Nick Haddad is the Sales Development Director at ChurnZero, an AI-powered customer growth platform. His approach to leadership blends high standards, deep empathy, and strategic use of technology. 

Before ChurnZero, he led teams at memoryBlue, where his reps generated millions in closed/won revenue for clients. 

Nick sat down with Luke of Origami to talk about what it takes to coach entry-level talent, harness AI intelligently and build scalable, customer-led businesses.

My grandmother taught theater and dance for fifty years. She was trained by Russians - ruthless instructors who would drill students until they cried. But then the productions came out incredible, and those same girls who cried would come back the next year.

That built my foundation for coaching: very objective, very direct. You're either killing it or you're not, and there's no in between. It sounds harsh, but it works because the underlying message is also clear - I want you to be the best version of yourself.

With SDRs being entry-level but destined to become tomorrow's account executives and future VPs, we can't afford to be soft. They need to learn business application from day one, not just memorize scripts. I teach them transparency and explain the why behind everything, not just what to do. Then I model behavior and share personal experiences. No vague directives. No wishy-washy BS!

Every story follows the same structure - exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution. This applies whether it's a movie, TV show, or sales call. 

I teach my SDRs to build conversations around this framework.

Start with setup to pique interest, then create a series of rising actions that build conflict around business problems. Hit them with the climax - your solution - then provide falling actions that lead to a clear next step. 

You ask questions to get prospects talking, dig deeper on their responses, then pivot: "Since you mentioned these three problems, let's set up thirty minutes where I can show you exactly how I can help."

Dig into multiple problem areas, build tension, then become assertive about the solution. And assertiveness is key. Busy prospects need sellers who understand their problems without extensive explanation and do the heavy lifting for them.

Sales requires emotional presence, and after four hours of admin work, reps sound dead on calls. That's why we do call blitzes in the morning - when energy is highest.

AI should handle the repetitive lifting that saps energy - Salesforce hygiene, lead qualification, interpreting intent signals. The more we can remove these energy-draining tasks, the more reps can focus on genuine human connection during actual selling moments.

I built a custom training app using Bolt AI that my team accesses on their phones while dialing. When they see they're calling a Director of RevOps, they pull up persona-specific pain points, common objections, and suggested responses. It's like flashcards but hyper-relevant to their daily work.

We also have practice mode where the app randomizes titles and objections for skill development. 

Been super, super useful.

Most vendors I’ve chatted with have five features on the roadmap with no clear timeline to execution. They’re chasing customers instead of solving one problem exceptionally well.

From what I’ve seen, your best customers will tell you what to build next. 

So do one thing brilliantly, let them pull you into the next innovation, and reinvest their success into more solutions.

That’s it for this week!

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Find more Modern GTM interviews here.

Learn how Origami helps sales teams here.

And connect with Luke + Eric, if you feel so inclined.

‘Til next time!