What does it take to build and scale sales teams while balancing grit, empathy, and the rise of AI?

In this episode, Joe Moriarty, chief customer officer at Codio, shares his journey from QA tester to sales leader and founder. He reflects on the challenges of bootstrapping, doubling revenue under pressure, and the lessons learned from hiring his first sellers and working with outsourced BDRs.

Joe talks about the importance of curiosity, coachability, and attitude when building teams, and why empathy remains one of the most powerful differentiators in sales. He also opens up about the promise and pitfalls of AI in prospecting and content creation, and why human connection will continue to be essential for winning deals.

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro

(01:34) Moving from QA into sales

(04:10) Overcoming challenges at Raven360

(06:35) Hiring and assessing sales team performance

(11:00) Why empathy matters in sales

(13:27) AI’s role in modern selling

(16:23) Wins with AI outbound resources

(17:56) Iterating and refining sales messaging

(19:05) Hiring and onboarding BDR teams

(21:51) Challenges of fractional CRO work

(24:16) Running rapid experiments in sales

(27:22) Using AI for GTM strategies

Connect with our guest:

• Joe Moriarty on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joemoriarty/
• Learn more about Codio: https://www.codio.com/

Connect with Daren:

• Daren Lauda on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darenlauda/
• Learn more about Outset: https://outsetops.com/

This episode is sponsored by:

Learn more about HLX: https://teamhlx.com