In the latest episode of the Gartner Sales Podcast, host Betsy Gregory Hosler talks with Gartner experts Kevin Hooper and Andy Clement to explore sales leadership in uncertain times. These seasoned executives share strategies for navigating volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environments, drawing lessons from their own leadership roles during past crises like the Great Recession and COVID-19 pandemic.

Andy Clement is an Executive Partner with Gartner's Chief Sales Officer program, where he coaches, guides, and challenges sales leaders who are Gartner clients. He joined Gartner in August 2024.

Andy retired from Kimberly-Clark in March 2024 after a distinguished 33-year career. During his tenure, he held various key roles, including chief customer officer, vice president of sales, general manager, strategy director, marketing director, and manufacturing director. Andy earned his executive MBA from Vanderbilt University and his undergraduate degree from Wake Forest University.

Kevin Hooper is an Executive Partner at Gartner, where he leverages over three decades of experience in technology and sales to advise clients on strategic growth and operational excellence. Before joining Gartner, Kevin held leadership roles at companies including Oracle, NEC, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, and Lenovo, where he served as North America president and general manager of the Infrastructure Solutions Group. His extensive background encompasses expertise in cloud business analytics, enterprise solutions, sales operations and strategy. Kevin is dedicated to helping organizations optimize their strategies and achieve their business objectives.

CSOs grapple with two challenges: the relentless pressure to hit quarterly targets and the need to sustain competitiveness in the long term. Research shows that only 11% of organizations successfully do both. In this installment of the Gartner Sales Podcast, Gartner expert Greg Hessong takes us through recent research into what those organizations do differently in order to thrive in turbulent times.

Greg Hessong is a Sr. Director, Analyst in the Gartner sales practice, where he studies the drivers of top performing sales teams and revenue leaders. Greg helps clients apply Gartner's research to improve collaboration, specifically between sales and marketing leaders, to boost pipeline generation, and operationalize go-to-market strategies and channels, such as account-based and inside sales, to drive more efficient and predictable revenue.

In this episode of the Gartner Sales Podcast, host Betsy Gregory-Hosler interviews Nacho Castroverde from Cisco about a groundbreaking AI-powered prospecting tool that is transforming their sales process. The discussion delves into how Cisco's virtual sales organization, managing over 100 customers per seller, leverages AI to prioritize customer interactions and enhance sales efficiency.

Nacho shares insights into the development and implementation of this AI assistant, highlighting its impact on pipeline creation, territory penetration, and conversion rates. Sales leaders will find valuable lessons on integrating AI into sales processes to drive effectiveness and scalability, making this episode a must-listen for those looking to innovate their sales strategies.