Imagine if your sales team could rehearse complex deals before ever meeting the buyer, just like elite athletes pre-game. That’s exactly what Daveed Gartenstein-Ross (CEO) and Alix Berry (COO) of ExpertTheory make possible.

In this episode, Alice Heiman dives into how ExpertTheory helps companies simulate real-world sales situations through AI-powered, custom-built games. These immersive experiences go far beyond traditional training, replacing static roleplay with dynamic, scenario-based learning that strengthens team performance, decision-making, and competitive strategy.

Connect with

• Daveed Gartenstein-Ross: LinkedIn
• Alix Berry: LinkedIn
• ExpertTheory: Website
• Alice Heiman: LinkedIn | Website

What happens when a seasoned marketer reimagines everything she knows about agencies, on a beach, notebook in hand, while her kids play nearby? Brittany Trafis, CEO and co-founder of Sorian Digital, shares how she built an AI-powered agency that challenges everything about traditional marketing models.

In this episode, Brittany walks Alice Heiman through the rapid sales growth of Sorian: from early experiments to real client results, through founder-led sales and how boldly saying “the agency model is broken” helped them break into a noisy market as they prepare to scale.

Rapid-Fire Picks:

• Book: Multipliers by Liz Wiseman
• Podcast: Business Wars
• Advice to CEOs: Don’t get lost chasing what’s next, focus on timeless principles. Technology evolves, but people still crave connection and community. Stay grounded in what doesn’t change.

🔗 Connect with Brittany & Alice

• Brittany Trafis: LinkedIn | Website
• Alice Heiman: LinkedIn | Website

If you’re still posting jobs and hoping A-players apply, you’re already behind.

In this high-impact episode, Alice Heiman sits down with Jamie Crosbie, founder of ProActivate and TEDx speaker with over 1 million views on The Power of Your Mindset, to reveal what every CEO needs to know to hire top revenue-generating talent.

Most hiring processes are built for convenience, not performance. That’s why companies end up with B-players or worse, just to fill a seat. Jamie shares exactly how CEOs can stop mis-hires before they happen and build bench strength that supports real growth.

If you’re a CEO of a B2B company under $100M, this episode is your blueprint for hiring right, every time.

📚 Rapid Fire Favorites

• Book: The Pivot Year by Brianna Wiest
• Podcast: Sales Talk for CEOs
• Advice to CEOs: “Proactively protect and grow your #1 asset, your people.”
  
  

🔗 Connect With

Jamie Crosbie: LinkedIn | Website

Jamie’s TEDx Talk: Liar, liar, life on fire: Breaking through your lies to your truth

Alice Heiman: LinkedIn | Website

In this episode of Sales Talk for CEOs, Alice Heiman sits down with Paige McPheely, CEO of Base, to explore how she turned a niche remote executive assistant service into a tech-enabled platform that now supports top leaders across the country.

When Paige and her co-founder first launched, they were fueled by referrals, so much so that they had a waiting list of eager clients. But as demand surged, they hit a breaking point: the referrals kept coming, but they weren’t the right fit. It forced a strategic shift from a referral-dependent business to a focused outbound sales approach.

Today, Paige leads a lean team that gets most of its customers not from ads or cold outreach, but from storytelling. By consistently showing up on LinkedIn, YouTube, and in conversations like this, Base now plays the long game, building trust with CEOs long before they’re ready to buy.

✅ Learn how Paige:

• Transformed referral overload into an effective outbound sales strategy
• Uses LinkedIn and storytelling to fill the funnel with high-intent buyers
• Bundled software + services to create a sticky, high-value offering CEOs trust

This episode is a must-watch for CEOs who need to stop doing it all themselves and start allowing the right support, like an exceptional EA. to help them lead more effectively.

📚 Rapid-Fire Picks

• Book: The Lion Trackers Guide to Life
• Podcast: Founders
• CEO Advice: Be authentic and stop trying to do it all alone. Getting help, whether through an EA, software, or support network, isn’t a luxury, it’s a strategic advantage. Give yourself permission to invest in the support that helps you lead more effectively.
  
  

🔗 Connect with:

• Paige McPheely: LinkedIn | Website
• Base HQ: Website
• Alice Heiman: LinkedIn | Website

In this episode of Sales Talk for CEOs, Alice Heiman sits down with Todd Caponi, sales historian and author of The Transparency Sale, to explore the forgotten history of sales and why understanding it could completely change how your company grows revenue.

We’ve moved from serving buyers to selling at all costs and it’s hurting your sales team, your customer relationships, and your bottom line. Todd takes us back to the early 1900s, when trust, service, and even high school sales classes were the norm.

What CEOs will learn:

• How sales was once respected, admired and taught in schools
• When and why we moved from service to high-pressure tactics
• What today’s sales orgs can learn from 100-year-old best practices
• Why “buyers know more now” isn’t new and never was

Todd brings powerful historical context, rare quotes, and practical examples that challenge how modern sales is built.

🤝 Connect With…

Todd Caponi

• Website: toddcaponi.com
• LinkedIn: Todd Caponi
• Podcast: The Sales History Podcast
• @SalesHistorian https://instagram.com/saleshistorian/
• The Transparency Sale on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2BxenrF
• The Transparent Sales Leader on Amazon: https://www.amzn.com/1646870646

📘 Preorder Todd Caponi’s New Book - The Four Levers of Negotiating

Out January 27, 2026

Learn how to stop discounting by default and start leading pricing conversations with clarity and confidence.

Todd’s Four Levers, Volume, Payment Timing, Commitment Length, and Deal Timing, help sellers create win-win outcomes without racing to the bottom.

Alice Heiman

• Website: aliceheiman.com
• LinkedIn: Alice Heiman
  
  
  

When Wesley Portegies left the pharmaceutical world to work in automotive, he didn’t expect it to lead him back, but it did. Armed with a new perspective, he returned with a mission, disrupt how pharma companies communicate with doctors.

In this episode, Wesley shares how he co-founded MedComms Experts with no outside funding, no traditional sales team and still built a multi-million dollar agency. He reveals how they landed their first client (Baxter), grew through inbound leads and referrals, and structured the business so sales happens through trust, not tactics.

Bio: "Wesley is an entrepreneur who founded his first company at 19 and has built multiple successful businesses, with over 15 years’ experience in the medical industry. In 2012, he launched MedComms Experts in Zurich, later expanding to the US, now employing 50+ professionals. An MBA graduate and active MAPS contributor, Wesley is a strategic, innovative leader recognized for building strong teams and driving industry innovation, and currently serves as Chief Strategy Officer at MedComms Experts."

📚 Wesley’s Rapid-Fire Picks

• Book: Shoe Dog by Phil Knight
• Podcast: Diary of a CEO
• Advice to CEOs: “Hold up high standards consistently, people notice the difference.”

🔗 Connect with Wesley & Alice

• Wesley Portegies: LinkedIn | Website
  
  
• Wesley’s Podcast: Transforming Medical Communications
  
  
• Alice Heiman: LinkedIn | Website

People don’t trust ads. Or brands. Or even experts.
Brian Miller joins Alice Heiman to explain how CEOs can cut through the noise and earn trust, fast.

In this episode:

• Why the trust recession is killing your pipeline
  
  
• The 3-part message that builds instant engagement
  
  
• How to make your talk (or pitch) follow the hero’s journey
  
  
• The #1 reason your message doesn’t spread and how to fix it
  
  

Key takeaway: If people can’t repeat what you do, they won’t talk about you.

Shownotes

Get his new book: https://keynotedesignbook.com

The 10 Questions Every Speech Must Answer (and the order you must answer them in):

1. Will this be worth my time?
2. Is this urgent?
3. So, what is this talk really about?
4. Why should I listen to you?
5. Do I already know how to solve this problem?
6. So, what should I do instead?
7. How do I start?
8. Is this really worth it?
9. Can I go now?
10. Wait, what was this all about again?

🔗 Connect with Brian Miller:
LinkedIn: Brian Miller - Clarity Up

Instagram

YouTube Podcast

Company Website

🔗 Connect with Alice Heiman:
LinkedIn: Alice Heiman
Website: aliceheiman.com

Vibe selling. AI hype. New sales buzzwords. Alice Heiman isn’t buying it.

In this candid solo episode, she calls out the noise and brings the focus back to what matters most for B2B CEOs: knowing your customer, building the right team, and aligning sales to how your buyers buy.

Looking for clarity in a world of sales chaos? This episode is for you.

Advice to CEOs: “Slow down and think deeply about how your buyers want to buy, then align your entire sales effort to that.”

🤝 Connect with Alice:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliceheiman/
Website: https://aliceheiman.com