Derek Baer returns to the Industrial Growth Institute podcast for a candid, unscripted conversation about the sales accountability issues most companies avoid talking about.

Ed and Derek dig into four core topics with plenty of detours, war stories, and a little friendly disagreement along the way:

1. Do Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs) actually work? Why most companies wait too long, what a PIP should really look like, and how to handle a rep who's crushing quota but showing all the wrong behaviors
2. "Telephonobia" — why so many salespeople avoid the phone, the self-limiting beliefs behind it, and a real story of a single cold call turning a "maybe in November" into an immediate opportunity
3. Where marketing ends and sales begins — handling chatbot leads, using website visitor intent data, and why sales reps ignore some of the best tools they already have
4. Creating deals vs. uncovering them — the real stats behind buyer shortlists, why only 3% of buyers are "in market" at any given time, and what that means for how you should actually be prospecting

Plus: PIP horror stories, a secret side project proving that "our industry is different" is almost always an excuse, and why compensation structure quietly shapes rep behavior more than most leaders realize.

👍 Like, share, comment, and subscribe to the Industrial Growth Institute podcast for more real talk on sales, growth, and accountability in industrial and middle-market businesses.

💬 Disagree with something Derek or Ed said? Drop it in the comments — let's argue about it.

#SalesLeadership #ColdCalling #SalesAccountability #PerformanceImprovementPlan #B2BSales #IndustrialGrowthInstitute #SalesManagement