Episode 91: Emily Shlapak – Take Advantage of Failure to Achieve Success

Run the call, don’t let the call run you. Asking the right questions puts Emily Shlapak in the driver’s seat. 

Now an Account Executive at LinkSquares, Emily keeps things authentic by sharing the failures that led to her success. Perfection doesn’t exist. Being vulnerable increases your relatability and helps build trust. 

In this episode of Tech Sales is for Hustlers, Emily talks about how a career in sales positively impacts every facet of your life, the skills you need to be a successful AE, and why a challenging client is a blessing in disguise.  

Guest-At-A-Glance

💡 Name: Emily Shlapak

💡 What she does: Emily is an account executive at LinkSquares.

💡 Company: LinkSquares

💡 Noteworthy: Emily is passionate about finding creative and meaningful ways of prospecting and cultivating partnerships in the legal tech space. She’s experienced in outbound prospecting and cold outreach and successfully turns strangers into business partners. Outside of the office, Emily is into cinematography, reading, working out, and finding new ways to get out of her comfort zone. 

💡 Where to find Emily: LinkedIn | Website

Key Insights

⚡ Learn from failure. If you really want a job, you will try to be as good as possible at it. However, sometimes the job seems very simple until we get into it. So, at first, it may seem like we can’t succeed. But, according to Emily, failing is the way to learn. “I feel like starting as an SDR or anywhere is a lot like getting thrown to the wolves, but that’s the best way to learn. I basically described it as getting down in the trenches. No one’s going to do the work for you; they’ll do it with you, but they’re not going to do it for you. And you only learn by messing up day after day; failing fast, failing often is the way you learn here because the only way to realize what you should be doing is by doing all the things you should not be doing.”

⚡ The salesperson must have control over the call. Every successful salesperson has some superpower, and Emily was really good at quickly building rapport on the phone. That helped her alot when she first started with calls. “It’s all about taking control of the call. Because when it comes to a cold call, whoever’s asking the questions has control over the call, and it doesn’t matter what kind of questions they are; it’s who is asking the questions who has control over the call.”

⚡ Sales teaches you how to be a better person. As someone who has worked in sales, Emily points out that through this job, many human qualities and values ​are developed — which contribute to personal development. “The reason I got into sales is that it reminds me a lot about life. […] You should be a better friend, girlfriend, boyfriend, mom, or dad — I genuinely believe those things. So I’m excelling in these skills that we learn in sales: how to be a good listener, how to negotiate, storytelling, and how to be persuasive. You need those things in life. So I feel that’s why I’m passionate about it because I don’t feel like it’s siloed as my career. I feel like I’m this way as a person.”

Episode Highlights

Getting Out of Your Comfort Zone Brings Success

“If you’re not in a situation where you’re getting a little nervous or scared, I don’t think you’re growing, and memoryBlue showed me that first. From the call evaluation to the dials to switching campaigns, I was constantly uncomfortable to the point where now I’m unphased by things that I previously thought were big changes. […]

I think moving around was the first glimpse of it. So living in nine different houses meant constantly restarting in a new area, a new place, finding friends, and joining the basketball team; I think that’s where it started. I think in high school and college, I was taking leadership roles as well, like an entrepreneurial organization I was the president of and founded. So I think the leadership roles brought me there, but I don’t know if there was a single moment where I liked being out of my comfort zone. I just feel like I was always kind of this way.”

Show Your Authenticity on LinkedIn

“I think it’s important to document the journey in an authentic way because all of our proudest moments come from a challenge or something you were trying to overcome, and then you made it to the other side. We just talk about the other side and that doesn’t really resonate with people ’cause not everybody’s on the other side. I feel it just encourages people to keep doing what they’re doing. And it’s not always going to be pretty, it’s not always gonna be perfect, but if you’re striving for something bigger — like the bigger picture — it’s worth it. I just try to be authentic, that’s all. I don’t see it enough on social media.”

Try Not to Take the Job so Personally

“Sales is really hard, and I’m a very emotional person. And it was hard for me to learn not to take the job so personally. I’m still working on it, but it feels so personal.

It feels like you take pride in what you do, but no, there is a bad side too, where it’s like, ‘It’s business.’ It’s hard to see it like that sometimes.

That’s something important for me to highlight. It’s just like the highs and lows of sales and trying to keep an even keel. That’s my main focus over the next six months — just keeping an even keel because I feel like when you’re too high on the highs and too low on the lows, it’s so exhausting. It takes everything out of you, and you’re so much less effective. So now, if I book a meeting or something good happens, I’m not like, ‘Oh my God, I’m the man,’ and when it’s bad, I’m not like, ‘Oh, I’m the worst.’ I’m trying to stay in the middle rather than just fluctuating all the time. I’m just hoping that the peaks and valleys get smaller.”

Transcript: 

[00:00:00] Emily Shlapak: When I was on the super campaigns, it, it, it showed me that sales skills transcend industries. And once you get good at the game and won, I truthfully believe you can talk about anything, change the buzzwords, change the keywords, but it’s all the same.

[00:00:14] Marc Gonyea: It’s all the same. 

[00:00:15] Emily Shlapak: Yep. Once you get good at that technique, you get the control of the call. You get your pitch down. The silence of the questions, the laughs, like, all that stuff, you can talking about anything. 

[00:00:25] Marc Gonyea: Emily Shlapak without the Z.

[00:01:03] Emily Shlapak: Yeah. Happy to be here, guys. 

[00:01:05] Marc Gonyea: Well, let’s just get hopped into it. 

[00:01:07] Chris Corcoran: Yep. 

[00:01:08] Marc Gonyea: Tell the folks and Chris and I, we want to know a little bit about you, where you’re from, where you grew up, we’ll speed you up, slow you down, as necessary, but we want to hear about it.

[00:01:18] Emily Shlapak: Awesome. Yeah. So, I, uh, born and raised in north Jersey, as you guys know, Taylor Ham. Yeah. It’s very controversial. Taylor Ham versus Portugal. Yeah, so I grew up in the North Jersey area. Uh, moved around a lot as a kid. I’ve lived in, like, eight or nine different houses. We, like, shipped it out to Florida for two years.

[00:01:41] Went back to Jersey. Yeah, my mom loved keeping us safe, so she kept moving us around. That was cool. Then, when I got to college, I, you know, started at JMU and, um, she moved my whole family down to Virginia to get in-state tuition. 

[00:01:57] Yeah. 

[00:01:59] Chris Corcoran: Did she move to Harrisonburg? 

[00:02:00] Emily Shlapak: She went to Harrisonburg, yeah. I was like, “Mom, I’m trying to get as far away from you, as possible.”

[00:02:05] She just came in with suitcase, wild. Yeah. So, I’ve.

[00:02:09] Marc Gonyea: Well, how did you live back up? What were you like as a kid? Some people work, some play sports. Some people like high school-ish age. 

[00:02:18] Emily Shlapak: Yeah, no, I was a complete tomboy, like, growing up. Like, I was always the girl at recess playing football and, like, you know, volleyball and kickball, like, you know, when I came up, I was like,

[00:02:30] “I wanted the guys to be like, “all Emily’s at-bat. It’s like, yeah.” 

[00:02:33] Chris Corcoran: I think I should call you Shlapak. Actually. Get Shlapak a ball.

[00:02:42] Emily Shlapak: Um, you actually called me Em Shlay.  

[00:02:45] Chris Corcoran: Yeah. Hey, Em Shlay the ball.

[00:02:52] Emily Shlapak: I started up as a kid. 

[00:02:53] But, yeah, I played basketball, like, my whole childhood until, like, senior year of high school. So, basketball was my life. Um, but yeah, so I would say I was a tomboy. I loved being outside. 

[00:03:06] Marc Gonyea: What’d you think you wanted to be when you grew up, when you were in high school? 

[00:03:09] Emily Shlapak: So, I wanted to be a director.

[00:03:11] Marc Gonyea: A director of?

[00:03:12] Emily Shlapak: Random, like movies.

[00:03:13] Marc Gonyea: Movies, really? How come?

[00:03:14] Emily Shlapak: Yeah. 

[00:03:14] Well, when I was like really, really young. I was, I have two younger siblings and I was always putting on, like, little shows for my parents and our friends and family. And I was, like, coordinating it. I don’t know. I really, I guess I liked kind of telling people what to do, in a nice way. But, so, yeah, I wanted to be a director.

[00:03:35] I just, I dunno, I love, like, storytelling and just setting up scenes and situations, I think. And yeah, that was the first dream. 

[00:03:43] Marc Gonyea: Um, how did you end up at JMU? You, not the whole posse? 

[00:03:49] The whole Shlapak posse. 

[00:03:50] Emily Shlapak: Yeah, I mean, I was, I, actually I was choosing between Pittsburgh and, like, the college of New Jersey.

[00:03:56] So those were my options and Yukon, and literally a week before decision day, JMU was like, “Hey, you’re off the wait list. You want to come?” And me and my mom were like, “All right, let’s, you know, drive to Harrisonburg.”

[00:04:07] Marc Gonyea: Have you been there before? 

[00:04:08] Emily Shlapak: No, it’s, like, a week before. 

[00:04:11] Marc Gonyea: So, it wasn’t even consideration, really. ‘Cause you applied just maybe somebody.

[00:04:14] Emily Shlapak: Yeah, I was wait-listed there. I didn’t think I was getting in. I was choosing between Yukon and Pitt, and they were like, you know, “You’re in now.” Like, I should’ve given you more than that. What was that all about?? So, we shipped down to Harrisonburg literally a week before decision day and, you know, I loved the campus, fell in love with the whole place, and yeah, we just like JMU well.

[00:04:37] Marc Gonyea: Why do people like JMU so much?

[00:04:38] People love it. 

[00:04:40] Chris Corcoran: They do 

[00:04:41] Emily Shlapak: I think the campus is beautiful. They love JMU. I think you guys know that, really well. The campus is beautiful. I mean, Virginia’s really, it’s a part of Virginia that’s really nice too. You get that nice sunset. You can see it from campus. I don’t know. I think JMU is just good vibes.

[00:05:00] Marc Gonyea: So, the family followed you down there?

[00:05:02] Emily Shlapak: Family followed me down. Yeah. My two younger siblings were pissed.

[00:05:05] Chris Corcoran: Oh, oh, that is so wrong. 

[00:05:16] Emily Shlapak: So painful. That 

[00:05:17] it’s all about Emily. Blah, blah, blah. Yeah, it is. No, I’m just kidding. No, but they, yeah, they came down there, in high schools. 

[00:05:27] Marc Gonyea: Did they get over it?

[00:05:29] Emily Shlapak: Eventually, eventually very different than yours.

[00:05:35] So, my brothers, so, my sister ended up graduating from Richmond. My brother just graduated from George Mason. So, it worked out for everyone in the end. Was a little dramatic ripping someone out of high school, not cool.

[00:05:46] You know, in Jersey, you’re cool for, like, sports, in Virginia, you’re cool if you do theater, it’s very different. It’s a different vibe, definitely a culture shock. And just leaving high school, you know, the king down yet. So, you know, I’m going, you know, I’m hanging out at JMU and yeah, my family, my siblings are five minutes away dropping off groceries, you know. 

[00:06:05] Marc Gonyea: There you go. What did you major in? 

[00:06:08] Emily Shlapak: So, business management with a concentration in entrepreneurship. 

[00:06:11] Marc Gonyea: Okay. And with this, you’ve got a big personality, that’s a guts compliment. 

[00:06:15] What is that you, you wanted to do when you got into college? That, did you have an idea of, you kind of ended up in the sales world or like what, what did you think?

[00:06:24] Emily Shlapak: Yeah, actually, I think I started my, like, as inter, an international business major. ‘Cause it sounded cool, international business, putting together magic, no idea what that meant.

[00:06:39] And I got in there, they’re like, “Yeah, you gotta learn how to speak a foreign language.” I’m like, “It’s been real fun, guys. I’m gonna try out something else. Business management seems vague enough.” So, we went there. I chose that major because I felt like there was, you know, dealt with a bunch of different things.

[00:06:56] I was going to learn a little bit about finance and accounting and marketing and then kind of figure out what I liked from there. I really didn’t know what I wanted to do. I’ve always had in the back of my mind that I want to do something with entrepreneurship, but that’s kind of, like, how I ended up getting involved with that business fraternity.

[00:07:12] And, but I didn’t, I didn’t know what I wanted to do, truthfully. But, at the end of the day, when I started applying for jobs, I was between marketing and sales. And then, I ended up going down the sales route.

[00:07:23] Marc Gonyea: And how did that happen? How did you find out about us? 

[00:07:26] Emily Shlapak: Yeah, so, I was, you guys were at the, um, letters, like job fairs, like on campus.

[00:07:31] So, I saw you there. I saw the big elephant there. Can’t miss it. And no, I mean, I was just actually, you know what, I didn’t directly apply to memoryBlue, but one of my friends, like, just randomly mentioned it. She was like, “Hey, like, some, I know, like, memoryBlue kits out, like, referral bonuses, whatever.” She’s like my friend’s trying to get, like, “What a referral bonus, like, can you send in your resume?”

[00:07:54] Like, “Yeah, sure.” So, it really wasn’t even all that serious. I was like, “Yeah, take me, man.” Tried to do the best I could with it. You know, I guess, you know, I looked compelling to some extent, so. And then, I got a call. It kind of happened like that. It was super random. Wow. You know, it was actually funny too, is that the day she told me about, you know, memoryBlue, it was at a birthday event at a winery that I kind of, wasn’t going to show up to.

[00:08:19] It was like my friends, that’s it, that sounds really bad. But, like, I don’t know. I wasn’t feeling it that, that, that day or whatever, like I was, I was bartending when I was doing hard work, like crazy. So, huh. A brick house? 

[00:08:32] Marc Gonyea: No. So, in college, you were going to school and you were working? 

[00:08:34] Emily Shlapak: Yes.

[00:08:35] Marc Gonyea: How much did you work? A lot?

[00:08:36] Emily Shlapak: Yeah, like 25 hours a week. Yeah. I was bartending and that, and it was kind of a lot to juggle all 

[00:08:42] at once. 

[00:08:44] Yeah. So, I wasn’t even going to go to that event at the winery that day. So, it’s kind of like serendipitous how it all happened. It’s like, I forced myself to go that day and I sat next to my friend who then was like, “Oh yeah, memoryBlue, my friend, you know, referral.”

[00:08:57] “Yeah, sure. Here’s my resume.” Oh, almost the same way it happened like when I chose to go to JMU, I kind of was like, almost like a last-minute, like. 

[00:09:05] Chris Corcoran: Right. 

[00:09:07] Marc Gonyea: And then you got an interview with us. Yeah. And did you, was there anything else you’re considering, or did we sweep you off your feet, or you just said, “I need a job.” It’s okay, we’re not. 

[00:09:16] Emily Shlapak: Um, probably a combination of needing a job and no, I definitely felt like I was, swept of my feet for sure. I came to the HQ office, interviewed with a couple people. I met Kristen that day. I think I met Jeremy and maybe one other group. I was, um, I was like riding sidecar with Caroline Sullivan.

[00:09:36] She was showing me some stuff. Yeah. Yeah. So, I was kinda, you know, the interview process, I just felt really comfortable, you know, I felt like I could be myself, and that’s really what got me excited. So the interview process went well and then they were like, “Yeah, we’re opening up an office in Boston, this guy Jeremy Wood’s going to be there.

[00:09:55] You should talk to him.” And I’m like, “Alright, cool.” So, I’m on the phone with Jeremy. He’s telling me about the Boston office, getting me excited. And I’ve always had that like entrepreneurial side of me kind of that was coming out. It felt like I would be kind of, it would be like a corporate job with, like, a startup environment.

[00:10:12] The vibe I was getting from the Boston office, I was like, “Let’s go.” I just had a conversation with Jeremy, and I don’t know. I think it’s all about the people, you know, I got on the phone with someone I was really comfortable with, I was excited to talk to and I was like, “That’s it, you know, the rest, I guess will figure itself out somehow.” 

[00:10:27] Marc Gonyea: New Jersey to Harrisonburg to Boston.

[00:10:29] Emily Shlapak: Yeah.

[00:10:30] Marc Gonyea: Yeah. Had you ever been here before? You’ve been in Boston before?

[00:10:34] Emily Shlapak: No, once on a seventh-grade band trip, right? Yeah. I don’t, it’s not a big deal. But, yeah, once for a band trip then, besides that, nope, never been here before. And I was just, I don’t know. I, I’m excited by the idea of kind of starting over and being in new environments and making it happen.

[00:10:52] So. 

[00:10:53] Yeah. 

[00:10:54] Marc Gonyea: And your mom was able to move the family up here?

[00:10:56] Emily Shlapak: No, unfortunately, they stayed down. They stayed down in Harrisonburg. 

[00:11:00] Chris Corcoran: What’d they think about you leaving Virginia to come up to Boston? 

[00:11:05] Emily Shlapak: Um, to be honest, I don’t think they were all that surprised because I had done stints like that before. Like, my junior year of college, I lived in Dayton, Ohio for summer.

[00:11:17] I don’t know if you guys are familiar

[00:11:22] Chris Corcoran: Yeah, I’m familiar with it. 

[00:11:24] Emily Shlapak: Exactly. Yeah. Oh my God. Yeah. So, the business fraternity INT, that I was a part of, the founders of those, of that fraternity, came from the University of Dayton, Ohio. So, I worked with one of the founders. He got me this, in this marketing internship in Dayton, Ohio. So, I stayed there for a summer in 2017, 2018.

[00:11:45] And that summer, I was a marketing intern at daycare and working at 1800 style brewery, that summer. So, I had no clue what I was doing. 

[00:11:55] Marc Gonyea: That’s all right. That’s part of the collage. 

[00:11:57] Chris Corcoran: Stop and go to Dayton. 

[00:11:59] Emily Shlapak: Yeah, I was by myself. He just put me in this, like, six-bedroom house. I was like, “I don’t need this whole thing, but all right, cool.”

[00:12:05] Marc Gonyea: Right. So, so, solo in the house? 

[00:12:09] Emily Shlapak: Yeah.

[00:12:10] Marc Gonyea: So, then you moved up here?

[00:12:12] Emily Shlapak: Yep. So, I moved up here, summer of 2019, after I graduated. And no, I think my family, they weren’t surprised, they were happy for me. They thought Boston was exciting. But, yeah, but I was, it was definitely intimidating, you know, obviously, moving to a new city, you don’t know anybody, you don’t know who to, you know, cut your hair or, you know, fix your car or see the dentist, like, all those small things.

[00:12:36] Marc Gonyea: That’s right. And you also got a new job, dude, tough job. 

[00:12:40] Chris Corcoran: And where to live, who to live with. 

[00:12:42] Marc Gonyea: Yeah.

[00:12:43] Emily Shlapak: Exactly. 

[00:12:45] Chris Corcoran: Most likely find roommates. 

[00:12:46] Emily Shlapak: Oh my God. It was like so many. Yeah. ‘Cause they say like, when you move somewhere, it’s kind of like a loss and it’s not because you’re like, you don’t think of it as a loss.

[00:12:54] ‘Cause it’s, like, it’s still there, but, you know, it’s a loss of a familiarity. 

[00:12:58] Chris Corcoran:: Totally. 

[00:12:58] Emily Shlapak: So, came to Boston. Yeah. All that, didn’t know anybody and started at good old memoryBlue. 

[00:13:05] Marc Gonyea: memoryBlue, in the office. It’s not as nice as this office, we’re waiting for you to leave.

[00:13:12] When most people take the job, Emily, like, they don’t fully know what they’re getting themselves into. Did you kind of know what the job was or did you like most people were like that? I kind of know what I’m doing. But, like, what was that like? ‘Cause it’s a hard job. 

[00:13:23] Emily Shlapak: Yeah. I knew that I was going to be doing like cold outreach and all that.

[00:13:27] Honestly, you can’t really wrap your head around this role until you’re in it. You just can’t, and definitely, you can have a vague idea, and I think maybe other jobs, where the spreadsheets are involved and calculators. Sure. But, this job, it’s a very, you know, you gotta get in there. 

[00:13:47] Marc Gonyea: Which leads me to, Emily’s got an amazing LinkedIn.

[00:13:50] It’s almost like a journal. 

[00:13:51] Chris Corcoran: Yeah. 

[00:13:52] Marc Gonyea: LinkedIn is, right? 

[00:13:52] Chris Corcoran: Yeah. 

[00:13:53] Marc Gonyea: Excuse me.

[00:13:54] Emily Shlapak: That’s a good way to think about it.

[00:13:55] Marc Gonyea: But, the way you’re writing, your writing style is really powerful, I think. Yeah, sure. I mean, we were really strong. It’s a talent, it’s a talent of yours. And I would encourage the folks who will put them into, we will post this in the show notes.

[00:14:07] Like, you write some really cool stuff about it. So, so, talk about the job. Like, just tell us about learning, how to do it. 

[00:14:13] Emily Shlapak: Yeah. So, I mean, to be honest with you, I feel like starting any SDR role anywhere it’s a lot like getting thrown to the wolves. It is, but that’s the best way to learn. It,

[00:15:16] you know, it’s like, I basically described it as getting down in the trenches. No one’s going to do the work for you, and no one’s going to do the work with like, they’ll do it with you, but they’re not going to do it for you, you know? Um, and you only learn by messing up, day after day, failing, failing fast, failing often is the, is the way you learn here because the only way to realize what you should be doing is by doing

[00:15:38] all things you should not be doing. So, yeah, I mean, at first, it was really tough. It’s a lot of rejection, you know, to take in at first, you know, it’s like, I, you gotta have tough skin or 

[00:15:47] you got to build tough skin in the role. So, I would say, at first, it was definitely tough just getting that rejection and just being like, “What do I do with this?”

[00:15:55] You know, and trying to not let it define you, you know? So, definitely I would say it was a rude awakening at first. But then, I feel like that rude awakening kind of turns into a muscle that you’re building a work ethic. Yeah, so I would say it was difficult at first. 

[00:16:12] Marc Gonyea: Who’d you learn with?

[00:16:13] Emily Shlapak: Yeah. So the OG, the OG squad.

[00:16:16] Yeah. I mean, so, I was working very closely with Jeremy Wood and Tiffany. Tom was my manager. Oh, geez, we call ourselves team Tiff. It was Jake Mead, Sean and Ray, Terrain Grant, uh, Andrew Biederman.

[00:16:35] And I actually started the same day as Ellie Miller. So, we were all like, yeah, we were, that was kind of a lot of the OG.

[00:16:42] Marc Gonyea: Wow. You were early on. 

[00:16:44] Emily Shlapak: Yeah. Oh yeah. I guess that’s crazy that that’s considered early. Yes. And that was.

[00:16:47] Marc Gonyea: You were one of the first people at Boston? 

[00:16:50] Emily Shlapak: Yeah. Yep. I guess like in the first, maybe 15, 20, I’d say.

[00:16:55] Yeah. So, I started with all them, and, I mean, the team stuff is just great. I mean, I don’t know, like, as much as the job is hard when you’re doing it with people that are, you know, supportive and excited to be there, it, like, doesn’t feel as much like a job, you know, you’re just, you’re in it together.

[00:17:12] Someone hangs up on you, you’re laughing about it, jumping up with the team. It’s like, it’s kind of whatever, you know, but.

[00:17:20] Marc Gonyea: That’s important. 

[00:17:20] Emily Shlapak: Yeah. And like, I feel, like, we were all being consistently put in kind of uncomfortable situations together. So, you kind of just saw everybody, like, growing in their own ways.

[00:17:32] Like, for example, we would do, like, as you guys know, like, call evaluations, you know, and, like, for me, in the beginning, I was like, “How’s it, you guys are crazy.” I was like, “This is a crazy tip.” I tell people outside of the sales world that we do call evaluations, and they think we’re, like, Romanic. Like, it’s crazy.

[00:17:48] It’s literally insane. They’re in a conference room, listening to you getting batter via Chief Financial Officers.

[00:17:59] Geez, it’s tough, you know. You get in this conference room, but I got to tell you those call evaluations, like, I think they shape you as a salesperson. Not only are you exposing yourself to the team ,and you’re forcing yourself to be uncomfortable, but that’s where you learn, you know, when it comes to this job, it’s all about the little words you use, the pauses.

[00:18:18] It’s all about the nuances. 

[00:18:20] Marc Gonyea: If people understood the value of getting good at inside sales, well, wouldn’t everyone do it? It’s not for the faint of heart. It’s not for everyone. And certainly not for short-term gains. Every day you’re planting the seeds for win next week or win next month, the most challenging paths have the most rewarding finished lives. Period. People don’t go into sales because it’s easy. They go into sales because it’s worth it. 

[00:18:43] Chris Corcoran: Wisdom. 

[00:18:44] Marc Gonyea: You’re a good writer. 

[00:18:44] Chris Corcoran: That’s amazing.

[00:18:45] Marc Gonyea: Yeah. You’re a good writer. So, who was good of that team, besides yourself? Who was the best person on that squad shouldn’t spot? 

[00:18:53] Emily Shlapak: And that squad, I don’t want to say anything rash.

[00:18:55] I’m going to say, Andrew Biederman. He’s just a tech. Like, he just. 

[00:19:01] Chris Corcoran: Good description. Like he is a tank. 

[00:19:05] Emily Shlapak: No, he just, like, bust out, he’s busted down the wall. You know how, like, people are afraid to look stupid on calls. They’re kind of, like, saving face, not him. You could hear him, and sometimes he sounded stupid, but he was going through like, “I’m stupid.”

[00:19:20] But, like, you know, like he sounded like he didn’t care if he didn’t understand what, you know, data, math or whatever, like, he was talking about. It was like he just went right in, you know. Everyone was so nervous to sound dumb on the phones and, you know, like, they’ll pass that next level of objection, and I’m afraid.

[00:19:38] Marc Gonyea: Yeah. There’s, I’m sorry, good job. There, there’s so much value in that. Right? Because hearing that, because it changes your perspective on things, right? And it influences your game a little bit. You’re not going to do his game per se, but you might take a little bit of his game and put that into your game.

[00:19:52] Right? When that’s ideally how it’s supposed to work, that’s why you have to do with other people. 

[00:19:58] Emily Shlapak: Yeah, right. And I remember, I remember my manager tips. She would always say, like, foot in the door, keeping your foot in the door. And I was thinking about just like,

[00:20:09] I just, I remember those things now. Even now, when I’m cold calling, just, like, that persistence and just, like, not being afraid to sound stupid on the phones and failing.

[00:20:19] Marc Gonyea: What was your, what was your superpower? What was your move? So, Biederman was a tank. What were you good at? 

[00:20:25] I think I was really good at building rapport quickly on the phones.

[00:20:28] Emily Shlapak: Like, I feel like, I don’t know. I feel like my personality is pretty disarming, so, you know, it’s just a quick laugh or, um, quick joke on the phone to get someone to be like, “All right, we’re both in this together. I don’t want to make this call. You don’t want to come up.” You know, something like that.

[00:20:44] I would say that, yeah, building that rapport pretty quickly with someone on the phone was, was probably like my secret power. 

[00:20:51] Marc Gonyea: Yeah, it’s crazy when you go back to those times, Corcoran a few nights, how much better, how much you improve early, anybody’s listening to their calls.

[00:21:00] You’re probably terrified at what you sounded like when you first started, but then, like, the nuance is there.

[00:21:08] Right. The nuance is huge. Like, the person’s tone, your pause, letting stuff sit. Right? Kind of ride it out, knowing one, the first one, did it work? Maybe it’ll go on with the second one, kind of see, right? 

[00:21:21] Emily Shlapak: Yeah. Yeah, no, I mean, I’m thinking back to my first calls, too. It’s all about taking control of the call.

[00:21:27] When it comes to a cold call, whoever’s asking the questions has control over the call. It doesn’t matter what kinds of questions it is, it’s who is asking the questions has control over the call. So, you know, in the beginning I remember myself being like, you know, I’m cold calling Marc.

[00:21:39] And you’re like, “Uh, who is this again?” Like, “Whatever.” It’s like, “Oh, it’s Emily from, you know, Aleo.” Pause and say, “Oh, the reason for the call,” you know, it’s just like, things like that. Like, oh my God, I get chills from saying that like, you know, just, like, those little moments and you just gotta, gotta take, you know, jump in, take control of the call, things like that.

[00:22:01] Marc Gonyea: Um, you won a variety of campaigns, right?

[00:22:03] Emily Shlapak: Yeah.

[00:22:03] Marc Gonyea: What was that like? So, was it difficult? 

[00:22:05] Emily Shlapak: Yeah. It was difficult in the sense where I had to kind of like, once I got really good at something they’re like, psych, like.

[00:22:13] Marc Gonyea: Yeah.

[00:22:13] Emily Shlapak: They’re, like, your temperature monitoring site, marketing agency, you know, whatever. Um, but no, I, for some, I was pretty emotional about it, and I changed campaigns.

[00:22:22] I don’t know why, I guess, ’cause like I…

[00:22:24] Marc Gonyea: You cared.

[00:22:25] Emily Shlapak: I cared a lot, and I have to take pride in what I do. And getting, starting to get something, good at something that’s really hard. It’s like, you know, you’re, you’re like, “Okay, great. I got here. Let me stay here, please. I just got good at it.” And they’re like, “We got to get you on something else.”

[00:22:40] Yeah, it was tough because, in my mind, it felt like having to learn a whole new thing and start from zero. But, what I didn’t know at the time was that I wasn’t starting at zero. Every single time I was starting from, like, a higher point. And I don’t think I realized that at the time. 

[00:22:55] Marc Gonyea: And helps run out your game too, for like, when you could get a new job, like LinkSquares, right?

[00:23:02] Emily Shlapak: Before we get there.

[00:23:04] Marc Gonyea: We’re not there yet. Yeah. 

[00:23:05] Emily Shlapak: Let’s go there. It sounded like you were going there. But, that’s something that I talked to you about, Marc. It’s just kinda like how, when I was on the super campaigns, it, it, it showed me that sales skills transcend industries. And once you get good at the game and won, I truthfully believe you can talk about anything, change the buzzwords, change the keywords, but it’s all the same.

[00:23:26] Marc Gonyea: It’s all the same. 

[00:23:26] Emily Shlapak: Yep. Once you get good at that technique, you get the control of the call, you get your pitch down. The silence the questions, the laughs, like, all that stuff, you can talk about anything. 

[00:23:36] Marc Gonyea: How’d you learn?

[00:23:38] Chris Corcoran: Em Shlay’s a student of the games.

[00:23:49] Emily Shlapak: I like to think I am a student of the game because, like, this is, like, the reason why I got into sales because sales reminds me a lot about life, it reminds me a lot of life, you know what I mean? Like, I’m really passionate about getting good at sales because I think it teaches you how to be a better person, period.

[00:24:05] It teaches you to be a better friend, girlfriend, boyfriend, mom, dad. Like, I genuinely believe those things. So, like, when I’m excelling these skills that we learn in sales, how to be a good listener, how to negotiate, how to storytell, how to be persuasive. You need those things in life. So, like, I feel like I’m, I’m, that’s why I’m passionate about it because I don’t feel like it’s siloed as my career, I feel like I’m this way as a person. So, it’s a cool feeling. 

[00:24:32] Chris Corcoran: Sales is life.

[00:24:34] Marc Gonyea: Sales is life.

[00:24:35] Chris Corcoran: We should start some bumper stickers or something.

[00:24:40] Yeah. 

[00:24:40] Marc Gonyea:  I got a little content right here. 

[00:24:42] You’re also a comfort zone person, right? 

[00:24:44] Emily Shlapak: Yeah. Big, big, big, yeah. I mean, um, getting out of your comfort zone, I mean, it’s obviously hard, but, like, you don’t grow when you’re comfortable. You know what I mean? 

[00:24:56] Marc Gonyea: Comfortable when you’re comfortable.

[00:24:58] Emily Shlapak: You’re comfortable. Yeah. You’re complacent. You know what I mean? But, if you’re not in a situation where you’re getting a little nervous, or you’re scared, I mean, I just don’t think you’re growing. And, I mean, memoryBlue is what showed me that at first, you know, from the call evaluation to the dials to switching campaigns, like, I was, like, constantly uncomfortable, comfortable, comfortable to the point where now I’m, like, unphased by, like, things before that I thought were big changes, you know?

[00:25:26] Marc Gonyea: There’s no growth. 

[00:25:27] Emily Shlapak: There’s no growth. 

[00:25:28] Chris Corcoran: I mean, it’s interesting. It’s the type of person, right? So, there’s lots of people that go to JMU who are from Northern Virginia or Virginia tech or wherever. And when they graduate, they’re, are a hundred percent going back to Northern Virginia. 

[00:25:46] Emily Shlapak: Right.

[00:25:46] Chris Corcoran: You were like, “I don’t care. I’m going to Boston. I don’t know a soul there. I’m going to figure it out. It’s cold.” It’s, that’s totally uncomfortable. “Who am I going to live with? Don’t know, don’t care. I’ll figure it out. What am I going to deal with to do this job? I got no idea what it’s going to be like.”

[00:26:01] Marc Gonyea: Have you ever met Wood in person or just on the phone?

[00:26:04] It’s Jeremy. They just talked to the guy on the phone regarding the Zoom video. 

[00:26:10] Emily Shlapak: Right? It could have been fake, even could have been serious. I don’t even know. 

[00:26:14] Chris Corcoran: Catfish 

[00:26:17] Marc Gonyea: Empty office. Yeah. 

[00:26:20] Chris Corcoran: So, but it’s a certain type of person who’s willing to do those things. 

[00:26:24] Emily Shlapak: Yeah. 

[00:26:24] Chris Corcoran: Where did that come from?

[00:26:25] That interest and willingness to leave your comfort zone? That, was that, growing up was that a thing or? Like, how did it, how did that, it sounds like you, you, I thought you’d like it, but you seek it because that’s where the growth comes. 

[00:26:38] Emily Shlapak: I do feel like I seek it out. Very interesting. Interesting observation.

[00:26:41] Yeah. I think that, um, I think the moving around was the first glimpse of it. So, like, living in eight or nine different houses, that, it was a constantly restarting, new area, new place, find friends, you know, joining the basketball team, blah, blah, blah. I think that’s where it started. I’m trying to think about it.

[00:27:00] Like, I don’t know. I think, like, in high school and, like, college, I was also taking, like, leadership roles, as well, like that entrepreneurial organization I was the president of and I founded. So, I think, like, the leadership roles, um, kind of brought me there, but I don’t know if there was like a single

[00:27:17] moment where were like, I liked being out of my comfort zone. I just feel like I was always kind of this way. 

[00:27:25] Chris Corcoran: And can I, I probably saw you in maybe uncomfortable, but kind of good things happen when you’re there. Right? 

[00:27:31] Emily Shlapak: Yeah. And, like, um, I don’t know, it’s like a thrill, like, I always liked, like, public speaking.

[00:27:35] Well, actually, now that I’m thinking about it, I feel like there is a, there is somewhere it came from. When I was 16 years old, I joined this, like, network marketing company. Didn’t turn into kind of a pyramid scheme? Yes. We will talk about that. 16 years old, I joined this network marketing, whatever company.

[00:27:52] It was, like, health, nutrition products. And at that age I had, it was like starting, like, a mini business of sorts. And I was, I was leading a team of, like, 10 to 15 people. There’s a team out in the UK, one in California. And I was, um, I was, I was kind of running like a, like a mini business, at the time.

[00:28:11] At the time I learned how to public speak, you know, how to kind of run a team. Um, you know, we were hosting events at my house and…

[00:28:18] Marc Gonyea: At 16? 

[00:28:19] Emily Shlapak: Yeah. You know, I’m thinking about it, that was kind of a, you’re, like, asking me what this moment. That was probably the biggest moment for me. And my dad, at the time, knew that it was definitely, like, a little sketchy, but he thought that the, um, life application from that experience was, he didn’t really think about, “Oh, is this a pyramid scheme?”

[00:28:36] He was like, “You get to, like, public speak.” And I was presenting at, like, events and, yeah, I think there was a fire in me ever since that happened. Um, yeah. I also got to do with my dad. He was, like, in the business with me, um, a lot of my best personality traits when it comes to business, I think come from my dad.

[00:28:52] And he was doing it alongside with me, and I was just doing something totally different than any 16 year old do. 

[00:29:00] Marc Gonyea: You totally different. 

[00:29:01] Yeah.

[00:29:01] Emily Shlapak: Yeah. It was like driving over, run, like, I don’t know they were having me speak, and I was just like, I don’t know, they were, I was just fired up all the time.

[00:29:10] I don’t even know. Like, I learned about, like, you guys know the law of attraction? All right. How are we going to go there? I learned about, I learned about the law of attraction, then. I started reading books from Robert, Robert Kiyosaki at the time, and that’s, uh, Malcolm Gladwell. Okay. Now we’re getting somewhere.

[00:29:29] Right. All right. Yeah. So, at that time, well, I was just really educating myself. I started listening to podcasts then. So, I would say that time when I was 16 years old, joining that business, starting to educate myself, learn about financial freedom and all that I got. That’s it. 

[00:29:45] Chris Corcoran: So, what’s tragic is, how much did you learn doing those things versus through your high school education?

[00:29:55] Emily Shlapak: Versus calculus. 

[00:29:57] Come on. I’m always talking about sign and co-sign.

[00:30:02] It’s criminal. I learned much more in that, like, side biz, I mean, intangibles. I’m big on the intangibles. 

[00:30:12] Chris Corcoran: Definitely. Yeah, definitely. 

[00:30:14] Marc Gonyea: There’s gotta be a better way to do it. There’s gotta be a better way to do it. Stick me in geography class, you know, I’m not saying geography’s not important though. The geography teachers out there, much love.

[00:30:29] Chris Corcoran: But that’s. 

[00:30:32] Emily Shlapak: It’s a little sad how many layers I had to go through to get there because, like, I was trying to re, there had to be it something that was it. That’s definitely it. 

[00:30:39] Marc Gonyea: So, it’s going into sales in your family, was that, that wasn’t a surprise, but when you got out of school with your major, didn’t go international business,

[00:30:46] told the parents you’re going to the sales, were they like, “That’s probably a good fit.” Or they kind of were, some people whose parents get worried and sell sales ‘cause they don’t know about tech. 

[00:30:54] Emily Shlapak: Yeah. So, my dad is an accountant, and my mom is a nurse. So, it definitely was out of the ordinary for them. I don’t think they were very surprised, but my personality, I feel like most people will maybe be like, “Yeah…

[00:31:08] And, um, so, they weren’t so, I think my dad was more of like supportive, my mom was, you know, it’s like stability. Like, she was a little bit nervous with that, with the, you know, performance-based income. I think she was a little bit nervous about, but, I mean, I was just so damn excited that, you know, no, it could be mad.

[00:31:26] I don’t think they were that surprised. I don’t think I could do anything else, really. 

[00:31:30] Marc Gonyea: To talk about. I know you can’t either.

[00:31:37] Tell us about performance-based income. Like, you liked that part of sales? 

[00:31:42] Emily Shlapak: Yeah, I really like it. I don’t think that I would do as well if I had, like, even if I had a really high salary, I don’t think of it do as well. Because, like, you know, there’s a direct correlation to the amount of work you, I’m all the input and output. All the work you put in

[00:31:55] if there’s an output that can come from that, whether it’s, you know, money or whatever it is, like, it makes it worth it, for sure, you know? And also, like you can blow out numbers, too. That’s the fun part with sales, you know, there’s roles too, where, you know, there’s no cap and it’s like, “Oh God.” But, yeah, I think it’s cool that there’s like, we could kind of put, like you can quantify the value of somebody not just saying like, “Hey, 70 gates slap a sticker on them.”

[00:32:19] Marc Gonyea: Yeah, yeah. That’s right. When you were here then doing the gig, what did you think you wanted to do posts, right? ‘Cause you ended up going to work for your client. Yeah. Right, right. But talk about,

[00:32:34] so you’re coming in and want to go for the client and maybe we want to sell, like, did you? 

[00:32:38] Emily Shlapak: I think I want, I definitely wanted to get hired. That was the cool thing around here, you know, getting hired out. And I really, I really jived with one of my clients, Verndale, the one I ended up getting hired out by. I, they were my longest-standing ones, so I was always on two halftime when I was here.

[00:32:54] So it’s…

[00:32:54] Chris Corcoran: Yeah, talk about that. Yeah. 

[00:32:57] Marc Gonyea: Yeah. 

[00:32:58] Emily Shlapak: Oh, yeah. No, I mean, interesting. Yeah, it was. I like, I think I liked it. I liked it. It was a little challenging having to kind of switch it. Yeah. 

[00:33:08] Chris Corcoran: More challenging. I think it’s way better, but more challenging

[00:33:18] Emily Shlapak: But, um, yeah. So, I think, like, I, I ended up liking it because, you know, you’re all talking about the same thing all day. You know what? I need 50 dials for X, 50 dials for Y. But, no, it was tough to juggle with quotas and all that, too, because, you know, the way that it works here too. But, I, yeah, I ended up liking more,

[00:33:36] I got a little bit of a flavor for different industries at the time. Um, sorry, what did you ask? 

[00:33:41] Marc Gonyea: I was bouncing around in your gate, so Verndale won the sweepstakes. when we were opening an office, we, 

[00:33:48] Chris Corcoran: Oh, are you serious? You listen to Tommy Gassman? 

[00:33:51] Marc Gonyea: Yeah, just real quick for the audience, and we’ll do your crazy part,

[00:33:56] hold it for one second. When we opened an office, we, we market to the city we’re going to that we’re opening office, and we give away a free campaign, free halftime, that’s what got you sentenced to half time and council all the time you hear. Yeah. Yeah. We’ll look at it. It’s really an opportunity. And Verndale won.

[00:34:15] Emily Shlapak: Yeah.

[00:34:15] Marc Gonyea: And we said, were you on it to go, the job? 

[00:34:19] Emily Shlapak: Yeah. So, well, the crazy part is that they won the sweepstakes on my birthday. On my birthday, I don’t believe in coincidences. I will not go there. But, they won the sweepstakes, and I hadn’t started at memoryBlue until another two months later. So, who knows if I was really going to be on it, at the time

[00:34:38] ’cause I know it depends on when it starts. Yeah. I could easily not been on it, which is crazy. Yeah, so, I started two months after they won the sweepstakes. So, I was on Verndale for halftime and Aleo, that’s how I started with because they were trying to find another, like, halftime. So, I was on yeah, those two and then Verndale was the longest standing one.

[00:34:58] So, every time a client went out, it was Verndale X, Verndale Y, Verndale Z. So, Verndale was just sticking around. So, naturally, I started to get better at that campaign. I was starting to form a strong relationship with the POCs there and, you know, the marketing team. Yeah, I would say that I was leaning towards wanting to get hired out by them.

[00:35:16] ‘Cause I was, you know, I felt like I was improving there and hitting my stride, for a tough business to self to also, they’re not a SaaS company, they’re marketing agency. So, I dunno, I think service-based is hard, harder to book meetings for them. Like companies…

[00:35:32] Chris Corcoran: Definitely.

[00:35:33] Marc Gonyea: Tell us why you think that.

[00:35:35] Emily Shlapak: Well, because there’s not a clear-cut answer to what they do.

[00:35:37] You know, I can’t just be like AI recruiting software, you know, it’s like, ” Well, how much time do you have?” You know, it’s like, it’s a consulting company. They do, like, so many different things or service. It’s kind of like, you know, you got to bounce it back. “What do you want us to do?” You know, you do that, so. It’s just, it’s more open-ended, I would say. I like it when it’s more clear cut than, like, you know, “What do you do, memoryBlue?” 

[00:36:00] “This is, this is what we do.” Yeah. So, I would say just, just the quick answers because it’s all about the first 30 seconds on cold calls. Yeah. 

[00:36:06] Marc Gonyea: So, yeah, let’s talk. But you were with Verndale for over two years with the memoryBlue time, what, you ha, you obviously were, got good at it.

[00:36:14] Emily Shlapak: Yeah. Yeah. So, I, yeah, I got good at it. And I started with them full-time, like, two months after the pandemic hit, which is crazy. Yeah. So, I left May of 2020 memoryBlue, sorry, June 2020. Verndale remote in Harrisonburg. Wild. 

[00:36:32] Chris Corcoran: Oh, you moved back?

[00:36:33] Emily Shlapak: Yeah. For a couple months, still had to pay rent, but whatever. So, I moved back to Harrisonburg.

[00:36:42] I was starting, yeah, it was weird to like onboard remotely for a new job. I was so excited, and I was in my living room, staring at my computer screen, like, “This is boring.” So, like, yeah. 

[00:36:51] Marc Gonyea: And you turned Verndale into a believer because they were skeptical, at first. 

[00:36:54] Emily Shlapak: Yeah. They were very skeptical. They didn’t even want to be entered into the sweepstakes.

[00:36:58] The POC there was like, “It’s free.” Like, “Come on.” Like, they, they, I think they got burned in the past by, um, email, BDR thing, you know, just didn’t work out. So, they were very skeptical about it, um, and to begin with. But then, yeah, they ended up hiring me out, and I was really excited because I was their first in-house BDR ever.

[00:37:19] Emily Shlapak: So, my job was kind of twofold. It was “Do your fricking job.” And the other part of my job was “What does this role look like?” You know, “What are the responsibilities?” And you know, “How do we scale from here?” So, um, they said, you know, “If you do this job well, we can bring on two more BDRs and, you know, you could be responsible for, like, the training and onboarding.”

[00:37:39] And that was what got me really excited. 

[00:37:41] Marc Gonyea: Yeah, what did that happen? 

[00:37:44] Emily Shlapak: Yeah. Yeah. So, I would say six or seven months there. Um, you know, I did pretty well and, um, they had me, like, presented, like, the sales kickoff and just say, like, what my plan is for bringing on two more BDRs and how we’re going to scale. I mean, scale it’s to more, but, I mean, as you guys know, it’s a big list from one to three is like, it’s huge.

[00:38:05] Chris Corcoran: It’s huge. From zero to three. 

[00:38:09] Emily Shlapak: Yeah, exactly. The percentages triple, 300%. Right? 

[00:38:13] Marc Gonyea: It’s a big deal. 

[00:38:15] Chris Corcoran: It’s a big, huge deal.

[00:38:15] Emily Shlapak: It’s a big deal. Yeah, no, ’cause I know when I’m here sitting at, you know, memory blue, but yeah.

[00:38:19] Marc Gonyea: You went from not wanting to do it, even though it was free, to a team of three working with you and then converting you to remember, I was trying to push them like you needed her like full-time.

[00:38:28] Chris Corcoran: Yeah. 

[00:38:28] Marc Gonyea: And they would bite off on the full-time thing. And yet they’re supposed to not hire you because you’re, you’re amazing. 

[00:38:34] Emily Shlapak: Right. 

[00:38:35] Marc Gonyea: Because they pay us when they hire you. Right. 

[00:38:37] They’re not hooking it 

[00:38:39] up because you’re doing a phenomenal job.

[00:38:42] Emily Shlapak: It’s not cheap. 

[00:38:44] Marc Gonyea: And then you came on, and then they brought on people around you.

[00:38:48] Emily Shlapak: Yeah. So, so, I got to basically, like, hire and train and onboard two more BDRs, which was, like, so exciting. And so, now, you know, I’m, I’m taking on more of, like, a team lead kind of responsibilities. And, I mean, between the three of us and whoever the heck is listening, it’s, like, I kind of built like a mini memoryBlue there, you know, at Verndale, which is cool.

[00:39:11] I ran AM huddles, PM huddles. I had call evals, sorry, call evals. We did, you know, a lot of the similar things that we did here, I just kind of replicated it there because, I mean, it works, you can say whatever you want about memoryBlue, but it works. 

[00:39:27] Marc Gonyea: It works.

[00:39:33] Emily Shlapak: That’s how you tagline. 

[00:39:35] Marc Gonyea: Yeah.

[00:39:35] So, say whatever you want, it works.  

[00:39:39] Emily Shlapak: So that was really fun for me. 

[00:39:40] Chris Corcoran: And so, when you were the team lead, were you still in Harrisonburg, or were you back up here?

[00:39:44] Emily Shlapak: I was only in Harrisburg for four months with the pandemic. No, I was, I was back up here at that point. 

[00:39:49] Chris Corcoran: And the SDRs that you brought on, were they up here too?

[00:39:52] Or were they remote or how did, how did that whole thing work?

[00:39:55] Emily Shlapak: Yeah, so, they, we actually were in kind of the transition space for the office space. So, we were at, we work downtown. We were coming in twice a week, I would say. 

[00:40:07] Chris Corcoran: The others were coming too?

[00:40:08] Emily Shlapak: Yeah. Twice a week, we were coming into the rework. Um, and those were the days we would have the team meetings.

[00:40:11] I call out information and stuff like that. But, I mean, that, I mean, I don’t know. That was a really special experience for me because I feel like it really allowed me to apply a lot of the stuff that I learned. It wasn’t just like, “Oh, Emily’s get on the phone.” And it’s like, “Oh, she can actually teach a couple of people how to do the job well and give them….”

[00:40:27] And also, Verndale, it was like my baby, like I made it happen, you know, like the sheet music, the sheet music that they’re saying, like, I kind of, like, iterated on that and, like, the questions they asked, like that was me over years, trying to figure out how to get people to understand, you know, digital experiences. 

[00:40:43] Marc Gonyea: Well, so, some people are going to mistake your personality for like you’re being good in sales.

[00:40:48] And that’s part of it. It’s all the things we talked about 30 minutes ago. The nuance. Yeah. Like knowing you should ask the questions, people put personal, I suppose, talk all the time call. So right. Going with the pause, like what, but people who don’t understand sales, and it’s okay. I don’t know. There’s a lot of technique to it, right?

[00:41:09] It’s not just like, “Let me put Emily on the phone and, like, watch her go.” That’s not how it works.

[00:41:15] Emily Shlapak: There is a huge misconception in sales. Misconception is that, you know, we’re like slimy people that, like, live pitch, like, “Sell this pen.” Yeah. No, Woolf of Wall Street, you know, that’s not sales. I think the best people, the best salesmen, are the ones that are good listeners.

[00:41:31] Marc Gonyea: Yes. Why do you think that? 

[00:41:33] Emily Shlapak: Well, because people that want to talk about themselves, they don’t even care about what your product does. Well, they probably care a little bit, but I just mean that if you can, you know, convey to them that you understood what they just said and maybe, like, paired it a little bit back to them and that your solutions can, you know, map to some of their pain, it’s kind of a no brainer, but they’re used to people being on the phone and be like, “Give me 30 seconds to tell you why I go.” That’s what they’re used to.

[00:42:02] So, if you’re in there and you’re getting curious, that was a big theme I feel like that I learned here from Jerry, from Tiff, from all those people, it’s like getting curious on the phones and not, not, they can smell, you know, probably a decommission breath. They can smell that on the phone. If you’re just trying to get a meeting, it’s very obvious in your tone, you’re more panicky,

[00:42:23] um, desperate. It’s not cute, you know? Um, but, I think if you go in and you’re just like, you’re curious and you’re just asking questions cause you’d like to know. I think that’s when people really start to switch gears here, go from booking a meeting to “How does that actually work? You said something I didn’t understand.

[00:42:41] And I asked what do you mean by that?” That’s very different. Whereas if you’re just talking to me, I’m like, “Yeah, yeah, whatever, Marc.” That’s like, different one’s, it’s like, “Wait, you just said that. What did you mean by that?” Or, you mentioned whatever you guys tried to go with the solution before, it didn’t work out.

[00:42:54] “Why didn’t you go with that?” It’s just like, you’re listening. You’re just listening. You’re trying to understand.

[00:43:00] Marc Gonyea: Most people don’t do that. 

[00:43:01] So, when you do that, it makes it a little special connection. 

[00:43:05] Emily Shlapak: I think what you would do that ever like sometimes if some, if I say something to somebody and they’re like, “Yeah.

[00:43:10] I don’t know what you meant by that.” I’m like, “You were listening? Like I’m emotional, like I’m listening to me ’cause it’s just, it’s not, it’s not common, you know? So, I think if you’re in sales and you’re actually listening to what they have to say, and you shut your mouth for a minute, I think it goes a long way.

[00:43:26] The silences are big on the phone. 

[00:43:28] Marc Gonyea: It’s not just about the personality, so that’s great. So, you get the flexible as muscles and kind of show folks, “This is how we should do it, based upon my experience.” 

[00:43:38] Right. That’s just my personality 

[00:43:41] and your chronic. You’re chronicling that, that’s even a word from.

[00:43:45] The right way in your journey. A little bit, a little bit on LinkedIn. But, tell, why do you do that? 

[00:43:50] Emily Shlapak: Oh, on LinkedIn? 

[00:43:50] Marc Gonyea: Yeah, why LinkedIn ’cause, why are you writing about this stuff? 

[00:43:54] Emily Shlapak: Yeah, I mean, I, I think it’s important to document just, like, the journey in an authentic way. Because, I mean, I think all of our proudest moments come from,

[00:44:05] it’s like a challenge or something you were trying to overcome, and then you made it on the other side. And we just talked about the other side and, you know, I don’t know, that doesn’t really resonate with people, I think, ’cause not everybody’s on the other side, you know? And it’s like, I feel like it just enforces people to, like, keep doing what they’re doing, and it’s not always going to be pretty.

[00:44:21] It’s not always gonna be perfect, but if you’re striving for something bigger, like a bigger picture, you know, it’s worth it. I just try to be authentic. That’s all. I don’t see it enough on social media. It’s like I have accepted the new rule, blah, blah, blah. You know, it’s like. I dunno. I just think people want to see people being real humans, not being so formal, you know?

[00:44:47] Marc Gonyea: Yep. So, you’re at Verndale, that’s kind of, like, the BDR phase for you, in a way. 

[00:44:54] Emily Shlapak: Yeah. BDR, team lead, wanting more for sure. Always wanted to be an Account Executive. Yeah, for sure. So, yeah, I think I always knew I wanted to be an AE, even, like, when I was getting hired out at Verndale and all that, I definitely was like, I see myself, you know, I dunno, when you’re here an Account Executive is like on a XXXXXX XXXX.

[00:45:13] Chris Corcoran: Yeah. Write your name in lights. 

[00:45:17] Emily Shlapak: Right. And the dea out here, it’s really, it’s not, you know, it’s not, it’s no small feat, you know, and it’s, I would say, like, in sales, in general, it’s a hard, it’s a hard like leap from, like, an SDR to an AE. It happens, but it’s not, there’s no middle role. Like, I feel like there’s some, like every other industry it’s like analyst, senior analyst.

[00:45:36] Chris Corcoran: It’s a little tricky..

[00:45:37] Emily Shlapak: Yeah. It’s kind of, “How do you do that?” You know, you know? Yes. You know, literally, so, um, yeah. I always wanted to be Account Executive and I think at Verndale, I just started to feel like I wasn’t really growing, like I wasn’t being challenged, “Here we are again.” You know and I was just like, I was almost like super uncomfortable how comfortable I was like, I would say. I was kind of get like, I was starting to get, like, a little jittery, you know, and I was like, “I just need another challenge.

[00:46:02] I need another mountain to climb.” Right? So, yeah, came across this company LinkSquares, and it just felt like it fell into my lap. I don’t know if you guys are, have that happen to you before. 

[00:46:14] Marc Gonyea: Tell us about it. 

[00:46:14] Emily Shlapak: Yeah, I mean, I just started applying for jobs and I, and they kind of responded very quickly and they were like, “Come to the office.” And I was like, “Interview.

[00:46:22] Okay, cool, whatever.” Sat down for three hours. And it was, you know, it’s just like a very electric interview, you know, like, kind of similar to memoryBlue. It’s just like people that got me, like, they were excited, I was excited. We were both excited, you know, and it was just like a really good energy.

[00:46:38] And I just felt like, “Oh, all this is, this is a good fit for me.”You know, um, and they were growing like crazy, like, we just raised our series C, like, last month. And they were coming into the office every day. That was, like, almost a culture shock two, coming out of the, we’re not even out of the pandemic, coming out of round two of the pandemic, you know, that was like, kind of, I was like, well, every day, you know, that was big.

[00:47:03] But then, they kind of, like, framed it to me really cool. They were like, “We don’t want to hire people that don’t want to be here.” Right. I was like, “Whoa, say that again.” I was like, “That’s crazy.” They’re like, almost like they’re selling the role to me. Now, there’s like, yeah, like they’re like, “You can get an easier job,

[00:47:23] other places, you can get paid more or the same amount, you can have hybrid, you can have it easy. This is not the place.” So, they often know that. Honestly, Brian, Steve. Yeah. Steve S. an absolute beast. They, there were no, you know, no, BS was there. I call link square. It’s actually the memoryBlue phrase. It, yeah, it reminds me. So, when we were full cycle. So, I’m still doing a lot of cold calling, cold outreach, but a lot of similar themes, like a lot of similar energy, culture at the office, I’m similarly growing like crazy, as well.

[00:48:01] I think you guys look for some of the same things and candidates, to be honest with you, a certain, like, energy and work ethic, I would say. So, how did I get there? I was talking about my interview and I was excited. 

[00:48:14] Marc Gonyea: So, you know, you wanted to sell, right. And you decided you wanted to do it and it kind of happened.

[00:48:22] I guess you hit it off with these folks. You go to the office every day. 

[00:48:25] Emily Shlapak: Oh, no, I was talking about the office every day. Yeah. They were like basically saying like, “You could have it easier somewhere else.”Yeah, they’re just being very transparent that this is not the easy job, is worth the job, your real, one more time, more time ago.

[00:48:37] I wish I forgot why I’m doing all this. And, um, it just changed my mindset because I was so in the comfort zone before than I was like in the office every day, picking my outfit every day, it’s like stressful, you know? And then, when they reframed it as like, this is the kind of culture they want to set up, they want to be there every day.

[00:48:58] They want to be excited. I was like, “Okay, cool.” And, like, walked around the office. They got music playing all day, people aren’t at the standing desk. Yeah. I know. I wish you guys walked through it. It just reminds me so much about memoryBlue. 

[00:49:09] Marc Gonyea: One another, another time. We’ll be back to see it. 

[00:49:14] Emily Shlapak: So, they’re on State street.

[00:49:17] So, they’re, like, right in downtown. Yeah. So, I started on December 6 there. So, I’ve been there, it’s five months now. 

[00:49:26] Marc Gonyea: How’s it going? What’s the transition like?

[00:49:28] Emily Shlapak: Yeah. It’s another kind of getting thrown to the wolves situation, for sure. Tough first two or three months, for sure.

[00:49:35] Just, like, wrapping your head around everything, you know, it’s just like contract management software, it’s a new, um, it’s a new industry for me, new technology and you’re, I’m learning how to be a BDR and AE at the same time. Right. The full cycle role. And the, it was just, it was just a lot at first, you know?

[00:49:53] So, I would say the first two to three months were a definite challenge and just like, they just, they set the bar really high there. Like, um, it’s just a high standard, like, amount of meetings that you’re booking a month, just the way you hold yourself in the office, it’s just, they just set the bar high.

[00:50:10] Like, so, there’s a lot of pressure, you know, and I wasn’t used to that, I guess in a long time, you know, I think I felt that here just like that pressure, that like fire in your belly. But, it’s been a while, you know, and as much as that feeling is exciting, it’s also, like, really stressful, right? Yeah. You know, it’s like, “Keep it up,” you know?

[00:50:29] I don’t know. Working there reminds me of, like, high school sports a lot. Yeah. Because, um, it’s like, you love the people you’re working with, like the team environment, but there’s always another game or another game to work towards your goals, “I don’t really want to go to practice.” But, you got to go, you got to do the sprints, you know, and memoryBlue’s like that too.

[00:50:50] It’s like, you’re not gonna love every part of the job, like “God, can we talk about that?” It’s, like, funny because, like, you know, working at this job now, too, it’s always so, like, relieving for everyone to just be like, “This is hard.” Like, “We don’t have to really talk about it for too long, but, like, this is a hard job.”

[00:51:09] It takes a lot out of you and just like, just acknowledging exactly. And they did the same thing here, too. It’s like, “It’s okay.” And I think it’s, something that I love to convey is just that it’s okay for you to really like your job and be excited about it, but also think it’s really hard and that it’s not always easy.

[00:51:26] You know what I mean? Like, you could pull both of those things at the same time and like, I don’t know. And that’s, and also kind of goes back to the social media thing, too. It’s just being like, “You could have it both.” You could like be like, “This is really stressful, high pressure, high stakes, but also I love it. And I love the people I work with.”

[00:51:40] You know what I mean? And like, it doesn’t have to be, like, a hundred percent one way or hundreds. 

[00:51:44] Marc Gonyea: You do a great job in your posts on LinkedIn. 

[00:51:47] Chris Corcoran: Yep. 

[00:51:47] Marc Gonyea: Articulating it. 

[00:51:48] Chris Corcoran: Yeah.

[00:51:49] Marc Gonyea: It’s amazing. I’m going to ask you about this one. So, this is the one from two months ago. They deny of being full-cycle AE. Here’s the, the toughest pill I had to swallow, “The version of myself that got me

[00:51:58] this job is not the same version of myself that will make me successful.” So, what part of yourself, skill you have to grow or develop to be successful as an AE? 

[00:52:08] Emily Shlapak: Yeah, that’s a good question. And that was a super tough pill to swallow because, like, I think everyone kind of finessed themselves the same way to get the job.

[00:52:17] And then, we got there and realized everyone’s kind of like same high energy, optimistic, ethic. They had it all, and you’re like, “Oh God, I had to do something else besides, um, wow. What did I have to do?” I mean…

[00:52:31] Marc Gonyea: What are you working on now, learning how to close, right? 

[00:52:34] Emily Shlapak: Yeah. Learning how to close. I mean, like, I mean, you’re going from just the cold calling to now

[00:52:39] you’re, like, running the show now, on those calls, you know what I mean? So, definitely learning about just the art of asking better questions. I’ve never had to do that. It was just, you know, sitting there, listening to the call. So, now you’re, like, asking better questions. And also, like, just learning to be more strategic with prospecting.

[00:52:56] I also never had to do that because I feel like a lot of BDR roles just spraying and praying, just to give it numbers. Right? Lot of spray and pray. But, now I have to be more, like, smarter about my time. So, I would say the AE equals about being, working smarter, not harder. Um, so that’s kind of what I’m handling too.

[00:53:13] So, it’s not just like, “Oh, any prospect in any industry.” It’s like, “No, I’m, you know, I’m targeting general councils and CFOs and I’m trying to get this industry, you know, and I’m looking, you know, the triggers.” Like, I’m sure memoryBlue has it too, but certain, um, uh, things that might indicate that there’s a better chance that they’ll buy into the service, same thing with what we do.

[00:53:35] So, we’re looking at any type of MNA activity, “Are they raising rounds of funding?” And stuff like that. And, like, just being a little smarter, you know, that was, that was honestly very difficult for me because I was so in the mindset of just like, just like, “I’m just going to where I’m just at a hundred dollars or a hundred dollars.”

[00:53:49] I was like, like, so programmed into my mind. It’s like, “No, I’m willing to just.” Like, ” Let’s work a little smarter.” Like ” What accounts do you want to go after?” Like, “We call it, like, get your dial to connect ratio down, get your connect to book ratio down.” Like, never had to think about any of those things. But now you just got to be more strategic about the time you spent. 

[00:54:08] Chris Corcoran: Yeah. How many AEs are over there?

[00:54:11] Emily Shlapak: 50. 

[00:54:12] Chris Corcoran: 50? Do you have any SDRs? 

[00:54:14] Emily Shlapak: No. Yeah. 

[00:54:16] Chris Corcoran: And there’s 50 of you all? All in the office?

[00:54:19] Emily Shlapak: Yup.

[00:54:20] Chris Corcoran: What’s that, that sounds electric. 

[00:54:22] Emily Shlapak: It really is electric. Yeah. It’s, it’s an insane environment. I’m really excited to wake up and go there everyday.

[00:54:29] It’s hard, you know? I mean, I’m working with a lot of hours. But, yeah, it’s like, you know, the music is playing all day, somebody’s deejaying all day. It’s a lot of pressure. Talk about pressure, like God. So, um, yeah, the music, you know, the music’s there, you know, people got standing desks, people are kind of just like cold calling all day and he just kind of running around.

[00:54:50] So they click happens to the deal. “Hey, I’ll jump off the top of the roof.” And you guys know. The top of the room, like, okay. Like. The booths, the phone booths. Um, yeah, it, it’s a really, it’s a really good energy. Yeah. It’s also just like, it’s so cool to be at a company of the size too, you know? They want, you know, go public in the next couple of years.

[00:55:07] It’s like, oh, like, you know, something that my, my CRO told me, Steve, that sticks with me is that you can do something difficult for a short amount of time. You know what I mean? I don’t think the SDR role or any specific sales role’s forever. You know what I mean? So, and I know that I’m working hard right now, but I’m like, “I’m not doing this forever.”

[00:55:27] You know what I mean? Like I wanted bus right now and get in the trenches and like, just see where it goes from there. Right? Yeah.

[00:55:35] Marc Gonyea: There’s a lot of personal growth that comes in sales, right, too? ‘Cause it forces yourself to have some reconciliation internally because it’s so, because there’s so much failure, which is okay, it’s just part of it.

[00:55:47] But, in other professions, that kind of that sort of failure on a day-in and day-out basis. Right? It’s you don’t, it doesn’t make it any better or worse than finance or accounting or marketing that makes it different. But it’s so personal. But, it’s, you’ve been doing some pretty interesting things, and that’s why, Chris and I want to be hard here too, for people. Like, people say, “Oh, my client’s hard. I want, suppose, an easier client.” Like, why don’t you want that? Because you think it’s going to be easier when you leave. Learning how to close is not. 

[00:56:17] Emily Shlapak: Yeah.

[00:56:18] Marc Gonyea: It’s harder. 

[00:56:19] Emily Shlapak: Yeah. So, I’m very passionate about what you just said. I’m glad you mentioned it. Um, yeah, there were, when you’re here at memoryBlue, you’re seeing all these people on different campaigns and all that.

[00:56:30] And some people have it easier than others, like, it’s a fact.

[00:56:34] Emily Shlapak: You don’t, you know, it’s the luck of the draw, right? There. And, you know, I wasn’t one of those people that had, like, the lucky hand. Right. So, you know, there’s some people that, they’re on one client and let’s say that one client is easier. That happens to be, it happens the time and you know what, they’re smashing their number and make it, you know, leaving everyone in the dust, sure.

[00:56:54] Okay. Was I one of those people? No, I was not one of those people. I had, you know, two different clients, and one of them come of switching in and out, and yeah, at the time, I was like, this is very, like, I felt like it was unfair, like, in the moment. Right? But, looking back, “I don’t want the easier client.

[00:57:09] I’m glad I didn’t get the easier client.” Because it’s like, I think I, like, I, I wrote a post about this, whatever, but I said something about how, like, Rocky Waters makes you a better swimmer now, better swimmer. It wasn’t always just, like, calm and easy for, you know, I mean, obviously in the moment you want it easy because the numbers are reflecting and you’re like rockstar all those things. But, “Are you learning anything?” You know, like, “Are you getting difficult objections?

[00:57:34] Are you having to be strategic?” You know, like, “Do you have to think about, do you use your brain?” I don’t know. So, yeah. 

[00:57:41] Marc Gonyea: Yeah. It’s just super important. And that’s what we try and talk about with folks. 

[00:57:45] Emily Shlapak: It’s hard to see it.

[00:57:46] Marc Gonyea: It’s hard to see it when you’re in the moment because the job itself is difficult and, and some people handle that a certain different way. They don’t they’ll quit, or they’ll blame so-and-so, or they’ll think this, or look for an early exit.

[00:57:59] Emily Shlapak: Yes. So it’s hard, like metrics-driven. 

[00:58:01] Emily Shlapak: So, I get it, you know what I mean? ‘Cause it is metrics-driven. But, so it’s hard to see someone like those growing, you know, those teaching moments in the time. Like, “I don’t want a teaching moment. I just want to get paid more, more.” Like, something like that. 

[00:58:12] Marc Gonyea: Yeah. That’s why we do these podcasts, though. You want people to listen?

[00:58:15] Hey, Emily worked here, right? You’re not the first person to go through this. We’ve been in business for 20 years. Just trust the process. 

[00:58:22] Chris Corcoran: Yeah. 

[00:58:22] Emily Shlapak: Oh my God. 

[00:58:23] Marc Gonyea: Put in the time and energy, and it’ll, you’ll, you will get there.

[00:58:26] Emily Shlapak: Yup. That’s what, that’s actually what they say, LinkedIn the whole time. Trust the process. Yeah. 

[00:58:30] Marc Gonyea: Of course, 

[00:58:31] Marc Gonyea: like, and they’ve done it before. So, it’s, it’s same with you. And we’ve got a slide-pack out there right now who’s probably like, damn, I should be hiring the board who can’t see it. So, like, “Hey, can some of this podcast, right?” Like, you’re not the first person to have gone through this, but I bet you’re glad you, you are, obviously interested because you would probably, you might be handling this thing, your new job, not as strongly as you’re handling it now.

[00:58:57] Emily Shlapak: Yeah. I think if I got on the easier campaign or let’s say I just had one client the whole time. Yeah. I don’t think, I think I would have turned out differently. 

[00:59:06] Marc Gonyea: Yeah. Yeah. I remember when you were struggling, when Jeremy was an SDR, he used on this accountants, used on Skybitz, and there’s some pressure because like, it was a referral from the new star guy.

[00:59:14] So, I forgot what it was. But, there’s always. It’s just more pressure, more counts than others where repeat, repeat client comes back. And I remember he had to go to the yellowpages.com and look up names that way, while he was working ’cause he was just and dude, he was honest, like, man, this guy’s going to make it.

[00:59:32] So, but that’s what you want.

[00:59:37] A quiet 

[00:59:38] Marc Gonyea: guy. Like walk away from his desk and be like, oh shit.

[00:59:42] Chris Corcoran: I hope this guy’s going to make it to the hospital. 

[00:59:48] Marc Gonyea: You know, it’s, there’s a lot of reflection that goes into the job, and you, I’m bringing this up because you put it on LinkedIn. It’s not all, but a lot of it, people go out to their car, and they might not come back into the office.

[01:00:03] Right. Because it’s hard. 

[01:00:05] Emily Shlapak: Yeah. I honestly liked, one of my friends from high school told me this, and I think it reflects with sales, too. She said, “No one gets over.” And I, I just really believe that with anything. So, like, if somebody has an easy client now, there’s going to be a later on sales situation where they’re been, being, where they’re not going to get it easy.

[01:00:22] And what are they going to do then? You know what I mean? So, I’m like, “All right, we’re in the trenches here. Just pile on the dirt.” Like, “Let’s, while I’m here.” Like, you know, like, I don’t think people get over, you know what I mean? I think like, like, sales is not for everybody. And I think, like, if you don’t kind of do the hard things early, it’s going to be harder later and do the hard things while I have the energy right now

[01:00:47] and the lack of commitment and accountability is like, “Why not?” 

[01:00:50] Marc Gonyea: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you couldn’t have put it better. So, how are you learning that, what do you do there to get good at the job? 

[01:00:58] Emily Shlapak: Yes. Yeah. So, um, the, let’s say I’m five months in now. I mean, a lot of it kind of looks like I was prepared for like the, the dials, the outbound, all that stuff.

[01:01:10] And we have great managers there. So, I’m on the, like, the Life Sciences West territory. So, I’m only reaching out to the West Coast and all that. Um, so, we have our managers there and, you know, but honestly, like, I’m doing a lot of it on my own because that’s why you got the rules because you can do the outbound, whatever, and they’re starting to teach you slowly more of the AE stuff.

[01:01:33] Um, but it’s cool. The way that they do it over there is that you, you slowly take on more and more of the AE jobs. So, in the beginning, your manager was kind of running the show for you. Um, and slowly you’re like, “I’m going to take this over.” You know, “I’ll need a demo deck.” Like,” I want to pitch, you know, LinkSquares.

[01:01:50] I want to do this.” So, slowly, they let you kind of take initiative and sometimes I’ll poke my head in and be like, you know, ask a tough question or something like that. But, yeah, it, it’s, it’s kind of nice. I think they, they don’t completely throw you out of the nest, they kind of slowly let you, you know.

[01:02:07] Good.

[01:02:07] Take over the role, which is cool.

[01:02:08] Chris Corcoran: Sounds like you’re in a great spot.

[01:02:10] Marc Gonyea: Yeah.

[01:02:10] Chris Corcoran: I mean, what a great culture, development, accountability, fun, I like the mentality. 

[01:02:17] Emily Shlapak: Yeah, no, absolutely. Hey, we’ve got our numbers on the board, too. We’re like AEs, and I know how many meetings I’m out for the month, you know, it’s like, and that’s actually another point I’d like to get into. It’s just that is, the metrics-driven is like, I feel like naturally, people run away from numbers because numbers are scary.

[01:02:34] Quantify your value. Like, “Oh my God.” Like, this goes back to, like, the performance basic income. But, like, even for me, like, um, numbers are scary. Like, “How’d you do last month?” You know, “How many people showed up to your meetings?” Like, all those things, “How much revenue are you bringing in?” All that was scary to me and starting to, like, get less scary.

[01:02:52] Like, I feel, like, I’ve started to run towards the numbers and actually makes it better because when, I feel like the one’s got something to hide if you’re running away from them. I don’t want to know. I had, like, six meetings, I don’t know. I find myself kind of running towards it almost makes it better, if you’re just like, you’re owning it. You know what I mean? Just being like, “Yep. I go get meeting last month, last month. Let’s talk about it. Let’s talk about, like, ratios. Let’s talk about the accounts I’m going after.”

[01:03:21] And I had my Q1 review with my managers and we just set, like, quantifiable goals, you know, “This is how many meetings you’re aiming to book, right? This is how many, you know, we, we think you should bring in the demo, and this is how much revenue you should close.” I wrote that down, typed it up. They told me a couple of things I need to improve and slap it on us, staring at me, the numbers.

[01:03:44] I don’t want to be scared of them. You know what I mean? Like, I wanna, I want to, I want to blow them out. I want to, I want them to look at me, you know what I mean? So, it’s hard to get there, I will say, but I think, like, people in sales, like, the good salespeople who perform under pressure, you know what I mean?

[01:03:59] So, if you have those numbers staring at you every day, it’s like, “All right, let’s, like, let’s give it a real swing here.” 

[01:04:04] Marc Gonyea: That’s great stuff, Emily. 

[01:04:06] Chris Corcoran: Yeah, for sure.

[01:04:07] Marc Gonyea: I’m looking forward to hearing about this journey. 

[01:04:09] Yeah. Like, look, we can wrap it up for now, but, like, thanks for being so candid.

[01:04:15] Chris Corcoran: Yeah. I love how you’re such a student of the game.

[01:04:17] You’ve got an amazing personality, but that is just kind of like the sprinkles on the icing. I mean, you study the craft and you apply the craft. And you’re so, and you’re a great writer and you’re putting on LinkedIn. So, you’ve got, like, the whole package. Yeah.

[01:04:34] Emily Shlapak: No, it’s just, like, I’ve had a couple of successes since I got there.

[01:04:37] Chris Corcoran:  Yeah. We want it. 

[01:04:38] Marc Gonyea: Yeah. Yeah. 

[01:04:42] Emily Shlapak: No, no, I know. I just wanted to, you know, talk about

[01:04:48] Marc Gonyea: No, tell us. 

[01:04:50] Emily Shlapak: So, five months in, so, I closed my first deal in February. 

[01:04:55] Chris Corcoran: Yeah. What was that like? 

[01:04:56] Emily Shlapak: So, this is the fun stuff, right? Yeah. So, it was a, like, healthcare company at a Utah, Salt Lake City of all places. My CRM was like you telling close your first deal. Anything to it. I was like. It’s not weird. I don’t know. 

[01:05:13] Marc Gonyea: I don’t think Utah’s known for Life Sciences, typically.

[01:05:17] Emily Shlapak: Or anything.

[01:05:17] Marc Gonyea: No, they all left. 

[01:05:20] Emily Shlapak: Yeah. Yeah. So, that was really exciting. It was kind of a quick win, I would say, ’cause I started in December.

[01:05:27] Chris Corcoran: How long was the sales cycle?

[01:05:29] Emily Shlapak: 30, 45. Well, okay. It depends on the territory. So, I’m on the Life Sciences team, the tech med device companies, they move quicker, 30 to 45 days.

[01:05:38] But, like, once you start, usually it takes a couple of months. It’s normal for people to close their first deal three or four months in, I think it was like second month. So, that was really exciting. So, I was like, “Whoa.”

[01:05:47] Marc Gonyea: Who do you sell to? You mentioned to us earlier, but who is the targeted persona? 

[01:05:51] Emily Shlapak: CFOs and general counsels.

[01:05:53] Marc Gonyea: CFOs in GC.

[01:05:54] Emily Shlapak: Yeah. So, yeah, we call it the power line. We only call people that make decisions. Because, yeah, there’s like, we keep it above the power line. These people are the ones that’s going to buy. 

[01:06:06] Chris Corcoran: Yeah. 

[01:06:07] Marc Gonyea: Yeah. So, tell us about the deal. It was an outbound, inbound?

[01:06:19] Emily Shlapak: I want to shoot half-court shots all day. Yeah. So, yeah, it was actually funny. It was on a, I remember the cold call. It was a Monday, after hours. I was staying late, and staying late at the beginning of you just want to like, you know, prove yourself, and all that and I’m happy to, right? So, it was a little bit later.

[01:06:38] I think it was only three or four people left in the office. This guy picked up and like, yeah, I mean, it probably been a while since got made a cold call, but I know other people have cold call will know this feeling that sometimes you call somebody and you feel like your manager paid, paid them to take the call.

[01:06:54] There’s just so, you know, they’re just like, they’re too nice, suspiciously nice that get suspiciously a lot of pain, you know, they’re just like chop, chop it up with you for, like, 10 minutes. And you’re like, “There’s something really suspicious about this.” It was one of those calls and he was just like willing to hear me out, on the phone, you know,

[01:07:13] talking to him, whatever. And, you know, I’m like, “All right, does this sound like something that can help you guys out?” And he’s like, “Yeah.” And I was like, “Okay, so he’s a calendar.” But, yeah, it was, it was, I’ll tell you, it was one of the first cold calls where I was like, “Wow, well, we really like help people do things.” You know?

[01:07:32] ‘Cause I feel like when you start any campaign, you start any SDR role, you’re like, “I don’t really know what they’re talking about.” They say it’s a pain for people, but it’s different when you hear somebody say, “This is tough for me. I can’t find my XYZ.” You know what I mean? It’s like, we help people, like, you know, ’cause I feel like it tells you, you just feel like you’re somebody, like you’re jamming things down people’s throat.

[01:07:53] And other times you’re like, you’re just filling a need that somebody has when you really hear come out of their mouth, you’re like, “Oh, wow, this is cool.” Like, ” This is what we do.” You know? It just makes sense in the conversation. So, yeah, so he, he took the meeting and I think he got done in, like, maybe a little bit less than a month and a half, I would say, the whole thing.

[01:08:12] Um, but, yeah, it was, it was a pretty smooth process, surprisingly. Just kind of ran it with my manager, you know, Kevin did amazing. And yeah, so it got done and then three months later I didn’t close anything. Right. So, it’s like kind of like, nothing’s going on and that, those are the tough parts of sales to show for yourself because “Yeah, I’m booking meetings.” But, it’s like, you’re not producing any revenue,

[01:08:35] you’re like, “What am I doing here?” Yeah. You’re busting, you’re, like, doing everything you can, like, you’re working so hard and nothing to show for. It’s hard. That’s kinda like, you know, part of sales, though. And then, just this week, guys, I closed my second their deal. Yeah. This week. Yeah. So, thank you.

[01:08:53] I appreciate it. I know. It’s all right. I didn’t want to try it on. I just wanted to, like, tell you. Oh, it feels amazing. Yeah. So, the second one was, like, 50 K deal out of Canada, a biotech company. And then, this past one was just, like, another company out of Texas. So.

[01:09:11] Chris Corcoran: All outbound?

[01:09:12] Emily Shlapak: All outbound. So, that’s two cold calls and on LinkedIn.

[01:09:15] Yeah. So, yeah. No, it feels great. 

[01:09:17] Chris Corcoran: Um, you’re making a huge difference for your company. When you go outbound, and you arrange these things, they would not have that, those, that revenue or that, these customers, if it wasn’t for you, if it wasn’t for you. You’re making enormous impact. 

[01:09:38] Emily Shlapak: That’s a…

[01:09:39] Marc Gonyea: Those are our estimate, the value, the minute, the net new revenue, the new logo.

[01:09:48] Will they give them to me on the court meetings?

[01:09:50] And they talk about that new revenue acquisition. And that’s at the most valuable kinds, 

[01:09:56] Emily Shlapak: Right? Not something that’s, like, inbound. 

[01:09:57] Chris Corcoran: Not inbound.

[01:09:58] Chris Corcoran: This was you doing the after hours, getting on LinkedIn, making the calls and.

[01:10:02] Marc Gonyea: That’s important, but that’s like, that’s a deal that would have gone to the competition.

[01:10:05] Emily Shlapak: Yeah, the LinkedIn one, I wanted to point out real quick just because the third deal was a very similar company to what I worked with, with the first deal. So, it was just a super targeted outreach, and I can’t do super targeted outreach all the time. Yeah. There’s a fine line, right? Between, like, the peer number and the strategic element of it.

[01:10:23] But I just, I hit up the CFO. I just saw there was a very similar company. My first one, I was like, “All right, I know a good amount about that, that use case.” Right? So, I was just like, you know, they’re whatever CFO, just, like, closed this deal with a very similar company, you know, in Utah, here’s a couple of things that they cared about,

[01:10:40] couldn’t locate, you know, these kinds of contracts, blah, blah, blah. Like, you talk tomorrow, something like that and he said, “Oh, 11:30 PM.” Because he was looking for a contract. 11:30 PM. He goes, he’s like, “Yeah, um, can you talk tomorrow?” It took every molecule in my body to not send a calendar

[01:11:07] and I was like bugging, normal, crazy. I was like, “I’m crazy. I’m not that crazy.” 

[01:11:12] Chris Corcoran: What did you say the next day?

[01:11:13] Emily Shlapak: I waited, you know, “That looks suspicious.” I was like, “I got to have some integrity here.”

[01:11:23] I’m, like, having dreams about sending code 8:30, 8 central time, you know, it’s whatever, my manager. Um, but that was really cool. And that last sales cycle was super quick. We had, like, three calls, and I guess it was just so targeted from the start. He just, he knew what he was, this guy knew what he was looking for, but I was really proud of that because I was like, it was cool to apply, like, my password to, like, another deal.

[01:11:48] So, that, I mean, that’s something I think all SDRs can take away is not having to repeat or using the repeat work to, like, have more successes. 

[01:11:55] Chris Corcoran: So, the thing that I would take from that is, I mean, I think that’s motivating as a salesperson, knowing that there are people out there right now who need what you have and you just need to find those people because when you find those people, it goes too quick.

[01:12:14] They want to talk to you quickly, and they want to buy what you have because they need help. And in, in the way you set the prospect because you’re going to find them. Now, it is going to be, most people aren’t going to be in that category, but they’re the ones that are, it’s going to move quick, and you’re going to help those folks.

[01:12:30] Emily Shlapak: Yeah. And in those scenarios, I feel like you can’t say the wrong things to the right person. It’s like, if they’re, if they need what you got, they’re going to tell you that, you know what I mean? And that’s why, like, sometimes when you’re on cold calls, and you’re starting to get pain or whatever you’re doing, it’s like, you’re trying to pull teeth with the pain.

[01:12:45] It’s like, I mean, for SDR sake, they could still be the right fit to take a call. But, I mean, like when you’re closing.

[01:12:50] Chris Corcoran: Yeah. 

[01:12:51] Emily Shlapak: They have pain or they don’t, they have pain or they don’t, they, they just, you can’t. I mean, I just don’t think you can artificially manufacture pain. They have it or they don’t. 

[01:13:03] Marc Gonyea: You, you can help them discover. 

[01:13:05] Emily Shlapak: You can pick their interest.

[01:13:06] You can always pick their interests. You can pick their interest all day. But, when it comes to, like, closing deals and actually getting business in the door, pain or no pain, pain, or no pain, timeline or no timeline, budget or no budget.

[01:13:18] Marc Gonyea: You can find it in, like, focus on it or give them the chance. Have you think about it a little bit more?

[01:13:23] You can make it, I think, yeah. I think you can’t force them to buy it. You can, like, you can, if you get them on the couch and start talking to them about things based upon your knowledge from talking to other customers and I asked you, you can exacerbate it.

[01:13:37] Emily Shlapak: That’s a good point.

[01:13:38] Marc Gonyea: You know what I mean?

[01:13:38] Either the levels that affect them at work, in their role, how it affects them personally. Yeah. 

[01:13:46] Emily Shlapak: That’s a really good point, Marc. Because also, like, if you think about the olden days when we did horse and buggy, if you ask them how they got to work, they wouldn’t say that that was pain. They just say, that’s the way it’s always fun.

[01:13:55] And no one’s like…

[01:13:56] Chris Corcoran: “Give me a faster horse.” 

[01:13:59] Emily Shlapak: Exactly. So, that actually is a really good point. 

[01:14:01] Marc Gonyea: Yeah, you’re the, you’re, this is so good. This role you’re doing is so awesome. 

[01:14:05] Chris Corcoran: Yeah.

[01:14:06] Marc Gonyea: For you, from a learning and development standpoint, it’s not even funny. 

[01:14:09] Emily Shlapak: Yeah, no, I appreciate you guys saying that. ‘Cause it is, it’s really hard sometimes because I talked to, you know, my, you know, friends from memoryBlue, too.

[01:14:17] I’m staying in touch, you know, I talked to, like, Carly and Katie Lowry, Ryan Carey.

[01:14:31] But, you know, keeping in touch with other AEs and it’s just like seeing how they’re doing. And some people, some people have it easier. Some people have it harder. Some people are working, you know, more flexible hours. And I don’t have that. So, sometimes to me I’m like doing something wrong, but I just kind of validating though, because I, you know, it is a big sacrifice to work at this company.

[01:14:52] Like, I don’t, admittedly I, you know, I don’t have as much of a social life. I’m not as free, you know what I mean? Some working the hours and going in every day. Just sometimes.

[01:15:01] Chris Corcoran: It’s worth it, though. 

[01:15:02] Emily Shlapak: Yeah. I’m glad you think that. ‘Cause I also think it too, but sometimes when I, you know, talk to other people.

[01:15:06] But, I’m also at a point in my life too, where like, I mean, this is the time to work really hard. Right? 

[01:15:14] Chris Corcoran: That Saki says, yeah, yeah, yeah. And there’s books, he’s like, “Take all the risks, do all the stuff before you’re 30.” 

[01:15:20] Emily Shlapak: You know, do the hard stuff so you can do the easy stuff later. 

[01:15:22] Chris Corcoran: Yeah, exactly. 

[01:15:23] Marc Gonyea: Just the perspective that an experience you gain in relationships, performing, people who are working there and you’re doing the right thing, things.

[01:15:32] Chris Corcoran: It’s absolutely, absolutely. Right? 

[01:15:35] Marc Gonyea: No, absolutely. No doubt in my mind. 

[01:15:37] Emily Shlapak: Yeah. Because I mean, the, you know, you guys started your own business being entrepreneurial. Like I, to wanna go into that, I wanna do my thing.

[01:15:43] Chris Corcoran: And you thought you were crazy. You guys are playing. 

[01:15:48] Chris Corcoran: So, what do you like your working now? Would you rather do that now?

[01:15:51] Or would you rather do that in the future where you have all these funny, financial and family obligations? The time to do it is now. 

[01:15:58] Emily Shlapak: Yeah. I don’t want to do that. No, no, no. Absolutely not, so. 

[01:16:03] Chris Corcoran: And then, there’s other people who just never do it. Yeah. 

[01:16:07] Emily Shlapak: Right. No, exactly. 

[01:16:08] Marc Gonyea: Easy route.

[01:16:09] Emily Shlapak: Oh my God. Yeah. 

[01:16:10] Marc Gonyea: Which is that, that should not be. For you, that’s not even an option. 

[01:16:14] Emily Shlapak: No, no. It’s yeah. It’s not, it’s not an option. And like, um, I don’t know. I feel really lucky that I, that I’m excited to work this hard and he gets to work this hard. And I think, like, I think it’s a privilege to work hard towards something that you really want to do. You know what I mean?

[01:16:29] I don’t think it’s a curse. If you really like, you know, see the bigger picture, you know, with AE LinkSquare, they always talk about what your why, it’s focused on the bigger picture of what your why is, that will figure it out the how, you know what I mean? So, that’s kind of where I’m at. Sorry. I took a loop around. 

[01:16:45] Marc Gonyea: That’s good perspective.

[01:16:47] What else, what else you got in there? So, we’re gonna ask you about the deals, but you know, it’s not, we don’t know for sure, talk people about it. So, we don’t want to talk about their deals. 

[01:16:54] Emily Shlapak: I don’t know. I mean, there’s something that I think is really important for me to talk about. It’s just like we talked about the highs and lows of sales.

[01:17:00] I’m like, really, I, like I’m passionate about that because, like, sales is really hard and I, I’m a very emotional person. And, like, I think it was hard for me to learn to, like, not take the job so personal. I think I’m still working on it, but it feels so personal. 

[01:17:14] Marc Gonyea: It’s very personal. I take this personally. Oh, Chris and I still have a problem.

[01:17:18] Personal. Good. What makes you good, too. But it’s mostly a single edge. 

[01:17:25] Chris Corcoran: I think. No, I think it’s good. 

[01:17:27] Marc Gonyea: Mostly, it’s mostly good. Yeah. 

[01:17:29] Emily Shlapak: Yeah, it is. But it’s felt like you take pride in what you do, you know, it’s like, but, but no, there is a bad side to it where it’s like it’s business. Right. It’s hard to see it like that sometimes, you know, or like. 

[01:17:39] Marc Gonyea: Well, there’s, we can this identity role thing. Like, it’s not, that’s not who you are as a person, you know your ethos. Like, it’s hard not to take it personal, but

[01:17:48] Emily Shlapak: because you’re 

[01:17:48] talking about, yes, you say things you’re,

[01:17:51] Emily Shlapak: I don’t know, you know, it’s hard to not take these things personally, especially if you take things personally anyways.

[01:17:59] So, I, I don’t know that, that’s just something important for me to highlight. It’s just like the highs and lows of sales and try to keep an even keel. That’s, like, my main focus over the next six months, is just like keeping an even keel because I feel like when you’re too high on the highs and too low on the lows, it’s just, it’s so exhausting.

[01:18:16] It takes everything out of you, and you’re so much less effective, you know? So, now if I book a meeting or, you know, something good happens, I’m not like, “Oh my God, I’m the man.” When there’s something bad, I’m not like, “Oh, I’m the worst.” I’m kind of always just, I’m trying to stay in the middle. You know what I mean?

[01:18:30] Rather than just, like, fluctuate all the time, you know what I mean? I’m just hoping that the peaks and valleys just get smaller. You know what I mean? 

[01:18:40] Marc Gonyea: That’s why this swipe, this experience you’re doing now is so strong because it’s making you realize all these things and work on them. 

[01:18:46] Chris Corcoran: Yeah. 

[01:18:47] Marc Gonyea: If you had a position that was easier, less challenging, might be a better description,

[01:18:54] you wouldn’t have to, you wouldn’t be considering these highs and lows. You might be, but not to the same varying degree because you’re working so hard, right? Like, that’s where all the, everything comes out in the hard work. Right? ‘Cause it for the forces, this reconciliation do this. “Okay. Gotta work hard, but I wanna make sure I don’t get too high, should we get low.”

[01:19:12] Just operate this way. And like, that’s very transforming. 

[01:19:17] Emily Shlapak: Yeah, 

[01:19:19] Marc Gonyea: It is. It is. If you were just work, there was someplace maybe I was, we run a big, run into people sometimes in tech who, they’re great professionals, but, you know, they happened to work at a company with a technology was flying off the shelf.

[01:19:32] Emily Shlapak: Yeah. 

[01:19:33] Marc Gonyea: And that’s great, good for them. And that’s great, but that’s, when they get into Tufts tuition. ‘Cause that role, that tech, that won’t last forever, and this is how technology works. It’s fast-moving and things change. They’re, they’re not going to be as prepared as the people who have had a little bit more of a grind.

[01:19:50] Emily Shlapak: Right. 

[01:19:50] Marc Gonyea: They’re not because eventually it comes, and we see a lot at memoryBlue ’cause we work close to tech companies. Right. I remember, when I was at I kick off a call, and I’d be like, “Man, I need to go back to Oracle.” You know, “You might need to go back to Oracle.”

[01:20:05] Emily Shlapak: Right, yeah. 

[01:20:06] Marc Gonyea: It’s I don’t want to disrespect the Oracle reps.

[01:20:08] I mean, I am, I guess, um, but I’m not, but it’s more of a, “This is not workable. It’s a big company.” This big company. Yeah. 

[01:20:14] Emily Shlapak: It’s, it’s creating something out of nothing, real thrill of it all. I think I put in my description on LinkedIn is that, you know, the job description of an SDR is turning strangers into business partners.

[01:20:28] Yeah. And that’s like, that’s, that’s really cool to me. And then, you know, the deals I’m talking about, it’s like something out of literally nothing, something that didn’t exist. You know what I mean? When you think about it like that and not just on getting rejected six days, six times a day from a stranger, it’s just a different. 

[01:20:45] Chris Corcoran: It’s the mindset and what do you see. Outlook.

[01:20:49] Emily Shlapak: Yeah. Oh yeah. Mindset’s been the biggest thing from this new job. Like, yeah. I mean, there’s like hard skills and stuff, but, like, I’ve had to really get pretty, you know, serious about the way that I think about things. Like, it’s actually kind of crazy is that my company hires a mindset coach for the sales team once a month.

[01:21:07] Right. And it’s crazy. He’s a neuroscientist. And he literally talks to the whole team about, like, maintaining a positive mindset. And like, because it’s just so important, you know what I mean? So, I mean, it sounds crazy, but we’re doing, like, visualizations, breathing techniques. And like we’re trying to get, like, a high-performing sales team.

[01:21:26] Mindset is so important. I highlight. 

[01:21:29] There’s a this example of, that I like to share, about these two people worked for two different shoe companies, and they’re trying to set up an international operation. Both of these shoes, these scouts, they both go to a third world country in Eastern Europe.

[01:21:47] Chris Corcoran: Okay. They both see this country, and they both see that no one there has shoes. So, one of them calls back to headquarters and is like, “We’re screwed. Do not open up anything here. No one has any shoes. We’re going to, it would never work. Right? Never.” The other one calls up is like, “Guys, I found a gold mine. No one has shoes.

[01:22:14] We need to open up here because the world is our oyster.” Both of them were right. But one sees one thing, one sees something else. So, just the power of that mindset.

[01:22:25] Emily Shlapak: Yeah. That’s huge. That’s awesome. Like a challenge, like an opportunity versus, like, a challenge. 

[01:22:30] Chris Corcoran: Yeah. One, one saying, “Under no circumstance, there’s no opportunity here.” The other one’s like, “This is the biggest opportunity we’ve ever seen.” And they see the same thing. Right? 

[01:22:42] Emily Shlapak: Right. Yeah. No, that’s awesome. Yeah. One of the things that they teach us, talking a lot, but the one thing they teach us in mindset is like, when something bad happens saying like, “It’s the best thing that could have happened.”

[01:22:53] Sounds so dumb. But we say it in the office. Like, it sounds crazy, but someone loses a deal or, you know, we lost a competitor or whatever the case may be, the best thing that could happen. Because, like, we think the best salespeople just have short-term memories. 

[01:23:08] Marc Gonyea: Yup. And that’s one, you know, we talked about you as an SDR and you’re like, you kind of can’t see far for the trees because you’re grinding.

[01:23:17] I mean, you’re a more enhanced version of that now, but it’s the same thing. You’re doing all the right things. You’re doing all the right things. It’s hard to see because you got this quota, but I promise you you’re doing all the right things.

[01:23:28] Chris Corcoran: Uh, what, I mean, you know, what a great company, I mean, I like everything that I’m hearing about these guys.

[01:23:33] Yeah. “Hey, we want people to be in the office.” It’s not the easy job to say worth a job. Mindset. We say all of those things.

[01:23:40] Marc Gonyea: We see all the time, the right people want to be in the office. The right people want to be in the office. And do you want me in the office? We may need it in the conversation. So it’s not for you, it’s okay.

[01:23:53] Emily Shlapak: I love the transparency on both ends. They always say this, they’re like, “This is the hardest job you’re ever going to have.” Like, “This is the hardest job, this is it.” And like, but they’re like, “You’re going to make good money. You’re going to have opportunities for growth, and you’re going to be better for it. And then just throw it out in the open.” 

[01:24:12] Marc Gonyea: So valuable. That’s your development.

[01:24:14] Chris Corcoran: Yeah. You’re, you’re not going to forget these deals that you’re bringing in. No, you’re not going to forget 

[01:24:22] Marc Gonyea: the things

[01:24:22] Emily Shlapak: Especially when I start to, like run my first deal, like at the end. ‘Cause right now, you know, I’m not fully, full ownership, but once I start to like really run it, start to finish, like that’s going to be, like, a really cool feeling. But, right now, just bringing in the, you know, cool accounts and all that and this is good enough, but yeah.

[01:24:41] Chris Corcoran: I’ll also say this. So, obviously, when you were here, you know, you built a good network of coworkers, and now you’re keeping in touch with. The 50 AEs that you’re working with now, that’s at a whole another level that you’re going to be in contact with those folks, as well, for the rest of your career. So, you’re, you’re associating yourself with the now right types of people. 

[01:25:03] Emily Shlapak: Yeah. 

[01:25:03] Chris Corcoran: The right types of people. 

[01:25:05] Emily Shlapak: Exactly. And when you’re around people like that, and I felt that way here, I was just like, “I’m around, it’s like exciting, motivated people.” It’s, like, one of the criteria they have for being hired there is, like, being an energy giver. And, like, that is such a big, I feel it when I’m in the office, you know what I mean?

[01:25:20] It’s not people 

[01:25:20] Marc Gonyea: that’s like, we were talking about that last night. You want to be around people that are giving good energy. 

[01:25:26] Emily Shlapak: It sounds 

[01:25:27] like, it sounds dumb, but like, it’s not. 

[01:25:30] You know when it’s happening, too. Like, someone’s just being a little bit more pessimistic, and they’re like, “Oh, we got to do emails today.”

[01:25:38] It’s like, “Suck it up. Come on, have fun, you have to do it anyways.” You know? And like, yeah, you’re, I mean, there’s a quote, I don’t know who said it, but it’s like, “You’re a product of the five people you spend the most time with.” I don’t know who said it, but like.

[01:25:49] Chris Corcoran: You got to pick the right five.

[01:25:50] Emily Shlapak: Yeah, right? Yeah, exactly. It’s the same thing in work environments.

[01:25:53] People you’re sitting around, people you’re associating with you, people you take breaks with, people you take walks with, what are they saying? what are they thinking? It’s going to rub off on you. 

[01:26:02] Marc Gonyea: Exactly. You gotta be picky. Yeah. Very good. Well, Em Shlay, with the wisdom. 

[01:26:07] Chris Corcoran: This was great. 

[01:26:08] Emily Shlapak: Yeah. This is amazing.

[01:26:10] Very validating until I talk to you guys about.

[01:26:12] Chris Corcoran: We really appreciate it.

[01:26:13] Marc Gonyea: I’m inspired. You, people, inspire me to go get my own shit. 

[01:26:16] Chris Corcoran: I know. 

[01:26:17] Emily Shlapak: I just want to say one more thing to do that like, like, I, I’m, just couldn’t be more grateful for my time at memoryBlue, like I had a blast. I learned so much. Like, I still keep in touch with like, you know, five to ten people that worked with here, and you guys keep us in the loop.

[01:26:30] Like, memoryBlue is like a school of sales. Like, I tell people that. memoryBlue University. It really feels like that. Like, you learn how to be good at sales and, like, you call us all alumni, like, that’s so cool. I get invited back to stuff. You know what I mean, like exclusive club? Like, you know, like, it’s like a, it’s like a family.

[01:26:47] Like, I feel like I could hit up someone’s memoryBlue to grab a drink and come to the office, say hi. And like, it’s a really cool feeling, you know? So, you guys are building like, I think memoryBlue, the brand of memoryBlue, has made a lot of strides in the last couple of years. 

[01:27:01] Chris Corcoran: To where we started. Like from people like you.

[01:27:03] Marc Gonyea: Yeah. Yeah. You’re right. You represent the brand new day. You may not know it or not. I know you’re not, you got, you know, you may not look at it that way, but people look at where you worked before and what type of person you are and how you carry yourself. You got any game. 

[01:27:17] Emily Shlapak: Now, interesting was about memory blue. Some of them came over me. You guys know, you guys know David Justina, DJ?

[01:27:30] He’s on customer success now. It’s awesome. But, yeah, no, but I just want to say, like, the brand here you guys are building is awesome. I just, I feel really grateful that I worked here. 

[01:27:38] Marc Gonyea: We’re very grateful that you worked here. 

[01:27:42] So, you picked us.

[01:27:43] Chris Corcoran: It’s hilarious. It’s hilarious and annoying, all at the same time. The people who appreciate the company the most needed it least. You had been wildly successful, regardless of wherever you started, but then, there’s people who struggle, and they complain and say that it sucks.

[01:28:01] It’s just, I guess that’s life, right? 

[01:28:04] Marc Gonyea: Yeah. Yeah.

[01:28:05] Chris Corcoran: Well, we’re looking forward to continuing to watch you succeed. Please keep posting on LinkedIn. You’re such a great writer. You’re such a great writer.

[01:28:13] Marc Gonyea: You gotta keep that going. 

[01:28:15] Marc Gonyea: Don’t make it your full-time job.

[01:28:20] Chris Corcoran: Whatever, once a month, once a quarter, once it’s put it’s very, um, 

[01:28:24] Marc Gonyea:  It rings true. 

[01:28:24] Chris Corcoran: It rings true. 

[01:28:25] Chris Corcoran: And you’re saying things that people need to, need to hear.

[01:28:29] Emily Shlapak: Especially in sales.

[01:28:30] Chris Corcoran: Yes, it’s great. It’s great. 

[01:28:32] Emily Shlapak: Once a quarter.

[01:28:33] Chris Corcoran: There you go. 

[01:28:34] Emily Shlapak: All right, guys.

[01:28:35] Marc Gonyea: Thank you, Emily.