Untap Your Sales Potential
Untap Your Sales Potential is a podcast for tech sales professionals who want to move from good to elite performance. Host Ian Koniak shares real stories of sellers who transformed their results, drawing out the mindset, habits, and skills that separate the top 1% from everyone else. Each episode offers practical lessons on how to raise your numbers and build a sustainable, high-performing sales career. If you feel you're capable of more, the show aims to give you a clear path to get there.
Episodes
#27 - He Almost Quit Sales, Now He's on Track for $1M | Eric Cullen
A few years ago, Eric Cullen wasn't sure he should even stay in sales.This year, at 50 years young, he's on track to earn $1M.For most of his career, Eric made around $300K a year and hovered right around his number. Some years a little above plan, some years a little below, but he never broke through to the next level. .I first met Eric at Salesforce eight years ago. At 47, he joined Untap Your S
#26 - You Know What to Do. So Why Can't You Start? | Ian Mai
The night after Ian Mai closed the biggest deal in his company's history, he couldn't sleep.The deal was about 20 times the average deal size at the time. By every outside measure, it was a massive win.But instead of celebrating, he felt more beat up and more broken than before. One question kept running through his head: how am I going to keep doing this?He had built his entire career on pressure
#25 - He Became a Strategic Seller With 4,000 Accounts! | Ahiman Alexander
Last week I had my mind blown by one of our clients Ahiman Alexander, who doubled his income during his time in our program from $220K to $420K/year. The thing that impressed me most about Ahiman is that he found a way to apply strategic selling skills to his mid-market role at Asana, and scale this approach across 4,000 accounts!His average deal size is just 15K, yet he will sell over 2M this yea
#24 - She Was Making Half a Million a Year, but Knew Something Was Missing | Christi Civalier
Christi Civalier was crushing it in sales and making half a million a year, but something was missing. Deep inside she knew there was another level of selling she had yet to reach. She felt stuck in her career, and had hit a ceiling.. Five years ago, while I was still working at Salesforce, she started messaging me whenever I posted on LinkedIn, asking to work together. At the time I had no capaci
#23 - He Landed His Dream Sales Job at Microsoft with Zero Experience | Daniel Borodyansky
I get asked all the time how to break into Enterprise tech sales.Since I don't offer career coaching, I decided to interview my good friend Daniel Borodyansky, who broke into Microsoft with no sales experience.Not only did he share his step-by-step playbook for landing his dream job, he also broke down how he hit 97% his first year at Microsoft, then used that as motivation to crush his quota the
#22 - The Most Ungrateful Gratitude Salesman on Earth | John Israel
Nine years ago, a guy I just met at a mastermind was in the middle of a strange challenge. He was handwriting five thank you cards a day every day for a full year. This challenge eventually led to a book “The Mr. Thank You Project,” Ted Talk, and professional speaking business. Not long afterwards, I started my own 365-day challenge, where I posted a motivational video every day for a year on Inst
#21 - He Just Sold $28M in New Logos! | Mike Webster
There are only a few individual sellers on the planet who have sold 28M in a single year. Mike Webster is one of them, and I just interviewed him last week as my Fireside Chat guest. Mike is a top seller at a leading Microsoft services partner and reseller. His numbers are absolutely insane – last year he sold over 28M against a 15M quota and had his best year ever. He has broken 7 figures W-2 for
#20 - He Got Sober Without Rehab or AA | Ed Wakefield
On paper, Ed Wakefield was successful by every measure.Successful career in B2B sales.President's Club winner at Salesforce.Happily married with two young boys.But behind the scenes, Ed was secretly struggling with alcohol.18 months ago, he decided to get sober completely on his own. No rehab, AA, or sponsor.Instead of following conventional paths to sobriety, Ed built his own path based on discip
#19 - He Closed an $8.5M Deal on the Last Day of the Year | Rob O'Keefe
Imagine working an 8.5M deal for an entire year, and still having the paperwork unsigned going into the last day of the fiscal year! That would rattle anybody, but Rob O’Keefe fully trusted that the deal would close on Friday January 30th, and that’s exactly what happened. He knew this because he had personally brokered 18 meetings between Senior Executives at his company (Docusign) and his custom
#18 - She Sold $200M Despite Her Childhood | Crystal Ives
$200,000,000. That's how much Crystal Ives has sold in her career against all odds. Her mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia and spent 7 years in and out of mental hospitals starting when she was 5 years old. Her father murdered two people and served time in prison. At 7, her grandfather went bankrupt and gave her up for adoption for a month because he couldn't afford to keep her.Read that agai
#17 - He Sold $1.2 Billion With a 90% Win Rate! | Bob Koviak
In this episode, I sat down with Bob Koviak, who sold 1.2B in his career while maintaining a 90% win rate! In his own words, “I don’t lose deals.” Bob has crossed 7 figures multiple times in his career, and In his last year at Microsoft, he finished at 345% of quota selling Agentic AI solutions.His previous nickname was “Big Deal Bob,” but during our conversation we all agreed that “Billionaire Bo
#16 - She Spent Half Her Savings on Coaching That Turned Into 189% of Quota | Miriam John (MJ)
Miriam John (MJ) had $27,000 left in her savings account, and took the bold move of spending half of it on coaching. She had recently moved from India to the UK with her husband and was working in a difficult environment where she was being criticized constantly with no real feedback on how to improve. She was crying herself to sleep most nights. Making the decision meant a hard conversation with
#15 - Fireside Chat with Jamal Reimer: How to Close Mega Deals | Jamal Reimer
In this episode, I interviewed Jamal Reimer, author of Mega Deal Secrets and Founder of Enterprise Sellers.Jamal sold 160M as an individual contributor at Oracle and now writes, coaches, and consults on how to find and close mega deals.In this episode, Jamal openly shares his playbook as we cover the following topics in detail:Why humility is his secret weaponTeam selling: how to lead and quarterb
#14 - He Hit Rock Bottom, Almost Quit Sales, Then Tripled His Income to $970K | Greg Cummings
It’s not the wins in our life that showcase our true strength - it’s how we respond when we get knocked down…badly! Greg Cummings had just been laid off from a startup after underperforming. He came back to Salesforce, put everything he had into proving he belonged there, and still fell short of where he thought he should be. When he looked at his territory for the following year, stripped down an
#13 - Fireside Chat with the Legendary Bob Burg | Bob Burg
Bob Burg is one of the most influential authors in the world of sales and business. His bestselling book, The Go-Giver, has sold more than one million copies and teaches a simple but powerful philosophy: the greatest success comes from creating value, building trust, and serving others first.His message perfectly aligns with what we teach at Untap Your Sales Potential: shifting from inward-focused
#12 - He Closed a $75M Deal at Oracle and Shares Exactly How | Brad Harmon
When I first started selling software, I would hear about massive deals closing. I always wondered who sold these mega deals, how they actually got done. Not long ago, I sat down with Brad Harmon, who recently closed a $75M deal and finished AE of the Year at Oracle. Brad rose the ranks of software from BDR to Strategic Seller, and has earned 7 figures multiple years. He’s also extremely consisten
#11 - How to Sell Like a Consultant | Noah Flower
What’s the difference between how a consultant sells, and how a typical software AE sells? In one word: EVERYTHING! My first four years at Salesforce, I spoke to customers like many AE’s do. I was friendly, charismatic, and asked a lot of questions about their current situation. If I thought we could help the client, I shared our value proposition, overview of the software, and asked for next step
#10 - She Cried Uncontrollably on the Street After Closing $1.7M | Christina Godwin
I want to share how this story ends before I tell you how it begins. Christina Godwin had just closed $1.7 million in 36 hours. It was the last stretch of her fiscal year at Workday. She left the Empire State Building, walked out onto the street in New York City, and started crying uncontrollably. She was on her way to buy herself a Prada bag because she felt so proud of her accomplishments, yet s
#9 - The #1 Global AE at Mambu Wasn’t Even a Salesperson | Ashwin Sirse
One of the biggest myths in sales is that top performers all look the same.They're charismatic, extroverted, and natural-born salespeople. They're great at presenting, excellent communicators, and master negotiators. But after coaching hundreds of top performers, I've found the opposite is true.The best sellers win because they lean into their strengths…not because they try to become someone else.
#8 - He Almost Lost His Job, Then He Made $1M Two Years in a Row | Jonathan Samuelson
When I interviewed Jonathan Samuelson, I knew his numbers were incredible. 248% of quota his first year with Untap Your Sales Potential, 318% the next, and two consecutive years earning over $1,000,000 W2 in tech sales. What I didn’t know was his personal story and how much adversity he’d overcome to get here. Before joining UYSP, Jonathan had been at Genesys for five years and had nearly lost his
#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 s
#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 glob
#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
#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
#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 m
#2 - From Plumber to $1M+ Earner at Age 32 | Robby Jones
What happens when you reach the top of the mountain you spent your whole life climbing, and you still feel empty?That is the question at the heart of this conversation with Robby Jones. Robby is VP of Sales at SAP, running a $200 million ARR enterprise business with a $60 million ACV quota at just 32 years old. He is a member of our seven-figure club, and last year he closed one of the largest dea
#1 - She Became the #1 AE in America Working 9 to 5 as a Mom | Kelsie Neibel
What does it actually look like to crush your sales career without sacrificing your family, your health, or your sanity?That is exactly what Kelsie Neibel has done. In 2025, Kelsie was the number one AE in all of America at SnapLogic, made President's Club, and hit 175% of her quota. The year before that, she was AE of the Year and hit 141% of quota. She has done all of this as a full-time working
#0 - Untap Your Sales Potential Podcast Trailer
In this trailer, Ian Koniak shares who this podcast is for, why he built it, and what you can expect every week.Ian is the founder and CEO of Untap Your Sales Potential, the world's fastest growing community of tech sellers. Over the past four years, more than 625 sellers have gone through his program and transformed their results. But Ian did not start at the top.For three years in a row at Sales
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