Think Big. Win Bigger.

Ep 7 – What Becomes Possible When You Think Bigger with John Giese (Part I)

Dennis Sorenson — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 12:00:00 +0000

"I was the typical sales guy. Yeah, I'll just go get it. I know everything. And I was successful, but I would have been deadly had I had this operational framework." - John Giese Dennis Sorenson, CEO of Cove Group and host of Think Big, Win Bigger, sits down with serial entrepreneur and business partner John Giese in this first part of a two-part Ambition series. John has built and led multiple businesses as CEO from the ground up, served on several boards, and co-founded Horizons West alongside Dennis. His perspective is forged through decades of real enterprise sales and leadership—not theory. John's core conviction? Ambition without structure is potential left on the table. "I was the typical sales guy," he says. "I was successful, but I would have been deadly had I had this operational framework."

What happens when an $8.5 million company decides to pursue a $900 million contract—and wins half of it in 24 months? That's where this conversation starts. John and Dennis break down why most companies operate off of hope instead of opportunity, why the companies John advises can't see what's possible in front of them, and how slowing down—really slowing down—is exactly what unlocks bigger outcomes. From guerrilla-warfare CEO instincts to the discipline of trusting the process, this is what ambition looks like when it has a plan behind it.

In This Episode:

(00:00) John Giese and the ambition series
(03:50) John's consulting world in 2023 and the one problem every client shared
(08:17) How companies fail to see the opportunity sitting right in front of them
(15:32) The $900 million pursuit and the 24 months that changed everything
(20:27) Why slowing down is the competitive advantage most sellers never develop
(25:47) Why seeing the bigger picture gives you patience in any deal
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About the Show

Think Big. Win Bigger is hosted by Dennis Sorenson, CEO of Cove Group, a strategic partner for companies seeking to optimize sales performance and achieve sustainable growth. With deep expertise in enterprise sales and fractional CRO leadership, Dennis specializes in addressing challenges at the point of friction—where inefficiencies, misalignment, or resistance occur within the sales process.

The podcast is built on Process-Driven Sales and the three pillars of Ambition, Strategy, and Execution. Each episode breaks down the systems and operating rhythms that drive predictable performance, giving leaders and sellers practical insights they can use immediately. This is for professionals who are ready to stop improvising, start operating with intention, and build repeatable success over time.

Resources:

John Giese LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-giese/ Dennis Sorenson: LinkedIn

Cove Group Horizons West

Ep 6 – Seeing Total Potential: Whitespace, Initiatives & Strategic Alignment

Dennis Sorenson — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 11:00:00 +0000

When was the last time your sellers stepped back far enough to actually see the full potential of their territory — or have they been too busy fighting uphill toward a number to ever look? Dennis Deal Sorenson, CEO of Cove Group and host of Think Big, Win Bigger, returns for Episode 6 with a practitioner's breakdown of one of the most underused tools in sales planning: white space mapping. A veteran sales strategist and fractional CRO who has coached sellers and teams through ambition planning work for years, Dennis knows what it costs when reps spread themselves thin. How do you stop chasing everything and start competing for what actually moves the needle? This episode is his answer.

Building directly on the ambition thinking framework from Episode 5, Dennis moves from mindset into mechanics — walking through the exact white space exercise he uses with clients, the simple spreadsheet structure behind it, and why "writing things down makes them real." He covers the 80/15/5 account prioritization rule, how to identify hidden revenue across buying centers, and how the law of large numbers creates confidence in your ROI story. He also connects white space directly to the "go high, wide, and deep" relationship strategy that drives executive engagement and positions sellers as strategic partners — not vendors.

In This Episode:

(00:00) Why spreading yourself thin across accounts is a losing game
(01:25) The 80/15/5 rule for prioritizing where your effort goes
(03:02) A few big things done very well can change the game
(06:23) How to build a white space map and see revenue hiding in plain sight
(17:51) The magic of large numbers and what it means for your ROI story
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About the Show

Resources:

Dennis Sorenson: LinkedIn Cove Group Horizons West

Ep 5 – The Ambition Mindset: Competing for What’s Real, Not What’s Realistic

Dennis Sorenson — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 11:00:00 +0000

Are you building a pipeline strong enough to survive when one or two deals go sideways — or are you one bad quarter away from desperation mode? In Episode 5 of Think Big, Win Bigger, Dennis Sorenson — CEO of Cove Group and architect of the Process-Driven Sales framework — takes the mic solo to unpack Ambition: the first and most game-changing of the three core pillars that drive predictable sales performance. A seasoned sales leader and fractional CRO, Dennis has spent his career helping organizations stop playing small and start competing for what they're actually capable of winning. His central conviction? "Ambition thinking is truly a paradigm. It's a different way of thinking." And that shift, he argues, changes everything that comes after it.

This episode covers the Roger Enrico principle — beware of the tyranny of making small changes to small things — and why sellers who play incrementally trap themselves in fragile pipelines and desperation mode. Dennis introduces his mountain metaphor for understanding total account potential, explains the difference between what's real and what's merely realistic, and walks through the critical discovery question: "What would have to be true?" He closes with a concrete time investment model — 80% of effort to your top accounts, 15% to the middle tier, 5% to the rest — and a clear challenge to every seller: divorce your ambition from your quota, and compete for what's real.

In This Episode:

(00:00) Introducing the process-driven framework and the four Ps of sales
(02:22) Make big changes to big things — the Roger Enrico principle
(04:21) Ambition is a choice, not a circumstance
(08:39) The mountain metaphor — real potential vs what feels realistic
(13:36) What would have to be true — the question that changes discovery
(15:27) Stop chasing the squirrel — slowing down to win bigger in discovery
(16:31) Stack ranking accounts and the 80/15/5 time investment model
(19:21) Building the ambition plan annually and what comes next
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About the Show

Resources:

Books Referenced:

How Champions Think — Dr. Bob Rotella

Golf Is Not A Game of Perfect — Dr. Bob Rotella

Dennis Sorenson: LinkedIn

Cove Group Horizons West

EP 4 – The Process-Driven Sales Framework: Mastering Practice & Play

Dennis Sorenson — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 11:00:00 +0000

Elite athletes don't walk onto the field and improvise. Why are so many sellers doing exactly that every single day? In Episode 4 of Think Big, Win Bigger, host Dennis Deal Sorenson — CEO of Cove Group and fractional CRO — picks up exactly where Episode 3 left off. Dennis has built a career around the belief that great sales performance isn't accidental; it's a system. His firm, Cove Group, partners with companies to eliminate friction inside the sales process and install repeatable, scalable solutions built on Ambition, Strategy, and Execution. This episode zeroes in on the final two pillars of the Four P's framework: Practice and Play. What actually separates elite sellers from everyone else — is it talent, or is it the preparation that looks almost obsessive from the outside?

Dennis breaks down what genuine practice looks like for sellers: rehearsing the plan until it's second nature, building a sales story flexible enough to adapt to any persona, and attacking every weakness in a presentation before the customer gets the chance. He shifts to Play — knowing your next right shot, maintaining two-thirds focus on offense, and executing the OODA Loop (Observe, Orient, Decide, Act), a framework borrowed from the U.S. Air Force. The closing message is direct: trust the preparation, execute the plan, and compete with purpose. "From planning preparation and practice it becomes stronger it becomes more natural it becomes easier and it's more fun."

In This Episode:

(00:00) Four P's framework recap
(03:00) Practicing for every customer interaction before you're in the room
(04:30) Mastering your sales story for every persona and situation
(06:41) Moving to play: discipline, the next right shot, and staying on offense
(08:06) Disciplined but adaptable: how to read the room without losing the plan
(09:35) The OODA loop: observe, orient, decide, and act like a fighter pilot
(10:30) Trust your preparation and execute with purpose when it's time to play
(11:27) How planning and practice train the subconscious to perform
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About the Show

Resources:

Dennis Sorenson: LinkedIn

Cove Group Horizons West

EP 3 – The Process-Driven Sales Framework: The Power of Plan & Prepare

Dennis Sorenson — Tue, 24 Feb 2026 11:00:00 +0000

If your sales team is only spending 30% of their time inside the sales process, what exactly are they doing with the other 70%?

Dennis Deal Sorenson is the CEO of Cove Group and the host of Think Big, Win Bigger — a podcast for leaders and sellers who know they're capable of more but are tired of improvising their way through growth. In Episode 3, Dennis dives into the first two pillars of a process-driven sales system: Plan and Prepare. His core conviction? The best sellers don't wing it. They build ambition, define total account potential, and anchor their strategy in a clear, disciplined plan — because winning starts long before you play the game.

Dennis breaks down how intentional preparation — research, messaging, and sales assets — creates confidence and control before you ever step onto the field. He reveals why so many teams are spending as little as 30% of their time inside the process, what it means to be "productively selfish" with your calendar, and why leaders themselves are often the first to abandon discipline when the pressure hits. If you want predictable, scalable sales results, this episode shows exactly where to start.

In This Episode:

(00:00) Building a championship mindset and refusing to limit yourself
(03:05) The four P framework: how process-driven sales actually works
(08:20) Building your ambition plan and strategic account plan
(11:30) Time allocation and being productively selfish with your calendar
(13:24) Why leaders are the first ones to abandon the process
(16:12) Building your ambition plan and defining total account potential
(17:09) Preparation: research, personas, competitive intel, and sharpening your sales story
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About the Show

Resources:

Dennis Sorenson: LinkedIn

Cove Group Horizons West

EP2 – Creating a Winning Sales Culture

Dennis Sorenson — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 11:00:00 +0000

What would happen if your sales organization became the competitor that keeps everyone else up at night?

Dennis Sorenson shares his sales journey from NCR and Teradata to founding Cove Group and building Horizons West. His philosophy was shaped by Mike Weinberg's books and NCR's rigorous sales school. What transformed his approach? Two game-changers: ambition and execution. Dennis learned that "whoever has the strongest process wins" and that "greatness isn't random greatness—that's something that's built through repeatable excellence." Today, through Horizons West, he helps sales teams escape the commodity trap.

This episode breaks down the pillars of process-driven sales: ambition, strategy, and execution. Dennis explores why strategic account plans end up collecting dust and how to build them for sellers, not just management reviews. He tackles the survival mode trap where teams compete only on price. What does it take to build a winning sales culture? Dennis reveals the importance of writing down your vision, establishing a growth mindset, and creating systems that are predictable, repeatable, and scalable. The four Ps—plan, prepare, practice, play—frame the path forward.

In This Episode:

(00:00) The origin story and forming Horizons West
(05:28) Ambition and execution: the two game changers
(08:36) The commodity trap: when price is your only differentiator
(11:27) Building a process-driven sales culture
(16:23) Building sales muscle and staying on offense
(21:06) Growth mindset and the process-driven advantage

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About the Show

Resources:

Dennis Sorenson: LinkedIn Cove Group Horizons West

EP 1 – The Beginning: Building a Process Driven Sales Life with Mike Weinberg

Dennis Sorenson — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 11:00:00 +0000

Why are your best salespeople only competing for 10% of the available market—and what would change if they went after all of it?

Dennis Sorenson launches Think Big, Win Bigger with longtime mentor and sales thought leader Mike Weinberg, bestselling author of "Sales Management. Simplified." and "New Sales. Simplified." Weinberg brings decades of frontline selling and sales management expertise to this raw conversation about building real businesses before building brands. The two dissect Dennis's unconventional path—from enterprise sales leader to building Cove Group without a website or marketing presence—and why that sequence matters. Mike's core belief? Sales is noble when your motivation is pure, and you're fighting for client outcomes, not commissions.

This episode unpacks the frameworks that separate average performers from dominant players: the 4 Ps of execution, GOST planning discipline, and what it really means to be process-driven. Why do most salespeople chase quota instead of total market potential? How do you build sales muscle that scales across continents? The conversation moves from philosophical—sales as a noble profession—to tactical, covering everything from micromanagement myths to why your top producers should be demanding time with you. Dennis and Mike dig into what's working in 2025 and the hard strategic calls leaders need to make now.

In This Episode:

(00:00) Sales is noble when your motivation is pure
(03:06) Building the business before building the brand
(12:40) The problem with quota versus total potential
(18:25) The 4 Ps framework plan prepare practice play
(28:15) GOST planning discipline and written execution plans
(38:10) Building sales muscle that actually scales

Share with a sales leader or seller who's ready to build something that lasts. Subscribe to hear all future episodes!

About the Show

Resources:

Mike Weinberg:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeweinberg2024/
Website: https://mikeweinberg.com/
Books: "Sales Management. Simplified." "New Sales. Simplified." "The First Time Manager Sales"

Dennis Sorenson: LinkedIn

Cove Group