Uploaded February 2024 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Owen Richards doesn't believe in thought leaders.
"For me, a thought leader typically is just somebody who is noisy," he says. "What we don't do is any validation on anything that they're saying. In my experience, there is no direct link between the noise that someone makes, the personal brand they've built, and how good they are."
Similarly, he talks about how a large part of sales enablement ensures that salespeople know what they're doing. He explains that you can't become a "salesperson" any more than you can become a "thought leader."
"Sales isn't a qualification. There's no education behind it," Owen says. "There's nothing to help people know the difference between doing it well and not doing it well, except for freedom of thought and people's opinions, and with that comes such a variety."
So, what can marketers do to help?
RESOURCES
🔑Join the MarketingProfs community: mprofs.com/mptoday
👂Listen to the original podcast episode: marketingprofs.com/podcasts/2023/50002/empowering-sales-success-marketing-sales-enablement-owen-richards-marketing-smarts
🗞️B2B News: learn.g2.com/b2b-sales-strategies
📝From The MarketingProfs Blog:
🔹marketingprofs.com/articles/2023/48997/sales-enablement-good-or-bad
🔹marketingprofs.com/articles/2020/42810/five-ways-to-improve-product-marketing-and-sales-enablement-collaboration-to-drive-revenue
💡Community Spotlight: linkedin.com/posts/marketing-profs_mpb2b-b2b-marketing-activity-7156745069843144704-NLfE?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
Owen Richards doesn't believe in thought leaders.
"For me, a thought leader typically is just somebody who is noisy," he says. "What we don't do is any validation on anything that they're saying. In my experience, there is no direct link between the noise that someone makes, the personal brand they've built, and how good they are."
Similarly, he talks about how a large part of sales enablement ensures that salespeople know what they're doing. He explains that you can't become a "salesperson" any more than you can become a "thought leader."
"Sales isn't a qualification. There's no education behind it," Owen says. "There's nothing to help people know the difference between doing it well and not doing it well, except for freedom of thought and people's opinions, and with that comes such a variety."
So, what can marketers do to help?
RESOURCES
🔑Join the MarketingProfs community: mprofs.com/mptoday
👂Listen to the original podcast episode: marketingprofs.com/podcasts/2023/50002/empowering-sales-success-marketing-sales-enablement-owen-richards-marketing-smarts
🗞️B2B News: learn.g2.com/b2b-sales-strategies
📝From The MarketingProfs Blog:
🔹marketingprofs.com/articles/2023/48997/sales-enablement-good-or-bad
🔹marketingprofs.com/articles/2020/42810/five-ways-to-improve-product-marketing-and-sales-enablement-collaboration-to-drive-revenue
💡Community Spotlight: linkedin.com/posts/marketing-profs_mpb2b-b2b-marketing-activity-7156745069843144704-NLfE?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
