Untap Your Sales Potential

#7 - He Sold $87M at 34 Years Old | Mike Brandt

When I was at Salesforce, I fiercely competed for the #1 Enterprise AE position against another seller named Mike Brandt. I haven’t spoken to him in 8 years since then, and we recently caught up for this month’s Fireside Chat.  You may not have heard of Mike Brandt before, but after today’s conversation you won’t forget him. Mike has one of the most impressive track records I’ve ever seen in tech sales: 12 of 13 years over quota, earning 500K to 1M as a top Enterprise AE at Salesforce, before getting promoted to Enterprise RVP and now leading one of Snowflake’s strongest teams. Mike and his teams have personally sold over 87M in net new ACV!  The most impressive part – he is only 34 years old.  And he’s achieved this without sacrificing his health or personal life.  Mike has five kids under eight years old and his family is “screen-free.” He lives on a small hobby farm with goats, sheep, chickens, and a pony. He’s also been sober for three years. Mike is a force of nature, and this is the first time he has ever gone public with his story. Here are some of the topics we explored during our conversation:  1. How he “does it all” The habits, boundaries, and lifestyle choices that enable him to lead at an elite level, finish work by 5pm, and spend quality time with his family.  2. How he landed a job as an Enterprise AE at Salesforce at just 22 years old.  3. Why selling like a consultant is key to landing big software contracts, and the exact playbook to sell like a consultant.  4. How he develops sales superstars with the goal of getting one person on his team promoted every year, and another to pay off their house!  5. The shift from license to consumption model in software sales, and how to adapt your sales approach to meet the changing market landscape.  6. Why Mike got sober three years ago, and the impact it’s had on his mind and health.  I know this conversation will inspire you as much as it inspired me.  Learn more at https://www.untapyoursalespotential.com/podcast [https://www.untapyoursalespotential.com/podcast]

#6 - She Climbed From 38% Quota to $14M in One Year | Carolina Chavez

What does it take to go from 38% quota attainment to closing $14 million in a single year, landing one of only 20 elite sales roles in all of SAP, and doing it all as the youngest person on her team (and the only Latina woman in the room)? For Carolina Chavez, it started with facing herself. Carolina is now an Account Executive in SAP's Strategic Customer Program, where she manages one of SAP's global strategic accounts. She spent two years in Untap Your Sales Potential and during that time tripled her sales production, closed $14 million on a $5 million annual quota, and earned a promotion that only 20 people in the entire company hold.  She is also a certified hypnotherapist with over 250 hours of training, a co-founder of the Latinas in Tech Denver chapter, and one of the most self-aware sellers I’ve ever coached. But the version of Carolina who walked into our first coaching call was a completely different person. She had hit only 38% of quota in her first year at SAP. She was the youngest on her team, one of the only women, and had zero enterprise sales experience. She was operating from a place of fear and proving herself to others.  She questioned herself constantly and wondered “why would anyone listen to me?”  She was in hustle mode, pouring from an empty cup, and had no idea that the real problem was not her skills. It was what she believed about herself. And underneath all of that was something even deeper. In 2020, she had been through a traumatic personal event that shook her sense of confidence and safety to its foundation. She eventually had to get a restraining order. She tried traditional talk therapy and it didn’t work. Then she tried hypnotherapy for the first time and was shocked by how much it helped. That experience started a years-long personal healing journey that would eventually transform the way she showed up in every room she walked into. Here is what we covered on my latest podcast episode: * How to go from a new Enterprise Seller with zero experience to closing $14 million on a $5 million quota and earning one of only 20 strategic customer roles at SAP by age 30 * Going from hustle mode and proving worthiness to showing up calm and authentic  * The deep multi-threading playbook she used to break through IT and build C-suite relationships at a 20-year customer who had never once responded to outreach * How she went back to a prospect's college years on LinkedIn to find a warm path to a chief accounting officer and what happened when she finally got the meeting * Her morning routine: hypnotherapy, movement, visualization, and why she calls it non-negotiable * Why investing $18,000 in coaching transformed her sales and life * How she was able to rise above a traumatic experience through hypnotherapy, and her powerful advice for anybody who remains stuck because of their trauma  * What she would tell anyone sitting at 38% quota right now who feels like the role is beyond them Carolina's story is proof that the inner work is not separate from the results. When you do the work on yourself, your results skyrocket.  Learn more at https://www.untapyoursalespotential.com/podcast [https://www.untapyoursalespotential.com/podcast]

#5 - From Homeless Shelter to $1M in Tech Sales | Mikhail Avant

Most people never come close to achieving their full potential. Not because they lack talent. Because they never fully commit. This week on the Untap Your Sales Potential Podcast, I sat down live with one of the most intense, disciplined, and inspiring sellers I’ve ever coached: Mikhail Avant. It was one of the most inspiring conversations I’ve ever had.  Mikhail was born in a homeless shelter. He grew up in violence, chaos, poverty, and instability. By age 10, he was helping raise his younger brothers while his mother worked to survive. He became obsessed with discipline through basketball and hardship. Then life humbled him. He dropped out of college and worked as a janitor. Lived in a tiny apartment with cracked walls. He had no mentors, degree, or roadmap to follow.  But he refused to accept his current life.  He started working as a trainer and found out he was really good at sales.  If only somebody would give him a shot in corporate sales, he would take care of the rest.  Eventually, he broke into tech sales and got his opportunity. He became a high performer and continued to put himself in bigger opportunities, finding his way to ServiceNow.  That’s when he decided to level up and coach with me.  When Mikhail joined my coaching program in 2023, his biggest year ever was around $200K. The next year he made over $500K. The following year, he made $1M. But the most powerful part of his story isn’t the money. It’s HOW he transformed. He made a decision to go ALL IN and become the very best in sales.  In this conversation, we go deep on: • The mindset shift that completely changed his life • Why champions don’t “set goals”, they make decisions • What “ALL IN” actually looks like in practice • Executive selling and how to get access to power • How he sold massive enterprise logos like Snowflake, Microsoft, and Lyft at a startup • Why most people never reach their potential • The role spirituality, purpose, and identity play in elite performance • Why he left SaaS for AI and where he sees the future going • The mentality required to become truly world-class This was one of the most emotional, raw, and powerful interviews I’ve ever done. If you know you’re capable of more… If you’re tired of playing small… If you’re ready to stop making excuses and fully commit to your potential… There are nuggets in this conversation that can genuinely change your life - but only if you make a decision to take action afterwards. Learn more at https://www.untapyoursalespotential.com/podcast [https://www.untapyoursalespotential.com/podcast]

#4 - She Sold $15M in 5 Months at AWS, Then Quit Her Job | Athina Lampru

What if the intense drive that makes you successful in the sales comes at the cost of your family, your peace, and your life? What if you run so hard that you end up in the hospital?  In our latest podcast episode, our new sales strategist Athina Lampru shares how running from her past fueled elite performance in sales, but nearly cost her everything.  Athina sat down with me to share her story for the first time publicly.  Here is what we covered on the podcast: * Growing up in Venezuela with an alcoholic mother, an absent father, and a childhood defined by survival mode.  * Why trauma is often the hidden fuel behind high-performing salespeople, and what it costs when you never deal with it * The birth of her first son and the postpartum spiral that cracked everything open  * What it actually looks like to miss your child's first year because you cannot stop running * The panic attack that finally forced her to face herself * Walking away from millions because the cost to her family was too high * The integrity gap: why the distance between your values and your actions is directly proportional to the shame you carry every day * How slowing down at Amazon unlocked a $60 million pipeline and $15 million closed in under 5 months  * Getting baptized and married on the same weekend, with both parents who hurt her most walking her down the aisle * Her advice for anybody running so fast they can’t enjoy the life they are already living Ahtina's story is living proof that you can have it all if you are willing to slow down and face yourself. And when you finally slow down to face the person in the mirror and do the deep work on yourself, you come back more powerful than ever. Book a free discovery call and learn more at untapyoursalespotential.com/podcast [http://untapyoursalespotential.com/podcast/]

#3 - He Made $4M Commissions on a Single Deal | Alpesh Patel

What does it take to close a nine‑figure enterprise deal, earn a $4 million commission check, and become one of the most respected sellers in tech sales history? That is exactly what Alpesh Patel did. At Salesforce, Alpesh closed one of the largest deals the company had ever seen — a transformative, multi‑year agreement with a Fortune 100 insurance company. A deal so complex and hard‑fought that most sellers would have walked away long before the finish line. But the size of the deal is not what makes his story remarkable. Years earlier, this deal started as a failure. The initial pilot went nowhere. He faced rejection, skepticism, and doors that stayed firmly closed. Instead of moving on, Alpesh made a radical decision: he committed himself fully to understanding the customer’s world. He literally became a licensed insurance agent to earn credibility, uncover the real problem, and align himself with the customer’s mission. What followed was not a quick win. It was years of persistence, face‑to‑face presence, and value‑first selling that eventually turned doubt into trust, hesitation into urgency, and skepticism into executive alignment. Here is what we covered: * The anatomy of a career‑defining deal and why the long road mattered more than the close * How a failed pilot became the foundation for one of the biggest wins in Salesforce history * Why Alpesh chose to become an insurance agent — and what that unlocked with senior executives * How consistent in‑person engagement changed the trajectory of the deal * What it actually feels like to receive a $4M commission check — and why it was not the most meaningful part His value selling framework: * Believable * Achievable * Sustainable * Differentiated Why these principles work at the highest levels of enterprise sales. Leadership and culture lessons: * Why coin‑operated sellers do not scale * The four traits Alpesh hired for as a sales leader: Trust, Innovation, Conviction, Courage * How he built teams that felt part of something bigger — and how that culture led to record‑breaking results at Salesforce and DocuSign Personal growth and authenticity: * Why vulnerability strengthens trust instead of weakening it * How to succeed in enterprise sales without being flashy or performative * Why conviction without vulnerability turns into arrogane This is not a typical sales interview. It is a rare look at how world‑class enterprise sellers actually think, operate, and build trust - quietly, patiently, and with purpose. If you are serious about mastering enterprise sales, earning executive trust, and selling in a way that aligns with who you are, this is 70 minutes worth your time. Book a free discovery call and learn more at untapyoursalespotential.com/podcast [http://untapyoursalespotential.com/podcast/]