Stay ConnectedMeet Gabe Lullo.
Gabe Lullo is the CEO of Alleyoop, a sales development agency working with industry giants such as ZoomInfo, Salesloft, and Adobe.
He has trained over 8,000 salespeople across diverse businesses and, during his tenure in Alleyoop, he has personally hired and managed more than 1,500 SDRs.
With over two decades of experience in sales, marketing, and executive recruitment, his strategies have significantly driven Alleyoop’s growth.
“We are all selling on the same sales floor. We are all doing the same things during the day. And then I go home and practice for another work day. By the time 6 months have passed, I’ve had way more time in the role.” - Andrew Hendry
Growing up with the philosophy that no one is coming to save you means you learn to save yourself.
Sales doesn’t reward clock-watchers.
It rewards those who show up, learn relentlessly, and outwork everyone else.
There is more sales training available online for free than in any other industry.
The tools are there. The knowledge is there. What’s missing is action.
People who treat sales like a 9-5 get paid like it.
If you want to make $200-300k+, you have to work like it.
Put in the extra hours.
Study the scripts.
Run the roleplays.
Practice when no one is watching.
Because success doesn’t wait.
“I’m looking for real examples. People who have built something before, and maybe even failed, but got back up and tried again.” - Sara Hanegby
That’s exactly who thrives in sales.
Not the ones with the perfect script.
Not the ones with the smoothest pitch.
But the ones with grit.
The people who can take rejection, learn from it, and show up the next day ready to try a different angle.
Sales is hard.
Emotionally, mentally, and professionally.
We’re not outside doing physical labor.
It happens behind screens.
In conversations.
In follow-ups.
In the quiet persistence no one sees.
And that perspective matters.
From where we sit, inside the calls, the objections, the silence after a proposal, resilience becomes the real differentiator.
The ability to hold a genuine conversation.
To listen.
To adapt.
To fail without folding.
Experience doesn’t always look like a flawless track record.
And in sales, the people who get back up are the ones who last.
“I wanted to sell an opportunity rather than a product, and that is why I became a recruiter.” - Darrell Clack
A lot of people assume being a recruiter is just posting jobs and filling roles.
It is way more than that.
Recruitment, when done properly, is about changing lives.
It’s about opening doors.
It’s about spotting potential in someone before they fully see it themselves.
Darrell talked about how LinkedIn became a turning point for him.
Not because it was a place to post jobs.
But because it was a platform to build a voice.
A place to challenge conversations.
A place to advocate for change.
A place to stand for something bigger than “filling roles.”
LinkedIn is not just a job board.
It’s a stage.
And the people who win here are not just recruiters.
They’re educators.
They’re advocates.
They’re storytellers.
They’re leaders in their lane.
People do listen.
People want to see change.
And they want to see people brave enough to talk about it.
“I realized I had the pipeline. If I could take the existing high-achieving reps, increase ACV, and get them closing bigger deals at higher rates, they would all overachieve like crazy. We’d still hit the number, and we did.” - Gal Aga
Sometimes, you have to step back to move forward.
That means making decisions quickly.
That means being okay with saying no.
Making the hard calls.
A great buying experience takes two to tango.
Learning to say no in a sales process saves you time and energy.
Because signing the wrong client, the nightmare one, only guarantees a longer, harder road ahead.
Sales is tough.
Sales is rough.
Sales is hard.
And that’s exactly why clarity and conviction matter.
Leadership isn’t about getting people to do exactly what you do.
It’s about helping people learn how to lead themselves in what they’re already good at.
Everyone on the team is working toward the same destination, the same goal, the same outcome.
But the path to get there doesn’t have to look the same for everyone.
We all bring different strengths, experiences, and perspectives.
We don’t need to be driving in the same car for us to arrive at the same place.
We just need to trust that you know how to use your skills to get there.
I don’t specialize in every aspect of the work, and I shouldn’t have to.
Strong leadership isn’t about being the expert in everything.
It’s about recognizing expertise in others.
“Being a good leader is finding someone who is good at doing it and motivating them to use their skills to be the special person they are to get to the end point with you.” - Stacy Case
That’s the kind of leadership that builds ownership, confidence, and results, not just compliance.
“I know how to light up a room. But early in leadership, I also knew how to bring a room down.” - Ben Wright
Twelve years ago, Ben’s business partner asked him a simple question:
“What’s going on with you?”
That moment changed everything.
Ben realized something every leader eventually learns:
The energy you bring becomes the energy in the room.
And his best side wasn’t always leading.
So he leaned into his strengths.
Used them intentionally.
He failed fast.
Not recklessly, but bravely.
He owned what went wrong.
Because ownership beats excuses every time.
And then he made the change.
Insight without action is just noise.
Today, Ben brings positive energy wherever he goes.
Not because everyone agrees with him.
Not because the message is easy.
But because it’s delivered with integrity and the best intentions.
Growth isn’t about getting everything right.
It’s about getting better, consistently.
Many people look for relief during times of pain, uncertainty, or change.
Tools like reflection, meditation, or journaling can be helpful. But sometimes, without realizing it, they become ways to avoid discomfort rather than move through it.
When we sidestep what’s difficult instead of facing it, growth can stall.
Real growth doesn’t come from rising above our problems.
It comes from turning toward them.
We’re often encouraged to look outward for answers, signs, guidance, teachers, or practices that will tell us what to do next.
And those things can be helpful. But the most important place to look has always been inward.
Inside is where our beliefs live.
Inside is where our values take shape.
Inside are the experiences, sometimes painful, sometimes forgotten, that quietly
influence how we move through the world.
If we don’t take the time to understand who we are, what we stand for, and why we react the way we do, we’ll keep repeating the same cycles, just with different faces, different
circumstances, different names.
“We tend to repeat patterns and cycles because it is what we know. And we are aligned to those experiences.” - Candice Van Dertholen
Growth doesn’t come from avoiding what’s uncomfortable.
It comes from developing awareness, understanding ourselves, and choosing how we respond.
“My athletic experience is the foundation of who I am.” - Taylor Martino
You have to show up on the tough days.
Nothing is going to be handed to you.
You have to make it happen.
Before we can work on any sales skill, we have to work on our mindset.
As leaders, we expect a lot.
But everyone is carrying things we don’t always see.
Our job is to push people to be their best and support them as real humans.
Both matter.
Fail forward.
Learn from the feedback.
Take responsibility.
That’s how individuals grow.
That’s how teams win.
“Our goal is to make salespeople more therapeutic, more human, and guide their own way.”
- Jack Frimston
As human beings, we don’t take action based on logic alone.
We act when emotion comes first, and then we justify it with logic.
No emotion = no urgency.
No urgency = no movement.
That’s why great sales conversations don’t sound like pitches.
They sound like therapy.
The real skill isn’t talking.
It’s asking the right questions and then listening long enough for the emotion to surface.
When prospects hear themselves say what’s frustrating them, what’s costing them, or what’s holding them back…
Change starts to feel necessary.
Your job on the phone isn’t to convince.
It’s to create clarity.
Emotion opens the door.
Logic helps them walk through it.
“Find a beautiful question to pursue.” - Jon Mayo
Founders don’t struggle because of ideas.
They struggle because people struggle.
And leadership is learning to sit with that truth long enough to do something useful with it.
Take notes in every conversation.
Not just on what was said, but on what was meant.
Patterns show up when you pay attention.
Learn as much as you can.
Then assume it’s still not enough.
There is always more to learn, and humility is a competitive advantage.
Simple is not always easy.
Finding the true answer means resisting shortcuts and comforting narratives.
Do the hard part:
Figure out what’s actually true.
Then turn that truth into action.
You don’t need the whole roadmap.
Just find the next step, and take it.
Never plant yourself where you get stuck.
Progress belongs to those willing to keep moving.
Keep pursuing beautiful questions.
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