Mike Simmons

Attention is getting harder to earn. Not because buyers don’t care. But because they’re overloaded, distracted, and have more choice than ever. This week’s episode of REV UP Rebellion tackles a question every sales and GTM leader is grappling with going into 2026: How do you cut through and influence without adding to the noise? In this episode, we revisit our conversations with two of the most respected voices on influence and attention: Julie Masters and Maz Speaks Global. This conversation explores: • Why interruption and volume no longer work • How influence is built through contribution, not amplification • Why storytelling is now a commercial skill, not a marketing one • How teams earn attention instead of chasing it The teams that win in 2026 won’t be louder. They’ll be clearer. More intentional. And far more useful to the buyer. 🎧 Out-Contribute Your Competition: Earning Attention in 2026 Episode now live: Listen: https://lnkd.in/gtfuwW3E Watch: https://lnkd.in/gu6Ba_GQ (And yes — good old humble brag, both guests are also experts inside our REV UP 2026 program and their masterclasses are a home run everytime!)

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The purpose of the intro call isn’t discovery. It’s to give prospects a "business idea" worth exploring. We’re not there to be subservient or reactive. Frankly, we're there as equals guiding the engagement, setting boundaries, and framing the conversation around business outcomes. Here’s the truth few talk about. Most of us know we should be speaking with P&L leaders but avoid it. Not out of fear or lack of courage but because no one really taught us how. We weren’t trained to think like P&L decision makers with P&L responsibility. To understand how they allocate capital or make investment decisions. So we avoid that altitude. We default to mid-org discovery and product talk. Because talking IRR (internal rate of return) or cash-flow impact feels risky like we’ll get it wrong. We start co-building a business case before a demo, and people ask, “Why aren’t you qualifying harder?” But the market’s changed. Gartner reports CFOs now rank "capital allocation" for growth as their top priority. That means finance leaders are “actively listening” for ideas that improve return on assets and accelerate cash flow. That’s not “budget talk.” It’s capital conversation. If we truly understood that, we’d pick up the phone and call P&L decision makers or the CFO, not to “check in.” ….but to share a "business idea" that moves their financial needle faster than their direct peers and against investor expectations. We'd talk about their pressures and/or underperforming business value drivers which they get measured and paid on. That’s a conversation worth having. And like anything that matters, it takes reps. Putting in the work. Building the muscle. Developing financial acumen and learning to think like a P&L decision maker with a fiduciary duty. It’s not easy but that’s where real confidence and "domain expertise" are built. In the end, we all choose how far we want to go in this game. ...and who we want to become. If you’re looking for a real edge in Q4, not more activity, but higher-quality conversations… What it looks like, what it sounds like, and how to apply it "live." We should talk. DM me "Financial Acumen" and I will show you exactly how this works. -Marc Periou, Principal, MP Hunter Holdings #CEO #AE #VPofSales #ERP

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