Decoding Sales
A podcast where an engineer (Alex Allain, CTO @ U.S. Digital Response) and salesperson (Peter Ahn, Tech sales coach) demystify what it means to build meaningful business relationships in the modern age.
- Update frequency
- every 28 days
- Average duration
- 35 minutes
- Episodes
- 47
- Years Active
- 2020 - 2025
Episode 47: Hiring first GTM hires that last
I sat down with Harry and Uddhav from The Inflection Group - the recruiting firm behind successful hires at Coinbase, Pinterest, Snowflake, and more.
We dive deep into the biggest startu…
Episode 46: Authentic founder-led outbound that works with Mason Fuerst (CEO, Motiv)
Mason Fuerst, founder and CEO of Motiv (motivai.us) sits down with Peter to break down how he approaches outbound sales in an authentic way.
With all the noise out there today around ho…
Episode 45: Lying to customers
In this episode Alex and Peter ask, "Is it OK to lie to customers? And if so, when?"
They dive into:
- An experience Alex's friend had with a sales lie
- What to do when a salesperson lies
- How…
Episode 44: Should you do a design partnership?
Peter and Alex dive into Peter's thoughts on design partnerships and their impact on startups.
They discuss:
- The pressure from VCs to sign more design partners
- Why not all design partnersh…
Episode 43: Does AI sales training work?
In this repurposed episode from Peter's YouTube channel, he sits down with Hyperbound's cofounders Sriharsha Guduguntla and Atul Raghunathan.
They discuss:
- The evolution of AI in sales
- H…
Episode 42: Relationship-led selling with Centralize founders Rachit and William
As a solo host, Peter tries his best to fill Alex's shoes :)
He sits down with YC W24 founders of Centralize, Rachit Kataria and William Wang, to discuss their founder-led sales journey…
Episode 41: Piloting Sales at Pilot.com with Founder, Waseem Daher
Waseem Daher (Ex-Dropbox and Founder of Pilot.com) sits down with Peter Ahn and Alex Allain of Decoding Sales to discuss learnings from his founder-led sales journey.
They discuss:
• The…
Episode 40: 3 things Peter got wrong!
At the end of the year, Peter and Alex look back on what Peter's learned coaching startups and three places he's changed his mind.
They cover:
- Peter's new thoughts on BANT and MEDDIC as …
Episode 39: Founder-led sales from a founder (Tido Carriero, CEO Koala)
Having all worked together on Dropbox for Business, Tido, Alex, and Peter share a special bond and respect for building the foundational elements of enterprise sales at Dropbox when it …
Episode 38: When not to chase shiny logos
Peter and Alex discuss founder-led sales mistake #2: Spending too much time on bad-fit leads.
They dive into:
- What makes a bad-fit lead?
- How do you qualify for fit and what questions can…
Episode 37: Avoid this founder-led sales mistake
Peter and Alex discuss one of the most common founder-led sales mistakes he's seen early stage founders make: assuming they have a brand when initiating outbound sales.
They dive into:
- …
Episode 36: Scaling authentic sales
Peter and Alex discuss the state of sales at large companies and what it means to scale authentic sales. They explore the following questions and topics:
- Can startup sales be relevant at…
Episode 35: The pitch
Peter and Alex review the elements of an effective pitch:
- The elevator pitch and leaning into your origin story (regardless of what VCs will tell you)
- What makes a compelling pitch deck a…
Episode 34: ...And we're back!
Catch-up to hear what Peter and Alex have been up to and how the state of play has changed within st…
Episode 33: Micro-negotiations in everyday life
Every day you're presented with moments where you can decide whether to take what's offered, or you can negotiate. Most of us take what's offered because it's comfortable and easy, but …
Episode 32: BANT and MEDDIC
BANT and MEDDIC are two popular sales methodologies. Learn what each of them are for, how to apply them, and how they help you create a more effective sales process.
This episode is spon…
Episode 31: Cold outreach - love or hate?
Sales and marketing teams need to be able to reach out to prospects cold. But prospects hate getting bombarded by irrelevant messages. What do you do with this necessary channel for bu…
Episode 30: Recession-proof sales
High inflation, negative GDP - possible recession? It doesn't matter what you call it, it matters what you DO. In this episode:
👀 Peter shares his view of the state of play and how sales…
Episode 29: Decoding subtle cues
* How body language and subtle cues can tell you if a deal is on track - or not
* How to take the initiative when you get clues that the conversation is going off-track
* Cues to look for…
Episode 28: Dealing with the competition
Competition is a fact of life and business; in this episode, learn how to sell and win against your competitors.
* How to understand what the competition is saying about your weaknesses …