Episode 158: Mentors, Grit, & Cultivating An Ownership Mindset with Zencity’s Jack English

Jack English is the top-performing Account Executive at Zencity, a complete 360 solution that enables local government leaders to understand diverse community needs by hearing from more voices. The platform brings all the essential tools into one place to help government agencies improve services, build trust and increase overall satisfaction with their communities. Prior to being elevated to AE, Jack was a top Sales Development Representative (SDR). Jack is a highly intentional sales professional who believes in managing up, taking ownership, and the power of cultivating meaningful relationships with mentors.

Today, Jack joins the show to share his sales origin story, one that includes working all over the world, and always hustling to prove himself. Jack talks about his role at Zencity, reflects on his favorite sales stories, and shares his thoughts on the unique political nature of his sales role. Jack speaks to his sales philosophy and style, which are both centered on transparency. In Jack’s opinion, being transparent is not only the moral and ethical thing to do, but it also helps provoke both the seller and the customer to share the information that they have immediately, which leads to easier conversations and smoother transactions.

Jack takes the audience through a typical day in the life from early morning gratitude to structuring his day and week in a way that is intentional. Jack and Scott talk about leadership and discuss the hallmarks of a great manager and leader. They talk about the importance of having an ownership mindset and the concept of doing the internal work day in and day out. Jack shares the top things he attributes to his success, explains the 80-20 Rule, and issues an actionable challenge to the audience. Jack challenges them to take something in their day-to-day life and do something that is a little out of the ordinary. Push yourself outside your comfort zone, because that is where true growth comes from.

What We Covered:

00:24 – Scott introduces today’s guest, Jack English
00:44 – The top three things Jack attributes to his success
01:10 – Number One: Finding mentors
01:28 – Number Two: ‘The 80-20 Rule’
01:48 – Number Three: Taking ownership
02:26 – Identifying mentors internally and three key lessons Jack learned from his mentors
05:21 – The 80-20 Rule, explained
07:14 – Jack’s strengths
09:15 – Jack expounds on his role at ZenCity
11:17 – Jack’s sales origin story
19:17 – Jack’s favorite sales story
26:38 – Jack’s proudest accomplishment
28:58 – The most valuable lessons Jack has learned throughout his career
33:14 – The impact a great (and horrible) direct manager can have on your success
39:07 – Jack’s geographical history (working all over the world)
40:30 – Jack takes the audience through a typical day in the life
43:24 – The journey to Mexico City
44:49 – Other habits and routines that are critical to Jack’s success
46:34 – Doing the internal work
49:30 – The books, news, podcasts, and trade information that Jack consumes
51:22 – Jack’s tech stack
54:11 – Jack’s sales philosophy and style
59:54 – How Jack navigates the uniquely political nature of his role
1:04:01 – What motivates and drives Jack
1:06:40 – One of Jack’s beliefs that the average sales professional would think is crazy
1:08:04 – An average sales professional’s belief that Jack thinks is crazy
1:09:40 – Advice Jack would give to sales professionals looking to reach that next level
1:10:58 – Jack’s investment philosophy
1:11:47 – Jack provides final thoughts and words of wisdom
1:13:39 – Jack issues an actionable challenge to the audience

Read the full transcript & show notes →

Tweetables:

“Energy is everything. How you show up to a call is in direct proportion to how the prospect is going to react and actually perceive you and your company.” (04:36)

“Success is a really lousy teacher. You come off a great quarter and that teaches you nothing. You come off a really terrible quarter, or you lose a really terrible deal, that’s when you learn the most. For me, going through those really tough times and coming out on the other side has given me an understanding of my own capacity way, way more than those really good quarters.” (28:29)

“Pumping into your brain some of that substantive content on an ongoing basis can be just as important as having those in-person meetings as well.” (38:42)

“I think input is everything in terms of what you put in your brain is directly correlated with the quality of output that your brain creates for you. I think this is true whether it comes down to the people you associate with, the music you listen to, the shows you watch. I am very intentional about putting things in my brain that facilitate the type of output that I want to see.” (49:40)

“I think what it really boils down to is that your way is always going to be better than THE way.” (54:29)

“Take a step back and really begin to live the life that you would like to see be lived rather than the life you are living.” (1:13:01)

Books Mentioned:

The Speed of Trust
Challenger Sale
Gap Selling
SPIN Selling

Podcasts Mentioned:

30 Minutes to President’s Club
Invest Like the Best