Millennial Sales

Kyle Coleman is the VP Revenue Growth and Enablement at Clari. Prior to that, Kyle joined Looker as the 6th employee and first sales hire. In 6 years, he helped to grow the Sales Development team to 60+ people on their path to a $2.6B acquisition from Google.  We had a wide-ranging conversation, where we discussed: Kyle’s career path from financial advisor to poker player to salesperson  The biggest mistakes most SDRs make Tips for first time sales leaders Why you should NEVER say you’re “just an SDR” and much more… You can connect with Kyle on LinkedIn or check out the SDRDefenders. For more content, check me out on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. All other content is also hosted on MillennialMomentum.net. If you enjoyed today’s conversation, please subscribe, leave a review and tell a friend. Sending nothing but love, Tom  

Ralph Barsi is the VP Global Inside Sales at Tray.io. When I think of the gold standard for Servant Leadership within the sales community, Ralph is the first person that comes to mind and I was thrilled to have him on the show. Ralph has spent nearly 3 decades in sales, including recent runs at ServiceNow, Achievers, and InsideView before landing at Tray in late 2019. We had a wide-ranging conversation, where we discussed: Why you should work harder on yourself than your job Developing an attitude of gratitude The biggest mistakes most SDRs make How to lead a team authentically Ralph’s passion for drumming and much more… For more background, you can listen to my first interview with Ralph here: Episode 45. You can follow Ralph on LinkedIn, Twitter and check out his website. For more content, check me out on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. All other content is also hosted on MillennialMomentum.net. If you enjoyed today’s conversation, please subscribe, leave a review and tell a friend. Sending nothing but love, Tom

“I have always lived my life by making lists: lists of people to call, lists of ideas, lists of companies to set up, lists of people who can make things happen.” – Richard Branson   It’s likely that you keep some sort of to-do-list.  A laundry list of items that you “should do”, that constantly gets procrastinated until you have the time.  Things are just so busy.   I’m not telling you to rip that paper up.   Instead, try a smaller, simpler list.  I originally got introduced to the Power List by Andy Frisella’s podcast.   The concept is simple and powerful.  Create a list of 3-5 items each day that, if accomplished, would make it a great day.  An example of this could be: 1) Write for 60 minutes, 2) Follow-up to all clients, 3) Go for a run, and 4) Cook dinner for my family.   The goal is to then accomplish as many of these items as possible by noon.  Anything else that happens outside of these few items is all gravy.  Imagine winning the day by noon?  What a feeling!  If you accomplish all of your items, put a big “W” on the top of the paper and circle it.  Damn, that feels good.  The next day, do it again.  And again until it becomes a habit.  Lives aren’t changed by major events, but rather by small, consistent actions compounded over time.   Try it out this week.   Make a power list.  Prioritize your morning time to move the “big rocks” and get your most important things done.  Mark each day as a Win or Loss.   It’s a simple concept that can change your life. This post is from our new series, Daily Momentum.  Each morning, we send a short, inspirational post via email, blog and podcast.  You can get it directly to your email here.  You can subscribe on iTunes here.

The true man is revealed in difficult times. So when trouble comes, think of yourself as a wrestler whom God, like a trainer, has paired with a tough young buck. For what purpose? To turn you into Olympic-class material.”  – Epictetus We all go through tough times.  Even if you’re not victim to the illness or unemployment sweeping the country right now, things can still be hard.  You might be working long-ass days or dealing with a flailing relationship or trying hopelessly to shed off some lingering weight.   The bad news is that these tough times will continue, in one way or another, forever.  Once you conquer your current issues, more will arise.  That’s life. The good news is that these tough times will only make you tougher.  Each time you conquer a demon, you become stronger to handle your next nemesis.   Think of yourself in a wrestling ring, where life continues to throw you different opponents.   If you have a large Dwayne Johnson or Hulk Hogan storming at you, you have no time to complain.  So why are you complaining now? The people that can handle the most difficult situations win in the long run.  Success requires, as Winston Churchill claimed, “going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.”  It’s Monday morning.   Time to step into the ring. This post is from our new series, Daily Momentum.  Each morning, we send a short, inspirational post via email, blog and podcast.  You can get it directly to your email here.  You can subscribe on iTunes here.

“The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”  – Marcus Aurelius    We’ve all stood at the bottom of what appeared to be an insurmountable mountain.  Maybe it’s a sales quota that looks astronomical, a pile of work that has been building up for weeks or a frayed relationship that needs mending.   The mountain seems so high that we’re not sure we can climb it.  We try to convince ourselves it may not even be worth it to try, but we know that’s a lie.   The instant reaction is Resistance.  It’s procrastination. I’ll tackle that tomorrow.   The truth is that the only way to conquer the task is to go through it.  We need to knock the first item off of our to-do-list. And then the next thing.  Then the next. Until the paper is filled with crossed off items.   One of my favorite books on this topic is Ryan Holiday’s “The Obstacle is the Way.”  In it, Holiday blends stoic philosophy with history to show you how to use the obstacle in your path to your advantage.   If you find yourself stuck in situations like this, I highly suggest you pick up the book.  This post is from our new series, Daily Momentum.  Each morning, we send a short, inspirational post via email, blog and podcast.  You can get it directly to your email here.  You can subscribe on iTunes here.

“Circumstances don’t make the man, they only reveal him to himself”  – Epictetus   We all have different stories and circumstances that define our history.  We’re from different parts of the world, our families are different (but all crazy), and were raised differently.   At some point, you have to play the hand you’re dealt.  You may play it differently if you have pocket aces versus having a two-seven offsuit, but you can still win either way.  We didn’t ask to be born into a wealthy mansion in the Hamptons, or for a disability or for a parent that didn’t love us.   The circumstances in which you were born are not your fault and they’re not your credit.  Your circumstances do not define you.   Look at our new circumstances: we’re all quarantined.  Rich, poor, attractive, ugly – it doesn’t matter. The playing field has been evened out.  It’s your turn to make an impact.  So there you go.  You have your hand.  You’re not sure what cards your opponents are holding, but you damn well better believe you can still win the hand, someway, somehow.   You’ll only know if you try. This post is from our new series, Daily Momentum.  Each morning, we send a short, inspirational post via email, blog and podcast.  You can get it directly to your email here.  You can subscribe on iTunes here.

“The more I help out, the more successful I become. But I measure success in what it has done for the people around me. That is the real accolade.”  — Adam Grant   Even in a quarantined world, we have dozens of interactions with other people each day.  From the grocery store worker to our boss to the emails you send your clients, we’re in a constant state of giving and taking.   Here’s an idea: try to give more than you take in every single scenario.  Be cheerful to the cashier and help bag your own groceries.  Do something from your boss that she doesn’t expect from you.  Send your clients an article or podcast that they’d find valuable – and don’t ask for anything in return.   Jim Rohn says that “life gives to the givers and takes from the takers.”  In my first few years in the business world, I’ve seen that take place. Salespeople that think of their clients’ needs first have shot past the “one call closers.”  The people that help connect other people together have way better networks than those that always ask to “pick your brain”.   There is a Gary V concept called The 51/49 Rule: in each interaction, be the person to give at least 51% of the value.   Keep that in mind with all of your interactions today.  This post is from our new series, Daily Momentum.  Each morning, we send a short, inspirational post via email, blog and podcast.  You can get it directly to your email here.  You can subscribe on iTunes here.

If you’re reading this, you want more.  You want more money, a better job, a healthier body, a deeper relationship.  You want something.  And if you’re anything like me, you could use a little kick this Monday morning.   Check out this 3-minute interview between Jim Carey and Oprah.  Carey describes his days as a broke, struggling actor. He thought about quitting.   Instead, he decided to write himself a check for “Acting Services Rendered” for $10 million.  The check was dated for 3 years in advance and Carey decided he would continue working like hell to get there.   Three years later – almost to the day – Carey got a call from his agent.  He got the part for Dumb and Dumber, which would pay him out roughly $10 million.   It’s an amazing story that brings up two points.  The first, obvious point is that visualization can work.  Napolean Hill once said “What the mind can conceive, the mind can achieve.”  You can find tons of stories from business people, artists, and athletes that use visualization in their daily work.  It’s helped me in my sales career, with my writing and in my hobby for running marathons.   The second, less obvious point is that for visualization to work, you need to work.  Carey says “You can’t visualize and then go eat a sandwich”.  And he’s right.   Spend some time this morning visualizing what you want – what you really want.  And then get to work.  This post is from our new series, Daily Momentum.  Each morning, we send a short, inspirational post via email, blog and podcast.  You can get it directly to your email here.  You can subscribe on iTunes here.  

“Your progress is wrecked or preserved by a single day and a single event”  – Epictetus The stories are in the news seemingly every day.  A successful person who has built their brand for years or even decades has let it slip.  They said something unspeakable in front of a microphone, they mistreated their spouse, or maybe they had been hiding some dirty secrets for years.  They fucked it all up.  These types of stories have become increasingly exposed with the surging social media and news coverage.   The truth is that these stories are scary, and they should be.   The good news is that it’s in your control.   These people aren’t getting crucified by the media for nothing.  They didn’t lose their job because of a conspiracy theory.  Their demise, just like their success, was an effect of their actions.  John Wooden preached for people to focus more on character than reputation.  While reputation is what others think you do, your character is dictated by what you ACTUALLY do.   Don’t worry about your reputation.  Polish your character like a valuable jewel.  That’s what will dictate your future.   Enjoy your Friday, your weekend and remember, it’s all in your control. This post is from our new series, Daily Momentum.  Each morning, we send a short, inspirational post via email, blog and podcast.  You can get it directly to your email here.  You can subscribe on iTunes here.

Have you ever been in the middle of doing something important, got distracted by a flashy notification and then got stuck down a rabbit hole? Me too.  We’ve all become like Dory from Finding Nemo.  In a world currently full of notifications and instant gratification, one of the most difficult things for me (and many others) is to stay focused on the task at hand.  I had a great conversation with Jason Khalipa about this a while back.  Khalipa won the CrossFit Games in 2008, is currently the founder and CEO of NC Fit, while balancing his personal life of being a husband and father to two children (one of which recently defeated Leukemia).    Needless to say, Khalipa has a lot going on.  His rule for success: have an AMRAP mentality.  AMRAP is a CrossFit workout acronym that means “as many rounds (or reps) as possible.  For example, do as many rounds of 10 push-ups and 10 sit-ups as you can in 5 minutes.  Khalipa extends this philosophy to all areas of life.  The goal of this mindset is simple.  Be productive and present in each segment of your life. Be where your feet are.  In a world where there is a lot of gray area between your kitchen, bedroom and “office”, the AMRAP mentality can help you to stay clear and focused today.  You can listen to my full interview with Khalipa here. This post is from our new series, Daily Momentum.  Each morning, we send a short, inspirational post via email, blog and podcast.  You can get it directly to your email here.  You can subscribe on iTunes here.