In this episode of SalesTV, sales enablement industry stalwart Mike Kunkle returns to break down the performance levers, leadership behaviors, and enablement disciplines that truly drive seller effectiveness. Rather than focusing on “more activity,” “more pipeline pressure,” or “more tools,” Mike uncovers the deeper structural issues that create friction inside revenue organizations. He explains why so many sales systems unintentionally work against sellers, why most methodologies never take hold, and why frontline managers - not dashboards - are the real force multipliers.
Chapters
00:00 Intro – What Sales Leaders Must Rethink Today
01:25 The Harder–Faster–Louder Problem
03:14 The Building Blocks of Sales Enablement
04:46 Efficiency vs. Effectiveness
06:08 Systems, Managers, and the Real Performance Levers
07:16 Sales as a Complex System
08:47 Buyer Acumen & COIN-OP Model
12:02 Personalizing Targeting & Account-Based Execution
14:18 Why Without Buyer Understanding GTM Fails
15:32 What to Retire - Tech Stacking & “Do More” Management
18:08 Studying True Top Performers
19:35 Methodology Chaos & Why It Fails Organizations
23:54 Is Sales Art or Science?
27:06 The ONE Thing - Buyer Centricity
In this episode, we asked…
*How can leaders diagnose the real constraints limiting sales performance?
* What does true buyer acumen look like, and how can teams develop it?
* Why do sales methodologies fail, and what actually drives adoption?
* How can leaders move beyond activity-based efficiency to true sales effectiveness?
* What capabilities and rhythms make frontline managers the biggest performance multiplier?
* How can enablement evolve from “content delivery” to “behavior change”?
* What does a buyer-aligned sales system look like in practice?
Key Takeaways
* Buyer acumen is the most underdeveloped and high-impact skill in sales.
* Systems, not sellers, cause most inconsistent performance.
* Methodology without adoption is meaningless - coaching and workflow matter more.
* Frontline managers drive the majority of sales outcomes.
* Enablement maturity is measured by behavior change, not content volume.
* Activity metrics often create false confidence.
* Buyer-aligned systems outperform seller-centric systems every time.
The ONE THING Mike Kunkle wants you to take away -
Be Buyer centric. As Zig Ziglar taught us, “We can get everything we want in life if only we’ll help enough others get what they want.”
About SalesTV
SalesTV.live is a weekly talk show created by salespeople, for salespeople. Each episode explores sales, sales training, networking, and social selling, bringing together sales leaders, enablement professionals, and practitioners from across the globe.
About the Institute of Sales Professionals
The Institute of Sales Professionals (ISP) is the world’s only body dedicated to raising standards in sales. Through its Sales Capability Framework, certifications, and global member community, the ISP works to elevate sales to the level of a recognized profession.
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