Get To Know Jason Potter, Vice President of Partner Growth

It’s time to get to know another member of our team. Today we’re speaking with Jason Potter, who is Vice President of Partner Growth and one of our most recent additions.

Bill: Mr. Jason Potter, Vice President of Partner Growth at IVR Technology Group. This is only your second month, but it seems so much longer, perhaps because you fit in so well.

Jason: Yea, no doubt. I believe this is actually week seven.

Bill: You came to us, you were Vice President of Sales at Tucker Powersports. Tell us how that segue happened from a power sports equipment company to voice and text automation company.

Jason: Good question. All of my moves in the past have been based on relationships, cultural alignment, and need. The majority of my career has been spent in the distribution of consumer electronics. That evolved into a business of repair and remanufacturing of consumer electronics. As a result, we dealt with a lot of Tier-One OEM’s and wireless carriers. We were really connecting the dots between their go to market and sales channels through our distribution arm. So we ended up working closely with wireless OEM’s and carriers through third party insurance and warranty providers.

That was the bulk of my carrier, evolving from business development, through sales leadership, and executive leadership. Through a relationship with someone who I considered to be a professional mentor of mine, I was introduced to the Chairman of Tucker Power Sports out of Indianapolis. Through that relationship and alignment and need, I found myself in the power sports world for about four and a half years. That was a fun ride. I built some wonderful and meaningful relationships… it was a great time in my career.

To come full circle to alignment culturally, spiritually, physically, mentally and a need with IVR Technology Group through Brent Snyder and Jim Barker. I believe the camaraderie, fellowship, and engagement of an organization is important. I hold those two fellows in the highest regard, professionally and personally, and they came calling with an opportunity, and that’s why I’m here.

Bill: That’s compelling. Tell us a bit about your past experience with Brent and Jim.

Jason: I meet them both about twelve years ago. Jim first, then Brent a month or so later. Jim hired me into his technology company back in 2009 to run sales. They had a tremendous head of steam as a Cisco Systems reseller. A dear friend of mine who I consider a brother introduced me to Jim and it just worked. Later I met Brent and got to know his leadership style and really was just inspired by both of them.

A bit later I received an opportunity I couldn’t pass up, so I left those guys and joined another organization. I stayed in touch with both Brent and Jim, Brent more so. We visited at least once a quarter, sometimes more, having great fellowship and engagement. About three and a half years ago, I asked Jim to come to help me with sales at Tucker and was delighted when he said yes. It seems that the three of us have been interchangeable at times. Now we find ourselves all working together here at IVR Technology Group.

Bill: You finally got the band back together.

Jason: Yes, sir!

Bill: That’s a very special history between you three, and very fortunate you have a chance to work together. But now we need to know “Who Is Jason Potter.” I’m to take you through a series of questions that well to illuminate the answer to that question.

First, if you were to pick your favorite music group, such that, that’s all the music you will ever have. Who would that be?

Jason: Wow, what a question. I’ve got to qualify my answer. If you want me to shed light on who Jason is, this is it right here. I don’t have a favorite of any one thing, I like a lot of things, a lot of genres, and a lot of different things in life, to the point where I’m okay trying it all. I’m comfortable being uncomfortable if that makes sense?

Bill: Pick one.

Jason: (um, ah, well, um)

Bill: We’re putting you on the spot, pick one.

Jason: I know you are. Let me think about that. Give me 22 seconds to think about that because I want to be thoughtful. Wow.

Bill: I didn’t expect this to be such a “gotcha.”

Jason: So, it’s going to be the Randy Rogers Band if it’s who I would listen to if it was the last music I had. You may not even know who that is.

Bill: I’ve heard the name, but that’s it. Okay next, this question should be easier then. What’s your favorite movie, and why?

Jason: Whoa… I can’t even answer this. For the sake of putting me on the spot, because I have about fourteen favorite movies, but if I had to pick a favorite it would be Tommy Boy. It’s my favorite because I think there are either ten or twelve morals of the story in that movie. And since I’m also a sales guy through and through, not a guy that sells copiers or used cars, I loved how Tommy and his father were all about relationships. I truly believe Tommy Boy is one of the best sales-oriented movies that you could show to a sales force — it sounds silly because it’s a comedy and not a Glenn Gary Glenn Rose type of movie. To me, it’s more about compassion and care of relationships, the relationship between father and son, city and father, the board and Tommy’s father. And what Tommy comes to quickly realize it’s not about selling brake pads, it’s about selling relationships. That resonates with me extremely well.

Bill: Excellent. Wow, that’s a really good takeaway from Tommy Boy. Okay next, what’s your hobby what makes you smile when you’re not building relationships?

Jason: This is the easy one. I can give you five movies and five bands that are my favorite, but I have only one passion, and that’s golf.

Aside from family and friends, there are typically two or three things I really enjoy in life and they all seem to revolve around golf. The other two are drinking fine spirits and eating great food. I’m a foodie. Enjoying life through food, through drink, and through golf. And golf seems to be the epicenter of all that.

Bill: Since you’re a big foodie, and so am I, this might be a hard question, if you could only eat one thing for the rest of the year; and it might come true because of the quarantines, what would it be?

Jason: You keep giving me these hard questions. I’ve often contemplated answering these questions because of engagement with groups and whatnot. My grandmother was full-blooded Italian, so I love Italian food. I also love a great steak and barbecue. But this is an easy tough question for me because the answer would be Mexican food, and if you want me to be specific it would be fajitas.

Bill: That’s sort of a cop-out because fajitas can have such a tremendous variety.

Jason: There’s no doubt about it, and that’s why I like it. I can eat shrimp, steak, chicken, pork or any kind of fajitas.

Bill: It’s still a cop-out. So next I’m going to take you through a series of rapid-fire this-or-that questions.

Jason: Awesome.
Coffee or tea? Coffee.
Hunting or fishing? Fishing.
Spring or Fall? Spring.
Tan or pale? Tan.
Baseball or basketball? Baseball.
Fruit or vegetables. Vegetables.
Sausage or bacon? Sausage.
Scrambled or fried? Fried.
Science fiction or fantasy. Fantasy.

Bill: Great. We’re going to close out with one of my favorite questions, and it usually revolves around what one thing your co-workers don’t know about you. But since you’ve only been here a couple of months, what one thing did your previous co-workers not know about you?

Jason: Wow, okay. This is something I’ve pontificated on as well. The one thing no one knows about me, and Jim Barker will really appreciate this, growing up — and when I say growing up, I’m not sure if I’m grown up yet — I was a was infatuated with and loved all kinds of different professional wrestling. I would watch the South-East, North-East, Texas federations — I would watch wrestling. I used to know every wrestler that performed in the US back in the ’80s and ’90s. And a major WWF fan, before they became the WWE. So I was just a huge wrestling fan in the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s.

Bill: That’s fantastic.

Well, Jason, thank you for all these entertaining insights and your patience with my questions.

Jason: I know I get excited about somethings and can get a little long-winded.

Bill: Well, that’s the problem, I wish you would have opened up a little more.

Jason: Ha, ha. I’m transparent as all get-out.