<p>What do selling gum in the 5th grade and playing defense in hockey have in common with enterprise sales? According to Nina Iannuzzi, everything.</p><p>In this episode, I sit down with Nina, a sophomore at the Isenberg School of Management (UMass Amherst) and a top-5 finalist at the recent National Intercollegiate Sales Competition (NISC). We relive the chaos of &quot;speed selling&quot; in a gym filled with 1,000 suits, discuss how to handle a curveball question from a CFO, and laugh about the moment I rudely interrupted her final sales pitch with a fake phone call.</p><p>Nina brings an infectious energy that proves the future of sales is in very good hands. Whether you are a student, a sales leader, or just someone who appreciates the hustle, you will love her take on why &quot;sucking it up&quot; is the only way to win.</p><p><strong>Key Highlights &amp; Takeaways:</strong></p><ul><li><p><strong>The Slime Economy:</strong> Nina’s sales career didn’t start at UMass; it started in 5th grade selling slime and gum to classmates.</p></li><li><p><strong>Defense Wins Championships:</strong> As a hockey player for 16 years (Left D!), Nina treats walking into a sales room like a puck drop: you know your job, now go execute.</p></li><li><p><strong>The &quot;Scope&quot; Stumble:</strong> Nina shares a vulnerable moment where a buyer kept asking about &quot;scope,&quot; a term she wasn&#39;t fully sure how to handle in the moment. Her retrospective advice? Don&#39;t fake it—ask a clarifying question immediately.</p></li><li><p><strong>The Plot Twist:</strong> I threw a wrench in her final round by bursting in with a &quot;phone call.&quot; Nina stayed so locked in she almost kicked me out of the room before realizing the &quot;emergency&quot; was just a timer on my iPhone!</p></li><li><p><strong>The Contract Slide:</strong> Nina admits her main goal wasn&#39;t just to chat—she literally slid a physical contract across the table at the 4-minute mark. Always be closing!</p></li><li><p><strong>Suck It Up, Buttercup:</strong> Her coach’s advice for sports and sales: if a lace breaks or a deal stalls, you don&#39;t call an Uber. You fix it and keep running.</p></li></ul><p><strong>Memorable Quotes:</strong></p><ul><li><p><em>&quot;I’m a very big talker. I’m competitive... I started my first business in like fifth grade, just selling like slime and gum.&quot;</em> — Nina Iannuzzi </p></li><li><p><em>&quot;You get in that room and... you sit down and you&#39;re like, I am SpotLogic... I almost wanted to act like we were friends.&quot;</em> — Nina Iannuzzi </p></li><li><p><em>&quot;Suck it up buttercup or move on to bigger and better things.&quot;</em> — Nina Iannuzzi </p></li></ul><p><strong>Closing Thought:</strong>If you think the next generation of sales talent is &quot;soft,&quot; you haven’t met Nina. Her &quot;suck it up, buttercup&quot; attitude is a wake-up call for seasoned professionals who might have gotten a little too comfortable. Nina proved that you don&#39;t need 20 years of experience to have sales instincts—you just need the courage to slide the contract across the table.</p><p><strong>Next Steps:</strong></p><ul><li><p><strong>Challenge Yourself:</strong> Take a page out of Nina&#39;s playbook this week. Be bold, ask the clarifying question, and don&#39;t let a &quot;fake phone call&quot; derail your pitch.</p></li><li><p><strong>Get Involved:</strong> Want to see this talent in action? Look into judging or sponsoring a collegiate competition like NISC.</p></li><li><p><strong>Connect:</strong> Follow Nina Iannuzzi on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ninaiannuzzi/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">LinkedIn</a> to follow her journey from UMass to the C-Suite.</p></li></ul><p><br></p>