Chris Cicconi

Chris Cicconi Inc

Fraction sales, leadership and business development.

Helping founders and early stage sales orgs build repeatable and scalable processes.

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Founder & Head of Sales

ARC Roasters

We make speciality coffee fun and accessible.

Co-Founder & Chief Caffeination Officer 

Unicrn

Founding Team Member & Jr Partner
Unicrn is a hand-selected collective of the best freelance sales, marketing, revenue operations, and enablement professionals from the world’s fastest growing companies.

Our mission is to quickly and seamlessly connect growing businesses with the right fractional talent to help everyone get farther, faster. Our GTM Pod system matches business needs with proven industry experts who strategize, document, and execute the GTM motion.

Head of Business Development

983 Media Productions, LLC

Working with 983 Media's founder to build partnerships with both potential clients, as well as other vendors, venues etc in an effort to deliver an exceptional eSports experience to all game developers and players.
Taking a leading role in helping 983 launch it's publishing arm - 983 Interactive. 
On air experience:
Host of "The Frontline" The Official Kards Podcast as well as all Official eSports events (a game by 1939 Games)
Gwent Qualifier Caster and Gwent Partner (a game by CD Projekt RED)
Production assistant for the Parallel World Championships

VP of Partnerships

Replicant

Led a team of 7 business development representatives selling an AI powered contact center automation tool to 5 core industries.
Generated over $48M in pipeline so far this fiscal year.
Promoted 2 BDRs to AE roles

Director of Business Development

Visier Inc.

Implemented a "Pipeline Acceleration Plan" to dig out of a pipeline deficit to meet the $59m OKR for the year, 3 months early.
This included growing the team from 6 to 12 BDRs and 2 BDR leads while implementing improved onboarding & framework to help them see success quickly.
The team set a record for the most pipeline generated in the 10+ year history of the company in July.

Senior Manager, Business Development

HRWize

Within this role, I not only handled the full sales cycle, but also hired, trained, developed and lead the full cycle sales team. HRWize is an HRIS system focus on small and medium size businesses of any industry, mainly within Canada, but with no limit to partner globally.

Sales Manager

Aerotek

While continuing to partner with my clients to deliver the highest quality of talent and service, I also manage our Professional Services division in Montreal. This entails both building out strategy and managing, coaching and developing our team of 10 account managers and recruiters to assure that we provide access to the quality candidates you need to support your business.

Continued to grow the divison to over $13M in revenue

Practice Lead - Professional Services

I became the first Account Executive for Aerotek's Professional Services Division in Canada. 
My role entailed business development and management of the fulfillment team for the Professional Services division. 
Lead a team of up to 6 individuals (recruiters & account managers) and grew the division from scratch to over $8M in revenue.
Archived 5 "President's Clubs" and multiple "Million Dollar Clubs".
Won the Director's Award in 2017

Account Executive - Professional Services

I specialized in technical staffing through Aerotek CE® (contract engineering), a division of Aerotek.

Technical Recruiter

Aerotek® Inc. is a leading provider of technical, professional and industrial recruiting and staffing services. We are part of Allegis Group® Inc., the second largest staffing company in the United States.

Sourcing Specialist

Sports Experts

I was responsible for training employees on the technical aspects of products, supervise them, open and close the store and register.

Keyholder

Paying it Forward 👉 One Day at a Time

Salesperson 💸 --> Coach ✍️ --> Leader 🙋‍♂️
Sometimes a content creator 🎥 - always a goofball 【ツ】

I love building things, but not physical things.

I have a passion for building teams, networks, processes, procedures and revenue but most importantly people. 

This had led me to helping founders pivot from founder led sales to a sustainable and scalable sales engine.

Hit me up if you want to talk sales, fractional leadership, 👟or ☕️.
--------------------
I was once given an opportunity that has allowed me to build my wonderful career.
I want to make sure others have the same chance.
#payitforward

Content Creator

Host of "The War Room: The Kards Pre-Game Show" by 983 Media (a game by 1939 games)
Host for all Kards Official eSports events, including the World Championship Series
Host of "The Frontline" The Official Kards Podcast by 983 Media
Gwent Qualifier Caster and Gwent Partner (a game by CD Projekt RED)

Chris 🦄 Cicconi

I lost 150lbs this year! 

What a ride it has been.

Except I didn't, but AI can make the pounds melt away in 30 seconds or less.

LinkedIn is already filled with enough smoke and mirrors
The "8 figure playbooks" (only $99!)
The made up close rates (seriously, I close at 108%)
The engagement bait "Comment 'clown shoes' to unlock my sales secrets"

Now that we can fake physical reality too....It's getting harder to separate reality from fiction. 

Social media is already a mental health minefield, and it will only get worse when AI can fake fitness, success, and bank accounts. 

Critical thinking isn't just a soft skill anymore, it's a survival skill. 

So don't believe everything you read (or see) on here 🙃

Building Sales @ KnowledgeNow | Still Fixing GTM. Still Roasting Bad Takes.

Imagine getting outed for liking your own post...

By a cold email where they mention you liked "Chris Cicconi's post"

Folks, the bar is so low you can walk over it without even noticing....

I should respond that "Chris Cicconi is an absolute 🤡 " and you probably shouldn't quote him in your cold email.

Cold calling is just as much what you say as how you say it.

You can have the perfect script, but if you don’t believe you’re talking to the right person, your tone gives you away.

You hesitate.
You sound uncertain.
You accidentally ask the CEO “uh….is Bob there?” 

Giulio nails it in this video.
Don’t waste time confirming, just dive into the message.

The problem? 
Most reps don’t trust their data enough to do that.

We’ve been conditioned to double-check because we’ve spent YEARS calling the wrong people.

Back when everything went through a receptionist (yes, I’m old), you always knew who you were getting.

Now? It’s all mobile dialing and half the numbers are wrong.

That’s why I use FullEnrich
Their coverage and accuracy gives me the confidence that I’m actually speaking to the right person. So when I dial, I’m not guessing. 

For a proper cold call, what you say has to match how you say it.
Having the right data is what makes it possible. 

Anybody had success with confirming who you're speaking to?
Or do you traditionally jump right into the message and assume you have the right person on the horn?

Brand partnership • Building Sales @ KnowledgeNow | Still Fixing GTM. Still Roasting Bad Takes.

Thanks for proving my point LinkedIn.

I posted on Friday about how I lost 150lbs this year complete with a before and after selfie.

Except that I didn't, the selfie was AI and all I wanted to highlight was how good AI has become.

And my comments were filled with wonderful people supporting this massive life changing event. 

Not sure if it speaks more to AI being credible or people only reading the hook of LinkedIn posts, but my point was still proven.

Don't believe everything you see, read or hear.

Thanks for proving my point

Warning: Boomer take incoming 

I'm happy I started my sales career with minimal technology.

I had Salesforce and old school LinkedIn and that was about it...

Why? 
I had to enter my own notes into Salesforce (and Siebel before that 🤮 )
I had to dial by hand - punching all 10 numbers in with my fat fingers
I had to learn how to write a proper email
I had to learn how to ask prospects and clients for their cell phone numbers

And I could go on and on, but I truly believe that it has allowed me to learn the fundamentals and appreciate all the new tech.

I can power dial, find mobile numbers with the click of a button and have something automate my CRM notes 🤣 

...I still write my emails by hand because AI ain't it. 

What process or technology dates you as a professional?

In honour of US Thanksgiving, I have a hot take.

Stuffing is the superior side.

It doesn't need to be cooked in the turkey.
It can even be with a base of boxed Stove Top.
Spruce it up and it can't be beat.

Gravy makes it better.
Putting olives in it ruins it.

And you will not be able to convince me otherwise.

Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends.
We need more excuses to eat stuffing.

You're allowed your opinion.
That doesn't mean I have to share that opinion.
And I'm not wrong for disagreeing.

Vicki here doesn't like being on the receiving end of permission based openers.
That's cool, not everybody does.
But it works for some people.

Should those people stop because one person cried about it on the internet? Absolutely not. 

I do agree with her last point though, be natural, be kind, be yourself and if you deliver a PBO really well, do that too.

My pet peeve?

Meeting somebody for a virtual coffee chat.

A couple days go by and all of a sudden my inbox welcomes their newsletter to it.

Just because you have my email from a calendar invite doesn't mean I want to read your newsletter.

In fact, after spending 30 minutes with you, it's probably the opposite.





...I know I saw my pet peeve as me opening line, maybe I should have written "one of my pet peeves" 🤷

I don't believe in gatekeeping coffee.

...or sales for that matter.

What do I mean?

Sure, I roast my own coffee.
Yes, I prefer a single origin Ethiopian prepared with a V60

But when somebody orders a "Double, double" (look it up, it's a 🇨🇦 thing) from Tim Hortons and looks at me expecting a disapproving look, they won't get it.

It's your coffee, you do what you want with it, you're the one drinking it.

It's the same in sales. 
I like leaving voicemails when I cold call.
I might even use a PBO every now and again.

So when somebody posts that they don't believe in leaving voicemails? 
That's cool, I believe you're leaving money on the table, but it's not my money. 

Where I draw the line? 
When you tell people how they should act.

You might not leave voicemails but don't go running around saying other people shouldn't either.

Just like I won't tell you that Starbucks coffee is basically roasted beyond death and tastes like cigarette butts to me. 

Because they still serve 10 million customers a day and I'm one person with my own preferences.

So Qwilr messaged me the other day and said...
"Hey Chris, we have this Super Mario inspired - "

And that's where I stopped them. 
Because anybody who has seen the giant Lego Bowser and Lego NES in the background of my Zoom calls knows that jumping on this was a no brainer.

I got to relive the highlights (...and lowlights) of my career in all the glory of 8 bit, music included. 

While I'm not entirely sure if Bowser roasts on BBQ night - I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.

This was a blast and I love the creativity they put into everything they do.

Check out the link in the comments to play through your own career! 
For better or worse 🤣

I mentioned inheriting a CRM graveyard at KnowledgeNow.
So naturally… I went looking for ghosts 👻

Aka closed lost deals
The lowest of low hanging fruit

The problem? B2B data decays around 22.5% a year
(yes, I Googled that so I could sound smart 🤓)

So I pulled 117 closed-lost deals & their contacts from Hubspot and ran the list through FullEnrich
🚪 29 had left their roles
👋 Found new roles for 21 of them (new companies are good news!)
✅ 88 were still valid targets

Then the fun part.

I sent personalized messages to each one, highlighting why we had a deal running in the first place. 

From the list of 109, I booked 14 meetings and reopened 3 deals in under two weeks.

All from “dead” deals.
I ain't 'fraid of no ghost!

Sh!t's simple.

Human's just like to overcomplicate things.

Yes, this is both about sales and not about sales.

I've lost a good amount of weight this year and people have asked
"How did you do it"
Simple --> Calories Out>Calories In.
Hard Part --> Cookies are delicious

The same applies to money, want more savings?
Simple --> Money In > Money Out 
Hard Part --> Getting more money and life being expensive AF

Want to do well at sales?
Simple --> Don't be a 🤡 
Hard part --> The primal desire to say things like "I hope this email finds you well" and "Just following up on this" 

In all seriousness, we want to complicate things with crazy supplements, something called the Smith Manuever (it's a 🇨🇦 money thing and I don't even know that I understand it)  or creating a 47 step automated outbound sequence. 

And we don't even have the basics down yet.

We all want to feel special, or that we're further ahead than we are.
Take a step back, check your ego and focus on the fundamentals.

The bar has become so low sales folks.

And this isn't a knock against this dude giving his talk.

The crazy part about it is that he had to say:
"Prep 1-2 questions for your meetings" 

I can't understand what that isn't just understood. 
To be honest 1-2 questions is still underprepared in my books.

Your prospects have limited time and you have even less time with them, if you can't be bothered to prepare for your meeting, maybe it's best to cancel and save everybody some time...

Can we stop "vibing" with AI please?

Why can't we just, do the thing? 

Actually, Vibe Coding is pretty cool, because I am zero technical.

But Vibe Selling? 
Can't we just sell?

Nothing AI has spit out, thus far, has been worthy of being put in front of another human being in a sales environment. 

Vibe Selling. Vibe Marketing. Vibe Investing. Vibe Product Management (yes I've actually seen this). Vibe Snacking (to be fair, THIS is my forte). 

It's become a buzzword worse than companies slapping "AI" on their product just for stock price bump. 

Yes, AI has plenty of uses in the sales world and in the world in general, but can we stop labeling it "just because"?

I usually hate the whole discounting process in sales. 

Ironically, the end of year discount is something I can support.

Why?

Because you're actually getting something out of it. 

The biggest problem with discounts is reps are handing them out like candy in an effort to close the deal, without rhyme or reason. 

But sales is a negotiation and pricing should be too. I'll happily give a client a discount if that means they can:
-Start earlier
-Start later
-Skip some steps in the approval process
-Pay sooner 
etc.

I give you a discount and I get something in return.

At the end of the year, getting revenue in to hit your number/company number is totally fine in my books (especially in my world of working with small companies)

Because you are trading off a discount with a contract being signed and/or payment being made before the end of the year.

The only caveat? Stick to your guns. If it doesn't happen and it gets pushed into the new year, the discount has to come off.

Reps who ask the tough questions close more deals, faster. 

The sad part? The questions aren't even that tough.

I was on a call this week with a client we were presenting a proposal to for an additional project.

Everything seemed to line up budget, scope etc

They're good clients, we've worked with them for years, so the presenter leaves it off with:
🗣️ "So let us know once you talk to your boss to get approval and we'll be ready to go"

Me, having PTSD from being ghosted forever and always jumps in
🔊  "Could we set up a time to follow up next week once you talk to your boss?"

The response? 
🤑 "Why don't we just go ahead and schedule the kick off call and if something goes sideways, we'll regroup"

We wait from waiting to hear back to scheduling the kickoff call. 

No, not every deal will close that easily, but you better believe next time I'm just going to ask to schedule the kick off call proactively 🤣

Federico Presicci

Global Sales Enablement Manager

GetAccept

Leading the sales enablement function globally.

Director of Sales Enablement

The Enablement Insight

I am the leading creator and strategist for this leading industry blog which serves as a compass in the complex world of sales and enablement. 

Here, you will discover expert insights into tools, systems, frameworks, methodologies, and strategies to augment your capacity to nurture and upskill your sales teams.

Chief Editor & Strategic Enablement Advisor

GoCardless

Responsible for the end-to-end management of Sales Process & Methodology programmes - including (but not limited to) senior stakeholders engagement, scoping & analysis, proposing solutions, designing & developing curriculum, implementation & evaluating the business impact - for the SDR & AE population globally (150+ people spread across the US, UK, France, Australia). Activities and achievements include:

• Increased average outbound call volumes by 44% and opportunity creation by 31%, achieved by introducing a robust phone prospecting programme for SDRs.

• Elevated the average weekly Highspot usage by 150% - measured by the quantity of external pitches sent via the platform - by implementing a comprehensive enablement plan.

• Enhanced skill confidence levels by 18% in the use of a new qualification framework, attained by orchestrating and facilitating training sessions and workshops for SDRs and AEs.

• Led our transition towards a high-performance culture that values mental health in sales, by launching our inaugural psychological resilience programme for salespeople. This initiative, now transitioning from pilot to scale-up phase, scored an 8.5 in overall satisfaction.

• Increased the average win rate in the corporate and enterprise segments by 30% within nine months through the implementation of a global MEDDPICC Enablement Programme.

• Augmented manager adoption metrics in Gong – calls listened, deal board visits, calls commented on - by an average of 60% within six months via the execution of a Gong Frontline Manager Enablement Programme.

Speexx

As a Business Coach at Speexx, I am entrusted with the development of professionals from diverse industries across Europe. My responsibilities encompass delivering one-on-one coaching sessions focusing on a wide range of essential topics, including time management, sales proficiency, mindfulness, work/life balance, personal effectiveness, and effective communication. 

Leveraging my unique combination of expertise in these areas, I help individuals enhance their productivity, improve their performance, and find balance in their personal and professional lives. As a result, I am playing a pivotal role in empowering professionals to meet and exceed their goals, thereby contributing to the success of their organisations.

Business Coach

GDS Group

Reporting directly to the VP of Sales, I managed a team of two sales enablement specialists and was responsible for the end-to-end management of global onboarding and the 0-6-month development journey for new employees across the delegate sales department (140+ delegate sales executives).

Head of Sales Training & Enablement

Responsible for the end-to-end management of Training & Performance programmes - including (but not limited to) scoping & analysis, proposing solutions, designing & developing curriculum, implementation & evaluating the business impact - for the Meet The Boss delegate sales department (90+ delegate sales executives). Activities and achievements include:

• Conducted comprehensive training needs analyses, leading to the design and delivery of a new two-week onboarding program. This initiative raised the onboarding satisfaction score from 67% to 95% within six months, representing a 42% increase, and successfully onboarded 195 employees in 2021.

• Enhanced productivity of new hires by continuously refining our two-week onboarding, which resulted in an 85% increase in scheduled calls averages and an 87% rise in weekly deal averages over the first two weeks on the sales floor.

• Increased sales meetings booked by 27% through the implementation of a month-long 1-1 & group coaching intervention for 20 sales reps.

• Created and implemented a comprehensive first-12-weeks L&D curriculum for the development of our delegate sales executive cohorts as part of a larger sales acceleration project.

• Orchestrated an innovative well-being program involving over 100 staff members, achieving over 90% satisfaction score. This program aimed to enhance employees’ psychological flexibility, a factor linked to improved work performance and well-being

Training & Performance Specialist

In addition to previous achievements and responsibilities:

• Designed and led a 3-month coaching program for our delegate sales department, conducting 200 hours of both group and individual coaching sessions for 40+ delegate sales executives. This program significantly improved performance and explored high-performance mindset, time management, and persuasive communication.

Senior Global Delegate Sales Executive | Sales Coach

Assisted C-level executives across Europe – from organisations such as HSBC, Generali, AstraZeneca, Roche, Unilever, Carrefour, and Aon – in the execution of their key projects through high-calibre executive discussions. Activities and achievements include:

• Generated revenue exceeding $1M within one and a half years by acquiring over 300 senior executives, 75% of whom were C-level, for our virtual roundtables. This performance earned me a spot in the top 3 Delegate Sales Executives of the Year 2019, out of more than 70 individuals. 

• Moderated 25 virtual discussions focused on technology and innovation, leading to multi-million pound deals between companies like Adobe, Dell, and VMware and the attending senior executives.

Global Delegate Sales Executive | Master of Ceremonies

Numerable Software

Worked as a Customer Development Executive for a B2B software startup specialising in financial reporting software. Activities involved the application of the Lean Startup and Customer Development approach:

• Advised the founder on the implementation of Lean Startup and Customer Development practices, thereby significantly enhancing the founder’s effectiveness in learning from qualitative validation processes. 
• Helped narrow down the initial target market from 4 different groups to a single group by performing a competitor analysis of 6 key market players and utilising tools such as Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics and Google AdWords to conduct and track experiments.

Customer Development Executive

Drawings & PortraiTees

Entered the apparel sectors by selling personalised clothing online. Activities and achievements include:

• Liaised and negotiated with 3 suppliers and 5 talented artists by investing €2000+ which were recouped within 3 months of trade. 
• Collaborated with 4 talented artists and a business associate to define suitable designs and clothing models. 
• Narrowed down the number of clothing models to be displayed online from 7 to 3 by promoting products on Instagram and Facebook, gathering qualitative feedback from customers and tracking key social media metrics.
• Increased purchase conversions by 30% within a month (from the third month to the fourth one) by conducting message testing on Instagram and Facebook.

Founder & Commercial Director 

Crafting Sales Enablement Systems 📈 Turning Inconsistent Sales Execution into Scalable Success | Mindfulness & Emotional Intelligence in Sales | MEDDPICC Certified | ICF Business Coach | Meditation Teacher 🧘🏽‍♂️

Do you understand what “enablement” truly means and the value it can bring?

Ciao, I’m Federico 👋

Enablement isn’t just a function, strategy, or process.

It’s a mindset and a discipline that transforms how organisations empower customer-facing teams, support buyers, and align for growth.

Yet, too often, it’s misunderstood – boxed into narrow tasks like:

“Training delivery.”
“Content creation.”
“Sales tools management.”

But here’s the truth👇

Enablement exists to empower customer-facing teams to achieve meaningful business outcomes. 

It equips them with the training, resources, processes, support, and tools they need to produce high-quality outputs on which their job goals depend.

Enablement bridges the gap between potential and performance, providing a certain set of “means” for someone to achieve something.

Over the years, I’ve seen organisations invest heavily in enablement initiatives that fail to stick.

I know because I’ve made those mistakes too.

Early in my career, I focused on fixing performance at the individual level, only to realise that the system itself was holding people back.

I learnt the hard way that no amount of training or resources can succeed without addressing the foundational barriers within the organisation.

That’s where I come in.

I help founders, CEOs, and revenue leaders diagnose systemic blockers to performance and empower enablement professionals to amplify their impact.

Whether you’re just starting to explore enablement or scaling an existing function, I’m here to help.

Enablement, done right, can be your organisation’s competitive edge.

If you’re ready to unlock that edge, join me on this journey: follow my content, take one of my assessments, or reach out directly. 
_____

Subscribe to my sales enablement newsletter: https://federicopresicci.com/newsletter/

Check out my sales enablement blog: https://federicopresicci.com/blog/

Chief Editor & Enablement Strategist 

I am the leading creator and strategist for this blog which serves as a compass in the complex world of sales and enablement. 

Here, you will discover expert insights into tools, systems, frameworks, methodologies, and strategies to augment your capacity to nurture and upskill your sales teams.

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Chris 🦄 Cicconi

Federico Presicci

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