ERIC LAROCQUE​
FOUNDER
CULTIVATEWINNING
​
Eric Larocque didn't start his career in sales. He started it in a hockey rink.
As a competitive hockey player and later a fitness coach who trained over 100 clients, Eric learned early that performance isn't about raw talent - it's about showing up, taking feedback, and grinding through the hard days. That mindset became the foundation for everything he built in sales leadership.
Over 22 years in B2B sales and 15 years in leadership, Eric has hired 150+ sales reps, promoted 30+ into leadership roles, and scaled revenue at companies like BigSteelBox (from $9M to $27M) and Bananatag (MRR growth from $30K to $150K). But his track record isn't what makes him different. It's how he did it.
While most sales leaders chase "A-players" with polished résumés and years of experience, Eric learned something counterintuitive: the best salespeople don't come from your competitors. They come from restaurants, bars, and competitive sports. They're servers who've handled rejection 50 times a shift. They're bartenders who've de-escalated drunk customers at 2 AM. They're athletes who've learned to lose on Tuesday and show up ready to fight on Wednesday.
At BigSteelBox, Eric built a team that achieved 80% retention - double the industry average by focusing on three things most leaders ignore: hiring for resilience over experience, building coaching infrastructure that actually develops people, and promoting from within instead of poaching externally.
This philosophy led him to create the Grit Scale, a custom AI tool that predicts who quits in 90 days with 90% accuracy, and the IMPACT Sales framework - a methodology for building elite sales teams through Infrastructure, Metrics, People development, Accountability, Culture, and Training systems that scale.
Today, as the Founder of CultivateWinning and a Fractional VP of Sales, Eric works with $3M-$30M B2B companies to install the hiring systems, coaching cadence, and retention programs they need to stop the revolving door of sales hires. His clients don't just get a consultant - they get 15 years of proven infrastructure embedded into their teams in 90 days.
Eric's approach is unapologetically direct. He doesn't believe in motivational speeches, team-building ropes courses, or hiring "hungry" salespeople who talk a big game in interviews and disappear in 90 days. He believes in systems, accountability, and culture. He believes the best future leaders are already on your team - you're just not developing them.
Originally from Montreal and currently based in Kelowna, British Columbia, Eric is engaged to Jolene, a realtor, and is a proud dog dad to his frenchie Billie-Jean.
Eric's keynote focuses on what most leadership conferences won't tell you: elite sales teams aren't built by hiring better people - they're built by making your people better.
