Untap Your Sales Potential

Chief Revenue Officer (CRO)

We help Account Executives perform at their full potential by mastering the mindset, habits, and skills needed to perform at the highest level in sales with our sales coaching programs and online courses.

We offer private, group, and online sales coaching programs. We teach the exact playbooks that coaches like Ian Koniak and Mike Fiascone have used to become the #1 Enterprise AEs at Salesforce and Docusign respectively. They have been to President's Club a combined 10 times and have closed well over $100M throughout their career.

Through a combination of live coaching calls, online training videos, live events, and a vibrant community, we help sellers perform reach the top 1% and change their lives and their families lives forever by maximizing their impact and impact. 

For more details visit: https://www.untapyoursalespotential.com/

Interested in exploring if coaching is a good fit for you? Book a call: bit.ly/3KsWjQT

Head of Sales

Salesforce

Senior Account Executive

- Ranked #1 in ACV across 200+ reps in 2022
- Ranked in Top 5% of Quota Attainment across North America out of 200+ Account Executives
- Selected to join the AE Sales Excellence Academy, reserved for Top 10% of Account Executives Globally
- 126% FY23 Quota Attainment, 213% Multi-Year Attainment
- $1.3M in Annual Closed Business, $4M in Multi-Year Closed Business

Account Executive | Healthcare and Lifesciences - USA

- Ranked #1 in quota attainment across North America out of ~ 200+ Account Executives
- Awarded Peak Performer for FY22 (Presidents Club)
- 415% FY22 Quota Attainment
- $2M+ in Closed Business
- Team Lead

Account Executive | Healthcare and Life Sciences - Canada

- Nominated and selected as host for globally distributed internal enablement podcast
- Interview top-performing AEs on a specific deal & strategy that has helped them succeed
- Selected from 10,000+ AEs worldwide

Podcast Host - How I Won This (Global Internal Salesforce Podcast)

- FY20 BDR of the Year out of ~ 200 reps across North America
- $3.4M in Sourced and Closed Business (680% of Quota)
- 180% Blended Input and Output Score
- Salesforce Ranger

Enterprise Senior Business Development Representative

Enterprise Business Development Representative | Healthcare & Life Sciences

- Achieved #1 performing SDR in Toronto within first 6 months on the phone, awarded MVP
- 1 of 4 SDR’s to ever set 100+ meetings in a month 
- Ranked in the Top 25% for all of Q4 of FY19
- Ranked in the Top 25% for all of Q2 FY20

Team Lead, Sales Development Representative

uOttawa Sales Society

- Founded a student club that aims to provide students with the sales experience they need to be successful in today’s workforce and to raise awareness surrounding the topic of sales as a whole
- Managed an executive team of five members to execute on multiple events throughout the year
- Built and leveraged external contacts to assist in delivering workshops on topics such as SPIN selling, and Sales in the Digital Era

Founder and President

ENVSN 

• Founded e-commerce startup centered around providing quality apparel to a generation of motivated, ambitious, and driven individuals
• Created and curated content for our social media profiles on Facebook and Instagram using tools such as Canva, Animoto, and Buffer
• Led a team of four to execute overall strategy and collaborated with designers, manufacturers, and distributors to develop quality/functional apparel

Co-Founder

• Added several high-value clients to our books which were recognized by my District Vice President
• Generated the most leads on every client call night, and led all sales categories among part-time reps
• Contributed to the achievement of branch business objectives by exceeding sales targets consistently

Financial Services Sales

• Conducted analysis and reporting on region wide sales and customer service campaigns
• Individually carried out a campaign to improve customer service across TD branches in the region (this included measuring progress through key metrics and regularly presenting to District Vice Presidents with quantitative and qualitative results)
• Consistently worked with MS Office to conduct big data mining, distribution, and presentation

Sales and Finance Intern

• Maintained position as 1st in the district based on sales revenue pace and consistently the #1 part-time sales representative in the entire region (Peak – 1 947% over goal) 
• Broke district record for highest sales revenue pace among part-time sales representatives
• Delivered excellent client service and deepened client relationships, resulting in a high customer service score

Sales Representative

Nordstrom

• Set team record for most items sold in a day
• Highest performing part-time employee on my team 3 months in a row
• Consistently set and achieved personal sales goals while supporting the goals of the team

Men's Sportswear Sales

Cosmic Adventures

•	Display patience & confidence in high-pressure environments while ensuring customer satisfaction.
•	Entrusted with leadership roles, including the process of training incoming employees.
•	Deal with customer issues and resolve problems to satisfy all parties.

Senior Employee

I started my first business at 11 years old, selling door-to-door snow removal services.

Ever since, I’ve been obsessed with studying the principles of world-class salespeople, entrepreneurs and businesses.

I have had some major setbacks along the way:

- Sent to the ER as a burnt-out SDR
- Experienced my first panic attack as a BDR
- Struggled with anxiety as an AE
- And so much more…

But it’s like Rocky Balboa says, “it’s not about how hard you hit, it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward…that’s how winning is done.”

I started applying the principles I was studying, surrounding myself with mentors, treating my mind and body with more care and executing a sales strategy that didn’t include selling my soul. 

That led me to becoming:
- The #1 performing SDR at Salesforce in 6 months
- The FY20 BDR of the Year out of ~ 200 reps
- #1 AE in quota attainment across the entire North American HLS business 2 years in a row ('21,'22)
- Qualfied for President's Club (x2)
- Selected to join the Salesforce Sales Excellence Academy (awarded to Top 10% of AEs worldwide)

Now, I am the CRO for Untap Your Sales Potential where we help Account Executives up-level their mindset, habits and selling skills to join the top 1% of sellers. I also Host a Top 10 Podcast called Winning Streaks, where I continue to study the minds and stories of high performers. 

Here is how you can engage with me:
- Send me a connection request with a note on how you found me or what caught your attention
- Subscribe to my podcast (featured)
- Hit the notification bell on my profile for regular content on high performance, sales, and mindfulness 
You can also contact me directly at 
Personal: tanveer.mostafa35@gmail.com
Business: tanveer@iankoniak.com

Thanks for checking out my profile!

Tanveer Mostafa

The Arena

We are two complementary businesses under one roof. 

In The Arena Recruiting, we specialize in proactively identifying and attracting game-changing talent for ambitious startups in the defense and federal tech sectors. Traditional recruiting waits for talent to come knocking—we actively engage top performers who aren't even considering a career move yet, compelling them with opportunities they can't ignore. By authentically communicating your company's vision, we transform passive candidates into passionate team members who elevate your mission and drive real impact.

In The Arena University, our mission is personal and powerful, guiding veterans through their transition from military service to rewarding careers in tech sales. We provide a rigorous, hands-on training program designed to leverage the strengths veterans already possess—discipline, resilience, and leadership—and equip them with the specific skills needed to excel in technology sales roles. We don't just train veterans; we unlock their potential and set them on a path to thriving civilian careers.

Bringing these two initiatives together creates a powerful synergy. Graduates from The Arena University become prime candidates to join innovative startups supported by The Arena, effectively establishing a dynamic ecosystem. This integrated approach creates a self-sustaining flywheel, continuously enriching both the talent pipeline for our clients and career opportunities for our graduates.

Whether you're scaling a transformative startup or you're a veteran ready to conquer the next chapter of your life, welcome to The Arena—where talent meets opportunity.

Founder

Pavilion

Member

I'm responsible for supporting the Army as they fight to modernize, use data to make better decisions and leverage technology to advance their mission.

Federal Account Executive - Army

🔬 The Practice Lab

AFCEA Aberdeen Chapter

AFCEA - Emerging Leaders VP of Marketing and Publicity

Top One Percenter

The Top One Percenter is a powerful and private sales network exclusively for T.O.P. members.

Rising sales stars and Top 1% sales professionals come together to prepare, learn, and master the art of sales. It all starts with mastering the mindset to perform at the highest level possible.

Upon acceptance, sales professionals are required to successfully complete the private 90 day Top One Percenter Academy in order to become a Top One Percenter member.

A select few sales professionals are accepted each quarter to attend the Top One Percenter Academy.

Partner

NTT Ltd. is a leading global technology services company. We partner with organizations around the world to shape and achieve outcomes through intelligent technology solutions. 

As a global ICT provider, we employ more than 40,000 people in a diverse and dynamic workplace that spans 57 countries, trading in 73 countries and delivering services in over 200 countries. 

My focus is on information technology consulting and managed services. I help my clients realize their goals by becoming an extension of their team and helping them get business-critical projects over the finish line.

Client Manager

Client Manager with Dimension Data (a subsidiary of NTT Ltd.) focused on generating business outcomes by leveraging the power of technology, people, and processes.

Our approach is consultative and data-driven in nature. We believe that to get you where you want to go we first have to know where you are.  We focus on helping our clients achieve their goals by leveraging our broad and knowledgeable team of experts in areas around digital infrastructure, customer experience, cyber security, hybrid cloud and digital workplace.

Client Manager (Dimension Data)

Softchoice

Outside Sales Representative, responsible for managing and developing a local territory for corporate mid-market. I am responsible for helping businesses in my territory obtain, manage, and deploy technology solutions that help customers meet their business goals while saving them time, money, and resources along the way. 

Teamed with hundreds of internal technical and professional services resources, I have capabilities to help customers with all the major IT vendors, including Microsoft, IBM, Dell, HPE, Cisco, VMware, Citrix, Lenovo, and thousands of others.

Account Executive

US Navy

Manage a 6-person team to train and consult 315 Training Officers and their Commanding Officers Navy-wide.
•	Increased fleet-wide readiness for critical schools and requirements from 72% to 97%
•	Experienced public speaker: created and delivered over 75 presentations to Commanding Officers and crew
•	Spearheaded changes to essential high-profile presentations resulting in a concise product that helped customers improve their overall training programs
•	Supervise prompt corrective action to address training deficiencies, correcting over 100 deficiencies per week

Fleet Training Liaison Officer

Led a unit of 26 sailors as the Officer-in-Charge of the Navy’s only Coastal Command Boat (CCB) – a one of a kind, technologically advanced reconnaissance vessel.
•	Executed highly sensitive surveillance and reconnaissance operations resulting in over 1,500 hours of valuable on-target data of the objective
•	Successfully conducted 3 major overhauls of the CCB and coordinated the logistics of all repair operations 
•	Influenced multiple stakeholders to approve a series of challenging missions 
•	Coordinated with other U.S. ships to accomplish crucial missions 
•	Designed preventative and corrective maintenance systems resulting in a savings to the Navy of over $500,000 
•	Coordinated joint military training exercise between Germany, France, Italy, Bahrain, Australia, and U.S. forces

Platoon Commander, Coastal Riverine Squadron Two

Managed 80 sailors in training, administration, and readiness to maintain and operate critical communication and engineering equipment vital to the ship’s mission
•	Ranked #1 of 13 Junior Officers 
•	Hand selected by Commanding Officer (CO) to lead a challenging division of 26 combat information specialists
•	Led a 45-person team to locate, track, and apprehend Colombian narcotics traffickers; seized over $30M of cocaine en route to U.S.
•	Designated by the CO to train peers on qualifications of a Surface Warfare Officer

Division Officer, USS OAK HILL (LSD-51)

Tech Qualled

I graduated from an intensive training curriculum designed to give transitioning veterans a comprehensive understanding of the high-tech industry and develop key sales skills. The following is a list of core competencies emphasized: 

Product and Industry: 
	• Networking 
	• Collaboration 
	• Data Center Fundamentals 
	• Security 
	• Internet of Things 
	• Cloud Computing 

Sales Techniques: 
	• Sales and Business Acumen 
	• Prospecting, Qualifying, and Investigating 
	• Communication Skills 
	• Extensive Role Playing 
	• Negotiation Skills 
	• Executive Conversations (CxO) 
	• Closing and Objection Handling

Account Executive Candidate

Those who win the battle for talent, win. The explosive growth of federal and defense tech has triggered an intense war for top-tier talent, fundamentally reshaping hiring strategies and industry dynamics. Companies are no longer just competing on product innovation—they're competing on their ability to attract, develop, and retain the right people.

But the solution isn’t as simple as just hiring the “best” talent. The reality is, the best talent has options. They’re not just looking for a job—they're looking for mission alignment, leadership they believe in, and a culture that enables them to thrive. This means companies need to shift their thinking. Instead of simply searching for great talent, they need to ask themselves:

- Are we positioned in a way that makes top talent want to choose us?

- Does our employer brand reflect the mission, challenge, and impact that high-caliber professionals are looking for?

- Are we structuring opportunities in a way that retains top performers once they’re inside the building?

In the fight for defense tech dominance, winning on talent isn’t just about who you hire—it’s about who wants to work for you in the first place. Those who figure this out will outpace the competition. Those who don’t will be left wondering why they can’t attract the people they need to scale.

Andrew Garcia

UPDATE: Apply in comments.
Opportunity as a VP of Growth with a startup defense tech company:

300k base, .5% equity, 10% commission. 

Need someone to take a defense tech AI software company to generate revenue across DOD PEO’s. Company is doing AI at the edge (air gapped environments directly supporting the warfighter).

Vets to Tech Sales | Defense Tech Talent Agency Owner | I’ll help you break into tech sales AND make sure you are really good once you are in. Transition + Training

One time when I was an AE at Salesforce I lost a huge deal. Even though I did everything right. 


This one haunted me for a long time.

---

The client needed HR processes optimized across their entire organization.

I knew HR processes like the back of my hand.  

Over a period of 6 months we did deep discovery and built custom demos.

I presented our solution to a large group of 50 client stakeholders over a Microsoft Teams meeting. 

My champion was texting me during my presentation. 

"Your killing it."
"They love you!"
"That feature you just showed made everyone's jaw drop - that was incredible."

She was reporting the back and forth chatter between everyone on internal teams chat messages.

I was starting to get a little cocky at this point

We went to do several more disco sessions with key stakeholders across the organization after that meeting. 

We checked pretty much every box they were looking for. 

What was key - we checked more boxes than any of our competitors by a large margin. 

My champion kept checking in telling me were are looking really good.

---

But, we lost. 

To this day I don't have a solid answer.

My champion was extremely frustrated that their leadership chose the competition. 

My champion told me we lost on price. 

We sniffed that out a few weeks before the proposals were due that we were 5x more expensive than the competition. 

I was able to go to deal desk and get our price down to making us only 3x more expensive. 

I refused to go lower. (Also, deal desk wouldn't let me if I tried). 

---

Here's what I do know.

I tried EVERYTHING I could to win that deal. 

I legitimately left it all on the field. 

I asked for advice from leadership, peers, even competitors that weren't bidding but knew the customer well. 

I presented compelling solutions to powerful stakeholders

I studied that customer and the problem they were facing and recited the different ways we could help them over and over again.

Sometimes you can do everything right and still lose. 

--- 

How 'bout them Cowboys.

#InTheArena

Where would Arena Talent be without Tim Ogden and John McGunnigle? Honestly—probably nowhere close to where we are today.

When Eric Schmidt and I launched this company, we had zero clients. 

No track record. No brand. Just two guys and two laptops.

Tim was the first one to step up. He heard what we were building and said, without hesitation: “I want to be your first client.”

That kind of belief hits different when you’re starting from nothing.

We went to work. And after a few months, Tim began opening up his network—one introduction after another. 

One of those intros was to John McGunnigle, Co-Founder of Spear AI.

John was building from scratch. Money was tight. He told us straight up he could only afford $10K per placement. 

Most firms would’ve walked.

But Eric and I understood the long game. 

We said yes.

That yes changed everything.

Today, Spear AI is our largest customer. We’ve placed over 15 people for them this year alone. And after the fourth or fifth hire, John called us and said something I’ll never forget:

“Business is picking up. I want to do right by you. Tell me what you think is a fair fee, and we’ll pay it.”

Recently he told us he needed more help with technical hires. He added: “Random firms keep sending me candidates, but I’m not using them. If I’m paying for talent, I’m paying The Arena.”

Let me tell you something: 

Loyal customers exist. 
Honorable customers exist. 
Customers who operate with transparency, fairness, and reciprocity exist.

And they can change the trajectory of your company.

John has taught me more about “good business” than any contract ever has—because he embodies what so many talk about but rarely practice: 

Loyalty. Honesty. Fairness. Partnership.

He set a new standard for what a good customer looks like.

And I’m deeply grateful for it.

It also helps that John, Tim and I all went to the boat school. 
The goat is old and gnarly.

#InTheArena

We're moving in a new direction.

It started with a look at the "job market." 
It’s a strange term. It implies commerce, exchange, and a fair trade of value. 

But the experience often feels like fighting an algorithm rather than a human—you’re doing the work, but you're getting filtered out before anyone even reads your name.

The "Easy Apply" button creates a gravitational pull. It drags everything down into a single, massive pile of data where people become numbers.

We realized that standard advice—no matter how detailed—couldn't capture the intangibles of today's job market. 

That’s why we moved beyond theory and created a functional workspace that organizes the chaos, giving you a clear set of actions to complete every day.

We changed everything. A new face. A new digital home. And a new philosophy we call Pursuit.

It is a rejection of the passive wait. It is an embrace of the hunt.

It’s difficult to keep your daily to-do list aligned with the big picture. We’ve created a tool to help you bridge that gap, letting you pursue roles with intention rather than just relying on hope.

This is the new Arena University.

We had an Arena University member close their first deal within 30 days of getting hired. 

We are doing something right. ✊ 


But, there are still big problems we have to solve for AU to be a game changer for job seekers and hiring managers in tech sales. 

Here is the biggest problem I'm trying to solve right now. 

The average time AU members are getting a job in tech sales where they have zero sales experience is ~40 days. 

That needs to be less than 21 days next year.
(Eventually we will get it under 7 days.)

We need to drastically close the gap between 

<person enters job market> - to - <person gets 1st interview> 

We are getting close.

university.vet

How do you balance ambition with contentment?

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been addicted to progress.

I dream big, then dream bigger.

Now that I run my own business, I can actually build the future I used to just imagine.

But here’s the truth: it never feels like enough.

I always want more—more growth, more creation, more wins.

And when I finally stop to reflect, I think...

“You’ve only gone 10 yards down a 10-mile path. Why celebrate? Get back to work!"

That mindset can drive results, but it can also quietly drain joy.

To fight it, my co-founder Eric and I do something simple but powerful:
a monthly meeting called “Remember The Arena.”

We block an hour, hit record, and just talk.

What we’ve built. 
What we’ve learned. 
What almost broke us.

We ask each other:
 - What are we most proud of?
 - What challenge still keeps us up at night?
 - Have we been building the business we want—or letting momentum decide?
It’s not structured. 

It’s not polished. It’s just reflection.

But it’s the only thing that helps me slow down and realize how far we’ve actually come.

Along the way I've learned

Contentment is a skill, not a state.

It’s not something you “find” once success hits. It’s a discipline you train, like sales or leadership. The question isn’t “Am I content?” but “Am I practicing contentment today?”

Growth compounds only when gratitude compounds.

Without appreciation loops, growth feels like an infinite treadmill. 

“Remember The Arena” is a gratitude loop disguised as a business meeting.

Would love to hear how others stay grounded without losing the fire.

How do you hold both ambition and contentment at the same time?

#InTheArena

Vets to Tech Sales | Most common lie veterans believe…. Hiring manager: “Sorry, I love your military background but you don’t have enough experience for a tech sales role.” Also… I’m Training for the Ryder Cup.

I genuinely love seeing strangers win. 

So when my own client lands their first tech sales role..

It gives me hope that hard work and faith are still useful in this world.

Congrats Benjamin Gutierrez on the new gig - I know you'll do great.

Don't apply to any jobs today. 

Instead....

Go find the people that would be your immediate peers if you got the dream job you are going after. 

Reach out to them on LinkedIn with a connection request + note.

Go get a free account at Apollo.io

If you use LinkedIn + email + phone your connection rate will sky rocket.

---

Make sure you go into the meeting with really good questions prepared. 

Let's assume it's an AE role at Tableau:

INTRO:

- "Hey John, I am sure time is tight for you, you mind if we jump right in with a few questions I had about the role and company?" 

SETUP:

- "Perfect, thanks! So, I've done a little bit of research and understand you guys help mid-market companies see themselves better by offering robust analytics solutions. It seems to me like that might be a tough sell given that most of your prospects are probably already using something else like PowerBI or Qlik. What is the best approach to take when you are trying to offer Tableau but find in a discovery call they are already using Qlik?" 

Note: This question drops "credibility crumbs." When you mention the segment they sell to (and you are right) and you mention their top competitors (and you are right) it shows the AE you already know a bit about the market and you gain some immediate respect. Also, most AE's are expecting a softball question about the company or the culture but you dive right into sales strategy and solving customer problems - this is networking 201. 

CORE QUESTIONS:

- "Is that one of the most valuable problems you tend to solve for clients? Or is there something else that clients typically find is the most impactful problem we solve really well?"

"we" solve really well... 👀 

- "I reached out to chat originally because I noticed there was an open AE role at Tableau and it seemed to be in the Southeast. You don't happen to know about any open AE roles on mid-market teams in the Southeast do you?"

- "Oh nice, that open role is on your team? That's great, I'm curious what the territory is like that this new hire would cover, are you familiar with it at all? Any idea on what might be challenging about that specific territory?"

- Okay, that makes sense. What about the hiring manager, I'm assuming it's your immediate boss. What's his name? I looked on LinkedIn and I thought is might be Zach Carver but I couldn't tell for sure."

- "It is Zach, okay great. If you were interviewing with Zach again for this specific role, What are the top 2 things you would be sure to highlight would impress Zach or at least make him strongly consider you as a compelling candidate for this role?"

- "I thought I might reach out to Emily next, is she also on your team?"

- "Emily is on the team, perfect...

- "Are Jacob, Kevin, Sarah and Lucy also on the team?"

LinkedIn is cutting me off with space here. DM for a full script.

You are the product you are selling. 

Go sell yourself better. 

THIS WORKS BEYOND SALES ROLES

We've done it for all types of roles

Stop blaming the job market. The real problem is you are the same as everyone else - and you know it. 

That's the biggest reason why you don't get interviews and you aren't getting jobs.



I run 2 businesses under 1 roof. 

The Arena - A defense tech talent agency. we advise our clients on talent strategies while also helping them find those people that are really hard to find.

Arena University - We help veterans pursue mastery in tech sales. Typically we start with helping them break in, then we stay by their side for their entire career to make sure they succeed. 

Note: I need to do a better job of differentiating the 2 businesses in public spaces (that's gonna happen soon).




But, since I run these 2 businesses and they are both deeply entrenched in this one area - getting a job. 

I see a lot of job seekers and the methods they employ to get a job. 

98% of them are not great.

Here is 1 thing you can do to stand out and give yourself a significant edge among other candidates you are competing with.

Send a loom video of you explaining why you are a good fit for the role. 

That's it. 

You have to understand how hard it is for employers to discern which resumes to consider.

Many of you are trying to pivot into a new echelon of seniority in your career and your resume reads like a candidate who has never done the thing you are applying for. 

That's okay - you should still apply. 

You just need to give a bit more to make it easier for hiring managers to see why you are a compelling option. 

Keep it short.

Definitely under 3 minutes.

Make the first 30 seconds be your BLUF OR your top 3 reasons why...

Then go into the reasons in  more detail over the next 2:30.

Give it a shot...

I bet it makes your application to interview rate skyrocket. 

Bonus points if you talk to future peers before hand and show evidence that you can actually do the job well because you have inside information on what that job actually involves. 

#InTheArena

How to help make career decisions today, with the future in mind.

Think of the dream job you want to have years from now. 

Maybe it's Head of Federal at an established SaaS company?

Let's get a specific example. 

You want to run the Federal business at ServiceNow in 10 years.

Imagine the interview for that role. 

Imagine who will interview you 
the questions they will ask
the skills they will expect you to possess
the experiences they will look to see you have gone through
and ultimately how they will assess whether not you are a good fit for that role.

Now ask yourself...

Does this next role I am considering put me in a position where I can develop the skills they will expect me to have in the Head of Federal role?

Technical Federal Skills - FedRAMP, ATO, CMMC, RFP/RFI mastery, federal procurement cycle execution

Sales Leadership Skills - Pipeline architecture, coaching frameworks, hiring frameworks, deal inspection rigor, forecast accuracy

People & Organizational Skills - Conflict mgmt, political navigation, executive presence with high-level clients, cross-functional influence

Strategic Skills - GTM design, market segmentation, competitive strategy 



Does this next role I am considering give me the opportunity to go through the experiences they will expect me to have gone through for the Head of Federal role I want in the future?

Managing a Federal P&L
Closing complex Federal SaaS deals
Partner Ecosystem Warfare
Turning around underperforming federal reps/teams
Experience building a team from zero to hero
Exec-level communication in high-stakes situations 



Will this next role give me the chance to develop the skills I will need in the future?

AND

Will it give me the chance to have the experiences I will need to have gone through to get my dream job in the future?




#InTheArena

Working on my long irons and I can't control the club face to save my life. 

So, I'm doing a lot of club face work (duh 🙄 ). 

But it wasn't getting better.

I was "fixing" the wrong thing.

---

I hear this a lot but in a sales context.

Seller: 
"I crush the demo, they say they loved it and think everyone else would love it. We agree to meet again with a critical stakeholder on the team to validate we can help them.
Then... Crickets."

Me:
"Okay, what do you think is the problem?"

Seller:
"Follow-up."

Me:
"Anything else?"

Seller:
"I don't think so, they say they love it but then ghost me. I think I'm not providing enough added value in my follow-up emails."

Me:
"When they say they love it, what do you do next?"

Seller:
"I get them to open their calendar and we book the next meeting right there on that call, just like every sales trainer teaches. But then they are a no-show."

Follow-up is important...

But, that is not the root problem here.

Your discovery is probably lacking.

Ghosting 98% of the time is a symptom of poor discovery work.

---

Do this instead...

Client:
"Wow, your product is really powerful. I can definitely see how this could help us."

Seller:
"That's great to hear. You mind if I ask, how specifically could you see it helping you?"

Client:
"It would give me and my team so much time back. We could focus on other more important things instead of doing a bunch of manual repetitive tasks."

Seller:
"That's great! Is that something you need help with right away?"

Client:
"It's not top of the list but it could be helpful soon."

Seller:
"Got it, so realistically it's probably not something you'd pull the trigger on right now but maybe in like 3 to 6 months?"

Client:
"Probably closer to 9, we would have to get this budgeted because of the high price."

Seller:
"No problem. I'm assuming your budgeting process involves quite a few folks and there are people that need to buy off on even considering adding this to the budget. Would it make sense to chat with them next?"

Client:
"Yea, we would want to go to Stacy next. She is my #2 and could just help me validate that this is worth the investment of time and resources right now. She helps me keep my head on straight!"

Seller:
"Perfect, I'm assuming she will probably like it since you guys seem so aligned. So, I wonder what you think she might not like about it or what might give her pause to moving forward?"

Client: 
"Honestly, she will want to know how we make sure this will actually get adopted across the team and the rest of the company. We have tried this in the past a few years ago and it was a disaster."

Seller:
"Ok, let's focus on that. How about the three of us and vet this out to make sure it's actually worth our time?"

Client:
"Perfect."

---

You have to know why your clients make the claims they make or you will struggle to help them solve their problems.

Good discovery solves most sales issues. Pipeline helps too. 

#InTheArena

I'm calling it... Account Executives will be including a tip option on PO's for their services soon. 

Starbucks doesn’t sell coffee anymore. They sell guilt wrapped in a PSL.

If I’m standing at a counter, ordering my food, and then walking back to that same counter to get my food… why am I tipping?

If I’m in a drive-thru being asked for a tip… we’ve crossed into psychological warfare.

That said — Starbucks?

Genius move.

They’re not asking you to tip the barista.

They’re selling you the feeling of being a good person for just $1.

Respect the game.

If I were Ted  or Marvin (Home Depot and Lowe's CEO's) I’d be thinking: 

“What if every hammer sale came with a 15% tip prompt?”

Question for you all:

Should these digital guilt traps keep going…

or should we outlaw tipping where you do all the work?

Who is gonna build the first SaaS company that helps AE's get tips on complex enterprise deals??? 


Pictured: someone who just ordered a napkin and a plastic straw.

To tip, or not to tip?

What Else in Here Is Real?

He stared at the forecast call like it was a firing squad.

 Pipeline up on the screen.

 Red, yellow, green.

 Green meant “closed.” He had none.

Dana, his manager, didn’t raise her voice — she didn’t have to.
“Matt, walk me through this one — the 60K renewal you’ve been calling a commit for three weeks.”

He hesitated.

“They’re… stalled. Procurement looped in. Should close soon.”
She clicked her pen.

“So not a commit.”
He looked at the spreadsheet and felt his stomach twist.

“No. Not yet.”

“Okay. What else in here is real?”

The question hit harder than she meant it to.
But, it landed like a punch.
Because he didn’t know anymore.

Three months ago, he was the rookie everyone was rooting for.
 Early mornings, full of conviction, first one in the office.

 Now, he was staring at dashboards trying to convince himself the numbers still meant something.

The truth?

 He’d stopped doing the small things that made him dangerous.
 Stopped prepping calls.
 Stopped running clean discovery.
 Stopped believing that action solves problems.

After the call, he sat there, staring at his pipeline.
 Then, without saying a word, he deleted every fake commit.
 
He was down to almost nothing.
 It hurt — but it also felt honest.

That afternoon, he grabbed a notebook and wrote down five account names.
 His top five. The ones that could change his year.

He went deep.

Company research, org charts, news alerts, LinkedIn profiles.
He listened to earnings calls, studied press releases, and mapped who was winning their business today — and why.

The next morning, he started calling.
Call 1: Answered - Rejected instantly. 
Call 2: Gatekeeper. Rejected.
Call 3: Went to voicemail. Then the email bounced.
Call 4: Polite “not interested.”

By the fifth one, he almost didn’t dial.
But he did.
The VP of Operations picked up.
They talked for six minutes.

Halfway through, she said,
“Funny timing. We’ve been re-evaluating our automation vendor. They’ve dropped the ball lately. Can you meet tomorrow?”

He booked the meeting.

Not a closed-won. Not even a qualified opportunity yet.

But for the first time in weeks, he felt alive again.

Because the win wasn’t the meeting — it was momentum.

The moment he remembered that progress doesn’t come from luck.

It comes from doing the work when no one’s watching.

-----

For those of you that think tech sales is rainbows and butterflies all the time...

#InTheArena

I'm preparing material for several sales training events for different companies before the end of the year. 

These companies sell tech to mid-market and enterprise.

Before I prepare the material I like to talk to the sellers I'll be training.

I'll typically try to understand what philosophies they believe as it pertains to their job as a seller and how they execute.

I've talked to over 30 sellers over the past 3 months. 

The majority are right in the 2-4 year range of experience

The biggest problem they are facing is not knowing how to conduct proper discovery.

AND

They don't know how to take the next step and actually improve. 

Here is a frame I like to use to help people think about discovery and how to approach it differently. 

---

Imagine you are an interior designer and you have to improve the existing design of a room.

The room has 5 windows. 

The room is an odd shape, some sort of star.

Outside of each window is a stakeholder who can see inside the room but only through their window.

The stakeholders have the authority to make changes to the room and spend money to do so but must make the decision collectively.

---

You are blindfolded so you can't see anything, let alone inside the room through any window.

The only way you can learn about the current design of the room and the desired future state design of the room is by asking questions of the 5 people standing at the different windows. 

None of the 5 people can see the entire room through their window, they only have their perspective of the room and their perspective of what the room should look like.  

You are told to optimize the room for comfort and style.

Ready.

Go.

🤔 

You go around to each stakeholder and ask your questions...

What is in the room? Where is each piece, how is it situated and how big is it? What's wrong with it and what would you like to see changed, why?

Of all the changes you requested if you could only get 3 which would they be and why?

When does this new room need to be finished, why?   

Of all the other 4 people looking through their individual windows who do you think has the biggest say in how the room will be designed? Why? 

On and on you go, asking questions, going back and forth between the 5 people. 

Finally, you come up with some ideas on what the room should begin to look like and why.

--- 

Discovery is learning how to see a room you can't see.
Turn that room into a new room.
And do so with requirements that haven't been created yet. 

The shape of the room represents the overall problem - usually complex.
The details in the room represent current state and a foreshadowing of requirements for future state.
Now you just have to take what you've learned and design a new room. 

Iterate, then do it again.

The best sellers can design new rooms accurately, with stakeholder alignment.
And they can do it really fast. 

#InTheArena

Discovery is Velocity
Deals slow because:
Nobody knows the next best move.
The rep lets the customer be the project manager.
Reps don’t understand internal politics.
Reps don’t know real success criteria.
Reps don’t know funding details.
Reps don’t know decision-making constraints.
Reps haven’t surfaced risk.
Velocity comes from knowing the path.

The next question is... Why don't reps know the path?

#InTheArena

Are any sales leader doing walk up songs for forecast calls anymore?

🫡🇺🇸

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The Battle

Tanveer Mostafa

Andrew Garcia

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taplio

The Battle

Tanveer Mostafa

Andrew Garcia

Followers

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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);}Andrew Garcia's LinkedIn Performance

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