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Published by Jerry Meldrum
The Sales Director Podcast is for business owners and leaders who know sales could be working harder, but aren't sure what to fix, when to invest, or who to bring in. Hosted by Jerry Meldrum, founder of Ahead of Sales, the show shares the kind of thinking a sales director brings; the strategy, the diagnosis, the hard-won lessons. With 23+ years in sales and the last five spent helping companies of all sizes across a range of sectors build sales that actually work, Jerry has seen the same expensive mistakes made again and again, and this show is about helping you avoid them. Each week digs into a real sales challenge; things like when to hire, how to read your pipeline, why growth stalls, or where your sales are quietly leaking. Real advice from someone who's actually done it, that you can use straight away. If you've built something that works but sales still feel unpredictable, if you're not sure whether what's coming in is luck or a system, or if you sense your growth is running on borrowed time, this is the show for you. New episodes every week. Press play, and let's get your sales working. Free pipeline module, plus how to work with Jerry: https://linktr.ee/aheadofsales
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Most businesses, through no fault of their own, don't actually know what a sales director does; and that mismatch in expectations is where a lot of sales problems start. This week, Jerry breaks down exactly what the role is, what it isn't, and what you should genuinely expect from one, whether they're full-time or fractional. He starts with the biggest misconception: a sales director is not a glorified sales manager. Using the analogy of a ship's captain versus a department head, Jerry explains why a sales director needs strategic oversight of the whole sales function, not just responsibility for their own patch, and why giving a sales director their own individual sales target quietly turns them back into a manager, chasing their own number instead of leading the team. He also tackles a common promotion mistake: why your best salesperson isn't automatically your best sales director, including his own honest admission that he was never the top seller on any team he was part of; and why that's exactly what made him better suited to the strategic side of the role. Jerry then walks through what a sales director should actually be doing across a quarter (strategy, targets, process, team coaching, forecasting) and the outputs a business owner should expect after six months: fewer fires, more foresight, a written strategy you could explain to someone at a barbecue, and a sales function that could survive the sales director leaving tomorrow. If you're wondering whether to hire a sales director, whether the one you've got is actually doing the job, or what fractional sales director support should really look like, this episode gives you the standard to measure it against. Free pipeline module, plus how to work with Jerry: https://linktr.ee/aheadofsales
Most business owners with a sales problem reach for a quick fix; a telesales agency, a lead generation agency, an "AI-powered" outreach tool, a two-day sales training course, hiring a salesperson, or bringing in a fractional sales director. This week, Jerry breaks down which of these actually work, which don't, and how to tell the difference before you spend the money. He starts with the solutions to use with real caution: telesales agencies (why they only work if you already have market reputation to capitalise on, and why sales needs consistency; including the real story of 49 touches to land one conversation), lead generation agencies (why they'll charge you for every lead whether it converts or not, and what to look for if you do use one), and the newest trend, AI-generated appointments and AI SDR tools; why Jerry calls a lot of it "AI snake oil" and why sales is ultimately built on emotion, not just volume. Then he covers the solutions that genuinely work, if you go in with the right expectations: hiring your own outbound salesperson (and the groundwork you need in place first), sales training (why most training is forgotten within weeks unless it's reinforced, and why culture matters more than content), and getting fractional sales director support, including when it's the right fit and when it isn't. Jerry also makes the case for when hiring a full-time sales director outright is the better move, and why a cheap sales director hire is really just an expensive sales manager. The theme running through it all: diagnose your actual sales problem first, then match the right fix to it. Short-term outsourced solutions should complement an existing sales function, not replace one. If you're a business owner trying to work out whether you need a salesperson, a sales trainer, a fractional sales director, or something else entirely, this episode will help you make that call with your eyes open. Free pipeline module, plus how to work with Jerry: https://linktr.ee/aheadofsales
Most sales problems don't announce themselves. They hide behind numbers that look perfectly healthy, until suddenly it's too late to fix easily. This week, Jerry goes back a step from episode one and tackles the question underneath it all: how do you actually know whether your business has a sales problem in the first place? Because whether you're doing all the selling yourself or you've got a small team, the warning signs are usually the same, and they're easy to miss. He breaks it down into three signs to look for. First, standing still: why flat revenue year on year isn't "stable" at all, and why you're probably watching the wrong number entirely. Second, a pipeline that's lying to you: how renewals, weak "maybe" deals, and a couple of big bets can make an unhealthy pipeline look reassuringly full. And third, the difference between taking orders and actually selling, including why heavy discounting is usually a sign the selling never really happened. Along the way: a friend's awning saga, the end of the DFS sale, and why "all our business comes from word of mouth" might be the riskiest thing a business owner can proudly tell you. Jerry finishes with one simple thing you can start tracking this week, a leading indicator that spots trouble long before your revenue ever shows it. If your sales feel more like luck than a system, this one's for you. Want to check whether your own pipeline is telling you the truth? Grab the free pipeline module: Click Here
Most businesses don't set out to build their sales function; it grows by accident, works for a while, and then something starts to creak. This week, Jerry unpacks what he calls the silver bullet problem: the mistake of reaching for one big fix to solve your sales issues, when the answer was never a single fix at all. It shows up at both ends. Early on, businesses either hire an inexperienced seller and leave them to sink with no process to follow, or spend six figures on a senior sales director expecting them to go and hunt deals; when that's not the job. And at the other extreme, businesses wait far too long to get support, then pile impossible pressure on whoever they bring in to fix things overnight. Jerry breaks down why both happen, what to do instead, and finishes with three practical checks you can run on your own business this week to tell whether you've got a sales problem worth acting on; from pipeline coverage to your revenue mix. If your sales feel more like luck than a system, this one's for you.
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Apple Podcasts rankings via the Mato Topic Intelligence Platform.
Observed September 17, 2026. Cached outside the daily freshness window; the positions keep the date they were taken on.
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