188: The Role of Intuition in Sales: Athina Lampru's Approach to Winning Big

0:00 Scott Ingram: This episode is brought to you by the 2025 Sales Success Summit. If you're serious about taking your sales career to the next level, there's no better investment than joining us at the Sales Success Summit. Every year, top-performing sales professionals come together to share what's working, build powerful connections, and level up their success. But here's the thing. Ticket prices go up at the start of every month. The best time to secure your spot is right now. Don't wait until it costs you more. Lock in the lowest price today and commit to your growth. Head over to top1summit.com and grab your ticket now. We'll see you at the summit. You're listening to the Sales Success Stories podcast, where we deconstruct world-class sales performers to provide insights and strategies to help you improve. To learn more, visit us at top1.fm. Here's your host, Scott Ingram. Today on the Sales Success Stories podcast, my guest is Athina Lampru. Athina has been the number one account executive nationally at Palo Alto Networks. Welcome to the show, Athina.

1:12 Athina Lampru: Thank you, Scott. I'm so glad to be here with you.

1:14 Scott Ingram: Likewise, so glad that you're here. Really excited about this conversation. And let's start with some immediate value like we always do. Let's talk about the 3 things that you believe have contributed most to your consistent success in sales.

1:29 Athina Lampru: Trust, grit, and your network.

1:32 Scott Ingram: Say a little bit more about each of those.

1:34 Athina Lampru: Yes. So trust for me, and I guess each of these would be like umbrellas because trust is key in every aspect of life. But in my career, I've learned to absolutely bet on myself, like trust in myself wholeheartedly. And I feel that sales is indeed my purpose. I 100% lean on God and the journey as it presents itself to me. I feel like I'm always equipped to overcome whatever comes my way, and I feel like life is really happening for me. All of that, I feel like, is what I mean by trust. Talking about grit, being in sales is a constant battlefield. You never know who's going to come sideways talking to your customer about what, and Anything could happen within an organization that you don't belong to and you'll be completely blindsided. And all of these challenges, when they come your way, I think in a way ties back to trust. But you tell yourself like, how am I ever going to overcome this? And in my purple glasses, I see this as this is an opportunity for me to go and be great. This is how my story is going to get so much better. This is that part of the movie where I tell the story and everybody goes, she overcame that.

2:53 Scott Ingram: Wow.

2:54 Athina Lampru: So grit is definitely something that I hold tight to, and it's not something that I chose to develop. I've always been very gritty, and over the years in my career, people have described me as such. And I'm in a point in my life when I finally have accepted that this is part of who I am, and it's one of my gifts. Your network. I mean, after you've spent a period of time in a territory getting to know your customers and the ecosystem of other companies that sell into your customers, This network externally is so key as it is your network internally in your company with your leadership, from your direct boss all the way up to the CEO of the company. Find a way to be connected to each of these in a unique way so that when you reach out for help, they know exactly who you are and why they need to step in.

3:47 Scott Ingram: Say more about that. When you say be connected in a unique way, what do you mean?

3:51 Athina Lampru: People may know you for your numbers, or people may know you because you're an absolutely impeccable person. You're somebody that just wants to show up and help, somebody that is committed to the mission, somebody that truly admires others and is able to connect in a way that is different than just, I'm good at my job. For me, that's having a very unique relationship with those that I know I'm going to lean on for help. And in reality, these people that are in executive positions in a company like Palo Alto Networks, They have been through hardships, they have been through key wins. So, when you do a little bit of research and you treat them like a customer, you're able to develop relationships that are bonds that you just cannot break. Even if it's just a single interaction where you make a joke, but it ties back to everything you know about them, they'll always remember you. That has been pivotal in my current role, especially, but always throughout my career is something that Athina.

4:52 Scott Ingram: Awesome. Awesome. Your backstory is fascinating. So let's contextualize this just a little bit. First, let's talk about what is your role? I know this has changed very recently. You're kind of midway through a fiscal year after coming off of a number 1 year last year, but just kind of talk about that and your results of… because you've had a great run at Palo Alto Networks.

5:11 Athina Lampru: Yeah. So we are currently in FY25 and FY23, I was the number 1 account executive at Palo Alto Networks in the commercial segment. What that means in our company is that I had all of South Florida under my management, and that was about 100 accounts. And it was very difficult. A lot of these accounts were white space, and it's really hard to… when you first get into a role like this one with a company like Palo Alto, this is a segment that usually is sold to by companies that are not as, I mean, I guess we are described like the Ferrari of cybersecurity. Mid-market companies don't usually go for the Ferrari. They will go for, I don't know, they call it Toyota, for instance. And I always came from a space of, I'm here to help my customers. And cybersecurity is a human challenge. And I am the superhero that is going to help them meet the requirements from a cybersecurity standpoint. And I'm going to help them meet their financial requirements in a way that just makes sense for everybody involved. That's always been like a mantra. Everything always works out for me and for my customers and everybody involved or greater than what I expect. And this mentality is what allowed me to go and prioritize accounts and go out and make these deals and grow these deals that were already available and finishing number 1 in that segment as I was getting ready to have my second child. Literally July 31st, closed the year 280% of my number. And a few weeks later, I was having my kid at home and getting called to get promoted into a major account executive, which is my current role. Being a major account executive is something I've always wanted to do, simply because as you gain trust in yourself and you realize the value that your company is giving your customers, I now realize that I'm able to do this at a much higher scale. So, I went from covering 100 accounts to covering 4 key accounts within Palo Alto Networks. These are global accounts. These are accounts that are fully white space or underpenetrated. And this is where you say, how is she ever going to do this? Or she's going to step in and she's going to make a killing. And I'm going to step in and make a killing. That's what I've been doing in this current role for the past 5 months.

7:39 Scott Ingram: Amazing. Amazing. Let's talk about your origin story. How did you get into sales in the first place?

7:45 Athina Lampru: I was born into sales. Literally, my father was a door-to-door salesman. He used to sell watches since he was in college. There's more to that story, but in essence, that is, I think, the first one I recall from his origin. And my mother, when they met, she was managing a jewelry store. And she was a sales manager there. Very different type of sale, but from my inception, I was part of this world where both my parents did this. I remember growing up and being in the jewelry store and seeing my father tell women or men that they absolutely needed to buy this $200,000 ring because they needed it. It was going to make their life better. They were going to become healthier. Their wives was going to love them more. I remember looking at him and thinking to myself, can they not see through this bullshit? He's absolutely lying to them. And I remember telling myself, I will never be this person ever. And there's a lot of merit and grit that goes into sales, jewelry sales. And I want to think that most people won't step into a store unless they want to be sold to, especially at that caliber. But I never really thought that I would become a saleswoman and Throughout my life, I think my sister, Alejka, and I always found ourselves selling things, either selling paintings at school or selling candy. And this was just natural to us. We just wanted money to spend on candy, so we would just figure it out. And later on, as I went through high school and then college, I wanted to study psychology. And I think my interest in psychology came from really wondering, how do these people really get sold to in this way. And I graduated with a major in psychology, and I remember my graduation day, I told myself, I am not going to just accept any job. I'm going to accept the job that literally opens up gates for me. And I have this aha moment and I know it's for me. And I spent 3 months interviewing and different types of roles. I remember I ended up landing a project manager role for a construction company. And my father was like, Athina, you've been interviewing for 3 months. You really need to get with it, get your job. And I remember accepting that role and that same day getting a call from a recruiter that would not stop blowing me up. She was so persistent. I really admire her now looking back. And she was like, look, Athina, I don't really care that you accepted this other role, but I think you would be great here. Just come and interview. If you don't like it, at the very least, you know who we are. And I said, I really love interviewing. So sure, let me go in. And as soon as I went into this company, Insight Global, shout out to that company, they're just amazing. I sat in their office space and I met one of the account managers and I immediately said, wow, I want to be that. That's me in the future. I see it. And this company was offering less money, worse benefits, nothing compared to the other one, but I had that feeling. So, I said to them, look, I know that you are supposed to wait 2 weeks until your start date, but I'm supposed to start with this other company on Monday. So, if you guys want me, I can start on Monday or otherwise I can't do it. And they were like, okay, we'll make an exception and you can come in on Monday. It's always been built in me to just negotiate and sell and just be in that space of what is my value and why you should care. Coming into that role, I was first a technical recruiter. That meant literally selling jobs to potential candidates. But in my eyes, this was, how can I help this person get this amazing job? And how can I help this company get this amazing person? Sales never came to my mind. It was just, I'm recruiting. I am adding so much value. And there's so many great stories from those days that I can say, but it was very short-lived because at 3 months, the VP was telling me, Athina, you are meant to be an account manager. I want you to go to Miami and open up that office and make it greater. I want you to step into these difficult customers and just make them an Insight Global customer again. And I remember saying, no, I'm not ready. I don't want to be a saleswoman. This is not for me. And they were so persistent that I had no choice but to see myself through their eyes and just step into that role. That year I became Rookie of the Year. The following year I was in President's Club, and it was such a beautiful journey and my first sales role.

12:21 Scott Ingram: That's awesome. I wonder, looking back on all of that, is there anything you would have done differently in terms of the way you approached your career, even including, was the degree in psychology the right choice? Has that helped you?

12:34 Athina Lampru: No, I don't think that helped. I feel like there's 2 ways to go about life. Either you know what you want or you know what you don't want. And it's so much harder to know what you want. Than it is to know what you don't want. And life as an experience, as you go through that journey, you start to learn about yourself. I feel like those early 20s are such key years for every individual because you think you know who you are, but you are who you became under the rule of your parents. And then you step into your own and who are you? And during these years, you still want to please your parents. You still want to please these rules. You still want to level up to that. Or otherwise you're a rebel. In my case, I was between the two and I struggled. I struggled because I know my parents… I'm an immigrant, I'm from Venezuela originally, and my mom always wanted me to give her my college degree and I didn't even care to go to college. I just had to go because those were the rules. But during those years, I realized what I did not want and I was disappointed by what I learned during the psychology years. I felt like it was very outdated. Some of it was meaty, but in reality, I went through so much growing up and I overcame so much that I felt like I was a better example than what I was learning. Even though this as a philosophy and theory, it was cool. But as it relates to my career, there's nothing that I look back to and say like, oh, because of this year in psychology, I can do this now. In fact, I feel like there's such amazing content out there right now as it relates to like epigenetics or just reprogramming your mind or neuroplasticity. Podcasts are such an amazing resource. For learning that I just don't feel like college is a must. There were experiences there that, I mean, they made me who I am. In fact, the reason I know that this podcast and such exists is because the hardships that I had during those years led me to find ways to become better, to overcome and be the best self that I can be. So, in one of my lowest moments, I remember the book A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle falling into my lap. This was like I don't know, 2017. And this was the beginning of my awakening and the beginning of who am I beyond this body? Who am I beyond this role? And if I'm a creator and I'm here to create my path, then who do I want to be? And really actively choosing those values and actively choosing how I want to show up. And that was pivotal. If I would change something, I don't think I would, but if there was a new version of me doing this again, I think I would have read sooner if I would have used my high school years to read more on these books that have been so life-changing. Now knowing about the neuroplasticity of our brain, especially in those earlier years, I wish I would have learned sooner about who I really was and broken free from those programs that held me back. And most of those came from childhood. So maybe that I would have done differently.

15:35 Scott Ingram: Yeah. What are the books that you wish you could have read?

15:38 Athina Lampru: A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle is definitely one of those. The Greatest Salesman in the World by, oh my gosh, I forget his first name, but it's amazing.

15:47 Scott Ingram: Og Mandino.

15:48 Athina Lampru: Yes. He's wonderful. A Course in Miracles. These are pretty spiritual books. Women That Run with the Wolves, Womb Awakening. These are very woman-centric, but in essence, What they do is they remind you of why you were created and why you're here and how all of this is really just for play. And when you show up with this attitude of like, what is possible? I'm here to create something beautiful that helps the world. And you really trust and lean into that. And being a woman and having this amazing innate powers within us, just knowing all of that, it's just different.

16:27 Scott Ingram: That's awesome. Good set of books. We will link everything at top1.fm/this episode number or top1.fm/athina-lampru like we always do. Athina, I would love to know, you said you had a lot of stories from the recruiting days. What's your favorite recruiting story?

16:44 Athina Lampru: One of the roles that I used to staff for often was a slaughterer. My Venezuelan accent here, but slaughterer, I think that I'm saying that right, but they use It's like a really niche thing. It probably is obsolete at this point in time by robots, but people that help technology things come together and they're like very niche, they get paid like $12 an hour, at least back in the day.

17:07 Scott Ingram: Okay. You're talking soldering.

17:09 Athina Lampru: Thank you. Yes.

17:10 Scott Ingram: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay.

17:11 Athina Lampru: I knew I was not saying that right. It's been years since I've said that word. There was this woman, she had a daughter and her daughter was very sick and she had spent months looking for a role and her name was Chiquita. And I just remember calling her and I was like, hi, Chiquita, just looking at your background. I think you'd be great for this role, da da da. And part of our process was for our candidates to come in and do a face-to-face interview in our headquarters. And I remember her coming in and having all of her awards from her experience in this field and such, and telling her story of how this is so important that she finds a role because of her personal situation. And I absolutely sold her into the role, vice versa. She ended up being chosen to go to the next interview, but as she was exiting her meeting with me at our headquarters, she went to get into her car and her car would not start. And we had developed this connection, so she calls me and she's like, Athina, I have no money. I have no way to get my car started. And I remember telling my boss like, hey, I'm sorry, I have to go help Chiquita. And I went downstairs to the parking lot and I helped her start her car. And this is something I would've never done and otherwise, or never would've been exposed to a situation like this one. And when she got her car started and she left back to her house, the next day she interviewed, she got the job. And as part of the process, you like hit the gong. And I just remember feeling so emotional because I realized that Chiquita now is able to help her daughter. And it was so beautiful. I had these unique situations with her and her name is so unique and how could you forget Chiquita? So that's one of those that like, I really realized the value of selling. It is so much bigger than just selling.

18:53 Scott Ingram: Love it. I love that. I love that. One of the things that really drives me that I think about a lot that I hope to accomplish through this show and through the summit and all that we do around sales success is, is changing the trajectory of people's careers. And when you can do that, it changes their lives. It's really cool to see those impacts because, my gosh, if you can serve more people and make 2 or 3 times more money and you're growing that much faster in your career, changes your family. It impacts so much. It's really, really fun to just watch over the years that I've been doing this. So certainly understand how that works. I'm curious about… you have had a lot of success, right? You were Rookie of the Year at Insight Global. You were Rookie of the Year at Palo Alto Networks. You've been number one through all of that.

19:36 Athina Lampru: What are you most proud of in terms of accomplishment? Or overall?

19:41 Scott Ingram: I will leave it open-ended.

19:44 Athina Lampru: I would say I'm very proud of my relentlessness. Sales has been a mirror to me about who I really am. I talked a little bit earlier about overcoming your childhood and overcoming these programs that your parents instill in you with the best of intentions. But at some point, one of the authors that I read often is Osho. He says that like, You don't realize who you are until you leave your parents, and then you think you're awakened. Then you realize whether you are or are not awakened when you come back to stay at your parents' house after you have awakened. And it's because these triggers will always be inside of you, and sales is an opportunity for you to constantly face them and really begin to see who you are beyond that. And what started out for me as maybe more of a victim mentality, has now become, there is not a challenge that I can't overcome. There's not a single account that you can put in front of me that I won't sell to. There is not a single person that could hate my guts that I won't make my friend. And I will do whatever it takes. And I love that journey. I love figuring it out. I'm really proud of my accomplishments. I feel like looking back, something that has been consistent is exactly this. These accounts that have been difficult, that have had trouble, that have never been sold to, never has anybody successfully made those connections. And looking back and being able to say, oh, but I did. And there's nothing different between me and the other person. It's just this trust in myself and the process and just that grit. Saying that now with ownership is a result of my journey in sales. In many ways. And I'm really, really proud of that. I'm really proud of that.

21:30 Scott Ingram: That's awesome. What's the biggest challenge you've had to overcome?

21:34 Athina Lampru: When I hit number 1 nationally at Palo Alto, I remember telling myself, how am I going to keep this up? It's so funny. You spend all this time doing this great thing. And in reality, once you get it, it's like, what now? The top is very lonely. And then there's always a downhill. After the top, it is what it is, and to accept that is difficult. But what was unique for me is that right after that happened, I mentioned I had my second baby, and this was one of the most difficult challenges in my life because I was determined to having my child at home. And previously with my first baby, I was not able to do it. I have been prepared for this marathon for basically 10 months to have my baby at home, and I had just hit number one at Palo Alto, and I'm like. Okay, the only thing that can make this better is if I'm able to also have my baby at home. And I did. It was amazing. And then I went through this amazing 6 months of postpartum maternity leave. And after those 6 months concluded, I remember thinking to myself, like, how am I going to get back to this? How am I ever going to be better than what I just did? And I think on a personal note, when you become a mother, everything shifts. And when you become a father, everything shifts. But for me, it's just been my why changed. And this is what led me to joining Untap Your Sales Potential. It was this moment of extreme doubt in my abilities. And looking back on my success, I could really play with the idea of maybe I just got lucky. And it was hard for me to remember all the hard work I put into that. Even all the hard work I put into the birth, I was like, This just happened. I just got lucky. And I don't know why we do that, to be honest. I think this is the importance of journaling, being able to look back and remember all the things you overcame, all the things you thought about, and all the things that you were able to slash out. You slash that dragon and move forward. And all those little moments that really make up the journey that leads to that success. And when I joined Untap Your Sales Potential, I thought I was going to join for like habits and like mentality and all these things that Ian Koniak The man he talks about, but in reality, that network, the people that I was able to meet and recognizing that all of us are the same. And recently my husband stepped into our kitchen. I was cleaning up our garage and he found an email that I had printed out from my role at Insight Global. And it was an email from my vice president at the time. And he wrote, Athina, time after time, you are given a challenge and you conquer. And every single time you're always wondering, how can you be better? And that is the mark of genius. And it is every single one of us at Untap Yourself Potential. And I'm pretty sure you can say the same about the group that you lead. We all have this, how did it happen? Am I worthy? How can I be greater? How can I be of more service? How can I help more people? And I think this is what leads to those massive success. The challenge, the biggest failure for me was really losing belief in myself after having this massive win that led me to double bet on myself. Not only did I spend a significant amount of money into this program, but then I jumped into this net new role where I was literally being handed verbatim by my boss, I'm giving you these rocks. These are rocks. Good luck. I know you can do it. I believe in you. These are rocks, okay? You have a year. And every day I would wake up and say, how, how, how, how? And this is where we go back to trust that meditation, those affirmations right here in my desk. I have, I am the master of the sharpest point of the sharpest tool. I can do this. I will deliver. And this is where the obstacle really becomes the way. And maybe one day I'll look back on this year when I become the number 1 rep in majors at Palo Alto and say, I doubted myself, but I overcame it. And next time I doubt myself, I'll remember that's the mark of genius and not so much that it's a failure, because I don't think there's anything that truly is a failure at the end.

25:46 Scott Ingram: Yeah. Anything else that went into that kind of rediscovering the belief and the trust in yourself? I think many of us have been to that place, like, okay, I got to the top, to your point, What next? There's, I can only go down from here. It's like, I can't become more number one. How did you rediscover that?

26:05 Athina Lampru: I think that all of us are meant to succeed and then move on to the next challenge. It's not easy to stay in the same role and deliver again, but it's much more exciting to go on to the next challenge and deliver again. And the journey, I just feel like it speeds up. Your mastery in many ways, because you won't fall on the same rock again. But you will remember, you'll start to smell, this smells like a win, this smells like a pivot, and you just know, and you know from experience. And if you're able to take that experience, I remember just recently I told my boss, Carlos Valareso, he's incredible. I told him like, one of the greatest things was coming from commercial, a place that had so many accounts, I had so many customers, I had So many partners I had to work with, a lot of output. There was not much time to sit back and strategize. It was just respond, respond, respond, and only a few maybe that you could really sit with. But that experience has made these 5 months in this role, it's led me from having zero in pipeline to $20 million in pipeline. It's been that experience and the experience of having that network, having that people that you can reach out to that, you know, like these are people that you close big deals with in the past. They know you by name, they know your heart, and they're there for you. And like, if you're able to step into a new challenge and you're able to take with you everything you learned, the relationships you built, and even if you have 1% belief that you can do it, just cultivate that feeling and go all in. And leaning into that challenge 6 months out, your output is just going to be a mirror of your value, who you really are, right? And I think when I look in the mirror now, I still have the same challenge. I haven't closed deals, but I know what I'm delivering to my customers. I know how I'm showing up every day. And that's amazing. It feels like a fuck yeah to me.

27:59 Scott Ingram: Yeah. Yeah. It's so interesting also that you talk about that email from your boss. I actually need to go look at this folder. One of the things that I have done over the years is I have an email folder called Kudos. And when you get those messages, they come from a customer, they come from a peer, they come from your leadership. Just putting them in an email folder so that you can draw upon them again. One, I think they're helpful for the mindset when you can't do it for yourself and you need that little bit of external validation. They're also really, really handy when it comes time to, hey, I need to build a resume or I need to kind of tell this story and externally validate some of these things. So, do you do anything else like that? I mean, do you have a place that you keep these messages?

28:41 Athina Lampru: I don't. I'm an organized chaos. I have a very impeccable memory. And I do remember, but I do feel there's a lot of value to what you're saying for sure. And maybe something for me to take with me, but just even, I think keeping those relationships, right? Those people that gave you those kudos are probably people that are still in your life. They're probably people you still talk to. So as you were asking the question, what popped to me was my texts. I do often look back on my texts with the people that have supported me and that have told me that they have my back and And like, these are people that I still look up to till this day that I know I can reach out to. And I think that the value of those relationships also serves as a reminder. If you are able to pick up the phone and call one of your key execs that is connected with like your customer and is able to make an intro, that speaks volumes of the kudos that they have for you.

29:36 Scott Ingram: Yeah. I mean, it's like a network of fans. You know, these people are in your corner, you know, you can reach out. They're the easiest folks to ask help of, or just maybe give you that pep talk when you're not believing in yourself and you need it from somewhere else.

29:49 Athina Lampru: 100%. And make that call. Just recently, last week, I had a day where I was just like, I can't see this through. I had a block and I was tired. You know, I have 2 babies. I don't have a routine. It's like, let's see what today allows me to create. And I just vibe with that because otherwise it's just, you're being hard on yourself and expectations that are not realistic. I'm a mother of 2 babies. This day, it was just like the perfect storm for me to go downhill. And the first thing I did was call my previous manager and I was just like, I can't see it. I can't see it. I'm having a hard time. And, and he was like, Athina, there is literally not a single person better in this world to do what you're doing, to deliver what you will deliver. And in 6 months, you're going to be crying of happiness for what you accomplished. So let's remember today. And that's all you need sometimes. Suddenly I'm like, That day started like that and it ended with an amazing win. So, it's just life. You gotta be able to ride the wave.

30:50 Scott Ingram: I love that. I love that. This is the perfect pivot. I wanna talk about your organized chaos. So, walk us through a day in the life. So, your alarm clock goes off. When does that happen? And just give us the blow-by-blow till your head hits the pillow again.

31:07 Athina Lampru: I literally couldn't tell you this is exactly how it goes every day, but I could tell you how it went recently. I don't have an alarm clock. My 1.5-year-old wakes up at 7 and I usually wake up with him. I grab him, get him ready, and I put him in his chair and I give him his breakfast, usually fruits and eggs. And then I go and wake up my second son while I'm drinking my AG1 shake with all my probiotics, et cetera. Then either my husband takes him to school or I take them to school. And within those moments, I grab my friend Dora. She's the vacuum. And I vacuum my house because I'm a neat freak and it needs to be clean before I come to my office. And I come to my office and I go through my affirmations every single day. Here they are. These are my affirmations. I read them aloud and I try to read a chapter of the book that I'm reading right now. And after that, I Just try to do at least like a recollection of 5 minutes. How is my day gonna go? Setting an intention for the day. What do I need to get done? And something that has been very valuable for me has been the 12 Week Year, cuz instead of having a to-do list, you're able to follow up on millimetrically what needs to happen for this to be done. And I've really enjoyed that process. So setting the intention for that to be accomplished is usually how that goes. Now that I'm in a much more strategic role. And then I, I start my day. Usually looks like 10 internal calls, 2 customer calls. If I don't go out into a customer meeting or such, I try to have a lunch with a customer every day. And then I start the day lining up my team. I end the day lining up my team. I am a core account manager, so I have about 3 specialists that basically work with me and they're my ride or dies. And I'm just like, step by step, this is where we are, it's where we need to go, it's where we are, it's where we need to go. And they are fully on board. Board, which is so amazing. And on my way to go pick up my kids, I usually call my manager and I share with him everything that I'm doing, how I need his support, and what I see us doing next. And then I come back home and it's time to get the dinner ready, give it to the kids, play with the kids. I'm a very present mom, so I don't take any calls from like 5 to 8. Usually after 8, nobody calls me anyways, but there's moments where Things are happening and you have to get called. So those are the times where I'm with my kids and with my partner. If my husband gets home early, I go work out. If he doesn't get home early, I don't work out. And that's just kind of how it goes. And we put the kids to bed. And if I did not fall asleep with them, I wake up and I come outside and I talk with my husband over a glass of wine and we do it all over again the next day.

33:58 Scott Ingram: That's awesome. Okay. I have follow-up questions. The first one is your vacuum cleaner's name is Dora?

34:04 Athina Lampru: Yeah. So, in Spanish, vacuum, you say aspiradora. So, I call her Dora. Dora, my friend. And she's this little, like, Shark vacuum. And first thing, 6:00 AM, you see me all over the house.

34:18 Scott Ingram: Oh, too funny. And a thing I've been meaning to ask you about when you talked about your network and your internal relationships, and I think it's really coming to bear when you talk about 10 internal meetings against 2 external meetings. I often ask the question, like, how much of your work is internal versus external and truly customer-facing? What's the breakdown for you?

34:40 Athina Lampru: I guess that it depends on each account manager, right? And each of the companies that you work for, like, we're all very different. But in my case, I am a core account manager and I have in total about 6 people that work alongside me. And they have been part of this territory, or this is the first year as well, and they look at these accounts and they see rocks. I am the visionary. Here is how we're going to go to battle and make these rocks crack, and we're going to develop a beautiful tree that is going to blossom for years to come for this company. I think that there's so much internal selling that has taken place because I've been able to see it, and I see it, it's in my mind. I know exactly how it's going to go. I don't know exactly how we're going to get there because every day we pivot, but I know where we're going. We're going to go there. We're getting there. And it's taken time for them to really get it, to really see it, to really feel it. And I feel like so much of these initial months in this new role has been selling internally where we're going. And when we have an opportunity to make even the slightest connection with anybody in that customer, in that company, then I'm leading my team like, this is how we use this opportunity that seems like nothing to go into here. Where are our different entryways? We're all working together for the same outcome. And I think that's where the 10 to 2 ratio comes in, right? I think once you have a solidified opportunity, and like in this case, now we have solid pipeline, we know exactly where we're going. We know the steps that need to be taken to get there. But still, all of us need to be on the same page. All of us need to be organized. Like, If you get into a customer meeting and you have your specialist and it's the first time that they're meeting this customer and they're asking questions that you've already asked your customer, wasted time. So you never want to be there. I'm all over it, super detail-oriented. I just need to know that you know, and I need you to repeat back to me what we're doing. And, and otherwise we'll pivot and you'll probably not be on the meeting or somebody will step in for you. Like, there's no room for mistakes when you're managing just 4 accounts. And I've really enjoyed learning more about this side of me because I didn't get to tap into it as much before. So, I love it.

36:57 Scott Ingram: I want to talk more about this because I feel like this is one of the things, particularly in this kind of scale of enterprise sales, that just doesn't get talked about enough. I don't think there's a single book on the topic. And this is a place where you truly do, as an individual contributor, lead from the field. Right? I mean, these people are working with you. They don't report to you. You're not their boss, but you win together. And so those relationships are so key. And one of the things I heard you talk about is really having that vision and selling them on the vision and helping them to believe, because if they just look at it ordinarily, they probably think, yep, well, I have other accounts. They might be more important than this. So just Talk about maybe each of those pieces, kind of setting that vision, that internal selling, the relationships that you're building, because in a lot of cases without them, you can't win.

37:51 Athina Lampru: 100%. I think about it almost like I'm watching this series right now on Netflix, which I watch maybe one series a year, and this is the one I'm watching right now. It's called Bolívar, and he's the liberator. He's who freed our country from slavery and Spanish rule. And he didn't only free Venezuela, he freed Peru and Ecuador and other countries. And he's literally recruiting people along the way. He's recruiting people that work in the fields, slaves, people of money, and he's getting them to see this vision. And he's going to battle. He's like, you're going to defend liberty with your life. And it's either we win or you die. And I either win or die. We all are in this together. And I just feel so much like that's my role here. And at first it begins as, who are you? What is your role here? What are you here to sell? Why are you passionate about your specialty? I want to see what you see. I feel like that's key, very much like you would with a customer. What matters to you? Why are you here? What does success mean to you? And sharing that back and forth, really much like an interview, like we're doing right now. Deep diving into this person, and you do that per specialist. You need to understand what matters to them. How do they communicate? What do they enjoy? What do they find funny? Like, how can you make a serious situation not so serious? Because it's a long journey that we're about to go on. And opening a channel for honest feedback. I can honestly say every single one of my team members, I can call and say, hey, that was not good. This is not how we're going about it. Let me share with you What was good and why we can improve next time. And that is a back and forth. They can share that exact same thing with me. And I'm like, feedback is a gift. Please share, obviously respectfully. So once those open channels of communication are open and they know what you're about, they know you're interested in them, that you understand what they're looking to sell. Now they know that you have their back. They're asking how can they have yours? And a lot of this is giving, giving, giving until they want to give back. For me, that's one-on-one interactions in the beginning that leads to a team call where everybody is collaborating. When we start collaborating and I start to… you finish your account plans, you know exactly who's who in the zoo. Now you do these strategy sessions. This is who you got to go after. Your BDR needs to go tackle these people. This is the message I want you to deliver. Here's why I want you to deliver this message. When you get a meeting, I need to be on that meeting because I'm having this happen in that account as well, which all ties in together. And you do this with every single one of your accounts and every single meeting that you have every Monday morning, and if needed, more consecutively within a week, depending on the level of action in an account. Now it's truly a battlefield. Each player has a key role and each of us are working together to get to that end goal where the customer gets the most value. And all of us are working together then to sell this vision internally to our finance team so that financially this makes sense for our customer. These absurd deals that we make work, you know what I mean? Like the impossible possible. If we're not all in it together, if there's a single slight of doubt internally, that all falls apart as well. I just see us all as a unison and everybody is important. I think just being consistent, it's not something that builds over time. You want to build trust with your team, you have to show up for them and they'll show up for you too and respect your feedback and vice versa and Over time, when you paint the vision, like I remember my first QBR in this role, every single rep that has been in this team has either been here for a long time and there's only me and another person that are newer. And I remember our boss is very big on North Stars and everybody's like, give them their North Star. And they're like $20 million, $15 million. And I'm the last one to go. I've never been here. I have the worst accounts and not worse, but like most difficult accounts, better said. I love my customers. And I'm like, $111 million. And everybody's like, okay. And I'm like, yeah, $111 million. This is my goal. And why is it my goal? Because this is the number that turns me on. This is the number that I feel is so there for me that I need to go get it. I'll do whatever it takes to get there. And these are deals that happen every day at Palo Alto, Scott. There's many account managers selling $100 million deals here. Why not me? Why not us? Why not these accounts? Who are you to say that this is not it? Who am I to say that they're not it? They exist. They're here. They're for me. We're doing this. And I think that the selling starts from the top down, because once you lead with that intention, even your boss and your boss's boss, all of us know what's going on here. Athina's working towards this. Where is she in this process? And Just now, as I looked over here to the right, it was 111. Like, this is the number that turns me on. This is where we're going. And I feel like that's key, just finding something that not only you can deliver to your team, but you cannot hide passion. Either you have it or you don't have it. And you have to lead with this feeling of strength, this feeling of power, this feeling of we are going to win and we don't need to know how. We're just gonna win. Okay? So, it doesn't matter how many small failures we hit along the way. Let's remember, the battle is not the war, and we are going to win. And that's really that warrior mentality, I think, that leads within me. It's the fire within me that leads the way for the team.

43:27 Scott Ingram: Very nice. You have sold me on this Netflix series. I'm gonna have to look at this. I just pulled it up on another screen. So, that's another thing we'll have linked up in the show notes, Bolívar. Very, very interesting. I can't see how many seasons or what I'm getting into here.

43:40 Athina Lampru: It's 60 episodes. I'm sorry in advance.

43:42 Scott Ingram: 60?

43:43 Athina Lampru: I'm sorry in advance. It's totally a novella.

43:47 Scott Ingram: Oh my gosh.

43:48 Athina Lampru: Yeah. So if there's 2 characters that I would say I identify with in the show, it would be Bolívar and Manuelita Sáenz. So for whoever's watching, enjoy.

43:58 Scott Ingram: Wow. Deep, deep, deep, deep. All right. All right. Well, I tend to be very patient. It's one of those, while my wife's getting ready for bed before we Now I'm disclosing all this stuff. We watch for years, we watch Big Bang reruns because it's just sort of mindless. We've seen all the seasons like multiple times. I can probably quote most of the episodes and it just, it's an easy way for us to fall asleep. But before that, she's getting ready for bed. So I've got about 20, 30 minutes. So I just kind of slowly chip away through series. So yeah, maybe this is my next year. I'll chip away on this one.

44:32 Athina Lampru: It's not good for me. I need to finish it as soon as possible because I need to sleep.

44:37 Scott Ingram: So, yeah. Oh, too funny. Too funny. Well, what does the rest of your information diet look like? What are you reading? What are you listening to? What are you watching? And when does that happen?

44:47 Athina Lampru: Yeah. Watching, it's just this really. My diet, I am so into Kajabi app right now with Untap Your Sales Potential. I just love the content so much. I go back to the modules time and time again, totally about to invest in the timeline lifetime membership because It's just so valuable. It's just so good what is shared in Ian Koniak's program. It really is. So that's a lot of what I consume on my way to customer meetings and back. And when I go for my runs, right now I'm training for a marathon. I love listening to Aubrey Marcus's podcast. It's a lot more spiritual, but I just really love people that take the time to further investigate what is new in the field of freedom, sovereignty of your brain, of your mind, of your heart, and how to apply that into your life. The Bible is also something that I tap into often. Sometimes it's hard to find the time, but I just feel so called to really spend time with the Bible recently. And one of my goals is to get baptized in the next year or so. These are big goals, but my diet is just leading towards that. I also spend a lot of time investigating my customers. I spend a lot of time listening to their earnings calls, and you can do a lot with AI this day and age, but there's so much that your brain can pick up on, on tone and such when you listen to the recordings yourself. And there's more behind the words, you know what I mean? You can read between the lines in a different way. I do spend a lot of time doing that. Books, I am finishing Og Mandino's The Greatest Salesman in the World. You know, that takes a long time to do. Definitely doing that. And I think the biggest hack overall is having the ability to change your thought real time. I do consider that a diet because it's conscious effort. I could be here with you right now and I could say, oh my gosh, my headphones look messed up. Immediately, oh no, my headphones look great. I look amazing. This is the greatest podcast that will ever be delivered on the show. That is it real time. And Being able to do that, especially when you're on a call with a customer and you're delivering… it just happened to me. I was delivering a $5.5 million proposal and here's the questions about finance and here's the questions about how it's going to work. My heart started to beat a little faster and I'm like, oh, it's not enough. What I did is not enough. Worked on this for 2 months and it's not going to do it. He's going to pivot. And immediately I just take a breath like, you worked so hard. This is so valuable. You're helping them. Remind them the value of a 5-year deal. Why? Not because you're pushy, not because you're being an awful saleswoman. You're not being that woman. You're doing this because you know the value you're delivering. You know why you work so hard. You know why they're having this conversation. Remind them why you're here, why this matters. And just constantly being able to shift your thoughts changes your mentality, changes your nervous system. You calm down. Now you're asking the question, and the answer is so much better than what you expected. I think that's the biggest hack in sales for me, just knowing exactly when my reptilian brain is stepping in to destroy things and I need to remind it who's in control.

48:06 Scott Ingram: I love that. I love the real-time callout. I mean, it takes practice catching yourself like, oops, wrong. Let me, let me correct my language. Let me correct my lizard and set them on the right track and give them the vision of what they need to understand.

48:21 Athina Lampru: Yeah.

48:23 Scott Ingram: Oh my gosh. I want to call out Ian and Untap Your Sales Potential. What's funny, what led to all of this and kind of back-to-back interviews with their clients, Davidson reached out and Davidson's been to the summit and Ian's been to many of them. He was the top speaker 3 years in a row. And they said, oh, we want to get Tanvir on the podcast. I'm like, you know what? I know Tanvir is amazing. I haven't met him, but I know he's amazing. But here's the problem. The rule is number one, top 1% and minimum of 5 people on that team, because here's what happens if I change that rule, every coach in the world's like, I'm number 1. Like, yeah, you're also the last salesperson on the team because you're the only one. So that doesn't count. But here's what I love about Ian and the work that they are doing is I issue this challenge over and over again because I get tons of this outreach. Like, I'm the best. I have this sales trainer. I do all this work. I'm like, okay, great. If you're that good, you should have a client who is number 1. Let's bring them on the show and let them tell their story because that's way more powerful than you sharing what you're doing Anyway, and it's not even 9 times out of 10, 95 times out of 100, I never hear from those people again because they can't produce that client. And here's Ian showing up with client after client after client. And there's a lot of overlap. There are a lot of people in the Sales Success Society who've been on the podcast, who've spoken at the summit that work with Ian and vice versa. It's very, very complementary because again, this is a unique, very different headspace. I mean, you described it perfectly, Athena, like when you get to number 1, You have a whole different set of challenges. You have a whole mind F to deal with that most people haven't and won't ever deal with. And that's everybody. It's not everybody, but everybody's welcome to join us at the summit. But there's a reason why a large majority of the people who do join us are top performers. And it's because of this dynamic. I want to call that out. I thought about doing it on the last episode because again, we had sort of this back-to-back thing. The opportunity didn't present itself. So thanks for opening that door. And I want to call that out because it's a special, unique thing. I think really important to kind of see. To me, results really matter. Talk is super cheap. It's really, you're doing this, you're living this. That's why I do this podcast because these stories are the ones that are missing. It's really easy to say, oh, I'm a top sales expert. I'm a top leader. I wrote a book. I'm like, yeah, okay. But What are your real-world results like? Are you actually doing this or is this something you did 20 years ago?

50:56 Athina Lampru: Yeah. If I had to sum up my career, I would say that it's a miracle and that everything that takes place in my life with my customers, like the fact that I get to go into their office and meet with them and ask them the one question that will lead to an opportunity, and then I'm working this opportunity and then I'm able to grow it, and then I'm able to deliver a proposal that not only adds value but saves them money. And creates the best security outcomes for them. Like, it is a miracle. When I think about Ian's program, what he's doing with his life, it is a miracle journey. This is Ian's journey. This is Ian's serving to the world. This is his service. And when I think of 10 Beer, I remember my first meeting with him, and I remember just like, oh, I'm gonna interview this guy. Let's see what this is all about. And I remember being like this, sitting on my chair, and him saying, okay, we can talk tomorrow, 5 minutes. You're either in or out. Thank you so much. Much nicer, but very like bold. You're either in or you're out. Do not waste my time. And I was like, oh shit, I am that. That's what I need more of. And that's why I'm going to go for this program. And Tanvir is one of the most spectacular human beings. And just for the simple fact that He's able to show up so vulnerably and connect in such a massive way in such a few minutes and close you. That part, Scott, that's why you should have him here. I was thinking a few days ago, oh my gosh, the value of vulnerability. I love being vulnerable with my clients. Oh my gosh, I love, this turns me on so much when I'm able to have deep conversations with them and Vulnerability is like the API that connects software. You know what I mean? Once I'm able to share with you and you share with me, now we're one. We're a single pane of glass, baby. This is the platform. It's so cool when you're able to recognize that all of us are really just alone until we're able to connect. And doing that well is what sales is about. Finding that API.

53:00 Scott Ingram: Ah, man, I love… you're stroking my tech brain. This is now turning me on. Until we see the next 111, that's pretty good. Athina, do you subscribe to a particular sales philosophy or approach?

53:14 Athina Lampru: No, I'm an intuitive seller. You know what I mean? I know the value that I deliver well, and I can meet my customers in many ways. I adapt to my customer and I find ways to let them know what's important to our company. And why that matters to them, because that means that my proposal is that much more valuable to them. It's this idea of how do we make this work for everybody, for the greatest good of all? And I don't have an amount of touchpoints, you know what I mean? I think the single greatest one that I found is truly Ian's, the PREDICT method, just because it doesn't really leave anything behind. But as an intuitive woman, I feel that I can understand what's going on here. And if you're able to ask the hard questions as they come up, all of us are very, we're energy. So, if I'm in a call with you and things are not vibing, like being able to say like, hey, I feel like something has changed. Either they change their tone or their posture or whatever, you know, you're gonna feel it. So, being able to call that out and try to understand what has shifted always leads to like more information. You're always discovering, there's always more to know and I guess that's the most important thing, just being present and fully engaged in the right activity at the present moment and not thinking ahead, not thinking behind, just trying to really connect. So, that's my philosophy really. And I guess if I had to say something, it would be predict, but even that is something that I don't live by. I like to use it, but I just really like to position myself as I am my customer's representative within Palo Alto Networks, and I am not Palo Alto Networks' representative at my customers. I am their advocate, and I'm here to fight for them to deliver what they need, and it's going to work.

55:07 Scott Ingram: So, you are the API. I think this is kind of the ultimate… gosh, I'm loving this conversation so much. At the highest level, we are that interface. Our job is to extract the highest level of value from our companies and deliver it on behalf of our clients to help them get the most of it. Talk about how do you figure that out? How do you find… I mean, some of this is product knowledge, but how are you doing that work to sort of understand this is the set of tools, this is the way that I can create this solution that is going to create a huge win for this client? Talk about just kind of the ins and outs. How are you doing that work?

55:49 Athina Lampru: In my current role with my current company, The problem that we're fixing is the problem that all of humanity has. I don't take that lightly at all. I've said this before, I have 2 little babies, 2 sons. They're growing up in this age where everything is shifting moment by moment from a technology standpoint. I can't even learn quickly enough what's available. Every day there's new AI applications available delivering what you would take years to deliver and in seconds. And that is great. That is a problem too. This is the attack surface. Think about it like a constant bully that is automated, constantly getting at you, like whatever it takes to get through into your environment. And that's not just at the corporation level. At a human level, as a civilian level, I have received notifications that both of my kids' Social Security numbers have been hacked. They are available in the dark web, and I am monitoring a 1-year-old's credit. That is a problem, okay? Especially in a society where most of us are living on credit. Everything is borrowed. This means that as an account manager at Palo Alto Networks, I have the unique opportunity to go to my customers and help them with this problem. I am just here to deliver that message. I am not going to stop until you get the best security because I am your customer too. And if I'm buying from you, I need to be able to trust you. And I am here to represent Palo Alto Networks because I know we have the best solutions in place today to serve you in this way. And I also understand that you're looking to reduce costs and also understand that you're looking to increase revenue. And I also understand that you're looking to reduce risk. I want to help you with all of these. All of them. And I want to work with you to make that happen. And I need to understand who you are first. Let's find ways to really understand where you stand. And let me come back to you with what I think I can help with. And I guess, like, in Ian's program, they call this like the point of view. But in a company like mine, it's really hard to come back with a point of view because it's not a single problem. We're solving cybersecurity and like the attack surface of one person is not the same as another. Imagine that at a corporation level. Having this unique ability to really help from end to end in the security spectrum is a big job. That's why we're talking $100 million deals. That means that not only am I connecting with you at a personal level because I want you to know that you can call me, that I'm here for you, but I want to know that when I come back to you after a meeting with your team and understanding exactly how things are being done today, that I'm delivering something that is speaking to all these things that you care about and all these things that your customers care about, all these things that the board cares about and that the finance cares about, so that you win, but most importantly, that I, as your customer, my children as your future customers, are safe. I feel like having such a broad way of initiating discovery, whether it is from the mission of Palo Alto Networks or the technology of Palo Alto Networks or the simple fact that all of us have this big problem that we're looking to solve. Whichever way that I can ingress that conversation and find a way to deliver value, I'm going to just hold on to that one until I get to the next step and the next step and the next step, because it's truly very deep discovery. And once you've done it for another customer, in my case, I've done it several times, I don't care to challenge a C-level executive on their views because I know what I've done for others, and they can go and vouch for me and vouch for our company, and most importantly, for the future of humanity. Our mission is making tomorrow safer than the day before. Think about that. That's like saying, tomorrow I'm going to be 1% better. Yes or yes? You want to work with that person. It's not about having the greatest market share. It's not about… sure, money is important, but it's not about that. Like, somebody needs to do the hard job of fighting against AI. And now quantum is around the corner, fighting against quantum. Like, how are we going to protect ourselves from our own creations? Who do I want on my corner when this takes place? And I can only think of a single company, and that's Palo Alto, and that's me representing Palo Alto. Let's get to work.

1:00:21 Scott Ingram: Love it. Love it. Love it. I love the emphasis on the discovery, right? And just the way that you leaned into that and understanding the customer's perspective. How are you then doing the solutioning work? This is not like, oh, I sell this one thing, it does these 2 things. You have a very multifaceted, very complex solution set. How are you connecting those 2 things?

1:00:44 Athina Lampru: I guess in my brain it seems so simple.

1:00:47 Scott Ingram: It's because you are the API. That's why.

1:00:50 Athina Lampru: For sure. Yeah. I may just put that as my LinkedIn header, but I think that Much like you said, I want people that are the top performers doing this today. Palo Alto Networks, I sound like a walking advertisement. Everybody says that, so I don't take it too hard, but we are doing this internally. Nobody has a bigger target than us. We are the number one cybersecurity company in the world. If people want to hack into our customers, they hack us first. We are that goldmine. And we're not perfect by any means. You are constantly at the frontier of advancements in technology, which means that we need to advance at the same time or quicker to stay ahead of threats. That means that we're not always going to succeed on the first try. So, our customers are on a ride with us. But I guess the biggest thing that we always say, and that is absolutely true, is that we eat our own dog food. There's not a single solution from a cybersecurity standpoint that Palo Alto Networks sells that we don't use internally. And we don't use it along with something else. We use it, period. In fact, the solutions that we sell started as problems for ourselves. The market was not delivering on security, so we had to create it. We had no choice. It's either that, win or die. You know what I mean? I guess that knowing that when I create a solution, I create a current state of my customers and I try to create a future state that is as close as possible to what Palo Alto Networks is doing and working today. And that doesn't always look like all at once, but it's a journey. You meet your customer where they are, you help them with what you can, and you remind them of where they need to go because all of us need to get there. All of us need to get to a place where we have autonomous security, where we can rely on our software and our systems and our hardware to deliver on what they said they would deliver. Because we are fighting against autonomous threats. That means there's a paradigm shift. I'm not really selling a solution. I'm not selling, hey, this is it. This is XIMs, buy it. It's, this is a paradigm shift. All of us in it together, moving towards a place where AI can exist and we can coexist with it in a secure way. That's it. How can we get you there? And here are the different ways. There's different paths, different ways to skin the cat, like they say. And that's just really it. I'm not married to a way to get there. It's what works for you according to what's available to you today and the resources that you have in place. And a lot of the proposals that I create, I mean, they're all actually white glove, like from beginning to end, adding value, whether it is professional services or focused services or a resident engineer or a solid top-of-the-line project manager, like whatever it takes to make this successful, because it's a very big mission. And it takes a village. And if we're talking about a paradigm shift, we're talking about all of us changing the way we think today and adopt a different way that is able to fight against tomorrow's threats. That means that all of us need to trust the technology. And that's a hard thing to do. Yeah.

1:04:00 Scott Ingram: Athina, what motivates you? What drives you? How do you think about that?

1:04:04 Athina Lampru: 111 million motivates me for sure. I did this very deep, in-depth exercise with Ian. And actually, my Fiasco helped me too, but Anton Beer has been part of it. All of them, they're just so wonderful. But in the beginning of my career, I really wanted freedom, and I felt good enough to motivate myself. But oddly enough, as I've grown and become a mother, etc., that has shifted to time. I want more time with my loved ones. So, I guess you could say that's freedom, but it's a lot more specific. And I specifically want more time with my partner, one more time with my kids. If you read anything about epigenetics and such, then, you know, these initial years of their lives from 0 to 7 years old, that is really your investment. And the rest is the result of that investment. Whatever you did during those 7 years is what that kid will be. I'm in these key years of their lives, and what I would love to do is I really want to retire my husband so he can spend more time with them. He's a lot older than me, and the laws of nature are such. So, just being a realistic woman, knowing what I care about, knowing the importance of his presence in their life, I would love the opportunity to have enough income so that I can allow him the opportunity to select where he wants to work, and knowing that what he cares about is spending time with them. With our kids, I want to grant him the opportunity to do that. And he deserves it. And that's something that makes me cry of emotion when I think about it. And I think that's my why today.

1:05:47 Scott Ingram: I love that. I love that. We're going to talk again once you're north of $111 million and we'll do a follow-up for sure. Athina, is there something you believe that the typical sales professional would think is crazy?

1:06:01 Athina Lampru: Probably. I don't say this in a cocky way, but I really believe that I am the best. I believe that I am the best person at the best time with the best accounts, with the best company, with the best husband, with the best kids. I really try to focus on gratitude for the best that I already have, and that's really like the blueprint for abundance. There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about how good I have it, even in the midst of chaos and challenge. I wholeheartedly believe I'm the best to deliver on these things, whatever these things are at the moment.

1:06:42 Scott Ingram: I love it. I love it. Is there something that the typical sales professional believes that you think is crazy?

1:06:48 Athina Lampru: I think it's crazy that they don't think they're the best. If I step into a room and they tell me that there's people better than them, then no, that's crazy. It's crazy to think that anybody can do what you wanna do. If there's something that gives you energy when you think about, like for me, when I'm in front of an executive, this woman comes out and this woman, I just love her when she comes out. You know what I mean? It gives you so much energy. Likewise, there's things that make me feel bored and I just lose focus. And I think that we need to just constantly lean into the things that give us energy to find that path. Towards greatness. Because we're all here for a mission, a reason, and your body is the greatest messenger of that journey. And if you're able to just listen and tap into that and make decisions that align with that which gives you energy, I think you're undoubtedly going to be the best at whatever it is that you're doing. In my case, that is sales. And it was not something I chose, like I started this podcast with. It kind of chose me. I had to lean in and here I am today. I hope that if you're listening to this and you're doubting yourself, you remember that nobody is better than you to deliver on what you have, the task you have at hand. You have it for a reason and you'll be great. You are great.

1:08:06 Scott Ingram: Amazing. What are the things that pull you off of that path that you have to kind of fight against?

1:08:11 Athina Lampru: Lack of sleep. It's wild, but ultimately knowing that everything falls back onto mindset, There's some days that I feel like I'm a little depressed and then my husband is always like, no, Athina, you're just not focused.

1:08:24 Scott Ingram: Sleep deprived.

1:08:25 Athina Lampru: Yeah. You're just not focused. You're all over the place. Go to sleep. That is so beautiful. I hope that all of us have a relationship where our partner is so tapped into you that he can mirror back to you what you need in a way that is clear and effective and supports you to go and accomplish that, right? We know that there's conscious effort on actively being able to switch your mind. When you're having a negative thought. So if you don't have a good sleep or if you didn't eat well or drink enough water, your ability to react quickly diminishes. So go to sleep.

1:08:58 Scott Ingram: Yeah. It is all the more impressive that you're performing at this level at this time in your life. You know, my girls are much older, but I remember those days when my girls were, geez, 2, 3 years old, a year old. You are so sleep deprived. And I reflect back on, you talk about how formative those years are. And I look back and go, oh my God, I yelled at my kids so much because I was so freaking tired. Because I don't yell anymore. I haven't yelled in years. I think it was, it was sleep deprivation. It was just such a hard time. So kudos to you for making all of this work. Under those circumstances, because you are a far better person than I was. For sure. For sure.

1:09:50 Athina Lampru: Do your daughters have kids?

1:09:52 Scott Ingram: No. So they're 17 and 19. So absolutely not. And they so far have turned out absolutely amazing. I mean, it is wild, that transition to adulthood. And they are, again, despite what they were subjected to by me when they were very, very young, they have come out amazing. I'm sure it was their mother's influence that over came me, but man, it's so crazy just to watch that transformation. I mean, everybody I talk to that's in your stage, it's one of these, don't blink. It goes so fast. And yet at the same time, what's the quote I heard? Somebody said this to me. It encapsulated it perfectly. In fact, I think it was Camille Clemons who's been on the show, actually an amazing woman. She says, the days are long and the years are short. And that's how it is. Like, it is the longest days ever. And you are so tired.

1:10:44 Athina Lampru: It's very weird.

1:10:45 Scott Ingram: It is so hard. And then again, you blink and they're going to elementary school and you blink again, they're going to high school and then they're graduating. It's insane. So yeah, just take lots of pictures, enjoy it. Even though I think there's also like a human thing that represses this age. I think you actually will not remember this time because if you did remember this time, you wouldn't have any more children. There's a natural thing that happens.

1:11:12 Athina Lampru: That does happen after you have them. Yeah, it's true.

1:11:15 Scott Ingram: Oh gosh. Because if you vividly remember, you would never do that to yourself again.

1:11:19 Athina Lampru: Yeah. I remember before I had kids, when my sister had my niece, my beloved niece, I remember thinking like, yeah, I will never do that. No, her life was so good before this. Yeah.

1:11:31 Scott Ingram: Yeah.

1:11:32 Athina Lampru: I love her and everything, but it's a lot. And The greatest work of art, the greatest win, the freshest air is when they're here. Even if I can only reflect on that when they're fully asleep and I'm just looking at them and I'm like, wow, okay, I just love you so much. But they are my biggest teachers without a doubt. I also scream at them sometimes, but then I'm like very quickly like, I'm sorry, mommy was wrong. There's a much better and polite way to say that. And, and I hope all of that clicks, but If that is the impact that it has on us with the people we love the most, imagine truly how we show up for our customers when we don't sleep well. And it's especially hard in these years, sure. I don't subscribe to any applications of social media except LinkedIn. I listen to podcasts, I listen to Spotify. I love looking for new music and dancing. These things like just make me feel so good. There's many of us that are really spending a lot of time on Instagram and Facebook and X and all these things. And like, I just feel like a lot of us get lost. And being sleep deprived is not just because you don't sleep during the day. It's also because you're not awake during the day because you're immersed in this meta world and you forget what matters. And I just really hope that all of us can actively, consciously choose where to spend our time and subscribe to the profiles if we are on these applications that are going to enrich our information diet and deliver value so that we can create a greater generation in years to come, because it's really a unique point in time and it's a dangerous game.

1:13:11 Scott Ingram: Yeah. Yeah. So good. Athina, what have been the most important decisions you've made or lessons you had to learn to get where you are today?

1:13:20 Athina Lampru: Stop comparing myself to anybody. Everybody knows of you when you're at the top, but nobody really knows you when you're in that journey. Nobody blinked and was at the top. There's so many hardships I've endured and they've made me the woman I am today. Those hardships have been the greatest gift. They have allowed me to look deeper into the areas of my life that needed attention so that I could be a more holistic person, an optimized being. That's a really big lesson. When you compare yourself to others, you are not really seeing the full picture. It's super skewed. Even this podcast is super skewed. Happy to talk more one-on-one with anybody that wants to reach out. I'm a fan of like helping anybody or just being friends. But overall, just how can you be better than yesterday? And if you can just take the time every night before you go to sleep, like, oh, this is something I did not like that I did. I'm not proud of this. And just try to make a conscious effort to remember what you did, what led to that, and take note of how you can proactively address before you get to that stage. In my case, a lot of it comes down to sleep, but for other people it may be, I don't know, stop drinking alcohol or stop partying so much. I don't know, whatever it is, whatever your vice is, just choosing yourself and betting on yourself. 100% bet on yourself. You can do anything.

1:14:45 Scott Ingram: Love that. You called out that you've been able to kind of catch your, well, we called it your lizard. You can catch your lizard and your internal dialogue in real time. Are you able to sort of see the challenges? I think one of the things I've heard from you is really recognizing the challenges are the gift. It is the opportunity. Like there is no straight line. There is no, oh, we're just going to march our way to $111 million. There's going to be no problems along the way. Everything's going to go perfectly smoothly. Oh, hell no. That's not how it works. You're going to get so many things thrown at your head. Have you gotten to the point that you can kind of see that in near real time? For what it is?

1:15:22 Athina Lampru: In a professional way, you mean?

1:15:24 Scott Ingram: Yeah, I think so.

1:15:25 Athina Lampru: I guess that the examples that come to mind are real time when conversing with somebody, a conversation that is meant to be… the reason for the meeting is an important reason. I think whenever any of us are questioned or they question our company or the integrity of our products, like all these things can awaken triggers within us that can cause you to react, like stop being present and think about what you're gonna answer to, like There's no need to do any of that. You just have to sit with it like, okay, this customer is clearly unhappy. They're questioning our integrity. Tell us more. Tell me more. Tell me more. That first comment that somebody makes, it's usually after much, much, much thought. Trying to understand the other person is an API. You go back to like, what is the vulnerable place that led to this comment? Sometimes when I'm afraid to ask those questions, I'm like, can I ask a silly question? I just try to make light of it. Like, I'm sensing that this really matters to you and I want to understand why. Maybe I can help you further. I guess that is key to me. Like I said, I'm dealing with these unique companies right now and they have these unique hardships and I'm looking to help them and I'm very interested in helping them. And every time we move forward, there's 4 reasons why we move backwards. There's no way to perceive that because it's my first time dealing with these companies. As I get to know them, it's, I guess, very easy to say, yeah, I am ready to put this one on like the F column. But in reality, there's more there, right? There's some more there that is… you haven't gotten to the problem that is important enough for you to solve that will lead to a unique opportunity for you to add value. And I just feel like maybe that will be my answer now that I'm like decompressing all this stuff. It maybe won't be real time, but just not giving up. Yeah, overall, just don't give up on your customer, on yourself, on the sale. Come back with something bigger, especially if you have the bandwidth. If you don't have 100 accounts like I used to, you have to make it work and the customer needs you to make it work. And if it hasn't worked yet, it's because it wasn't what they needed. So like, there's something somehow, some way with someone within that company that will reply well to it. So just that constant moving forward in whatever way, just ahead.

1:17:46 Scott Ingram: You talked about your approach being sort of an intuitive approach, and you just mentioned this idea of, I have this question. Do you often find you're like, uh, there's this question I feel like I should ask and it's just uncomfortable. And it's one of those things like, oh, because of that, I actually really need to ask the question.

1:18:06 Athina Lampru: All the time. Yeah, all the time. Especially with senior executives that I'm meeting for the first time in a group meeting. Like, it always happens then. My body literally starts to react. I start to breathe differently. My heart starts to beat really fast. I start to become laser-focused. My face for sure changes. And I'm like, if I don't ask this question, I won't be able to think straight for the rest of the meeting. It's very impeccable, our body, you know, how it works. Lean into your body for sure, because by the time you ask the question, not only have you freed yourself from this thought that you thought was so important and valuable, but you have an answer that could either propel you forward quantum leaps or could bring you enough clarity for you to pivot from exactly what you're doing into something meaningful. And both of these are extremely valuable. And I feel like there should be no hesitation on making a silly question or a mistake. Hey, I really feel I just have to ask you this. Please let me know if we should talk about this more one-on-one, but I keep thinking that this is an important question. Like, how do you go about this specific problem and why is it so important for next year to get to this amount of savings? I want to understand more. That seems like a simple question, but maybe because you've researched this person for so long and it's the first time you're meeting them, and then there's all of these other executives on the call and like, you don't want to be that girl, but You have to. That's your job. Your job is to know. And it's never worked against me. I feel like in the worst of times, everybody has gotten a really good laugh and said, she really cares.

1:19:37 Scott Ingram: Yeah, I find that it's the questions you're the most afraid to ask that unlock everything.

1:19:43 Athina Lampru: I could not agree more. You feel that physical reaction. It like tells you this is it. You have to do it. Yeah.

1:19:52 Scott Ingram: Athina, what advice would you give to somebody that is just starting out in their sales career today?

1:19:58 Athina Lampru: Congratulations on the best decision of your life. Enjoy the journey. Reach out for help. You're not alone. You're not supposed to do it alone. Nobody has ever done it alone. The greatest of us do it with a group of people, and it's a team sport. And first you start by playing for somebody's team, but then you lead a team. And when you get to that place, when you look back on the greatest times, it will be the journey. So congratulations and welcome to the coolest, funnest, most craziest, rewarding, challenging, upsetting, heartbreaking career that will make you rich in so many ways beyond financial. You'll be spiritually rich, financially rich, network-wise rich. You'll have no choice but to lean on God, so you'll definitely be spiritually rich. It will be beautiful. So congratulations.

1:20:55 Scott Ingram: I love that. I love that. What about somebody that's further in and they found some level of success, but they're not the best? They're not their best. What do you tell them?

1:21:05 Athina Lampru: I love that you asked this question to all your peeps. That was me yesterday, literally, like last week. I felt exactly like you're feeling, and then I had to to pick it back up and keep on going. And now I can say that I have advanced further than I could have ever imagined by simply choosing to acknowledge that and say that that's not true. The only one that needs to believe in you is you. Literally, if you don't believe in you, but somebody else does, when they tell you how much they believe in you, you won't be able to connect. You won't be able to believe it. You won't be able to accept it. And in my journey, which started out like that, took me years to look back and say, wait, this that they say is who I truly am. And oh wait, it's also who I am as a mother. It's also who I am as a wife. And I'm that warrior. I am. I'm that queen warrior. I'm going to just own it. That doesn't mean that you won't fail. You won't have hard days, but just know yourself, know your power, and you don't need to be like anybody else. Just recognize your gifts. And explode those. Totally bet on yourself. Again, give yourself that opportunity to be your best self.

1:22:11 Scott Ingram: Fair to say, as I'm thinking about you telling this story and the years ago thing and the last week thing, it feels like it might take a long time to find it, to find yourself, to find that belief the first time. And then you're going to need to keep finding it over and over and over again because it's going to keep trying to slip away.

1:22:33 Athina Lampru: Mm-hmm. You can't forget to remember.

1:22:37 Scott Ingram: Oh, that's such a good line.

1:22:39 Athina Lampru: Yeah, you will forget all the time. Life is made to make you forget. All these distractions, all this chaos and the kids and life, you will forget all the time. But don't let a day go by where you don't take a moment to remember your greatness. The universe conspired for you to exist in this present moment. Trust me, you're here to do something magical and just feel that. It's powerful stuff. So, take the moment to remember, even if it's for 1 minute, makes a huge difference.

1:23:13 Scott Ingram: Don't forget to remember. Athina, what do you wanna know about the top sellers in other organizations that have been in this unique spot?

1:23:21 Athina Lampru: Is there a different biohack to like even more quickly recognize your greatness in the midst of a challenge? I guess that would be cool. I know all of us struggle with that regardless of what we're doing. If you are a top performer, you're gonna struggle again. So you wanna be that top performer time and time again, and that means you're gonna have to face a new challenge. If there's a hack, please reach out. A different one than the one I shared.

1:23:49 Scott Ingram: Have you found any other hacks? Like what works for you?

1:23:53 Athina Lampru: It's really impactful, the power of visualization. In this don't forget to remember thing, there's a moment where I sit with myself daily and I remember the moment in the future when I am going to receive my award for having had the most spectacular performance of my career. And my boss is telling me, I never doubted you, kid, you know? And my husband is telling me like, great, do you recognize your greatness now? I've been telling you every day for the past 5 years. And my kids are crying anyways, cuz they don't really care. And my customers are saying, thank you. Thank you for all your help. And I remember that time that hasn't happened yet. And that's it. Oh, I'm also like the most fit I've ever been. And like my skin is glowing and all these things, the greatest version. And I hold onto that. That's where I'm going. I'm not going anywhere else but there.

1:24:48 Scott Ingram: Amazing. Amazing. Athina, we have covered so much ground. This conversation has been epic. Is there anything that we didn't touch on Or a question I didn't ask that you just want to make sure that we get out before we wrap this up?

1:25:01 Athina Lampru: I feel like we've covered a lot too, Scott, and this has been so, so fun. I've really enjoyed it. I look forward to coming back on. I think we covered everything, but if anybody has any questions, I'm an open book.

1:25:12 Scott Ingram: Awesome. Let's make it actionable. So the last thing I like to do is folks have been listening to us for a long time, a good hour and a half plus. What would you challenge them to do? What's the action that they can take over the next 1 to 2 weeks that can change themselves and change their results?

1:25:33 Athina Lampru: Think back to your goal for this year, and if it doesn't scare you, if it's not so big that it makes everybody in your team uncomfortable, if like everybody's not doubting you, it's not big enough. You have to bet on yourself. Like, I encourage you To make it such a big goal that is so impossible even for yourself when you first think about it, that you have no choice but to prove yourself, to prove your team, to prove your customers the level of value that you can deliver. Yeah.

1:26:01 Scott Ingram: Perfect. Athena, you're amazing. Thanks for taking the time.

1:26:05 Athina Lampru: Thank you, Scott. You are amazing.

1:26:07 Scott Ingram: Thanks for listening to the Sales Success Stories podcast. To be sure you never miss an episode and And for an invitation to our Sales Success Community, powered by Influitive, subscribe to our newsletter at top1.fm.