The Ramped Podcast

Mariah Donnelly is the Senior SDR Manager at Greenhouse Software. On today's episode, Danny Leonard sits down with Mariah to discuss her journey in sales. They cover bunches of exceptional topics, including: 

• Hails from the great state of Minnesota
• Did not necessarily know she wanted sales in college at UW-Madison
• Moved to New York and jumped into an inside sales role
• Found Greenhouse & loved the culture and team there
• How to screen for exceptional SDRs
• Why the Sales Development team rocks
• Tips on how to be a high performing SDR
• Where she sees SDRs falling short & how they can avoid missteps
• How to crush the SDR role

We know you'll learn a ton from Mariah's guidance. 

Enjoy this episode of The Ramped Podcast & How I Sell - thank you for tuning in!

Karen Nguyen is the VP of Sales at Cobalt.io. On today's episode, Danny Leonard and Manoj Jonna sit down with Karen to discuss her journey in sales. They cover many meaningful topics, including: 

• Got into sales looking to pay bills and get out of debt during Great Financial Crisis
• Started in retail sales at Verizon
• Took every step in the sales ladder: BDR to AE to Manager
• Breaking down sales as a big math equation
• Practicing empathy in sales
• Making the transition from in-person management to virtual management 
• Playing the sales game as a team sport & holding yourself and teammates accountable
• Looking for aptitude and curiosity around product and sales to determine if they’ll be great
• Great salespeople can come from anywhere, but they all have a high degree of emotional intelligence
• How to cut through the noise with outbound prospecting
• Be creative & go the extra mile

We know you'll learn a ton from Karen's guidance. 

Enjoy this episode of The Ramped Podcast & How I Sell - thank you for tuning in!

James Stone is the Director of Sales - Mid Market at HubSpot. On today's episode, Danny Leonard and Manoj Jonna sit down with James to discuss his journey in sales. They cover many compelling topics, including: 

• Boston bred sales executive at HubSpot, lives right outside Boston with his puppy
• Started as an account manager at ad agency in Boston, realized he wasn’t happy there 
• Realized he loved speaking with clients
• Started at HubSpot at employee 175
• Not rocket science to set yourself apart - get there early, be a sponge, don’t be selfish
• Selling with empathy is critically important, especially during the pandemic 
• Marketing is a super power at HubSpot, makes our lives at salespeople easier
• Best BDRs: motivated, naturally curious, & have great business acumen 
• Interviews folks on going above and beyond, what roles they’ve held in the past, times where they’ve taught themselves something, & what questions they have for me
• It’s ok to quit when the role truly does not feel right for you

We know you'll learn a ton from James' guidance. 

Enjoy this episode of The Ramped Podcast & How I Sell - thank you for tuning in!

Gordon Lawson is the CRO at RangeForce. On today's episode, Manoj Jonna sits down with Gordon to discuss his journey in sales. They cover many impactful topics, including: 

• Went to college and went into the Navy; thought sales was the right choice over finance
• Started in defense contracting sales
• Naval Academy taught him about leadership, applied those skills in sales management
• Had a cousin who was in tech sales and his mother was education administrator; guided him into tech sales
• Always looking for the right people at the right time in a startup lifecycle; early employees differ from late stage employees
• Building a process around key indicators is the right way to scale up a team
• Read Tom Tunguz blog asap if you want to get in to SaaS sales
• LinkedIn is a platform that is still underutilized in sales
• Be radically open-minded, especially when someone gives you advice

Gordon has thrived as a process-oriented sales leader. We know you'll learn lots from Gordon's guidance. 

Enjoy this episode of The Ramped Podcast & How I Sell - thank you for tuning in!

Matt Toth is the Sr. Director at STOPit Solutions. On today's episode, Manoj Jonna sits down with Matt to discuss his journey in sales. They cover many impactful topics, including: 

• Teachers aid & parents pushed him towards teaching, did not love it
• Tech & customer service helped him gravitate towards tech and then sales
• Does not matter what your background is...if you want it, you will do great in sales
• Would love to see sales as a major; not only one way of doing it
• Great sales folks can come from anywhere with so many different personality types, not just your stereotypical Glengarry Glen Ross salesperson
• Great salespeople self-educate
• Creativity is a personality trait of great salespeople that is not well understood
• Always be learning, testing, and trying new things in sales
• Make sure you are tracking metrics, both personal and team based
• Don’t be afraid to come up with your own hypothesis and test it out

We know you'll learn a ton from Matt's guidance. 

Enjoy this episode of The Ramped Podcast & How I Sell - thank you for tuning in!

Steve Botz is the VP Sales at Jones Software. On today's episode, Manoj Jonna sits down with Steve to discuss his journey in sales. They cover many great topics, including: 

• Gravitated towards early stage technology companies
• Did not know what he wanted to do right out of college
• Jumped around from jobs and internships to after the financial crisis in 2008
• Sales is discipline; practice and hone your skills to succeed
• Took many practice reps to figure out what he was doing right / wrong
• Startups naturally fed his curiosity more than bigger companies
• Students do not get taught about aspects of the basic sales motion in schools, and they need to!
• Never underestimate your network
• Patience is a premium skill to have and learn early in your career
• Spent entire careers in sales, but fell into it like many others

We know you'll learn a ton from Steve's guidance. 

Enjoy this episode of The Ramped Podcast & How I Sell - thank you for tuning in!

Marla Freeman is the RVP of Sales Access Softek. On today's episode, Danny Leonard and Manoj Jonna sit down with Marla to discuss her journey in sales. They cover bunches of topics, including: 

• First sales job was selling vacuum cleaners door-to-door
• Had to make jokes to get through first sales job
• Must be strong willed to thrive in sales because it’s so emotional
• Must try hard to remove the stigma of being a salesperson when selling
• Motivation in sales come from having great conversations with other people
• Must treat your co-workers and direct reports with success 
• Dealing with sexism on sales teams
• It’s easier to get in touch with people today versus when Marla started in sales
• Must stand up for yourself in sales
• Be human!

Outside of work, Marla lives in NJ with her lovely family

We know you'll learn a ton from Marla's guidance. 

Enjoy this episode of The Ramped Podcast & How I Sell - thank you for tuning in!

Jesse Osborne is the VP of Sales Development at Tipalti. On today's episode, Manoj Jonna sits down with Jesse to discuss his journey in sales. They cover many topics, including: 

• Took first sales gig because it offered a company car...jumped right in to it
• Liked sales because it’s on you to make it happen
• Got thrown out his first cold call drop in at a restaurant in Daly City
• Play the numbers game in sales
• Pulled lessons from Zig Ziglar
• Loves leadership because helps him understand the ‘why’ with people (e.g. why are you in sales?)
• Find a good leader, find a good company, and ride that wave
• Can’t teach work ethic; Jesse hires on work ethic
• Lessons on how to personalize at scale 
• Be on top of changes, be a voice internally at your company

Jesse comes from a long lineage of reformers and inventors. His grandfather was a prison reformer, and one of his distant relatives was Samuel Morse. His family shaped who he is today. 

We know you'll learn a ton from Jesse's guidance. 

Enjoy this episode of The Ramped Podcast & How I Sell - thank you for tuning in!

Nima Elyassi-Rad is a Fractional VP of Business Development and the Co-Founder of Eterno. On today's episode, Danny Leonard sits down with his dear friend Nima to discuss his journey in sales. They cover many topics, including: 

• Nima asks himself two high-level questions during every job: Am I Learning? & Am I Contributing
• Had entrepreneurial itch early in his career / college career
• First entrepreneurial experience working at Ian’s Pizza in Madison
• Read Brad Feld article and became interested in venture capital
• First sales job was selling $150 boomboxes, then became a telemarketer and learned a ton about getting rejected
• The Groupon experience - had incredible mentors and worked many roles 
• Worked next to master salespeople at Groupon
• Jumped out to Silicon Valley, worked at a few startups and then became a venture capitalist under Ben Narasin
• How he fly to SLC to take a shot on meeting & working for one of his heroes (Bryce Roberts)
• Found Shippo and launched into a BD role - working mega deals and partnerships
• Learned proper BD from the legendary Holger
• Applying what he learned throughout his career to grow Eterno

Outside of work, Nima lives with his wife in SF. He loves soccer and scotch. We know you'll love learning from his guidance!

Enjoy this episode of The Ramped Podcast & How I Sell - thank you for tuning in!

Tim Teeter is the VP of Business Development at YayPay and a sales leader who cares deeply about relationships. On today's episode, Manoj Jonna sits down with Tim to discuss his journey in sales. They cover bunches of topics, including: 

• Worked at startups for last quarter of his career; first at Oracle and other big businesses
• Went to University of Wisconsin & worked at the famous Terrace as a student
• Studied accounting in college to give himself maneuverability
• Married interests with people and found sales
• Key advice: never burn a bridge
• Jumped to a small, but fast growing startup called Avalara and jumped into BD
• Build and nurturing relationships is a premium in your career
• Partnerships are like snowflakes: everyone likes to be treated differently 

Outside of work, Tim is a marathon runner, who lives in Minneapolis with his wife and two daughters. We know you'll love learning from his guidance!

Enjoy this episode of The Ramped Podcast & How I Sell - thank you for tuning in!