By Suzanne Robicheau
Podcasts appeal on many levels. Some find the attraction in a format that fits so seamlessly into our busy schedules. Others appreciate the anywhere/anytime access to content. For sales guru Tibor Shanto, it all boils down to intimacy.
“There’s a personal quality to podcasts that makes it easy to take in information,” says Shanto, an award winning author, trainer and social selling thought leader. “I read a lot, but text on a page doesn’t stay in your head in the same way as words that are spoken in a podcast.”
It’s this feeling of close connection that has Shanto especially excited about a collaboration with ITWC to produce and deliver a bi-weekly podcast series called Sales Scrum. Designed to help organizations address complex, revenue-related issues, the series will bring Shanto together with guests from Marketing, Sales and other related fields. They’ll share stories, insights and even a few laughs.
“When selecting the guests for this series, I stayed away from the names we hear over and over again,” says Shanto. “Instead, I looked for individuals who have something unique to say. With a lot of podcasts, it’s a case of same old, same old. My guests for Sales Scrum are people I respect because they bring something new to the table – something that will enable my audience to see things differently.” Click here for the guest list and episode highlights.
If guests are the special ingredients for this series, Shanto is clearly the special sauce. Enthusiastic, entertaining, and sometimes downright funny, he ranked 8th on the list of the Top 30 Social Salespeople In The World on Forbes.com in 2014 and co-authored the award winning book Shift!: Harness The Trigger Events That Turn Prospects Into Customers. A brilliant sales tactician, his list of clients includes sector giants, such as Bell Mobility, Business Development Bank of Canada, Imperial Oil, Rogers Communications and Union Gas.
Despite being a relative newcomer to the podcast scene, Shanto knows what he expects as a listener and is determined to offer his audience the same thing. “I want to drive these podcasts in a certain direction, but I may not always stick to the main road,” he says. “I may take some side streets and alleyways to get exactly where I want to go.”
Although Shanto has received recognition as one of the world’s top sales and marketing bloggers, he holds the podcast in special regard when compared with a blog. “Blogs give you the chance to revise and edit, while the podcast captures conversation as it unfolds,” he says. “It’s the unvarnished truth, or as close to it as we can come.”
The first episode of the Sales Scrum series begins on Monday February 10, 2020 on the Sales and Marketing page of Channel Daily News, with subsequent episodes released every other Monday. Listeners can also subscribe at iTunes, Spotify and through other podcast outlets.
Those interested in more content related to capturing customer and prospect insights may also wish to participate in Closing the Sales Gap, a 30-minute webinar series in which Shanto dissects the challenges around sales and marketing with ITWC President and CMO Fawn Annan.
