You are a founder. Your time is limited. This episode is about two simple things that can change your next sales call. Prepare better. Make them do the math with you.

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In this conversation I sit down with Ronny Horvath, CEO of Xponential, to unpack how he sells mission critical technology to large companies in Latin America. We talk about why most people still show up unprepared to meetings, and how a bit of homework before the call changes everything. Ronny shares how his team uses public data on companies to walk into the room already knowing size, context and risk, then uses a clear agenda and open questions to lead the conversation.

We then go deep into numbers. Instead of arriving with a finished ROI slide, Ronny brings structure and questions so the client builds the business case with him. Together they calculate what downtime costs, what missed deadlines mean and what that risk is worth in money. When the client does the math, they own the urgency and the decision.

We also talk about a key mindset shift. From full pitching mode to full listening mode. Less talking. More questions. Ronny explains how that change helped him qualify better, avoid endless nice meetings with no budget, and move from founder led deals to a simple revenue engine with clear funnels and a real sales culture.

If you are a founder selling B2B and you feel you talk too much, improvise too often or struggle to move big accounts, this episode is for you.

What you will learn:

• How important it is to prepare for a sales meeting so you are not guessing in the first ten minutes
• How making enterprise buyers build their own ROI with you instead of defending your numbers makes the difference
• How to move from pitching to listening using simple open questions
• How to think about a revenue engine so sales is not only on your shoulders
• Why overselling breaks trust and what to do instead in long sales cycles

Links and next steps:

• Get the distilled insights of this and other episodes in our newsletter: https://besingular.co/newsletter

Chapters are available if your podcast app supports them.

(00:00:00) Introduction

(00:02:11) Personal Story - Grandfather's belief on success

(00:04:40) About Exponential

(00:15:26) Change of Mindset - Preparing for sales calls

(00:17:23) Methodology: Making them do the calcs

(00:18:00) LeO - Summary on being prepared

(00:19:16) Mindset Shift - From pitching to listening (00:20:59) Sales Culture & Revenue Engine Framework

(00:23:33) Sharing the Good News - Be strategic

(00:25:02) Incorporating a Bad News Sniffer

(00:27:33) Hardest part of Sales (CEO perspective)

(00:29:29) What does not work: Overselling

(00:30:24) What works: Understanding needs first

(00:32:13) Advice for Founders: Prepare properly

(00:33:15) Make them do the calcs

(00:37:29) Lightning Round

(00:41:26) LeO Summary and Takeaways

(00:44:04) Last Advice From Ronny - Have a Sales Process

Host: LeO Requena Guest: Ronny Horvath, CEO of Xponential

In this episode of Challenging Sales I sit down with Ana María Martínez Franklin, CEO of Kaudal, to explore why every founder needs a clear belief or flag to talk about, and how that belief can become your biggest asset in B2B sales.

We talk about belief and comfort in sales. Ana María explains why the only way to feel truly comfortable selling is to believe your offer is meaningful and needed. She shares how that belief guided her at Procter and Gamble, at Laboratoria, and now at Kaudal, even when she still feels uncomfortable in some sales situations.

We go into visibility and personal brand for founders. What it means to pick a flag. How to talk about that belief on LinkedIn, on stage and in the press without sounding salesy. Ana María shares real examples of how showing up in public around one clear idea led to inbound meetings months later when big companies were finally ready to move.

We also open space for women founders and women in tech. We talk about impostor syndrome, being the only woman in the room or on a board, and how to handle that without shrinking. Ana María gives practical tools. Prepare hard. Talk to the human, not the title. Build networks with other women in similar roles so you do not carry the weight alone. And keep one line close. Do it. And if you are afraid, do it with your fear, but do it.

To close, we get tactical on B2B founder sales. How to be crystal clear on your ICP and buyer persona. How to move inside big companies when you are not the top priority. The questions you must ask about priorities in every call. How to follow up in a professional way. When to lean on cold calling, when to push for warm intros, and why lack of belief and lack of a method are the main reasons sales efforts fail.

What you will learn:

1. How to pick a clear belief flag and use it to attract the right B2B clients
2. How to deal with feeling uncomfortable in sales by using belief and preparation
3. Concrete ways for women founders to face impostor syndrome and build support networks
4. How to ask about priorities so you know where you sit in the corporate agenda and what to do next
5. Why persistence, warm intros and a simple sales method beat scripts and aggressive tactics

Links:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/anamartinezfranklin/

If you want the distilled insights and key takeaways, get the curated newsletter here:

https://open.substack.com/pub/challengingsales/

Subscribe for more conversations that challenge how founders sell:

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In this episode of Challenging Sales!, host LeO Requena sits down with Daniel Ponce, CEO of City Troops, to unpack how a technical founder who once hated selling became the main salesperson of his company.

We talk about the early days of walking trade fairs with a suitcase, feeling like the cliché annoying salesman, and how that discomfort pushed Daniel to rethink what sales really is. He shares how he moved from looking for step by step recipes in San Francisco to treating sales as the best social skill a founder can learn. You will hear why the CEO must be the best seller at the beginning, not to push product, but to validate, listen and find real product market fit.

We also go into how to sell when companies are risk averse and prefer big names like Salesforce just to feel safe. Daniel explains how City Troops competes through service, relationships and honest qualification. We talk about the cost of saying yes to the wrong clients, how to niche down and why sometimes the most profitable move is to walk away.

Finally we explore rejection, consistency and authenticity. Daniel shares how his team “collects nos” so rejection becomes data and muscle, why many deals need 13 or more interactions to close, and why his final advice is simple. Be natural. Be truthful. Be yourself. Do not sell smoke. People are not only buying your product. They are buying your beliefs.

Listen if you want to:

• You are a technical founder who feels uncomfortable with selling but knows you cannot avoid it
• You want to learn how to be the best early seller for your startup without pretending to be someone else
• You are competing with big, safe brands and want to win through service and relationships
• You need a healthier way to deal with rejection and follow up without losing faith
• You want to qualify clients better so you stop saying yes to deals that hurt your roadmap and your team

Do not have time to watch the full episode but want to jump straight to what matters most.

Get my distilled insights and key takeaways in the curated newsletter here → https://open.substack.com/pub/challengingsales/p/the-journey-to-becoming-your-best?

Host: LeO Requena

Guest: Daniel Ponce, CEO of City Troops

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