Gorish Aggarwal's Linkedin Analytics

“I frequently slept 3 hours/day and juggled multiple jobs before I found tech sales.” HoS #6 Growing up, I loved to be surrounded by energy. Large crowds, fitness, events. Such a big part of me as a kid came from performing in front of others. When I was on stage, I always wanted to share a little spark with the crowd. To inspire the audience to connect with whatever they were passionate about. Off-stage, I’ve always wanted people to feel welcome - like a guest in my home. It shaped my years bartending, how I taught fitness and my approach to sales. Thanks to those client-facing jobs, I learned to read people and match their energy. I started showing up in a way that was compatible and effective considering the person in front me. I love movement, I loved that energy but It got pretty crazy sometimes. “ Working at a bar from 10am until 5pm, teaching a Zumba class, then working at another bar into the night only to get up at 7am to train clients at the gym. “ The first time I started thinking about Sales was back in 2020 when Covid hit. I was in fitness full time, and between classes and private clients I just pushed myself to “go go go go”. I used to work with a fitness trainer who transitioned to the tech space. He got started as an SDR and now is a phenomenal AE. I reached out to him back then and I never forgot his words to this day: “Moving from fitness to tech was one of the best decisions of my life”. I decided to commit. Did some research on how to break into tech sales from non-traditional backgrounds, and came across AspireShip. Their Sales Foundation course was amazing. I finished it and got placed in less than 30 days. I couldn’t believe it. Started as an SDR and worked my way up. I feel like the most important trait that allows me to be good at sales is authenticity. People want real interactions, they’re tired of scripts. One strategy that helps me stay grounded is something I call “Notice and Name.” It’s about pausing to recognize emotional triggers in the moment, naming what you’re feeling, and understanding how it might be influencing your decisions. Self-awareness is a superpower in sales - especially when the pressure’s on. In this line of work, no matter how good the product is, you’re at the mercy of people’s timelines. Their priorities shift. One day you think you’re closing a deal, the next day they ghost you and you’re worried about hitting quota. Acknowledge the feeling, accept it and let it go. You’ll bounce back faster and get better at detaching from the outcomes. This was Nikki Gagnon’s story. Who should we interview next? Follow Humans of Sales by Sybill for actionable sales tips, fresh industry trends and career-defining wins and losses. #sales #inspiration #entrepreneurship

On the tough days, I take a step back. Breathe. And go out for a nice dinner with my Fiance. HoS #8 I never thought I'd be doing Sales at beehiiv - I was such an introvert. Growing up, my dad worked in sales. So, it was always there in the background. He talked about deals, quotas and clients. But to me, it felt... exhausting. Talking to strangers all day? Taking hundreds of calls? Definitely not me. But college turned everything around. While pursuing my marketing degree, I signed up for an elective in sales. That course cracked something open in me. Something about solving problems and connecting with people just clicked for me. After graduating, I joined a startup as a sales intern. Learned under two VPs who didn’t hold back. I was dialing, emailing, role-playing late into the evening. It felt like training for a sport. Mentally and emotionally. When I got my first full-time role at Whova, I thought I knew what I had signed up for. But nothing prepares you for the real thing. The pressure was real. The silence after a great pitch. The ghosting. The deals that collapse after weeks of work. You quickly learn: doing everything “right” doesn’t guarantee a win. But I kept at it. And somewhere along the way, I realized, this was exactly where I was supposed to be. Every conversation was different. Every day forced me to think sharper, ask better questions. That’s what they don’t tell you about sales - it’s not about talking. It’s about understanding someone better than they understand themselves. I still remember one deal clearly. A client who took weeks just to set up a first call. Endless email threads. When we finally spoke, I was ready. I didn’t pitch a product, I pitched a solution for their exact, present pain. We closed the deal. That moment was amazing! But not every day is like that. In fact, most days aren’t. Sales is humbling. It demands energy, resilience, and an ability to reset over and over again. And these past 9 years have made me realize: Sales isn’t just about talking. It’s about discipline, empathy, strategy and constantly becoming a better version of yourself. So yeah, if you’d told my 16-year-old self, “You’ll be in Sales at Beehiiv one day,” I’d have laughed. But here I am. And honestly? I wouldn’t trade it for anything. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Kevin’s story is a powerful reminder that when you lean into who you are and rise to meet new challenges, that’s where real growth happens. Who’s the next inspiring seller we should spotlight in our Humans of Sales series? Let us know whose story deserves to be heard! Follow Humans of Sales for more such raw, honest stories. #sales #stories #AEs

Some people choose sales. Others stumble upon it. Some learn sales in school; others get here after a failed startup, the pandemic, or a friend saying, “You’re good at talking—try sales.” At Humans of Sales, I’ve spoken to people from both sides. And I have learned that, just as with Roger Federer, the detour often leads to the real destination. The best salespeople didn’t always plan this career. They learned to build trust without a script, to fail forward, and to show up even when they were scared. One person told me: “Sales was really different from what I’d expected. Now it’s where I found the best version of myself.” This is why we’re building Humans of Sales. 1️⃣ To tell the stories behind the title. 2️⃣ To share how to navigate the non-linear paths. 3️⃣ To share insights from those who figured it all out from the scratch. So, did you choose sales, or did sales choose you? I’d love to hear your story. Sybill Humans of Sales #stories #sales

Artisan raised $25M, but their core message directly stands against their end users. Does it make sense? Artisan's branding is bold: "Stop hiring humans." Yet, they are not only hiring humans to build and sell their product, but they are claiming to replace the exact same audience who uses their product - the SDRs. It's like having a robotic arm brewing coffee (cc Artly), while a barista stands next to it handing out coffee lids. The barista literally watches their job disappear with each cup. To its credit, Artisan's controversial message earned them tons of eyeballs. In today's b2b marketing, virality is undoubtedly the king. However, while the buzz might lead to demo requests and even booked ARR, it may not translate to end outcomes. Artisan needs the human SDRs to fuel business growth in the medium term, but more importantly, build training data for their models. By sidelining them fully, they are losing on both counts. This is an ironic situation that many AI companies today, especially autopilot tools, find themselves in. I feel such contrarian messaging might harm a brand's image in the long run. Successful brands, both B2B and B2C, need to align with their end audience’s real needs in letter and spirit.

Humans of Sales Post #5 Like all good things, it started with food! But not in the way you’d expect. I loved everything – food and health, so a food science degree seemed like the natural choice. But by my third year, I started having this sinking feeling. What now? I didn’t want to spend my life in a lab coat, running experiments on yogurt cultures. For my internship, I needed to find something connected to food science, so I joined a small startup in Dublin that made calorie-conscious meals for older people. It was a tiny team, which meant I had to do a bit of everything. One day, they asked me to make cold calls. I decided to give it a shot. Turns out – I was actually good at it! I had a sudden revelation – this could actually be something I could enjoy doing. Around the same time, some of my friends were getting into tech. Dublin’s startup scene was booming and I wanted in, but my degree didn’t exactly scream “tech”. SurveyMonkey was opening their office in Europe. I reached out to the team, and they asked me to come back and do a pitch for an Account Executive position. The catch? I had zero sales or business development experience whatsoever. So I stayed up late nights prepping everything I could possibly learn about being an AE; how to pitch, how to structure a sales conversation, how to close a deal. I walked into that room with full confidence, even though I had no real experience. They said, “You don’t have the experience, but all right, we’re going to give you a go as an AE.” And the rest was history. I ended up staying there for five years and loved the job. I was employee number three on the sales team, and we went from just a handful of us to over a hundred AEs across Europe. But it wasn’t always easy. There was this one deal I had spent eighteen months working on. And just when we were about to close, they pulled out. I was completely shattered. Eighteen months of calls, meetings, negotiations and hardwork, all of it had reduced to nothing. That moment changed everything for me. I realized rejection isn’t the end of a conversation; it’s just a pause. Sometimes things just don’t go the way you planned. And that’s okay. The important thing to do is to keep showing up. The next day, I reached out to them again, just to understand what went wrong. Two days later, they came back. Turns out, the alternative they had chosen wasn’t working out. It became one of the biggest deals of my career. Now, I get to work with companies from across the world with products solving problems I never even knew existed! The journey has been full of twists and turns, but every step has been worth it. I’ve learned that if you’re open to new experiences, you can end up exactly where you’re meant to be. And you might even surprise yourself along the way! ---------------------------------------------- Laura McAnena's story comes as a sweet reminder - the detour we're not expecting might just be the perfect road ahead! Sybill #sales #stories

"DELETE THIS RIGHT NOW!" Have you ever been cussed at, yelled at, or aggressively threatened by a customer? We had an experience where an influential user, someone we deeply respected and had given free access to Sybill, became intensely demanding. Within minutes, his requests escalated to aggressive accusations and legal threats. Imagine the emotional strain on a sales rep: trying to help, striving to maintain professionalism, yet feeling cornered and disrespected. Here's the actual scenario: During a session, the user neglected to disable the recording feature when the conversation turned confidential. After they asked for it, we promptly deleted all data. Despite our swift response and resolution, the aggression didn't stop. The rep faced continuous threats and hostility. Here's the reality: Respect goes both ways; sellers deserve it too. "Customer is always right" doesn't justify abuse or threats. Managing settings during sensitive interactions is the user's responsibility. To our fellow sellers: You're not alone. Your mental well-being matters just as much as your customers' satisfaction.

I want everyone to have first row seats to the world's best sales talent. A peek behind the curtain. If you've always wanted to know how great sales people think, feel and act, this is for you. In the past 5 years, I’ve talked to 3500+ sales reps. I’ve seen the constant hustle - making cold calls, emailing with a high chance of getting ghosted, and deals breaking at the last moment. Everyone talks about storytelling. But not everyone gets their story told - especially in sales. The anxiety before a big pitch. The high of closing a dream deal. The burnout that creeps in when you're chasing monthly targets that feel just out of reach. The quiet pride of helping a client solve a real problem - something that rarely makes it to a leaderboard. At Sybill AI, We understood that silence and that’s how Humans of Sales was born. We want HoS to represent: 1. A space for honest, unfiltered stories from the people who live and breathe sales. 2. Actionable sales tips. 3. Fresh industry trends 4. And career-defining wins & losses. Because before someone hits quota, they go through self-doubt, failed demos, and missed callbacks - and somehow, still show up the next day. That kind of resilience deserves to be heard. If you’ve been through a crazy sales journey, or know someone who did, I’d love to hear from you! Sybill Humans of Sales #sales #stories

‘If you can build a rapport with people, apply here.’ HoS #7 After 5 years and 4 internships, I still hadn’t found something that felt like me. I’d dabbled in research, tech, and even analytics. Nothing stuck. Then one day, I read the above line in a job description that hit me differently. That’s when it clicked. I’d always been that kid—extroverted, curious, go-getter type. My parents are both professors. So, changing cities, switching schools, packing up, and starting over—it wasn’t strange to me. It was just life. College was trickier. I was away from home and my parents. Eventually I figured it out. I joined sports teams, signed up for clubs, and found my people. I’ve always been that kid, you know. The one who sees a group playing outside and thinks: “If they’re playing, I want to play with them.” So be it—striking conversations, making new friends, or knowing exactly what to say, it was always a part of me. That sowed the seeds for sales in my mind. Not intentionally. I just… ended up there. I still remember—after trying my hand at everything from research to tech, none of it felt like me. I wanted to do something people-focused. So, when I saw that JD, I applied without a second thought. I took up every task that came my way, went all in for the application process without any experience, and after 5 rounds, I got selected! That’s how I landed my first job in sales. That was six years ago. Ever since, I have seen it all—the last-minute budget cuts, clients backing out, and even being ghosted after an almost final conversation. Sales can be unpredictable. If you don’t provide value in the first few minutes, the deal slips away. It’s chaotic, but now I’ve learned to champion the chaos by trusting my gut. Much like cycling, yes really. I’ve cycled over 5000 km in the past 3 years across India—traveling, exploring, and meeting people from all parts of the country. All that mileage leads to perseverance, patience, and skills to navigate difficult terrains, just like in sales. That is what keeps me going—being like a kid who just won’t give up. After all these years, when I make a successful pitch, it feels like knocking on a stranger’s door, and they let you in. They trust you before they even know you. That’s the win for me. And no matter how far I go, I hope I never lose that kid inside. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Akshat’s story is not just about work—it’s about showing up with heart, staying curious, and never losing that childlike spark, regardless of where you are. Who should we feature next in our interview series? Follow Humans of Sales for more such raw, honest stories.

Our last candidate said, "This was the most collaborative interview experience of my life." Hiring mistakes used to cost us months. Now, we have a 3-step process (that’s it) without any take-home tasks. This process has helped us bring on exceptional talent while shortening the interview cycle. I’m sharing it here in case it helps you: 1. Resume round - 40 mins long. We dive into the candidate's background, their past projects - specifically their contributions, reasons for career moves, and overall alignment. If a good fit, we share about the company, culture, expectations, and the process. 2. Skill round - 2 hours long. It’s divided into 4, 25-minute sessions, each dedicated to a core competency for that role. (For PMM, these are short-form copy, A/B experimentation, UI/UX design, and deep user empathy - getting this right is critical). These sessions involve hands-on activities or case studies to gauge real-world expertise. Keeping the questions consistent across everyone helps to benchmark them, which is great for first hires. Candidates move forward if they have at least 3 "yes" votes and 1 strong “yes”. If there’s a borderline call with 1 “no”, we re-run that round to confirm. 3. Meet and greet - we invite candidates onsite for their chance to ask questions and learn more about the team, product, and company. This helps them build comfort and helps us test a deeper fit. In parallel, we run reference checks. This approach has been a game-changer for us. The candidates love it because it's concise, and their active skills are engaged. And for us, it's just three interview days per person.  Thank you, Mehak Aggarwal, for defining and helping me refine this process. We’ve hired exceptional people who’ve flourished in their roles - and we’re eager to bring on more. We’re currently hiring for: -Machine Learning -Backend Engineers -Product Marketing Manager -Product Manager -Product Designer -Account Executive If you or someone you know could be a great fit, feel free to reach out or tag them in the comments. Let’s connect and build the smartest AI assistant for every salesperson together!

I used to open YouTube without thinking - a small addiction in my free time. I’d watch random clips, feel like I wasted my time, yet allow the cycle to continue. A full ban wasn’t realistic - I genuinely need YouTube for work - mostly tutorials and research. So I took a different approach: - Installed a site-blocking extension (I used BlockSite) - Blocked YouTube on my regular browser, but allowed it in Incognito Mode Why This Worked for Me: 1. Intentional Viewing: If I really want a specific video, I go Incognito and search for exactly what I need. 2. Fewer Rabbit Holes: Without a customized recommendation feed, it’s much harder to go down the endless-suggestion spiral. 3. No All-or-Nothing Pressure: I haven’t quit YouTube entirely - I just made my viewing more mindful. My Results - The muscle memory of typing “youtube” unconsciously began to fade. - My watch time dropped significantly. - The content I did watch felt more valuable and relevant. If YouTube has you hooked, give this partial-block strategy a try. Let me know if it helps—or share your own tips for beating a stubborn addiction! #Productivity #TimeManagement #DigitalWellbeing #PersonalGrowth #Focus

Launch day is here! My sales team leads dozens of sales calls every week. Most insights were buried in call recordings - until today. We're excited to launch Ask Sybill, your personal AI analyst who listens across every call, email, and deal, and answers questions smartly in seconds. It's a new era of AI notetaking altogether. Imagine your sales team instantly knowing: 1. What are the open next steps from last week's call? 2. Which objections popped up most this month? 3. How do our top reps respond to competitive questions? And that’s just the start: ✅ Reps can instantly find their weak spots, draft MAPs using prospect data, freeing up hours on admin. ✅ Managers get clear visibility into rep performance - no more guesswork on what differentiates top performers. ✅ Marketing & Product teams know exactly which competitors and product gaps surface repeatedly, so they prioritize on customer voice, not guesswork. This is one of the biggest products we've built at Sybill, and by far one of our more ambitious and differentiating from existing incumbents. Try Ask Sybill today and start asking smarter questions.  (Link in comments)

Launching the next chapter of AI notetaking at Sybill tomorrow. Nishit Mehak Soumyarka

We finally gave the team an upgrade that really matters. For four long years, we survived on an old-school, borderline-broken coffee maker. It brewed a drinkable cup on good days and questionable liquid on bad ones. Nobody complained since we were heads-down building, iterating, and shipping. But recently, something shifted. The team grew, energy changed, and suddenly people noticed: our coffee was terrible. So today, instead of a 'look‑how‑fast‑we-are‑growing' revenue graph, I'm sharing our shiny new Breville coffee machine. Now we can start our mornings with a proper espresso and happier faces. Sometimes, the best sign of growth isn't a hockey-stick graph, it's the little upgrades that show your team you notice and you care. Here's to better mornings and real coffee. Cheers! ☕️ P.S. Something even bigger is brewing. Stay tuned!