Brandi Dunlap

I attribute my success to having a strong work ethic and clear career goals. Throughout my entire career, I've kept my eye on those goals, and I have done everything that I could to get to where I am today. It's really been about staying focused and being willing to put in the work necessary to achieve what I set out to accomplish.

The best career advice I've ever received is to pursue high standards, stay persistent through setbacks, and use failure as a tool for growth. Keep improving your approach until I succeed.

The best piece of advice I can offer young woman entering sales is, it's one of the fastest ways to build real world skill, like communication, persuasion, resilience, and business thinking. But it also exposes you quickly if your habits aren’t right. The people who do well aren’t necessarily the most “naturally charismatic.” They’re the most consistent learners.

Your first job is not to “be good at sales.” Your first job is to get comfortable being rejected without taking it personally. In sales, rejection is not an exception it’s the default setting. If that feels uncomfortable, the skill you’re really building at first is emotional control, not persuasion.

Second, don’t try to sound impressive. New salespeople often over complicate things because they think success comes from clever words. In reality, clarity wins. Simple questions, simple explanations, and active listening outperform polished speeches almost every time. The best reps sound almost boring but they’re extremely attentive.

Third, learn your product deeply enough that you can explain it simply, not technically. If you can explain what you sell to a non-expert in 20–30 seconds, you’re already ahead of most beginners. Confusion kills deals faster than competition does.

Fourth, treat every conversation like data collection. Early on, you’re not just trying to close deals you’re trying to understand:

• why people say yes
• why they say no
• what objections come up repeatedly
• what language customers actually use

That information becomes your advantage over time.

Fifth, consistency beats intensity. Sales is not about occasional bursts of effort; it’s about showing up every day and doing the un-glamorous basics,calls, follow ups, notes, pipeline updates even when results are slow.

Finally, separate your identity from your performance. You will have bad days, sometimes bad weeks. That doesn’t mean you’re bad at sales; it means you’re in the learning curve that every salesperson goes through.

The biggest challenge in sales today is buyers are more skeptical. People are constantly being pitched emails, Linkedin messages, calls, ads and texts. Most prospects can spot a scripted sales itch immediately, so building trust matters more now than ever. Getting responses is harder, response rates have dropped significantly. Decision makers are busy, gatekeepers are stronger, and buyers often research independent before ever talking to sales.

Customer expect personalization. Generic outreach doesn't work well anymore. Buyers expect reps to understand their business, industry, pain points, and timing before reaching out. Businesses are more cautious with spending. Sales cycles are longer, approvals require more stakeholders, and prospects scrutinize ROI much more carefully. Retention matters just as much as acquisition in many industries, keeping existing customers happy is just as important as closing new ones. Strong relationship management and customer experience are critical. If leadership doesn't provide effective support and coaching it can lead to burnout and low morale quickly, due to high quotas, constant rejection, pressure from metrics.

Communication, conflict resolution, and relationship building are becoming more valuable than "closing" tactics.

Spending time with my children is incredibly important to me - I have 3 children, and I spend as much time with them as I possibly can. My only child that remains in HS is an athlete that plays every sport he can, so you can find me in the Football stands, Basketball Stands and in the spring on a track field. I also value the outdoors and living close to nature. I live really close to the mountains, so I enjoy camping, hiking, rafting, boating, and being on the water. Balancing my professional life with quality time with my family and enjoying the natural beauty around me are what matter most.