Merchants of Change

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...

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...

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 col...

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 loo...

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 (18:0...

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 yours...

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...

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...

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 car...

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...

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...

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 genera...

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 p...

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 (...

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:...

Intro to the show with a few hilarious stories from JR and John about their journeys that led them into the field of Technology Sales