Merchants of Change

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...

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 int...

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...

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...

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...

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 fo...

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 Build...

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 S...

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:...

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...

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 t...

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 Athl...

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...

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 Sel...

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,...

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/Ment...

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 r...

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...

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 bes...

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...

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:...

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...

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...

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 fo...

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 w...