Dana Potthoff

Dana Potthoff is a sales and leadership coach with more than 15 years of experience in sales training, corporate consulting, and performance coaching. Potthoff has partnered with hundreds of companies across multiple industries through her work at Southwestern Consulting. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in communications, African American studies, ethnomusicology, and Spanish from the University of California, Los Angeles, where she graduated cum laude. As a member of the university's rowing team, Potthoff developed skills in perseverance, teamwork, leadership, and mental resilience, which she applied after a spinal injury ended her collegiate athletic career.

Potthoff began her career at The Southwestern Company, advancing from field trainer and recruiter to producing sales manager. In these roles, she taught sales techniques to more than 1,500 students and consistently maintained a personal sales ranking in the top 5 percent. She later served as a producing manager at Tom James Company, where she expanded the business's female clientele to the second largest in the nation and ranked in the top 1 percent for generating new business.

At Southwestern Consulting, Potthoff set a record for the most clients engaged by any coach in a single year and became a partner. She has received the Coach of the Year Award twice and has been recognized among the Top 25 Women Leaders in Consulting. Potthoff specializes in sales training seminars, keynote speaking, and personalized coaching for executives and teams, with a focus on helping women overcome barriers and achieve professional growth.

Her keynote presentations incorporate principles from her experience as a Division I college athlete, emphasizing ownership, accountability, and team success. Potthoff encourages audiences to transform their mindsets and take initiative, drawing on proven sales strategies and leadership development techniques to drive productivity and performance in organizations.