Chris Orlob

Grew Gong from $200k to $200M+ | Online Courses for SaaS Sellers (pclub.io) | Solving Revenue Hiring (QuotaSignal)

"You can have anything you want if you master every aspect of selling." My mentor told me that over a burger when I was 22 years old. Having only $40 to my name, along with a wife and my first child to support, I took that seriously. I made a commitment to master every aspect of selling, and to earn more money than I could imagine. And I was going to do it in SaaS.

When I first became an account executive, I struggled to find repeatable, consistent success. Some months I did well. Some I missed by a mile. After reading hundreds of books (literally) and debriefing every one of my sales calls (thousands) in a journal, I started to crack the code, little by little. 

Soon, things started to go incredibly well. I started to earn multiple six figures a year, which helped me launch my first business. Not too long later (after plenty of mistakes!), I joined forces with a little company called Gong.io, while they were doing less than $200,000 a year in ARR. Figured I'd help them grow to $10M and be done.

5.5 years later, we grew from $200k to $200 million in ARR and a $7.2 billion valuation. I was fortunate enough to earn my first seven-figure income. A decade pursuit of mastering every aspect of sales had come to fruition (though I'm still not done). That felt amazing. 

I kept finding myself telling people, "You can have anything you want if you master every aspect of selling," just like my mentor had told me all those years ago. Because I experienced it first-hand.

My passion for mastering every aspect of selling started to extend to helping OTHER people do it. Soon, I started pclub.io - a business dedicated to helping B2B tech salespeople master every aspect of selling (and earn more money than they've ever dreamed of). 

Since starting, I've helped over 11,000 sales professionals and leaders. Many of which have gone on to turbo charge their sales success:

“Exceeded 245% of my target." -Christian Allen, AE at ZoomInfo

"CLOSED the most ARR in company history” -Marshall Weil, AE at Freewill

"Made 152% of my number” -Jasi Johnson, AE at Gartner

"I made it to Club One - the new program rolled out for the top 1%. -David Rosenstein, AE at LinkedIn


Many of these stories included people who started out thinking, "Maybe this is possible for other talented people, but not for me." But selling is nothing more than a series of skills. Anyone can master it, and I can teach you how.

Like I always tell people, "you can have anything you want if you master every aspect of selling."

Begin writing YOUR success story by visiting www.pclub.io

Co-Founder & CEO

pclub.io is the #1 skill transformation platform for revenue teams. We work with the top 0.01% of sales earners, practitioners, and leaders to create top-rated online courses that help you grow your sales skills to life-altering levels. Instead of spending years mastering sales through trial and error or going through stodgy ‘one size fits all’ sales training, you’ll get to the steal the playbooks, frameworks, and skills of the top 0.01% sales earners on the planet, accelerating your mastery curve, income, and revenue to unrecognizable levels.

I watched a rep lose a $400K deal in 30 seconds. Not because of price. Because of one sentence: "So, uh, what do you think we should do next?"

The buyer paused.

Then said: "Let me think about it and get back to you."

That deal never closed.

Here's what happened:

The rep gave away all their power by asking the buyer to lead.

I see this constantly.

AEs end calls with:

- "What are your thoughts on next steps?"

- "Where do you want to go from here?"

- "What makes sense to you?"

They think they're being collaborative.

But they're actually communicating:

"I don't know what we should do. You figure it out."

The best AEs?

They ALWAYS know the next step.

Before the call even starts.

They end calls with:

"Based on what we discussed, here's what I recommend we do next. We should schedule 45 minutes next Thursday with you and your VP of Sales to walk through how this impacts your Q2 plan. I'll also bring my CRO to speak to the executive-level implications. Does that feel like the right next step?"

Notice the difference?

One is asking.

One is leading.

Here's the truth:

You've sold your product 100+ times.

Your buyer has bought it 0-1 times.

Who should be leading?

You.

Selling is an act of leadership.

If you don't know the WHAT (next step), WHO (involved), and WHY (reasoning), you're not leading.

You're following.

And followers don't close deals.

Leaders do.

The question:

Are you leading your deals or following your buyers?

P.S. We’re opening an “early access” VIP list to our coming Black Friday annual enrollment event to get in before the rush crowd. Join here: https://lnkd.in/g6ntF9Xb

JSESSIONID

li_at

CEO at pclub.io - helped grow Gong from $200K ARR to $200M+ ARR, now building the platform to uplevel the global revenue workforce. 50-year time horizon.

Sales leaders: After working with 5,000 revenue orgs, I've seen 5 patterns in every great sales team.

From InsideSales, to Gong, to pclub.io – my career has been in the walls of revenue teams.

5 things the best do:


1. They know where they win.

They don’t chase the market.

They chase the segment where they have unfair advantage.

They define a surgical ICP and stop wasting cycles on deals that never close.

They’re obsessed with:

• Where they win
• Where they lose
• Where win-rate is too low

Then they operationalize it.

They don’t just "know" where they win.

They run the business around it.

One CRO I talked to said this:

“If you want higher close rates, stop chasing bad deals.”


2. They’re obsessed with narrative.

Once they know the territory, they design the narrative that unlocks it.

They refine messaging until buyers think:

“They understand my world better than I do.”

Narrative isn’t a marketing exercise.

It’s fuel that drives revenue.

When you nail it, everything is easier.

Whether it’s the CMO, CRO, or even CEO, someone holds this job:

“Chief Narrative Officer.”


3. They build a performance culture.

The best sales teams take a page from Netflix:

“We’re not a family. We’re a pro sports team.”

• Camaraderie? Yes.
• Psychological safety? Yes.

But also:

We’re here to perform.

If someone isn’t pulling their weight, the culture addresses it.

Elite teams balance two forces:

A) High standards
B) High safety

The paradox:

The more transparent you are about:

• Performance expectations
• PIP criteria

…the less fear exists.

Performance expectations create short-term fear.

But ambiguity creates permanent fear.

Open expectations remove "wondering."

Reps know where they stand.

That frees them.


4. They build rock-solid stages & exit criteria.

Great teams don’t use vague stages like Discovery → Demo → Proposal.

They design a sales process that exposes the reality of a deal.

• Clear stage definition
• Binary exit criteria
• Aging discipline

This clarity drives predictability:

• Reps stop guessing
• Managers coach w/precision
• Forecasts stop lying

Process definition is the compass.

But here’s the trap:

Having a clean process still isn't enough for consistency.

Sales stages and exit criteria only define what to do.

They do not equip reps with how to do it.


5. They treat skills like a performance system.

Strong leaders don’t just tell reps what to do.

They build the skill capacity to do it.

Once you define a great process, a hard truth emerges:

Many reps don’t have enough skill capacity to do it.

Great teams systematize skill excellence.

They treat skill capacity like a monetizeable asset.

These teams don’t view skills as “our people should already have these.”

They design skill profiles, measure them, train them.

Process without skill is academically strong, commercially weak.

Skill without process is chaos.

Do both?

You unlock revenue excellence.

Which of these 5 stood out most?

If you work in sales and you're not locked in, focused, maximizing your productivity during working hours? You're wasting the reason to be in the profession.

Sales is the highest paid hard work and the lowest paid easy work.

You can half-ass your way to a decent living in sales.

But $300K? $500K? Seven figures?

That game only rewards the serious.

A multimillionaire once told me: "Rule #1: Thou shalt not f*** around."

He smiled when he said it. 

But I could tell he wasn't joking.

Here's what I see most reps doing:

They show up. 

They take calls. 

They send emails.

But they're not locked in.

They're distracted. 

They're coasting. 

They're treating it casually.

And then they wonder why they're stuck at $150K while their peers are clearing $400K.

The difference?

The top reps treat sales like a performance job.

Because it is.

They manage their time like a CEO.

They manage their energy like an athlete.

They invest in their skills like their income depends on it because it does.

If you're in sales for the money, act like it.

Lock in. 

Focus. 

Maximize every hour.

Or get out and do something easier.

Because if you're going to treat it casually, you're in the wrong profession.

P.S. If you want the exact 50 questions I use to build pain, urgency, and desire in deals, grab the full list here ➡️ https://lnkd.in/g2giY-ab

The BEST sales lesson I ever got came from a billionaire's head of sales: "Are we lying, cheating, or stealing? I've never seen growth this fast."

That was Charlie Munger asking Chet Holmes.

Chet had just taken a magazine from dead last (15th out of 15) to #1 in market share.

In 3 years.

Here's what he did:

He identified 167 accounts that represented 95% of industry revenue.

Then he STOPPED pursuing the other 1,833 accounts.

Completely.

Cold turkey.

Instead, he focused 100% of his energy on those 167.

Mailed them every 2 weeks.

Called them every 2 weeks.

Faxed them every 2 weeks.

For 4 months: Zero responses.

But he didn't quit.

Month 5: Landed Xerox (biggest deal in company history).

Month 6: Had 28 of the 167.

3 years later: Had all 167.

Every. Single. One.

Here's what this taught me:

Most AEs spread themselves too thin.

They chase every lead.

They respond to every inbound.

They try to close everyone.

And they end up closing no one.

The best AEs?

They identify their top 20% of accounts.

Then they ignore the rest.

They run a relentless, multi-month campaign on their dream accounts.

Not one email.

Not one call.

A drumbeat.

I did this at Gong:

We had Tier 1 accounts.

Every rep could answer: "What are you doing to break into [Tier 1 account]?"

Not "I sent an email last week."

But "I've been running a 6-month campaign with executive outreach, direct mail, and strategic touches."

The lesson:

Stop chasing everyone.

Start obsessing over the accounts that matter.

Then run a campaign so persistent they can't ignore you.

That's how you go from 15th to 1st.

P.S. Are you a seller who refuses to be average? We’re opening an “early access” VIP list to our coming Black Friday annual enrollment event to get in before the rush crowd. Secure first-access here: https://lnkd.in/g6ntF9Xb

The biggest shift in B2B sales that no one is talking about:

Sales is becoming PROFESSIONALIZED.

The old era was simple:
• Charisma
• Dinners
• Being good with people

That era is fading fast.

The new era is different:
• Precision
• Strategy
• Engineered deal process
• Skill depth

The old era was revenue backslappers.

The new era is revenue athletes.

The teams who embrace this shift will dominate the next decade.

Buyers who decline calendar invites... but then offer up several available times to reschedule... You are a hero to salespeople everywhere.

Tech sales is one of those rare careers that breaks social classes, fast.

People in lower class backgrounds can quickly break into the upper class.

And with a much lower barrier to entry than other careers.

I've seen people go from $40k to $200k in about 18-24 months.

I've seen people in their mid 30s become seven-figure earners.

Tech sales is truly an economic equalizer. 

#techsalesforpresident

"You have no ****ing idea what my day looks like."

The VP Sales practically YELLED that at me.

Spiraling me into a 37 minute depression.

I was running a sales demo early in my sales career.

This hard-nosed VP Sales was my potential buyer.

And that's what he blurted out at the end.

Right after I asked him how the demo was resonating.

No doubt this guy was tough.

You could even call him a jerk.

But sensing he just crushed the soul of a new AE just trying to figure things out, he softened up:

"Look, you didn't do a bad job. You know your product well," he said.

"But you're the one who asked for this meeting. And you showed me 7 or 8 things. Only one of them would even somewhat help me," he went on.

"The rest of them? I'm not even sure what they solve." He said bluntly.

"You could have left those other 7 things out of this demo entirely."

Those words hung in the air like cigar smoke floating out of this mouth.

I stewed on this every night for a few weeks.

Seeing the same thing happen to my peers, I came up with a new rule:

Every feature had to EARN its spot in my demo.

To make the cut, I'd need to be able to finish one of these sentences:

FIRST:

"Earlier, you shared you were struggling with X. Let me show you how we address that."

SECOND:

"Many of our customers struggled with Y. Is that the case with you? [If yes]: Ok. Let me show you how we address that."

If I couldn't finish one of those?

Then that feature was "cut from the team."

At least for THAT particular demo.

The lesson?

Solve your buyers' problem exactly.

No less.

But also: No more.

Ok.

P.S. If you want the exact 50 questions I use to build pain, urgency, and desire in deals, grab the full list here ➡️ https://lnkd.in/g2giY-ab

Be the kind of salesperson that it would suck to compete against.

Most AEs get the first 5 minutes of a discovery call wrong. They either don't set the stage at all or they overcomplicate it (and sound weird).

Here's the framework I've used to set up thousands of sales calls and avoid friction with your buyer:

STEP 1: Transition from small talk.

After spending a few minutes on rapport, you need a smooth way to transition to business.

Best phrase I know to do it?

"Mind if we talk through the agenda?"

STEP 2: Set the objective.

This is NOT the agenda.

The agenda is the LINE ITEMS of things you'll discuss.

The objective is the OUTCOME of the meeting.

Complete this sentence:

"Here's what I have in mind for the objective of this meeting. Let me know if you have anything else in mind? This meeting will be successful if _______________."

Notice the 'softening language.'

You're making a firm suggestion wrapped in soft language.

That gives your buyer a sense of control and autonomy.

Plus, it eases any initial 'sales resistance' they have.

STEP 3: Set the agenda.

With the outcome of the meeting defined, NOW you can set the agenda.

Here's the key:

Propose 2-3 topics that SERVE the objective you just established.

"The way we can accomplish the objective is by talking through a couple things. First, _______________. And then, _______________.

Does that feel right?"

STEP 4: Set the DECISION to be made at the END of the call.

Let your buyer know you'll want both of you to be in a position to make some sort of decision at the END of the call.

That makes it FAR easier to secure next steps (or disqualify if it makes sense).

"By the end of the meeting, it would be a win if we're both in a position to decide either it makes sense to schedule a next logical step based on what we learned, or that it doesn't, and we can revisit another time."

STEP 5: Gain alignment with the 'F-Word'

End your talk track with:

"Does that feel like a fair way to approach the call?"

This accomplishes two things:

- They're aligned and feel ownership
- They are likely to agree (hard to disagree with 'fair')

Put all those together in a concise, 30-second sound bite.

You've got a formula for better sales calls.

P.S. Hey AEs — your comp plans isn’t the problem. Your skill gaps are.

Take this 2-minute quiz to see exactly how much income you’re missing out on.

Average results: $39,392 left on the table.

Where do you stack up: https://www.pclub.io/quiz

Being an account executive is better than getting an MBA.

You will become better at:

- Sales
- Writing
- Finance
- Leadership
- Negotiation
- Business acumen
- Time management
- Managing difficult people

It's truly a real-world MBA.

I can't think of any other profession where you can make multiple six-figures in your 20s without an Ivy League degree.

The problem?

Most salespeople "fell into" sales.

They don't take it seriously.

So they squander the opportunity.

And instead use their commissions to live a drunken existence on the weekends.

But if you lean in to this opportunity?

Like... TRULY lean in and master it?

You can write your own check.

And maybe even retire before you're 40.

P.S. If you want the exact 50 questions I use to build pain, urgency, and desire in deals, grab the full list here ➡️ https://lnkd.in/g2giY-ab

19 sales cheat codes I wish I knew when I started out:

1. Buyers will spend more to relieve pain than to achieve gain. Stop obsessing about product benefits. Start obsessing about customer problems.

2. The biggest opportunity your competition is probably not leveraging is deep multi-threading.

3. The demo flow your product team teaches you never works. They mean well, but they are too interested in making customers aware of every feature. Only show the features that solve problems. Leave off the rest.

4. One of the best sales hacks is responding fast. Responding fast to inbound leaders. Responding fast to prospect emails. Buyers mirror your speed.

5. Personalization will help you book more outbound meetings. But there are diminishing returns. Adding way too much personalization creates a lot of work and doesn’t add to conversion.

6. Offering an 'end of month' discount only ever works if your buyer has total control over pulling the trigger. If they have to get approval from others, go through legal, procurement, etc. it’s not going to move the needle.

7. Spend more time getting new influencers up to speed on past conversations you’ve had with their colleagues.

8. A great question will always have more influence power than a great statement.

9. People don’t buy because of ROI. ROI doesn’t create demand. It justifies demand. Position your ROI accordingly.

10. Your perfect sales technique will not close the deal if you're talking to the wrong person. I still remember the best discovery call I've ever run. I didn't close the deal. Wrong person.

11. Social selling isn't better than cold email. Cold email isn't better than cold calling. These channels work together. Leverage them as 'land, sea, and air.' Stop thinking binary.

12. If you can describe your buyer's problem better than they can describe it, their light bulbs will turn on. It's a beautiful thing. Buyers favor the seller that can best articulate their problems.

13. Get to know your market like the back of your hand. If you know your buyers so well that you can peer into their soul, you'll rarely lose.

14. Buyers never reveal the real problem after the 1st or 2nd question. Uncovering the 'need behind the need' is the closest thing to a magic bullet in sales.

15. Executives want to know you've done your homework. If you show up to a sales call with a C-SUITE exec and ask a generic question, you'll lose them forever.

16. Never negotiate price until it's the last open issue. If agreeing on price doesn't close the deal, it's too early to negotiate.

17. Every time you demo a feature, preface it with the problem it solves. You'll double your demo effectiveness with this change alone.

18. Stop blaming buyers for falling short. If they said they were going to sign last month, and they didn’t, that’s your fault. Not theirs.

19. The best product demos are more about the customer than they are about the product.

P.S. Early VIP access: https://lnkd.in/g6ntF9Xb

The fastest path to time, location, & financial freedom for non-technical people: Remote tech sales.

I’m not sure people realize how wild the moment is.

I know 23–28-year-olds making $200K–$300K a year.
• Working remotely.
• 40 hours a week.
• Sometimes 35.
• No degree.
• No code.
• Just the right role and a dialed-in sales process. 

If you zoom out, it’s a once-in-a-generation opportunity.

For ambitious non-technical people, tech sales is the new American dream.

The fastest way I’ve ever seen someone change their entire socioeconomic trajectory in under 12-24 months.

If tech sales changed your financial life, tell your story in the comments.

PSA for Sales Leaders: MEDDPICC is not a sales methodology. MEDDPICC is a deal health framework.

If you tell your reps "do MEDDPICC" without giving them the skills to do it?

You're destined for some disappointing pipeline reviews.

8 (painful) differences between the best and worst SaaS Sellers ⤵⤵

1. Pricing.

The best salespeople can quote you $350,000 with a straight face. Totally casual. Zero hangups. Calm, cool, collected.

The worst salespeople tremble and shake when they talk big money. They’re uncomfortable talking about price and it shows.

2. Discovery.

The best salespeople uncover the ‘need behind the need.’ They don’t stop with surface level need. They go deep, but in a conversational way.

The worst salespeople show their product at the slightest hint of a need they can solve. Discovery be damned.

3. Prospecting.

The best salespeople know that’s it’s too early to sell the benefits of their product. So they do something different. They agitate the problem. They articulate the buyer’s pain better than the buyer can.

The worst salespeople focus their outreach on the product. It’s benefits. How it works. It’s features. The ROI.

4. Discounts.

The worst salespeople lob huge discounts “if you sign this month.” Even if the buyer is nowhere near a decision.

It’s not that the best salespeople never use discounts. But they only give ‘qualified discounts.’ The ask why the buyer is asking for it. They qualify whether the buyer has the authority to act on it. Only then do they consider it.

5. Next Steps.

The worst salespeople “pencil in” a meaningless calendar invite as a next step. Or worse, they schedule nothing and follow up via email.

The best salespeople know what the next step should be, who should be involved, and why. Plus, they see around corners. They are thinking about the next THREE steps. Not just the next one.

6. Demos.

The worst salespeople show you ever feature. The more they show, the more value they build, they think.

The best salespeople “solve exactly.” They show you exactly what pieces of their product solve your problem. They leave out everything else.

7. Negotiation.

The worst salespeople don’t negotiate. They haggle. The only tool they have in their negotiation kit is to give something away and ask for something in return.

The best salespeople treat negotiation as problem solving. They ask about the buyer’s underlying need behind the concession request. They find creative ways to address it.

8. Skill Acquisition.

The worst salespeople think sales is a born trait. You have it or you don’t.

The best salespeople know that “sales” is just a collection of skills. Each one can be learned, practiced, reinforced, and mastered. So they build their skills accordingly.

These are 8 key differences.

The good news?

You can move from “worst” to “best” with new skills.

You’re not YEARS away from anything you want.

You’re SKILLS away from anything you want.

New skills are how you collapse a decade into a year.

P.S. We’re opening an “early access” VIP list to our coming Black Friday annual enrollment event to get in before the rush crowd. Secure first-access here: https://lnkd.in/g6ntF9Xb

Hey tech salespeople:  What inspired you to get into tech sales to begin with?

I want to hear your story in the comments!

Here's mine:

I spent 5 years pursuing a dream of being a pro drummer.

But by age 20, I had practiced so much I got tendinitis (and scar tissue) on both elbows, effectively ending that as a career option.

So I made a vow:

"If I can't be a pro drummer, then I'm at least going to find a way to make as much money as possible."

That led to a conversation with my college roommate:

"If you want to do well for yourself economically, focused on becoming great at selling."

He then encouraged me to look into a local SaaS company called InsideSales.com.

I joined as an SDR and the rest was history. 

What's your story?

InsideSales.com

Last year, an AE told me she wanted to earn $350,000 a year.

“Best advice on how to get there?” she asked.

So I told her a story.

Years ago, I had dinner with the CEO of Gong.

I asked him a question no CEO should be able to answer:

“How do you build a billion-dollar company?”

But he had an answer anyway.

He said:

“First, build a product so good a weak sales team could sell it.

"Second, build a sales + marketing machine so good it could sell a weak product. Do both and you’re on your way.”

Then I told her:

“Becoming a high-earning salesperson works the exact same way.”

Step 1 → Break into a company with a killer product that practically sells itself.

Step 2 → Build elite-level sales skills so you could sell anything if you had to.

Do both?

You’re unstoppable.

Here’s what most aspiring high-earners get wrong:

They apply to the “hot” companies…

But those companies only hire people with the skills to match their reputation.

Great product + weak skills = no interview.

Great skills + weak company = low ceiling.

You need both:

• The right company
• The right skills

That’s the $300k+/year formula.

That’s how you get your shot at big money.

And that’s how you turn that shot into a career-defining year.

You aren’t “years” away from your dream life.

You’re just a few skills (and maybe the right company) away.

And if you want help with both…

I’m opening Early Access to our Black Friday program next week.

Inside it is our brand-new January training:

BREAK INTO THE BIG TIME

How to land interviews — and offers — at high-earning companies with world-class products. 

The tech companies where sellers routinely earn $300k+.

Plus: the income acceleration platform that helps you capitalize once you’re in.

Bad news? First 200 people only.

Grab your early access spot here and get an enrollment invitation before everyone else here: https://lnkd.in/g6ntF9Xb

Drop an “IN” in the comments if you're looking forward to hearing the updates about it.

Your dream job + elite skills = a different life.

Making $300,000+ a year in tech sales is dead.

Unless you follow these two rules:

Years ago, I had dinner with the CEO of Gong.

Here’s what I asked him:

“How do you build a billion dollar company?”

What he said has influenced me ever since:

“First, build a product so good a weak sales team could sell it.”

“Second, build a sales team so good they could sell a weak product.”

“Do both, and you re-write history.”

Mic-drop line.

And here’s what I realized:

That’s also the key to making $300k (or more) in tech sales:

First, sell a product so good, you could sell it even if YOU weren’t very good.

Second, become so good at selling that you could sell a weak product.

Do both?

That's your only shot at a 7-figure W2.

This morning, we announced the system that helps you do BOTH.

Our annual Black Friday enrollment event opened.

It’s your path to cracking $300k+ in 2026.

Here’s how:

First, master every aspect of tech sales with the world’s top skill transformation platform.

🔥 Learn from the top 1% revenue experts
🔥 Master skills that impact your income
🔥 Become an elite seller 

As I’ve said:

You’re not years away from everything you want.
You’re skills away from everything you want.

Second, our Black Friday bonus:

🎁 Free admission for our Break Into the Big Time live training in January.

This isn’t a skills training.
This isn't a process training.

This is how to break into companies where earning $300k+ is possible.

You’ll learn to identify, interview with, and join the hottest tech sales teams on the planet.

Because there are only two paths to great money in tech sales:

➡️ Wait for the “perfect” company
➡️ Or become the seller every company fights for

The highest paid salespeople don’t choose.

They insist on both.

They build the fuel reserves (killer skills).

Then they choose the rocketship (killer company).

If you refuse to sit on the sidelines and watch others win in 2026?

👉 Enrollment is open now for Black Friday: https://lnkd.in/gSpnHq7y

Become the most formidable version of yourself.

The outcomes take care of themselves. 

Let me know in the comments if you're in (or if you have questions).

SaaS sellers that will make $300,000+ in 2026 know these 7 things:

1. Their desired W2 (annual income), down to the dollar.

2. Every lever in their comp plan so they know how to get there.

3. How much ARR they need to close to reach their target income, based on their comp plan.

4. Their ACV, and how many deals they need to close to reach their target.

5. Their personal close rate, and how many new opps they need to find to close their target revenue amount.

6. The daily activity they need to execute to find the new opps they need to find to reach their goals.

7. The new skills they need to improve the entire system.

Clarity is power.

After that, it's just about working the system.

P.S. Are you a seller who refuses to be average? We’re opening an “early access” VIP list to our coming Black Friday annual enrollment event to get in before the rush crowd. Secure first-access here: https://lnkd.in/g6ntF9Xb

Last week, I met with the SVP of Sales at a $1B company.

Here's what he said about a "must win" deal they lost:

“Our relationship with this customer was amazing,” he said.

“Our rep even stayed overnight at their house during the sales cycle. They became close friends.”

And yet… they still lost to a competitor.

Why?

Because the competitor simply out-sold them:

• A tighter business case
• Better articulated differentiation
• A sharper understanding of the problem
• They built consensus, not just relationships

Then he said the line that stuck with me:

“We had the relationship acumen. They had the sales acumen.”

3 lessons I took away:


1. In 2025, buying decisions and relationships are decoupled.

Being liked isn’t enough.
Being trusted isn’t enough.
Win­ing and dining isn’t enough.

Not when your competitor has:

• A more formidable skillset
• A winning deal strategy
• A killer sales process

Those beat relationships every day.


2. Sales is becoming professionalized.

Sales used to be the least “professional” profession.

Charisma. Charm. Relationships.

The Wild West. No shared standards of excellence.

That era is dead.

Modern sales cycles are won by teams who run a more skilled, more strategic, more engineered process.

This is no longer about personality.

It’s about precision.


3. Skill capacity is the CRO’s new competitive advantage.

Teams with higher skill IQ win more deals. 

Full stop.

We’re now seeing early data to back this up:

Nine of our business customers in the last 90 days have correlated their pclub.io Skill Adoption in Gong with CRM outcomes.

The uplift is unmistakable.
• Higher win rates
• Faster cycles
• Bigger ACVs

That data is telling us that skills are money in the bank.

It shouldn’t be surprising:

When products blur, and relationships alone can’t carry you…

Skill becomes the moat.

It’s easy for competitors to copy your features.

It’s hard for them to match a tightly trained revenue team.

The companies who grasp this will dominate the next decade.

P.S. If you're a leader and want to see what the revenue lift can look like when you go all in on this, DM me.

Amber Deibert Coaching

I help driven people get out of their own way and find success.

I specialize in helping with Impostor Syndrome, Management Skills, Time Management, Habit Change & Formation, and Personal Performance.

Schedule a consultation at amberdeibert.com/consult

Founder, Performance Coach

The Achiever's Podcast

The Achiever's Podcast is for anyone who feels like they have untapped potential. On this podcast I teach you actionable steps to get out of your own way and achieve the success you're looking for. The podcast is available wherever you get your podcasts.

Host

Get Your Mind Right Podcast

Get Your Mind Right - Conversations with Life Coaches - is a podcast I co-host with Stephanie Pickle. We're both certified life coaches, and we discuss topics that cover every aspect of life. From relationships, to motivation, to how you see yourself. This podcast is available wherever you get your podcasts.

Co-Host

The Coaching Collective

As the Director of Client Success, I helped the clients of The Coaching Collective get the most out of the program that they could. Including giving daily quick tips for their elite clients.

I streamlined the backend systems that the organization used, implemented new software and tools to improve efficiency, and advised on marketing strategies.

Director of Client Success

Skuid

At Skuid I was responsible for training and coaching new sales managers. 

I built the onboarding program for new Account Executives. 

I streamlined the meetings and communication across the sales organization for better retention of information. 

I developed and orchestrated a weekly skills training for the Business Development Team. 

I also designed and facilitated the annual 3-day Sales Kickoff.

Manager of Sales Enablement

Zenefits

Responsible for Business Skills Training, and Manager Training. I live for the moments when I see that ah-ha look in one of my student's faces. Sometimes it's because they just learned how to save themselves time in their inbox through a Google Apps training, and other times it's because they feel better equipped to motivate their team.

Senior Learning and Development Manager

Managing the Client Support training team to build and deliver engaging, all-encompassing training to support over 3000% annual growth on the Client Support Team at Zenefits. 

Zenefits is an all-in-one HR partner providing an easy interface for small companies to manage their benefits.

Training Manager, Client Support

Davisbase Consulting

Delivered impactful, enthusiastic multi-day trainings about how to become Agile and use the Scrum methodology.

Agile Coach & Trainer

Serving an in-house contract as a Scrum Master for Backcountry.com. Working with three scrum teams, and one Kanban team. Focusing on instilling Agile best practices, building teams, removing impediments, building an organizational Agile culture, and empowering individuals.

Scrum Master at Backcountry.com

FranklinCovey

Served as Scrum Master and did the first implementation of Agile methodologies for the operations IT development team & IT infrastructure team.

Scrum Master

Sole Administrator, managing and customizing all aspects of the 360 user Salesforce.com CRM international instance.

Salesforce.com Administrator

EDCUtah

Manage the behind the scenes of the Business Development team including coordinating site visits, arranging administrative functions, and serving as the database administrator / resident guru of salesforce.com. Additionally, serving as assistant for Vice-President of Business Development. Handling V.P.’s scheduling, organization, and calendar.

Business Development Coordinator

Performance Coach to Enterprise Sellers | I help you drop the mindset trash, and optimize your daily routines to eliminate procrastination | AI Obsessed | Favorite movie: Hunt for the Wilderpeople

I'm Amber, a Performance Coach dedicated to helping elite enterprise tech sellers break through their mental barriers, upgrade their habits, and skyrocket their success.

With over 800 paid coaching sessions under my belt, I’ve helped hundreds of top-performing sellers to exceed their quotas and reclaim control of their workdays. I understand the unique challenges faced by enterprise tech sellers. 

Having climbed from a blue-collar background to the fast-paced world of tech, I've experienced imposter syndrome firsthand.

I worked my way up to find myself living and working in downtown San Francisco for a unicorn tech startup. I felt like a major Imposter -- At any minute people would realize that a person with my background was not supposed to be there.

One of my favorite quotes is by Ricky Gervais: “The best advice I've ever received is, 'No one else knows what they're doing either.” If other people can make it up, we can too.

I came up with my own system for overcoming self doubt, and I’ve used it to help thousands of people overcome their own imposter syndrome and mindset junk.

It drives me nuts to see someone with massive potential standing in their own way. I’m obsessed with finding the right tactics that work for every different kind of person. There’s nothing more rewarding for me than seeing someone break through their barriers and realize what they’re capable of.


Outside of coaching, I enjoy:

🏊 Swimming
🚴 Mountain and road biking
🏃 Running
📽️ Documentaries - specifically about top performers
📚 Avid reader of non-fiction -- business and self-help
🏆 I’m a 2x State Champ:
💃 Once for Competition Dance (we won with a routine on Pogo Sticks!)
🎭 The other for the State Drama Competition - we won in Pantomime (professional hand talker)
👯 I love a good dance party
🎶 Constantly on the hunt for new music 
🧠 Diagnosed with ADHD later in life 
🤖 Obsessed with AI and the endless possibilities it brings


My personality:

✅ Strengths Finder: Woo, Developer, Empathy, Individualization, Competition

✅ StandOut: Provider, Advisor (I can intuitively see how someone feels, and I’m a wealth of information from experts)

✅ Kolbe A: 3-3-9-4 (Simplify, Adapt, Innovate, Restore)

✅ Myers Briggs: ENFP (Enthusiastic, Creative, and Sociable Free Spirit)

✅ Enneagram: 3 - The Achiever

Amber Deibert

Spring 2025: I finally understood why Ian Koniak’s clients rave about him.

I've worked in the same Sales Performance Coaching space as Ian since 2020.

From a distance, sometimes I wondered if he was just another "bro sales coach." And I was surprised at how much he talked about his addictions. 😳

But then I started seeing the receipts. His business is growing faster than any coach I have ever seen.

He and I have had a lot of client crossover in the last few years, and everyone I know who went through his program RAVED about it.

It wasn't until I got invited to be a guest speaker at his mastermind in Spring 2025 that I saw what's really happening.

What I witnessed was:

A room full of the most wonderful, kind, and HIGH-achieving sellers I had ever met
Incredible results (7 people in the room had had W2'd $1M)
Lifelong friendships and bonds
An incredible team is running the entire event

And then there was Ian.

I love picking apart high achievers to figure out what they do differently, and I LOVE learning about how different people build businesses.

So I kept a close eye on Ian to see what he does differently, and here's what I've seen (now that I'm embedded as one of his Gold Member Coaches):

Ian holds INCREDIBLE belief for every one of the people in his community

He doesn't give up on people. He will fight for you until you get what you came for. To me, this is the number one reason why people in his program have such incredible transformations.

His sales tactics and tools are solid, but the mindset and habits part of his program is the part that will change your life.

It's so wild to hear all the stories of people who've had incredible sales results, yes. But even more impressive is the life transformation and happiness they get out of the program. If you're struggling in sales and in life, you aren't alone. And there is absolutely no help.

The only thing that drives Ian is service. 

He is genuinely an incredibly generous and service-minded human. He's motivated by changing lives. I thought for sure there would be a piece in there about building the biggest business, or making the most money, and there is, but it's all in the name of serving his clients and supporting his team. He is DRIVEN to serve and change lives, and it shows in the results that people are getting from the program.

I feel so lucky to have joined his team. The universe definitely set this up for us.

If you're wondering if Ian Koniak is the real deal, I'm telling you, he is.

Sales Performance Speaker and Coach for Enterprise Sellers | Mindset & Productivity | Creator of the Work Like You Workout™ Framework for pain-free productivity 💪

I gotta tell you a funny story about when I met Simon Sinek.

My team and I were at his book tour (and signing) for Together Is Better (THE CUTEST BEST BOOK!)

Somehow I got in line before the rest of my group, so I got up to Simon first.

He looked EXHAUSTED.

I could tell that all this small talk wasn't his jam.

It was a bunch of people in a huge line taking from him (photos, autographs), and getting nothing in return. 

So I just asked him about it.

Me: Do you feel more energized when you're on stage, or when you're here talking with each person?

Simon: I could be on stage all day, but this part is so draining for me.

Me: I get that.

Anyway, we had this little conversation, and he said, "Do you want a picture?"

I didn't want to contribute to sucking out this poor man's energy! 

Plus I knew that someone on my team was mildly obsessed with him, and would definitely want a picture of all of us with him.

So I said, "No, I'm good. I'll wait for ______ to get here before we take a picture so you don't have to do multiple. She's SO excited to meet you. She's going to lose her mind."

And I just stood back until everyone caught up.

And then as soon as they got there, he said, "Okay, _____ is here, now we can take a picture." And he made sure to take a picture with just me. 🤣

Every time I see the picture I crack up. 

What a kind, selfless thing. Thanks a bunch, Simon.

I made it to six figures and got promoted to management for the first time... and I was absolutely miserable."

The 20-year-old version of me thought six figures was basically being a millionaire. I had everything I thought I wanted: the title, the money, the "proof" that I was successful.

I remember thinking: "This is it. I did it. I achieved. I succeeded. End of story."

Except... it wasn't the end of the story.

I had this gaping hole inside of me, this deep sense of unworthiness, and I kept shoving achievements into it, thinking that would make me feel better.

Spoiler alert: It didn't work.

Here's what I discovered: External validation will never fill an internal void.

You can't achieve your way out of feeling unworthy. You can't earn enough money, get enough promotions, or collect enough accolades to fix what's happening on the inside.

If you're chasing the next milestone thinking it'll finally make you feel "enough," I want you to know, you're already enough. Right now. Before the next achievement.

The work isn't about earning your worth through accomplishments. It's about recognizing the worth that was always there.

If this resonates with you, sign up for my weekly newsletter where I share practical insights on building genuine confidence beyond the next promotion. [Link in Comments]

Utah, we've got to do better. 

I recently went to an event here where there were TWO women in attendance out of 100 people.

It reminded me of being early in my career.

I worked for a very conservative Utah company, and all the Senior Leadership was white males.

I tried so hard to get promoted into management at that company. They said I was critical to their strategy, but somehow I wasn't good enough to get into management. 

My own interpretation was that they figured I would drop out of my career and be a stay-at-home mom once I had kids, so I wasn't worth investing in.

Once I moved to San Francisco, I was SO DELIGHTED to see MANY examples of women in every level of leadership. 

(Even MOMS! ...and they were happy and satisfied being working moms, something I had never seen in Utah. 

It has been a decade since I last lived in Utah, and a lot has changed. But seeing the demographic at that event showed me that not enough has changed.

As a woman who knew I wasn't cut out to be a SAHM (MAD respect for those who are! IMHO, you have the harder job), I wish I could have had more examples of women and moms thriving in the workplace.

Thanks to all the professionals out there moving women (AND minorities!!) forward in the workplace.

I share weekly insights on building confidence and overcoming workplace challenges in my newsletter. Join hundreds of other professionals who are creating careers they love. [Link in comments]

My inner rebel took one look at my time-blocked calendar and said, “Nope.”

So I built a system we could both live with.

If you keep abandoning productivity systems, it’s not because you lack discipline. 

It’s because the system wasn’t built for your brain.

I tried time blocking religiously for a month and failed miserably.

I decided when I should do any given task and I was very thoughtful about the right timing for doing them.

I scheduled them all on my calendar like a good little time boxer.

And then every time without fail, as soon as a calendar appointment would pop up on my calendar to do the task that I, myself, decided I should do at that time... 

My inner rebel was like, “Absolutely not. I'd rather do ANYTHING ELSE RIGHT NOW.”

My brain doesn’t want rigid rules. It wants freedom within structure.

So I created something I call TimeBoxing 2.0, where I:
↳ Set aside a daily "clear the list" block (because my brain also hates "admin" or "buffer" time)
↳ I decide in advance how long I will spend on a task 
↳ I set a VISUAL timer, so that my perfectionism and ADHD time blindness don't take over

It’s the perfect middle ground for my brain.

I don't let tasks take forever because I decide in advance how long I will spend on them.

And I have just enough structure to keep myself moving forward.

(but also enough freedom to keep that very particular brain willing to proceed)

If rigid systems make you feel trapped, there is nothing wrong with you.

You just need a method that works with your wiring, not against it.

Want more psychology-backed productivity techniques like this?

Join my weekly newsletter, Get Out of Your Own Way, where I teach high achievers how to work intuitively and sustainably.

Link in comments

Do you know what your mission in life is? 

I always thought that my crowning achievement in life would be to build a gigantic business that impacts millions of lives and I helped heal THE WORLD. 

(classic achiever dream 😅)

But then I did an exercise where I wrote out my eulogy.

I realized that my purpose in life is to heal myself and break the chains of generational trauma for my kids, and everyone that comes after me.

Once I aligned to that, everything came into focus. 

I no longer felt like I was chasing a goal (that was impossible and unachievable, let's be honest. Healing the world definitely doesn't meet SMART goal requirements.. lol). 

Instead, when I read my eulogy every morning I can see what actions I need to take every single day to move me towards my purpose. 

It cuts out all the fluff and nonsense, and makes my daily actions SO CLEAR.

It has been pretty groundbreaking for me to get aligned with what I actually want to achieve in my lifetime.

How about you? Do you know what your mission in life is?

Harsh reality: Drop your insecurities to crush your quota.

 We’ve all been there:

► You’re worried you’ll make a fool of yourself in a big meeting
► You aren’t sure if you’ve got buy-in from the exec sponsor
► You’re worried that people can see right through you and know that you don’t know what you’re doing

 What sucks about insecurity (besides the fact that it feels terrible) is that it SIGNIFICANTLY decreases your performance.

 You’re thinking about yourself instead of your prospect.

 I remember feeling SO insecure when I was in my early 20s.

 I’d be talking to someone and worry, 

 - “Can she see that blemish on my face?” 
 - “I just said that so awkwardly. What is wrong with you, Amber?”
 - “Is my breath bad right now? They definitely won’t want to be your friend.”

 Here’s the trick I learned.

➜ You can’t feel insecure if you’re thinking about the other person.

 Insecurity only comes up when you’re thinking about yourself.

 So you can instantly remove your insecurity by putting yourself in the other person’s shoes.

 Imagine what they might be thinking, and help them.

► Maybe they are too nervous to ask a dumb question
► Maybe they feel just as insecure as you, and you can help break the ice
► Maybe they need to know how they can sell the idea of your product to their boss

 You can solve your insecurity in an instant by thinking about your client more than you think about yourself.

 Try this and let me know how it goes!

✨ I share weekly mindset and performance tips like this in my newsletter, Get Out of Your Own Way, practical, psychology-based tools to help sellers crush their quota without crushing themselves.

Join now [Link in comments]

The moment you downplay yourself, your brain believes you.

I had instant regret the second I heard the words come out of my mouth:

 “I’m a fraud.”

 I’m supposed to be the one convincing other people that they aren’t frauds
 And this is what comes out of my mouth??

I was at the craft store yesterday, buying shrink dinks for my 5-year-old and 6 skeins of yarn for myself.

When the kind woman at the register saw how much yarn I was buying, she said,

“Oh, we have these cute yarn bags, since you seem to be a yarn lover.”

To which I responded,

“Oh, I’m a fraud.”

I was thinking, “She probably thinks this is a legitimate yarn haul, like for knitting or crocheting.”

But I was buying the yarn for a lesser-known needlecraft, Plastic Canvas.

(Even the name is inspiring 😂)

I did it once when I was a kid. 

It’s basically fool-proof. It takes almost zero skill. 

So to think that I was someone who was legitimate enough to buy a yarn bag didn’t match my internal view of myself.

Okay, this might be the most profound story you read on LinkedIn today.

But we all do this to ourselves!

For reasons as dumb as mine! 🤣

Who’s to say that my needlecraft isn’t as legitimate as knitters' or crocheters?

(Watch as an army of knitters come at me for that comment 😆)

I EARNED THE RIGHT TO A YARN BAG AS MUCH AS THE NEXT PERSON.

Lol, I hope you take this ridiculous story and apply it to situations where you also downplay yourself.

I’m sure that the reasons you are downplaying yourself are just as ridiculous.

What would happen if you just own your awesomeness?

How much easier would your life and career be if you accepted what you rightfully earned and deserve?

Upgrade that internal view of yourself, and own your worth.

If this hit home, I share weekly mindset shifts and stories like this in my newsletter, Get Out of Your Own Way, where I help high achievers stop downplaying themselves and start owning what they’ve earned.

💌 Join now: [link in comments]

The moment you downplay yourself, your brain believes you.

Leg Day is legs.
Arm Day is arms.

Tuesday is outbound.
Friday is follow-ups.

When the decision is made before the day starts, everything moves faster.

If you strength train, you already understand structure better than most productivity systems. 

Lifters thrive on rhythm. You know what each day is for, and you don’t waste time negotiating with yourself.

Leg Day means legs. Arm Day means arms. You walk in and get to work because the decision was made long before you touched a barbell.

Your brain wants that same kind of clarity during the week.

Try giving each workday a theme. Something simple like:
↳  Monday for admin and planning.
↳  Tuesday for outbound.
↳  Wednesday for follow-ups.
↳  Thursday back to outbound.
↳  Friday for networking or relationship-building.

Or whatever matches the rhythm of your sales cycle.

When your days have a clear purpose, your brain stops burning energy deciding where to start. You move faster because you’re no longer reinventing the plan every morning. The structure does half the work for you.

If you’re someone who thrives on repetition and pattern, this lands quickly. It works with your wiring instead of fighting it.

Want more grounded, psychology-backed shifts that actually stick? My newsletter, Get Out of Your Own Way, is where I share them each week. Link in comments.

The Weightlifter Productivity Trick That 5x’s Your Focus

We all have different definitions of what generous means, or what productive means, or what a good partner means. 

But we tend to not go deep enough to define that for ourselves. 

I love to take my clients through the exercise of really defining what that particular value means for you. 

How do you know when you can "check the box" on developing deep relationships? 

So here's what I want you to try:

Think about what you want to be remembered for. Write it down. Then go one layer deeper and define what that actually means to YOU.

What does integrity look like in your world? What does being a good parent mean to you specifically? What's your version of making a difference?

Because when you get clear on your definitions, you stop trying to live up to everyone else's version of success and start building a life that actually feels like yours.

The people who feel most fulfilled aren't following someone else's blueprint for their values; they're living by their own.

What's one value you'd like to define more clearly for yourself?

I share insights like this every week in my newsletter for tech sellers who want to work with more intention and less overwhelm. 

[Link to join in comments]

I just had the weirdest experience... and it completely blew my mind.

I had a massive deadline looming yesterday. 

Normally, this would trigger my old pattern of stress-induced productivity - you know, the "panic until it's perfect" approach that leaves you exhausted and questioning your life choices.

But something totally different happened.

I had taken really good care of myself leading up to it. Proper sleep, boundaries with my energy, and actual meals instead of stress-snacking. When it came time to work, I just... worked. No drama. No internal battle. No fear-based motivation pushing me forward.

I literally sat there afterward thinking, "Did that really just happen?"

It felt so foreign. So weird. So unusual.

For someone who spent years believing that stress and pressure were necessary ingredients for getting things done, this felt like discovering I could breathe underwater.

Here's what I want you to know:

Your nervous system doesn't need to be activated to be productive. You don't need fear, pressure, or that familiar anxiety knot in your stomach to create good work.

Compassion toward yourself isn't soft or indulgent - it's actually the most sustainable fuel for performance.

If you're in those uncomfortable, awkward parts of learning to treat yourself better, keep going. Let yourself feel weird about being kind to yourself. Let it feel foreign that you're not running on stress and caffeine.

Because on the other side of that awkwardness is a version of you that gets things done from a place of calm capability instead of controlled chaos.

And trust me, once you experience that... it becomes your new normal.

I share more insights like this about sustainable productivity and self-compassion in my weekly newsletter. {Link in comments to join}

You’re not a procrastinator. You just don't have the right systems.

Here are 3 dead-simple techniques you can use to drastically improve your productivity:

 1. Break down your tasks SUPER small
 2. Write your top 3-5 priorities on a post-it note each day
 3. (Most controversial) Start with your easiest task

 You will be astounded at how much of a difference these techniques will make.

 They can take you from zero to hero (in no time flat). 😎 

 (extra snarkiness today at no extra charge. You’re welcome.)

If you like your productivity advice with a side of real talk and psychology, you’ll love my newsletter, Get Out of Your Own Way.

✨ Each week I share practical, science-backed tips to help high achievers work with their brains (and have a little fun doing it).

💌 Join Now: [Link in comments]

I learned a 3-minute tactic that has revolutionized my productivity.

 If you feel like you procrastinate your most important tasks until the end of the day…

 YOU ARE NOT ALONE!

 I hear this from so many sellers. 

 You can still be very successful if you procrastinate, but it is also such a drag.

 Here’s one small trick I want you to try if you find yourself procrastinating on your biggest task.

↳  Set a timer for 3 minutes to start working on it

 STARTING is sometimes the hardest part.

 We’re waiting for the motivation to come, but it doesn’t show up. 

 So then we have trained ourselves to wait for the fear monster to show up instead.

 When you set a timer for a really small amount of time, it makes it feel easy to start.

I have had so much success with this tactic lately. In my personal life and my professional life.

“I can work on this for 3 minutes, no problem.”

…and then 99% of the time, you’re in it, so you just keep going.

And if not, at least you’ve mapped out what you need to do to finish the task.

Give this a whirl and see how it reshapes your day. I'd love to hear how it goes for you!

And if you like practical, psychology-backed tips like this, you’ll love my weekly newsletter, Get Out of Your Own Way.

✨ It’s where I share short, actionable strategies to help high achievers outsmart procrastination, manage their mindset, and actually enjoy their workday.

💌 Join now: [Link in comments]

I've been having the same conversation with sellers all week.

"It's okay to be kind to yourself."

Most of us think being hard on ourselves drives success. We have SO much data proving that hustle, grind, and self-coercion work.

And they do work... until they don't.

Here's what I've discovered after years of coaching high performers:

The same drive that gets you TO success will burn you OUT of success.

That voice that says "push harder" and "you're not doing enough" might have gotten you here, but it won't sustain you for the long haul.

It's okay to be nice to yourself while still being a high performer.

Self-compassion isn't soft. It's strategic.

When you're kind to yourself, you recover faster from setbacks. You take calculated risks instead of desperate ones. You show up consistently instead of in chaotic bursts.

The most successful people I know have learned this counterintuitive truth: You can be your biggest advocate AND your highest achiever.

If you're feeling burned out from being your own worst critic, here's what I want you to try:

Talk to yourself like you would talk to your best friend going through the same struggle. Notice how different that voice sounds.

You're allowed to want success AND treat yourself with kindness along the way.

If this resonates, I share more insights like this in my weekly newsletter for sellers who want to perform without burning out. [Link in comments to join]

I feel so lucky to get to work with THE BEST PEOPLE!! 🥰

One of the best investments I made in 2025: 

Working with a sales coach. 

Actually, I've been working with two.

Nobody asked me to get coaching. 

This was 100% self-funded and self-initiated. 

I just love getting better.

I've been working with Andy Paul for just under 1 year. 1:1 sessions focused on transformational, enterprise, complex sales. For those who don't know, Andy is a sales legend. Check out the The Win Rate Podcast or "Sell Without Selling Out". Working with Andy has been a growth accelerator. I can see myself getting sharper, more precise, more strategic with my sales cycles & outbound motions. Andy has alot of wisdom to offer and it's helped me grow tremendously as a seller.

For the last 3 months, I've also been working with Amber Deibert. Our time has been focused on dialing in my personal working rhythms, refining my 'why', and overall mental mastery. I reached out to Amber because I have a very full plate, and I knew I could be optimizing my efficiency to get more done in less time. Highly highly recommend working with Amber if you are an enterprise or strategic seller. She is great at connecting dots between disciplines (sales, psychology, neuroscience, productivity). I feel far more effective and purposeful in my daily and weekly rhythms as a result of our work together. 

Also worth mentioning that I discovered Andy and Amber from a Brandon Fluharty newsletter. Yet another reminder that LinkedIn connections make the world go round. 

Highly recommend getting yourself a good sales coach in 2026.

If you suck at consistency, nothing is wrong with you.

You’re not broken, you’re human. Especially if you’re an enterprise seller living in back-to-back calls and rollercoaster quarters.

Here’s the shift I want you to try:

Instead of worshiping perfect consistency, focus on quick recovery.

Old Way vs New Way 

Old Way

↳ “I missed a day at the gym / in my prospecting block… what’s wrong with me?”

↳ Spiral of self-beatup → avoid the thing → lose momentum for days

↳ Rigid routines that look great on paper but collapse in real life

New Way

↳ “I’m allowed to be human. I just don’t miss two days.”

↳ Bad morning? Reset at lunch. Bad day? Reset tomorrow.

↳ Measure success by how fast you come back, not how perfectly you never fall off

This is Strategy #1 of 4 from this week’s episode on creating structure when you secretly hate structure.

In the full breakdown, I walk through:

↳ How to check your “energy tank” each morning and set a winnable day

↳ How to build a toolbox of supports you can pull from (instead of one rigid routine)

↳ The silly little rename trick (“planning” → “list making”) that actually gets you moving

You can watch the full episode on YouTube (@amberdeibertcoaching) or listen on The Achievers Podcast wherever you get your podcasts.

What’s one place you’re willing to try the “I don’t miss two days” rule this week?

I was just talking with a client about how what we're all looking for is:
↳  peace
↳  ease 
↳  calm 
↳  and a regulated nervous system 

We tend to think that the way we will get there is through achievements.

"Once I get the house... Once I get the car... Once I have the promotion... Once I hit $1M... Once I have the relationship... Once I have the free time... Once I have the freedom... Once I get a new job... Once I start my business..."

...are the things that we think will get us there.

But the reality is that we can access peace, calm, ease, and a regulated nervous system at any moment.

It comes when you change your thinking.

When I go from: "Ugh, I'm so far from my goals. I've been working so hard for so long and it's not happening. Maybe it's never going to happen... What is wrong with me?? How come I can't make this work??"

To: "I have an amazing life. Wow, look at what I've created. If Kid Amber could see what my life looks like now she wouldn't believe it. I have everything I could have ever wanted."

Or another personal favorite mantra (thanks to my amazing client for this one!):

"Nowhere to go, Nothing to be, It's already here."

Aaaahhhh.... Doesn't that just feel like a delicious exhale? I feel my body softening already.

What if you decide that right now, today, is the best day of your life? 

What if you let yourself enjoy the moment and reap the rewards of everything that we've built so far? 

I was watching the Eddie Murphy documentary last night and Eddie Murphy said the same thing he said something like, "Pray for peace of mind. Don't pray for money, don't pray for fame, don't pray for success. Peace of mind is what everyone wants." 

And the sooner you change your mindset to enjoy RIGHT NOW, the sooner you'll be living your actual dream life. 

If you're ready to rewire your relationship with success and find that inner calm, I'd love to help. You can schedule a call with me!

Link in the comments.

One of my favorite experts in the mental health and personal performance space, Brandt Noey, recently told me about a really cool personality tool (if you will).

It's a lot like Human Design which I posted about recently.

You put in your birthday and time and it gives you a chart that's kind of like an astrology chart but tells you about:

↳ Your personality traits
↳ How you best create wealth
↳ Your relationship style
↳ And even what your overall life challenge/arc will be

It was CRAZY accurate.

The tool is called Qi Men Dun Jia. (Has anyone else tried this before??)

I used a free site to generate my chart, and then I uploaded it to ChatGPT to interpret it.

It basically just told me that I am who I am. Lol. I was like, "duh."

So as a skeptic, I thought, "well obviously it's telling me that I'm a speaker and a coach because ChatGPT has so much saved memory about me."

So I put it through a few other LLM's to see how they interpreted it (they said the same thing), so then I tried using a Temporary Chat on ChatGPT - which shouldn't use past memory, but I think it still did.

I finally landed on adding to my prompt, "Analyze the following chart without referencing any past data, memory, or assumptions about me. Treat this as your first interaction with a completely new user. Base your analysis only on the information provided in this chart" and that helped.

Either way, it was CRAZY how grounding it was to read about myself and what I do best.

Try it out and let me know if you have the same experience! I'm so curious to know if I'm the only one.

The most exhausting thing I ever did was constantly try to fix myself.
 
Not my job. Not my life.

Me.

For a long stretch, I treated personal growth like a performance review. 

Fix myself. Upgrade whatever felt even slightly off. I was always mid-project.

What I didn’t notice was how quickly that kind of effort can turn into a quiet form of self-rejection. 

I wasn’t growing. 

I was hunting for evidence that something was wrong with me.

I caught it one afternoon when I heard the way I was talking to myself. It sounded like a mean girl who hadn’t eaten. 😳 

I remember thinking, where did I learn to speak to myself like this?

The answer surprised me. 

Those voices weren’t mine. They were old expectations I’d absorbed and never questioned. Hand-me-down rules from my upbringing, society, and culture.

So I tried a different approach. I paused the relentless fixing and practiced ACTUAL acceptance. 

Not the Pinterest version - the real kind that feels awkward at first because you’re used to bracing for your own criticism.

And that’s when things softened.

↳  I stopped treating every emotion as a problem.
↳  I let myself land exactly where I was instead of sprinting to the next “better” version.
↳  I realized growth isn’t a punishment. It’s easier when you’re not fighting yourself.

You don’t have to earn your worth by constantly upgrading. You get to grow from a place of respect. It works better anyway.

If this resonates, my weekly newsletter Get Out of Your Own Way digs even deeper into this work. It’s where high achievers learn how to grow without bulldozing themselves.

Link in comments.

The highest performers often have the loudest inner critics.

You're never going to be able to create what you want.

You've never been good enough.

I'll just say it... my brain loves to spiral into this dark hole sometimes.

And if this resonates with you, I promise you're not alone.

Here's what fascinates me as a performance coach: I hear these exact thoughts from my highest-achieving clients. People who have built successful businesses, hit major sales goals, transformed their lives... they STILL battle these beliefs.

So, if you have these thoughts? You're actually in phenomenal company.

I learned something game-changing from Kelly Banks (she writes The Dopamine Dispatch newsletter for people with ADHD - highly recommend). She helped me understand that our brains are literally wired to look for problems and threats. It's not a character flaw. It's biology.

Your inner critic isn't evidence that you're not cut out for success.

It's evidence that you're human.

The difference between people who create what they want and people who don't isn't the absence of these thoughts - it's learning to have them without letting them drive the car.

You can have a loud inner critic and still show up and do the work anyway.

Your thoughts about your capabilities are just thoughts. They're not prophecies.

If you're ready to build a personalized system for quieting that inner critic and working with more focus, join my newsletter for weekly insights that actually stick.

Link in comments.

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The Battle

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