Episode 92: Entrepreneurs Who Grew 6+ Figure Businesses With Jim Padilla

As founder of Gain The Edge, Jim is known in the personal development and business coaching world as the go-to-guy for all things sales.

With their army of heart-centered sales rock-stars Jim and his wife Cyndi partner with top industry leaders to help exponentially increase their online launch, and back-of-room revenue.

Jim has created a strategic sales system and a sales force to be reckoned with! His team averages over 25,000 sales conversations per year in a variety of different formats.

Gain The Edge is the secret weapon of choice for many industry experts; anchoring over $100 Million in sales for the likes of Josh Turner, Justin Livingston, Lisa Sasevich, and Bill Baren.

Inspiration:
Jim has been in sales and running sales team most of his life. He worked in mortgage and was making a lot of money, but felt he was part of the problem, not the solution in the mortgage crisis. He got to a place where a lot of people needed help to stay solvent and find clients. Instead of teaching people to sell, he started doing sales for others. Starting with Bill Baron as a first client on a 7 figure launch. At the time, Jim and his new sales team didn’t know about launches aside from reading Jeff Walker’s product launch book. His first launch with a newly built sales team was a wild success, followed by a line up of clients and new business model was born.

Challenge:
Being in a new business model was a challenge in itself because he and his team were learning everything new, every day. Running sales for a company was a massive responsibility and was scary at first. But it was also fun and came with a pioneering spirit.  At each new level of growth, Jim asked “What do we need to learn? Who do we need to bring in?  Who do we know that can help? Who do we need to lean into?” Business grew quickly and another challenge was being new to the business model and the feeling that being the “experts” meant his team was supposed to do everything themselves. So they didn’t mention any roadblocks or problems to their clients and later realized they should have simply asked clients for help and brought up any challenges as they arose. After 6 years of running sales teams in this new model, Jim learned that people just want to be part of a solution, clients are filled with grace and forgiveness and with clarity around what’s broken, and owning your part in it, you can move forward with solutions. Bernie Dohrmann of CEO Space taught him “The most important thing you can do as a leader is master the art of request.” If you master the art of request, you’ll never be without solution.

Passion:
Jim is leaning into scaling and selling his company’s products – to teach people how to scale with sales teams and events – people who aren’t generating 7+ figure revenues yet. The revenue isn’t as great as working for 7,8, and 9 figure businesses, but the rewards are 10x. It’s rewarding to change the lives of clients who aspire to have an impact – people who go from living with their in-laws to having homes on the beach, and who are leaders in their communities. There is more satisfaction knowing that “revenue is the true byproduct of badass work being done.”

Vision:
Jim’s vision is providing the biggest tree possible that so many people can rest in the shade of it….creating opportunities for sales people, for sales managers, leaders and teachers in the network they’ve built. Jim spent time on the streets as a kid, was in foster care, in jail, and grew up in an abusive environment. He serves as a prison chaplain, previously in Folsom Prison in California, now in Nashville. Together, with his wife Cyndi, Jim is on a mission to reverse the recidivism rate of convicts returning to prison, by providing support and peer groups to give them a second chance, teach them business skills, and teach them how to be profitable and contribute with purpose.

Advice:
Jim’s biggest piece of advice is to learn to trust people. Everyone wants to be part of something bigger than themselves and they genuinely want to help. Growing up without parents to trust was difficult, but Jim realized that you have to trust people because you can’t do everything on your own. Trust people until they give you a reason not to and life will be much easier. Find ways to reward everyone in your world.

Personal Growth:
Jim’s biggest lesson was learning that no one is fooling anyone, so trying to be someone other than who you are is just silly. If you’re trying to pretend to be something you’re not, it’s never going to land – whether you’re getting your family on board to something or selling a product. People buy you, before they buy whatever you’re selling.

Tools, Podcasts & Books:

• Your team is the greatest resource. Jim loves people, connection, and energy. Get a team!

• Voxer Messaging App – for communication

   

• Otter.ai for transcription

• Google Calendar

• Relentless From Good to Great to Unstoppable by Tim Grover
• Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds by David Goggins

Looking Back:
Looking back Jim will tell his younger self – Don’t wait on anybody and don’t wait until you have the answers. Surround yourself with the best people you can find and ask them all for help.

Interview Links:
Find out more about Jim Padilla by visiting https://www.gaintheedgenow.com/

________________________

Download this episode