HYPER CHAUVINISM

Drift’s Opportunity to Disrupt the Sales Bro Archetype

You’re too loud.

You’re too nice.

You’re not nice enough.

Speak up, lean in, but not too much.

The women of the tech industry are used to being told how to act and I’ve come to expect hearing men tell me what it takes to succeed. What I didn’t expect to hear was a man brag about his sex life during a keynote speech at a professional conference.

Last Tuesday, Drift held its 2nd ever, annual Hypergrowth conference. Sales and marketing attendees from around the US gathered into the Boston Seaport’s Blue Hills Pavilion for a day of inspirational keynotes and interviews with thought leaders ranging from Olympian Aly Raisman to business moguls like Ryan Deiss.

Towards the end of the morning, after Ryan Deiss told the audience about the character diamond and the importance of good branding and storytelling (hat tip), a new speaker introduced himself as Grant Cardone. I hadn’t noticed him on the list of speakers and as a marketer, that’s probably why. I enjoy working with business development teams — but I’d never spent the time reading Cardone’s salesbook/manifesto “ The 10x Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure.” Even as a data-driven marketer, the customers and users I write for represent humans, not a…