Revenue Builders Podcast: "Why Elite Sellers Watch Their Own Game Film"

Date: February 1, 2026
Hosts: John McMahon and John Kaplan
Guest: Bob Koses, Author of The President's Club Mindset
Theme: What truly separates elite sales performers from the rest—focusing on self-assessment, preparation, authenticity, and mastering relationship dynamics inside challenging deal environments.

Episode Overview

This episode dives into the mindset and methods of elite B2B sales professionals. The hosts and Bob Koses explore how top sellers self-coach by reviewing their own "game film," the importance of preparedness, and the crucial distinction between authentic passion and mechanical selling. They discuss the nuances of building strong internal and customer-facing relationships, finding champions and neutralizing "enemies" within accounts, and how self-awareness differentiates top sellers and leaders from the rest.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Power of Reviewing Your Own Game Film

• Technological Advancements in Self-Assessment
  • Modern tools (e.g., Gong) enable reps to review their own calls—something not available "back in the day."
  • John Kaplan (00:50): “We can self assess, Are we prepared? Are we calm? Do we understand, differentiation? … We now have technology that can self assess.”
• Responsibility of Self-Review
  • Many sellers know others listen to their calls, but fail to review themselves.
  • John McMahon (01:47): "Not enough people are doing it. I don't understand it. I mean, game film, could you imagine being an NFL team and not watching game film?"
  • John Kaplan (02:04): “For me [it] would be insanity to go into watch my game without having reviewed the film myself and then wait for the coach to tell me what I did right or did wrong.”

The Sales Meeting Dynamic: Reps vs. Technical Teams

• Some reps let technical staff dominate calls, failing to engage or take leadership.
  • Bob Koses (02:16): “The rep introduces the people on the phone. They never say another word, says goodbye... just let the technical people run the call. It's awful.”
  • John McMahon (02:36): Highlights the need for reps to lead meetings, even as technical roles remain vital.

The Critical Role of Preparation and Team Rehearsal

• Even experienced sellers consistently cite lack of preparation as a pitfall.
  • John McMahon (03:14): “A lot of them did say, hey, you know, the one thing is… you can never prepare enough.”
  • Especially vital in large deals—team-wide preparedness makes all the difference.

Elite Seller Attributes: Self-Awareness and Authenticity

• Top performers move at a different pace—focusing more on quality interactions than quantity.
  • Bob Koses (03:59): “They needed to call on one account to get one [deal].”
  • John Kaplan (04:39): “They're self aware… they know what their conversion rate is, know what a champion is, know how to get an economic buyer involved…”
• The most dangerous state: being unconsciously competent, i.e., successful but unable to teach or replicate it.
  • John Kaplan (05:01): “…they weren't self aware. They did not understand what made them successful. That's almost as dangerous as being consciously incompetent.”

Genuine Passion and Its Impact

• Elite sellers are passionately authentic; they deeply believe their solutions help customers.
  • John McMahon (05:57): “They deeply understand how they're going to affect the customer… they just believe it so deeply.”
  • Bob Koses (06:42): “You can’t create passion and get people to believe it. It has to be really authentic.”
• Longevity in high performance directly ties to personal belief in the work’s importance.
  • John Kaplan (06:51): “There’s a direct correlation to what I have energy for, to what I believe matters.”

Building Champions and Visioning Beyond the Close

• Top reps excel in:
  • Connecting their solution to the customer’s pain and the personal win for their champion.
  • Selling the “as is” picture of post-sale customer success, not just the close itself.
    • John McMahon (07:53): “I always like to tell the reps, focus past the close to the as-is scenario of where the customer is going to be successful…”
• Great reps continue cultivating references and relationships even after the deal closes.
  • Bob Koses (09:22): “They have done a great job in continuing to build the relationships with those people and use them as really powerful references.”

Mastering Value, CFO Conversations, and Dealing with "Enemies"

• High-performing reps regularly bring value and are comfortable talking to the CFO.
• Addressing "enemies" (internal detractors) head-on is mature and necessary.
  • John McMahon (11:06): “You want to find your enemies in these big, complex accounts, and you may not win them, it’s okay, but you have to neutralize them.”
  • Bob Koses (11:25): “After you talk to him long enough, you kind of figure out what his strategy is.”
  • John Kaplan (12:16): “Some of the most impressive enemies… are basically… somebody else's champion.”

Recognizing and Neutralizing Subtle Opposition

• Not all enemies are overt—some are subtle, due to internal politics.

  • John Kaplan (13:16): “If they have power and influence… they're actively selling on somebody else's behalf and there's a vested interest for that other organization's success.”
  • Bob Koses (13:34): “They can be very, very shrewd and make you believe that they're going to be your champion when at the end of the day, they're stabbing you in the back.”

• If no opposition surfaces, it may mean the rep isn’t pushing deep enough.

  • John Kaplan (15:02): “If you start seeing somebody who's threatened, it means you're doing your job because the enemy is surfacing… When you don't see any enemy, that's actually a red flag.”

• Actionable advice: Don’t avoid detractors—meet with them, learn their motivations, and work to neutralize or win them over.

  • John McMahon (15:26): “Go, go meet with your enemies. Go spend time with them… You can’t run from it. It’s going to come back and bite.”

Memorable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• On self-assessment and preparation:
  “We can self assess... We now have technology that can self assess.” — John Kaplan (00:50)

• On not watching one’s own "game film":
  “Could you imagine being an NFL team and not watching game film?” — John McMahon (01:47)

• On self-awareness and teaching others:
  “They did not understand what made them successful. That's almost as dangerous as being consciously incompetent.” — John Kaplan (05:01)

• On authentic passion:
  “You can't create passion and get people to believe it. It has to be really authentic.” — Bob Koses (06:42)

• On building champions:
  “Focus past the close to the as is scenario of where the customer is going to be successful.” — John McMahon (07:53)

• On the role of enemies in deals:
  “If you start seeing somebody who's threatened, it means you're doing your job because the enemy is surfacing.” — John Kaplan (15:02)

• On not running from difficult stakeholders:
  “Go, go meet with your enemies... You can't run from it. It's going to come back and bite.” — John McMahon (15:26)

Key Takeaways

• Elite salespeople take ownership of their development by rigorously reviewing their own performance.
• Preparation and team rehearsal are universally underperformed, even among experienced pros.
• Self-awareness and genuine passion are key differentiators—not just for sellers, but also for great sales leaders.
• The best sellers focus on the customer’s value and success story, not just the close.
• Building champions requires understanding their personal wins, and sustaining relationships for future references.
• Engaging “enemies” and neutralizing internal opposition is a mature, critical skill for winning complex deals.
• Absence of internal resistance may indicate a lack of deep value creation for the customer.

For B2B sellers and leaders aiming for elite performance, this episode delivers timeless reminders and concrete, actionable advice for building winning sales cultures and deepening personal accountability.