297. Why Everything You Know About Sales Is Wrong, with Thomas Waites

About this episode

Thomas Waites discusses how honesty and empathy can be competitive advantages in sales for founders.

Welcome back to Truth, Lies & Work, the award-winning workplace podcast where behavioral science meets workplace culture. Part of the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals. If you’re a founder who has built something brilliant but finds the idea of 'selling' it a little bit icky, this episode is for you. Today, we’re joined by Thomas Waites, a fractional Chief Revenue Officer and startup advisor who has scaled multiple companies from seed stage to successful acquisition. Thomas takes a refreshingly contrarian view of sales. He argues that the very traits many founders think disqualify them from sales—honesty, empathy, and a hatred for pushiness—are actually their greatest competitive advantages. 🔥 What we cover in this episode: The "Rainmaker" Reimagined: Why a Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) is about more than just closing deals—it’s about owning the entire customer revenue journey. The Tattoo Bet: The incredible story of how a team culture of "tattoo bets" led Thomas to ink a bull on his shoulder after closing a massive deal with 40,000 Warner Brothers employees. Sales for STEM Founders: How highly analytical, introverted founders can become…

People in this episode

Guest: Thomas Waites

Topics covered

• sales
• founders
• behavioral science
• customer revenue journey
• team culture
• sales strategies

Keywords

• sales
• founders
• CRO
• customer journey
• sales strategies
• tattoo bets
• negative reverse selling

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: HubSpot Podcast Network, Warner Brothers

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