Merchants of Change: Recent Episodes
Shift Group
Merchants of Change is a podcast focused on athletes and veterans in sales, transitioning from competitive athletics and military careers to the working world, and advice for your first sales job. Guests will include former professional athletes, veterans, Olympians, and elite college athletes who have gone on to incredible success in sales as individual contributors and sales leaders.
The name “Merchants of Change” is a nod to Jim McInerny, one of JR’s earliest mentors in sales. Jim has mentored and been responsible for hundreds of people getting started and succeeding in sales. Being a “Merchant of Change” has been one of Jim’s cornerstone mantras for his whole career and something that JR has carried with him since seeing the phrase displayed in Jim’s office.
Flipping the script on this week's Merchants of Change with our CEO JR Butler on the other end of the questions we usually ask our guests and a state of the union on everything Shift Group!
Thanks to Tom Sullivan for hosting an awesome conversation about the trajectory of Shift Group, plans for the future, candidate success stories, what we've learned in our first 18 months, and more!
On this week's episode, we feature some of our favorite responses to what it means to be a true sales professional.
We believe the best compliment you can give to a salesperson is that they are a pro, which is why we ask every guest the question. Through the first 4 seasons of the show we've gotten some awesome answers and wanted to share some of the best!
0:00 Intro / 0:33 John Kaplan / 2:36 Melissa Puleo / 3:50 Ernest Owusu / 5:24 Kat Mackey / 7:55 Porchia Jenkins / 9:27 Donell Boucher /
12:38 Scott Campbell / 15:09 Mari Malatos / 16:32 Marcus Taylor / 17:55 Kelly Dostal / 20:14 Jeff Bull / 21:20 Jim Fahey / 22:40 Haley Skarupa
24:05 Zoltan Mesko / 25:08 Jim McInerny
This week on Merchants of Change, Tyler Warden joins JR for an awesome conversation on the world of insurance sales!
A former college football & basketball player who is now the Director of Sales for Kin Insurance!
Tyler & JR talk about his transition to sales, what the insurance sales world looks like, building effective teams, the hallmarks of a successful insurance sales agent, and much more!
9:40 Transition to Sales
17:40 The World of Insurance Sales
22:00 What Makes a Successful Agent
25:55 Building Elite Sales Teams
37:55 Elite Sales Skill & Being a Sales Pro
Extremely excited to welcome former Navy Seal, Jeff Bull to the show this week for a great conversation on transitioning from military service to a new career in sales!
Jeff and JR talk about the challenges of the transition, skills to develop for success, and advice for companies looking to hire veterans.
Be sure to check out the non-profit Jeff and his wife founded to support veterans and their families when they transition out of the military at the link below.
https://www.epizelus.org/
12:20 The transition out of the military and its challenges
26:25 Advice for veterans making the transition
38:10 Translatable skills & telling your story
46:10 Jeff's non-profit
50:50 Elite sales skill & being a sales professional
Huge shoutout to former Fordham Ram football player, Marcus Taylor, for joining the show this week for a great conversation!
JR & Marcus talk about his football career, the transition to sales, his elite sales skill, and what it means to be a true sales professional!
After 10+ years of sales as a Senior Director of Sales and VP of Sales with Indeed and Karat, Marcus recently founded his own career & life coaching business, to empower underrepresented minorities to reach their full potential. Link below for more information on his coaching program!
https://www.marcustaylorcoaching.com/
9:00 His Transition to Sales
16:00 Advice for Your 1st Sales Role/Company
20:20 Marcus Taylor Coaching
32:40 Elite Sales Skill & Being a True Sales Professional
We kick off Season 5 of the Merchants of Change podcast with Joelle Graham, an elite sales leader with medical device giant Stryker!
Some incredible insight in this conversation on the world of med device sales, advice for getting into the field, keys to success, and much more!
20:36 Advice for Young Athletes/Sellers
30:45 Build Your Perfect Med Device BDR
38:10 Importance of Mentorship
40:50 Elite Sales Skill & Being a Sales Pro
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 Building Elite Sales Teams
37:17 Elite Sales Skill & Being a Sales Pro
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 into Med Device & Advice for Veterans
38:25 Skills that Translate
49:03 Elite Sales Skill & Being a Sales Pro
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 the Citadel, characteristics that translate from coaching to sales, his current role with PLAE, and much more!
0:58 Playing & Coaching Career
28:30 Transition to Sales
43:00 Skills that Translate from Coaching to Sales
1:02:30 Elite Sales Skill
1:06:20 Being a Sales Professional
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
36:05 Elite Sales Skill & Being a Sales Pro
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
27:40 Skills to Become Elite
33:50 Rocket Ship Companies
37:00 Elite Sales Skill & Being a Sales Pro
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 foundation he started for his daughter who was diagnosed with a rare genetic condition. Please visit the link below to donate and help find a cure!
https://sophieshopefoundation.org/
16:00 Transition to Sales & The Struggles
30:50 Advice for 1st Company
50:35 Sophie's Hope Foundation
54:40 Being a Sales Professional
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 look for in your first sales role (16:00-21:45) The traits of the most successful BDR's (21:45-30:42) Porchia offers some advice for women getting into sales, find more information in the bio of this episodes Youtube video! (30:42-35:30) Favorite mentors and advice for being one (35:30-42:25) We finish the episode talking about elite sales skills and what being a sales professional means! (43:40-45:59)
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 (18:00-22:00) Patriots vs Mercenaries (22:00-27:10) Early career at Xerox and PTC (27:10-30:45) Favorite memory from working with the juggernaut PTC (30:45-36:45) John tell's the incredible story of when and how the idea for starting Force Management came to be (36:45-43:10) What are the fundamentals to sales success Ascender and MEDDICC focuses on (43:10-47:03) Some of the new initiatives and programs starting with the Ascender program (47:03-50:35) John's favorite mentor in his career (50:35-56:40) What being a sales professional means (56:40-58:43)
Incredible conversation this week with the legend Jim McInery, 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 yourself promoted quickly and efficiently into a closing role (22:30-27:45) As an elite sales leader, Jim talks about some of the key characteristics he looks for when hiring new BDR's (27:45-38:15) A breakdown on what he looks for when promoting people from BDR to a closing/leadership position (38:15-44:00) The most important skill to develop as a technology salesperson (44:00-53:05) Why Jim believes in and loves working with startups (53:05-1:05:00) Why Blink? (1:05:00-1:08:00) What being a sales professional means to Jim (1:08:00)
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 role of BDR (17:00-24:47) Being promoted to AE within a year, Colin talks about the reasons and skills he was able to accomplish that so quickly (24:47-33:10) The skill that makes him an elite sales professional (33:10-37:50) As always we finish the episode with the question "What does being a sales professional mean to you" (37:50-40:05)
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 (15:00-20:45) Haley offers some great advice for women who are interested in entering the field (20:45-26:02) Another great bit of advice on moving up the ladder from a BDR position to AE and management (26:02-29:36) What the BDR/AE relationship looks like and how to ensure you build a strong working relationship (29:36-37:10) Haley talks about some of her mentors who have helped her become so successful so quickly (37:10-39:48) JR asks what the skill that she has developed the most in her time in tech sales (39:48-42:40) What being a sales professional means to Haley (42:40-45:10)
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 career at Babson and his short stint in professional hockey. (12:05:16:40) Zeke talks about his entry into the field and what he enjoyed about it (16:40-23:32) Awesome advice for anyone looking to get into the field no matter what stage of your career you are at (23:32-26:29) His early days in sales and some of the things he learned on how to be successful (26:29-31:00) An outstanding look into Zeke's leadership style and how he has become such an elite sales leader and team builder (31:00-38:45) His new role with CYTRIO has him in charge of building out there first BDR team so he explains the things he is looking for in sales reps that will allow the team to succeed (38:45-45:00) A great most memorable commission check story (45:00-46:40) What being a sales professional means to Zeke (46:40-50:10)
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 together at Turbonomic and their shared mentor Jim McInerny (18:20-23:10) Chris dives into how he found his niche of building and leading sales teams and the key characteristics of the most successful people (23:10-32:10) The guys discuss what mentorship means to them and how they are now passing on what they learned to the next generation of sellers (32:10-35:10) We finish off the episode with Chris's favorite Jim McInery story (35:10-39:00)
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 (8:30-16:25) How things have changed for people entering the job market today (16:25-19:50) How to prepare yourself for the absolute worse case scenario when it comes to your job (19:50-27:00) A little background on Maura's journey and why she believes Hard Experiences = Wisdom (27:00-30:00) How do you know when your in the right career for you and your life (30:00-36:00) Maura gives her keys for helping people preparing for sales job (36:00-41:00) How she points people down the right career path based on their individual skills and desires (41:00-46:00) Maura's favorite career development resources for anyone entering the job market or transitioning the a new career (46:00) Links to Maura's favorite resources can be found in the description for the Episode on our YouTube!
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 generation looking to get into their first career in technology sales (24:15-28:00) Robs talks about his path into tech sales (28:00-32:40) Why athletes make elite salespeople (32:40-37:20) Rob offers some unpopular sales opinions and why he runs his companies and teams the way he does (37:20-42:25) What being a pro means and how it applies to everyday life in the career of technology sales (42:25-45:00)
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 professional hockey in the minors and overseas (17:20-20:40) The transition from sports to a new career and what helped him (20:40-28:40) The skills you learn that apply to every field in the technology sales world (28:40-37:00) How he leads his sales team (37:00-42:10) All time story of his most memorable negotiation (42:10-44:00)
https://merchantsofchange.wordpress.com/2022/09/14/episode-3-andrew-thomas/
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 (23:40-30:45) What it takes to build a Champion (30:45-35:53) Preparation = Professionalism (35:53-38:00)
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 (18:00-22:25) Who Merchants of Change is for and what we will be talking about each week. (22:25-26:00) John's book and how Shift Group was started at a cigar lounge in Scottsdale (26:00-32:18) Where the name Merchants of Change comes from and its significance (32:18-37:53)
Intro to the show with a few hilarious stories from JR and John about their journeys led them into the field of Technology Sales