Pre-Sales Unplugged: Leadership Playbook
Pre-Sales Unplugged is the show for anyone serious about winning in modern GTM in SaaS and the Tech world.
Hosted by Arvi Carkanji, founder of Elite Talent and one of the loudest advocates for Pre and Post-Sales in SaaS, each episode goes deep on the conversations that actually move the needle.
From hiring and leadership to revenue strategy, sales execution, and what it takes to level up as an individual contributor, we cover the full picture of how today's best GTM teams are built and run.
These are honest conversations with the founders, operators, revenue leaders, and individual contributors shaping the future of sales.
Whether you're a CRO building a team, an SE trying to grow into leadership, or a founder figuring out your GTM motion, you belong here and you need to give this a listen!
Past guests include CROs, VP of Solutions, Authors, Founders, and individual contributors from across the SaaS world, people who have actually done the work and are willing to share what it really took to win in their roles!
Episodes
13 episodes
Art of the technical evaluation for presales metrics and AI integration, with Steve Davis
Competition in SaaS has gotten a lot tighter. Especially when it comes to running a strong POCs. A strong POC can be the difference between winning a deal… or losing it to a competitor.And most of the time, that falls on your Sales Engi...
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Season 1
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Episode 13
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55:01
How to build a AI-Native Companies with Community-Led GTM in 2026 w/ Ben Hills, Founder of Iris AI
What does it actually look like to build a company in an AI-first world… instead of bolting AI on later?Most founders talk about AI as a feature. Ben Hills built Iris AI with it at the core.And most B2B SaaS...
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Season 1
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Episode 12
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32:26
How PreSales Leaders Scale Without Disconnecting from Customers with Scott Jaworski
Should you be a leader or an individual contributor? In a perfect world, you’d choose one.But startups aren’t perfect... and that’s okay.Sometimes the player-coach model is the only way to scale without losing touch. The problem...
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Season 1
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Episode 11
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47:12
How SE Leaders Scale Teams, Influence GTM, and Stay Ahead of AI (with Chris Mabry)
In this episode of Pre Sales Unplugged: The Leadership Playbook, Arvi Carkanji (Founder of Elite Talent) sits down with Chris Mabry, Vice President of Solutions and Partnerships, to break down what actually separates a good...
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Season 1
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Episode 10
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44:51
Stop being a "Demo Person" and become a "Trusted Technical Advisor" for your clients and your team with Ramzi Marjaba
Join me and Ramzi Marjaba, Consultant, Solution Engineer Coach for a live conversation focused on what it really takes to be a high-performing Sales Engineer.We’ll talk through: → What helps teams operate as one and avoid s...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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41:14
How Top Performers Stay Consistent When They Feel Like Quitting
In this solo episode, Arvi Carkanji breaks down the real version of mindset toughness that shows up in SaaS when the pipeline is messy, deals go dark, and you still have to perform even when your brain is not cooperating.You will hear a ...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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27:15
How Elite SEs Think, Adapt, and Win Deals with David Schultz
In this episode of Pre-Sales Unplugged: The Leadership Playbook, host Arvi Carkanji sits down with David Schultz, Head of Solution Consulting at Employe, to break down what it really takes to build a career and lead ...
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Season 1
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Episode 7
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42:26
What the Top SaaS CROs Are Doing Differently in 2026 with Matt Green
Join me and Join me and Matt Green, CRO & Co-Founder of Sales Assembly, for a tactical look at what’s working in today’s GTM landscape. Matt works with hundreds of CROs and VPs of Sales and sees what separates winning teams from the rest.
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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47:54
The Revenue Impact of Enablement Most Teams Miss with Yotam Rotgoltz
In this episode with Yotam Rotgoltz ...we explore how unconventional careers lead to strong pre-sales leaders, why enablement is the first thing to break in startups, and how AI helps teams move faster without replacing human judgment.
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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41:18
Beyond the Demo: How PreSales Drives Real Growth w/ Michael McDowell
Join me and Michael McDowell, GTM leader and author of Demotainment, for an unfiltered conversation on how PreSales can drive more than just demos, it drives growth.We’ll cover: → The role of PreSales in modern GTM strat...
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59:51
The Six Habits of Highly Effective Sales Engineers with Chris White
Super Excited for this Episode with Chris White, Author of The Six Habits of Highly Effective Sales Engineers, for an exclusive LinkedIn Live.Chris is the founder & CEO of Tech Sales Advisors (now Tech Sales Mastery) and has spent d...
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Season 1
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Episode 3
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52:49
How Chris Mabry Went from a "basement" Engineer to PreSales Leader (& How You Can Win in the AI Era)
Chris Mabry, VP of Solutions & Partnerships at Reprise and a leading voice in the PreSales space, joins Arvi Carkanji (Founder of Elite Talent) to break down:How he transitioned from a basement-dwelling network engineer to PreSales ...
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Season 1
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Episode 2
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44:51
How to create a career and grow as a Sales Engineer, with Brian Martynowicz
Join me and Brian Martynowicz, Head of GTM Engineering for an exclusive LinkedIn Live where we’ll cover:→ SE Career Growth: What every aspiring SE leader should know→ Hiring SEs: When to hire, who to hire, and how to avoid costly mi...
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Season 1
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Episode 1
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31:05