An Elite Seller's Approach to Setbacks: Reflection #12

Last time, I spoke with Daniel Klein, a top salesperson at Databricks, the analytics platform valued at over $60 billion and one of the most prestigious companies in tech. Daniel went viral on LinkedIn for sharing how he enjoyed a stellar rise in the first decade of his career — always being a top seller, eventually managing a team, and then becoming head of sales for a hot new startup — and the painful lessons he learned when he had to go back to being an IC (individual contributor) just a few years later. We talked all about the experience of being humbled at work, regaining your footing, and using tough lessons to land in an even better place than before. If you haven’t yet, you can read the previous article here. I took so much away from our conversation — not just a powerful story of beginning again but also a fun a “behind the scenes” of an highly successful salesperson and tech influencer. I hope you enjoy my takeaways from Daniel’s humor and insights just as much as I did!

#1: Being present makes a massive difference.

Given Daniel’s profession, I knew he would be a good communicator. But what I was most amazed by was how truly, deeply, present he was in our conversation. That type of genuine engagement, sustained, in the moment — is so unbelievably rare in our constantly-connected, digital world. It’s so easy to get distracted by any number of things, whether it’s a Slack, a text, or a buzz on our smart watches.

What I appreciated was that he simply paid full attention to the conversation. I know that sounds simple, but it makes an enormous difference when you do — and the other person notices immediately. It made sense instantly why he was so good at sales. Being present is exciting!

#2: No matter how good you are at reading people, your assumptions might be very wrong.

I have always prided myself on my ability to read people and interpret their emotional cues — especially since I’ve studied psychology and I work in sales and relationship management, which tests this skill on a daily basis. However, talking to Daniel was a refreshing reminder that it’s important to confirm with people what you think is going on.

For example, after he told me how happy he was in his current role at Databricks — after experiencing an unlucky few years where things didn’t quite go as planned for him — I felt confident that he would say his current role was a stroke of good luck for him, almost as a karmic reward for the tough lessons had learned. I was mistaken. He told me that his current role was not a matter of luck whatsoever — but a deliberate result of the choices he had made and the lessons he had learned from his professional setback. We had multiple instances like this that not only forced me to pay even closer attention but to not get too arrogant about my ability to extrapolate things. Another important reminder of being truly present!

#3: Everyone gets self-conscious about sharing their work — even influencers!

As a frequent overthinker, I always get nervous whenever I hit “publish” on a post. I am amazed by the people online who seem to share incredibly personal or opinionated things without fear — but this conversation reminded me that even those people can be nervous, too! I appreciated that Daniel was so honest about the fact that, as a rising LinkedIn influencer in tech, he does care about the engagement and reaction to his posts. When I asked him his reaction when his career story went viral, I almost expected him to say something like he “was grateful for the reaction” and to downplay how much the online engagement mattered to him. But I loved how honest he was! He said his fiance probably wanted him to “sh*t the fuck up” about how excited he was, and that he always cares about what he posts — because he puts a lot of time into each post.

#4: Don’t beat yourself up if you don’t read the “signs” correctly.

It is true: hindsight really is 20/20.

When Daniel first got his job as head of sales, he said it was fate-like: he knew the founders, he knew the industry well, and it was a fortuitous time for VC funding. Who wouldn’t take that opportunity? I’ve similarly had all kinds of things happen in life where the signs seemed “perfect” — people that I met, opportunities that I took — only to realize later that the signs —as one of my friends says — were just coincidences.

I am a big believer that listening to one’s gut is harder than it sounds. We can’t know whether something is a true sign or a coincidence until much later, when all the decisions have already played out. To me, that is actually freeing — because it reminds me that there really are no perfect “signs” that can be followed with 100% certitude. All we can do is take risks, take them as intelligently as we can, and hope for the best.

#5: Falling down can lead you to even bigger and better heights than before.

Daniel shared a powerful story of rising in his career, falling, taking those lessons — and then landing in a role that he is absolutely killing it in. But the reason he is in this role today is because he directly turned his painful realizations into important criteria for his next role. And because Databricks is such a hot company, his experience there will serve him for the rest of his career.

No professional journey is complete without valleys and mountains. As Polina Pompliano said last time, success is not the absence of failure but being able to make something of it. Daniel made not only a great career move from the lessons he learned, but he was also able to share those lessons with the world — which I would consider a pretty darn successful result in my book.

Thank you so much for reading — what lessons did you take from Daniel’s story? Comment below, and stay tuned for our next interview!