December 15, 2025

Door Knocking, Grit & B2B Sales Mastery | Jason Bay on Coaching Top Teams – Ep. 22

In this episode of Prospecting Pros, hosts John and Chris chat with Arely Brattin, Sales Development Manager at Orum. Arely shares her journey from inbound rep at ZoomInfo to leading Orum’s entire sales development program, managing six reps across commercial, enterprise, and strategic accounts.

Real conversations. Proven strategies. Sales that scale.

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The LevelUp Podcast brings you insights from the front lines of B2B sales, outbound strategy, and pipeline growth. Whether you’re a founder, sales leader, or startup builder — we break down what actually works in modern prospecting. Brought to you by LevelUp Leads — a B2B Sales Development agency helping businesses land more meetings through done-for-you outbound. We act as an extension of your team with Fractional or Full-Service SDRs, tech-enabled outreach, and the kind of expertise that builds real pipeline.

🎧 Learn from industry pros, proven playbooks, and behind-the-scenes takes on cold email, LinkedIn outreach, and cold calling — all designed to help you generate more conversations and revenue.

Podcast Episodes:

How to Stand Out as an SDR – Ep. 10

June 5, 2025

In this episode of Prospecting Pros, hosts John and Chris chat with Arely Brattin, Sales Development Manager at Orum. Arely shares her journey from inbound rep at ZoomInfo to leading Orum's entire sales development program, managing six reps across commercial, enterprise, and strategic accounts.

The Secrets to Killer Sales Team Development – Ep. 09

May 19, 2025

In this episode of Prospecting Pros, hosts John and Chris interview Michael Sanchez, a sales training consultant at Growth Genie. Michael shares how he went from door-to-door sales to becoming VP of Sales at Cloud Task, which grew from 25 to over 400 employees during the pandemic as companies pivoted to working remotely.

How to leverage trending tools for success – Michael Saruggia – Ep. 08

May 14, 2025

In this episode of Prospecting Pros, hosts John and Chris interview Michael, a go-to-market consultant who specializes in Clay. Michael shares how he pivoted his career after learning a crucial entrepreneurship lesson: "Sell what people want, don't convince them, and sub-niche on something that's already trending." Rather than fighting to create demand, he recommends focusing on converting existing demand.

Building a Startup with an Engineer’s Approach – Ajinkya Nene – Ep. 07

May 7, 2025

In this episode of Prospecting Pros, hosts John and Chris interview Ajinkya, founder of Trellus, a parallel dialing tool that uniquely embeds within CRMs like HubSpot and Salesforce. Ajinkya gives us a glimpse into his journey from Bay Area engineer to startup founder, describing how he quit his consulting job at 22 without a specific business idea.

The Key to Finding Message-Market Fit – with Kellen Casebeer – Ep. 06

April 10, 2025

In this episode of Prospecting Pros, hosts John and Patrick interview Kellen Casebeer of The Deal Lab, who shares his journey from high school dropout to fractional VP of sales to founder of his own specialized B2B agency.

Surf and Sales Podcast – The Honest Approach to Cold Calling Success

March 24, 2025

In this value-packed episode of the Surf and Sales Podcast, hosts Scott Leese and Richard Harris dive deep with John Karsant, Founder and CEO of LevelUp Leads (levelupleads.io), on what's actually working in appointment setting and sales development in early 2025. John reveals why the majority of companies have negative experiences with outsourced sales development, and how his approach of radical honesty and setting realistic expectations has led to greater client success. As cold calling continues to drive 80-90% of his agency's results, John shares tactical insights on what's working now, including: Why permission-based openers are becoming less effective and what's replacing them. How tone, pace, and delivery matter more than the actual script content. The role of AI in SDR training, coaching, and call analysis at scale. Why adding a free SDR to struggling accounts helps identify the real problems faster. The conversation takes an unexpected turn when John admits "I'm not a good salesperson, but I'm a terrible liar," revealing how authenticity and a calm, measured approach can be more effective than traditional high-pressure sales tactics. For sales leaders struggling with prospecting effectiveness or considering outsourcing their appointment setting, this episode provides a candid look at what works, what doesn't, and how to evaluate if outsourcing is right for your business. John's unique perspective on entrepreneurship, risk-taking, and building trust in a crowded market offers valuable insights for anyone in sales leadership. Whether you're an SDR, sales manager, or founder handling your own outbound efforts, you'll walk away with actionable strategies to improve your prospecting results and better qualify potential partners. Follow John Karsant on LinkedIn ( / johnkarsant ) or visit levelupleads.io to learn more about his approach to sales development.

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