#246 Sales Alignment | Danielle welcomes Talya Heller, founder of Down to a T, a B2B consultancy helping marketers turn competitive positioning into high-impact sales assets. With experience in engineering, product management, and product marketing, Talya knows how to bridge the gap between what marketing builds and what sales actually uses.

Together they unpack:

Why most sales decks and battle cards go unused and what to build instead
How to enable your champion to sell internally with confidence
Simple frameworks for mapping competitive positioning that teams will actually use

Talya also breaks down how she researches, builds, and delivers assets that align sales, marketing, and product, all rooted in buyer empathy.

Timestamps

(00:00) - – Intro & Talya’s background
(02:11) - – From engineering to B2B marketing
(08:56) - – What is buyer enablement?
(11:11) - – Why deals stall after vendor selection
(13:26) - – The problem with sales decks
(15:56) - – Why battle cards don’t work
(18:11) - – Talya’s competitive positioning map
(24:19) - – Grouping competitors by approach
(26:49) - – Market maps for sales
(28:49) - – Where to get the best insights
(31:19) - – New formats for enablement
(33:34) - – Why context matters
(35:19) - – Empathy for your sales team
(37:04) - – Closing thoughts on empathy
(38:09) - – Where to find Talya online

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Fixing the Disconnect Between Marketing and Sales with Talya Heller

The Exit Five CMO Podcast (Hosted by Dave Gerhardt)