approach. The conversation dives deep into why secure data, customer trust, and operational excellence are non-negotiable in industrial and enterprise environments and how AI is reshaping everything from sales strategy to internal infrastructure.
This episode also explores the human side of leadership. Gary explains why creativity, relationships, and hiring people with a servant’s heart are essential for scaling responsibly in an AI-powered world. From go-to-market strategy and free download models to building standardized processes that support long-term growth, this discussion offers practical insights for executives, founders, and technology leaders navigating rapid change.
If you’re interested in AI strategy, leadership transitions, subscription business models, customer engagement, or building trust-driven technology companies, this episode delivers real-world perspective from the front lines.
Topics covered in this episode include:
Transitioning from board advisor to CEO
Shifting from perpetual licenses to subscription revenue
Customer engagement and long-term loyalty
Secure data and trust in industrial applications
AI’s impact on operations, creativity, and leadership
Go-to-market strategy and sales execution
Hiring for values, culture, and servant leadership
Building scalable infrastructure and standardized processes
Balancing automation with human connection
Subscribe to Your Winning Edge for in-depth conversations with leaders shaping the future of business, technology, and growth.
We hope you enjoyed this episode of SalesHandicapper!
– Skip and the SalesHandicapper Podcast team :)
Connect with me: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/skipbalch/
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SalesHandicapper is a podcast for B2B tech founders and sales leaders building and scaling their sales engines. Hosted by Skip Balch, a sales strategist with over 45 years of experience in B2B sales and product development, each episode explores the real challenges of creating repeatable, scalable sales processes. Skip brings a diagnostic approach to sales, helping leaders distinguish between people problems, process problems, and ICP problems.
The podcast features candid conversations with founders and sales leaders who share their journeys from early customer wins to scaling sales teams. Whether you're a founder systematising what's working, a VP of Sales managing inconsistent team performance, or a sales leader navigating the shift from early stage to scale, SalesHandicapper delivers practical frameworks and honest insights to help you build your winning edge.
What is The SalesHandicapper: Your Winning Edge?
Welcome to SalesHandicapper: Your Winning Edge, where we help B2B tech founders and sales leaders build sales engines that actually work. I'm Skip Balch, with over 45 years in B2B sales and product development.
When revenue stalls or close rates drop, most leaders start guessing. They blame the people, tweak the process, or chase a new ICP—without diagnosing what's actually broken. SalesHandicapper diagnoses first, then prescribes.
Each episode features founders and sales leaders who've built sales engines in tech companies. We explore scaling sales—when early tactics stop working, lessons from failed hires, and how to build qualification frameworks teams can use.
Whether you're a founder doing all the selling, a sales leader managing inconsistent performance, or unsure if you're targeting the right customers, this podcast helps you figure out what's wrong and what to do about it.
This is SalesHandicapper: Your Winning Edge.