Building sales teams and delighting customers at early stage hyper growth startups.

Mike Gallardo

We're hiring AEs at Deel. 🥳

Here's why you should apply:

1. All remote. Forever and always. Work from anywhere in the USA or Canada.

2. The earning potential is real. I have reps hitting 200%+ consistently. More than 50% of the team hitting quota. The comp plan is built to reward top performers.

3. We promote fast. Promotion cycles every 3 months. I have already promoted 10+ people this year. And we're not slowing down.

4. You'll learn from the best. We listen to calls, coach every week, and genuinely care about your career growth.

5. We're still growing super fast. New products. New markets. New opportunities. The opportunities are endless.

If you're a hungry AE who wants to build something and get paid well doing it, this one's for you.

👉 Interested? Apply here: https://lnkd.in/gkhGnZdA

If you have any questions drop them in the comments!

Best of luck!
- Mike G

Most AEs send a follow up email after a discovery call that says something like:

"Great connecting today! I'll send over the info about X and looking forward to our next call."

That type of email usually gets ignored.

Here's what actually works:

Subject: [First Name] — Quick recap

Hey [Name],

Was great connecting today.

3 things I took away from our call:

1. [Their #1 priority in their words]
2. [Key challenge they mentioned]
3. [Something specific they said that matters]

Based on that, here's what we'll cover on our next call:

[Describe the demo/next step — 1 sentence on what you'll show and why it's relevant to them]

Looking forward to connecting at [Day] at [Time].

— [Your name]

Super clean and focused on them and how they will benefit.

The reps who win send emails that make buyers feel like they were actually listened to.

Bonus: That email does it in under 30 seconds to read.

- Mike G

👉 Get The Best Sales Newsletter delivered straight to your inbox for FREE: https://lnkd.in/g-dHTj7s

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Certified Public Accountant

Sales Director at Deel

The Best Sales Course

An AE on my team closed a deal that was dead for 45 days.

No responses. Ghosted. Done.

Here's what he did:

He didn't send a breakup email. 
He didn't drop the price. 
He didn't chase.

He sent one short message:

"Hey [Name] — I know the timing may not be right. No worries at all. In the meantime, here's one thing that changed since we last spoke: [specific update]. Is [priority] still something that's top of mind?"

That was it.

The prospect responded within 2 hours. 
Deal closed that Friday.

Most reps lose deals in the follow-up.
Not the pitch.

Because they either disappear or become annoying.

The best ones stay present without being desperate.
And they have a system for valuable follow ups.

That's the difference.

- Mike G

👉 Get The Best Sales Newsletter delivered straight to your inbox for FREE: https://lnkd.in/g-dHTj7s

The best AE I've ever managed didn't have the best pitch.

Wasn't the most polished on calls.

Wasn't even the loudest in the room.

Here's what she had:

She treated every lost deal like a lesson and every won deal like a system.

When she lost: 

She reviewed the call, found the moment it went sideways, fixed it.

When she won: 

She documented exactly what happened and repeated it. 

Even looked for ways to make the process and experience better next time.

Most reps do the opposite.

They move on from losses fast and treat wins like they were meant to happen.

So the gap between average and elite isn't talent.

It's the work someone puts in after the deal is done (win or lose) that matters most imo.

That's where careers are built.

- Mike G

👉 Get The Best Sales Newsletter delivered straight to your inbox for FREE: https://lnkd.in/g-dHTj7s

Most reps panic when a prospect says "I'm not interested."

Here's what to do instead:

Don't argue. Don't pitch harder. Don't cave.

Just say: "That's actually why I called." A strategy I learned from the one and only Jeb Blount 

Here's how it plays out:

1. "Not interested." → "That's actually why I called. Most [personas] I speak with feel the same way until they hear how we helped [similar company] solve [specific problem]. Mind if I take 30 seconds?"

2. "We already have something." → "That's actually why I called. [Company] was in the same spot and found we could [specific differentiator]. Worth a quick look?"

3. "Not the right time." → "That's actually why I called. Most of the best conversations I have start that way. What would need to change for the timing to be right?"

The magic of this phrase:

It doesn't fight the objection. It works with it.

The prospect expects you to fold. When you don't (in a nice, conversational and clear way) they get curious instead.

It's one of the most simple ways to overcome objections. 

Give it a try and let me know how it goes!

- Mike G

👉 Get The Best Sales Newsletter delivered straight to your inbox for FREE: https://lnkd.in/g-dHTj7s

One of my best AEs has a 39% win rate 🤯

Her secret is one question she asks on every single discovery call:

"If you could change one thing about how your team handles [process] right now, what would it be?"

That's it.

Here's why it works:

It's specific enough to get a real answer. 

Not "what are your challenges?" which is pretty vague, and tends to get vague answers (unless you're lucky).

This questions forces the prospect to prioritize. 

Suddenly they're telling you exactly what matters most.

The answer tells you everything. 

And gives you exactly what you need to position your product as how to best solve what's most important to them.

Most discovery calls fail because reps ask broad questions and get broad answers.

They leave without knowing the #1 thing the buyer actually needs to fix.

Ask the one question. 
Listen hard. 
Build everything else around the answer.

That's how she closes 4 out of 10 deals.

- Mike G

👉 Get The Best Sales Newsletter delivered straight to your inbox for FREE: https://lnkd.in/g-dHTj7s

90% of my team hit quota in Q4.

Here's how we crush it with discovery.

Instead of asking questions like:

"If you could wave a magic wand, what would you change?"

or...

"If you don't do anything about this, what happens to the business?"

Which are somewhat awkward and unnatural, and sound like you're trying to manufacture urgency.


Here's the type of questions we ask instead:

1. "I work with a lot of [role]s and they're usually focused on one of two things: [priority A] or [priority B]. Is that the case for you, or is something else more top of mind?"

2. "What's going on in the business that's making this a priority right now?"

3. "Can you walk me through your current process for [X] step by step?"

4. "When it comes to [challenge they mentioned]. Can you share a specific example of when that's been a problem?"

5. "If this call goes well and we end up working together. What would need to be true for you to call it a success 6 months in?"


The difference between good and bad discovery questions isn't how clever they are. It's whether they sound like something a real person would ask.

And that they're focused on real priorities, problems and processes they have. That way, you can center your entire sales process on how you'll help and how your solution is better positioned for their business vs competitors.

What's your favorite discovery question?

- Mike G

👉 Get The Best Sales Newsletter delivered straight to your inbox for FREE: https://lnkd.in/g-dHTj7s

I use AI every single day.

And in my opinion, Claude is the strongest AI tool for sales right now.

Here's one of the easiest ways to start using it:

Track your closed won deals every month. 
That's it.

Just log how many deals you close each month. 
One number per month.

Then drop that data into Claude and ask it to visualize it.

What comes out the other side? (See image below 👇)

A clean chart. 
Month over month trends. 
Automatic callouts on what's working and what's not.

This took me < 1min to make.

Now take that into your next 1-on-1 with your manager.

I promise, nobody else on your team is doing this.
And that's exactly the point.

AI isn't going away.

The reps who figure it out now are going to make more money, get promoted faster, and be a lot harder to replace.

The best part?

You don't need to be a tech person to start.
You just need to start.

And this is one of the simplest first steps you can take.

What are you waiting for?

- Mike G

👉 Get The Best Sales Newsletter delivered straight to your inbox for FREE: https://lnkd.in/g-dHTj7s

70% of my team hit quota in 2025 🥳

And 80%+ hit quota in both Q3 and Q4.

I'm incredibly proud of this team.

Here's why I think we're built different:

1. The best product on the planet.
Deel is the #1 global HR and payroll platform. We were built for global teams from day one. It's a fundamental advantage that makes selling easier and customers a lot happier.

2. Coaching and training that's actually dialed in.
Our managers are top tier. Our reps are world class. When you join this team you are surrounded by greatness every single day. There is no better place to sharpen your skills and grow as a seller.

3. Leadership that genuinely cares.
Every manager on my team makes time to listen. We take feedback seriously. We move mountains when we can. You will never feel like just a number here.

The reason we're hiring right now? 
We've promoted so many people internally that we're backfilling a ton of roles.

That's an awesome problem to have if you ask me :)

If you want to sell an incredible product, get coached up, hit quota, and build a real career, there's no better place than Deel.

Interested? Apply here: https://lnkd.in/gkhGnZdA

Best of luck!

- Mike G

She was at 175% of quota.

Working a deal that would've put her at 274%.

Contract was out. Deal was in commit. 

But then a week went by with no response from her champion.

She wasn't panicking.

And the reason why comes down to something we coach all our AEs on from the very first call.

Multi stakeholder discovery.

3 key questions:

1. "Who else on your team would benefit from seeing how this works inside Deel?"

2. "I noticed [name] is on your finance team. They usually like to get involved when we get to commercial terms. Would you be open to including them on our pricing call?" 

3. "I'm really excited about the potential partnership here and helping you with [key business initiative]. As we get closer to pricing, do you mind walking me through your internal process? Who's typically involved, what do they care about most, and how do they like to be included? That way I can make sure I'm giving you exactly what you need to present this internally." 

The third one’s my favorite. 

It’s a bit longer but it’s great for mapping the people, the process, and the timeline early. 

That way you’re ready if a situation like this one ever pops up.

So when the champion went dark.

She had a couple options:

1. Call her (tried this already but no luck)
2. Go over her head (do not recommend!)
3. Loop me in

She decided to loop me in because a leader to leader message would hopefully cut through the noise and get a response. 

First we had to make the message as targeted/relevant as possible.

We use Aligned (which automates deal insights) and noticed the CFO had not reviewed the pricing yet. So that was probably what was holding the deal up.

So we crafted a targeted message to her champion about getting the CFO aligned on pricing, got a response the next day, and were able to get the deal back on track and moving forward.

Without the right insights this deal could have very easily stalled out.

That’s why every complex deal our team runs lives inside Aligned. It gives our AEs total visibility into what's happening inside the account when they're not in the room. 

That way, AEs can take targeted and effective action (like she did) to keep momentum going. Especially when things slow down or champions go dark.
That level of visibility literally makes or breaks your most important deals.  

👉If you haven’t already I highly recommend using it for free here: https://lnkd.in/gqNS6GRW

And if you have any questions let me know in the comments!
Always happy to help :)

- Mike G

#alignedpartner

Brand partnership • Sales Director at Deel

Morgan Shelly

My Personal Values:
A mentor recently suggested I define my "Personal Values" that drive my goal-setting and decision making. After some deep reflection, I came up with: 
1. Authenticity
2. Love
3. Growth
4. Connectedness 

These 4 personal values: Authenticity, Love, Growth, Connectedness, not only drive alignment with decisions made in my personal life but showcase themselves in my professional selling philosophy. 

My Experience: 
I am a driven sales professional (with experience as an SDR, SDR Manager, sales consultant, and AE) that is passionate about building meaningful relationships with prospects and customers through understanding their unique challenges and always striving to add value. As a former teacher & boxing instructor turned sales enthusiast, I am highly motivated to consistently exceed expectations and make a significant impact in any role I am in.

What You Can Expect: 
I am a self-starter with exceptional communication and project management skills, a lifelong learner with a thirst for knowledge and staying current on industry trends and product innovation, adept at multitasking and problem solving to execute jobs efficiently and effectively. 

I offer unique expertise in enablement & proactively identifying inefficiencies, improving process workflows, creating onboarding frameworks for new hires, or building out documentation for new Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). 

What else? 
I love to be challenged to continuously grow in my personal and professional development while learning from diverse perspectives. 

Are you building out a new sales tech product and seeking feedback? I enjoy learning about the problem new products are designed to solve and consulting on product development based on my experience to help prepare for a strong GTM strategy. Super nerdy but I love it! 🤓

In addition to being a full-time Account Executive, I am also an empowering Career Coach as a side hustle. I assist my clients through resume and LinkedIn optimization, job search assistance, interview prep, negotiation best practices, strategies for improving your professional experiences, goal setting, and more. First consultation call is always free so please feel free to reach out with any questions! 

When I'm not working, I enjoy practicing yoga inversions 🧘‍♀️, boxing 🥊 , trying new restaurants 🍽, spending time outdoors 🌳, & traveling to new cities and countries to explore different cultures ✈️.

Account Executive

April 2023 = 352%

Morgan Erazo

i almost said no to the biggest opportunity of my career.

not because i wasn't qualified.
not because i wasn't ready.

because i was 6 months postpartum and terrified.

terrified that saying yes to becoming a founding head of sales at a startup meant saying no to being the mom i wanted to be.

terrified that the sleepless nights + a role with zero playbook and huge revenue goals + a baby who needed me every 3 hours was a recipe for failing at everything.

i remember sitting with the offer and thinking:

"𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘦. 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺-𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘯?"

and then the other voice:

"𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵...𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘥𝘰."


here's what nobody told me about parenthood:

it makes you better. 
i was super resilient before. now, i'm even more resilient. 

so i said yes.

not because i had it figured out. 
not because i had full-time childcare lined up. 
not because the fear disappeared.

i said yes because i realized, with OR without my baby, i am the type of person that take bets on myself... even when the odds feel impossible. 

just because i became a mom, that wasn't going to change. 

almost 2 months into my new role and i'm building a sales motion, coaching reps, working deals, and yes — sometimes doing it all with spit up on my shirt. 

is it messy? absolutely. is it worth it? every single day.
to every mom sitting on an opportunity right now thinking "maybe next year" 

say yes. figure it out as you go. that's what we do. 💛

_______________________________________________________________

part 31 of 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙚𝙖𝙥 𝙩𝙤 𝙇𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 series 

where i share my experience leaping from Senior Account Executive at Deel to founding Head of Sales at a startup 

follow along to learn how I am getting leadership ready in my first 60 days in seat 🪑

Morgan (Shelly) Erazo 🌱

Head of Sales 🎩 @ Revenue Vessel (and documenting the growth) | 100 Powerful Women in Sales ’25 | Start-up Sales Consulting 📈 | Brand Partnerships | Former Teacher 🍏

it's official


i'm actively looking for Account Executives (hybrid in SF) to join our growing sales team!!!!


if you or someone you know meets these criteria, shoot me a DM:

🌟 you want to work closely with smart, high integrity, personal growth-oriented co-workers

🌟 you want to be an integral part of building something that solves real problems 

🌟 you are best-in-class (so much so that customers will want to recruit you to their own teams) 

🌟  1-4 years closing experience

🌟  Located in San Francisco and down for a hybrid role


______________________________________

part 27 of 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙚𝙖𝙥 𝙩𝙤 𝙇𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 series 

where i share my experience leaping from Senior Account Executive at Deel to founding Head of Sales at a startup 

follow along to learn how I am getting leadership ready in my first 60 days in seat 🪑

everyone who works in logistics keeps saying "we're just waiting for things to stabilize"

🥴 😵‍💫 

logistics companies have been "waiting for stability" since 2020 (lol dark times) 

covid disruptions
red sea shipping crisis
port labor strikes
tariff chaos... 

it hasn't stopped 




the companies growing right now aren't waiting for calm seas
they're the ones who built their sales motion to thrive in volatility
they prospect with data instead of hope. 
they don't wait
they CREATE demand




if your logistics sales team is still relying on "relationship selling" and waiting for inbound leads...
you're leaving revenue on the table 


the market rewards companies that prospect proactively with real shipment data and reach decision-makers FAST


this is EXACTLY what we're building at Revenue Vessel

a tool that help logistics sales teams stop waiting and start hunting

if your pipeline feels thin despite a massive addressable market... let's chat!

"what's the tech stack your team is working with?"


^^^ an AE candidate asked me this question in a recent interview


i rattled off the list of common tech stack tools.........
then i named AskElephant and the candidate stopped me and said "what's that?" 


totally in my own words and definitely not a marketer so hopefully the AskE team doesn't chew me out for this: 

AskElephant is an AI workflow tool that automates the bajillion tasks that AEs and sales leaders are responsible for on a daily basis + a call recorder 


two main reasons i love AskE:
1) the tool recommends prompts so i don't have to me a LLM expert

AND 

2) instead of using 1 AI tool to automate 1 singular annoying sales task... AskElephant does it ALLLLLL


plus, their team is pretty dope! 😉


𝗲̲𝘅̲𝗮̲𝗺̲𝗽̲𝗹̲𝗲̲𝘀̲ ̲𝗼̲𝗳̲ ̲𝗿̲𝗲̲𝗰̲𝘂̲𝗿̲𝗿̲𝗶̲𝗻̲𝗴̲ ̲𝗼̲𝗿̲ ̲𝗼̲𝗻̲𝗲̲-̲𝘁̲𝗶̲𝗺̲𝗲̲ ̲𝗽̲𝗿̲𝗼̲𝗺̲𝗽̲𝘁̲𝘀̲ ̲𝗶̲'̲𝘃̲𝗲̲ ̲𝘂̲𝘀̲𝗲̲𝗱̲ ̲𝗶̲𝗻̲ ̲𝘁̲𝗵̲𝗲̲ ̲𝗹̲𝗮̲𝘀̲𝘁̲ ̲𝘄̲𝗲̲𝗲̲𝗸̲:̲

- quantifying ROI from conversations with customers

- identifying a list of discovery questions used in an AE's first call 

- generating 10-15 1-liner "value statements" based on the language our clients and prospects use after seeing the platform on a demo

- analyze the performance of the AEs on my team and identify their strengths and weaknesses

- integrate with our CRM to auto-update meeting notes and next steps 









if you're a sales leaders considering your tech stack, hmu if you want to chat about AskE! 🐘

___________________________________________

part 32 of 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙚𝙖𝙥 𝙩𝙤 𝙇𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 series 

where i share my experience leaping from Senior Account Executive at Deel to founding Head of Sales at a startup 

follow along to learn how I am getting leadership ready in my first 60 days in seat 🪑

top 3 takeaways from my 1st year at TPM:



1️⃣  building relationships in person is important. i'm already looking forward to continuing to build more and more of these relationships in the logistics / supply chain space at next year's TPM and other conferences in between! 



2️⃣  no surprise here... AI is top of mind and is worthy of significant investment. hiring AI talent & thinking about how AI integrates with the existing infrastructure. 

which is why prospective clients AND existing customers are excited about what Revenue Vessel has in the works 😉



3️⃣ maybe this WILL come as a surprise... although relationships are important, logistics / supply chain companies are struggling by solely relying on relationships for generating new business. 

Net new business and revenue goals can no longer be based off "hope and prayers" 

^^^ Revenue Vessel can help with that... 🙏 





today and tomorrow are going to be spent heads down sending thoughtful follow up emails and LinkedIn messages to people I connected with at the conference to set up next steps 

______________________________________________

part 26 of 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙚𝙖𝙥 𝙩𝙤 𝙇𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 series 

where i share my experience leaping from Senior Account Executive at Deel to founding Head of Sales at a startup 

follow along to learn how I am getting leadership ready in my first 60 days in seat 🪑

the SDRs who get promoted fastest ALL do one thing very differently

and it has nothing to do with quota 


here's what i told one of my SDRs today:
𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂. 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝘁.

i asked him to create an Individual Development Plan (IDP) — a simple document that maps out exactly what skills, behaviors, and milestones he needs to hit to earn the AE seat.

and then i told him to surface it with his manager and me. consistently. 


here's why this works:

✍️ it forces you to get specific about what "ready" actually looks like

✍️ it shifts the conversation from "when will i get promoted?" to "here's what i'm working on to get there"

✍️ it gives your manager a reason to advocate for you...because you've made it easy for them

✍️ it eliminates ambiguity (and if you've been following me, you know ambiguity is the enemy)

most SDRs think the path to AE is just "hit quota for a few months"

and yeah, that matters


but the reps who get promoted fastest? 

they're the ones who 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝗮 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆'𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲


so if you're an SDR reading this — go build your IDP
bring it to your next 1:1
ask your manager: "what does 'ready' look like, and how do i get there?"


if you're a sales leader reading this — make this part of your promotion framework. don't let your best reps guess what it takes.


i put together a 6 part IDP template + Promotion Readiness Checklist below that you can steal and customize 👇

______________________________________________________________

part 28 of 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙚𝙖𝙥 𝙩𝙤 𝙇𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 series 

where i share my experience leaping from Senior Account Executive at Deel to founding Head of Sales at a startup

follow along to learn how i am getting leadership ready in my first 60 days in seat 🏋️

everyone complains about their LinkedIn inbox


NOT ANYMORE


PROBLEM SOLVED





Try 1 month free - clean up your inbox with Kondo: https://lnkd.in/eEKUKMYt



shoot me a DM 

you know I’ll be real quick to respond now that I’ve got Kondo in my tech stack 😉 


#kondopartner

hi i'm morgan and i'm a control freak 


the former AE in me wants to DO, DO, DO, DO 

but

the new head of sales me is saying "release control" 


i knew this would inevitably happen and well, here we are


________________________________________________________

part 29 of 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙚𝙖𝙥 𝙩𝙤 𝙇𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 series 

where i share my experience leaping from Senior Account Executive at Deel to founding Head of Sales at a startup 

follow along to learn how I am getting leadership ready in my first 60 days in seat 🪑

food for thought: what if discounts simply did not exist?


then what?

how would that affect the way you sell?


________________________________________________________

part 30 of 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙚𝙖𝙥 𝙩𝙤 𝙇𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 series 

where i share my experience leaping from Senior Account Executive at Deel to founding Head of Sales at a startup 

follow along to learn how I am getting leadership ready in my first 60 days in seat 🪑

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