In this Business Blast podcast episode, host Tyler Wagner interviews Amy Dordek‑Dolinsky, co‑founder and Chief Revenue Officer of GrowthPlay, a data‑driven sales effectiveness firm. Amy shares a formative story from her first job, where a cold‑calling training class taught her that scripted, inauthentic approaches didn’t fit her style, especially as the only young woman in a male‑dominated commercial‑real‑estate environment. She learned to develop her own authentic voice, listening deeply to client needs, and to differentiate herself through generosity and transparency. Amy frames sales as an act of service and problem‑solving, emphasizing that selling can be generous, trust‑building, and non‑confrontational. She advises persistence: if you don’t pick up the phone, someone else will, and “the worst thing is a no—it’s not personal, it’s business.” She stresses the importance of repeated outreach, noting deals often close after many calls. For younger women leaders, she urges self‑trust, recognizing one’s own judgment, and proactive self‑promotion, echoing Sheryl Sandberg’s observations about women’s tendency to apply only when 100 % confident. Amy identifies balance—professional fulfillment alongside family life—as a key to happiness. She recommends two books: Daniel Pink’s Drive (autonomy, mastery, purpose) and Sheryl Sandberg’s Option B. Her favorite quote is Ann Richards’ line about Ginger Rogers doing everything Fred Astaire did “backwards and in high heels,” highlighting gender equity. Listeners can connect with her via LinkedIn under Amy Dordek or Amy Dordek‑Dolinsky.
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Welcome to the Business Blast podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Wagner. This episode is brought to you by Authors Unite. Authors Unite provides you with all the resources you need to become a successful author. You can learn more about Authors Unite and join the free community at authorsunite.com. Now let's jump into the episode. ¡Hola! ¿Cómo estás? All right, everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Wagner. Today I have Amy Dordak-Dolinsky with us. She is the co-founder and chief revenue officer of GrowthPlay, which is a firm that takes a data-driven approach to sales effectiveness, training, and coaching. So welcome to the show, Amy.
Thanks, Tyler Wagner.
Of course. Grateful to have you here. We will jump into the first one, Amy. The first question I have for you is, what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
So I started out in my first job on my first day, and I found myself in a training class on cold calling. And that experience helped me understand that that style that I was being taught was not a good fit for me. But I learned that I could not really be someone else professionally and learn a script, but that in order for me to be successful, I had to be more myself. So I had to establish my own style and my own sense of self-confidence in a very tricky world of commercial real estate. And I was the only woman, young woman in the company at the time. And really there were very few women in the industry. And so I had— I learned a lot from that experience because I had great guidance from my managers who happened to also be women, that no one was going to create a path for me, that I would have to create that path for myself. And if I listened and I learned and I used perseverance and grit and determination, I could get where I wanted to go in my career, but I could do it being myself. It wasn't easy, but I realized if I listened to clients and I really listened to their needs and used my skills, my strong communication and relationship skills that I could differentiate myself from others through the process and be successful maybe in a different way than others.
Yeah, I love that. I think a really great lesson in there is that like you can use tactics and like you can get tips, but at the end of the day, being yourself is actually the best like tactic. And it's really not a tactic, but just being yourself is the best way to do things. So because I think we can get caught up in trying memorize like a sales script, uh, and then it becomes inauthentic.
So yeah, and we actually— that's such a great point because we actually teach, um, not only what to do in a sales process or a sales methodology, but how to do it. And one of the ways that we teach is to do it in an authentic, transparent way, with often with generosity, because you will differentiate yourself from other people, um, just as showing up in a way that's authentic and real to a client.
Nice. Yes. And well, this leads perfectly into the next one. So the next one I have for you is what is the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
You know, I love to sell, so I'm in the selling industry. I sell selling. I sell, you know, ways to improve sales effectiveness. And I love selling. And I think part of the reason that is, is because I've always viewed selling as an act of service, as we say here. And I didn't have those words in my past to articulate it the way I do now, but I always feel like my job is to be a problem solver, and I am looking to help people solve problems that should be solved. And if I can help somebody solve an issue that they're having through a solution that I can offer, or even something else, then I've created benefit, I've created an impact in the world. And so selling doesn't have to be win-lose or as confrontational as people think. You can actually be generous and thoughtful, and that really creates a deeper level of trust. So I love sales and looking at selling that way. And I actually often teach other women startup founders or other entrepreneurs that I mentor who might have a fear of selling. They might have an area of expertise, but they have a fear of going out into the market and asking for people for business. If I help them understand that it can be seen very differently and that this perspective could be actually rather helpful. I often see just a shift just in their face and how they realize that they could be offering something to the world that needs to be offered. So that's what I think that I bring to this, my expertise that I bring to this field or industry.
And what is your best piece of overall business advice? So not necessarily industry specific.
So in my first job, one of my first bosses said to me, if you don't pick up the phone and call that person that you want to speak to or meet, somebody else will. So don't be afraid and just do it. And then she and my other managers used to say, you know, you're in your first job and you're fearful and scared about what's going to happen. And she would say, what is the worst thing that's going to happen? Somebody says no, and it's not personal, it's business. So I think people would be surprised that, you know, that's literally the worst thing that often can happen. And what they're also surprised by is how many yeses they'll get to a reasonable request that they make.
Definitely. Yeah. I think a lot of people will stop the follow-up at like the second or third time. Like they'll call, they'll call. And like, it's like sometimes that deal doesn't get made till the 20th call, you know, sometimes you just gotta keep calling. I think so.
Yeah. Persistence pays off often. Yeah.
If you do it in the right way. Yes, for sure, for sure. So next one I have for you is if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
Well, this is the piece of advice I would've given my younger self and that I give a lot of younger women leaders or founders or entrepreneurs. I give the same advice and that is trust yourself more. Don't always look to others for guidance. You often have the answers within you. I had some great managers and leaders in my career, but I always thought that they knew so much more than me. And maybe they did because of their seniority or their experience, but I realized that I was smarter than I thought. I had better judgment than I realized, and that I had a really strong intuitive sense for business and the market and for customers. And I wish I would have trusted that more. I couldn't agree more with Sheryl Sandberg's comments in her book, Lean In, which, says, whereas men are willing to put their hand up for a role where they may not tick some of or all of the boxes, some women may only apply for a job when they're 100% confident that they will do the job well or that they're a good fit. And women are often less inclined to put their hand up or promote themselves or highlight their ability. And I believe, and I would have told my younger self this, to find more ways to promote yourself and your capabilities earlier in your career.
And in your opinion, what is the key to happiness?
Well, it's a hard thing to find, but if you can find balance, there is a lot of happiness in balance. So if you can find professional fulfillment and then personal fulfillment at the same time with your family, in my case, with my family, my spouse, my kids, then you have so many outlets for happiness, love, financial success, creativity. Inspiration. I find that loving what I do and at the same time loving my life outside what I do just gives me a deep sense of satisfaction, happiness. And I'm really proud to be a working professional mom. And I think it's made me a better person.
And what is the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from that?
Well, I, Tyler, I don't know if you've read the book Drive by Daniel Pink, but I love that book. And I've been asked this question many times and I often say that that's the book where I think that I learned I don't read as much for pleasure. I read a lot for business, and I loved learning about autonomy, mastery, and the sense of purpose, and that's what motivates people. It really struck a chord with me. I read lots of blogs and magazine articles so that I can keep up on a wide variety of topics I'm interested in. But I really enjoyed that book. And I also now am reading Option B by Sheryl Sandberg because I saw her speak last year. She's a hero of mine. I mean, that's a really interesting book as well.
Got it. I'll have to check them both out. I have not heard of either of the books. The next one I have for you is, what is your favorite quote and why?
I don't know if you have heard this quote, but I love, love this quote. It's by Ann Richards, the former governor of Texas. She said, "If you give us the chance, we can perform. After all, Ginger Rogers did everything that Fred Astaire did." She just did it backwards and in high heels.
That's awesome. So thank you so much for coming on. The last question I have for you before we let you go, for people in the audience that would like to connect with you, where is the best place for people to find and connect with you online?
Yeah, so if you look me up in LinkedIn, I'm under Amy Dordak. I can also be found as Amy Dordak Dolinsky. I'm the only person with my name. So if you just Google Amy Dordak or Amy Dordak-Dolinsky, you will easily find me.
Perfect. Thanks again for hopping on.
Thanks, Tyler Wagner Wagner. The podcast you just heard was published with Anchor. Got something you want to say to the creator of this show? Send them a voice message using the Anchor app, free for iOS and Android.
