Selling from the Front Row
Over the past decade, I have watched hundreds of enterprise deals unfold in real time.
Not from CRM dashboards or pipeline reviews. From the room. Sitting across from C-suite executives at Fortune 500 companies as Global Head of Innovation Solutions at Salesforce. Watching faces. Reading energy. Feeling the exact moment a deeper connection forms.
The pattern was unmistakable: sellers who demonstrated genuine understanding of the buyer's world created connections that led to successful deals and lasting relationships. I became obsessed with understanding why.
What I Discovered
When you demonstrate genuine understanding of the buyer's world, the entire dynamic transforms. Not because you have better features. Because you made them feel something. Each section of the presentation lands with relevance and value.
The approach I developed for executive and board-level presentations raised the bar for engagement across Salesforce and touched over $1 billion in opportunity globally.
But the method required something most sellers lack: hours of focused research, fresh insights, and a dedicated team of experts to execute. Buyer first, product second.
Why I Left Salesforce to Build StoryPath
StoryPath is the platform I wish existed when I was in the field.
The preparation that took my expert Executive Immersion team days now happens in minutes. The insights that differentiated our engagements are now accessible to every seller. The patterns I observed in the most competitive, high-pressure deals now inform recommendations at scale.
The Acceleration
I wrote the first version of Burn the Deck two years ago, before ChatGPT existed. Back then, storytelling helped you stand out. Now it's mandatory.
When every competitor has access to the same AI-generated research and content, the human element is no longer nice-to-have. It's the entire game. Your buyers have already asked ChatGPT to compare you against competitors before they take your call.
We need to translate data into meaning. Demonstrate genuine empathy and business relevance for our stakeholders. Be so relevant your champion retells it in meetings you'll never attend.
This is why I built StoryPath: to give every seller the ability to meet buyers where they are and create connections that lead to successful deals and lasting relationships.
The Invitation
This book is freely available at BurnTheDeck.org.
Why give it away? Because the sales profession gave me everything: mentors who shaped my thinking, customers who trusted me, colleagues who pushed me to keep experimenting. For that I am deeply grateful.
Ready to Burn the Deck?