S2E72| What Does a Challenger Salesperson Do Differently Than Everyone Else? with Ken Paskins

Welcome to Confessions of an Implementer, a podcast by Talent Harbor. We share unique stories of implementers and the companies they've transformed to give you a rare glimpse into the successes and challenges of the system in action. I'm your host, Ryan Hogan. Let's dive in! In this episode, Ryan sits down with Ken Paskins, founder of GCE Strategic Consulting, who spent over two decades in enterprise sales and executive leadership before burning the boats on corporate and building a boutique fractional leadership firm named after his three daughters. Ken has managed half-billion-dollar P&Ls, closed a deal that helped save a publicly traded company after 9/11, and worked with EOS clients in over ten countries. Ken breaks down what actually made him a great salesperson, including the challenger selling research that put a name to what he was already doing, why relationships alone have never closed a deal worth closing, and what it takes to move from top performer to capable leader without losing what made you great. He also gets into why 87% of integrators are promoted internally and why half of them fail within a year, the four inflection points that signal fractional leadership is the right call, and what the military after-action debrief looks like when you bring it into a business context.