Max Kot

SoftLike

Senior Partner

Business Sales Consultant

Springs

ioni

Head of Growth

You are launched

Business Development Officer

FOCUS DIGITAL SYNDICATE

Uinno

Infinite Livestreaming

- Business strategy definition and optimization 
- Preparation & hosting of client-facing webinars 
- Performing webinars (link to the last webinar) 
- Establishing and maintaining partnerships Defining and setting ICP, UVP, lead generation Involving marketing strategy
- Heading of the Sales department
- Defining and setting strategy tests and theories

Chief Growth Officer

Springs is a provider of digital business solutions for workflow automation and optimization for scopes like Logistics, eCommerce, Retail, etc.

Responsible for:
- business strategy definition and optimization
- establishing and maintaining partnerships
- planning of further company growth

Head of Sales and Business Development

Strategy Manager

Zavodshop

Since 2010 ZAVOD is the retail/eCommerce store of industrial design watches. Presents in Ukraine over 35 world brands and produces own product line RIDER1991.

Responsibilities:
- retail/wholesale management,
- strategic planning and analytics,
- marketing and events.

Director of Business Operations

12+ years of business experience, including e-commerce/retail, logistics, creative products, events, and banking.

At the beginning of my career, I spent plenty of time in the service industry, where I gained deep experience in the B2C and B2B segments and in particular:

- team & project management,
- implementation of marketing and sales strategies,
- organization of local events and exhibitions (i.e. environmental exhibit Kyiv 2008),
- solution development for operational issues.

Such diverse experience supports my performance as a Head of Strategy of a digital transformation agency that serves logistics and retail scopes. The providing services cover:

- development of custom web & mobile apps including PWA, IoT solutions, etc. workflow optimization and automation
- IT consulting and startup launch support

In my opinion, focus on clients' goals, efficient communication and proven reliability are basic pillars of productive cooperation in the B2B sector and business world.

Maksym Kot

Regulatory updates with MLex, LexisNexis company

Most sales tactics are boring and outdated, agree?

"I feel pushy and salesy when I sell"
"I swear, if I hear the word 'funnel' again..."
"Do I really need to send 100 cold DMs per day?!"

You've probably thought the same thing at some point in your career, right? If you work in Marketing and Sales, chances are... you say these every day :)

But... sales doesn't have to be this "pushy" thing that makes you feel like you're cheating someone out of their hard-earned money.

Sales is human understanding. Psychology at scale.

What if selling didn't feel so salesy?
What if you made "funnels" fun and easy?
What if "sales" was more than just "cold outreach"? 

In my last 20 years working as a Marketing Manager and Head of Sales across companies of different size, I can tell you...

Sales CAN be fun.
Selling IS not that hard.
Marketing IS always needed.

Hey, if you've read this far...

I'm Iryna! Nice to meet you.

In my LinkedIn posts, I share lessons from my last 2 decades in business. And when I'm not on LinkedIn, I train my sales team members on how to a better job at growing the business. And when I'm not in the office, I like to speak on stages as a keynote speaker or look out which podcast I can jump on to talk even more... well... Sales and Marketing!

I love what I do. 

And I hope to share some of this love and lessons with you.

Thanks for reading.

------

For workshop and keynote inquiries, please send me a DM on LinkedIn or email at: irabgm@gmail.com

Iryna Begma

Should a Head of Sales take sales calls?

Yes.
But not all of them.

Here’s why I still jump on calls:

1/ It keeps me close to the customer.
2/ I spot market shifts before they hit the reports.
3/ My team hears how I handle objections.

But here’s why I don’t take every call:

1/ My job is to scale results, not be the bottleneck.
2/ If my team can’t run a deal without me, I’ve failed as a leader.

For me, the sweet spot is this:

Jump in when it’s strategic.
Step back when it’s about trust in the team.

What’s your take - should a Head of Sales still be on the frontlines, or not?

Marketing & Sales enthusiast | personal sales stories and women-in-sales support | Head of Sales at LexisNexis

What if I say I love my job? And what I am doing? 

May sound cliche. But tbh this is true. Love what I am doing and the people I am surrounded by. 

LexisNexis Europe gang is the best ♥️

No alternative text description for this image

A few years ago, I almost walked away from a deal too early.

It was quiet.
No replies.
No excitement.
No “this sounds urgent”

I told myself:
“They’re not interested”

But something didn’t sit right.

Instead of sending another “just following up,”
I picked up the phone and asked one simple question:

“Has anything changed on your side?”

That’s when I heard it.

Internal restructuring.
Budget freeze.
Wrong timing - not wrong fit.

We paused.
Stayed in touch.
Closed months later.

That deal taught me something important:

Silence doesn’t always mean no.

Sometimes it means “not now”
Sometimes it means “I’m overwhelmed”
Sometimes it means “you didn’t ask the right question yet”

In sales - and in leadership - assumptions are expensive.

Curiosity is profitable.

Before you move a deal to “dead,”
ask one more real question.

In my school (with a strong Soviet flavor) the “good girls” would always help and never say “no”.

I was one of them.

Something I only managed to learn in the last few years?
Saying no.

And OMG how good that feeling is.

I used to be a real people pleaser.

“Sure, I can do it.”
“Yes, I have 15 minutes for a chat.”
“Yes, you can borrow my brain for a moment.”

I helped everyone.

It’s actually hard to imagine how many people I supported with advice (for free).
Helped someone find a job.
Helped someone find a candidate.
Made intros to clients, suppliers, partners.

And I genuinely wanted to help.

But what happened next?

I was exhausted.
Low energy.
And honestly - nothing really “in return”.

Not that I was doing it to get something back.

But when I reached out later with a request of my own, in most cases the answer was “no”.

That’s when something clicked.

So:

I stopped borrowing my brain.
I stopped the 15-minute chats.
I stopped being the comfortable, always-available one.

And how gooood it feels.

Now when I say yes - I mean it.
And when I say no - I don’t apologize for it.

If you grew up being the “good girl” or the “reliable one”…

You’re allowed to change that role.

And trust me - protecting your energy feels powerful.

I used to think I was good at coaching my team.

Until I actually listened to the calls.

As a Head of Sales, you think you know what’s happening in your pipeline.

You see the numbers.
You hear the summaries.
You trust the rep.

But the real story?

It’s hidden in minute 14 of the discovery call.
In the objection that was brushed over.
In the question that was never asked.

And I simply didn’t have time to rewatch 10 calls per rep every week.

So coaching became:
“Try to ask more open questions”
“Dig deeper on pain”
“Be more confident”

Generic. Subjective. Slow.

That’s when I realized you don’t need better instincts. 

You need better visibility by recording and structuring every call.

And you can do it in Claap 

Why?

1/ Every call becomes searchable.
2/ you can see patterns across 20 deals in minutes.
3/ you review 10 calls faster than I used to review 2.

Instead of: “I feel this deal is weak.”
It’s: “You skipped budget qualification in 4 out of 6 discovery calls.”

That’s fixable.

If you manage a sales team and want visibility without micromanaging, Claap is worth a look.

Because great coaching isn’t about talking more.

It’s about seeing what actually happened.

When you build a presence on LinkedIn, there’s this silent pressure:

“Stay visible”
“Don’t lose momentum”
“Be consistent”

Lately, I haven’t really had the time - or the willingness - to post.

And I used to feel guilty about that.

But here’s what I’m learning:

Consistency doesn’t mean forcing yourself to perform.

It means staying connected - even if it’s quieter.

Some days, I don’t have a bold take.
Some weeks, I don’t have the energy to craft a long post.

And that’s okay.

Because showing up exhausted just to feed the algorithm?

That’s not sustainable.

I’d rather post when I have something real to say.
When I have clarity.
When I feel like myself.

LinkedIn is part of my work.
But it’s not my whole identity.

If you’re feeling low energy too - you’re not falling behind.

You’re human.

And we’re allowed to be human here.

taplio

The Battle

Maksym Kot

Iryna Begma

Followers

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Performance ScoreIryna Begma's LinkedIn Performance

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taplio

The Battle

Maksym Kot

Iryna Begma

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Iryna Begma's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreIryna Begma's LinkedIn Performance