
Show Notes
What does it take to go from 38% quota attainment to closing $14 million in a single year, landing one of only 20 elite sales roles in all of SAP, and doing it all as the youngest person on her team (and the only Latina woman in the room)?
For Carolina Chavez, it started with facing herself. Carolina is now an Account Executive in SAP's Strategic Customer Program, where she manages one of SAP's global strategic accounts. She spent two years in Untap Your Sales Potential and during that time tripled her sales production, closed $14 million on a $5 million annual quota, and earned a promotion that only 20 people in the entire company hold. She is also a certified hypnotherapist with over 250 hours of training, a co-founder of the Latinas in Tech Denver chapter, and one of the most self-aware sellers I’ve ever coached. But the version of Carolina who walked into our first coaching call was a completely different person. She had hit only 38% of quota in her first year at SAP. She was the youngest on her team, one of the only women, and had zero enterprise sales experience. She was operating from a place of fear and proving herself to others.
She questioned herself constantly and wondered “why would anyone listen to me?” She was in hustle mode, pouring from an empty cup, and had no idea that the real problem was not her skills. It was what she believed about herself.
And underneath all of that was something even deeper. In 2020, she had been through a traumatic personal event that shook her sense of confidence and safety to its foundation. She eventually had to get a restraining order. She tried traditional talk therapy and it didn’t work. Then she tried hypnotherapy for the first time and was shocked by how much it helped. That experience started a years-long personal healing journey that would eventually transform the way she showed up in every room she walked into.
Here is what we covered on my latest podcast episode: How to go from a new Enterprise Seller with zero experience to closing $14 million on a $5 million quota and earning one of only 20 strategic customer roles at SAP by age 30 Going from hustle mode and proving worthiness to showing up calm and authentic The deep multi-threading playbook she used to break through IT and build C-suite relationships at a 20-year customer who had never once responded to outreach How she went back to a prospect's college years on LinkedIn to find a warm path to a chief accounting officer and what happened when she finally got the meeting Her morning routine: hypnotherapy, movement, visualization, and why she calls it non-negotiable Why investing $18,000 in coaching transformed her sales and life How she was able to rise above a traumatic experience through hypnotherapy, and her powerful advice for anybody who remains stuck because of their trauma What she would tell anyone sitting at 38% quota right now who feels like the role is beyond them
Carolina's story is proof that the inner work is not separate from the results. When you do the work on yourself, your results skyrocket.
Learn more at https://www.untapyoursalespotential.com/podcast
More from Untap Your Sales Potential
Salman Mohiuddin was once put on a PIP. His manager asked him, “Is sales even right for you?” He started looking at marketing and finance jobs as a backup plan. Instead of leaving, he looked deeply in the mirror, asked what he could do better, and committed to improving every day. He went on to spend 17 years as a top performing AE at IBM, Salesforce, and Asana. He closed the biggest deals of his career and finished as the top AE on his team. And he did it without ever having a drink at a happy hour, without missing his prayers, and with his phone put away for two hours every night so he could be present with his wife and three daughters. Today Salman is one of the best sales coaches in the world. And I’m thrilled to share he just joined our coaching team at Untap Your Sales Potential. This episode is two top sales coaches breaking down exactly what it takes to go from average to elite seller, including: Why deals are won and lost in discovery, and how to get to the “why” behind the problem How to quantify pain using the metrics your buyer is measured on Why understanding the problem your clients face is much more important than understanding your product Where most reps lose control of their deals (right after the demo) How to ensure 70% of your calendar get allocated to revenue-generating activities Why he decided to join the Untap coaching team How to win in sales without compromising your faith, values, or family People think you have to choose between success and your values. Salman and I are proof you don’t. Learn more about Untap Your Sales Potential at: https://untapyoursalespotential.com/podcast/
A few years ago, Eric Cullen wasn't sure he should even stay in sales. This year, at 50 years young, he's on track to earn $1M. For most of his career, Eric made around $300K a year and hovered right around his number. Some years a little above plan, some years a little below, but he never broke through to the next level. . I first met Eric at Salesforce eight years ago. At 47, he joined Untap Your Sales Potential and we started working together. At his first mastermind, I had everyone close their eyes and picture where they would be in 1 year. People were crying and writing in their journals. Eric saw nothing. That moment made him look inward and realize something had to change. The next two years were the two biggest years of his career. Last year he finished at 155% of quota and made President's Club. This year he got promoted, and he's on pace for the best year of his career. The biggest shift was why he was selling. Eric used to wake up every day thinking, "I gotta make money, I gotta make money." As he puts it, he was coin-operated, and customers picked up on that. Coaching got him out of that mentality. Now he shows up to make his customers the hero of their own story. He does the work to understand what executives care about most in his accounts, and brings them bold ideas nobody else is bringing. The money followed. He transformed at home too. He used to be impatient with his family. Now he walks out of his office at five o'clock with enough energy left in the tank to throw the football with his son. As Eric told me, without coaching he'd be in the same place he was a few years ago. Unhappy, frustrated, and probably looking for a new job. Eric's story proves something I believe with my whole heart. When you put others first and help them succeed, the money follows. In this week's podcast, Eric shares how he transformed his career and what it took to get there. We discuss: How he let go of the "coin-operated" mindset and the impact it had with customers. The moment that made him realize something had to change How to sell consumption instead of licenses, and the transition from Salesforce to Databricks. Why he chose a hunter role instead of a farmer role. How to build a CFO ready POV by understanding a company’s financials. How to get to the business when you sell a technical product How he's become more patient at home, and the marriage advice I shared at the end If you're a good seller who knows there's another level in you, I strongly encourage you to watch this entire episode. Eric’s story will inspire you and give you the exact blueprint you need to succeed. If you've ever told yourself you're too far into your career to transform how you sell, this might be the exact story you need to hear today. Learn more about Untap Your Sales Potential at: https://untapyoursalespotential.com/podcast/
The night after Ian Mai closed the biggest deal in his company's history, he couldn't sleep.
Last week I had my mind blown by one of our clients Ahiman Alexander, who doubled his income during his time in our program from $220K to $420K/year. The thing that impressed me most about Ahiman is that he found a way to apply strategic selling skills to his mid-market role at Asana, and scale this approach across 4,000 accounts! His average deal size is just 15K, yet he will sell over 2M this year. That’s 10-12 deals per month! He set the record for the biggest deal in his division, and closed over 500K last quarter and is very close to hitting his aspiration goal of $750K this quarter. Before joining the program, Ahiman was in a dark place, losing his father and mother in-law in a period of 6 months. That’s when he decided to go ALL IN on the program, and applied nearly everything I teach to his sales and personal life. Here are the 10 things he applied which made the biggest impact: Mindset 1. He found his why and connected it deeply with a daily mission statement. 2. He shifted from an inward to outward focus. Instead of trying to sell, he focused on serving 3. Stoicism + Process thinking – he detached from the results and attached to the inputs Habits 4. He joined a 12 week year accountability group and sold more in 12 weeks than most do in a year at his company 5. Addition by subtraction – he cut out the habits that no longer served him in his personal life 6. He set boundaries around his work hours so he could be present with his family at home Selling Skills 7. He applied the 80/20 rule and had 80% of revenue come from 20% of his deals 8. He had rigorous prospecting discipline and made sure to complete 50 touches per day 9. Qualifying ruthlessly – every deal had to complete a PREDICT scorecard(opens in new tab) 10. He coached and educated his clients on how to buy software and controlled the process. Every month I run a Member spotlight, where our members get the opportunity to receive coaching from our top performing clients. This month’s member spotlight with Ahiman was so powerful that I asked if he’d be willing to share the recording with my public audience. He graciously obliged. If you want to change your sales and your life very quickly, check out this video and hear exactly how Ahiman transformed himself and his results in such a short period of time. I know you will be deeply inspired after hearing his story. I will also serve as a wake-up call to execute every day, serve your clients, and give everything you got so that you can become a person you are truly proud of and get the results you always dreamed of!
Christi Civalier was crushing it in sales and making half a million a year, but something was missing. Deep inside she knew there was another level of selling she had yet to reach. She felt stuck in her career, and had hit a ceiling.. Five years ago, while I was still working at Salesforce, she started messaging me whenever I posted on LinkedIn, asking to work together. At the time I had no capacity for 1:1 coaching, and told her to stay patient until I launched my coaching business. When the first cohort of Untap Your Sales Potential opened, she was the second person to sign up. She still calls herself an OG. We coached together for three years, which turned out to be the best years of her career. She mastered executive selling, and consistently closed large, transformational software deals. She had so much success in the program, that I asked her to coach on my team as a side hustle. Then her clients started seeing similar results. One of her clients just closed a $34 million deal. He got there because Christi talked him into walking away from a smaller deal he had been chasing for months, which freed up his time and attention to go find a much bigger deal! She found coaching so fulfilling that she decided to quit Corporate Sales entirely this year to coach full time. Christi’s story is inspiring and powerful. She's 59 years young, and a single mom to two teenage daughters. She’s the breadwinner in her house, and walked away from a lucrative sales career to follow her passion and make an even bigger impact in the world. She just finished writing a book, which will be released in a few months. In this week's podcast, Christi shares how she reinvented herself and how she now coaches sellers to do the same. We discuss: Why successful and stagnant is such a dangerous place to be What she learned at Untap your Sales Potential, and how it helped her reach the next level of selling What the million dollar earners actually do differently with their time Why she left a successful sales career at 59 and started over The book she's writing, Identity Under Pressure, and who it's for If you look successful on the outside and feel stagnant on the inside, I strongly encourage you to watch this entire episode. If you have ever told yourself it's too late to become the person you know you could be, this might be the exact story you need to hear today. Learn more at: https://www.untapyoursalespotential.com/podcast