155 - Sales, Social Justice, and Authentic Self Expression with LinkedIn Top Sales Voice Nikki Ivey

In perhaps one of the most impactful episodes of She Sells Radio, the phenomenal Nikki Ivey shares her experience and journey as a black woman in the sales industry. I was recently recognized as a Salesforce Top Influencer of 2022 and shared that recognition with the most incredible group of some of the brightest minds in sales today. Nikki is a fellow Sales Top Influencer and as I connected with her, I knew she needed to be on the podcast. Nikki is an award winning B2B Revenue Growth Leader and Sales Culture Subject Matter Expert. This one woman demand-gen engine was recently recognized as a 2020 LinkedIn Top Sales Voice, and Sales Success Summit Top 100 LinkedIn Sales Star. Nikki is coaching and training sales development reps through SDRDefenders, a company she co-founded. In this episode, Nikki opens up about her experiences in sales including the good, the bad, and the ugly. But what stands out about her story is the honest truth she presents and the way she brings awareness to the topic of social justice in sales. Nikki is 100% herself in all ways, but she admits that it wasn’t always that simple.    Show Notes: [2:48] - Speaking and connecting with women is important to Nikki. She loves words, wigs, and women in charge! [3:56] - For most of her career, Nikki was the only black woman on her team. She shares how she wanted to emulate a teacher she had. [5:40] - Nikki knew she wanted to become an expert communicator. [7:30] - Nikki shares an experience from her 20s that was eye-opening to her in the field of sales. [9:18] - While working in car sales, Nikki learned many of the wrong things to do and the right strategies to connect with people. [10:53] - One impactful moment for Nikki was an experience that demonstrated the toxic culture in car sales. She used it as her starting point. [13:27] - Later in her sales career, Nikki found herself in car sales again in Texas. She shares another impactful experience. [15:01] - Nikki shares the origin story of her journey with tech sales. [16:25] - In her career, Nikki experienced a lack of diversity. [18:01] - She demonstrates the unfortunate experience for women of color in the sales industry. We have to acknowledge the overall impact of culture on people’s success. [19:02] - A career in sales is not the best for mental health. [20:39] - Many people begin a career in sales very young and make early impressions when they aren’t mature enough to know better. [23:18] - Nikki faced bipolar disorder and learned ways to manage her mental health. [25:19] - Nikki presents herself in her own style and is very authentic in her self-expression. But she wasn’t always like that. [27:03] - Sharing an experience she had, Nikki realized why she was hired. [29:18] - She reached her boiling point in 2020 and didn’t want to teach others to shrink themselves. [31:49] - Elyse and Nikki highly recommend the book Untamed and Nikki shares a powerful quote from it. [34:50] - Do not be afraid to speak up. You are not crazy. The exclusion you are feeling is real. [35:47] - Join a community that serves to lift each other up. Nikki co-founded a community designed to do just that. [38:01] - Send Nikki a message on social media to connect with her.   Connect with Nikki Ivey: LinkedIn  |  Twitter  |  Instagram   Links and Resources: Instagram  |  LinkedIn  |  YouTube