On the last episode of Season 6 of Merchants of Change, we welcome Esther Iyamu, Founder & CEO of GrowthQ to the show! Esther is a former NFL and NBA cheerleader who successfully transitioned into a successful sales career before founding her own company, GrowthQ! A conversation filled with advice on starting your sales career, the importance of selling in entrepreneurship, getting dialed in, and much more! 1:53 Cheer/Dance Career 17:40 Transition to Sales 29:40 Entrepreneurship 38:50 Core S...
Dec 21, 2023•46 min•Season 6Ep. 10
Excited to welcome another elite guest to Merchants of Change this week, Vince Nistico, former college football player and current Strategic Enterprise Account Executive at ServiceTitan! Another awesome conversation, loaded with advice for anyone looking to start a career in sales! JR & Vince talk about picking the right company, establishing your operating rhythm, and being dialed in! 9:10 Preparing for the Transition 25:25 Picking the Right 1st Company 31:55 Establishing Your Operating Rhy...
Dec 14, 2023•44 min•Season 6Ep. 9
This week on Merchants of Change we welcome Dan Fantasia, President & CEO of Treeline, Inc. to the show! With over 20 years of experience in helping companies build elite sales teams, this is an episode packed full of great advice for athletes & veterans preparing to break into a career in sales! Getting prepared for your interviews takes a lot more than just showing up. There are countless steps you can take to ensure you show up to that interview prepared and land that sales role! 9:00...
Dec 07, 2023•40 min•Season 6Ep. 8
This week on Merchants of Change, we welcome Cianna Levi, a former Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader and current Enterprise SDR at Outreach to the show! Cianna has taken the skills & characteristics that allowed her to be elite in dance and used them to transition to a successful start in sales. JR & Cianna talk about her transition, advice for telling your story in an interview, picking your first company, and getting comfortable with starting a new career from the bottom of the ladder. 7:40 D...
Nov 30, 2023•44 min•Season 6Ep. 7
This week we welcome Josh Richards, former West Point hockey player & Army Ranger to Merchants of Change to talk about his military service, transition out of the army, and much more! As a platoon leader in the Army, Josh understands what it takes to be a successful leader. The traits that served him in the military have translated directly to sales success as a Senior Sales Manager with Cherry. 8:24 Military Career 12:55 Advice for Veterans & Companies 23:00 Telling Your Story 28:40 Ski...
Nov 24, 2023•35 min•Season 6Ep. 6
Merchants of Change is back this week with Darnell Shiver, one of our first veteran placements! Darnell currently works as an SDR on the Intent team with Limble. After serving in the army he has made a successful transition to sales and is crushing it so far in his new career! Darnell & JR talk about his military service, his transition into sales, the challenges he faced and that all vets face in their transition, and how his sales career has been going so far. 9:20 Challenges of the Transi...
Nov 16, 2023•35 min•Season 6Ep. 5
One of the most common questions we get from our candidates is "What should I look for in my first company?" For this reason we ask every one of our guests what advice they would give someone looking for their first sales job. These are some of our favorite answers over the past few season of Merchants of Change! 0:32 Marcus Taylor 4:37 Kelly Dostal 8:38 Ken Grohe 16:13 Michael Paladino 19:35 Carrie Bosworth 22:12 Ernest Owusu 25:25 David Fales 29:00 Ryan Baker ----------------------- Connect wi...
Nov 02, 2023•33 min•Season 6Ep. 4
A must-listen episode of Merchants of Change this week, with Jon Sibley, former USC and Team USA water polo player, and founder of TrueBuilt! JR & Jon talk about foundational sales skills that every young sellers needs to develop, building an elite team, and the importance of selling in the CEO role! 5:30 Transition to Sales 11:20 Advice for New Sellers 18:45 Becoming a Founder 23:00 Building Elite Teams 28:35 Elite Sales Skill & Being a Sales Pro ----------------------- Connect with us ...
Oct 26, 2023•31 min•Season 6Ep. 3
Former Green Beret, Matt Parrish, joins the show this week to talk about the transition out of service, what companies can do to help vets succeed, and some awesome stories from his military career! After his service, Matt transitioned to sales where he currently works as the VP of Strategy & Markets for Trifecta and serves as the Executive Director of the Task Force Dagger Special Operations Foundation that supports US special operators and their families. Learn more about Matt and the Task...
Oct 19, 2023•55 min•Season 6Ep. 2
Merchants of Change is back with former Penn State & Bentley Football coach, Bill Kavanaugh! Bill successfully made the transition from coaching to a career in sales and recently started a new role as a Senior Account Executive at Blue Mantis! Former coaches are some of our favorite guests and this conversation is no different. They bring a unique skill set to sales that most people don't have and an approach to the job that sets them up for success! 8:40 Advice for Coaches Making the Transi...
Oct 12, 2023•36 min•Season 6Ep. 1
What makes a true sales professional? Reliabilty! Thanks to Alexa, Sales Director at Datasite, for joining JR for an awesome conversation on athletes in sales! With a focus on the similar mindsets of an athlete and salesperson, understanding if sales is right for you, and the importance of reliability, there is insight for anyone thinking about entering a career in sales. 6:40 The transition from sports to sales 13:00 Advice to young athletes entering sales careers 29:10 Elite Sales Skill 31:05 ...
Sep 28, 2023•34 min•Season 5Ep. 10
If you want to be an entrepreneur and start your own business, you have to be able to sell! Thanks to former baseball player & professional poker player Casey Cavell for joining the show for an awesome conversation on the importance of sales if you want to be an entrepreneur. Casey has helped countless entrepreneurs to help them take their small businesses to the next level, with a primary focus on the ability to sell your vision and product. 2:45 Transition from Poker to Entrepreneurship 12...
Sep 21, 2023•28 min•Season 5Ep. 9
Extremely special episode this week with Eric Kapitulik, Founder and CEO of the Program, former US Marine and Naval Academy lacrosse player! The conversation focuses on being a good teammate and leader in both sports and the office which is the primary ideology of The Program. This is another can't miss episode that will get you fired up and motivated to take your career to the next level! 14:15 How companies can assist in the transition 21:55 The Program 28:30 Being an Elite Seller 38:25 Advice...
Sep 14, 2023•55 min•Season 5Ep. 8
On this week's Merchants of Change, we welcome our first guest in the media sales space, Trent Staley! Trent is a former USC swimmer and is currently the President and COO of Cast Iron Media. JR and Trent talk about the world of media sales, how to get into the career and the career path, advice for young athletes, and much more! 9:40 Transition, Career Path & Importance of Networking 24:39 What is Media Sales 36:44 Ideal Traits in a Potential Hire 47:52 Elite Sales Skill & Being a Sales...
Sep 07, 2023•50 min•Season 5Ep. 7
Flipping the script on this week's Merchants of Change with our CEO JR Butler on the other end of the questions we usually ask our guests and a state of the union on everything Shift Group! Thanks to Tom Sullivan for hosting an awesome conversation about the trajectory of Shift Group, plans for the future, candidate success stories, what we've learned in our first 18 months, and more!
Aug 31, 2023•44 min•Season 5Ep. 6
On this week's episode, we feature some of our favorite responses to what it means to be a true sales professional. We believe the best compliment you can give to a salesperson is that they are a pro, which is why we ask every guest the question. Through the first 4 seasons of the show we've gotten some awesome answers and wanted to share some of the best! 0:00 Intro / 0:33 John Kaplan / 2:36 Melissa Puleo / 3:50 Ernest Owusu / 5:24 Kat Mackey / 7:55 Porchia Jenkins / 9:27 Donell Boucher / 12:38...
Aug 24, 2023•30 min•Season 5Ep. 5
This week on Merchants of Change, Tyler Warden joins JR for an awesome conversation on the world of insurance sales! A former college football & basketball player who is now the Director of Sales for Kin Insurance! Tyler & JR talk about his transition to sales, what the insurance sales world looks like, building effective teams, the hallmarks of a successful insurance sales agent, and much more! 9:40 Transition to Sales 17:40 The World of Insurance Sales 22:00 What Makes a Successful Age...
Aug 17, 2023•43 min•Season 5Ep. 4
Extremely excited to welcome former Navy Seal, Jeff Bull to the show this week for a great conversation on transitioning from military service to a new career in sales! Jeff and JR talk about the challenges of the transition, skills to develop for success, and advice for companies looking to hire veterans. Be sure to check out the non-profit Jeff and his wife founded to support veterans and their families when they transition out of the military at the link below. https://www.epizelus.org/ 12:20...
Aug 10, 2023•54 min•Season 5Ep. 3
Huge shoutout to former Fordham Ram football player, Marcus Taylor, for joining the show this week for a great conversation! JR & Marcus talk about his football career, the transition to sales, his elite sales skill, and what it means to be a true sales professional! After 10+ years of sales as a Senior Director of Sales and VP of Sales with Indeed and Karat, Marcus recently founded his own career & life coaching business, to empower underrepresented minorities to reach their full potent...
Aug 03, 2023•37 min•Season 5Ep. 2
We kick off Season 5 of the Merchants of Change podcast with Joelle Graham, an elite sales leader with medical device giant Stryker! Some incredible insight in this conversation on the world of med device sales, advice for getting into the field, keys to success, and much more! 20:36 Advice for Young Athletes/Sellers 30:45 Build Your Perfect Med Device BDR 38:10 Importance of Mentorship 40:50 Elite Sales Skill & Being a Sales Pro
Jul 27, 2023•45 min•Season 5Ep. 1
We wrap up Season 4 of Merchants of Change with Senior VP of Sales at Checkr and former Jacksonville volleyball player, Carrie Bosworth!! JR and Carrie talk about some of the great companies she's worked at, advice for young sellers, skills to develop, and what she looks for when building out her sales teams! 7:30 Transitioning to Sales 17:15 Advice for Young Sellers & Skills to Develop 29:50 Building Elite Sales Teams 37:17 Elite Sales Skill & Being a Sales Pro...
Jul 13, 2023•43 min•Season 4Ep. 10
Former Marine Scott Campbell joins the show this week to talk about his transition from the military to Medical Device sales! JR and Scott talk about the value veterans bring to sales teams, the challenges of the transition, and key characteristics that have translated successfully from the military to sales! 11:25 Challenges of the Transition 15:30 How Companies Can Support Vets 29:45 Getting into Med Device & Advice for Veterans 38:25 Skills that Translate 49:03 Elite Sales Skill & Bei...
Jun 29, 2023•52 min•Season 4Ep. 9
Former Strength Coach & Assistant Athletic Director at the Citadel, Donnell Boucher joins the show this week to talk about his transition from coaching to sales! We absolutely love having coaches on as they provide a unique perspective on their approach to sales and the way coaching translates to the career. JR & Donnell talk about his career as a player and coach, building the program at the Citadel, characteristics that translate from coaching to sales, his current role with PLAE, and ...
Jun 22, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Season 4Ep. 8
Pumped to welcome former NFL quarterback David Fales to the show this week for an awesome conversation on his transition from the NFL to sales! After a college career at San Jose State and a 7 year career in the NFL, David transitioned to sales with Zoom where he currently works as an Account Executive! 9:30 Transition to Sales 18:25 Why Athletes Succeed in Sales 22:50 Advice for Your 1st Company 36:05 Elite Sales Skill & Being a Sales Pro
Jun 15, 2023•42 min•Season 4Ep. 7
This week former college football player Michael Paladino joins the show for an awesome conversation on transitioning your drive for success from sports into a sales career! JR and Michael talk his transition to sales, what he learned in his early career, skills to become elite, finding a rocket ship company and much more! 5:40 Transition to Sales 13:40 Advice for 1st Company & Early Career 27:40 Skills to Become Elite 33:50 Rocket Ship Companies 37:00 Elite Sales Skill & Being a Sales P...
Jun 08, 2023•43 min•Season 4Ep. 6
Former Babson hockey player and current Enterprise AE with EchoStor Technologies, Jamas LaFreniere joins JR for this week's episode! JR and Jamas talk about his transition to sales and early career with Dell EMC, what to look for in your first company & job, and sales leadership. Perhaps the most important part of the conversation is the work he is doing with the Sophies Hope Foundation, a foundation he started for his daughter who was diagnosed with a rare genetic condition. Please visit th...
Jun 01, 2023•56 min•Season 4Ep. 5
Very special guest this week as we welcome former NFL football player Ernest Owusu to the show for a great conversation! After a successful career at Cal and in the NFL, Ernest transitioned to sales, using the skills that allowed him to reach the pinnacle of his sport to rise to Senior Director of Sales Development with 6sense! 1:00 Football Career 7:40 Transition from the NFL to Sales 22:30 Building the Perfect BDR 32:20 Elite Sales Skill and Being a Pro
May 25, 2023•37 min•Season 4Ep. 4
Jeff White, former college football player, and current ASM with Outset Medical joins the show for an awesome conversation on the career of Medical Device Sales. Jeff has been integral in helping us build our new training program tailored specifically to the career of med device sales! 11:05 What is Medical Device Sales 23:15 Why Medical Device & Choosing Your First Company 30:30 Elite Sales Skill 34:00 Being a Med Device Sales Pro
May 18, 2023•36 min•Season 4Ep. 3
A great episode of Merchants of Change this week with CRO of Taos, Ken Grohe! Ken boasts an impressive sales career spanning over 30 years with companies including Zoom, Barracuda, and Dell EMC! JR & Ken talk about his early career, advice for picking your first company, his proudest career moment, and more! 7:10 Transition to Sales 19:10 Early Career Look Back 26:05 Advice for 1st Company 43:30 Elite Sales Skill 47:18 Being a Sales Professional
May 11, 2023•51 min•Season 4Ep. 2
Incredible conversation to kick off Season 4 of Merchants of Change with Ryan Baker! JR and Ryan talk the transferable characteristics between athletics and sales, skills to develop for success, what makes elite sales leaders, building elite teams, and more! Another episode you don’t want to miss with an athlete turned sales professional! 1:04 Athletic Career & Transition to Sales 15:20 Advice for your First Company 23:25 Sales Leadership & Building Elite Teams 31:55 Elite Sales Skill &a...
May 04, 2023•36 min•Season 4Ep. 1
