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Power to Sell

Eric Gjerdevig

46 episodes

1 day ago

In this episode of Power to Sell, NDSU students sit down with Lanelle Vasichek, Senior Director of Global Brand for Bobcat Company. Lanelle shares her career journey and the path that led her to her current leadership role at Bobcat. She reflects on the monumental challenge of building a global brand function in a company that had traditionally focused on “selling excavators and selling loaders” as independent products. One of her biggest hurdles, she explains, was influencing the internal te...

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Entrepreneurship

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In this episode of Power to Sell, NDSU students sit down with Lanelle Vasichek, Senior Director of Global Brand for Bobcat Company. Lanelle shares her career journey and the path that led her to her current leadership role at Bobcat. She reflects on the monumental challenge of building a global brand function in a company that had traditionally focused on “selling excavators and selling loaders” as independent products. One of her biggest hurdles, she explains, was influencing the internal te...

Show more...

Entrepreneurship

Episodes (20/46)

Power to Sell

Lanelle Vasichek - Power of Brand

In this episode of Power to Sell, NDSU students sit down with Lanelle Vasichek, Senior Director of Global Brand for Bobcat Company. Lanelle shares her career journey and the path that led her to her current leadership role at Bobcat. She reflects on the monumental challenge of building a global brand function in a company that had traditionally focused on “selling excavators and selling loaders” as independent products. One of her biggest hurdles, she explains, was influencing the internal te...

3 days ago

59 minutes

Power to Sell

Thom Coats - Power of Mindset

This episode of The Power to Sell Podcast, features Thom Coats, Professor and Director of the sales program at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU). Coats details his career shift from over 25 years in sales and a six-year stint in law enforcement to academia. A central theme is the transformative power of sales education, which he argues can "change family trees" by helping students earn double or triple the income of a normal degree. Coats stresses that "everybody sells"—whether externa...

1 week ago

50 minutes

Power to Sell

Gary Halvorson - Power of Trust

In this episode of Power to Sell, NDSU students sat down with Gary Halvorson, Executive Vice President at CHS. Recorded at CHS headquarters in Minneapolis, the conversation explores the foundation of trust in both sales and leadership. Halvorson shares his journey from growing up on a small North Dakota farm to leading a global Fortune 100 cooperative serving farmers and consumers around the world. He reflects on lessons from his 26-year career at CHS—how mentorship, consistency, and moral in...

2 weeks ago

30 minutes

Power to Sell

Angelia Vang - Power of Curiosity

In our second episode of Fall 2025, NDSU students sat down with Angelia Vang, Digital Marketing Strategist with DSG Supply, to discuss how genuine curiosity is the ultimate catalyst for career growth and organizational impact. Angelia, who started her career in merchandising before shifting into marketing, shares how her "curiosity really pulled me toward marketing". Angelia reveals that her most valuable professional skill—learning to anticipate needs before they even surface—is built by "re...

1 month ago

26 minutes

Power to Sell

John Roberts - Power of Influence

Students kick off season seven of the Power to Sell podcast from Northwestern Mutual’s corporate headquarters in Milwaukee, sitting down with Chief Field Officer, John Roberts. Roberts, who is responsible for supporting the company’s 22,000 independent financial advisors and team members, explains why mastery of human influence is crucial for his leadership role. Dive into a dynamic conversation covering the essential traits needed to thrive in modern business. Roberts reveals the key t...

1 month ago

37 minutes

Power to Sell

Eric Gjerdevig - Power of Fearlessness

In the final Spring 2025 episode of the Power to Sell podcast, students interviewed Eric Gjerdevig, a sales lecturer at NDSU and former business owner. The interview explores Gjerdevig’s professional journey, from his early exposure to technology and accidental entry into sales to his experience at Great Plains Software and Microsoft and ultimately starting and selling his own software consulting company. The conversation also touches upon the importance of overcoming fear and being open to n...

6 months ago

48 minutes

Power to Sell

Valentina Montesano – Power of Networking

In episode #40 of the Power to Sell podcast, students sat down with Valentina Montesano, an Azure Sales Specialist at Microsoft. Valentina discussed her journey from competitive cheerleading and community college to transferring to the University of Florida and eventually landing a role at Microsoft through their Aspire program for recent graduates. She shares insights on networking, preparing for interviews, her day-to-day life in tech sales, and her experiences living and working in New Yor...

6 months ago

47 minutes

Power to Sell

Todd Prigozen – Power of Grit

In episode #39, students interviewed Todd Prigozen, the CEO of Bobcat of New York City and Long Island. The conversation explores the importance of perseverance and grit and the dynamic nature of doing business in New York, contrasting it with experiences in other regions and overseas in London, particularly regarding logistics, staffing, and customer interactions. Todd also shares his career journey within the family business, insights on leadership and hiring, the relationship with Bobcat a...

6 months ago

45 minutes

Power to Sell

Reed Overfelt - Power of Listening

In this episode (#38), students sat down in New York City with Reed Overfelt, a seasoned technology executive and serial CEO. Overfelt discussed his career journey, from his early involvement with the internet to his experiences building and selling multiple tech companies. The conversation explores key aspects of sales and leadership, including the importance of listening, building trust, navigating challenges, and the impact of technology, offering valuable insights for aspiring sales profe...

6 months ago

34 minutes

Power to Sell

Joe Pallo - Power of Emotion

In this episode of Power to Sell, NDSU students sat down with Joe Pallo, author of How to Sell Nothing: The Logical Way to Make the Emotional Sale. With over 35 years of experience in commission sales and thousands of sales calls under his belt, Joe shares insights on why emotional connections—not just logic—drive successful sales. He offers real-world advice for young professionals and reflects on his journey from selling books door-to-door in college to coaching top sales performers today. ...

7 months ago

30 minutes

Power to Sell

Dan Florness - Power of the (Blue) Team

In our third episode of Spring Semester 2025 (episode 36), students sat down with Dan Florness, the CEO of Fastenal, at their headquarters in Winona, MN. Dan shared the history of Fastenal, including stories about the founder, Bob Kierlin, and how Bob shaped the values and culture that are alive and well in Fastenal today. Dan discussed the importance of ongoing education for team members and numerous other leadership and sales lessons. He discussed technology, empowering team mem...

7 months ago

58 minutes

Power to Sell

Marcus Pratt - Power of Yes

For our second episode of Spring 2025 (episode 35), students sat down with NDSU alumni Marcus Pratt, a Sales Engineer at Midwest Mechanical Solutions. Marcus talked about his time at NDSU as an engineering student and how he leveraged that into a technical sales career. Sales was not on Marcus’s radar in college, but sometimes the opportunities that land in our laps are the ones that were meant to be. Marcus talked about the importance of being honest with yourself, encouraged students ...

8 months ago

36 minutes

Power to Sell

Richard Walsh – Power of Goals

For our first episode of Spring 2025 (episode 34), students sat down with the CEO of Corvent Medical, Richard Walsh. Richard talked about his career in medical device sales, the story of Corvent Medical, and the importance of setting goals. Students had an excellent opportunity to understand better the entrepreneurial journey of a medical device startup, which started during COVID-19, regulatory challenges, and the importance of staying focused and goal-oriented. Richard shared several ...

8 months ago

40 minutes

Power to Sell

Shannon Hauf - Power of Resiliency

For our seventh and final episode of Fall 2024 (episode 33), students sat down with Shannon Hauf, the Senior Vice President and Head of North America, Australia, and New Zealand Product Supply for Bayer. Shannon shared her journey from growing up on a farm in southern Minnesota to being an executive at Bayer today. Shannon discussed the importance of trust, responsibility, resilience, teamwork, passion, and credibility. Shannon shared several great stories and talked about her time in Fargo w...

11 months ago

44 minutes

Power to Sell

Patty Post - Power of Showing Up

For our sixth episode of Fall 2024 (episode 32), students sat down with Patty Post, the Founder of Checkable. Patty shared her entrepreneurial journey, talked openly about challenges, and discussed her goals and motivation. Students had an excellent opportunity to understand better the entrepreneurial journey in a small medical device startup, the regulatory challenges, and the importance of staying focused and showing up every day. Patty shared several great stories and talked about the entr...

11 months ago

44 minutes

Power to Sell

Darren Jacoby - Power of Vision

Students continued to explore the theme of 'dorm room to the boardroom' when they sat down with Darren Jacoby, CEO of Protosthetics, on a Sunday afternoon in Boston, MA, to record our fifth episode of Fall Semester 2024 (episode 31). A unique aspect of this interview is two of our student hosts are sales internships at Protosthetics, which led to a slightly deeper discussion about product development and sales strategy. Darren shared a lot about his entrepreneurial journey, his decision to ac...

11 months ago

39 minutes

Power to Sell

Wes Cummins - Power of Storytelling

In our fourth episode of Fall Semester 2024 (episode 30), students continued to explore the theme of dorm room to boardroom by sitting down with Wes Cummins, CEO of Applied Digital, at their headquarters in Dallas, TX. Wes shared stories about the beginning of Applied Digital, their massive investments into North Dakota, and why those investments make sense. He discussed the importance of being able to help others understand complicated technology and covered many leadership and sales l...

1 year ago

33 minutes

Power to Sell

Kevin Black - Power of Fundamentals

In our third episode of Fall Semester 2024 (episode 29), students continued to explore the theme of dorm room to boardroom by sitting down with Kevin Black, CEO of Creedence Energy Services. Kevin shared his founder story with Creedence Energy Services, talked about his time at NDSU, discussed business challenges such as economic downturns and COVID-19, and shared great stories with our students. He covered many outstanding leadership and sales lessons, such as the importance of putting in th...

1 year ago

47 minutes

Power to Sell

Brent Boucher - Power of Serving Others

In season five of the Power to Sell Podcast, our NDSU Sales students are exploring the theme dorm room to boardroom. In our second episode of Fall Semester 2024 (episode 28), students got the chance to visit NDSU Alumni Brent Boucher, the Senior VP of Americas for Solventum. Brent shared his career journey in the medical device industry and how his time at NDSU helped prepare him. Brent discussed the importance of collaboration, building great teams, and being results-oriented.&nb...

1 year ago

33 minutes

Power to Sell

Darrin Peterson - Power of Relationships

In season five of the Power to Sell Podcast, a theme our NDSU Sales students are exploring is going from the dorm room to the boardroom. In our first episode of Fall Semester 2024 (episode 27), students sat down with Darrin Peterson, the President of Marvin Windows! In addition to starting at the company mowing lawns in the summer of 1986, Darrin is now the first non-Marvin family member to serve as President in the company's 112-year history. Darrin shared his career journey and discus...

1 year ago

26 minutes