One of the top reps in all of Rubrik is John Koretoff. It's not even arguable at this point. I happen to be fortunate enough to have John on my team. It's not the fact that John overproduces quarter-over-quarter that makes me lucky to have him (of course that's an added benefit), it's because I get to learn from him every day and use him as 'The Example' of how it's supposed to be done.
Most days I am proud to be his manager. On other days I'm just flat-out envious of his higher intellectual power and insane ability to execute. His Rubrik story is textbook. He started at the very bottom of the sales ranks 5 years ago coming off a job as a financial planning analyst in the food industry into an SDR at a tech startup. Of course, like any washed-up college baseball player turned financial analyst from a small town would do, he completely knocked it out of the park. From the very beginning, his tenacity, work ethic, and dedication to domination led to a fast promotion and more competitors to fend off. By sticking to his rigid process, the financial analyst blew it out once again landing him in an even bigger role and greater visibility. He was onto something.
This rapid pattern of promotions and demoralization of the competition continued to pile up over the next few years and at a record pace. Well done for an ex-baseball player with a knack for numbers. Hell, I guess this guy thought, "If I can't play MLB baseball, I might as well make as much as them." Touche.
So what is it that he does that has earned him 4 promotions in 5 years, multiple President Club trips, and a fully loaded bank account? Is there a trick he uses? Is there a book he read or something? Do I need to be a financial planning analyst in the food industry?
What I can tell you is that it's a multitude of things. Many of which I don't even have visibility to I'm sure. What I do know and see is that he does things that most sellers either half-ass or don't do at all. John knows that half ass = half paycheck and he doesn't like 50% of anything.
John Koretoff's 4 Secret Weapons:
1. Extensive Research and Pulse on the Market
John is always researching his target customers, personas, competition, and industry trends. He knows that knowledge is power and can give him an angle that can be just enough to get that meeting or move the ball further down the field. Just the other week, he caught wind of an acquisition his prospect's organization was making before his customer even knew about it. He followed up his knowledge drop with a creative opening to his prospect about how his solution could ease the M&A process while reducing risk and tied it all back to priorities the CEO talked about on the last earnings call.
Immediate trust was built.
Prospect starts listening.
John walks into his meetings with an unfair advantage by knowing:
Who writes the check
Who can get him to the person who writes the check? He knows the power chart (not just the org chart).
Who else sells into this account, has sold to the account, and wants to sell into the account
What competitive solution they are currently using, what process are they utilizing, and what costs they are incurring
What pains do they have, will have, and have had
What regulations do they adhere to and why it matters
What their Board of Directors cares about
Who he knows, that knows the CEO, CIO, COO, CISO, and their chain of command
The list goes on and on. Hell, just today he found out that the CFO at one of his top prospects is notorious for throwing big 4th of July pool parties and he's already working an angle to get invited to that party. You can't teach this shit.
2. Network Effect
Your network = your net worth and John knows EVERYBODY.
He's acquired a massive Rolodex by saying "Yes."
Saying Yes to:
Industry events
Partner meetups
LinkedIn connections
Email intros
Being uncomfortable
Then he takes those new connections and actually does something with it. He follows up and follows through and keeps a cadence. One of his secrets to building a strong network is he provides value first. Several times. Ask for favors later. Then the favors start coming to him in droves. He's got an army going into his deals and never fights alone. It's all mapped out. Every deal. Every time.
3. Multi-Threading
So often reps lose deals because they are single-threaded. They count on a single person to do it all and get overly confident only to be let down when that person loses power, influence, or leaves the company. John understands that there are multiple roles in every deal which include:
Tip: John leverages the MEDDPICC methodology heavily.
He doesn't waste his time with those who have no influence and no authority and focuses on the various folks within the account that can actually make things happen.
His multi-threading techniques don't stop at the customer level either. He has the same mentality internally at his company and has mapped out what resources should be used, where, and when. He charts out multiple layers within his organization to his customers and guides those introductions.
Oh yeah, and remember his network effect? Yep, used it here too. His network is multi-threading into his deals on his behalf. The power of more.
Never fight alone.
4. Puts His Leadership to Work
John takes advantage of the fact that true leaders work for him and not the other way around. He invites them to more meetings than most, gets them involved more often than not, and keeps a heavy communication flow throughout.
What amazes me is the incredible amount of eyes and ears he has on his deals. He wants to gather a big sample size of leadership advice and go execute on it. Just the other day I was on a call with him and another leader reviewing a deal and John shared with us inputs and guidance he already had from three other executives from our company.
All driven on his own accord.
There's a common saying by sales leaders: "I won't make you do anything I wouldn't do." John will put you to the test and make you prove it.
His leadership is:
Sending prospecting emails, calls, and messages on his behalf
Attending events they typically don't go to
Shaking hands with people they likely wouldn't have ever met
Building out prospecting plans and building decks to deliver
Many more...
He's a resource hog.
Conclusion:
Today marks John's 5-year Anniversary here at Rubrik. Witnessing his rapid growth, massive success, and unique ability to win the right way has been an absolute pleasure to watch. There is so much we can learn from this badass and I can't even imagine where he will be in the next 5 years.
He's a true A-player.