PODCAST · business
The Shift Control Sales Podcast
by Shift Control
Helping ambitious SMEs and sales leaders unlock performance through strategic coaching, sales training, and practical growth advice rooted in 20 years of real-world experience.I’m Paul McAnallen, founder of Shift Control, a consultancy that works with SMEs, sales leaders, and founders across Ireland to improve sales performance and leadership effectiveness.Over the last 20 years, I’ve helped hundreds of businesses accelerate sales through strategy, coaching, and leadership development. From creating go-to-market strategies to developing SDR teams and mentoring senior sales professionals, I bring a no-nonsense, high-impact approach to driving commercial growth.With deep cross-industry experience and a commitment to clarity and action, I work as a trusted growth partner — not just a trainer — helping businesses turn potential into performance.
Episodes
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The "surviving to thriving" journey
I met with a friend last week and we mused at how easy the journey from 'Surviving to thriving' sounds when you say the words really quickly. But the stuff that matters is usually never easy - we have all been, at one point or another, in survival mode, on the back foot, reacting, stressed and...
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Why do managers mentor when they should coach?
What a person understands management to be is often shaped by their own lived experience. For some it’s the simple instruction passed on to them by superiors to get things done. Others benefit from books and coursework before being jettisoned into the university of life. There are those who see...
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Time for marketing and sales to be more aligned than ever
If salespeople are using AI to sharpen their approach, is it much of a stretch to think buyers are doing exactly the same? Research shows buyers are using AI just as much as sellers — for discovery, comparison, shortlisting and the final decision itself. Now, by the time we're brought into a...
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The 12 pleasures of work
I think people are generally bad at knowing what they want from work because we've never really been taught to notice what actually gives us pleasure in a career. We chase job titles and status instead of the underlying experience - what pleasure, joy or happiness could be found in work and what...
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How to make sales training stick
There are so many reasons for businesses to integrate regular sales training - for some its a massive shift in behaviour having always held internal tribal programmes, for others it is embedded in their DNA and their culture. Training should be more than an anniversary event or a response to...
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Do you need an AI Strategy or something else?
Recent discussions about AI with clients, coaching colleagues and friends has opened up different avenues of thinking. No denying the benefits of AI and the opposing concerns and fears that clearly exist over work displacement. Then there is the threat to human intelligence through over reliance…
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The problem with having more choice
There's a great line from the book "The paradox of choice" by Barry Schwartz - “The more options we have, the less satisfied we are with whatever we choose.” I was drawn to it recently when I was getting a coffee and some breakfast in Belfast - the choices we make and what influences them....
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How great sales people can become greater
I have noticed recently how businesses have become reliant on data to determine whether their business development efforts work or not - over-reliant maybe. The numbers, lead indicators or whatever the performance metric will tell you what is working on that campaign but what is there to tell you...
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Simon Kuper at The Reform Club
A first networking event in years - a breakfast event at The Reform Club on Belfast's Royal Avenue in the company of business leaders, listening to journalist Simon Kuper talk about what business can learn from sport. Simon has written books on Barcelona, taking a different approach to Damian...
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The principle of 'contracting'
Contracting is a concept that that has been applied to the coaching, psychotherapy and counselling industries whereby boundaries are created and clarity given to collaborative work between a coach and a coachee. Is this something that can be applied to our meaningful interpersonal relationships…
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When not to ask why
Beginning a new learning journey and I have picked up some valuable insights already - one being the use of the word 'why' in sales and the importance of finding a different way of asking that question without it. This podcast suggests a rethink on your questioning / information gathering...
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It's hard to fix what you cannot see
I used to work with a business man who was as good at coaching as he was at growing a multi-million pound business. “I really pity the man that doesn’t know he doesn’t know.” He said to me one day, almost 20 years ago. It took a while to land but he was talking about that thing everyone is...
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Who do you trust?
Having invited guests over last week, I found myself without some key ingredients for a vegetarian dish I had planned to make. Taking the list of ingredients I challenged CHAT GPT to create a recipe for a similar meal - and it did. At no point did I question the recipe and it made me realise how...
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Sales Isn’t About Activity — It’s About Awareness
Plenty of the recent episodes focus on the importance of process, from pipeline management to presentation formats. We can get caught up with the lure of CRM, believing that data and data management is everything. It gets tiring, sat in another sales meeting, discussing pipeline and nothing has...
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Forecasting for sales success
I was making plans for this coming weekend - Tyrone V Kerry in Dublin. Should I or shouldn't I? Weather isn't all that relevant but I looked at the forecast and found another reason to go. The importance of being able to predict something accurately. (It was in 2008 that Croke park was flooded...
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You may ask yourself, how did I get here?
I came across the following quote from a post on Instagram: “It doesn’t make sense to continue wanting something if you’re not willing to do what it takes to get it. If you don’t want to live the lifestyle then release yourself from the desire. To crave the result but not the process is to...
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Never meet your idols - the night I didn't meet Bernadette Devlin McAliskey
A different episode to the usual - about going to a fundraiser for Palestine at the Dockers Club in Belfast, music supplied by Irish DJ, David Holmes, Roisin El Sherif and Bernadette Devlin McAliskey. At the age of 78, Bernadette can hold court now just as well as she did in 1969, on her maiden...
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Lead generation is the new sales superpower
According to Gartner research, only 17% of the buying process is spent with suppliers — that’s not much more than one-sixth of the journey. So if you're waiting for that 17% to come to you, you’re missing the 83% where the buyer is actually shaping the deal. That’s why proactive prospecting isn’t...
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'The Process is the Goal' - Addendum
I found myself a little hypocritical in the previous episode - trying to maybe make everything sound so easy when in truth getting into good habits in any part of your life can be anything but easy. I felt it important to reframe a few things - it is a struggle for me in loads of areas and I try...
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The 'Process is the Goal' - Part II. Advice for everyone else.
The second part of the podcast devoted to the importance of Process is itself broken down into 2 parts - the practical part of the process that impacts the physical work you do and the prices you have (or don't have) that helps you emotionally and mentally prepare for the work that you need to…
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The 'Process is the Goal' - Part I. Advice for the sales leader.
Episode 1 of 2, were I talk about the importance of disciplined process in sales management and leadership. It's all pretty straightforward and common sense and yet many sales leaders are fixated to the outcome - the revenue target for the month, quarter or year instead of having a clearly…
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A strategy to effectively onboard an internal sales person to sales manager
Following hot on the heals of the last podcast - can a great sales person become a great sales manager - I had some feedback from listeners who had shared some of their own experiences and so I thought I would record this episode to focus on some tangible stuff that can be implemented quickly or…
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A good sales person AND a good sales manager - can they be both?
In life, some things can be both "good" and "bad" and in the middle of the drama to get things attended to we often only see them as simply 'bad' or 'good.' It's hard to find the time to work towards a balanced opinion and so we go for the position that seems the most logical at the time and with...
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How to prevent overthinking and under performing
It hits everyone at some point along the sales journey - overthinking or self sabotage. Sales is hard enough due to market forces, economic turbulence and the competition without the added pressure of the inner critic giving you a kicking at the same time. It can be a problem but it can also be...
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Michael Ryan Nature of Man
The previous episode (Nature of Man with Diarmuid Lyng) had generated more discussion and feedback than most other episodes. The feedback had been mixed in the sense that many people related to the content but as many were of the opinion that the retreat or the idea of a retreat 'wasn't for…
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The Nature Of Man - interviewing Diarmuid Lyng
In March, I found myself at a retreat in the Wicklow mountains, facilitated by Diarmuid Lyng and Michael Ryan. An entirely transformative experience and one that I felt the need to share through a discussion with Diarmuid - Wexford County Hurler, TG4 Commentator, retreat facilitator, husband,...
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Taking control of unconscious behaviours
In a number of conversations this last few weeks - on a personal and professional level - a common theme was the importance of taking time...time 'out', time to prepare, time to think and the benefits of not rushing. The control of our subconscious / unconscious in what we do and how we do things...
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The word on the streets
A recent walk through Belfast city centre reminds me of a time when I lived in the city and encountered the homeless problem first hand. In 2013 there were a number of deaths on the streets in quick succession that should have sparked some deliberate action from local politicians and government.…
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Shouting from the sidelines
The shouts from the sidelines - and the media - at Ange Postecogolou over the last few months have been pretty clear. A coach sticking to his principles, lacking as many as 8 first team players is now deemed not good enough. Unless you've played or coached at that level, then it's hard to fully...
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Amateur or expert - do you know the difference?
How quickly do you filter out the expert buyer from the amateur buyer?
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The discipline of telling the truth
The only thing that matters is making yourself understood. Good communication is critical to any aspect of our lives and despite the dominance of moving image, writing is an important aspect of good selling Take away exaggeration, superlatives, adverbs and adjectives you start to get close to the...
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More than a game
Two weekends spent at GAA matches - football and hurling - and guess which one didn't need the rule changes.
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The night Rory Gallagher game to town
Something ive wanted to talk about for a long time - my love of music. Trying to make it relevant to the theme of the Shift Control Podcast isnt easy - so for this one time - I'd like to talk about Roru Gallagher, in a week where his immortalised Fender Strat was sold to a lucky buyer and gifted...
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The impact of AI on your sales operation - in conversation with Rory Kelly
How many of you are actively and knowingly integrating AI into your business development process? I think at this point everyone has gotten over themselves - even copywriters - and begrudgingly admitted that generative AI can be a great thing for creating content both in the arena of sales and...
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The Boys Are Back In Town
The boys are back in town - the bad ones. As Ireland continues to punch above it's weight in global sport - like it does in the arts, music and film - 2 opposing belief systems are clashing in Belfast. Anti-immigrants v anti racists are rioting in Wellington Place - mirroring events in…
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The Post Covid Sales Landscape
No doubt things had changed significantly in the world of sales after COVID. Sales BC - is that a thing? Some of the outcomes and consequences have been beneficial for sure - but as a business have you moved forward strategically or have you been moved along by the tide of change and have kept...
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Best Hurling Final Ever, Wise Up.
Best Hurling Final Ever, Wise Up. by Shift Control
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Where's your next fire?
On holiday mode but still find myself thinking about work - what;'s needed to finish this year with a flourish and then what lies beyond 2024. in battle mode - doing the stuff you strategised about last year - you don't get much time to think about beyond the short term. Firefighters are only...
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It's Boxy, but Safe.
A Dudley Moore movie that should speak to anyone in communications - sales, marketing etc...Crazy People. I now know that its Boxy, but good but I always remember it being boxy but safe. Anyway..Marcus Sheridan's book They Ask, You Answer, reminded me of the movie - as it did LIAR, LIAR with Jim...
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Everybody Needs A Break
Follow up from the last episode where I talked about managing your energy - never said it was easy, no way. But it is doable. Stendhal Festival would be the perfect place to tune into nature and get into some great local music and art, unwind, chill out and relax. Changing of the guard in Derry…
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You've got to lively up yourself
'Lively up yourself and don't be no drag' The first line of the Bob Marley song is a call to arms for everyone to raise your vibration - get your energy levels up. Bring your A game to everywhere, everything and everyone. And into work. Especially in sales, the energy we bring to our work impacts...
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Motivated or disciplined?
How is your sales team set up? Motivated or disciplined? Neither or both? A trip to IFAT in Munch teaches me a lot about both and 2 trips to see Bruce Springsteen reminds me about the importance of thought
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Filling in small pockets of dead time
I'm sat here waiting for an engineer to arrive to install broadband. They'll be here soon, well some time but it might not be soon at all, in fact just like last Friday, they might not arrive at all...
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Serendipity
Spending 2 days at an exhibition in Birmingham with plenty of time to think and a cancelled flight with the Irish national air carrier of real choice - not Ryan Air - gave me some food or thought on how some of the very basic sales techniques of the past can compete with the very best the digital...
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Building sales momentum
Sales momentum is critical for any business - are you able to turn the heat up when you need to or does your team operate at inconsistent levels across the year? Would you trade of 3 hours of flow sales for a day of?
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Reciprocal Customer Loyalty
This podcast gives a brief insight into a project that I had the good fortune to work on over the last 3 years that culminated in a customer service charter. All the good work of a business that has a clear focus on driving value through a better working relationship with customers - something…
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Beyond IQ And EQ
For so long we only thought in terms of academic intelligence. Along came Daniel Goleman and Emotional intelligence in the mid 90s and yet before in 1938 - Howard Gardner had introduced Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences where he talks about multiple intelligences, 8 and how…
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Madness and the media
Fergal Keane is a renowned journalist, war correspondent and author of 'Madness: A memoir of war, fear and PTSD.' Not a normal read for me but a brilliant biography and my first encounter with epigenetics and generational trauma. And a good reason to be reminded about the importance of screening...
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Make critical thinking part of your sales process
Too often the focus is on asking questions rather than analysing what you know. In this podcast I talk about the origins of critical thinking and how it can be applied to your sales process along with EQ, to help deliver greater success.
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Customer service: The Merrion Part 2
As luck would have it I ended up speaking to someone with the inside track on customer service at the Merrion
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Helping ambitious SMEs and sales leaders unlock performance through strategic coaching, sales training, and practical growth advice rooted in 20 years of real-world experience.I’m Paul McAnallen, founder of Shift Control, a consultancy that works with SMEs, sales leaders, and founders across Ireland to improve sales performance and leadership effectiveness.Over the last 20 years, I’ve helped hundreds of businesses accelerate sales through strategy, coaching, and leadership development. From creating go-to-market strategies to developing SDR teams and mentoring senior sales professionals, I bring a no-nonsense, high-impact approach to driving commercial growth.With deep cross-industry experience and a commitment to clarity and action, I work as a trusted growth partner — not just a trainer — helping businesses turn potential into performance.
HOSTED BY
Shift Control
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The Shift Control Sales Podcast have?
The Shift Control Sales Podcast currently has 176 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Shift Control Sales Podcast about?
Helping ambitious SMEs and sales leaders unlock performance through strategic coaching, sales training, and practical growth advice rooted in 20 years of real-world experience.I’m Paul McAnallen, founder of Shift Control, a consultancy that works with SMEs, sales leaders, and founders across...
How often does The Shift Control Sales Podcast release new episodes?
The Shift Control Sales Podcast publishes regularly with 176 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to The Shift Control Sales Podcast?
You can listen to The Shift Control Sales Podcast on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts The Shift Control Sales Podcast?
The Shift Control Sales Podcast is created and hosted by Shift Control.
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