How Lisa Gudding, President of Strategic Growth at Ipsos, Sells: Leading with Curiosity, Generosity, and Deep Sales Best Practices

“In the end, selling is about building long-term, authentic, meaningful relationships,” said Lisa Gudding, President of Strategic Growth at Ipsos, a leading market research firm, during a LinkedIn for Sales Studio Session earlier this year when we jointly launched a new piece of research proving the value of deep sales.

It’s at that moment that I knew we had to interview Lisa for the How I Sell series because she’s spot on. There’s definitely an art and science to sales. But at its heart—and you’ve probably heard us say it before—it’s about, “having high quality conversations with people that matter—at scale.”?

If you aren’t familiar with the research, then let me quickly catch you up. In the Deep Sales Playbook, we partnered with Ipsos to identify 10 behaviors, or best practices, that directly correlated to quota attainment. Here’s our big eureka moment: we proved that the sellers who regularly put the deep sales habits into practice, have nearly 2x the chance of exceeding their quota vs. the sellers that do few or none of these behaviors.?

I’ve had the distinct pleasure of getting to know Lisa over the last year—working with her and the stellar Ipsos team—and that’s why I was so excited to sit down with her and hear more about her story, her secret to an incredibly successful sales career, her work with the American Marketing Association, and how she and her team are putting the deep sales habits into practice. Spoiler alert: they are seeing double-digit growth, despite the economic headwinds that we have all faced this year.

With that, let’s dive in!

We have a tradition at LinkedIn when we introduce people and that is, “Tell us something not on your LinkedIn profile?

Absolutely. I’m going to share something that might seem obvious, and some might think I’m a bit late to the game, but it’s never too late to make a change.

Over the past year, I’ve come to truly value taking care of my physical health. For years, I had excuses—busy with young kids, a demanding job, constant travel. But I’ve recently shifted my focus. I’ve started working out regularly with a trainer, not just briefly but consistently.

Now, I feel better than I did a decade ago. My energy, strength, and mental health are all significantly improved. This change has made me a better employee, leader, partner, and overall person. So yes, it might be late in the game, but the key takeaway is that it’s never too late to prioritize your health and well-being.

Congratulations on your recent promotion from EVP of Sales to President of Strategic Growth! Can you share more about the secret to your successful career OR what advice do you have for other salespeople who aspire to grow their careers into executive positions?

Thank you for the kind words. I’m thrilled to share that Ipsos has been recognized as one of Time magazine’s World’s Best Companies for 2024 and named one of Newsweek’s Most Trustworthy Companies. While these accolades are an added honor, I was already deeply proud to advance to a leadership role at Ipsos. I feel incredibly fortunate.

For anyone navigating their career, my advice is to stay curious and generous. Curiosity drives continuous learning and keeps you connected with those who have more knowledge. In a rapidly evolving world, staying curious helps you stay ahead.

Generosity, on the other hand, often serves as a substitute for selling. If you genuinely care about helping your clients, you’ll focus on delivering the best results for them—designing solutions that maximize ROI and ensuring stakeholders find the work valuable. Approaching your work with a mindset of generosity will lead to success, as clients will appreciate your authentic commitment to their needs.

Regardless of your role, fostering curiosity and generosity will enhance your career. For those in sales, hitting targets is crucial, and later discussions will cover strategies for achieving that. But at a fundamental level, seek mentors who inspire you and possess skills you admire. Your mentors may change as your career progresses, but recognizing their contributions and learning from them can significantly impact your growth.

Finally, while many of us in sales thrive on the thrill of the win and prefer improvisation over rigid scripts, cultivating discipline in preparation can greatly benefit your career. Although it might be challenging, especially if you're not naturally inclined towards processes, building this discipline can lead to even greater success.

Here comes one of my favorite questions. What was your biggest failure in sales and how did that experience transform you?

Sure, I'd be happy to share a couple of mistakes I’ve learned from.

First, when I transitioned from production to sales, I carried over the habits that served me well in production: speed and accuracy. In production roles, these traits were rewarded, but in sales, they didn’t always translate into success. When responding to an RFP, being quick and precise can make you a commodity, especially if your competitors offer similar speed and accuracy. I quickly learned that to stand out, it’s crucial to go beyond just meeting the specs. Adding value through strategic insights and creative ideas is key. For example, while responding to an RFP, I might say, “Here’s what you asked for and the cost. But we’ve also noticed your CEO is focusing on X, Y, and Z. Incorporating these elements could make our solution even more impactful.”?

Understanding the client’s broader business context and offering additional value significantly boosts your chances of success.

Another mistake I made was during a pitch for an ongoing tracking project. We delivered on the request and even added some fresh ideas. However, we didn’t adequately address how our work would impact the client’s future needs or how they could use the results to their advantage. It’s not enough to just deliver the requested work; you need to articulate its long-term value. For instance, explaining how our solution could help the client track progress toward future goals, or suggesting actionable steps can make a big difference.?

In essence, always strive to exceed expectations. This doesn’t have to be a grand gesture—sometimes, it’s the small things that matter. Whether it’s delivering a day early, adding a piece of thought leadership, or sending a personalized thank-you note, these extras can strengthen client relationships and set you apart in the long run.

I noticed that you are currently on the American Marketing Association Foundation board and also sat on the AMA national board of directors. As a Marketer, I’m curious, how do you think marketing and sales can work even more effectively together OR how has your marketing expertise helped you as a sales leader?

It’s crucial that marketing and sales are aligned, and this alignment is becoming even more vital as technology provides us with more data to analyze. The work you’re doing highlights how critical this is, and I couldn’t agree more.

Marketing and sales are interdependent; the success of one directly impacts the other. At Ipsos, I’m fortunate to work with an exceptional CMO, and we are completely in sync. This alignment is all about communication, leveraging data together, strategizing, and planning for the future. We collaborate closely to optimize our joint solutions and ensure we’re working towards the same goals.

Both marketing and sales at Ipsos fall under the same leadership, which fosters a unified vision focused on growth. Marketing builds the pipeline, while sales follows up and converts leads. By analyzing which marketing efforts generate the most leads and which sales strategies convert them, we’re creating a cohesive narrative. To see them as separate is simply misguided; they are part of a unified strategy.

We’ve done such incredible work together this year on the Deep Sales Playbook. What were some of the insights that resonated most with you?

Absolutely, the Deep Sales Playbook is truly game-changing and a solid guide for achieving sales success.

Every sales leader and salesperson should delve into the three habits and the ten associated behaviors. Of course, if my competitors choose not to, that’s their loss. For anyone aiming to build a successful team, this playbook is an invaluable roadmap.

When I first reviewed it, I found myself agreeing with each of the habits and behaviors. It’s not rocket science—it’s a practical framework for organizing and refining your approach. It provides a disciplined method to assess and enhance your sales techniques, identify areas needing improvement, and recognize where additional tools or training might be beneficial.

I’m now a strong advocate for the habits and behaviors outlined in the playbook. It’s a comprehensive resource that truly drives effective selling.

We recently had a conversation about how Ipsos is integrating some of the deep sales behaviors into your own sales process. Would you mind sharing a few that you think are real needle movers and the impact they’ve had?

Absolutely. I’m thrilled to share that my team, which is really embodying these habits and behaviors, is seeing double-digit growth this year. Their phenomenal performance is a testament to the discipline and rigor these principles bring.

One of my personal favorites is “creating warm paths through connections.” As you’ve heard me mention before, this has inspired us to implement a weekly "Who Knows Who" initiative for our leadership team at Ipsos in the U.S. Here’s how it works: each week, we send out an email featuring an account of the week and ask everyone if they have any connections there. Whether it's a lead buyer or even a cousin working in HR, any connection can help us move faster than a cold email, no matter how well-crafted.

We’ve never had a response where no one knew anyone. People come back saying, “I know these two people,” or “I have a connection here,” and we use these relationships strategically to advance our conversations.

Another initiative inspired by this approach is conducting entrance interviews with new employees. Instead of just exit interviews, I now ask new hires about their connections and knowledge of other companies to identify potential opportunities for us.

These are just a few examples of how focusing on creating connections has profoundly impacted our culture and success. It’s incredible how one well-placed connection can turn months of slow progress into a rapid series of steps forward—leading from a conversation to a presentation to a pitch. It really makes a huge difference.

Let’s switch gears and talk about technology and how it’s changing B2B sales. How are you integrating AI into your sales process and what has been the impact?

First off, it's important to note that staying ahead in the business world today means being on top of AI—it's become a fundamental expectation. I'm currently at a conference where AI is a major topic, and while many are talking about it, not everyone is actively applying it.

At Ipsos, we’re actually making strides in this area. We’ve developed our own tool, called Ipsos Facto, which lets us conduct proprietary searches and leverage our internal data. This isn’t just about writing proposals with AI; it’s about mastering prompts to improve drafts, synthesizing and summarizing data efficiently, and saving valuable time.

We’re also training our team in prompt engineering through our AI certification program, ensuring that they can effectively utilize AI with our proprietary data for a competitive edge. Specifically, with Navigator, we use associated AI for advanced searches and Account IQ to inform our account plans for 2025. This tool handles the heavy lifting—helping us understand financials, pinpoint key contacts, and gauge what’s top of mind for companies.

AI is rapidly becoming second nature for us. We’re not just using it as a novel tool; it’s an integral part of our business operations.

Ok, it’s time to wrap up. Looking forward, how do you think B2B sales will evolve in the next 1-2 years and what do other sales leaders need to do now to prepare?

As I mentioned earlier, we’re all likely to have access to similar levels of technology soon. This will enhance our research, improve our drafts, and provide deeper insights. However, it will also enable our competitors to do the same.

The key is to not only invest in these tools but also ensure our team has access and training to use them effectively. Once we’ve mastered the technology, the human element becomes even more crucial. While technology can handle commodity sales, the strategic aspects will rely on our personal touch. Our creativity, situational awareness, and unique perspectives will set us apart, especially when everyone has access to the same tech.

Right now, having an edge with advanced tools gives us a significant advantage, but in the future, it will level out. At that point, our personal voices and creative insights will be the differentiators. Technology is giving us more time to highlight our human strengths.

It’s an exciting time to be in business. We’re experiencing one of the most dynamic eras ever, and we have the opportunity to play pivotal roles. Sure, there are challenges and uncertainties, but that’s far better than being bored. So, here’s to navigating this thrilling landscape!

?

Absolutely! We truly live in interesting times. Fortunately, we have insightful leaders like Lisa to guide us forward. I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to Lisa for sharing her time and wisdom, as well as to the entire Ipsos team for being such exceptional partners.

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