Brandon Fluharty 🐝

I help strategic SaaS sellers become millionaires without sacrificing their well-being using design & systems thinking. Get started w/ the links in my featured section ↓

From 2018 - 2022, I closed over $50M in tech sales by winning AI-enabled transformation deals with the world’s largest brands like Delta, Chipotle, and UnitedHealthcare.

In 2019, I entered the coveted 7-figure annual earners club for the first time. I averaged $1M+ 3 years in a row before retiring from the corporate world at age 42 in 2022.

These results came about, not so much by focusing on specific sales techniques and tactics, but more through designing and developing a unique way to operate consistently at an elite level.

This wasn’t always the case.

Like so many in tech sales, I fell into the trap of needing to hustle and grind to get to the top. 

And then once I got to the top, I had to do it all over again, month after month, quarter after quarter, and year after year.

That led to a vicious cycle of frustration and burnout. It got so bad that I landed in the hospital in my early 30s due to a mini-stroke from overworking. Plus, I was stalling my earnings at $200K per year.

It wasn’t until I completely redesigned my work and life with more purposeful integration that I found sustainable results and satisfaction.

The catalyst to changing the way I operated was adopting a "Human First, Seller Second" approach using design thinking and systems thinking. 

Today, I use my role as The Purposeful Performer to deliver content, community, and coaching that help strategic revenue generators turn their tech sales career into a noble craft and funding vehicle for their long-term passion projects.

All of this is driven by a customizable personal operating system that I write about. 

The results?

→ Corporate retirement 10 years ahead of my personal goal.
→ $27.3M+ in ARR generated w/ a 78% closing ratio. 
→ $3.8M+ in personal income in 48 months.
→ All while averaging 7 hrs/night of sleep.

If you want to learn more about how I did this, you'll benefit from the lessons I drop every week.

SUBSCRIBE BELOW ↓

🐝

Member

RevGenius is a group of revenue-generating sales and marketing professionals brought together to learn, share, support, and grow with each other.

Strategic sellers in their 40s don't want promotions anymore…

They want exits.

I've coached over 100 strategic sellers this year. 

The ones in their 40s? 

Not a single one asked about climbing higher.

𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲:

"Brandon, I'm done with the corporate ladder. How do I get off?"

They're surpassing quota.
They're earning $400K, $600K, even $800K+.
They're being offered promotions.

And they're stuck.

Because somewhere around 42-45, strategic sellers wake up to a brutal truth:

The next promotion isn't freedom—it's a fancier prison.

VP means more politics, less selling.
CRO of a global org means being on call 24/7.
C-suite means golden handcuffs so tight you can't breathe.

Meanwhile, they're watching peers who "failed" at corporate:

• The rep who got laid off and built a SaaS to $20K MRR
• The former ENT AE who started coaching at $500/hr
• The top strat seller who went fractional and works 30 hrs/week

Those "failures" are in Tahoe on a Tuesday while the VPs are in their 7th Zoom of the day.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐟𝐭 𝐈'𝐦 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠:

Strategic sellers in their 40s aren't asking "How do I become CRO?"

They're asking:

• "How much is enough to walk away?"
• "What skills transfer beyond sales?"
• "How do I build something I own?"

They've realized the promotion path is a lie.

More money? 𝑆𝑢𝑟𝑒.
More freedom? 𝑁𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟.

The math is simple:

At 45, you have maybe 15 years of peak earning left.
Do you spend them building someone else's empire?
Or architecting your own autonomy?

The smartest sellers I know are using their current role as a launching pad:

→ Building personal brands while surpassing quota
→ Creating side businesses using their sales skills
→ Investing aggressively to buy back their calendar
→ Developing expertise that travels beyond their employer

They're not climbing the ladder.
They're building their own.

Because when you're 45 with $2M-$3M in your portfolio and skills that work anywhere, you don't need a promotion.

You need permission to stop playing a game you've already won.

The real promotion? 

Graduating from employee to 𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐞𝐫.
From quota carrier to 𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫.
From strategic seller to 𝐬𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫.

That's the promotion that 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 matters.

The one where you become your own boss—permanently.

🐝

P.S. Just had a call with a 44-year-old enterprise AE who turned down a VP role last month. His reason? "I'd rather build something worth $5M than manage people for $500K." He gets it. The title isn't the prize. Freedom is.

Brandon Fluharty

I help strategic tech sellers architect authentic autonomy. Transform your sales career into a noble craft and a vehicle for early corporate retirement to launch your passion project without financial pressure.

You're not managing a sales territory. You're running a $50M startup.

The day I realized this, my income went from $200K to $1.5M.

Here's what most sellers get wrong:

They think like employees.
They track activities.
They hope for outcomes.

But your territory 𝑖𝑠 your business. And hope isn't a P&L strategy.

When I became the CEO of my territory, 3 things happened:

I fired 80% of my "prospects" (they were never buyers)
I invested in 20% like a VC (deep research, big bets)
I built systems that sold while I wasn't "on"

The result?

• Win rate: 52% → 78%
• Deal size: 3.5x increase
• Hours worked: 60 → 40

My pipeline became a profit center, not a prayer list.

But here's what nobody tells you about thinking like a CEO:

It's not about working harder.
It's about making harder decisions.

Which accounts to drop.
Which deals to walk away from.
Which activities actually drive revenue.

Most sellers won't do this. They're too afraid.

That's why most sellers stay employees.

Ready to run your territory like a real business?

I documented the exact approach that took me from rep to CEO mindset:

→ Start Acting Like the CEO of Your Territory: https://lnkd.in/eNveeZn6 

🐝

Hi, I’m Brandon. 
I used tech sales to fund my freedom. 
“Retired” in 2022 to help others make the journey. 
I write about how to use tech sales to architect authentic autonomy.

𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 to get daily insights that unpack this journey.

From 2018 - 2022, I sold over $50M in SaaS sales by closing transformation deals with the world’s largest brands.

In 2019, I entered the coveted 7-figure annual earners club for the first time. I did it 3 years in a row before retiring from the corporate world at age 42 in 2022.

These results came about, not so much by focusing on specific sales techniques and tactics, but more through designing and developing a unique way to operate consistently at an elite level.

This wasn’t always the case.

Like so many in SaaS sales, I fell into the trap of needing to hustle and grind to get to the top. 

And then once I got to the top, I had to do it all over again, month after month, quarter after quarter, and year after year.

That led to a vicious cycle of frustration and burnout. It got so bad that I landed in the hospital in my early 30s due to a mini-stroke from overworking. Plus, I was stalling my earnings at $200K per year.

It wasn’t until I completely redesigned my work and life with more purposeful integration that I found sustainable results and satisfaction.

The catalyst to changing the way I operated was adopting a "Human First, Seller Second" approach using design thinking and systems thinking. 

Today, I use my role as a Purposeful Performer to deliver content, community, and coaching that help revenue generators learn from my successes and failures.

All of this is driven by a customizable personal operating system that I write about. 

The results?

→ Corporate retirement 25 years ahead of (society's) schedule. 
→ $27.3M+ in ARR generated w/ a 78% closing ratio. 
→ $3.8M+ in personal income in 48 months.
→ All while averaging 7hrs/night of sleep.

If you want to learn more about how I did this, you'll benefit from the lessons I drop every week.

SUBSCRIBE BELOW ↓

🐝

Bad news:

Doubling your net worth doesn’t double your happiness.

After closing a transformation deal that put me over the $1M annual earnings mark for the first time in my sales career, I felt:

• Sad
• Empty
• Drained

Instead of celebrating, I took a nap.

"WTF is going on?" I thought.

This was what I discovered:

These huge milestones get built up to be magical experiences.

But the "let down" is you realize you're the same person as before.

A significant achievement doesn’t change who you are.

You change when getting to the milestone, not because of it.

I had to learn the hard way throughout my career.

But eventually...

“Having enough” became my superpower.

Once I reached this state of mind, I considered it my biggest competitive advantage (and still do) because selling was no longer about:

• Silly status symbols
• Cheap dopamine hits
• Topping the leaderboards

It was purely about the craft (and elevating it to the highest standard possible).

The transition is possible.

But first, you must overcome the hedonic treadmill's overwhelming pull.

Here’s a free guide with 4 powerful reframes that will help do just that: https://lnkd.in/ehKg5QxE 

🐝

I walked away from a $1.1M income in tech sales at 42.

Less than 4 years later… 

I'm working 27.4 hours a week and my growth is only limited by my imagination.

At the time, everyone thought I was insane.

"What if you regret it?"
"What about your future?"
"You're at the peak of your earning years."

But they didn't understand:

I wasn't running 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 something. I was graduating 𝑡𝑜 something else.

(that I could fully call my own)

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞: 

June 2021. Just closed a $2.1M deal. My CRO messaged to congratulate me.

I felt nothing.

Not excitement. Not pride. Just ... empty.

I realized I'd been playing someone else's game for so long, I'd forgotten what winning actually meant to 𝑚𝑒.

The progression at each income level:

$100K earnings: "I need to prove myself"
$200K earnings: "I need to grow this"
$500K+ earnings: "Wait ... what am I doing this for?"

That third phase is when the real questions start.

The 3 questions that fueled my conviction to move on:

𝟏. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐈 𝐝𝐨 𝐢𝐟 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝?

Write, create, coach. 
Own my entire calendar. 
Build something meaningful on my terms.

𝟐. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫?

250 more days I'll never get back. 
Another year of someone else's priorities. 
Delaying the work I was actually called to do.

𝟑. 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉?

Zero debt + $5M net worth was my freedom #. 
Replace 70% of my base salary with something I create.

This is not 𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 math. It's 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑢𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 math. 
One ends your 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑟. The other begins your 𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐧𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡-𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐬: 

Your "$5M target" becomes $10M.
Your "one more year" at 42 becomes 20 more.
Your "exit strategy" becomes another “prison by promotion.”

Before you know it, you're 55, wealthy on paper, and wondering where your life went.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐈 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝: 

• Work <30 hours/week instead of 50+
• Wednesday mornings reserved for 20-mile bike rides
• Built The Purposeful Performer from $0 → my “enough” income
• Created options that fund my life instead of a career that funds my (overinflated) lifestyle

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧: 

The highest-paid year of your career should be your SECOND-TO-LAST year.

Not your last 20 years.

Because graduating while you're winning hits different than retiring when you're worn out.

𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐩: 

If you're earning $500K+ and already surpassing your targets...

You don't need another promotion.
You need an exit strategy.

Strategic sellers don't need longer careers.
They need bigger visions and accelerated timelines.

🐝

P.S. The best day to graduate isn't when you're burned out—it's when you're still winning: http://bit.ly/43mwrPT

Personal relationships are NOT 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 important in sales. It’s an unpopular opinion. But after generating $27.3M ARR in 38 months, I learned this:

You don’t win massive deals over steak dinners.

They come by co-designing a solution with your Mobilizer (learn more: https://lnkd.in/epB-zdbK).

In fact, my biggest deal for $14M came without meeting the client in person at all.

I won it, and other massive deals, by:

• Effective storytelling
• Co-designing assets asynchronously
• Writing compelling narrative docs (like memos, business cases, and proposals)

It’s why my fellow introverted sellers can gain an advantage at the top of the strategic sales hierarchy.

You don’t have to rely on box seat tickets to the US Open, reservations to the most exclusive restaurant, or a vintage bottle of wine to win over your executive.

That’s just for show.

Instead, it’s about using your strategic thinking to build trust by designing quality business cases, elevating and managing your supporting team's standards, and creating interesting experiences that show the art of what's (truly) possible.

🐝

I had a panic attack in front of a client. 13 years later, I was earning $1.5M annually. Here's what changed:

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐠 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐣𝐨𝐛. 

My hands were sweating.

My face was flushed.

My voice cracked mid-pitch.

Then everything went black.

(it seemed like an eternity, but it was only a few seconds)

When I came to, the client was offering me water. My manager looked mortified.

I wanted to disappear.

That moment should have ended my sales career.

Instead, it began it.

Because that panic attack taught me something most sellers never learn:

Your biggest weakness contains your greatest strength.

You just need to find the right environment for it.

Here's what I discovered over the next 13 years:

𝐁𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐛𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦𝐬.

While others pitched, I listened. While others talked, I diagnosed. While others networked, I studied.

Fortune 500 executives didn't need another loud voice.

They needed someone who could hear what wasn't being said.

𝐌𝐲 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐱𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫.

It forced me to prepare differently:

→ I wrote out deal strategies first (like a WSJ article) 
→ I prepared until ideas flowed naturally 
→ I built systems to manage my energy 
→ I focused on starting and ending strong

The result?

My "overpreparation" came across as strategic insights to executives.

𝐌𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞.

I couldn't do 50 calls a day. So I made 5 count.

I couldn't network all evening. So I built deeper relationships.

I couldn't be everywhere. So I chose where to be (carefully).

𝐿𝑒𝑠𝑠, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟 became my personal operating system.

𝐌𝐲 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲:

2006: $45K (panic attack year) 
2011: $105K (found my groove) 
2015: $150K (embraced my style) 
2019: $1.5M (elevated my craft) 
2022: Retired to teach this approach

But here's what really changed:

I stopped trying to be an extroverted seller.

I started being an introverted strategist who happened to sell.

The market rewarded authenticity over acting.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧?

That trait you're trying to hide or fix?

It might be your ticket to the top 1%.

You don't need a personality transplant.

You need the right stage for your strengths.

For my fellow introverts still fighting themselves:

• Your quiet is not a weakness 
• Your preparation is not overthinking
• Your depth is not a limitation 
• Your style is not wrong

It's just 𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡.

And different is exactly what the market is looking for.

That panic attack didn't end my career.

It showed me I was playing the wrong game.

When I changed the game, my life changed.

(not all at once, but gradual)

What weakness are you trying to fix that might actually be your edge?

🐝

P.S. I still get anxious before big meetings. But now I use it as fuel, not a fire to put out. Cheers to that!

Here’s the email I send every seller at 44…

"You've got 6 years left. Maybe 10 if you're lucky. What are you building that's yours?"

I send this to every strategic seller who hits 44 and books time with me.

Not to be cruel. To be clear.

Because at 44, the math gets real:

• 50% of your career is behind you
• Your earning window is shrinking
• Your energy for the grind is finite
• Your family is watching what you choose

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐓𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐈 𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐝:

"[Name],

You just turned 44. Congrats on making it this far in the game.

Real talk: You've got 6-10 peak earning years left. After that, ageism kicks in, energy shifts, priorities change.

The question isn't whether you can keep surpassing quota.

It's whether you should.

Every year from here is a choice:

• Build their empire or build yours
• Chase titles or chase freedom
• Collect paychecks or create equity

What are you building that you'll own at 50?

If the answer is 'nothing,' we should talk.

-Brandon"

Response rate: 87%

Why? Because it names what they're already feeling.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝟑 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐈 𝐀𝐬𝐤 𝐎𝐧 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥:

1/ "𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡'𝑠 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟?"

Not your quota. Your freedom number. The amount where work becomes optional. Most don't know. The ones who do are already planning their exit.

2/ "𝑊ℎ𝑜 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑙𝑒?"

Strip away "VP of Sales" or "Enterprise AE." What's left? If you can't answer, you're not ready. Your identity needs to exist beyond your LinkedIn headline.

3/ "𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑠𝑘𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑠 𝑑𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑎𝑛𝑦𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒?"

Selling is a skill. But what else? Coaching? Consulting? Building systems? The sellers who successfully exit have skills that travel beyond a sales floor.

𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝟒𝟒 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬:

It's the inflection point where successful sellers stop climbing and start calculating.

They've proven they can win the game.
Now they're asking if it's a game worth playing.

The smart ones use 44-50 to architect their escape:

→ Build side revenue while crushing quota
→ Invest aggressively (not in boats or BMWs)
→ Develop expertise people will pay for
→ Create content that builds authority
→ Network with owners, not employees

They're not quitting. They're graduating.

From someone else's P&L to their own.
From carrying quota to creating equity.
From strategic seller to sovereign operator.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡:

If you're 44 and not building something you own, you're just renting your lifestyle from your employer.

And leases always end.

Usually when you least expect it.

The email I send isn't comfortable.
The questions aren't easy.
The math isn't negotiable.

But the sellers who face it at 44?

They're the ones who are free at 50.

While everyone else is still hoping their company doesn't restructure.

🐝

P.S. 44 and asking “When do we start?" We start when you decide the next level isn't up. It's out: https://lnkd.in/ebxtsSWN

I know 12 sellers earning $300K+ who are completely broke.

Not because they're bad with money. Because they built golden handcuffs one luxury purchase at a time.

Here's the pattern I've seen destroy more strategic sellers than rising quotas:

𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑 𝟏-𝟐 ($𝟐𝟎𝟎𝐊-$𝟑𝟎𝟎𝐊 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬):

• "Invest" in looking successful
• Upgrade the car ($70K lease over 3 yrs)
• Move to the "right" zip code ($4K/month rent)

𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑 𝟑-𝟒 ($𝟑𝟎𝟎𝐊-$𝟓𝟎𝟎𝐊 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬):

• Buy the bigger house ($1.2M mortgage)
• Private school for kids ($40K/year)
• Second luxury car for the spouse

𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑 𝟓+ ($𝟓𝟎𝟎𝐊+ 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬):

✘ Completely trapped
✘ Can't take career risks
✘ Can't leave toxic environments
✘ Can't pursue passion projects
✘ Must hit quota or lose everything

The math is brutal…

$500K gross income, but:
 
• $175K taxes (35%)
• $40K private school
• $30K car payments
• $25K lifestyle inflation
• $120K housing (mortgage + property tax)

________

 = $110K left (and that doesn't even include food, travel, or emergencies)

Living like you make $110K while working like you make $500K.

That's not success. That's a gilded cage.

Here's what I did differently after my first $1M year:

✓ Paid off our existing house instead of upgrading
✓ Automated investments into stocks & ETH/BTC
✓ Created an LLC to bring my side business to life
✓ Got smarter and advice on tax efficient strategies
✓ Invested in personal growth (coaching, personal brand)

My 2019 commissions: $1,227,646.77
My mortgage payoff: $429,452.92
My new car purchase: $0

3 years later:

• Zero debt
• "Retired" at 42
• Full calendar autonomy
• The conviction to bet on myself
• Built The Purposeful Performer on my terms

The counterintuitive truth:

The fastest path to freedom isn't 𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒.
It's 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑙𝑒𝑠𝑠.

If you're earning $300K+ and still feel trapped, ask yourself:

• What would I need to earn if I had zero debt?
• Am I building wealth or just financing someone else's?
• Which expenses exist purely to impress people I don't even like?

Strategic sellers don't need bigger commission checks.
They need smaller lifestyles and bigger visions.

🐝

P.S. If you're earning $250K+ but feel trapped by your lifestyle, I'm diving deep into the exact exit strategies I used inside The Purposeful Performer. The first step? Stop building a more expensive prison: https://lnkd.in/eXwxHKPK

The Purposeful Performer

A Subway VP stopped my pitch cold: "Brandon, can you just tell me what actually happens?"

That question killed my corporate voice forever.

I'd been talking and writing LinkedIn posts full of "leveraging strategic synergies" and "best-of-breed service deliverables."

• Zero trust
• Zero engagement
• Zero new doors opened

But when this VP interrupted my presentation, I had to pivot. So I told him a story about texting a digital concierge at the Cosmopolitan in Vegas. 

No buzzwords. Just a real experience solving a real problem.

He leaned back: "Why didn't you start with that?"

That night, back at my hotel, I felt inspired to upgrade the way I wrote and spoke.

I rewrote an entirely new LinkedIn post. Wrote it how I actually talk.

5x engagement compared to previous posts overnight.

But more importantly...

• Prospects started recognizing me
• Referencing my posts in meetings
• Trusting me before we even spoke

The paradox? 

The more you try to sound authoritative, the less authority you project.

Real authority comes from clarity, not complexity.

Your authentic voice already exists. It's how you explain things you care about to people who need to understand.

You just need structure to make it scannable and memorable.

Inside Lesson 41 of The Purposeful Performer: The 7-part framework for finding your authentic authority voice (the one that opens doors, not just gets likes).

Implement it here → https://lnkd.in/emRNksap 

🐝

67% of enterprise sellers are about to become irrelevant.

Here's why (and what to do about it):

The strategic sales role is being rewritten in real time.

And most sellers aren't ready.

The sobering reality (source: RAIN Group):

• 52% of sales leaders can't find strong talent
• 43% are struggling to sell in uncertainty
• 40% can't generate qualified leads
• 33% are failing to develop their teams

But here's what most people are missing...

The sellers who survive, and ultimately thrive, will master 1 thing:

They stop pushing products and start positioning perspectives.

They become point-of-view experts who think like business operators, not product pushers or order-takers.

The 3 questions your C-Suite buyers are losing sleep over:

1. Is my business model relevant for the future?
2. Is my organization designed with the right partners?
3. Am I still personally relevant?

Your prospects don't need you MEDDPICCING them to death.

They need strategic insights that help them answer these existential questions.

Think about it:

• AI automates average (and most sellers are average)
• Economic uncertainty demands strategic thinking
• Executives are drowning in vendor noise

The opportunity?

Position yourself as the strategic advisor who brings clarity to chaos.

Stop selling products.

Start positioning transformative insights.

Here's how the top 1% are already adapting:

→ They're diagnosing, not demoing
→ They write narrative memos that executives forward internally
→ They facilitate strategic conversations (not product pitches)
→ They co-create solutions instead of presenting them

The bottom line:

Sellers who can't evolve from pitch-givers to strategic advisors won't survive the next 18-24 months.

But those who make this shift?

They'll earn more while grinding less.

The future belongs to POV experts. 

🐝

P.S. The sellers I work with who've made this transition are closing bigger deals in shorter cycles. One  landed a $7.8M transformation deal by positioning himself as a strategic advisor, not a vendor. That's the power of becoming a point-of-view expert: https://lnkd.in/eipueZFZ

I didn’t leave sales because I was burned out.

I left because I was done pretending it had to be that way.

7-figure years? 𝐼 ℎ𝑎𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑠𝑒.
President’s Club? 𝐵𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒. 
Big logos? 𝐶𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑑 ’𝑒𝑚. 

But I got to a point where none of that felt like a finish line.

Just more of the same game.

So I began playing a different game with rules that I designed.

I started with creating systems for me, not just our shareholders.

→ I built wealth quietly
→ I stopped chasing “logo clout”
→ I priortized my energy above all else
→ I planned my escape while I was at the top

Most people think you leave sales when you flame out.

I left when I finally figured it out. 

What's holding you back?

🐝 

Hi, I’m Brandon.
I used tech sales to fund my freedom.
“Retired” in 2022 to help others make the journey.
I write about how to use tech sales to architect autonomy.

𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 to get daily insights that unpack this journey. 

P.S. Limited time offer for 1:1 coaching accelerator: https://lnkd.in/ebxtsSWN

I just did something I've been avoiding for months.

I analyzed all my LinkedIn posts from this year. 

Looking at my 2025 analytics: 

• 400 posts
• 28.1K reactions
• 7.5K comments
• 4.6M impressions
• 1.8% average engagement rate

But here's what analyzing my best posts revealed about what actually resonates with strategic sellers...

THE POSTS THAT BOMBED:

• Generic advice without frameworks
• Safe, comfortable messaging
• Trying to appeal to everyone

THE POSTS THAT PERFORMED:

• Provocative questions ("What if success is the trap?")
• Vulnerable + credible (panic attack at $45K → retirement at $5M)
• Frameworks people can actually use (FIRE to FINE, 3-phase journey)
• Specific dollar amounts ($3.5M in 3 years, $50M closed, $1,400/hour)

The surprising pattern I found:

My highest engagement posts weren't about making MORE money.

They were about needing LESS.

The post about high earners defaulting on debt despite $150K+ incomes? 

+56% above my baseline engagement.

The one about using sales as a 10-year accelerator instead of a 30-year prison? 

+72% higher engagement.

Meanwhile, my tactical "sales tips" content barely moved the needle.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐞:

Strategic sellers don't need more tactics to earn. They're already surpassing quota.

What they're starving for is permission to redefine success.

Permission to say "enough is enough."

Permission to architect autonomy instead of climbing higher.

Permission to graduate to their own endeavor, not just retire ahead of schedule.

That's what 𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑒 graduation looks like—designing your exit while you're winning, not when you're worn out.

𝐒𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐬:

Less "how to sell better."

More "how to design freedom."

Because you didn't get into strategic tech sales to become a high-earning prisoner.

You got in to create options and operate as your own boss.

And if the data tells me anything, it's that 89K+ of you are ready for a different conversation.

The one about architecting authentic autonomy while you're still surpassing quota.

Not someday. Starting now.

🐝

P.S. The analysis also revealed I use adventure photos from national parks and RV trips in my best-performing posts. Turns out, people don't just want to hear about freedom—they want to see what it actually looks like. So I'll keep showing you. Not as social proof. As proof of concept.

80% of the AEs I speak with lack strategic focus. Why? Because they haven't mastered the 3-year rule. 

As things get challenging in their new role, they think the grass will be greener at some 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 new company.

However, asymmetric results in strategic sales typically come after 3 years of dedicated focus on your craft.

The key is not to jump ship before you’ve taken your outsized gains.

Here’s my handy cheat sheet on how to eliminate the temptation to chase shiny new objects and stay focused on delivering life-changing results for yourself:

🐝

If you're an AE meeting with C-Suite buyers in person, there are 4 things they need from you:

𝟏/ 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 

• Bring the outcome upfront
• Keep it brief (less really is more)
• Explain the impact in under 2 minutes

𝟐/ 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐥𝐲 

• Remove jargon and buzzwords
• Use their language and terminology
• Lead to your company, not with your company

𝟑/ 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 

• Do your homework
• Understand their key initiatives
• Show how your plan will support or speed up those initiatives

𝟒/ 𝐄𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲’𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐛𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝 

• Interview each stakeholder on the decision committee
• Understand clearly where they stand before meeting the C-Suite
• Summarize the broad consensus and offer to share the plan with where each executive stands on the project following the meeting

Remember, the C-suite are humans too.

They’re just busy working on huge things.

Do everything possible to make it easy for them to say yes.

🐝

P.S. BONUS in the comments ⤵

Them: “So you have a lifestyle business?”

Me: “Well…

I have a 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒.
I run a 𝑏𝑢𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠.
I do them both in 𝑠𝑡𝑦𝑙𝑒.

So, yeah, I guess you could say that.”

I didn’t climb the sales ladder to work harder when I got out of corporate.

I see too many being slaves to an invisible ambition.

Chart your own path.

There's no 𝑡ℎ𝑒 way, just 𝑎 way (that's right for you).

🐝 

Hi, I’m Brandon.
I used tech sales to fund my freedom.
“Retired” in 2022 to help others make the journey.
I write about how to use tech sales to architect autonomy.

𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 + click 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐛𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞  (⇡) to explore how I can help.

My client, who is earning $800K W2 this year, is facing a $35K tax bill in April on top of what's already been agressively withheld. Here's what most high earners don't realize: 

You're probably overpaying by tens of thousands. 

(Here were some battle-scar tested rules of the road I shared)

𝟏/ 𝐀 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐬 𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐫

I'm not a CPA or CFA, so this isn't advice—just what I've learned managing my own path to autonomy. 

Taking more ownership of my financial planning and investing and having a smart, accessible accountant is way more valuable than blindly handing over $500K for an "expert" to manage on my behalf.

I can't be burdened with mastering every nuance of tax law, but I sure do feel empowered studying markets and understanding compound interest.

Think about this: If you're 45 with a $1M portfolio managed by an advisor, you're giving away $790,000 over 20 years.

The math: 8% annual return becomes 7% after their 1% fee. Over 20 years, that's $3.87M instead of $4.66M.

That $790K difference? That's 2-3 years of freedom you're handing over. 

Note: Hedge fund managers have averaged 6-8% return over the past 20 years, yet the average of the S&P 500 is 8.9%, inflation-adjusted (sources: Hedge Fund Alpha and officialdata.org)	

𝟐/ 𝐒𝐞𝐭 𝐮𝐩 𝐚𝐧 𝐋𝐋𝐂 (𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐭) 

He's earned income from his side business doing coaching and speaking engagements.

Any expenses he's putting forth to grow his personal brand and business are tax deductible:

• Travel expenses to speaking engagements
• Zoom, AI notetaker, website, etc. for coaching
• Personal development, courses, 1:1 coaching with me

If your side business pays you—even a few thousand—you can deduct legitimate business expenses.

Those all chip away at your business income tax. Set up right, it means $15–20K less to the IRS—but only for real business costs, not your day job.

𝟑/  𝐏𝐫𝐞-𝐩𝐚𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫'𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐜 𝟑𝟏 

This mistake burned me on my first $1M+ year as a W2.

If you're investing in courses, coaching, or contractors next year—pay for them now. Those 2026 expenses can reduce your 2025 tax bill. 

𝐁𝐎𝐍𝐔𝐒: 𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 

When the middle class is disappearing, government employees continue to go without a paycheck, and layoffs hit daily, remember: You're in the 1% of earners.

Be grateful. Stay humble. Cherish what you have.

But also remember: Your performance is not luck. It's being exceptional at what you do.

The difference between strategic sellers who build wealth and those who just earn high incomes?

The wealthy ones treat their finances like they treat their territories—with strategy, not hope.

What's one smart financial move you're making before year-end? 

🐝

P.S. Again, this is not investing or tax advice. Just ideas to discuss with a certified professional. If you need one, I recommend Rob Cook, CPA.

THE tax advisor for elite sales pros | Helping you pay +10% less in taxes so you can build wealth faster with our Personal CFO services | Ex-D1 Athlete & Podcast Host

I recently surpassed 90K followers and have earned LinkedIn’s official blue Top Voice badge. Here’s the big idea I followed to get here:

I approached my LinkedIn growth like a long-term investor builds a wealth portfolio.

• No hacks (like engagement pods)
• No short-term gimmicks (like fighting the algo)
• No quitting during volatility (like when your posts bomb)

Just a real person, sharing real experiences, to real people … which is 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙 hard.

It got me thinking about one of the best books on money and investing (which is less about the actual use of money or tactical investing): The Psychology of Money.

In it, Morgan Housel inadvertently makes the case for building a valuable personal brand is a lot like long-term investing.

(well, at least I'm taking the creative liberty to draw that parallel)

It takes:

• Time
• Patience
• Consistency

Frustrating? 𝐶𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑙𝑦.
Boring? 𝑀𝑎𝑦𝑏𝑒.

But the effort to show up and contribute here daily compounds insanely well in your favor over time.

And that’s were the parallels with investing are uncanny.

Sometimes the hard choice to growth is the right choice—even if it’s boring.

🐝

Hi, I’m Brandon.
I used tech sales to fund my freedom.
“Retired” in 2022 to help others make the journey.
I write about how to use tech sales to architect authentic autonomy.

𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 + click 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐛𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞  (⇡) to explore how I can help you.

If you're a tech seller who earned $250K OTE last year, you're likely losing $113,636 a year. Here's the sneaky culprit:

INTERRUPTIONS.

The average knowledge worker is interrupted every 11 minutes (source: UC, Irvine).

That's 2.5 hours wasted daily, or 587.5 hours every year.

Let's break down exactly how much that's costing you:

A SaaS seller making $250K/year:

Working days per year: 235
(Assuming 52 weeks, minus 3 weeks vacation & 10 holidays)

Effective annual selling hours: 1,292.5
(1,880 total hours - 587.5 interruption hours)

Your real hourly rate = $193/hr
($250K ÷ 1,292.5 hours)

If you reclaim:

→ Just 30 mins/day = +$22,727/year
→ 1 hour/day = +$45,455/year
→ 1.5 hours/day = +$68,182/year
→ 2 hours/day = +$90,909/year
→ All 2.5 hours/day = +$113,636/year

Real money. Real impact.

But here's the critical insight:

You can't "grind" your way to better focus.

High performance isn't about pushing harder.

It's about feeling better first.

“If you feel good, you play good.”

Said every champion athlete ever.

The same holds true in tech sales.

In my last 3 years as a strategic seller, the distractions were relentless.

So, I built a simple, repeatable system to start each day feeling clear and focused.

It changed a lot for me—performance, earnings, and quality of life.

And now I'm sharing the exact process that worked for me here:

→ [Free Guide] https://lnkd.in/eym8aAxP 

Get your time (and money) back. 

🐝

A lot of sellers think FIRE means you stop working at 40.

I discovered something different at 42.

You don't retire 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 work. You graduate 𝑡𝑜 ownership.

After earning $3.5M in my final 3 years at an AI company, I had a choice:

• Chase the next $10M milestone
• Upgrade to the executive suite
• Build an even bigger golden cage
• Or leave it all behind

Instead, I asked a different question:

"What if retirement is just another trap?"

Here's what the past 3.5 years of "retirement" taught me:

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐄 𝐋𝐢𝐞:

FIRE = Financial Independence, Retire Early

The movement promises endless leisure.

• Golf daily
• Sip margaritas
• Never work again

6 months in, you realize something crushing:

Purpose doesn't retire when you do.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡:

FINE = Financial Independence, Next Endeavor.

Not escaping work. Choosing work that 𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠.

My recent 2-month RV adventure through the Northwest wasn't a vacation. It was a mobile office with better views.

• Mornings: Writing from trailheads
• Afternoons: Hiking epic canyon rims
• Evenings: Building what I couldn't as an employee

The difference?

Every hour invested compounds for 𝑚𝑒. Not someone else's stock price.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐲 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞:

Wednesday bike rides because my brain needs space.
Friday mornings blocked for thinking, not meetings.
Calendar designed around energy, not obligations.

But also:

Creating more value than ever.
Just on my terms.

The math that enabled this wasn't complicated:

• Lived on my base salary (~$200K)
• Invested every commission dollar
• Built capabilities beyond sales
• Tested my value before jumping

Most sellers get the formula backwards.

They think freedom requires $10M saved.

It actually requires needing way less to thrive.

The gap between those numbers? That's where autonomy lives.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧:

Not "When can I retire?"

But "What would I build if the income didn't matter?"

Because when you stop chasing retirement and start architecting ownership, something shifts.

Work becomes play.
Obligation becomes opportunity.
Monday becomes your favorite day.

That's not retirement.

That's graduation.

And it's available sooner than you think.

🐝

P.S. 3 weeks ago, we completed the lower 48 in “Winnie,” our RV. Took us 3 years, 42,750 miles, 25 national parks, and countless memories. It was possible because I got purposeful with my performance years ago in strategic sales: https://lnkd.in/epA27hbQ

A letter to my younger self…

"Dear 27-Year-Old Me Having a Panic Attack: You'll Make $1.5M Because of This, Not Despite It

You're sitting in the West Village office overlooking 6th Avenue. 

Heart racing. 
Face flushed.
Can't breathe.

About to walk into the biggest meeting of your quarter.

You think this anxiety is your weakness. Your dirty secret. The thing that'll eventually expose you as a fraud.

You're dead wrong.

That panic? It's your edge.

While everyone else walks in confident and unprepared, you've mapped every scenario. Twice.

Your anxiety forces you to prepare like your rent depends on it. Because it does.

You've built contingency plans for your contingency plans.

You've rehearsed every objection until you could handle them half-asleep.

You've studied the client so deeply you know their business better than their own team.

3 things will happen when you stop fighting the anxiety:

1. You'll build trust others can't (vulnerability is magnetic when it's real)

2. You'll spot risks everyone misses (anxiety makes you see around corners)

3. You'll close deals others walk away from (your over-preparation becomes their confidence)

The math will shock you:

• Win rate: 22% → 78%
• Income: $45K → $1.5M
• Hours worked: 80 → 40

But here's what nobody tells you about high-performing anxiety:

It doesn't disappear when you hit 7 figures.
It doesn't vanish when you "retire" from corporate.
It doesn't go away when you architect your freedom.

It transforms.

From shameful to 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑔𝑖𝑐. 
From paralyzing to 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒.
From something to hide to something to ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠.

Your anxiety will build systems that work while you sleep.

Your fear will create frameworks that close deals in rooms you'll never enter.

Your panic will teach you to build a business, not just manage a territory.

So stop trying to be the seller without anxiety.

Start being the CEO who turns anxiety into an advantage.

That client you're about to meet? They'll become your biggest reminder.

Not because you were perfect.

Because you were prepared.

And in 13 years, you'll realize the panic attacks weren't the problem.

They were the catalyst."

🐝

P.S. Here's a fuzzy photo circa 2010 of me wondering what lies ahead. Certainly didn’t know then my future  could look so bright. What letter would you send to your younger self if you could?

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.css-6ytdur{background-image:linear-gradient(284deg, rgba(39, 43, 72, 1) 0%, rgba(33, 47, 183, 1) 100%);color:transparent;-webkit-background-clip:text;background-clip:text;}Brandon Fluharty's Linkedin Analytics

Brandon Fluharty 🐝

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);}Brandon Fluharty 🐝's LinkedIn Performance

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Brandon Fluharty's Linkedin Analytics

Performance ScoreBrandon Fluharty 🐝's LinkedIn Performance

Brandon Fluharty 🐝's Best Posts (last 30 days)