Unlocking the Hidden Value of Sales
Unlocking the Hidden Value of Sales
Every sales leader knows the pressure to hit the number. But the best in the profession also know that revenue alone doesn’t tell the whole story. What truly drives growth - sustainable, scalable growth - is the value that happens between the numbers.
That hidden value is built through collaboration: the alignment between Sales, Marketing, Product, and Customer Success. It’s in the conversations that shape trust before a deal ever closes. It’s in the internal relationships that keep strategy and execution moving in the same direction. And it’s what separates sales organizations that simply transact from those that actually transform their business.
In this episode of SalesTV, we’re unpacking what it really means to lead a value-centric sales organization. Together with Juan Elias, author of “From Strategy to Revenue: Turning GTM Planning, Sales Execution, and Enablement into Measurable Growth”, we’ll explore how collaboration turns Sales into a strategic advantage - one that influences product roadmaps, strengthens customer partnerships, and earns sales professionals a true seat at the table.
We’ll ask questions like -
* What is the hidden value of sales beyond revenue?
* How does cross-functional collaboration increase sales performance?
* How can sales leaders prove the strategic value of their function?
* What’s the link between sales enablement and measurable growth?
Author and global sales leader, Juan Elias has spent more than 20 years leading sales and revenue operations teams across Paychex, Workday, Accenture, and Shell. A trusted advisor on commercial transformation, Juan helps organizations connect strategy with execution - proving that when collaboration is done right, Sales becomes the engine of business growth.
Join us live and be part of the conversation.
This week's Guest was -
Juani Elias, global sales leader and author of “From Strategy to Revenue: Turning GTM Planning, Sales Execution, and Enablement into Measurable Growth”
This week's Host was -
Rob Durant, CEO of US Operations at The Institute of Sales Professionals
Transcript of SalesTV.live Mid-Day Edition 2025-10-28
Rob Durant [00:00:02]:
Hello and welcome. Welcome to another edition of Sales TV Live. Today we're unlocking the hidden value of sales. We're joined by Juan Elias, sales leader and author of the book From Strategy to Revenue, Turning GTM planning, sales execution and enablement into measurable growth. Juan has spent more than 20 years leading sales and revenue operations teams across major global organizations. And now Juan helps organizations connect strategy with execution, proving that when collaboration is done right, sales becomes the engine of business growth. Juan, welcome.
Juan Elias [00:00:48]:
Hi Rob. I'm thrilled to be here. Thank you for having me.
Rob Durant [00:00:51]:
Great to have you. Thank you. Juan, I want to jump right into it. What do you mean when you say collaboration is the silver bullet in sales?
Juan Elias [00:01:04]:
Well, let's talk about that complexity that defines most of the sales motions that we have today. And, and just for the sake of context, I'm thinking mostly in a, in an enterprise light of, of emotion. Right. So there's, there's a lot of people that are on both the selling side and the buying side. Right. Either and everyone brings something from a technical support perspective on the selling side and even a shared decision making authority on the buying side. And at the very least all of that requires coordination which translating the need of all of those agents and people and stakeholders collaborating amongst themselves and I think says play a, plays a crucial role in terms of being that collaborator, facilitator or the quarterback, if you allow me the term, to harden all those cats and get them to a successful outcome that hopefully is a win win for both of the sides of the equation.
Rob Durant [00:02:15]:
Excellent. So what is the hidden value of sales beyond revenue?
Juan Elias [00:02:24]:
Yeah, so in my mind, revenue is really the outcome of what you get in really doing what you should be doing from a sales functional perspective. Now I want to break down the answer to that question in two dimensions. As I mentioned earlier, there's value that relates to what the sales teams do internally to ensure that all of the firepower that that organization has in terms of, you know, marketing messaging, the product and the services that they bring to their customers, the customer support that they have and everyone that needs to be part of that sales conversation is brought in at the right time and with the right role and clarity. And on the other side of that equation and as another dimension, we really have that buying side of things where hopefully there's a counterpart to that salesperson on the buying side that is doing some of that internal coordination. But the alignment and what is feeding the coordination itself required on the buying side is really what sales brings which ultimately shapes the buying experience that that group or that customer as an organization is going to have.
Rob Durant [00:03:49]:
So if that is the ideal, why do sales teams fail to capture the full impact of their activities for the business?
Juan Elias [00:04:04]:
Well, that's a great question. And I would start by saying that that is not necessarily the sales team's fault, so to speak. It can be. But because of this complexity that we already defined, there's a number of things that need to be in place to ensure that those sales teams are set up for success. Right. So if we start with the clarity on, okay, what are we selling, who are we selling to, what is differentiating us from, from our competitors, how big is our market, and then how that defines how we go about executing our sales motions in the, in the, in this, in the shape of a, of a sales process, what is it that we, those who are executing that process need to be successful in terms of content messaging tools that support what they do? When all of those boxes are checked, that's really where you can ensure that that clarity is in place for those who need to execute, that have everything they need, and more importantly, from an organizational perspective that you can scale that and expect a degree of consistency in doing so. Now, when any of those components that I shared as examples are missing, that creates a void that usually is filled by the best intention of who needs to fill it. And most likely those are part of the sales teams because they really need to continue to manage the engagement with their customers and the show must go on, so to speak.
Juan Elias [00:05:51]:
So that's really what eventually starts showing those cracks that might end up in some of those things failing, or I would say not going as originally intended in that strategic document. That should answer all of those things that we just touched upon.
Rob Durant [00:06:10]:
I think you've alluded to it, but can you give us some examples of how cross functional collaboration will increase sales performance?
Juan Elias [00:06:21]:
Definitely. So I will start with the behind the scenes collaboration. Right. So all of the things that I mentioned earlier in terms of the clarity of the strategy, how that shapes our operational expectations in terms of what we execute, how we execute and what we bring in front of the customer is requiring an army of people and functions to really land on everything that needs to happen to set those sales teams for success. So that's kind of an internal component of it. Now when, when the show starts, right. And, and, and then that choreography of executing on that sales process and you know, starting engaging the customer, bringing people from our own side as sellers that probably have something to speak to in terms of the technical details of our solution or really helping Us going deeper into the discovery conversation that would allow us to really understand and prioritize what exactly defines value for that prospect or client. The master of ceremony that really orchestrates that is really that salesperson that is in front of that team and that is that collaboration that that yet needs to be orchestrated and managed, provided that everything we discussed earlier is in place so that there's clarity on what is the role that everyone's playing, what is it that they bring to the table, and what is it that they need to achieve in that intervention as they go on stage so that that eventually sets up the momentum that that particular deal is going to require to land to that successful outcome of the commitment really to choose us as vendors and invest whatever needs to be invested in that solution we are providing.
Rob Durant [00:08:21]:
You mentioned value and brought to mind a couple of questions. Let me start with this one. How can sales leaders prove the strategic value of their function?
Juan Elias [00:08:34]:
Well, that's a very good question. So first off, value is in the eyes of the beholder, right? So really understanding that definition of value is, I would think, the starting point. And I would start with really the sales manager as a role itself. And what's the success of such role means for the organization you are in? I have my own definition for that and I think it's pretty straightforward. But I see sales managers to be really the catalyzers and the amplifiers of the scalability and the consistency of the quality of execution in our organization. And why I say that is because they touch every rep, every deal, every day, and they have a very clear mission, which is really ensure that people are doing what they are supposed to. Again, going back to all of those definitions, terms of process, the way we want to engage, the messaging we want to bring in front of our customers and anything in between, then they need to help those people do what they're doing even better. And ultimately they need to hold those people accountable for the results that they need to deliver.
Juan Elias [00:09:55]:
When it comes to the revenue that you were citing earlier as the main definition or outcome of that value of sales. Now, sales managers can be that afterthought when it comes to having that clarity of their mission and being enabled accordingly. And they can be drawn into a lot of other things that may prevent them from doing that very basic job of inspecting, coaching, and holding people accountable. And by the way, some organizations also, knowingly or unknowingly, also do that with their frontline sellers, right? So in the same fashion of simply defining that mission of a sales manager, you could argue that the rep's mission is really to create, advance and close deals. And many times we're bringing people from sales either to be part of these panel from HR just to check what is it that whatever the theme of the day looks like or provide feedback on what customers are saying for marketing and being a two day workshop. And I think I'm seeing your body language and you can relate to many of those things and that's all fine. But as organizationally and as leaders, we need to ensure that everything that prevents those two roles from doing the three things that we define for them already is really eroding that effectiveness or the full value that those people can bring and those roles can bring to the organization and the business. And it sounds very easy and pretty straightforward.
Juan Elias [00:11:44]:
But I can, I, I would bet that you and I would come with a lot of real life examples when that is not necessarily the case. And there's a number of reasons for that. So. But again, it starts with the awareness that we have as leaders in terms of how we're allowing people to do their job and, and how we're setting them up for success.
Rob Durant [00:12:04]:
Makes sense. So as I said, I wanted to pick up on that term value. And I heard you say value is in the eye of the beholder, ultimately buyer. So in that situation where each buyer is different, each buyer's value is different, how do I reframe my sales team's metric from revenue to value when value seems that it could always be changing?
Juan Elias [00:12:37]:
Yeah. I think what connects value with revenue in my mind is that definition of value that you're alluding to really is the conduit to eventually get to that outcome of revenue to be in place. Right. So I think the short answer to your question is you need to ask what that definition of value is. And from an organizational perspective, if we are setting that sales process effectively, there should be a very, a very specific stage, hopefully earlier in the process where we are engaging in a conversation that is more about listening than telling. Right. So that's where you will have that space to drill down and ask all of those questions that go into defining that value that you were saying on the buyer side. And most likely that should be core, could be in the shape of pains that need to be addressed, business challenges that need to be fixed and that should allow to set up that conversation.
Juan Elias [00:13:53]:
As far as hate, I listen to you, I know what you're going through and I know how to help you. And this is how we're going to do it type of thing. Right. So in other words, that discovery, that understanding of the definition of value shapes, hopefully that compelling proposal that's going to address that value definition and differentiate from your competition if they're not doing what you are.
Rob Durant [00:14:25]:
Got it. Earlier you made reference to enablement. Now that's near and dear to my heart. Spent a lot of time in enablement, and I also see that it's part of what's covered in your book. So what is, in your opinion, Excuse me, in your opinion, what is the link between sales enablement and measurable growth?
Juan Elias [00:14:54]:
Great question as well. And that's something that a lot of enablement teams also suffer when it comes to the clarity of their identity. Right. But my point of view is really that enablement's job first off is to maximize that every rep in the organization achieves their quota. So that metric of how successful is the broader of the organization is really what I see, the core metric for enablement, because that shows really the impact that they have. Now, that's easier said than done because there's a lot of things that go into that. Right. So.
Juan Elias [00:15:41]:
But really the role of enabling, going back to your question, is really translating how the requirements of executing on the strategy of the organization shape what is that different roles need to be doing when, what are the skills that they need to do that, and what is really the tools and any supporting materials that they require to achieve those outcomes, and mapping all that in a way that then they can create any enablement program that allows to either build those skills in those people or check that those skills are actually happening at scale. And if I connect the dots with what I say earlier, that should happen in partnership with those sales leaders that are actually the main conduit to scale that enablement effort and even sometimes even blocking the effort. Because if they don't think that what they're getting is in the best interest of their teams, they will probably leave that aside. So there's a symbiotic relationship between the frontline sales leaders who really are the custodians of their teams, and in leading them, they're really driving that direction that gets into ultimately every customer interaction and what's coming from that enablement function to help those teams be as effective as they could be. So if that again, there's an internal value conversation in terms of shaping what is it that those teams need, and the ability for the enablement function to translate that into what they can deliver for them. If that loop is not happening, then enablement as a function risk being myopic to what really is needed in the field and therefore not being appreciated and hence providing value to that end in what they do.
Rob Durant [00:17:41]:
So the collaboration between sales and sales enablement is pretty obvious as you just mapped it there. What about the collaboration between sales and say, product or marketing or customer success? How do I as a sales leader build collaboration between my sales team and those other departments? Or do I even want to?
Juan Elias [00:18:11]:
I was about to ask you that very question. Do you really need that? Right. So, short answer is it depends. I mean, if you are in a, in a smaller organization where there's more of a family lie, can direct access to many of those stakeholders, which in many cases the function itself is defined by one person, you can have that direct access and get what you need from that function to inform that execution that we were discussing earlier. Now, as organizations grow, I think Sage enablement takes that role of being the internal facilitator to going and getting from each of those functions the right messaging, the product specs, whatever that needs to be, and informing that, using that to inform all of those materials that they create to ensure that that content and that knowledge is capturing in them and embedded into those enablement programs that hopefully are getting those teams to use that knowledge at the service of those outcomes that we want to achieve with our, with our customers when they, when they need them.
Rob Durant [00:19:30]:
Okay, now we've talked about value creation and collaboration and we've said that it's not about revenue, it's about the value. But at the end of the day, it is still about revenue. How do I embed collaboration into my sales process without bogging things down, without slowing them down to the point that I'm not delivering revenue?
Juan Elias [00:20:07]:
Yeah, I, I would use the analogy of, you know, it's not analogy, it's a fact actually. Revenue is a lagging indicator. Right? So what you ended up creating or sending an invoice to is ultimately a result of having done many of the things that, that need to have been done so that that commitment to pay for whatever you are selling is in place in the customer side right now to ensure that there's no wasted value in doing what needs to be done across the sales process. As you mentioned, I would go back to that clarity required in terms of defining what is it that we need to do to sell, anchored on how we think and know our customers are buying. So understanding that buying journey is a critical starting point to say, okay, if this is what the customer needs to make a decision that hopefully is going to demand our products and services, this is what we need to do as A counterpart of that to cater to all of those needs and those decisions to be made. At the end of the day, sales is about facilitating that decision process. Starting by building the trust that we can be agents of that decision making process and providing what is needed and required by those who, who have to make those decisions. Which is a mindset in itself.
Juan Elias [00:21:38]:
Right. So, and that is very different from getting in front of someone and start talking about how big and nice and great my product is, its color, you know, its features. But more about, hey, I'm here to help you. I'm pretty sure that you may know who we are and that information is all out there, but really the way to put into service what we have to offer to best fit your needs is requiring that we have a conversation related to what's happening in your business and what's the base to address that. So back again to your question. When that clarity of how our buyers are buying and having defined our sales motions around that, that defines then that there are different outcomes to be achieved throughout that process. Right from starting with agreeing that there's, there's merit in us to continue a conversation in the early prospection phases in terms of hey, this is what we do. I, I infer that you may going through these particular problems because you feed this profile of customers that I've seen a lot and I'm going to validate that hypothesis with you.
Juan Elias [00:22:52]:
If that's the case, then let's go in a deeper conversation. Let's go into more the weeds of what's happening. I may be bringing people that are going to have more technical questions related to that, depending on the dimensions of what we're discussing, all the way to translating the outcome of that discovery conversation into what are the solutions that I have in my toolkit that are going to address which of those needs and ultimately translating that into a proposal that hopefully has a, has a value calculation that is measurable in terms of hey, this is how we're impacting your business. This is how we're either accelerating, reducing costs or making you sell more or differentiate from your competition. And this is what we bring to that. And if all of that is done effectively and everyone who has, who was in need of joining that choreography did it at the right time and perform as expected, that decision of buying from the customer side, it becomes really a natural conclusion of that evolving conversation that the sales process could be.
Rob Durant [00:24:06]:
Juan, as we wrap up our time here, if you were to emphasize the one thing that you would want our audience to take away from today's, episode. What would that one thing be?
Juan Elias [00:24:19]:
Well, I would talk about that mindset where you are clear that you're not alone, right? And that should allow you to either foster or seek for that collaboration in whatever piece of that process you sit on and ensure that you're aware of the role you play. If you're leading that process in fostering that collaboration and when you cannot answer what it takes to do that, that might be something that it should prompt a question internally for you to get to that clarity needed for you to play that role of the orchestrator that we just defined and discussed in these past 20 minutes.
Rob Durant [00:25:05]:
Excellent, Juan. This has been great. Thank you so much on behalf of everyone at SalesTV Live. To you and to our audience. Thank you all for being an active part in today's conversation. If you like what you heard today, please take a moment to leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Substack or YouTube. Let us know what you learned and what you'd like to learn more about. Your feedback helps us reach more people like you and helps us fulfill our mission of elevating the profession of sales.
Rob Durant [00:25:40]:
Thank you all and see you next time.
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