Anders Boulanger is a professional speaker, performer, and CEO of Engagify. For over 20 years, he has helped organisations across industries capture attention, build trust, and inspire action. Known as “The Infotainer,” Anders has performed more than 5,000 live shows and delivered keynotes and workshops that teach leaders, sales teams, and communicators the art of engagement.

In Engage First, Anders shares his field-tested strategies for creating meaningful connections that drive results — whether you’re leading a team, selling a product, or delivering unforgettable customer experiences.

• In this episode, Anders talks about his book “Engage First,” and its development, along with some of the key ideas from the book. He shares his unique journey from magic performer to engagement expert and, thereafter, author. He discusses how deliberate engagement, storytelling, and authenticity are vital for building trust and standing out in a crowded world.
• He also discusses his process of writing the book, challenges he faced along the way, and why he chose “hybrid publishing” as a delivery platform for the book. Amongst key ideas from the book, he elaborates on creating “aha moments”- that singular point in time between problem state and solution when the customer or audience discovers for themselves the key differentiator or insight.
• Amongst other ideas, he discusses the role of storytelling, simplifying complex ideas to create connections, and establishing authority through performance. He elaborates on the importance of appearances and framing in creating rapport and establishing trust, and focuses on authentic interactions in a world that is increasingly sceptical of AI-generated content.

Run time – 01:03:09 mins.

Links for Subhanjan

subhanjan@pitch.link

https://www.linkedin.com/in/subhanjansarkar

Resources & Links for Anders Boulanger:

• Engageify – AI for Authentic Interactions
• Book: Engage First by Anders Boulanger
• Anders Boulanger – LinkedIn
• Storytelling and Engagement Strategies

Connect with Anders Boulanger:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter

Todd Caponi, CSP®, fell into sales and fell in love with the decision science and history behind it. He’s held multiple sales leadership roles, helping build one company into Chicago’s fastest growing, another to an IPO and nearly $3B acquisition, and earning a Stevie Award as Worldwide VP of Sales. Todd is the author of The Transparency Sale, ranked by Book Authority among the best sales books of all time, and the award-winning The Transparent Sales Leader. His latest book, Four Levers Negotiating, was released on January 27th. He now speaks and teaches revenue teams worldwide and hosts The Sales History Podcast.

• Todd Caponi, in his book “Four Levers Negotiating”, emphasises that transparency builds trust and consistency. In other words, negotiation should not rely on tactics or keep information hidden from the buyer. Instead, openly sharing how pricing has been calculated, as well as the applicability of the product, builds trust and reduces anxiety amongst customers. In the era of abundant information, transparency and AI, opaque or manipulative negotiation approaches simply do not work.
• Negotiations should be anchored on four business levers, which are core drivers: volume, timing of cash, length of commitment, and timing of the deal. All pricing and negotiation should revolve around these levers. By grounding discussions on these levers, sellers can move away from arbitrary discounting towards structured, value-based negotiation, enabling customers to co-create fair deals.
• Many negotiation methods still mirror 1970s-era tactics focused on win-lose dynamics and psychological manoeuvring. The author believes these are incompatible with today’s “as-a-service” economy, where long-term relationships matter. Modern negotiation must prioritise collaboration, service, and long-term customer value over short-term wins, and thus reject such outdated negotiation tactics.

Run time – 00:49:34 mins.

Links for Subhanjan

subhanjan@pitch.link

https://www.linkedin.com/in/subhanjansarkar

Todd Caponi’s links:

LinkedIn – https://linkedin.com/in/toddcaponi

Twitter – https://twitter.com/toddcaponi

Todd Caponi’s Sales History Podcast – https://podcast.link

Fred Copestake is the founder of Brindis. Over the last 25 years, he has travelled around the world 14 times, visiting 38 countries, working with 10,000 salespeople. Using this to understand the challenges salespeople face, he has taken what makes a difference in modern selling and explored this in his book ‘Selling Through Partnering Skills’. These ideas form the basis of his work with sales professionals involved in complex B2B sales to develop their approach and ensure it is up to date and has maximum impact. Aware of the unprecedented speed of change in the world of sales in his second book, Hybrid Selling, he addressed how salespeople can adapt and evolve their approach to avoid becoming irrelevant. This quickly went to number one on Amazon after its launch.

Fred’s third and latest book is ‘Ethical Selling’, which we are here to talk about today. He also hosts the popular “Sales Today” podcast. When Fred is not delivering training to UK or international clients, he can be found enjoying rugby, cricket and time with his wife and cats.

• Fred Copestake reveals that rapid change in buyer behaviour—accelerated by the pandemic has ensured that customers are further along the buying cycle before engaging sales, and they increasingly distrust traditional “salesy” tactics. The core issue is poor selling practices that fail to add value. Buyers are better informed, less patient, and therefore expect meaningful, insight-driven conversations rather than superficial persuasion attempts from salespeople.
• Fred positions “ethical selling” as practical, tactical behaviour—not abstract morality—focused. His principle focuses on a “win-win-win”: for the customer, the company, and also the personal conscience. Transparency, active listening, and collaboration are effective techniques for building trust and improving outcomes. Rather than reinventing sales, he emphasises returning to proven fundamentals to create better conversations, stronger relationships, and more sustainable commercial success.
• The author believes that sales have “stretched the elastic too far” by overusing clever tactics, eroding trust and relevance. To recover, sellers must demonstrate value through curiosity, insight, and honesty—even leading with flaws to build credibility. Trust and collaboration form more quickly when sellers prioritise helping customers think clearly rather than pushing solutions, ultimately making sales more human and thereby more effective.

Run time – 00:45:29 mins.

Links for Subhanjan

subhanjan@pitch.link

https://www.linkedin.com/in/subhanjansarkar