Jc Pollard's Recent LinkedIn Posts

I am super stoked to announce that I have stepped into a New Role at Gong as an Interim Director - Mid Market Sales. Over the past few months, I have learned so much from my Director Sadie McGraw. The way she runs her org is world-class, the level of execution is something I aspire to emulate. While she steps away for Mat Leave Ian Lundy and I are getting the opportunity to step into a Second Line Leadership role, to ensure the incredible momentum Sadie has established continues. Extremely excited about this chance to stretch, grow, and gain some Second Line leadership experience. Thankful for this opportunity! Jessie Sloan Tanner Robinson!

One of the funniest LinkedIn messages I have ever received 😂. Appreciate these kinds of notes.

The Gym is dead. I just built an AI Agent that completely replaces the need for all physical exercise. Comment 'People Are Constantly Overstating the Impact of AI' in the comments below and Ill send you my playbook.

In May of 2023, I took an AE Role with an OTE of $320,000. I left that job after a few months, and let me tell you... If I had stayed, I certainly would not have made $320,000. The career mistake I made was painful and ended up costing me hundreds of thousands of dollars. But it was a valuable lesson and was one I wish I hadn't learn the hard way. OTE is a shiny object that gets flashed in front of a seller, and I admit firsthand that it can be seemingly impossible not to get excited by some lofty number. I was 25 years old, saw a number that started with a 3 in front of it, ignored a lot of really smart people advising me to stay at Gong, and chased the paycheck. Here is what I learned firsthand -> OTE is far less important than the following: 1. Is there a real, repeatable, and consistent path towards overperformance? 2. Is there a strong product-market fit? 3. Do you absolutely love the product? 4. How is the existing team really performing, and what are they really making? I partnered with RepVue, and we put together a few resources. Here is a list of companies sorted by either Base, OTE or Top Earner: https://lnkd.in/gXPEFt9U And here are the companies sorted by the average AE Attainment: https://lnkd.in/gwdufiY6

I had a weeks worth of posts planned this week but I can’t bring myself to post about sales, or tech, or whatever this week. This weekend in my home of Austin Texas 2 innocent lives were taken and over 14 other were injured in a mass shooting downtown. It’s genuinely heartbreaking and I can’t imagine the pain and loss the families and friends of those impacted are going through. I love this city and the people here so much. This place is my home, and everyone here is my family. All I’ll be posting this week is this story and a link to a fundraiser being held. 100% of these funds will go directly to the victims and victims families to help pay for the costs associated with this tragedy. Funeral costs, medical bills, loss of income, etc. Love will always win here in Austin. http://spot.fund/98236ftsc

Saw a post today from a new SDR highlighting some of her early career lessons and takeaways. Then saw a comment roasting her suggesting that she should stop posting and focus on working. Come on now. That person is an anchor, some people are hot air balloons. One of the things I have learned in life is the sooner you can drop the anchors, and surround yourself with hot air balloons the better. Let's not discourage knowledge sharing and openness, no need to dim someone elses candle in order to make yours burn brighter. Here's to showing up better as humans day in and day out.

Within days of moving to Austin, it felt like it had been home my whole life. The people here are special, and we are all so proud to be in Austin. On paper, this is a city, but it has always felt like a small town and a true community. This weekend, we lost two of our family members, 21-year-old Savitha Shan, 19-year-old Ryder Harrington, and as of yesterday, a third life was lost 30-year-old Jorge Pederson. The feeling of loss in this city is palpable, and it is a helpless feeling. Though nothing we do now can change the past, there are things we can do to hopefully alleviate some of the burden on the families of the victims. My friend started a GoFundMe campaign with a goal of raising $300,000. 100% of these funds will go directly to the victims and victims families to help pay for the costs associated with this tragedy. Funeral costs, medical bills, loss of income, etc. If you want to contribute financially, you can use the link below, if you aren't able to consider sharing this link around. https://lnkd.in/gDGhMvYz 100% of these funds will go directly to the victims and victims families to help pay for the costs associated with this tragedy. Funeral costs, medical bills, loss of income, etc. Love will always win here in Austin.

Probably going to get a bit of heat for this post, but after interviewing hundreds of candidates for AE roles over the past year, I wanted to share two of the reasons people give for why they left a company that gives me pause as a hiring manager. 1. I didn't like my manager: I get it, I have worked for a manager that I did not like working for before, and I know it can be draining. BUT, if you are interviewing for a role at a company, even if you like the hiring manager, there is no guarantee that they will be your manager forever. And there is a chance that you one day end up with a manager you don't gel with again. Would you leave again? It's one thing to have a fundamental disbelief in the direction of the company or the upper leadership, but not having a direct manager that you vibe with is not a great reason to leave IMO. 2. There was a lot of change: Spoiler alert. At Gong, or pretty much any fast-moving company, the only constant is change. Things here change constantly, and to thrive here you have to lean into the change, adapt quickly, and find a way to win. Change is only going to accelerate with AI progressing so fast. When I hear someone left due to lots of changes, I think, are you going to leave here when there are inevitable changes too? I want people that handle hard well, and that can adapt and thrive through a bad manager, or an evolving company. This is obviously not a blanket statement, and there are always exceptions and nuances. But thought I'd share for the folks out their interviewing.

Spent last Thursday through Subday Playing “golf” at Punehurst. (Golf is in quotations because I’m not sure you can consider what I played golf, based on how bad the shots were) But here was the best part - I didn’t check LinkedIn the whole time - I didn’t keep up with the news - I didn’t look at the stock market Just felt truly unplugged, in a beautiful place, with amazing people. Good reminder to slow down and touch some grass.

Not sure who needs to hear this, but if you are looking for an amazing protein bar maybe just get some Parmesan Reggiano. It's packed with protein, comes from 100% grass fed cows in Italy, and has healthy fats too. Probably the most random post ever but just wanted to put y'all on.

My grandma just turned 103 years old... insane. I went 4 years without visiting her. Why? Because I was 'busy', it was too hard to 'take off work', I had a lot of 'other things going on'. I finally went out to see her a few months ago. She's genuinely incredible; her mind is still sharp, and she still walks a mile every single day. But sadly, she is 80% blind and 80% deaf. Thankfully, she is still able to have a conversation if you sit really close, speak clearly, and are in a quiet room. So when I visited, we talked about life, and she told her stories. She lost her dad at the age of 2, her mom at the age of 40. She’s been through the Great Depression and had her husband get sent to Japan to fight in World War Two right after they had their first baby. She’s been through trials and tribulations that I genuinely couldn’t imagine. Despite all that, she kept repeating, “I’ve lived such a wonderful and full life. I’m very lucky.” There are two reasons I wanted to share this. 1. If someone who has been through what she has can still see the beauty in life, then I think anyone can. 2. If you are like me and get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of life, a career, money, etc., look in the mirror and remember what really matters. You can take a few days off to go visit your grandma; it is far more important. PS: Going back to see her in a month :)

In Church yesterday, our pastor spent a lot of time talking about worrying and anxiety. He shared that according to studies on anxiety, roughly 40% of worries are about events that never occur. 30% relate to past events that cannot be changed. 12% concern needless health worries. 10% are petty issues. Only 8% are legitimate concerns. As a worrier and someone who certainly experiences some anxiety, it resonated so strongly. I reflected on how much time I have spent worrying about the future, about things that may or may not (and often don't) occur. Worrying about AI taking all of our jobs, worrying about the foundation of my house crumbling, worrying about getting an illness, etc., etc. Worrying about Matt Firestone being right and every tool ever officiall 'killing Gong' (joking, not worried there 🤡 ). Even though these can be real, scary, and possible things. What fruit do I bear from worrying about those things? If they happen, they happen, and we go from there. So this week I am trying to let go of the 92% of things that are not worth worrying about, and to trust that it will all workout in the way it was intended too. Wanted to share this incase it lands for anyone else.

I've been at Gong for over 5 years now... The #1 most important skill when I started, discovery. Five years later, the #1 most important skill, discovery. In a world that changes rapidly, some things stay the same.

3 Years ago I spent $15000 and joined a golf club called Onion Creek Club which is owned by Arcis Golf. During the process I was told about all these amazing improvements that were going to be made. An outdoor bar by the tennis courts. New locker rooms. I gameroom/lounge in the clubhouse. A complete restaurant renovation. 3 years later, 0 improvements have been made and the monthly dues keep going up... Talk about a churn risk. Theres a good lesson here for sellers. Don't sell on roadmap, unless things are actually on the roadmap. Otherwise you just end up with pissed off customers that feel like they were mislead. Would have much preferred to have been told "this is going to remain exactly as is for the next few years." I probably still would have joined, and I would appreciate the candor. Instead I feel bamboozled... No one wants to feel bamboozled.

Some of the best sales advice I have ever gotten. "How do you say 1/2 as much in 1/3 of the words?" Less is often more.

I have a friend whose company tried to screw him out of $40,000 in commissions. He closed a massive multi-year 6 figure deal, but when his commission check hit, it was wayyyyy smaller than he anticipated. After 2+ months of conversations, he found out that the company changed the 'Sales Policy' two days after he closed the deal and restructured the rules so they wouldn't have to pay him out. He was close to hiring a lawyer to figure things out, but thankfully, they finally released the commissions. The sad thing is, these kinds of things are not rare in sales. Even though Comp plans are complex, with kickers and clawbacks and a million other factors, don't let lack of clarity cost you thousands of dollars that you worked so hard to earned. That's exactly why our company brought in CaptivateIQ. We have complete clarity on how commissions are calculated in real time. No more spreadsheets! No more waiting until after the check hits to find out if something's off. As a sales leader it is such a blessing too because my team knows exactly what they are earning, and no one isn't left in the dark on anything. Clear is kind. Clear compensation is not a nice-to-have for a sales team, it is a need to have. #CaptivateIQPartner https://lnkd.in/gB8xZbrp

0 Data to back this up, but Fridays are the #1 day to build a pipeline, especially via cold calls. Here are some anecdotal things I have observed through years of hitting the phones on a Friday. 1. Connect rates are higher ↳ Fridays are typically a lighter day for most people, and they often have fewer meetings aka more time to pick up a phone call 2. Vibes are Up ↳ This is as far from data-driven as possible, but in my experience, people are just happier on a Friday... because.... It's Friday. ↳ Happier people = people more willing to have a chat. 3. People are Mentally Preparing for the Next Week ↳ A lot of people are looking ahead to the next week, dialing in their calendars, doing some admin. AKA Easier to suggest setting up a demo for the next week when people are already planning their next week. Again, no hard evidence here, but in my 4+ years of building pipeline at Gong Friday's were by far my biggest day for booking meetings. Side note, given the spirit of a Friday I would always lean in with a bit of humor/cheekiness on my cold calls. Here are a few openers I used on Fridays: ↳ "Hey Jimmy, this is Jc from Gong, I am sure you woke up on this lovely Friday dreaming of getting a cold call from me, so here I am, have a second?" ↳ "Hey Jenny, this is Jc from Gong, I bet you were dreading going into the weekend without getting one last cold call so I wanted to make sure I got you taken care of, have a few seconds for me to explain why I am bugging you?" Again, this won't be everyone's favorite style, but I had fun with it. Happy Friday everyone!

There are some product launches that I am excited about and then there are some product launches where I’m like. Oh. My. This is gonna change everything. This product launch falls squarely into bucket two. It’s insane. Gong just announced Mission Andromeda, the first release in our new launch cadence. This launch brings powerful new capabilities to help revenue teams move faster and execute with confidence, including: ✨ Gong Enable — AI role-plays to help reps practice real moments before they happen live ✨ Gong Assistant — always-on conversational guidance for everyday workflows ✨ Account Boards — unified view of all accounts to align AE + CS ✨ Account Console – deep dive view of a single account ✨ Gong MCP Support — integrated AI across your tech stack Proud to be part of a team building the #1 revenue AI OS, and excited to see how customers put these updates to work. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gpryef4v

We do individual skill development plans for each rep on a quarterly basis. The intention is to singularly align on the #1 most needle moving skill that rep needs to improve on to propel their performance. I genuinely used to spend hours putting these together. Combing through data, looking + listening to dozens of calls to spot themes and come up with an action plan. Not anymore. Skill dev plans took me at most 30 minutes to 1 hour this year using Gong's AI builder function. Here is the prompt I used "I am building out a 90 Day Skill Development plan for XYZ rep, my hunch is that their biggest skill gap is XYZ hypothesis. Please validate that that is their biggest gap, if it is please find relevant examples of deals and calls where that skill gap showed up, and design a concise 90 day plan to improve that skill. If you spot a skill gap that looks more important than that, please challenge my hypothesis." Boom. Minutes later. Skill Dev. Done. The future is here y'all. PS: I say please to AI all the time, just incase the robots ever turn on us I want them to think I am nice :)

I made a bet with Brian LaManna based off who would win the University of Oregon v Indiana football game. Just checked Fernando Mendoza's LinkedIn and it sounds like I certainly lost that bet. The loser had to post about the winner 5x, I have done 2 posts, so here goes #3. About a two and a half years ago I was roughly 10,000 LinkedIn followers behind Brian LaManna, so I set a goal of catching up to him within a year. Fast forward to today and Brian has eclipsed over 100,000 followers... I am at 52,000... So yeah, goal failed... oops lol. Another W for Brian... classic. But there are some really good lessons for anyone out there looking to grow a following based on what Brian did well that I did poorly. 1. Interacting with other content ↳ If there is a relevant LinkedIn post out there you can almost guarantee that Brian will comment on it, which creates a ton of exposure and introduces him to new people. 2. Consistency ↳ Brian sets time aside and intentionally time blocks for writing content, this leads to him almost NEVER missing a day. I will sometimes just sporadically go a week without posting. This consistency compounds over time leading to more and more growth. 3. Phenomenal Free Resources ↳ Brian is constantly launching incredible free (and paid) resources that deliver a ton of value. Everything he puts out is quality, so his brand reputation has become phenomenal. So kudos to you Mr. LaManna, but hey there are worse places to live than in your shadow ;)

By far my most successful prospecting mechanism is sending Physical Gifts, I sourced over $200K in Closed Won Revenue last year from gifts, and positively influenced hundreds of thousands in pipeline. Why It Works: ↳ Direct mail increases email open rates by 20% and boosts response rates by 80% (Sendoso). ↳ It achieves a 40% response rate, far outperforming email’s 0.12% The Process Part 1: Identify Your Prospect: ↳ Focus on VP-level and above. ↳ If they’re back in the office, consider sending something larger or even a communal gift (think: coffee for the team or a case of energy drinks). Part 2: Find Their Address: ↳ Use FullEnrich to find someone's mobile number, it is by far the most accurate system I have ever used and has completely changed the game for me. ↳ Use location-finding tools like White Pages to do a reverse phone address search. ↳ For remote prospects, ensure you're sending it to their home (with care and respect for privacy). Part 3: Pick the Perfect Gift: ↳ Use Amazon or gifting platforms like Sendoso. ↳ If you use Amazon make sure the item is eligible for a gift note so you can personalize the message. ↳ Personalization is key—tie the gift to something unique about the prospect. ↳ Balance quality and cost based on the role (you might splurge for a CRO but keep it modest for other roles). Part 4: Craft a Creative Message: ↳ Short and impactful works best. ↳ Make it relevant, memorable, and tied to why you’re reaching out. Part 5: Nail the Follow-Up: ↳ Direct mail alone won’t book the meeting—it’s part of a multi-touch approach. ↳ Send an email 1-3 days before the gift arrives: “P.S. I sent a little something your way—hope you enjoy it!” ↳ Call on the day it arrives and reference the gift. ↳ If there’s still no response, follow up on LinkedIn. Check out FullEnrich for free in the link in the comments

How ironic is it that every sales leader in the world claims that "Time Kills all Deals" yet it can take days for a contract to get approved and sent out. I'm talking like post verbal. Customer is ready to sign. Yet between the countless approvers in different time zones we lost critical time before even being able to ship out a contract. If reps have to negotiate with their own company to get a quote out, you’re donating deals to No Decision (or your competition). DealHub.io CPQ is the fastest path to a clean quote. It gives me guardrails so approvals don’t drag. Guardrails stay invisible (reps don’t guess, the system enforces). Deal Desk disappears (no “did you see my quote?” pings). Buyers get a digital room, not a cold attachment (open + comments in-line). Stop losing deals to the approval queue and start owning your revenue. #dealhubcustomer

Last weekend 3 people were killed in a mass shooting here in Austin. One of the victims was Jorge Pederson. Taylor Gallagher reached out to me, sharing that he was close friends with Jorge, and I wanted to share his story. "Jorge was truly the funniest guy I ever met and an even better friend. I remember FaceTiming him Saturday right before he went to the bars of his new home, talking about how excited he was working for Mike Rivard, this new opportunity, and beginning his professional MMA career. Unfortunately, that was cut short due to the hateful actions of someone. Jorge was the kind of person who could make you laugh no matter what kind of day you were having, who showed up for people, and who genuinely cared about the people around him. Evil may have taken him from this world, but it will never take the impact he had on the people who knew him. Jorge will live on through every memory, every laugh, and every story we continue to tell about him. If you’re able, please consider supporting the SpotFund that has been created to help his family with funeral expenses, medical bills, and the many costs that follow something like this. Every bit helps." https://lnkd.in/e7hVfqDy The proceeds will go to his family and support their efforts for a funeral service., Please consider donating or sharing this around!

Calling the wrong number isn't just annoying, it’s a 6-figure problem for my team. Let me explain: I have 6 Full Cycle Mid Market AEs. Each rep makes 80 dials/week → That’s 480 total dials/week We were seeing roughly 20% of numbers being inaccurate → That’s 96 wasted dials/week Each failed call eats ~60 seconds. That’s: → 96 minutes/week → ~1.6 hours/week → ~83 hours/year burned on dead ends Now let’s look at what that actually costs. At just a 2–3% cold call-to-meeting conversion, 96 bad dials = 2–3 missed meetings/week That’s: → ~100–150 missed meetings/year With a 60% conversion rate to pipeline, that becomes: → 60–90 missed opps/year → At a $40K deal size = $2.4M–$3.6M in lost pipeline Now assume a 15–20% win rate at $40K ACV (conservative): → 9–18 closed deals lost → That’s $360K–$720K in revenue… gone Because we had the wrong number. This is exactly why we started using FullEnrich to verify mobile numbers using a waterfall enrichment approach. It has almost eliminated inaccurate numbers for us. If your team is just accepting bad data as “part of the job,” it doesn’t have to be. Bad data isn’t a small inefficiency. It’s six figures hiding in plain sight.

Halloween I was up until 11:45 PM, not partying, nor trick or treating, but tracking down a CEO to sign our last deal of the quarter. 2 Calls, no answer. Text, no response, Less than 30 minutes left in the quarter. Call again -> he picks up. 15 minutes later -> Contract signed Not the best way to spend a Halloween. But the frustrating part, it wasn’t entirely the prospect's fault. It took us 4 hours to turn the executable contract around. We had verbal, ready to rock, but they asked for one TINY tweak on the contract, And before you knew it we had to go back through the entire approval process, I was cold calling our own execs to get them to approve the contract as they were trick or treating with their kids. That situation is spookier than any Halloween costume. Now we build quotes in DealHub.io CPQ and the motion is different: Logic lives in the playbook. Pricing isn’t guessed. Quotes are assembled once. Terms adjust automatically to the buyer. When approvals are a breeze, hitting your quarterly quota isn't so scary.