Where I learned that talent without boldness is just potential.

What Was Actually Happening

Avid Communications sells telecom, VoIP services, and cybersecurity. I came in as an AE to support a stretched-thin sales team. The lead AE had more book of business than she could manage. Existing clients needed renewals, new deals needed to be closed, and she could not do both. I was brought in to help expand and retain.

Where Everyone Was Looking

The team was relaxed. No real urgency behind renewals or long-term commitments. Clients were sitting in the book without anyone pushing to lock them in and upsell.

What I Did Instead

I needed to make money, so I worked. That was the whole strategy at first. I just went all out.

But I also thought about it structurally. My earnings were directly tied to what I closed, so the only logical move was to find the highest-leverage opportunities and work them efficiently. I prioritized by contract size. Who had the largest deals, who was up for renewal, who could be expanded. I set my calendar so I was contacting people and visiting clients every single day. If I did not have a client visit on a given day I treated that as a signal something was wrong.

The boldness piece came from watching my mentor. She had been doing this for over ten years and she was still a bulldog on cold calls. Her whole philosophy was simple.

Closed mouths do not get fed.

Nobody is going to make money for you. You have to go get it, fight for it, and protect it because if you are not careful someone else will take it.

I took that seriously.

What Happened

$1.2M in total contract value signed over one year. Averaged 160% of monthly quota.

How I Saw It

Most new AEs or AMs treat the role like a cashier. Process what comes in, wait for the next thing.

They do not think about leverage. They do not think about how to structure their time to maximize the number of high-value conversations they are having.

I knew my ceiling was entirely self-imposed, so I removed it.

The urgency was not manufactured. I actually needed to perform. That is a different mental state than someone who is comfortable. Genuine stakes make you work differently. That is underrated as a competitive advantage.

The Principle Behind It

Boldness is a multiplier. Talent and skill set the floor. Boldness determines how much of that potential actually converts into results. My mentor was the living proof of that. Ten years in and still dialing like it was her first year.

The calendar discipline was the other piece. If you are not in front of clients consistently someone else is. Renewals do not protect themselves. Relationships do not maintain themselves. You have to show up.