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Sales Lead Dog PodcastAuthor: Christopher Smith
Unless you are the lead dog, your view never changes. On the Sales Lead Dog podcast, CRM technology and sales process expert Christopher Smith talks with exceptional sales leaders that have separated themselves from the rest and achieved a sales leadership role in their organization. Hear what they did to become the alpha, lead their pack, and how they leverage CRM technology to drive sales for their organization. If your goal is to rise higher in your sales career or you currently are the alpha, this podcast gives you useful insight on how the best-of-the-best achieve success with their team and CRM technology. Language: en Genres: Business, Careers, Management Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Leading Global Sales in GPS-Denied Environments and Why Your CRM Is Actually a Shield
Episode 180
Tuesday, 5 May, 2026
What does it take to lead a global sales team selling drone navigation technology to the Department of Defense, in environments where GPS cannot be trusted? Kara Kramer, Vice President of Raptor Sales at Vantor, joins Sales Lead Dog to break down her journey from the intelligence community to the front lines of defense technology sales, and the leadership philosophy she built around one core principle: being the shield for her team. This episode covers mission-driven sales, building diverse global teams, why women are underrepresented in sales leadership, and a CRM take that will change how you think about your pipeline tool. What You'll Learn: How 9/11 redirected Kara from vet school to a career built around national security mission What GPS-denied environments mean and why Raptor exists to solve it for military drone operations The shield leadership model: absorb the pressure so your team can close Why she hated CRM as a seller and now calls it the tool that protects her entire team What she actually looks for when building a globally diverse sales team The real reason there are not enough women in sales leadership and what the data says How to run demos that move defense tech deals forward when no PowerPoint will do it How to build a team career path without assuming everyone wants what you wanted About Kara Kramer: Kara Kramer is the Vice President of Raptor Sales at Vantor. She leads the global go-to-market team for Raptor, the company's vision-based software suite enabling precise drone navigation and target coordinate extraction in GPS-denied environments. Vantor is a spatial intelligence company that fuses data from satellites, drones, and ground sensors to create a real-time digital representation of Earth, delivering mission-critical insights for defense, intelligence, and commercial operations. She previously held leadership roles at AeroVironment, Shift5, and Istari, and earlier in her career served in the intelligence community and worked at Booz Allen Hamilton and Thomson Reuters. Connect with Kara Learn more about Vantor Vantor on LinkedIn Drone autonomy without GPS About Sales Lead Dog: Sales Lead Dog is hosted by Christopher Smith, CRM technology and sales process expert, and founder of Empellor CRM. Each episode features sales leaders who have separated themselves from the rest of the pack, sharing how they achieve success with their teams and their CRM strategy. Unless you are the lead dog, the view never changes. All episodes and show notes: https://empellorcrm.com/salesleaddog/ If this episode brought you value: 👊 Hit Like and help more sales professionals find this conversation. 🔔 Subscribe so you never miss a Sales Lead Dog episode. 💬 Drop your biggest takeaway in the comments. What principle is most relevant to where you are in your career right now?
