# Joe Vitalone — show notes

Great Products lose to Great Sales Teams

Why do brilliant technology products lose while ordinary competitors win? Joe Vitalone joins Simon Dudley to explore sales teams, training, channel relationships and the decisions behind a long career in communications technology.

## In this conversation

- Growing up, golf and recognising when to change the dream
- Learning sales as a craft, with training and coaching
- Building a sales university at Mitel
- ShoreTel, Mitel and a career that behaves like a jungle gym
- Getting in luck’s way and evaluating a company before joining
- Leaving PictureTel for ViaVideo and the risks of a startup
- Polycom’s ShowStation and knowing when to cut losses
- ViewStation, pricing and the power of channel relationships
- Why great products still need great sales organisations
- MSPs and who owns the customer relationship
- Finding sales talent and developing future leaders
- Lifesize, Logitech and the strategic fit of an acquisition
- Generalists, specialists, passion and marketable skills
- Building a personal brand that lasts beyond a job title

[Listen on Buzzsprout](https://www.buzzsprout.com/2650808/episodes/20036946)

[Watch on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WYME6VDRAE)

[Full conversation and supporting materials](https://b4obvious.com/interviews/joe-vitalone/)

Roles and experiences reflect the recording. Machine-generated transcript wording and timestamps may contain errors.