The Davidson Hang Podcast

“It’s just a recruiter call. I don’t need to prepare.”

That mindset could cost you your next opportunity.

In this episode of The Davidson Hang Podcast, I sit down with Amanda Castillo, former Google and Salesforce recruiter and career coach, to discuss how to stand out in a competitive job market and build relationships that can change your career.

Amanda brings experience from both sides of the hiring process, including navigating layoffs herself and starting her own recruiting business. We explore how to communicateyour accomplishments confidently, connect your strengths to a company’s needs, and give people a compelling reason to advocate for you.

One takeaway that stayed with me: build relationships before you need something. The way you treat recruiters, former colleagues, and people in your network matters longbefore an opening appears.

In this episode, we discuss:

Whether you’re actively interviewing, recovering from a layoff, or considering your next move in tech sales, this conversation offers practical ways to approach your searchwith greater intention and confidence.

What’s one thing a recruiter did that made adifference in your job search? Share your experience in the comments.

Subscribe to The Davidson Hang Podcast for conversations about sales, career growth, leadership, and personal development.

What if the conversation you’re avoiding is the one your team member needs most?

In this episode of The Davidson Hang Podcast, I reconnect with Dukwon Lee to explore building a lasting sales career, making the move into leadership, and caring enough about people to tell them the truth.

When we first spoke five years ago, Dukwon was an enterprise account director. Today, he shares lessons from more than 11 years at LinkedIn and over four years as a people leader—including why his path into management took years of preparation and five interview processes.

One of my biggest takeaways: having difficult conversations early gives people time to improve. Avoiding them can take that opportunity away.

We also explore how Dukwon approaches his nine team members as nine key accounts—each with different needs, motivations, and ways of communicating.

In this conversation, we discuss:

• How to build relationships with hiring managers before a job opens.

• How to recognize whether you actually want to become a sales leader.

• Why strong sales performance doesn’t automatically translate into strong coaching.

• How to distinguish a skill gap from a motivation problem.

• Why top performers still deserve intentional coaching and attention.

• How relationships built a decade ago can come full circle.

• How leaders create clarity when their teams face competing priorities.

As someone who wants to highlight more Asian leaders in sales, I appreciated Dukwon’s openness about the persistence behind his journey and the responsibility he feels for helping others succeed.

If you’re an account executive considering management, a new sales leader finding your footing, or a seller thinking beyond your next quarter, this conversation will give you plenty to reflect on.

Subscribe to The Davidson Hang Podcast for more honest conversations about sales, leadership, and personal growth.

This episode isn’t really about how Eric Cullen made more money.

It’s about what had to change internally before the external results followed.

Eric had already built a successful career at companies like Salesforce and Microsoft. But somewhere along the way, sales started to feel transactional.

He described himself as becoming “coin-operated.”

More commission = success. Less commission = stress, self-doubt, and questioning whether he was still good enough.

Eventually, that mindset led to burnout.

In this episode, Eric shares how coaching through Untap Your Sales Potential helped him rebuild his relationship with sales, money, and ultimately himself.

The results speak for themselves:

→ Landed a hunter role at Databricks after an intense 4-month interview process involving 20 references → Earned a promotion to Strategic Account Executive → Reached the highest income of his career → Learned to manage imposter syndrome instead of being controlled by it → Became more present with his family → And is now intentionally preparing himself for leadership

But my favorite part of the conversation is that Eric doesn’t attribute his growth to learning another closing technique or sales framework.

The biggest shift was purpose.

He stopped asking:

“How much commission can I make?”

And started thinking more deeply about the kind of professional, husband, father, and future leader he wanted to become.

We also get into something I think a lot of high performers wrestle with:

Why would you invest significant money into coaching when you’re already successful?

Eric shares a great analogy.

You can take a bunch of group lessons that are cheaper…

Or you can invest in the private lesson that identifies exactly what’s holding you back.

That’s how he came to view coaching—not as an expense, but as an investment in the person producing the results.

If you’re successful on paper but feeling burned out…

If you’re questioning whether you still “have it”…

If your happiness rises and falls with your commission check…

Or if you’re thinking about what the next chapter of your career looks like…

I think you’ll get a lot out of Eric’s story.

Because sometimes the next level of your career doesn’t require another sales tactic.

It requires becoming a different version of yourself.

From Taylor Johnson

We talked about some pretty deep topics.

If any of this resonates with you. Let's chat sometime.

https://calendly.com/davidson-iankoniak/untap-your-sales-potential-networking

Haha, its okay. Everything doesn't have to be perfect.

Just wanted to share gratitude for all of the sisters out there. You matter.

I know I haven't been that active here. Wanted to with you why and whats going on.

Embracing Authenticity in Personal and Professional

Davidson expressed his admiration for this approach and asked Carolina about her confidence in landing an enterprise sales role despite her background in selling smaller deals. Carolina explained her journey, which involved applying for the Academy program at Sap and eventually bypassing it to take on a full-time role. She emphasized the importance of taking risks and not being afraid to put one's name forward for opportunities.

Davidson and Chris discussed their experiences with podcasts, personal development, and sales careers, reflecting on their journey from early-stage salespeople to top performers. They explored the challenges of finding the right job in the current market, emphasizing the importance of understanding company success, transparency, and alignment with personal skills and interests. The conversation also touched on mindset, the value of networking, and the differences between working in early-stage companies and larger corporations.

Improving Project Structure and CommunicationThe team discussed the need for a more comprehensive and detailed approach to their project, with a focus on the importance of understanding the customer's needs and pain points. They agreed on the necessity of a more structured and organized process, with clear roles and responsibilities assigned to each team member. The team also emphasized the importance of effective communication and collaboration to ensure the project's success. They ended the conversation with a commitment to work on these aspects and reconvene to review progress.

Navigating Job Market Challenges

Davidson and Chris discussed the challenges of finding the right job in the current market. Chris emphasized the importance of understanding the company's success, transparency, and alignment with one's skills and interests. He also highlighted the need to focus on the skills required for a job and the type of product and customers involved. Both agreed that the market has shifted, with more salespeople than opportunities, and that it's crucial to be choosy about the company one chooses to work for. They also discussed the challenges of selling technical products and the importance of finding a company that aligns with one's interests and skills.

Chris's Non-Traditional Sales Journey

Chris shared his non-traditional sales background, which started with a computer science degree and led to various roles in tech companies, including tech support, project management, and channel sales. He found his passion in tech sales around 2018. Chris emphasized the importance of understanding business problems and how technology can solve them. He also highlighted the value of staying non-technical in sales conversations. Chris joined a coaching program to enhance his sales skills and surround himself with top performers. He believes in investing in one's own success and sees the coaching program as a no-brainer. Davidson agreed with Chris's points and shared his own experiences with the coaching program.

Mindset and Personal Development ExperiencesChris and Davidson discussed their experiences with mindset and personal development. Chris shared how he was initially drawn to mindset due to the challenges he faced in maintaining a positive mindset, and how it helped him navigate various sales issues. Davidson, on the other hand, initially thought he didn't need mindset as he had already invested in personal development, but found it helped him focus on self-love and identity outside of his career. Both agreed that their experiences were different from what they initially expected, but ultimately beneficial.

Sales Challenges and Company CulturesChris and Davidson discussed the challenges and similarities faced by salespeople in both small and large companies. They agreed that while all companies have their unique problems, salespeople universally face the tasks of generating pipeline and closing deals. They also touched on the idea of a 'cult-like' atmosphere in big tech companies, with Chris arguing that their voluntary community is not a cult, but a network of like-minded individuals who have found success and support in their shared vision and goals.