Tech Sales is for Hustlers

How can you compete against someone who is constantly improving their abilities? Once Deionte Davis unlocked this cheat code, the professional sales world changed for him.

Deionte, now a successful Account Executive at Searchspring, deploys a daily improvement style to max out his gains mentally, physically, and professionally. His personal love of health and fitness helped him adopt a self-improvement mindset as an SDR. And that mindset fuels his sales career.

In the newest episode of our Tech Sales is for Hustlers – Austin Series, Deionte reveals what it truly means to invest in yourself, how a tough conversation completely changed his career approach and the core advice he’d give himself before he started his sales career.

From working in hospitality to managing a team of SDRs, Stephen Labay knows with change, comes an opportunity to learn new things, add to, or refine your current skills, and push yourself to achieve more than last week, last month, last year. 

Alum Ruben Rosado saw Stephen’s competitive nature and ability to grow in tough situations and referred him to join memoryBlue as an SDR. Rolling with the punches was key to Stephen’s success in the SDR role. One day you're hitting it out of the park, and the next, you’re striking out. Now a Sales Development Manager at Couchbase, Stephen can assure you that viewing these moments of trial and tribulation from a different perspective can change not only your mindset, but your performance. 

In this episode of Tech Sales is for Hustlers, Stephen talks about the key qualities of a great SDR, how to create your own opportunities to further your career, and why you need to trust yourself and your abilities. Remember that resilience and determination are attributes you already possess, or you wouldn't be doing this job in the first place. 

Most see being a manager as a fast-track to more responsibility, a higher salary, a lofty title, or a bigger office. Jackson Hawkins has different motivations; he loves the thrill of guiding his employees to reach their maximum potential. 

Jackson, now a Managing Director in the memoryBlue Austin office, started his career as an SDR. His journey from SDR, to Delivery Manager, to Managing Director provided him with intimate knowledge of the high-tech sales industry and the experience needed to provide valuable mentorship at all levels in the organization. 

In this episode of the Tech Sales is for Hustlers - Austin Series, Jackson talks about why shedding your ego, focusing on individual needs, setting clear goals for progression, and embracing challenges along the way produce a life and career-changing leader.   

It takes more than a compass to blaze a trail like Blake Erwin.   

Blake, an accomplished Enterprise Sales Rep at Couchbase, charted a course for the entire memoryBlue team as the first to ever be hired by this longstanding client. Since that time, more than 20 elephants have charged down the path he helped build with the database solutions powerhouse. A relentless goal-setter and hard worker, Blake's drive to succeed and commitment to the sales craft fuel his rapid career advancement. 

As the Tech Sales is for Hustlers Austin Series rolls on, you’ll hear Blake explain the key differences between an Inside Sales Rep role and the SDR position, the reason he focuses on career goals vs job jumping, and why there is no “one size fits all” approach to sales positions.

If you’re not prepared to sweat, stay off the field. David Tharp learned that lesson well during his time as a Marine, and then once again in pursuit of a career in sales.

Today David handles OEM licensing sales in the Global Business Development department at Splunk. Practically destined for a career in sales, he carries on a family legacy in the profession for a third generation. He eventually parlayed his SDR success into a new role with the global data and AI software powerhouse through hard work and an ongoing commitment to his sales craft.

In this second episode of the Tech Sales is for Hustlers Austin Series, David talks about the impact an early sales role in the trucking industry had on his career, the importance of developing a mindset for sales, and how the valuable lessons he learned serving in the military help shape his successful career.

If at first, you don’t succeed, keep trying until you do. Sam Burkhalter applies this motto to whatever he pursues, and his consistent progression suggests he is on to something. 

Now an Inside Sales Representative at Precisely on a strong path to Account Executive, Sam preaches the power of persistence. You’ll never master anything if you don’t stick with it long enough. Sam overcame cold-calling nerves at memoryBlue with repetition, patience, and — above all — commitment to his long-term career goals. Overcoming unexpected challenges through consistent preparation fortifies Sam’s approach to growth. 

In this episode of Tech Sales is for Hustlers, Sam shares insights on how to improve your cold-calling confidence, the winning moves he unlocks through prospect research, and why staying committed when the going gets tough yields the best outcomes.

If some is good, more is better. That was the approach Jeremy Mills used with memoryBlue, and you can’t argue with the results.

Jeremy, now an accomplished Account Development Representative at Fictiv, pulled off a rare feat by getting hired out twice in two tours with memoryBlue. The first time through, he learned the hard way, including more than a few cold call calamities. But he reassessed his methods, sharpened his craft, and used a customer-centric approach to generate impressive results the second time around.

In this episode of Tech Sales is for Hustlers, Jeremy reveals his strategic moves on LinkedIn, what he learned working in the restaurant industry that prepped him for sales, and why thinking like your prospects dramatically changes sales conversations.

A sales call for novices can feel like an open mic on improv night. James Manning prefers to enter the show highly prepared for the opening 30 seconds.  

James, now a Business Development Representative at ScienceLogic, started his sales career as a self-described “theatrical” SDR. But he quickly learned focus, discipline, and mastering the opening moments of a sales call create repeatable success. Today James sticks to a specific vision of his future while carving out a career in enterprise software sales that is built to last.

In this episode of Tech Sales is for Hustlers, Chris and Marc uncover James Manning’s secrets to sales success. You’ll hear why James relentlessly plays the long game with his sales career, understand why he believes patience in an impatient profession pays off, and how struggling as an SDR helps build sales resilience the right way.

She may have started out cleaning up messes, but now she’s just cleaning up. Ceilidh initiated her career as a janitor in an Austin (TX) gym, but her exceptional work ethic quickly moved her into management and ultimately jumpstarted her career in sales. 

Ceilidh thrived in the cold-calling trenches for 2.5-years here at memoryBlue. From SDR to Senior SDR to recruiting, Ceilidh ran the gamut of the sales development obstacle course, gaining invaluable skills and insights that still serve her today as the Senior Digital Marketing Consultant at Apogee Results.  

In this episode of Tech Sales is for Hustlers, Ceilidh shares her real-life underdog story with our listeners. Hear her perspective on the pros and cons of taking a unique career path, fresh insight on how being grounded in sales helps her as a “swiss army knife” team player today, and why the growth mindset she honed at memoryBlue helps her unlock a career full of possibilities.

When Victor Mata spent time working around a forklift, he couldn’t resist the opportunity to learn to operate one himself. It’s the same natural curiosity that allows him to thrive today in the professional sales world. 

Victor, now a highly successful Enterprise Business Development Rep for ThreatConnect, unpacks a compelling personal story starting with his deep roots in Venezuela to his winding journey to the United States in the latest edition of Tech Sales is for Hustlers. Through it all, his disparate cultural immersion and experience in a wide range of initial jobs provided a first-rate education in the ever-elusive and frequently temperamental subject matter: human nature.  

Tune in to the latest episode to hear Victor explain why he values understanding prospect personas above all else in sales, how early roles as a door-to-door salesman and restaurant server impacted his professional future, and how his quest to never stop asking “Why?” drives him perpetually forward.