Justin is the author of THE MACHINE: A Radical Approach to the Design of the Sales Function. He’s also the founder of Ballistix: a consultancy that builds sales functions for organizations in North America, Australia and the United Kingdom.
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Resources Mentioned
- Audible – Get a FREE Audiobook & 30 day trial if you’re not currently a member!
- Google Sheets – Justin’s small business resource
- The Goal – Justin’s top business book
- Sales Process Engineering – Justin’s website
- The Machine – Justin’s book
3 Key Points
- Take a gamble on the idea you’re passionate about
- Don’t try to pioneer too many things at once: manage the risks you’re taking
- Know when to give up and stop digging. Some dips are permanent.
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Time Stamped Show Notes
(click the time stamp to jump directly to that point in the episode.)
- [01:54] – Justin is a keen tennis player and health junkie
- [03:48] – Justin generates revenue via a monthly subscription
- [04:00] – Monthly fee for an ‘all you can eat’ subscription is $8,400
- [04:57] – “By aggregating needs, we can deliver service at accessible prices”
- [06:06] – Worst Entrepreneurial Moment: Putting the business into receivership and having to rebuild from scratch
- [07:38] – “We ended up having to bet everything on the consulting model”
- [08:26] – “We turned on a dime and were able to re-hire our entire creative team”
- [09:50] – The best way to let people go? “Honesty”
- [11:00] – Letting someone go can free them up to a job that’s perfect for them
- [12:00] – “We should have been quicker to gamble on the business that we were passionate about”
- [12:50] – Entrepreneurial AH-HA Moment: Realizing that consulting could be packaged like a SaaS product
- [14:27] – There’s a dilemma: Wanting to persist with an idea, versus learning to quit
- [15:27] – Don’t try to pioneer too many things at once
- [17:00] – Biggest weakness?– “I get bored with business as usual”
- [17:45] – Biggest strength?– “Figuring things out”
- [18:57] – What has Jon most fired up today? “Moving sales inside… we’re changing the way people think about sales”
- [22:20] – The Lightning Round
- What was holding you back from becoming an entrepreneur? – “Not much”
- What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received? – “Get the hell out of the office”
- What’s a personal habit that contributes to your success? – “I read a lot – and I don’t read business books”
- Share an internet resource, like Evernote, with Fire Nation – Google Sheets
- If you could recommend one book to our listeners, what would it be and why? – The Goal
- 25:38 – Connect with Justin on his website
- [26:16] – Parting piece of guidance: “Don’t measure everything. Just pick the two most important things you need to know.”
Killer Resources!
1) The Freedom Journal: Accomplish your #1 goal in 100 days!
2) The Mastery Journal: Master productivity, discipline and focus in 100 days!
3) Free Goals Course: Accomplish a meaningful goal!
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