im taking the week between christmas and new years off

we hit our revenue goal last week at askelephant. it was a really big number. a scary number.

we were told that if we hit that number, we could take christmas through new years off. so here we are!

i know it sounds like i’m trying to explain myself or justify the time i’m taking off. it’s because i am. but more on that later. :)

ope okejale from sdr accelerator paid to be mentioned at the end of this issue. thanks for the support ope :)

you may have seen this one before.

this dm was a huge account for me, but honestly i didn’t really have much to personalize with. so i leaned into something a little corny and just had some fun with it. you might have seen another rendition of this linkedin dm opener as a post i shared a few months ago.

this wasn’t the first time i had used it, and it wasn’t the first time i had gotten a response with it. but when i first came up with it, i was just riffing. i was bored and wanted to spice things up. worst case, it gets ignored, right?

and the first time i sent it out, it was ignored. but this guy actually responded.

this one ended with a meeting. the message wasn’t perfect. it was just… fun.

you don’t have to be super duper polished for this stuff to work in the upper mid market. sometimes there just isn’t much to personalize with, and that’s okay. you can still do something unique without forcing it.

there’s no silver bullet that works on everyone. so relax and send the dm. you’re probably gonna get ignored anyways haha. it’s not the end of the world.

this dm sent using kondo. you can use this link try it for a month for free. this is a great way to support me directly. :)

this week is Alexis Barnes.

i originally outbounded alexis trying to get a referral to her manager. it didn’t go so well. this was back when i was first learning the ropes.

a few months went by and she mentioned she wanted to learn some linkedin tips. we met up and i learned pretty quickly that alexis is hilarious and a fast learner. and not long after that, she started commenting absolute gold all over linkedin.

the ol linky dink knows i like her humor, so she’s always in my feed. go check her out. maybe her humor is your speed too.

she’s just a girl out there being herself. which i admire!

breinner moncada said something on my post yesterday that got me thinking. i had mentioned that i wasn’t working. for the reasons above.

he said:
“there’s always something to be done mike…”

and he’s a bazillion percent correct.

we could add another hour to each day and another day to each week and there would still never be enough time to get everything done. there is always work.

and that’s why we need to be intentional and strategic with the time we spend not working.

i am the chief of not heeding my own advice in this case. here i am writing the copy of this newsletter with chatgpt on monday night. but i know what i’m supposed to do, even if i don’t always do it.

i know we need to take time off to recharge, and in that time, we should not work.

heed the advice of a hypocrite.

when you get off today, don’t work.
this weekend, when you’re off, don’t work. maybe you’ll inspire me to do the same.

this issue is supported by ope! i am a HUGE ope fan!!

ope is who i worked with when i was trying to break into tech sales. before working with her, i had applied to 100 plus roles and landed exactly one interview. we worked together and i landed my role in 33 days!

she helps people land sdr roles quickly by training them on how to do the job to get the job. she loves working with people who know they have what it takes but feel stuck, even though they’re doing the right things.

i also recently learned that ope partners with sdr leadership teams. she uses her background in audit and process improvement to look at what’s actually happening on the floor, find where pipeline is leaking, and help teams figure out what to fix to drive more consistent revenue.

if you’re trying to land an sdr role or you’re responsible for a team that needs to perform better, she’s worth talking to.

by the way, i pretty much wrote this entire issue with chatgpt. if you want to see the process for the sake of transparency, here’s the thread where i built this issue. feel free to check it out. see you in 2 weeks!