Ending season 3 of Merchants of Change with a bang! Pumped to welcome Kelly Dostal, 3-time field hockey national champion, 2 time all American, and national player of the year at Wake Forest, to the show! After her college coaching career at UMASS Amherst and University of Louisville, Kelly has spent the last decade at Dell EMC, starting as a Business Development Associate and moving all the way to SR. Direct of AISR and MB Data Center Sales for the Americas!!! 0:33 Playing Career, 3 National ti...
Apr 20, 2023•50 min•Season 3Ep. 10
Thrilled to welcome Mike Davis to the show this week! A seasoned pharmaceutical sales professional and former quarterback at West Virginia Wesleyan College. Mike has over 22 years of life science sales, training, and leadership experience, including 14 years working directly for pharmaceutical companies. 0:30 Mikes Athletic Background 10:30 Transition and Getting into Pharma Sales 17:15 Why Athletes/Veterans Succeed in Pharma 26:15 Advice for Getting into Pharma/First Pharma Job 42:20 Elite Sale...
Apr 13, 2023•49 min•Season 3Ep. 9
This week we welcome Mark Smith to the show. A former basketball player and current Venture Partner at TVC with an impressive sales resume including being a part of 4 IPO's in his career! Awesome insight on what to look for in your first job, preparing for interviews and how to leverage your athletic background in a sales career! 1:06 Athletic Background & Transition to Sales 9:30 Why Athletes Succeed in Sales 18:40 Importance of Mentorship & Sales Leadership 30:50 Proudest Sales Moment ...
Apr 06, 2023•37 min•Season 3Ep. 8
This week we welcome Chris Bobel, former Stanford basketball player, LSU Director of Basketball Operations, and current Global Accounts Manager at Atlassian to the show! Chris's energy is unmatched and he provides some incredible advice to new sellers on how to set themselves up for success! 1:00 Chris's Athletic Career & Coaching Career 18:45 His Transition to Sales 26:45 Advice for Early Sellers - First Role, Preparation, Skills to Develop, Interviews & Culture 51:18 Chris's Elite Sale...
Mar 30, 2023•58 min•Season 3Ep. 7
Super special guest this week as we welcome 22-year Army Special Forces Veteran and Green Beret, Sean Hurd to the show. Sean joined the Shift Team as our Veteran Coordinator and provides some incredible insight into the value veterans can bring to any organization, specifically as salespeople. JR and Sean talk about his transition to sales out of the military, the challenges of that transition, building a winning culture, what companies can expect when they hire veterans, and more! 1:09 Seans Ar...
Mar 23, 2023•45 min•Season 3Ep. 6
We are pumped to welcome Rocky Paap to the show this week! Rocky is a former two-sport athlete and is currently the CRO at Filtered.ai. JR and Rocky talk about his transition to sales, things to look for in your first company, and the fundamentals of being a successful sales professional! 0:00 Intro 1:04 Athletic Career 7:55 Transition to Sales 14:00 Your First Company/Job 25:50 Sales Career/Mentors 36:30 Filter.ai 40:20 Elite Sales Skill 41:25 Being a Sales Pro...
Mar 16, 2023•45 min•Season 3Ep. 5
Billy Lynch, former college football coach, and two-sport athlete, joins the show this week for a great conversation on why athletes find so much success in sales. After a 15-year coaching career at Rice, Indiana, and Miami Ohio, Billy transitioned to sales and is currently an Enterprise AE with Indeavor. His enthusiasm is contagious, and you'll hear it in his incredible insights on choosing the right company, approaching the job, and advice for sellers early in their careers. Billy talks about ...
Mar 09, 2023•42 min•Season 3Ep. 4
Awesome conversation with JT Ibe, former college football standout with Rice and South Carolina, NFL player with the Carolina Panthers and current Enterprise AE with Strong DM. Incredible advice on picking your first company, approach to developing new skills, how to structure your day for success and much more! JT talks about his athletic career as a college and professional football player and his favorite memory (1:04-6:45) His transition to sales and what he was looking for in his first comp...
Mar 02, 2023•56 min•Season 3Ep. 3
Amazing conversation with Katherine Mackey, a former college hockey player who is now the Senior Manager of Inside Sales at Dell EMC. Kat talks about her athletic background and college career at Hofstra (0:57-8:45) How she made her way into the career of sales (8:45-16:15) The important things to look for in your first company (16:15-21:50) Secrets to a successful interview (21:50-26:00) BDR best practices and getting promoted to AE (26:00-29:30) Being a successful sales leader (29:30-35:20) Co...
Feb 23, 2023•45 min•Season 3Ep. 2
Kicking off Season 3 with an absolute legend! Mark Thurmond, a former employee at two powerhouse technology companies, EMC and PTC joins the show for an awesome conversation on leadership, building his sales foundations, and how the culture at PTC created so many incredible sales professionals. Mark talks about his athletic career playing football at Hofstra (1:20-9:30) His transition to sales and his first job (9:30-13:55) PTC, the 3 H's and the 2X principle (13:55-23:05) Why PTC was so success...
Feb 16, 2023•47 min•Season 3Ep. 1
Awesome conversation to end season 2 of Merchants of Change with Zoltan Mesko! A former Michigan Wolverine and New England Patriot Kicker and now Account Executive with Snowflake! The guys start the show talking about his athletic background (1:35-5:47) and his career at Michigan and with the Patriots (5:47-7:50) Zoltan talks about his favorite teammate and how his teammates would describe him (7:50-10:40) The transition from the NFL to sales (10:40-20:35) Advice for athletes making the transiti...
Feb 02, 2023•55 min•Season 2Ep. 10
As a sales leader responsible for hiring new members of her sales teams, Mari highlights many of the foundations we teach to our candidates when it comes to the interview process. Mari talks about her athletic background and being a 3 sport athlete (0:56-5:00) Her first sales role and her transition from sports to sales (5:00-9:50) Things to look for in your first company/job (9:50-12:10) The keys to getting promoted to a closing role quickly (12:10-17:30) Mari breaks down the key areas of devel...
Jan 26, 2023•31 min•Season 2Ep. 9
A huge reason we started this podcast was to highlight the different approaches and personalities amongst successful sales professionals. Brian is a perfect example of someone who is unapologetically himself and has used that to his advantage to find success with numerous different companies throughout his career. The guys start with Brian's athletic background and their time as teammates at Holy Cross (1:04-9:10) Brian talks about his journey and transition to a career in technology sales (9:10...
Jan 19, 2023•52 min•Season 2Ep. 8
Awesome conversation with Victor Karpenko, Channel Sales Manager at Five9. Victor's athletic background as a track athlete and powerlifter (0:56-15:40) His transition out of sports/ first interest in a sales career (15:40-22:30) Advice on that transition period (22:30-27:30) What he would change from his early days in sales (27:30-31:15) What you should focus on in your first role/ what to look for in your first company (33:55-37:30) Channel software sales vs traditional sales (37:30-44:50) Vict...
Jan 12, 2023•54 min•Season 2Ep. 7
Kicking off 2023 with a great conversation with a former 3 sport athlete and current Enterprise Account Director at Talon.One, Melissa Puleo! Melissa talks about her athletic background (1:00-4:15) Next she touches on some of the habits and skills that translate from athletics to sales (4:15-6:47) A great story about how Melissa found herself and sales and what the shift from athletics to sales was like for her (6:47-11:28) Advice for athletes starting their first BDR job (11:28-21:05) Some of h...
Jan 05, 2023•32 min•Season 2Ep. 6
Another great conversation with a former elite athlete turned elite sales leader. After a successful college and professional hockey career, Jim made the transition to sales and hasn't looked back. Jim talks about his background and playing career at Northeastern (0:33-7:05) Next he talks about his professional career and mentors in pro hockey with some great stories along the way (9:50-16:10) The transition from a life in athletics to technology sales (16:10-24:41) Advice for people making the ...
Dec 22, 2022•42 min•Season 2Ep. 5
This week we welcome a long-time Butler family friend and sales professional Jessie Bryant to the show. After a successful softball career at Providence, Jessie coached at Army West Point and Cal State Northridge then made the transition to technology sales landing her first job with HubSpot. Jessie talks about growing up with the Butler's (1:14-3:15) JR and Jessie dive into her athletic career as a player and a coach (3:15-10:30) The transition from coaching into technology sales (10:30-15:30) ...
Dec 15, 2022•43 min•Season 2Ep. 4
This week's show was marked a must-listen by JR for any candidate that goes through Shift University, and for good reason. Dwight talks about his college career and time at Dickinson (0:51-8:00) Next the guys hit on some habits from sports that carry over to sales and a look into his transition to sales (8:00-12:03) Dwight talks about some of the challenges he faced during that transition from college sports to sales (12:03-17:00) JR and Dwight talk about their time together at Turbonomic (17:00...
Dec 08, 2022•39 min•Season 2Ep. 3
Awesome conversation this week with Porchia Jenkins, Sales Development Manager at TripActions! Porchia talks about her background and college athletics career (0:56-6:25) As someone who transitioned into sales from another career, she talks about that switch and the challenges that go along with it (6:25-12:52) Sales can be taught! and Porchia is a perfect example of that (12:52-16:00) What to look for in your first sales role (16:00-21:45) The traits of the most successful BDR's (21:45-30:42) P...
Nov 23, 2022•46 min•Season 2Ep. 2
Elite conversation to kick off Season 2 of Merchants of Change with Force Management co-founder John Kaplan! The guys start with John's early football career at Boise State and Bowling Green (0:33-11:10) A breakdown of the attributes athletes possess that allow them to become successful sales professionals (11:10-18:00) John breaks down the things you should look for in your first sales jobs (18:00-22:00) Patriots vs Mercenaries (22:00-27:10) Early career at Xerox and PTC (27:10-30:45) Favorite ...
Nov 17, 2022•59 min•Season 2Ep. 1
Incredible conversation this week with the legend Jim McInerny, current CRO at Blink. Jim tells an incredible story about where the phrase "Merchants of Change" came from and why it has stuck with him throughout his whole career (0:33-15:30) Next the guys discuss some of the things you should look for in your first sales job in order to set your career up for success (15:30-22:30) How to get yourself promoted quickly and efficiently into a closing role (22:30-27:45) As an elite sales leader, Jim...
Nov 03, 2022•1 hr 14 min•Season 1Ep. 10
Awesome conversation this week with an elite sales leader and former NHL hockey player, Colin McDonald!! Colin talks about growing up in a hockey family and his path to Providence College (0:33-8:57) Breaking down the transition from college to professional hockey (8:57-13:35) Great story on his favorite teammates (13:35-17:00) Colin gives some great insight into the adjustment from hockey to the role of BDR (17:00-24:47) Being promoted to AE within a year, Colin talks about the reasons and skil...
Oct 27, 2022•40 min•Season 1Ep. 9
This week we have an awesome guest in Haley Skarupa, former All-American college hockey player and Olympic Gold Medal winner with team USA! Hayley talks about her impressive career at Boston College and winning an Olympic Gold medal with Team USA in Pyeongchang. (0:33-15:00) What the transition out of competing athletically at such a high level into the career of technology sales was like for her (15:00-20:45) Haley offers some great advice for women who are interested in entering the field (20:...
Oct 20, 2022•45 min•Season 1Ep. 8
In this week's episode we are joined by Zeke Testa, former All-American college hockey player and current Senior Director of Sales at CYTRIO. Zeke talks about his college days and what he learned while at Babson (0:52-9:50) Next he talks about the biggest lesson he learned at school, time management and how to balance your sport and education (9:50-12:05) The guy's take a dive into his playing career at Babson and his short stint in professional hockey. (12:05:16:40) Zeke talks about his entry i...
Oct 13, 2022•50 min•Season 1Ep. 7
In Episode 6 we are joined by Chris Ward, an elite sales leader and team builder. Chris talks about his background and college days at Bates (0:00-10:50) He discusses how he found the career of technology sales and what he found intriguing about the field (10:50-15:48) John asks Chris his opinion on working at a large tech company vs a start-up (15:48-18:20) JR and Chris reminisce about their days together at Turbonomic and their shared mentor Jim McInerny (18:20-23:10) Chris dives into how he f...
Oct 06, 2022•42 min•Season 1Ep. 6
This week we shift from a guest with sales background to someone who helps people identify and prepare you for the next step in their careers. Maura offers some awesome advice for anyone entering the job market or transitioning to a new career. Maura discusses her background and how she ended up back at her alma mater. (2:10-8:30) What Maura's job entails and the people she helps everyday (8:30-16:25) How things have changed for people entering the job market today (16:25-19:50) How to prepare y...
Sep 29, 2022•47 min•Season 1Ep. 5
Awesome conversation with former NHL Draft Pick and current Senior Director of Sales Strategy at LinkSquares, Rob Flynn. The guys talk about Rob's path to Harvard and his experience there (1:50-7:05) Rob discusses his career in minor professional hockey and an unlikely talent he picked up (7:05-15:50) How he transitioned out of sports and into the real world (15:50-24:15) Advice to the next generation looking to get into their first career in technology sales (24:15-28:00) Robs talks about his p...
Sep 22, 2022•44 min•Season 1Ep. 4
Great conversation with a former Division 1 Hockey National Champion and current Manager of Sales, Andrew Thomas. JR and Andrew chop it up about their similar backgrounds growing up in New England (1:25-6:48) Andrew talks about his time at Denver that included winning a National Championship (6:48-14:20) What effective leadership looks like in sports and sales (14:20-17:20) Andrew's time playing professional hockey in the minors and overseas (17:20-20:40) The transition from sports to a new care...
Sep 15, 2022•46 min•Season 1Ep. 3
Great interview with Jacob Karp, a Strategic Account Executive at People.ai. Jacob talks about his athletic career (1:20-6:10) Advice on transitioning from being a student-athlete into the real world (6:10-12:15) Jacob's path to Software Sales (12:15-17:30) How important networking and building a community is (17:30-23:40) Key skills that will allow set you up for success in your first sales job (23:40-30:45) What it takes to build a Champion (30:45-35:53) Preparation = Professionalism (35:53-38...
Sep 08, 2022•37 min•Season 1Ep. 2
A look into how Shift Group was started with JR and John. JR talks about his background and how a conversation with a guy in a bar who mocked him for wanting to be a lawyer lead him to Technology Sales (2:00-11:45). John talks about his journey from playing football at Holy Cross to Technology Sales (11:45-18:00) What drew JR and John to sales and when they realized it was the career for them (18:00-22:25) Who Merchants of Change is for and what we will be talking about each week. (22:25-26:00) ...
Sep 01, 2022•38 min•Season 1Ep. 1
