8 Core Lessons and Themes from 8 Months from Being Head of Business at Untap Your Sales Potential

When I first stepped into the role of Head of Business Development at Untap Your Sales Potential with Ian Koniak, Tanveer Mostafa, Isaac McCauley, Christi Civalier, and Mike Fiascone, I knew it would be an incredible growth opportunity because of the high caliber of people I would be surrounding myself with regularly.

But I didn’t realize just how much personal transformation would happen alongside professional success.

Here are 8 key lessons I’ve learned over these 8 months — lessons that go beyond business and have shaped who I am today.

1. Lead with Heart, Not Just Hustle

In high-performance environments, it’s easy to think success is all about grinding harder. But at Untap, I learned that leading with genuine service and heart creates trust — and trust creates results.

Sometimes as sales reps we go to straight grinding mode. Smile and dial- picking up the phone and just go! But once you slow down and be more thoughtful in your approach. You’re naturally get a lot more responses. I learned this the hard way as I reflected at the end of the day every day and compared notes to why I would get more call backs one day compared to a day where it felt like I wasn’t making any progress. Thats why we get paid so much as sale reps- most other occupations do not get as many rejections as we do.

For most of my sales career, I knew how to grind and hustle and but the more up market you go-The more you need to slow down and do the deep work required to excel. This takes planning, and intentional reflection regularly.

*Are you doing the necessary deep work required to hit your goals or are you living on a prayer? I’m not going to lie- for a decent chunk of my career- I was winging a lot of it.

What are the activities that will move the needle the most?

For people who are used to just straight hustling- there comes a stage where I will need to slow down to speed up. Hiring Ian Tenenbaum was one of those investments that is helping me be more strategic in a sustainable way. It’s a marathon not a Sprint. Shout out to the Accountable family for all of the coworking sessions.

2. Discipline > Motivation

Motivation comes and goes. Discipline, especially sticking to a daily outbound rhythm even on the hard days, is what separates average performers from record-breakers.

I noticed from being around so many top performers at their respective companies that the most successful are not only the ones who make the time to attend the weekly calls so that they can sharpen the axe but they aren’t afraid to ask the hard questions.

I get the privilege of speaking to hundreds of sales reps a week because of my unique role and there are so many people who “don’t have time to truly invest in themselves.” We all have responsibilities in fact, the bigger the game you play- The more you need to invest in yourself because you are stretching yourself to grow. Having the resources, someone who has done it before will save you thousands of hours and the opportunity cost to not invest in yourself is high if you are ambitious enough to see it.

People who know they don’t have it all figured out are the most successful. I hate to say it but I’ve spoke to a number of older reps who will lurk and will read/watch a ton of our content but will not take any action in investing in the program even though they “know” it works.

3. Mindset Is Everything

Being around Ian and our community taught me how much mindset determines outcome. Fear, doubt, imposter syndrome — they only win if we let them.

Confidence is a muscle we strengthen through action.

“Confidence comes being from your word.”

I meet with people sometimes who do not have a strong sense of being their word. When they say something their chances of showing up for that meeting is much lower than someone who is living a life of integrity.

It takes practice and time.

Don’t get me wrong- I’ve missed meetings before but I’m very aware of my meetings and there was a point where Tanveer had to give it to me straight and said Davidson, I don’t care about train delays. You need to treat our 1on1s with respect. That was eye opening for me.

He challenged me and asked would you ever show up 5 minutes late to a 1on1 with Ian…?

It just wouldn’t happen. That caused me to wake up even earlier and make sure that I don’t have any excuses at the end of the day- I’m only harming myself.

The results is what matters and respecting the process is part of your journey.

4. Systems Save You

I used to think I thrived in “organized chaos.” I’ve learned the hard (and valuable) way that CRM rigor, clean data tracking, and daily systems are what create consistency — and consistency compounds.

One of my self limiting beliefs is that I am not a “systems” person.

What a load of bs.

Being able to have process and a strong system will prevent me from failing off course. Of course, with anything if thats what I believe. That’s going to be my reality.

Be careful of the stories you tell about yourself. It might actually come true.

5. Celebrate the Micro-Wins

Not every day is a home run. I learned to celebrate the small wins — a new connection, a good conversation, a booked meeting — because they stack up to massive results over time.

It’s important to smell the roses. Luckily for me 8 months flew by really quickly. Sometimes I’m not giving myself the grace I would give to my closest friends.

Now, I journal every morning is the first thing I do after I brush my teeth because it’s something to acknowledge the good that you’ve done even if “the results” don’t show immediately long as you trust your process. It will typically yield results.

6. Authenticity Attracts

People can smell a sales pitch from a mile away. But when you’re genuinely excited to serve and solve — and you’re authentic about the mission — you naturally attract the right clients.

I’ve been guilty of thinking about myself but when I slow down and I’m grounded in our mission to heal and help sellers reach their full potential.

I tend to get a lot more call backs and responses. It’s when I’m in that well known flight or fight mode that we are all so used to that is when I’m not seeing the results I know is possible but after implementing something as simple as slowing down to meditate before I start my day is letting me get into a higher state/frequency.

Notice your energy- are you depleted?

Are you making excuses as to why you aren’t hitting your numbers.?

I hear about reps who complain about their territory, manager, “insert a billion excuses here”. One of my roles here is when I hear a reps making a lot of excuses. I already know, there aren’t going to be a good fit for the program. I get the honor of interviewing potential clients and you can learn a lot about a person from a 15 minute call with them.

Are they taking responsibility or are they shifting blame externally?

Heck I’ve been guilty of this as well. My answer to you is so what? What are you going to do about it? Are you going to wallow in misery are you going to take massive action? It’s your choice. I’ve been guilty of leaving when the going gets tough and you know what if I’m being honest. It didn’t really build resilience. It just added to my identity which I didn’t know it at the time but it was just me being in survival mode because I didn’t do the work required to grow and prosper.

7. Personal Growth Fuels Professional Growth

The better I’ve taken care of myself — mentally, emotionally, spiritually — the better I’ve performed. Business success is deeply tied to personal growth, not separate from it.

It sounds counter intuitive at times but when I slowed down and took a walk around the block to clear my mind and actually took my lunch breaks- I was able to be a lot more productive overall because then I didn’t burn out.

Don’t be so busy that you forget to go to the doctors, dentist, physical therapist, whatever you need to do to take care of your physical health as well. Because we are know when that goes. Everything is just harder.

8. Play a little. It’s all a game.

Mike Fiascone gave a talk at our last Mastermind and he reminded us that we are taking our job way too damn serious.

At the end of the day, it’s all a game. I talk to Salesforce reps all day and word of advice, it’s just a game.

I can literally feel the stress poring out of them when I speak to their reps everyday. It’s kind of crazy, it’s like if thats your natural state of being.

Is it really worth it? I get it, it’s hard.

Those who have been a part for lay offs know how scary that can be. But at the end of the day, you’ll be fine.

Most of us that are privileged enough to work at a top tier tech company have it easy compared to the rest of the world. It’s all about perspective.

I’ve worked at some pretty amazing companies and I’ve seen 99% of the time people land on their feet just fine.

What feels like a horrible thing sometimes can end up being a blessing.

I know I’m glad I’m no longer a part of the corporate golden hand cuffs. Although that did come with a lot of blessings. Everything happens for a reason. Remember to just have fun in the process. It’s not that serious.

Closing Reflection:

Eight months in, I’m more energized, more aligned, and more committed to my mission than ever.

If you’re building your own dream, remember: success isn’t just what you do — it’s how you show up every single day.

And the best investment you can make is always in yourself. If you want to catch up and learn more about what we do are Untap Your Sales Potential. DM me and I’ll ping you over my calendar. It will great to catch up and see how we can serve you in reaching your goals.

What’s the biggest leadership lesson you’ve learned recently? I’d love to hear about it — drop it in the comments. Do any of these resonate with you? If so, let me know which one is your favorite lesson.

PS: Welcome Rich McGrew and Jared Chan ☁️ to the team! Shout out to Arian Beyzaei, Brooke Estin, and Alec Paul for all that you do to grow the community. We won’t be able to reach $5million in revenue this year without the team effort!