In this episode of the SalesSpark Podcast, Jason Barnaby sits down with Lindsay Tjepkema, a marketing powerhouse. Lindsay pulls back the curtain on the "founder gauntlet," sharing her journey from launching a B2B podcast in 2017 to navigating the highs and lows of scaling a tech startup.Together, they dive into the essential role of human connection in a world increasingly dominated by AI, and why your unique vision is the ultimate differentiator. Lindsay also introduces her BRAVE framework, a powerful tool for leaders and founders to find discernment and stay true to their mission when the "cheap seats" get too loud.Schedule a FREE Discovery Call with Jason: https://www.firestartersinc.net/contact🔥 KEY POINTS🔥 Why human connection and relationships are the only "future-proof" business strategies. 🔥 The BRAVE Framework: A 5-point checklist for leadership discernment. 🔥 Transitioning from a marketing leader to a venture-backed founder. 🔥 How to protect your unique vision from being diluted by outside voices. 🔥 The power of vulnerability: Why sharing the struggle makes it safer for others to lead. 🔥 Why "original content" is the only way to cut through the AI noise. 🔥 Moving through massive change: Lessons from a cross-country move and a career exit.📲 CONNECT WITH JASON Website: https://www.firestartersinc.net/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-barnaby-252a68/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/firestartersinc/📲 CONNECT WITH LINDSAY Website: https://lindsaytjepkema.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindsaytjepkema/

In this episode, startup founder Simon Ooley joins Jason Barnaby to unpack what it really takes to build resilience and empathy in sales. From dialing 100 calls a day to launching a Y Combinator startup, Simon shares how staying coachable and asking for feedback fueled his growth, and why the unknown might be your greatest strength.

Schedule a FREE Discovery Call with Jason:https://www.firestartersinc.net/contact

🔥 KEY POINTS

🔥 Why “cold calling is not dead”, and how it still builds the strongest pipeline

🔥 Curiosity and empathy as the foundation of every great sales career

🔥 How recording and re-watching your own pitch transforms performance

🔥 Why “good job” feedback kills growth, and what to ask for instead

🔥 How staying late to learn creates compound career returns

🔥 The value of hiring for hunger, not experience

🔥 Why disqualifying early is a seller’s superpower

🔥 The power of your network as your best pipeline

🔥 How the unknown drives creativity and innovation

📲 CONNECT WITH JASON

Website: ⁠https://www.firestartersinc.net/⁠

LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason🔥-barnaby-252a68/⁠

Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/firestartersinc/⁠

📲 CONNECT WITH SIMON

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simonooley/

In this powerful solo episode, Jason Barnaby delivers an important piece of advice to every presenter: You are the presentation, not the PowerPoint deck.

Jason exposes the insulting, trust-killing habit of reading slides word-for-word and why statistics and facts are instantly forgotten. Learn how to ditch the deck dependency, embrace storytelling, and use the presentation as an enhancement, not a crutch, to truly connect with your audience.

If your meetings could have been an email, this episode is your wake-up call.

Schedule a FREE Discovery Call with Jason: https://www.firestartersinc.net/contact

KEY POINTS:

🔥 Why Jason is "offended" when presenters read the words on the slide

🔥 The studies proving that stories are remembered more than facts and statistics

🔥 The groundbreaking lesson: You are the presentation, not the deck

🔥 Why being dependent on the slides means you don't understand your client

🔥 The crucial question: What happens when the technology fails?

🔥 The danger of 45-slide decks for a one-hour meeting

🔥 How to move from being a product-pusher to a client-focused guide

🔥 Why reducing your deck length by half is the first step

🔥 The simple strategy: Slides should enhance your story, not replace it

🔥 The "Strike the Match" challenge for better presenting in '26

📲 CONNECT WITH JASON:

Website: https://www.firestartersinc.net/

LinkedIn: / jason🔥-barnaby-252a68

Instagram: / firestartersinc

In this episode, Dave Won opens up about how hidden beliefs silently steer our sales decisions. From almost selling his home to escape anxiety to reframing the word “expensive,” Dave shares how self-awareness transformed his career, and how you can do the same.

Schedule a FREE Discovery Call with Jason: https://www.firestartersinc.net/contact

KEY POINTS:

🔥 How Dave’s panic attacks revealed deeper money fears

🔥 The six-year journey from scarcity to awareness

🔥 Why logic doesn’t drive decisions, emotion does

🔥 The truck story: buying for approval, not need

🔥 Projecting your own money beliefs onto clients

🔥 How scarcity shows up as “staying small”

🔥 The UNLOCK framework for rewiring money mindset

🔥 Sales is service, not manipulation

🔥 The “anchor behind the ship” metaphor for hidden beliefs

📲 CONNECT WITH JASON:

Website: https://www.firestartersinc.net/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason%F0%9F%94%A5-barnaby-252a68/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/firestartersinc/

📲 CONNECT WITH DAVE:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davewon/

Website: https://www.davewon.co/

#SalesMindset #MoneyBeliefs #SalesCoaching #EmotionalIntelligence #Leadership #SalesTraining #AbundanceMindset #FirestartersInc #JasonBarnaby #DaveWon

In this powerful solo episode, Jason Barnaby breaks down one of the most overlooked superpowers in sales, curiosity. If you’ve ever rushed to pitch before understanding your prospect, this episode will stop you in your tracks. Learn how to reflectively listen, get comfortable with silence, and build the kind of trust that closes deals naturally, no manipulation required.Schedule a FREE Discovery Call with Jason: https://www.firestartersinc.net/contactKEY POINTS:🔥 Why “Curiosity Killed the Cat” might be killing your sales conversations🔥 How fear of responsibility stops reps from asking real questions🔥 The difference between practical and emotional problems🔥 Why you must suspend the agenda in every conversation🔥 How to reflectively listen and uncover deeper levels of pain🔥 Using downward inflection to sound confident and trustworthy🔥 The hidden power of silence, and why it feels so uncomfortable🔥 The three S’s: Silence, Support, or Solution🔥 Why curiosity must be authentic, not performative🔥 How to roleplay curiosity inside your sales team🔥 “Strike the match”, the one small change that transforms your results📲 CONNECT WITH JASON: Website: https://www.firestartersinc.net/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason🔥-barnaby-252a68/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/firestartersinc/

In this game-changing episode, Jason Barnaby sits down with fractional sales leader Evan Triggs to explore the journey from elite athlete to sales leadership expert. This isn't just another sales conversation - it's a masterclass in leveraging relationships, building scalable systems, and the mindset shifts required to go from individual contributor to executive leader.

Schedule a FREE Discovery Call with Jason: https://www.firestartersinc.net/contact

KEY POINTS:

🔥 Why former athletes often excel in sales (and the 3 traits that matter most)

🔥 How to transition from founder-led sales to scalable systems

🔥 The power of relationships in building world-class sales teams

🔥 Why goal setting beats talent every single time

🔥 The fractional sales leadership model that's transforming businesses

🔥 How to work yourself out of a job (and why that's the goal) 🔥 The difference between simple sells and strategic enterprise sales

📲 CONNECT WITH JASON:

Website: https://www.firestartersinc.net/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason🔥-barnaby-252a68/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/firestartersinc/

📲 CONNECT WITH EVAN:

"The Coach's Take" Podcast: https://www.linkedin.com/company/coach-s-take-podcast?trk=public_profile_experience-item_profile-section-card_subtitle-click

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evan-triggs

TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 Introduction and Welcome 1:15 From Football to Sales - The Athletic Foundation 4:10 The Three Pillars of Sales Success 8:00 Cell Phone Sales War Stories 12:00 The Eli Lilly Experience 15:30 The Angie's List Goldmine Years 20:24 Building Systems That Scale at FleetWatcher 25:08 Leadership Lessons from Rapid Growth 30:02 Why Fractional Sales Leadership 32:28 The Three-Step Founder Sales Framework 35:47 Rapid Fire Questions 40:05 The One Match Philosophy

RECOMMENDED BOOKS MENTIONED:

📚 "The Little Red Book of Sales" by Jeffrey Gitomer

📚 "Fanatical Prospecting" by Jeb Blount

📚 "Extreme Ownership" by Jocko Willink

📚 "Building a StoryBrand" by Donald Miller

📚 "The Challenger Sale" by Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson

#SalesLeadership #FractionalSales #SalesCoaching #Leadership #BusinessGrowth #SalesStrategy #Entrepreneurship #StartupSales #SalesManagement #PersonalDevelopment

In this fired-up episode, fractional sales leader Jason Barnaby exposes the two most toxic behaviors destroying sales relationships: LinkedIn pitch slapping and the dreaded "show up and throw up" sales approach. This isn't just another sales training video; it's a passionate wake-up call for anyone guilty of these relationship-killing tactics, plus the proven strategies that actually build trust and close deals.

Schedule a FREE Discovery Call with Jason: https://www.firestartersinc.net/contact

KEY POINTS:

🔥 The 5-step LinkedIn pitch slap pattern (and why it fails every time)

🔥 Why Jason deletes connections who pitch slap in DMs 🔥 The corporate sales disaster story that cost a 3-year opportunity

🔥 How "show up and throw up" kills even the best prospects 🔥 The two ears, one mouth philosophy for sales success

🔥 Research strategies that build real relationships

🔥 Why curiosity beats product knowledge every time

🔥 The sacred nature of time in sales conversations

🔥 How to prepare for meetings that actually convert

🔥 Questions that uncover real pain points and build trust

🔥 Follow-up strategies that exceed expectations

🔥 Why sales is relational and relationships require work

📲 CONNECT WITH JASON:

Website: https://www.firestartersinc.net/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason🔥-barnaby-252a68/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/firestartersinc/

In this deeply personal episode, Jennifer Chapman shares her incredible sales journey from crushing it in the beer and wine industry to rebuilding her career after a major stroke at 34. This isn't just another sales success story - it's a raw conversation about vulnerability, resilience, and how authentic relationships drive real sales results.

Schedule a FREE Discovery Call with Jason: https://www.firestartersinc.net/contact

KEY POINTS:

🔥 How Jennifer went from retail sales to crushing it in the beer/wine industry for 8 years

🔥 The moment she told her future boss "I'm terrified to say yes" and got hired anyway

🔥 Why showing up consistently beats any sales script or technique

🔥 How a stroke at 34 completely shifted her perspective on success

🔥 The vulnerability that landed her the perfect sales role after running her own business

🔥 Why emotional intelligence is the new competitive advantage in sales

🔥 The importance of having mentors and being willing to borrow belief

📲 CONNECT WITH JASON:

Website: https://www.firestartersinc.net/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason%F0%9F%94%A5-barnaby-252a68/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/firestartersinc/

📲 CONNECT WITH JENNIFER:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferchapmanleadershipcoach/