Changing Lives Selling Knives

Ben Kooper has been the #1 college-student sales rep in the Cutco/Vector Marketing sales organization over the past 4 years. Ben has sold over $584,000 of Cutco, and will graduate with a 3.5 GPA as an Aerospace Engineering major on June 11th, 2022. His list of achievements begins with a 10K Fast Start, 20K Push his first Summer, and Assistant Manager leadership on one of the top teams in the Weste...

Jake Dougherty runs the Grand Rapids District for the Cutco/Vector Marketing sales organization, and has also been appointed to serve as Assistant Division Manager in the Michiana (MI-IN) Division. He went to The Ohio State University with aspirations to follow in his parents' footsteps as a teacher. After graduating, he found that serving as a District Manager was the right fit for his career. Ja...

As we once again mourn the tragic loss of 21 lives in an elementary school shooting — 2 teachers and 19 children — we felt compelled to use this platform to share some brief thoughts. Dan Casetta is the host of Changing Lives Selling Knives. Neither left or right of the political center, he's a part of the radical middle, simply believing in what's right, which means constantly evolving and lookin...

Andy Nagel runs the Virginia Beach District for the Cutco/Vector Marketing sales organization, and has also been appointed to serve as Assistant Division Manager in the high-performing Virginia Division. His early aspirations centered around medical school. But with Vector, Andy found a career that fulfilled his professional desires. Over the past decade, he has experienced highs and lows, a criti...

Mark Lovas is truly one of the most legendary figures in Cutco/Vector Marketing history. As a Branch Manager in Tacoma WA, Mark was #1 in the Nation, winning his first Silver Cup. As a Division Manager, Mark's team was #1 in the Nation an unprecedented 4 years in a row. His leadership in the Western Region set that organization on a path of 12 consecutive Silver Cups. After leaving Cutco/Vector, M...

Creating a great organizational culture is at the forefront of any leader's mind. It's the one key factor that affects everything else, so it's critical to craft and shape and develop. Shelby (Wildgust) Brandt has spent her entire life on an entrepreneurial journey of discovery, learning about herself, others, business, and life. As Cutco/Vector Marketing's Program Development Manager, Shelby has...

Brian Stephenson is Division Manager for the Southern Tide Division of Cutco/Vector Marketing, headquartered in Birmingham, AL. After a period of uncertainty in his career, Brian truly leveraged the impact of the leaders in his life to establish a compelling vision for himself and for his team. By enrolling many others in this vision, Brian has been able to become one of the most prolific develope...

Chris White was a top-selling Cutco rep while in college from 2008 to 2011. He carried his skills and experience into the clothing industry, ultimately founding Shinesty in 2014. Shinesty sells fun or humorous clothing products that are designed for "good times with good people," and reminds us all to avoid taking ourselves too seriously by bringing a spirit of fun and levity to its customers and...

Katie Lance is the Founder & CEO of Katie Lance Consulting, where she specializes in social media, tech trends, video marketing, and content strategy. After a successful 10-year run with Cutco/Vector, Katie got into a career in marketing, branding, and social media strategy, then started her own business in 2012. In striving to stay on top of the social media wave, Katie has developed her expertis...

Dr. Benjamin Hardy is an organizational psychologist and the bestselling author of books such as "Willpower Doesn't Work," "Personality Isn't Permanent," and "Who Not How." From 2015 to 2018, Dr. Hardy was the #1 writer IN THE WORLD on Medium, where his blogs have been viewed over 100 million times. He contributes regularly to Inc. and Psychology Today, and his current blog is read monthly by mill...

Kyle Lopes has achieved unprecedented success at multiple roles in the Cutco/Vector sales organization. He became the first college student to reach $1 million in personal sales and get inducted into the company's Hall of Fame. Later, after his graduation from Columbia University, Kyle became a Branch Manager with Vector and finished the Summer #1 in the company out of over 300 BMs, annihilating t...

Dushka Zapata is one of the most popular and influential writers in the world. Her brilliant essays have been viewed over 200 million times on Quora and through her social media, and have been compiled into 14 amazing books, including her newest work releasing May 2022. Dushka was born in Mexico and has lived in multiple countries, through which she has developed an appreciation for, and deep unde...

Mike Lonzetta is a Hall of Fame Cutco sales rep who has evolved into an inspirational coach and speaker. Mike's coaching impact started in Vector's Gulf Coast Division, and has expanded nationally, where he has impacted a large number successful managers and become known as the "DOC" or District Office Coach. Mike has studied coaching concepts under such luminaries as Tony Robbins and Brendan Burc...

Stacy Campbell is the Lone Star Division Manager for Cutco/Vector Marketing, headquartered near Austin TX. A long-time member of the company's Hall of Fame, Stacy has now produced over $103 million in career Cutco sales. His Division accomplished the rare feat of a Double Silver Cup in both the Total Sales and Top Eight categories for Divisions in Vector Marketing in 2021. Stacy is known as a mast...

Chris Hammond is the Empire Division Manager for the Cutco/Vector Marketing sales organization, headquartered in Rochester, NY. A veteran with the company since 1993, Chris has produced over $93 million in sales, making him one of the top all-time achievers in the company's Hall of Fame. Throughout his great career, Chris has truly been a shining example of enjoying the journey. He makes work fun,...

Warren Herring is the President & CEO at TrustCare Health, a group of primary and urgent care clinics in Mississippi and Alabama. Warren first learned some core business principles as a sales rep then District Manager with Vector Marketing. After finishing his Masters at Tulane University, he got into the Health Care industry by opening his first clinic in the Jackson, MS area. Through having long...

Steve Heroux is a leading authority on selling in today's marketplace. As the Founder & CEO of Victory Selling, Steve teaches insights through sales coaching and keynote speaking, including being a feature speaker for the CEO group, Vistage. He authored the book, "Sales Is Not A Dirty Word," and he has pioneered the "Sales DNA Test." Steve has been a champion salesperson in multiple industries, in...

John Fiacco is one of the foremost experts in the Cutco/Vector Marketing sales organization in the areas of recruiting, training, and leadership. He was a Hall of Fame District Manager in Cutco/Vector Marketing who has evolved into a unique position that's tailor-made for his skill-set. As National Training & Recruiting Programs Manager, John shares his expertise with managers all across the compa...

Vonny Fast is the #1 all-time Cutco rep in Canada, and #5 overall in Cutco's 70-year history with over $7 million in personal sales. As one of the key pioneers of the Closing Gift Consultant program, she was the first CGC to reach $1 million in gift sales. She has been featured as the opening speaker at Cutco's North American rep conference. Vonny attributes her success to a desire to bring value,...

Kevin Barthe has been one of the most successful District Managers in the Cutco/Vector Marketing sales organization. A 12-year veteran with the company, he has been a cornerstone of the juggernaut, multiple National Champion Rocky Mountain Division, serving as Assistant Division Manager for several years. He recently achieved his $10 million in sales milestone, qualifying for the company Hall of F...

Tim Nikolaev was a successful Cutco sales rep turned prolific real estate investor. Focusing primarily on mobile home parks, Tim and his wife have managed to accumulate over 500 rentals in about 10 years, enabling them to essentially retire from the traditional workplace. Tim has taught 3 classes in the MBA Program at the exclusive Acton School of Business, where he was named Teacher of the Year....

Eric Gillman is an Elite Cutco Sales Professional who has accumulated over $3.3 million in personal sales, and was over $500K in 2021. Eric is taking a special journey from Miami to San Diego on his bicycle in support of Angel Wings International and the free medical clinic that they have built and run in Haiti. Eric is striving to build hope in Haiti and throughout all of his communities by inspi...

Dave Powders is the Bay Area Division Manager for Cutco/Vector Marketing. A veteran of over 23 years with the company, Dave is responsible for over $59 million in sales, and is a long-time member of the Cutco/Vector Hall of Fame. Dave has had a unique opportunity to establish meaningful relationships in 3 different Regions of the company, and to learn from key mentors all across the country. Now,...

Nik Leindecker has been one of the most consistent top performers in the District Manager ranks in Cutco/Vector Marketing in recent years. His Anoka County (MN) team was #1 in the company's Elite League category as of the recording of this episode. Nik was also appointed to be the Assistant Division Manager in the North Star Division in 2020, working closely with Dane Espegard. He's a graduate of...

Anthony Garcia is an expert in sales training, recruiting, goal-achievement, and motivating salespeople to peak performance. As a 20+ year veteran of sales and sales leadership, Anthony has achieved top accolades in the Cutco/Vector Marketing sales organization, in business-to-business sales in the payroll industry, and in the challenging medical sales industry. In his book, Catapulting Commission...