From the Frontline to the Front Office: What Modern Sales Leaders Need to Know
When Andy Champion left the British Army after six years of service, he probably didn’t realise that the leadership principles he’d honed in Northern Ireland would become his secret weapon in scaling US tech companies across Europe. Twenty-seven years later, as General Manager of International at Sixth Sense, he’s still drawing on those lessons – and they’re more relevant than ever.
We sat down with Andy to unpack three critical topics facing modern sales leaders: how military principles translate to high-performing sales teams, the real playbook for scaling across Europe, and what it takes to shift from “growth at all costs” to sustainable, profitable scale.
The Modern Sales Leader: Rolling Your Sleeves Up
“It’s no longer ‘do as I say’ – it’s ‘do as I am doing’,” Andy explains. And he means it literally. Every Tuesday morning, you’ll find him on the phone alongside his team during what they call their “out loud hour” – a company-wide initiative focused on pipeline generation.
This shift towards hands-on leadership isn’t just about setting an example. It’s about understanding the day-to-day reality your sellers face. The tools, technologies and buyer behaviours have transformed completely from the days when Andy started in recruitment with just a phone plugged into the wall and no internet.
“It’s very hard to coach and support somebody if you don’t have that experience,” he notes. “The experience of my sellers now is very different from when I started.”
But there’s something deeper at play here. Modern sales teams don’t respond to hierarchical, command-and-control leadership. They thrive on trust, inspiration and discretionary effort – and you only earn that by being in the trenches with them.
The Phone Still Works (Really)
Here’s a contrarian take in our hyper-automated world: whilst scale messaging tools have their place, they’ve created a new problem. When your prospects receive 20-40 automated emails a day, how do you stand out?
Andy’s answer is refreshingly simple: pick up the phone.
“The phone still works. It really, really does work,” he insists. “You need to develop the skills and you need to have the confidence and the support to do that, but it helps you cut through the noise.”
This is why Sixth Sense has implemented “PG Tuesday” (Pipeline Generation Tuesday) with a specific focus on their out loud hour. Every Tuesday, the entire team comes together for synchronised calling activity. They share best practices, review call recordings, and create a supportive environment where making calls becomes less daunting.
The preparation is equally important. Six weeks in advance, they identify topics and accounts to focus on. By Friday, sellers have selected their accounts. This structure removes the paralysis of choice and creates momentum.
“When you’re on calls together, when you’re learning together, it normalises it,” Andy explains. “It makes it much less scary.”
Scaling Across Europe: It’s Not Just America with an Accent
If you’re a US company looking to expand into Europe, here’s what you need to understand: Europe is not a single market. Andy has seen countless American firms make the mistake of treating European expansion as simply flipping a switch.
“Europe has 27 member states, and if you cast out and you look at maybe the Norwegian, Swiss markets and the UK, of course, it’s a lot of markets with very different cultures, very different languages, very different ways of doing business,” he points out.
His advice? Start with the English-speaking markets – typically the UK and Ireland. Build your beachhead there, prove the model works, and then expand thoughtfully into other major economies like Germany, France and Spain.
But here’s the crucial bit: you need to plan ahead. If you want to enter the German market next year and see revenue the year after, you need to start laying the groundwork now. That means understanding local regulations, hiring country managers who know the territory, and building partnerships that can accelerate your entry.
“The reality is there’s a reason that Europe has always been tougher for most US companies,” Andy admits. “The fragmentation makes it more challenging.”
The CRO’s Schizophrenia: Running Today’s Business Whilst Building Tomorrow’s
As a Chief Revenue Officer, you’re constantly pulled in two directions. On one hand, you’ve got the day job – keeping the wheels on the wagon, ensuring your team hits quota (ideally in the mid-to-high 80s for average attainment), and delivering this quarter’s numbers.
On the other hand, you’ve got to plant seeds for future growth. If you’re currently selling in English-speaking markets, what preparation do you need to do this year to successfully enter Germany or France next year?
“You’ve got this schizophrenia of the day job running the business whilst also preparing for next year and a couple of fiscals out,” Andy notes. “So it’s quite challenging.”
The Tech Stack Question: Don’t Try to Be the Smartest Person in the Room
With the explosion of sales enablement tools and AI applications, how hands-on should a CRO be with technology decisions?
Andy’s take is nuanced. At the C-level, you absolutely need to own the tech burden you’re putting on your people. In fact, many organisations are now reducing their tech stack rather than expanding it – a healthy correction after years of tool proliferation.
But that doesn’t mean you need to be the expert on every platform.
“It is not your job to be the smartest person in the room,” Andy says firmly. “It’s your job to have brilliant people around you that are bringing perspective and making smart decisions together.”
Sixth Sense has tackled this by creating an “Office of AI” – a forum where new ideas can surface, be discussed, debated, and the meritorious ones brought forward. Whilst major tech decisions naturally align with annual planning cycles, they review new initiatives quarterly and monitor impact weekly.
The key principle? Surround yourself with people who are in the trenches every day. In many cases, they’re better positioned to make technology decisions than you are.
From Growth at All Costs to Sustainable Scale
For sales leaders transitioning from the venture capital world to private equity-backed organisations, the shift can be jarring. PE firms demand a different kind of discipline – one focused on sustainable, profitable growth rather than land grabs at any cost.
Andy’s advice for leaders making this transition? Focus on building a great business.
“Whether you’re PE or VC backed, whether it’s founder money, whether you’re a publicly traded organisation, the most important thing that I think we can all focus on every single day is just to build a great business,” he explains.
That means getting the fundamentals right: culture, standards of execution, how you grow and cultivate your people, and the responsible way you drive revenue. Companies that navigate these well tend to have strong outcomes, regardless of their funding structure.
At the C-suite level, there’s what Kevin Aykroyd (whom Andy admires immensely) calls “board tax” – the additional burden of serving your board’s requirements. But even here, the principle holds: build a great business with great people, a great product, and great customers.
“Do that well, and the outcomes usually look after themselves.”
The Leadership Principle That Underpins Everything
Throughout our conversation, one theme emerged repeatedly: trust is earned, not given.
Whether it’s being on the phones with your team, making technology decisions collaboratively, or planning international expansion, the best leaders don’t command from on high. They inspire through action, enable through empowerment, and lead through example.
Andy’s military background taught him this lesson early. In the army, you can’t simply tell soldiers to trust you when bullets are flying. You earn that trust through competence, consistency, and being willing to face the same risks they face.
The same principle applies in sales. Your team won’t give you discretionary effort just because you have a fancy title. They’ll give it when they see you’re genuinely invested in their success, when you understand their challenges because you face them too, and when you create an environment where they can thrive.
In an era of AI transformation, market fragmentation, and increasing pressure for profitable growth, perhaps the most important thing sales leaders can do is remember this: technology may evolve, markets may shift, but great leadership remains fundamentally human.
And that starts with rolling up your sleeves and getting to work alongside your team.
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