Buyer First Is a Behavior, Not a Statement — Carol Mahoney on What Most Companies Get Wrong

Mar 18, 2026

35 minutes

The conversation delves into the buyer-first approach in sales, the role of AI coaching for sales teams, and the significance of mindset in sales success. Carole Mahoney shares insights on the importance of understanding the buyer's perspective, the development of AI coaching platforms for sales, and the impact of mindset on sales performance. Takeaways Buyer-first approach AI coaching for sales Role of mindset in sales Chapters 00:00 The Buyer-First Approach 10:58 AI Coaching for Sales 18:02 The Role of Mindset in Sales

Guests:

Carole Mahoney

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Episode Summary

Carol Mahoney — sales coach, author of Buyer First, and founder of Unbound Growth — started her career trying to eliminate salespeople entirely. Instead, she became one of the most data-driven voices on how sellers need to adapt to today's buyer. In this episode, we dig into what buyer-first actually looks like in practice, what's still broken about AI role play, and the platform she's building to fix it. If you're in sales, enablement, or building a go-to-market motion, this one's worth your time.