Mastering Sales and Negotiations

Welcome back to the Mastering Sales and Negotiations podcast.
This week on the podcast, we were joined by Claus Klein‑Ipsen, Chairman of the Board at Peak Systems and a long‑time advisor to founder‑led start‑ups and VC‑backed scale‑ups. In our conversation, we explored what really breaks as organisations move from founder‑led selling to repeatable, scalable sales.
We're joined by Will Ockenden to unpack the key takeaways from that discussion — including how founder passion can quietly undermine customer discovery, why VC pressure often leads to process without progress, and how treating sales as a craft rather than a personality trait creates sustainable performance.
And why Will? A founder himself, he’s experienced this first hand and now also works closely with sales leaders and organisations navigating growth, helping teams turn start-up passion into methodology into everyday commercial behaviour.
In short, he’s right at the sharp end of this challenge. Let’s dive in.

Start-ups, Scale-ups and SPIN In this episode of Mastering Sales and Negotiations, we’re joined by Claus Klein‑Ipsen, Chairman of the Board at Peak Systems, board member, and long-time advisor to founder‑led start-ups and VC‑backed scale-ups. Claus lifts the lid on what really happens as companies move from “I can sell” to “we can sell” and why both start-ups and scale-ups keep making the same discovery mistakes. He explains how founder passion can quietly turn into a monologue, how VC pressure can create beautiful dashboards but weak conversations, and why treating sales as a craft (not a personality trait) changes everything. 
You’ll hear how SPIN Selling gives teams a shared commercial language that works at every stage of growth; from protecting customer discovery in early-stage chaos to creating consistent, coachable deal reviews in complex scale-ups. Whether you’re building something new, scaling fast, or trying to lift commercial capability across sales, CS and leadership, this conversation is packed with practical stories, tough lessons, and real-world ideas you can apply immediately.

This week on the Mastering Sales and Negotiations podcast, we sat down with Casper Guldager, who shared some refreshingly honest insights about why AI so often stalls inside commercial teams, and what leaders can do to change that.
In this Quick Win episode, Rachel Massey is joined by Robin Hoyle to unpack the biggest takeaways from that conversation, including:
Why leaders need to go first and use AI themselves
How AI can take on the admin, prep and process-heavy work
Why the future of sales means doing more of what you love and less of what you don’t

In this episode of Mastering Sales and Negotiations, we sit down with Casper Guldager, AI consultant and co‑founder of Adaptig, whose career spans a decade of helping organisations like LEGO and KPMG integrate AI into commercial performance.
Casper argues that while AI technology is accelerating rapidly, the real barrier to adoption isn’t tools — it’s leadership. He explains why AI transformation must start at the top, how leaders can model the right behaviour, and what an effective “executive AI blueprint” actually looks like.
We explore the practical side too: where AI genuinely improves sales effectiveness, how high‑performing teams use AI for deep account research, and what separates the reps who thrive with AI from those who give up too early.
Casper also shares why commercial mindset is becoming one of the most important human skills in an AI-enabled world — and what the next 3–5 years will mean for the role of the salesperson.
Packed with practical examples, honest reflections, and lessons from both successful ventures and failed experiments, this episode gives leaders a grounded, actionable view of what it really takes to build an AI‑first sales organisation.

Welcome back to the Mastering Sales and Negotiations podcast. This week, we were joined by Martin Couzins, Founder and CEO of Insights Media, for a conversation all about intentional customer listening and how deep questioning, real thinking space, and genuine curiosity can transform commercial relationships. Today I’m joined by Robin Hoyle to unpack the big takeaways from that discussion. And if you’re new to the show, Robin is Huthwaite’s Head of Learning Innovation, a globally recognised L&D leader, a conference regular, and an expert in turning behaviour change into real-world commercial outcomes. In short - he knows his stuff. Together, we’ll break down the practical actions you can take to improve the quality of your questioning, elevate your listening, and turn customer conversations into insights that drive renewal, trust and long-term value. Let’s dive in.