In this week’s episode, we are joined by Chris Donato who shares his journey: lessons, losses, and wins in the Sales profession. Chris is the CEO of Esellas, a company that helps salespeople sell.

He discusses finding purpose in work, taking big risks in sales, and some lessons in his career. Chris shares stories from his experiences in turning a napkin idea into a $300-million contract, losing an $850-million deal, being instinctive in making business partnerships, being strategic in attempting to make a sale, and so much more.

 What You Will Learn:

• How to find purpose and create meaning in your work.
• How and when to take big risks in sales.
• How to transition from mid-market to enterprise.

Highlights:
(0:57) Introduction.

(1:27) Why is there a drop in Gen Z workforce participation?

(4:30) Finding purpose in work.

(9:05) A napkin idea worth $300 million .

(14:50) How to turn a business problem into an opportunity.

(20:45) Does it get easier to take big risks?

(22:44) What would Chris do differently now?

(25:50) Using relationship mapping to your advantage.

(27:55) How to transition from mid-market to enterprise.

(31:40) Lessons from a career in sales.

Guest Speaker Links:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cmdonato/
Website: https://www.esellas.com/

Host Speaker Links:
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

The GTM Podcast
The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

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