Secret Key to Promo, Lindy's Rendition of Jocko's 'Good', Qualify Harder, SDR Timeline, & OOO Paris Trip

Before we dive into this week’s Pipeline Papi Press, wanted to dive in on the World Cup coming to North America this summer, I’m absolutely stoked.

I’m not typically a soccer fan but something about the international tournaments get my juices flowing. For a few years I’ve been saving $40 a week into a money market account, which is now at about 8 grand. I thought that would be enough to get my mom and I to Mexico for about a week to watch some of the games. Little did I know the prices would be insane.

Fifa promised $60 tickets for the opening round games but now they’re releasing them at about $180 a pop. And this is if you can get them in the lottery. You are most likely going to be paying $400+ for nosebleeds on the resale market. Damn shame but definitley not surprised.

Better hit those accelerators!

Welcome to The Pipeline Press, brought to you by Pipeline Papi, Lindy Boy, Quota Cowboy, Rookie Rep, & Ant Calabrese. Every Friday, you’re getting stories, tips, job openings, and a little lifestyle drip to keep the edge sharp and the mission clear. PROMOTION, QUOTA, EARNINGS. Follow us on X if you aren’t already, we are all very active in the tech sales space if you want to continue the convo or have any questions.

Let’s get into it.

Hitting quota gets you in the conversation for the AE promotion.
But being well-liked and well-known inside your org is what actually gets you chosen.

I’ve got friends in finance who live by the motto:
“Lay low, collect dough.”

I’d take the opposite approach in tech sales.

This game rewards visibility. It rewards POPULARITY.
It’s more than just who sets the most meetings. If you are consistently hitting quota, that is really all you need. It’s more about perception, trust, and internal pull.
Who do people enjoy working with more?
Who brings positive energy?
Who makes their teammates better?

That’s why building your internal brand is one of the most underrated (and overlooked) plays for SDRs who want to promo right at 12 months.

I came into the SDR role at [REDACTED] already known as Pipeline Papi, since I was discovered and hired through X. The reputation followed me in the door and I have REALLY leaned into it.

High energy. Upbeat. FERDA. Witty. Talkative.
Sometimes toeing the line of what I probably should or shouldn’t say (just who I am)
Pit Vipers on. Espresso slammed. Probably some deep house in the background.

And like any strong brand, it comes with pros and cons.

If I’m performing, hitting quota, contributing, leading, I think it’s kind of a legendary move.
The loud SDR with the X presence who mixes Pipeline Papi energy with a high-status company and makes it work. “That guy.”

But if I don’t perform..
Suddenly I’m not clever, I’m fucking obnoxious.
The brand suffers. And it’s louder when it fails because I’m more visible.

So I’ve got to back it up.
That’s the tradeoff when you build a loud personal brand inside your company.

But if you do it right? It becomes a career accelerant.
You become MEMORABLE.

99.9% of the time you are going into your role completely unknown.

Even Better.

You’ve got a clean slate to build something powerful, especially if you’re remote.
Here’s what I’d do to get it right:

Build a brand. Internally. Consistently. Authentically.
Be known as someone who produces, who helps others, and who always shows up.

Two more Fridays until Christmas. Vibes are high. Q4 is crawling to the finish line, but we’ve still got some fight left in us.

Most of you already know Jocko Willink’s “Good.” If not, go watch it, it’s two minutes and it’ll rewire your brain. The whole idea: whenever something goes sideways, you say “Good.”

Didn’t get the promotion? Good.
Missed quota? Good.
Not making the money you wanted yet? Good.

Obviously none of that feels good. We’re in sales, so winning and leveling up is the whole point. But the principle is this: the hard stuff has value. The setbacks sharpen you. They force introspection, growth, and better decisions. Sometimes delayed gratification is the exact setup you need for the next step. I’m feeling that in a big way right now.

I took a step back from SMB AE to Ent BDR so I could make a real run at MM AE, then Ent AE. And yeah, with that came both good and bad.

Good: leading the team in meetings, hitting Q3 and Q4 quota (Q2 was my ramp).
Bad: the VP who hired me got fired. He lied about promo paths anyway.

Because none of that changes the mission. The end goal is still the end goal.

2025 didn’t unfold the way I pictured. If you’re in the same boat? Good. We’re still here. Still grinding. Still healthy. That alone is a blessing.

I think about my daughter (who hasn’t even arrived yet) and I know one thing for sure: I couldn’t live with myself if she grew up to learn her dad quit when things got hard. That’s not happening. We’re sprinting straight into the hurricane and living with the results.

Appreciate you all. If you ever need anything, hit me on X. And shoutout to Pipe for keeping this rolling.

Bienvenidos, amigos. Hope ya’ll have had a stellar 2nd week of December thus far (and I hope you’re close or above Quota). It’s a stressful time for us Sales folk, and flaky-ness is at an all time high this part of the year.

In spite of that, we are talking today about qualifier your prospects harder. For me, this has been a big push this last month, and I have not been fully successful in this endeavour. Frustrating, but a first principle in sales that we all must focus on repeatedly.

So what does it mean to “qualify harder”? The lens we are examining this from is the BDR’s point of view. While heavily applicable to AE’s, as a BDR you must always be qualifing your prospects. The less qualified your prospect is who shows up to a demo, the more likely they are to no-show or have a really poor demo.

In my opinion, on a cold call to a prospect it can be very tough to completely do this. Not only are YOU calling THEM, you don’t always have the most time to talk with them. Or maybe they hate your guts for cold calling them (sorry not sorry😎). On one hand you have your desire to book a demo and hit your quota, and on the other you have the responsibility to only bring interested, in-market prospects to the table.

AE’s are not fans of the unqualified prospects, and if you aren’t considerate of this your relationship can sour. So when talking to a prospect, despite the odds in front of you, you must relentlessly qualify. I myself am still working on this skill, and hope one day it will help contribute to me becoming an AE. If you’re reading this, you may feel the same.

-QC

Something I wanted to share this week is oftentimes heard too late in SDR’s young careers.

I spoke about it in a past newsletter but… white it is incredibly difficult to land a top tech sales career in today’s environment... it is also very important to say ‘Yes’ to the correct org as well.

Your first sales org can completely change your entire career timeline.

Let’s look at two parallel timelines:

Path A: The Slow Org Trap

You join a company that sounds great on the surface. Cool product. Friendly team. “We’re growing fast.”

But once you’re in the seat, you start to realize the truth:

You grind for 12–18 months hoping things will turn around…then one day it clicks:

There’s nowhere to move up.

So you leave, join a new company, and your AE clock resets back to month 0.

New org. New quota. New timeline.

Believe it or not, this is probably the more common timeline.

Path B: The Right Org
Then there’s the flip side of this scenario.

You join a company that’s actually growing:

Suddenly 14-18 months goes by and you look up and realize:

You’re ready to move up. There’s a spot for you. And your comp doubles overnight.

Completely different outcomes - just because of the org.

I would also like to note that in the grand scheme of things 1-2 years is nothing… but early in our careers it can make a massive difference.

I’m going to leave it at that for now. Next week I will dive into how to avoid this, tips for spotting it, and not having to realize it too late.Steal this and shoot me a DM or email ([email protected]) on how it works for you.

Until next week.

Rook ♜
X: @rooktorep

Currently Hiring For

SDRs:

NYC - new grad top 150 school 60 base 90 ote uncapped and commission
NYC - 1 YOE strong preference in fintech - 110 base 130 k ote uncapped

SF - new grad top 50 school 80 base 100 ote
SF - new grad top 25 school or athlete or somewhere in the middle 80 base 135 ote

Main Companies: Office Hours, Meow, Solidroad, Simple AI, Vapi

AEs:

Sf/nyc - comm-midmarket-enterprise aes min 2 yoe as a direct seller at snowflake / figma / vercel type companies (technical product sales)

100-200 base 200-400 ote depending on segment being worked and Yoe.

Main companies: dust.tt, factory.ai, decagon, sequence, unify

Reach out to him HERE on X if you fit any of these descriptions

P.S. The Pipeline Papi SDR Bot is live. Your SDR copilot for custom cold call scripts, objection handlers, discovery questions and more, for EVERY Prospect. Built to make booking meets 10x easier.