If your sales team is only spending 30% of their time inside the sales process, what exactly are they doing with the other 70%?

Dennis Deal Sorenson is the CEO of Cove Group and the host of Think Big, Win Bigger — a podcast for leaders and sellers who know they're capable of more but are tired of improvising their way through growth. In Episode 3, Dennis dives into the first two pillars of a process-driven sales system: Plan and Prepare. His core conviction? The best sellers don't wing it. They build ambition, define total account potential, and anchor their strategy in a clear, disciplined plan — because winning starts long before you play the game.

Dennis breaks down how intentional preparation — research, messaging, and sales assets — creates confidence and control before you ever step onto the field. He reveals why so many teams are spending as little as 30% of their time inside the process, what it means to be "productively selfish" with your calendar, and why leaders themselves are often the first to abandon discipline when the pressure hits. If you want predictable, scalable sales results, this episode shows exactly where to start.

• (00:00) Building a championship mindset and refusing to limit yourself
• (03:05) The four P framework: how process-driven sales actually works
• (08:20) Building your ambition plan and strategic account plan
• (11:30) Time allocation and being productively selfish with your calendar
• (13:24) Why leaders are the first ones to abandon the process
• (16:12) Building your ambition plan and defining total account potential
• (17:09) Preparation: research, personas, competitive intel, and sharpening your sales story
• Share with a sales leader or seller who's ready to build something that lasts. Subscribe to hear all future episodes!

Think Big. Win Bigger is hosted by Dennis Sorenson, CEO of Cove Group, a strategic partner for companies seeking to optimize sales performance and achieve sustainable growth. With deep expertise in enterprise sales and fractional CRO leadership, Dennis specializes in addressing challenges at the point of friction—where inefficiencies, misalignment, or resistance occur within the sales process.

The podcast is built on Process-Driven Sales and the three pillars of Ambition, Strategy, and Execution. Each episode breaks down the systems and operating rhythms that drive predictable performance, giving leaders and sellers practical insights they can use immediately. This is for professionals who are ready to stop improvising, start operating with intention, and build repeatable success over time.

Dennis Sorenson: LinkedIn

Cove Group Horizons West

• (00:00:00) - How to Think Big, Win Bigger
• (00:00:54) - Being Process Driven in Sales
• (00:06:53) - Plan, Prepare, Practice
• (00:13:13) - Living in Play: Planning, Preparation and Practice

What would happen if your sales organization became the competitor that keeps everyone else up at night?

Dennis Sorenson shares his sales journey from NCR and Teradata to founding Cove Group and building Horizons West. His philosophy was shaped by Mike Weinberg's books and NCR's rigorous sales school. What transformed his approach? Two game-changers: ambition and execution. Dennis learned that "whoever has the strongest process wins" and that "greatness isn't random greatness—that's something that's built through repeatable excellence." Today, through Horizons West, he helps sales teams escape the commodity trap.

This episode breaks down the pillars of process-driven sales: ambition, strategy, and execution. Dennis explores why strategic account plans end up collecting dust and how to build them for sellers, not just management reviews. He tackles the survival mode trap where teams compete only on price. What does it take to build a winning sales culture? Dennis reveals the importance of writing down your vision, establishing a growth mindset, and creating systems that are predictable, repeatable, and scalable. The four Ps—plan, prepare, practice, play—frame the path forward.

• (00:00) The origin story and forming Horizons West
• (05:28) Ambition and execution: the two game changers
• (08:36) The commodity trap: when price is your only differentiator
• (11:27) Building a process-driven sales culture
• (16:23) Building sales muscle and staying on offense
• (21:06) Growth mindset and the process-driven advantage

• Share with a sales leader or seller who's ready to build something that lasts. Subscribe to hear all future episodes!

Think Big. Win Bigger is hosted by Dennis Sorenson, CEO of Cove Group, a strategic partner for companies seeking to optimize sales performance and achieve sustainable growth. With deep expertise in enterprise sales and fractional CRO leadership, Dennis specializes in addressing challenges at the point of friction—where inefficiencies, misalignment, or resistance occur within the sales process.

The podcast is built on Process-Driven Sales and the three pillars of Ambition, Strategy, and Execution. Each episode breaks down the systems and operating rhythms that drive predictable performance, giving leaders and sellers practical insights they can use immediately. This is for professionals who are ready to stop improvising, start operating with intention, and build repeatable success over time.

Dennis Sorenson: LinkedInCove Group Horizons West

• (00:00:00) - Think Big Win Bigger
• (00:01:04) - Think Big Win Bigger: New Sales Simplified
• (00:05:42) - A Taste of Horizons West
• (00:06:22) - The 3 pillars of a process-
• (00:16:36) - The Secret to Elite Sales Plans
• (00:17:43) - How to Build a Winning Sales Culture

Why are your best salespeople only competing for 10% of the available market—and what would change if they went after all of it?

Dennis Sorenson launches Think Big, Win Bigger with longtime mentor and sales thought leader Mike Weinberg, bestselling author of "Sales Management. Simplified." and "New Sales. Simplified." Weinberg brings decades of frontline selling and sales management expertise to this raw conversation about building real businesses before building brands. The two dissect Dennis's unconventional path—from enterprise sales leader to building Cove Group without a website or marketing presence—and why that sequence matters. Mike's core belief? Sales is noble when your motivation is pure, and you're fighting for client outcomes, not commissions.

This episode unpacks the frameworks that separate average performers from dominant players: the 4 Ps of execution, GOST planning discipline, and what it really means to be process-driven. Why do most salespeople chase quota instead of total market potential? How do you build sales muscle that scales across continents? The conversation moves from philosophical—sales as a noble profession—to tactical, covering everything from micromanagement myths to why your top producers should be demanding time with you. Dennis and Mike dig into what's working in 2025 and the hard strategic calls leaders need to make now.

• (00:00) Sales is noble when your motivation is pure
• (03:06) Building the business before building the brand
• (12:40) The problem with quota versus total potential
• (18:25) The 4 Ps framework plan prepare practice play
• (28:15) GOST planning discipline and written execution plans
• (38:10) Building sales muscle that actually scales

Share with a sales leader or seller who's ready to build something that lasts. Subscribe to hear all future episodes!

Think Big. Win Bigger is hosted by Dennis Sorenson, CEO of Cove Group, a strategic partner for companies seeking to optimize sales performance and achieve sustainable growth. With deep expertise in enterprise sales and fractional CRO leadership, Dennis specializes in addressing challenges at the point of friction—where inefficiencies, misalignment, or resistance occur within the sales process.

The podcast is built on Process-Driven Sales and the three pillars of Ambition, Strategy, and Execution. Each episode breaks down the systems and operating rhythms that drive predictable performance, giving leaders and sellers practical insights they can use immediately. This is for professionals who are ready to stop improvising, start operating with intention, and build repeatable success over time.

Mike Weinberg:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeweinberg2024/
• Website: https://mikeweinberg.com/
• Books: "Sales Management. Simplified." "New Sales. Simplified." "The First Time Manager Sales"

Dennis Sorenson: LinkedIn

Cove Group

• (00:00:00) - Sales Proposal: Think Big, Win Bigger
• (00:01:41) - The Journey of Mike Weinberg
• (00:07:25) - In the Elevator With Dennis Kearns
• (00:08:32) - How Much of Your Work Is Direct with Sales Leaders?
• (00:11:02) - Get Your Hands Dirty
• (00:14:58) - Exploring the Enterprise of Sales
• (00:20:07) - Ambition and the Total Potential
• (00:23:54) - How much of the breakthrough success that you've achieved as a seller
• (00:27:16) - How to Play Big at Large
• (00:29:22) - Bradley on Spending Too Much Money
• (00:30:22) - Enterprise Selling: How to Make Sales More Noble
• (00:33:48) - 4 Ps of Process Driven Execution
• (00:40:03) - Bill Gates on Accountability Meeting
• (00:43:17) - Mike Bass on How to Scale the Business
• (00:44:44) - Think Big, Win Bigger