Untap Your Sales Potential

Ian Koniak
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Untap Your Sales Potential helps tech sellers close the gap between good and elite. Through real stories of sellers who transformed their results, you’ll learn the mindset, habits, and skills behind top 1% performance. If you know you’re capable of more and want a clear path to get there, this podcast will show you what’s possible and how to achieve it.

  1. 10h ago

    #22 - The Most Ungrateful Gratitude Salesman on Earth | John Israel

    Nine years ago, a guy I just met at a mastermind was in the middle of a strange challenge. He was handwriting five thank you cards a day every day for a full year. This challenge eventually led to a book “The Mr. Thank You Project,” Ted Talk, and professional speaking business.  Not long afterwards, I started my own 365-day challenge, where I posted a motivational video every day for a year on Instagram. Those videos became the foundation of my sales coaching business, which ultimately became Untap Your Sales Potential, the world’s fastest growing sales coaching company.  So it's fair to say this company exists in part because of John Israel. This week I finally got to sit down with John on our monthly Fireside Chat and hear his entire story. Including why he owns 205 chickens on his homestead outside Dallas, Texas.  Here's the part about John most people don't know. John was the #6 seller out of 10,000 reps at Cutco, where he sold gifting services for client appreciation. And in his own words, he had become the most ungrateful gratitude salesman on planet Earth. One evening he got home ready to complain to his wife about his day, and he stopped. She was nursing their newborn with one arm and handwriting a thank you card with the other. He couldn't appreciate this beautiful moment because he was too stressed and overwhelmed.  He has a name for that which he calls “perpetual discontentment.” That never-ending feeling that you aren’t where you’re supposed to be in life.  If you carry a quota, you probably know the feeling. Only allowing yourself to be happy when you’re performing, and typically that happiness is short-lived when you have to start all over again next year.  That was the catalyst. John committed to five handwritten thank you cards a day for 365 days, and that one year turned into a book, a TED talk, and a career built on a single idea: gratitude is one of the biggest, underutilized advantages in sales. We covered a lot in this one: What he actually does with his 205 chickens The four black-and-white rules that made him finish 365 days straight, when most of us quit a challenge by day nineThe $1,000-a-day bet that guaranteed he never missed a single dayThe "Story, Significance, Struggle" formula for building real connections fast (it lines up almost exactly with what we teach for executive conversations)How to make everybody in your life feel safe, seen, significant, and supportedHow he uses strategic gifting to turn expensive, hard-to-reach executives into lifelong customers The quickest way to get yourself to prospect every single day If you've been grinding hard and still can't enjoy the results, this episode is for you.  Learn more at: http://untapyoursalespotential.com/podcast

    #22 - The Most Ungrateful Gratitude Salesman on Earth | John Israel

  2. Sep 1

    #21 - He Just Sold $28M in New Logos! | Mike Webster

    There are only a few individual sellers on the planet who have sold 28M in a single year.  Mike Webster is one of them, and I just interviewed him last week as my Fireside Chat guest.  Mike is a top seller at a leading Microsoft services partner and reseller.  His numbers are absolutely insane – last year he sold over 28M against a 15M quota and had his best year ever.  He has broken 7 figures W-2 for the past several years, and his consistency is off the charts.  During this Fireside Chat, Mike and I dive into the following:  Mike’s origin story and how he transitioned from Field Service to salesWhat character traits, qualities, and actions separate him from other sellersKnowing the value of your time, and your team’s timeHow to become a trusted advisor in his biggest accountsHow to win 75% of your deals, even in competitive situationsWhy walking away early from deals is key to success, and when to walk away And MUCH, MUCH, MORE.  Best of all, Mike is not a sales influencer or guru who gives out sales advice online.  He’s quietly crushing it at his company and practicing what he preaches,  Mike is the real deal, and this is the first public interview he has done where he shares his wisdom with the world.  Enjoy!  Learn more at: http://untapyoursalespotential.com/podcast

    #21 - He Just Sold $28M in New Logos! | Mike Webster

  3. Aug 25

    #20 - He Got Sober Without Rehab or AA | Ed Wakefield

    On paper, Ed Wakefield was successful by every measure. Successful career in B2B sales. President's Club winner at Salesforce. Happily married with two young boys. But behind the scenes, Ed was secretly struggling with alcohol. 18 months ago, he decided to get sober completely on his own.  No rehab, AA, or sponsor. Instead of following conventional paths to sobriety, Ed built his own path based on discipline, replacement habits, changing his environment, and being radically honest with his wife. His wake-up call came while sitting at an airport bar drinking a beer and watching his son's baseball game on his phone. He looked around and saw two other dads doing the exact same thing. Three fathers sitting at a bar, thousands of miles from home, watching their kids as dots on a screen while chasing business success. That moment changed everything and he quit drinking on the spot.  In this week's podcast, Ed shares exactly how he got sober and changed his life. We discuss: The moment he knew he needed to changeThe habits and routines he used to replace alcoholWhy changing your environment is criticalHow sobriety has made him a better husband and fatherThe importance of honesty, discipline, and community This episode isn't just about alcohol. It's about identifying ANYTHING in your life that is holding you back and having the courage to CHANGE IT. Bad habits, addictions, or unhealthy behaviors and vices.  We all have something we can work on. If you know there's something in your life that needs to change but aren’t quite sure how to do it, I strongly encourage you to watch this entire episode. If you tried getting sober on your own and failed in the past, this might be the exact story you need to hear today. Learn more at: https://www.untapyoursalespotential.com/podcast

    #20 - He Got Sober Without Rehab or AA | Ed Wakefield

  4. Aug 18

    #19 - He Closed an $8.5M Deal on the Last Day of the Year | Rob O'Keefe

    Imagine working an 8.5M deal for an entire year, and still having the paperwork unsigned going into the last day of the fiscal year!  That would rattle anybody, but Rob O’Keefe fully trusted that the deal would close on Friday January 30th, and that’s exactly what happened.  He knew this because he had personally brokered 18 meetings between Senior Executives at his company (Docusign) and his customer, and he had a direct line to all key decision makers to ensure it would close on time.  This deal was the largest net new revenue deal of the year at Docusign, and helped Rob nearly triple his earnings from $350,000 to $970,000 W2 his second year in our coaching program, finishing at 248% of quota!  But Rob’s story isn’t just how he closed the big deal. It’s a story of persistence, determination, and resilience.  Before he “boomeranged” back to Docusign, Rob struggled with three and a half years of underperformance at startups. Then he decided to go back to Docusign, and didn’t sell anything for two quarters straight before landing his biggest deal on the last day of the fiscal year.  Most Enterprise reps would have called it quits during that “valley of despair.” But not Rob.  He kept walking the hallways and building relationships with executives at an account which had been neglected for years.  He kept meditating twice a day and fully trusting himself and the process.   And when the deal finally closed, he could breathe a sigh of relief, knowing he had made the right decision returning to Docusign.  On the latest episode of the Untap Your Sales Potential podcast, I sat down with Rob to discuss how he closed one of the biggest deals in Docusign’s history. He gave a Masterclass on how to quarterback and close a massive Enterprise deal, crack into the C-suite, and fully leverage his  executive team to win.  Here is what we covered: How he brokered eighteen C-level meetings for a single deal, and why that level of multi-threading protects a deal when things get shaky at the endHis advice on how to quickly connect with Executives and be seen as a peer at that levelHow to use the org chart as a “treasure map” The two quarters of goose eggs, and exactly how Rob kept faith without the results. The value of meditation, breath work, and simplifying his morning routine The handwritten thank you note and small gift habit that sets him apart from othersWhat happened behind the scenes as the $8.5 million deal came down to the wire Learn more at: https://www.untapyoursalespotential.com/podcast

    #19 - He Closed an $8.5M Deal on the Last Day of the Year | Rob O'Keefe

  5. Aug 11

    #18 - She Sold $200M Despite Her Childhood | Crystal Ives

    $200,000,000. That's how much Crystal Ives has sold in her career against all odds.  Her mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia and spent 7 years in and out of mental hospitals starting when she was 5 years old.  Her father murdered two people and served time in prison.  At 7, her grandfather went bankrupt and gave her up for adoption for a month because he couldn't afford to keep her. Read that again. I recently sat down with Crystal for one of the most powerful Fireside Chats we’ve done. And what struck me wasn’t just what she accomplished. It was how she responded to what happened to her. She refused to let her circumstances define her future. Instead, she decided to break the cycle. As Crystal told me: “My children will have the life I did not have.” One of the things I love most about sales is that it’s a true meritocracy. Anybody can succeed at the highest level, despite the hardships or obstacles they may face growing up.  In fact, many top sellers use those hardships as fuel to move away from a life  they don’t want which they experienced firsthand growing up.  A few of my biggest takeaways from our conversation: 1. Nothing replaces hard work. Pay the price required today for the life you want tomorrow.  2. Find people who can accelerate your growth. Crystal learned from great sellers, mentors, coaches and executives throughout her career. You don’t have to figure everything out on your own.  3. Your energy is your superpower. Crystal shared that what makes her successful is not sales tactics, but her energy and positivity. The best sellers don’t become someone else. They maximize who they already are. 4. Make it easy for customers to buy. Her formula for enterprise sales is simple: make the buying process easy, build widespread organizational support, and minimize friction with the customer during the sales process so they enjoy working with you.  But the biggest lesson had nothing to do with sales. It has to do with resilience.  You don’t get to choose the life you are born into. But you absolutely get to decide what you want to build from it.  Crystal chose to build a life of financial security, success, and safety because that’s what she didn’t have growing up.  And because of her choices, her children will never experience the pain she went through.  “It ran in my family until it ran into me…”  If you've ever told yourself your circumstance and background is the reason you can't win, this one’s for you. Connect with Crystal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/crystalives/ Learn more at: https://www.untapyoursalespotential.com/podcast

    #18 - She Sold $200M Despite Her Childhood | Crystal Ives

  6. Aug 4

    #17 - He Sold $1.2 Billion With a 90% Win Rate! | Bob Koviak

    In this episode, I sat down with Bob Koviak, who sold 1.2B in his career while maintaining a 90% win rate! In his own words, “I don’t lose deals.”  Bob has crossed 7 figures multiple times in his career, and In his last year at Microsoft, he finished at 345% of quota selling Agentic AI solutions. His previous nickname was “Big Deal Bob,” but during our conversation we all agreed that “Billionaire Bob” was more appropriate based on his insane results.  This was one of the most powerful, inspiring conversations I’ve had with any guest. Bob shared his full playbook for finding big deals, gaining access to the C-suite, and selling large transformational deals year after year.  Here’s what we covered in detail:  The 3 non-negotiable things you need in place to win every big deal How to easily identify “change agents” in a large organizationHow to empower your champions to sell when you’re not in the room Why selling outcomes is much more effective than selling softwareHow to get your customers promoted after they do a large deal with youWhy “joint action plans” are more powerful than close plans How sellers can stay relevant in the Age of AIThe downsides of being extremely successful, and the sacrifices Bob madeWhy Bob got sober 7 years ago, and how his life has changed since.  And SO MUCH MORE!  If you are serious about your career and want to know EXACTLY what it takes to become a top software seller, this one’s for you!  Learn more at: http://untapyoursalespotential.com/podcast

    #17 - He Sold $1.2 Billion With a 90% Win Rate! | Bob Koviak

  7. Jul 28

    #16 - She Spent Half Her Savings on Coaching That Turned Into 189% of Quota | Miriam John (MJ)

    Miriam John (MJ) had $27,000 left in her savings account, and took the bold move of spending half of it on coaching.  She had recently moved from India to the UK with her husband and was working in a difficult environment where she was being criticized constantly with no real feedback on how to improve. She was crying herself to sleep most nights. Making the decision meant a hard conversation with her husband, and then with her parents to get their support. That kind of decision takes real courage. For MJ, it paid off completely. Three years later, she has averaged 189% of quota every single year at Mailchimp, where she was the founding EMEA account executive brought in to lead the company's move from mid-market into enterprise. She has landed massive logos including Dyson and Mercedes. She has spoken on stages across Europe, including OMR Hamburg and Mailchimp Connect events in Madrid and London. And she has invested over $30,000 total in her own development between our coaching program and leadership coaching with Kevin Dorsey. But the numbers are not really what this conversation is about. This conversation is about what it actually takes to go from a person who cries every night after work to someone who walks on stage in front of hundreds of people and trains them. It is about the specific, practical tools MJ uses to manage anxiety, protect her relationship, and hit her number every single quarter without burning herself into the ground. Here is what we covered: Leaving a well-established career and reputation in India to move to the UK for her husband's opportunity, and starting over completelyThe toxic work environment at her first UK role, where she was criticized constantly without ever being told what to do differentlyThe moment she and her husband decided to invest nearly half their savings into coaching, and the conversation it took with her parentsWhat it means to be in the valley of despair, and why the breakthrough happens on the other side of the breakdownBeing vulnerable with a new manager about a bad past experience, and what happened when he actually kept his wordThe exact daily system MJ uses to consistently hit 189% of quota: RGAs, time-blocking, and saying no to distractionHer specific prospecting playbook using Gong to mine past conversations for signals, then building hyper-targeted outreach around themWhy she gets a 10% response rate on cold outreach when the industry average is closer to 1%Learning industry-specific jargon and mirroring exact customer language inside every demoHer ongoing IVF journey, sharing it publicly for the first time, and the emotional weight of building a family while building a careerWhat real anxiety management looks like day to day, and the specific habit of catching herself before she falls into old patternsHer advice to anyone hesitant to invest in themselves: find the right person, find the right time, and show up MJ's story is proof that the biggest results rarely come from a single tactic. They come from a person deciding, at real financial and emotional risk, that she was worth the investment. And then showing up, again and again, even on the days it was hardest to. Connect with MJ: https://www.linkedin.com/in/miriamjohn1/ Learn more at: http://untapyoursalespotential.com/podcast

    #16 - She Spent Half Her Savings on Coaching That Turned Into 189% of Quota | Miriam John (MJ)

  8. Jul 21

    #15 - Fireside Chat with Jamal Reimer: How to Close Mega Deals | Jamal Reimer

    In this episode, I interviewed Jamal Reimer, author of Mega Deal Secrets and Founder of Enterprise Sellers. Jamal sold 160M as an individual contributor at Oracle and now writes, coaches, and consults on how to find and close mega deals. In this episode, Jamal openly shares his playbook as we cover the following topics in detail: Why humility is his secret weaponTeam selling: how to lead and quarterback your deal teamExecutive MappingCrossing the chasm: going from average AE to top performerKeys to powerful executive conversations And much, much more! Enjoy! Learn more at: https://www.untapyoursalespotential.com/podcast

    #15 - Fireside Chat with Jamal Reimer: How to Close Mega Deals | Jamal Reimer
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Untap Your Sales Potential helps tech sellers close the gap between good and elite. Through real stories of sellers who transformed their results, you’ll learn the mindset, habits, and skills behind top 1% performance. If you know you’re capable of more and want a clear path to get there, this podcast will show you what’s possible and how to achieve it.

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