June 15, 2024 • 42 mins
Curious about how a serendipitous encounter at a wedding can shape your career trajectory? Meet Laurissa Hollis, the new VP of Sales at Blackpearl Group, who journeyed from the US to New Zealand, embracing opportunities from Warner Music to groundbreaking roles in SaaS.
Laurissa's story is a testament to the power of passion, resilience, and the right support system. She shares her experiences and insights into the dynamic, innovative environment at Blackpearl, a company known for its early public listing. We also uncover her profound belief in balancing truth, forgiveness, and love as key principles in both leadership and personal growth.
Explore how Laurissa aligns her passion for coaching with her leadership style, fostering a culture that blends family-like support with high-performance sports team dynamics. Learn why clear reporting and analysis are vital in sales, and how nurturing personal development goes beyond just hitting numbers. Laurissa opens up about the struggles of maintaining discipline and the importance of a resilient mindset, driven by her personal faith. This episode is a must-listen for anyone eager to understand how to cultivate a winning mentality and thrive in both professional and personal realms.
You can connect with Laurissa here and also check out Blackpearl.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
When it comes to my team from a business level, I
definitely don't letunderperformance slide.
What is your blocker?
And typically it's a mentalthing or it's a small process
thing, and so I find no probleminsurmountable.
I typically will go, I'm goingto coach you and coach you, and
coach you, and some people getcoached until they're like, yeah
(00:24):
, this isn't me.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Larissa is a new VP of sales at the Black Pearl
Group.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
You fell over.
Okay, brush it off, move on.
I think that there's a pointwhere we need to stop saying oh,
I'm hurting and say I was hurt,this is what I'm doing about it
.
I just am a firm believer thatanybody can do it with the right
coaching and tools, and I'vebeen able to work through that.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Hey everybody, it's Greg Sheehan.
Welcome to my podcast, whereyou will hear from a range of
guests, including those from thestartup world and those that
have had incredibly interestinglives and some stories to tell.
I would really appreciate it ifyou could hit the follow button
and share this amongst yourfriends, but, as you know, time
is limited, so let's get on withit and hear from our next guest
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Now back to the show.
My guest today is LarissaHollis.
Larissa is a new VP of sales atthe Black Pearl Group.
Welcome to the podcast, larissa.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
Thank you for having me, greg, good to be here.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
It is such a delight, and we were just comparing
weather stories.
I'm in Sydney as we speak andit's cold and rainy, and Larissa
is in Auckland and it's coldand rainy.
So we've got that in common.
Larissa, I always sort of startthese podcasts.
The way humans like to connect,we want to know a little bit
about the person we're talkingto.
So give us a little bit of yourbackground.
(02:41):
Where did you grow up?
How did you ultimately get tobe here in New Zealand, because
we can all hear that Americanaccent.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
Yeah Well, look, I've got Peter Jackson to thank for
my arrival in New Zealand.
I grew up in Washington DC andthen moved to Indianapolis and
that's where I went touniversity.
And then I got the opportunityto teach overseas, and one of
the many different countries wasNew Zealand.
Never heard of New Zealand,didn't even know it existed, and
(03:10):
then Lord of the Rings came outand I thought where is this
place?
And then it just all wasserendipitous and then came to
New Zealand, met my Kiwi husbandat a wedding three weeks in.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
It's always a wedding right Like it's always it's
always a wedding.
It's the best because you knowsomebody's already pre-vetted
them, you.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
It's always a wedding .
It's the best because you knowsomebody's already pre-vetted
them.
You know they're going to pay$100 a head on that person, so
they must be relative quality.
That's true, and then yeah, so19 years ago I moved over to New
Zealand to be with him withjust two suitcases and one was
just filled with shoes andhandbags.
So I was a young woman andready for a new adventure.
(03:43):
So yeah, I've been here eversince.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
And then got started into the sort of world of sales.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
That's right.
Well, I kind of started out ata record label, Warner Music.
Yeah, you've got some bigbrands.
Yeah, and you're a CV, thank you.
I've been really lucky.
I started out there and startedworking in kind of digital
media, kind of a coordinator job, and I'm just one of these
people that is hungry andcapable and I love to work hard
(04:09):
and drive results.
And so, right place, right time, I moved into MediaWorks and
did digital sales there and theneventually have done all of
kind of the different mediamarketing, primarily working
with media agencies.
So I'd say for the last 15years I've worked supplier side,
so it's Stuff and Bravo.
And then most recently I wasthe head of client at Archipro.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Yeah, and that was, I guess, your introduction into
SaaS.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
That's right.
Yeah, it's a hybrid SaaS model.
It has a lot of kind of mediaplay elements and moving towards
SaaS, and when I left there inJanuary, I knew that I wanted to
find a role that was very trueSAS and what could I do to kind
of do something really different?
And I found Black Pearl.
Well, actually, it found me andI'm so thankful for it because
(04:59):
it's just this amazing rocketship of innovation and intensity
and camaraderie and I'm just,and I'm just thrilled to be here
.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
And what I love about Black Pearl is the company has
decided to take a listing prettyearly in its life and we've got
some, but very few numbers ofpeople or companies that have
done that, one being Xero.
So Xero did a listing and fewpeople actually even know this
or remember this.
Xero listed with something like$3,000 or $5,000 a month in
(05:30):
revenue.
So Black Pearl is taking thisjourney too.
So what's it been like thefirst you know what?
Five or six weeks in now?
Speaker 1 (05:36):
Yeah, five weeks in, yeah, just finishing my fifth
week.
It's been absolutely incredible.
The team here you know, whenyou interview at a company and
they kind of say, oh, it's goingto be like this, and they kind
of paint this beautiful picture.
And then you get there and yougo, oh, this isn't what I signed
up for Not quite what I thoughtit was.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
I can say it has been consistently exactly what they
told me, which is the people arethere for each other.
As the head of sales the VP ofsales I know that I'm
responsible for a lot, but Iknow every single department is
there to help us achieve ourgoals and other roles that I've
been in in sales.
You are responsible and toblame for everything, so it's
(06:14):
really nice to have this senseof camaraderie and everyone's
trying to work together to finda way to do it.
We're currently hunting down$10 million ARR and on track to
do that and I don't want to setmy sights there because I know
that there's huge potential,because we listed in the New
Zealand Stock Exchange, becauseas a data company, you need to
be trusted, you need to bereally, really transparent, and
(06:37):
no other tech company in thiskind of field is doing that.
So we wanted to set ourselvesapart and it's opened a lot of
doors and going into the States,it's just been an amazing
result and I feel like we'veonly just scratched the surface.
So you know we're hunting 10million ARR, but pretty soon
it'll be a hundred million.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
That's so cool.
It's actually going to be socool to watch Black Pearl as it
grows.
So what does Black Pearl do?
Speaker 1 (07:06):
So Black Pearl exists to help businesses grow, which
you know it sounds a bit fluffybut it's really not.
They put data in the hands ofthe owners of those sites so
that they can analyze who'svisiting their site and then
take action and based on theuser experience or kind of
market to those audiences.
The thing for me is I reallywant to make a positive impact.
(07:30):
One of my favorite people inthis industry is Nicola Taylor
from Taxi and she has a sayingno dancing llamas.
I don't know if I'm allowed tosay this but I can say anything
on this podcast.
I absolutely love it because shesays you know, we don't want to
just create something thatdoesn't have a purpose.
It's about doing something thathas purpose.
(07:50):
And I met her before I startedat Black Pearl and that's
definitely what I'm looking forSomething that's actually going
to create a serious positiveimpact to somebody's bottom line
.
And I've seen Black Pearl dothat.
I mean, their customerretention rate is 97%, which is
just unheard of, like thecustomer service, the smarts
that they bring.
(08:11):
It's just amazing.
And so who is the customer forBlack Pearl, like typically,
yeah, so typically, black Pearlhas really been servicing small
to medium businesses.
So you own your website.
You might have 10,000 visitorsa month, so our job is to
resolve that data for you andidentify who's visiting your
(08:32):
site so that you can thenretarget them with marketing or
change your user experience oridentify who your audience is.
As we grow, the interest hasalso grown and so we're getting
some major enterprise clients,particularly in America, around
media marketing, data, analytics, and so we're kind of moving
(08:54):
into more enterprise solutionsas well.
So we kind of run that fullgamut where we can help a small
mom and pop with their websiteand then we can also help bigger
clients and then they can kindof be an agent for us as well.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
Obviously, the company is going into the US.
You having a background youknow being born there, raised
there, going to college therethat must help.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
Yeah, that definitely helps.
It's quite interesting, havinglived in New Zealand now half my
life, obviously still American,sound American it's been so
nice.
I love the Kiwis, don't get mewrong, I absolutely love the
Kiwis, but working withAmericans again has just been
such a laugh.
It's just been like cause I'malways told I'm quite full noise
(09:36):
, I'm chill, but I have a lot ofenergy and the Kiwi way is just
this beautifully, like a littlebit more laid back.
So, meeting some of my staffthat are in America and they're
like hey, and it's like, yeah,you know, there's that amazing
energy and even the clients aswell.
It's really nice to work withthem and kind of have even just
(09:57):
that human touch point.
Or like, oh yeah, you're inColorado and you went to this
concert and we talked aboutdifferent spots that we go to
and, yeah, it's good.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
It's funny.
I've got a son who is inMelbourne and he is in sales and
, being a Kiwi born and raisedin New Zealand he said to me the
interesting thing about being aKiwi is he felt like he was too
big, sometimes he was too much,he was too too overt, too loud
in a room and he can't be loud.
But in Australia he feels likehe fits in and I think the US
(10:26):
and Australia are kind of moresimilar.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
There's something in our Kiwi psyche where we're like
, hey, buddy, not too Totally,don't go too big.
It's funny my husband and Ioften we have these kind of
discussions analyzing thingslike this, and we say Australia
is more like an America, whereasNew Zealand's more like a UK.
Stiff upper lip, and you'd be alittle bit stoic and it's been
a really cool learning for me,like I've had to kind of tone
(10:49):
down my big white smile.
I kind of Kiwi smile a littlebit more, except when I'm
talking to Americans I get thebig smile again.
Speaker 2 (10:57):
It's so funny, isn't it.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
Yeah, yeah, it's been quite an interesting ride.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
It's so funny, just culturally, how we go.
And what about sales?
Like sales is one of theseareas that doesn't have a great
rap right, Particularly inplaces like New Zealand or maybe
even in Australia, definitelyin the UK.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
I know the person who introduced us was saying you
need to talk to Larissa abouther view on sales.
She's just got kind of arefreshing view, so thank you.
Well, look, I shout out, jodie.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
Yeah, thanks, jodie.
I think sales often, like in myhistory, kind of felt like this
a key word Ooh, you're asalesperson, yeah, but I take it
from a different approach,which is just around I help
solve people's problems and sothat's why, like I was saying
with Black Pearl, it's reallyimportant to me that whatever
I'm working on actually candeliver a tangible solution to
(11:48):
your business.
Otherwise, I don't really wantto align my life mission with
that.
So I look to really understandwhat clients need and then drive
a solution for them.
I don't really like kind of justselling things just in kind of
different like boxes.
I like to partner with them andreally kind of be a part of
(12:09):
their business.
So it feels like I work with athousand businesses.
I'm part of a thousandbusinesses rather than you know,
I just work for Black Pearl.
So it's really important to meto deliver them something that
is going to solve a problem forthem and make their lives easier
.
Otherwise, I'm open to sayingbye, we're not the right thing
(12:31):
for you, because I think it'sreally important to be authentic
and honest and align with them.
Speaker 2 (12:34):
And what strikes me about Black Pearl is that it is
a rocket ship already andtherefore is likely to continue
to be a rocket ship, which meansthat your role is going to
change dramatically.
It's going to be a scaling rolewhere you go from a certain
size team to whatever that isnow to being something very
different in a short space oftime.
(12:54):
How do you feel about that?
Speaker 1 (12:56):
I'm in my wheelhouse.
It's exactly what I was lookingfor Because, like I said, I
love to work hard.
There's something that, at theend of the day, if you've given
it everything, you've got andyou just feel so good, and I
love that feeling.
I don't like to shirkresponsibilities and when I was
looking for a company, I wantedto find a kind of a startup
company, but some place that hadreally good foundations, that
(13:20):
we have learned kind of this iswhat works and this is kind of
what our rhythm is.
But they need somebody to comein and exponentially grow.
So I would come in and, yeah,I'm looking to kind of like
spark it up.
I'm not trying to completelychange everything, but how can I
amplify exponentially all thisgreat work that we've done?
And I feel really, reallyconfident doing that.
(13:42):
I think if I worked forcompanies where I feel like
there's a bit of it's notconsistent with what they don't
consistently know what they wantor what they want to do, and so
I found trouble kind ofnavigating where to put my
energy, because it couldn't makeits mind up, stability and kind
of cadence, and I found thatthat got a bit repetitive and
bored.
So this is this perfect mix ofI create foundations and I
(14:04):
create templates for a reallygood foundation, and then I help
grow the company.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
How would you describe your sales leadership
style?
Are you sort of a I mean, atthe end of the day you got to
hit numbers right, andparticularly in a listed
environment?
Are you somebody who's kind ofvery hands-on or are you kind of
getting out of the way?
Are people like how would youdescribe that?
Speaker 1 (14:25):
I guess it really depends on the person or the
situation.
My typical thought is, when wehire adults and professionals, I
expect them to do what they'rehired to do.
However, if I need to get myhands dirty and get in and just
get side by side with them, howcan I help them out?
But I think when it comes to meas a leader, I first try to
(14:46):
understand the person.
What drives you?
I think you know any success islike 80% psychology, 80%, 20%
kind of skills.
So what is your state of mind?
Do you believe that you can doit?
How can you drive that kind ofpositive state of mind, trying
to create a winner's mentality,this kind of robust character
(15:08):
where you're giving iteverything you got.
You're never just relying onyour last best score.
It's like how can I just dobetter?
Cool, I did that.
How can I do better?
And it's not this rat race totry to grow for the sake of
growing.
It's like you're alwayscompeting with yourself.
I did that, Cool.
How can I do better there?
So I really try to understandwhat motivates people.
(15:29):
I really focus on them growing.
I think in sales you alwaysfocus on this is the number.
This is the number that youhave to hit.
But I also think that peopledon't just come just for the
number.
It's like how else can I grow,how can I become more valuable
as a person?
And I will always try toidentify what that is in each
person.
In saying that, I think I focusfirst to understand the person,
(15:54):
but also the numbers are reallyfoundational.
I think I get into the team andfigure out a rhythm for
reporting and analysis so thatjust becomes as habitual.
They know their numbers likethis, and then my job is to
guide and coach and upskill themto how they can create more
influence, how they can betterunderstand clients, how they can
(16:14):
connect more with the decisionmaker, how they can convert a
sale on the spot, how they canconvert a sale on the spot, how
they can continue that ongoingrelationship, that cyclical
relationship, so that they cancontinue to go cool.
I use that as my model.
I'm going to get more, I'mgoing to get more, I'm going to
get more.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
And if you were to describe both your sales ethos
and the culture that you like tobuild, would you say you are
more of you know.
On the continuum, you've sortof got some people who are more
we're all family versus actuallyno, we're a high performing
sports team.
Which one?
I get the sense, I know whichone.
This is for you.
Which one do you think you are?
Speaker 1 (16:50):
Oh, I mean my family and I play a lot of sports.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
So yeah, I would say really definitely, definitely
hybrid.
This is a nice mix.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Yeah, I would say really definitely a hybrid.
I mean, I definitely would sayit is like a family.
I think that we all bringsomething different to the table
.
So my job is to go how can Imake your strength, your
superpower, and how can I letyour kind of areas of
development either get up to abase level or just get by?
(17:17):
And I think that if something'snot going right, we need to
flag it with each other.
I see myself as more of aservant leader.
I think one of my most favoritethings when I started leading
teams about six years ago was Ijust get such a kick out of
seeing other people thrive.
I get such a kick out of seeingthem win and grow and kind of
(17:39):
go.
Oh, thank you for telling me,and for me it just feels like
this one little thing I said ina passing conversation or in a
one-on-one and they tell meabout the impact that's made to
them and how it's kind of madethem more efficient or more
confident.
And I think that you feel somuch more confident and you get
this great momentum when youhave that self-belief and
(18:01):
confidence.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
I guess the thing is, though, the reason why I ask
the question is because we allwant to be connected from a
family point of view.
We want to feel loved, we wantto feel part of something.
We want to feel yeah, this deeplevel of connection.
Yet we're hired to do a job,and if we miss our sales numbers
, you know we don't let membersof our family go because they
didn't hit a sales number right.
(18:23):
So there is a difference.
This is a high performing teamand there are people in the team
who keep dropping the ball, whofail to get that puck down the
other end, right?
So that's kind of a differentpsychology, right?
So you must play that balancenicely.
Speaker 1 (18:38):
Oh, I definitely do.
I mean, you should just ask myhusband if he doesn't do the
chores.
No, I'm kidding.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
Hope he's listening.
He will be listening.
He will be listening.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
I guess the reason I say family is because I just
don't give up on people unlessthey give up on themselves.
So if you want to move out ofmy house, you move out of my
house, but I'm going to workreally hard to go.
I believe in you and I knowthat you can do this.
You just maybe don't know howto do it yet, so let's work
together to figure it out.
(19:11):
In my family, we all bringsomething to the table.
The kids get paid their pocketmoney because they participate
in the house chores.
We all participate in makingthis our home, and I think that
you got to keep your room tidy,you got to take out the trash,
all those things, and I think,when it comes to my team from a
(19:31):
business level, I definitelydon't let underperformance slide
.
What is your blocker?
And typically it's a mentalthing or it's a small process
thing, and so I find no probleminsurmountable.
I typically will go, I'm goingto coach you and coach you, and
coach you, and some people getcoached until they're like, yeah
(19:52):
, this isn't me, and then theygo.
Okay, cool, they've chosen toleave.
Speaker 2 (19:55):
But I just am a firm believer that anybody can do it
with the right coaching andtools and I've been able to work
through that do you think thatthat psychology and I think it's
a really refreshing psychologyand you and I kind of talked a
little bit off air about this doyou think that that psychology
is something that's commonplaceacross New Zealand, that
psychology around play to win,play hard, but fair, but fair,
(20:20):
and even at a global level we'vekind of got this victim
mentality.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:24):
Yeah, yeah, the victim mentality.
I think we've never been moreemotionally vulnerable,
emotionally open in any part ofsociety than it feels like today
.
If you are on meds and you havea counselor and all of that,
it's kind of this badge of honor.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
You get extra points yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:41):
Yeah, and I understand people have needs and
I'm not trying to bag anybodythat needs that support, but it
feels so commonplace and it'slike you get this kind of extra
credit if you kind of talk aboutyour problems in that way.
So we're emotionally vulnerablebut at the same time, if you
look at any report, we're alsosome of the most unhappy people
(21:05):
in society and I think thatthere has a lot to do with the
fact that people aren't takingownership of their feelings.
I think that I was actuallyjust watching doing a Tony
Robbins course.
I love him, he's amazing but hesays life isn't what happens to
you, life is happening for you.
So what are you going to makeof it?
(21:26):
And I feel like a lot of peoplejust kind of go, I'm on the
treadmill and it's just kind ofall happening to me, but it's
like no, take the bull by thehorns and go after it.
I also think that there'ssomething to be said for
stoicism.
You fell over, okay, brush itoff, move on.
I think that there's a pointwhere we need to stop saying oh,
(21:46):
I'm hurting and say I was hurt.
This is what I'm doing about itWith my teams.
When they come to me with aproblem, I listen and we
brainstorm how to fix it, or Itell them forget about it.
So the mantra is always fix itor forget about it, and that way
we can kind of go I'm eitherdoing something about it or it's
(22:08):
not something that's aroadblock anymore, because I
think that we can create all ofthese invisible barriers around
what's stopping us from doinganything.
But I guess my thought isanything is possible.
I am unstoppable.
The only thing that's stoppingme is myself.
So get out of my way mentallyand take control.
(22:30):
I think that a lot of people gooh, I've tried to do everything.
It's like dieting, for example.
Have you stayed away from thosetreats?
Did you order the fries?
Are you getting a good night'ssleep?
Are you getting fresh air andwater?
And you know, are you reallythinking about it like that or
are you just kind of going oh,actually, to be honest, I'm a
little bit too lazy to reallyget into it and I kind of don't
(22:51):
want to deal with the pain.
But I always say pressure makesa diamond.
You only get the toothpaste outwhen you squeeze it right, and
I think that we need to putourselves under pressure.
You know, you grow muscles bylifting iron.
I think some people just needto harden up, god I love it
Honestly.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
It's probably not going to go down, well, no this
is controversial, but this isexactly what we should be
talking about, because we areall unhappy.
As a general rule, people areunhappy and they are as you said
.
They're more vulnerable thanever.
You know, there's thatexpression that if you think you
can, you are right, and if youthink you can't, you are also
right.
Speaker 1 (23:31):
Totally.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
Right.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
Completely, completely, and I think about, I
do feel for people that aregoing through problems and can't
get out of their way, but I'mquite fortunate because I have
faith in Jesus, I'm a Christian,and so I see Jesus as an
example, and he definitely ledthe way for truth, but also
forgiveness and love, andthere's this beautiful mix.
(23:55):
You know, like I said, leadersthat I aspire to be like.
There's this beautiful mix.
You know, like I said, leadersthat I aspire to be like.
I look at him and go how can Ibe honest and loving but also
guide them along the way?
Speaker 2 (24:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
Leaders have followers.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
Right.
Leaders have followers, so be aleader.
If you want to be a leader,make sure you've got followers.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
Exactly, but also I think I've heard this before
that the truth is not trendy,and I think I've heard this
before that the truth is nottrendy and I think a lot of
people are changing the way theyfeel about certain things
because of what the currentculture is saying, and it's like
, I think, that there's alwaysbeen a place for taking
ownership of yourself and whatare you in control of?
(24:35):
You can't control what happensto you, but you can control how
you react, and I try to thinkabout it from that point of view
.
Speaker 2 (24:44):
Hey, just let me pause you there for a second and
tell you about some help that'savailable for startup founders.
One of the biggest reasonsstartups fail is that the
founders give up.
They just burn out throughstruggling with aligning all of
their people to what it isthey're trying to do.
It doesn't have to be like that, though.
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headaches.
Let's get back to the show.
It's so true, and we weretalking offline about some of
the sort of, I guess, issues ofour time around gender yeah, and
let's go there.
You know like it's acontroversial thing.
As is probably clear, I'm amale, I identify as a male.
I am also part of that categoryof society that has the highest
(25:47):
suicide rate in the world.
Clearly, you know, men are, asa general rule, are finding it
really really tough.
Yet we've also got a lot ofmale bashing.
That goes on.
Speaker 1 (25:58):
Yeah, and I'm glad that you brought this up because
it's something that I'm reallypassionate about.
I have two boys One is 13 andone is 10.
And I'm married to a man that Ilove dearly, and I feel like
I'm living in a culture nowwhere they've got to apologize
for their gender and the colorof their skin when having done
(26:21):
nothing, and I think that I wantto do absolutely everything I
can to.
This isn't me protectinganybody, but it is about
creating, I guess, equity.
I'm not saying equal outcome,I'm saying equal opportunity for
everybody.
I think that I'm living in aculture where it's okay to bash
(26:44):
white males and it bothers me.
I've been in an office where itwas International Women have
the life that I have, but I alsofeel sometimes marginalized by
an international woman's day.
Is there an international man'sday?
No, and society would say, ohwell, every day is international
(27:12):
man's day, and I wouldcompletely disagree.
I think that a lot of men arenot able to do men in business
events or men in media or thingslike that, and I feel like I
want to live in a world where itdoesn't matter the color of
your skin, it doesn't matteryour sexual orientation, it
doesn't matter your gender,anything like that.
(27:34):
It's just about people thatwant to do good, that have
similar interests, and I justthink that we label things too
much and is not helping anything.
Martin Luther King said I judgepeople by the content, of the
character, and that's how Iapproach things.
I mean, I see everybody as asoul.
(27:54):
We're all souls.
Let's just love each other thatway.
Goodbye.
Speaker 2 (28:00):
It's so cool.
It's actually really refreshingto talk to you about that and
you know you've got twodaughters.
I think a lot of men are afraid, I think a lot of men.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
They don't want to say hey, that's not fair,
because I think that they'reworried about getting pushed
down further, like, oh, you'vehad it for so long.
Well, I think my job is tosupport men as well, and I think
that men are wonderful andwomen are wonderful, and we all
bring something different to thetable and let's celebrate that.
The future is not female.
The future is human Well,hopefully, human, not AI.
(28:29):
The future is human, and it'slike we're all in this together,
and how can we work cohesivelyrather than against each other?
Speaker 2 (28:37):
I couldn't agree more .
I've got two daughters, you'vegot two sons.
I've also got a son.
I could not want success for mydaughters more.
I want them to be in a worldthat is truly equal and to do
that, I don't want to get thembashing the males.
I want them to be seeing thebenefit and the joy of being all
(28:59):
they can be, in exactly thesame way as I was with my son.
You know, there shouldn't be adifference there.
There really shouldn't be.
Speaker 1 (29:06):
For sure, and I think when I look at women in general
that I've worked with you know,they talk about the pay gap as
an example.
Well, I don't feel like I'veever experienced that.
I'm not saying whether or notit's real, that's not.
I haven't feel like I've everexperienced that.
I'm not saying whether or notit's real, that's not.
I haven't studied it enough.
But one of the things that I amvery conscious of is that women
(29:27):
are the ones that are leastlikely to ask for the pay rise.
That's right.
So, rather than goingestablishing mandates around
equality just because she's awoman, she should be paid at the
same level.
I think it should be paid atthe same level.
I think it should be based onwhat is the output and the
experience.
So what I would love, and whatI do encourage women to do, is,
(29:47):
well, ask for it.
If the guys are going to askfor it, you ask for it.
So anytime I go intonegotiation, I ask for it, I go
full in, I'm going to go big,I'm just going to give it a go,
and it's always worked out in myfavor, and I think some people
are too afraid to ask for it.
So if I was going to kind ofsingle out women.
(30:08):
My job would be to coach themand encourage them to take
what's theirs and do it based onyour experience and make a
business case for it.
Speaker 2 (30:18):
I could not agree more.
I have this conversation a lotwith the three kids.
My son if he's got two of the10 requirements that a job needs
, he thinks he's got what ittakes.
The two daughters would say ifI haven't got 10 out of 10, they
won't go for it.
They all have a very strongfemale role model in their mom.
She's outstanding.
Their grandmother, her mother,is an outstanding female role
(30:41):
model and yet they still havethat psychology.
They've grown up in the samefamily.
So whether that's kind of anexample of what it's like in
society I don't know.
But we have to encourage womento go.
Go for it, you know, just gofor it in the same way a male
would.
Speaker 1 (30:55):
I do think I have seen a couple more companies in
my job search earlier this year.
I have seen them say they'veput in some stats Women are
sometimes more likely or somepeople that wouldn't fit the
typical mold are sometimes morelikely.
And we encourage you to try andI think that that's a nice
initiative of companies to justremind people like give it a go,
(31:16):
you never know.
Speaker 2 (31:17):
Yeah, that's so true.
Just a little bit about you.
So you are in an area that isquite tough, like sales and that
whole, you know, customerexperience.
It's a tough area.
Speaker 1 (31:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:26):
What has been probably the toughest part of
your career to date.
If you look back and you think,gee, that was a really tough
time in my career, but I learneda lot.
What might that have been?
Speaker 1 (31:35):
When I was at Stuff and I was the National Sales
Director of the agency team, Iwas there in lockdown during
COVID and obviously and I wasworking on the Ministry of
Health campaign, so I justremember the intensity of having
to stay across all of theircomms.
(31:56):
I was working probably 12 hoursa day.
I was running the team.
I was trying to keep my familyspirits high.
Speaker 2 (32:03):
Functioning.
Speaker 1 (32:03):
Functioning and I found that that probably was the
hardest time because not onlyare you hit with the intensity
and craziness of work, but itwas just dialed up that much
more because of the intensityand craziness.
At home Usually you can kind ofcope because work might be
(32:24):
crazy, but personal life ispretty balanced.
So it wasn't even just mypersonal life or my work life,
it was the entire community justwent a bit kind of bonkers, so
kind of navigating through.
That was probably the hardestfrom an exhaustion point of view
, from an uncertainty and tryingto navigate through.
(32:44):
But here's the thing I love achallenge when you're in it
you're just like but here's thething I love a challenge when
you're in it, you're just likeoh so hard, and then you get out
of it and you're stronger andyou're smarter.
So I always see theseopportunities, these tests, as
my testimony, this mess as mymessage I get really excited as
an opportunity to learn.
(33:05):
I may not like it while I'm init, but I come out of it and go.
That was great.
I've had jobs that arechallenging, I've had bosses
that are challenging and youkind of go okay, cool, what can
I learn in it?
And I think, as I get older, Ialso am learning to recognize in
the moment, in the middle ofthat pain and pressure to go
(33:28):
okay, this is intense.
You know, in the middle of thatpain and pressure to go okay,
this is intense, but I'm goingto get through it and I'm going
to make my way and becomestronger, off the back of it, I
pray, I get up and I take breaks.
I work from home and so I mightdust a windowsill just to not
think about something for aminute.
But I think it's reallyimportant in those times of
(33:49):
pressure to stop and recognizewhere you're at and really just
take a moment to remind yourselfto breathe, rather than just
try to bulldoze through, becauseoften solution will come to you
when you take a step away, andsometimes the solution just
solves itself in some problemsif you just leave it for a
minute.
Speaker 2 (34:07):
You strike me as somebody who, when you get to
the end of your life, is notgoing to regret giving it all on
the field, right To your family, to your career, to everything
that you're doing.
You're really pushing the boatout and you're doing things that
are, yeah, you're not going tosit there at the end of your
sort of mortal life and go, oh Iwish I had done this, I wish
(34:28):
I'd done that.
You're getting out there andyou're doing it right, which is
an attitudinal thing.
Speaker 1 (34:33):
Thank you, Greg, Thank you for recognizing that,
and I think it's just a habit.
Energy is a habit and I want totry everything.
I want to enjoy everything andI want to live life to the
fullest.
I don't want to, at the end ofmy day, go I didn't do enough
and sometimes it works againstme.
My husband's like you don'tneed to do all of those things,
(34:57):
but I do.
I give it everything I got andgosh.
I've definitely improved overthe years.
I've just started exercising,so I'm about two months into
exercising.
I was on a mom to run challengeand I had to run about 6k a
week.
I've never run before.
I hate running.
And one girl invited me to thisgroup and I was like, oh no,
(35:18):
I'm not going to do this, I wasjust going to ghost it.
And then they added me and Iwent from kind of going, oh I
just do not like you guys to.
I won the gold medal.
Speaker 2 (35:28):
Well done, that's awesome, oh, that's awesome.
It's not not the Olympic goldmedal, but it's still a gold
medal yeah, not based onperformance, I'll have you know.
Speaker 1 (35:37):
It's just based on grit to actually complete every
single week.
Speaker 2 (35:41):
So it's so interesting, isn't it running?
Because I was going to ask youthe question about how you
recharge because you're in a.
You know you're a busy person,so are you finding an outlet
through running?
Now that you've got past thatmindset of I don't like running?
Speaker 1 (35:53):
Yeah, I mean I still kind of wonder whether I do like
running or not.
But I've found that I went fromhating it to I've now used it
when I'm feeling overwhelmed orjust kind of just feeling a
little bit down or something.
I'll go for a run and I go fromreally flat to like yeah.
I'm ready to.
I've also one of my littlesecret sauce tips is the 5 am
(36:17):
club.
It has changed my life.
I get up really early and Iremember I was in a Duncan
Garner was talking to us when Iwas at MediaWorks and he was
going you get there earlier thaneverybody, you work harder than
everybody and that's how yousucceed.
And I was like, okay, how doyou do that?
And I don't know why, that justpopped up in me, but it's
(36:39):
reminding me of how I'm livingmy life now, which is I get up
at 5am before anybody else, andlately it's been 4.30 because my
staff are in America so I'vegot to get onto client calls.
But I get up really early.
I have my time to strengthenmyself.
I will lift weights and dosquats and I sweat and I am just
(37:01):
in beast mode and sometimesit's just so hard.
But I've tackled it and it'slike not only am I
physiologically feeling better,but mentally it's like I've
accomplished something.
I've accomplished somethingtoday.
I have a cold shower after I'vea.
I'm very blessed to have asauna at my house.
I've splurged on that and so Ihave a sauna to kind of detox
(37:21):
and pray, and then I have a coldshower afterwards and I'm like
ready and raring to go, and somepeople are only just kind of
wiping the sleep out of theireyes.
So I think it's something thatI've had to do, because I was
trying to squeeze all that inwhen everybody else was up and
it didn't work for me.
And, as a woman who wants to bea mother, an amazing mother and
(37:45):
a great businesswoman, I've gotto find a way to make it work
for me, and the only personthat's going to do that is
mewoman.
I've got to find a way to makeit work for me, and the only
person that's going to do thatis me.
And I've got to carve out extratime.
And that's cool.
I go to bed at a reasonablehour.
I don't watch screens at nighton the weeknights, so yeah.
Speaker 2 (37:58):
It's interesting talking about running, because I
think most people don't likerunning.
I would say it's the mostcommonly hated form of exercise.
For most people is running, andthe kind of the hot tip I would
give because I'm no greatrunner but I do see the benefits
to me physiologically andmentally of when I run is just
slow down.
We just run too fast.
(38:19):
Whatever the paces that you do,we just run a little bit too
fast.
So just take even 30 seconds akilometer off.
It's a phenomenal change to howfar you can run, how good you
feel you know, just run a littlebit slower.
Speaker 1 (38:31):
I love that advice, greg.
I think my Instagram algorithmhas been feeding me all these
run things.
It's like I basically telleverybody I'm basically an
athlete?
Speaker 2 (38:41):
Yeah, you're identifying as a runner now.
Speaker 1 (38:43):
Yeah.
I'm basically an athlete, but Ilove this reel that it said when
you don't feel like running,you need to do these three
things One, put on your runningclothes.
Two, go running for fiveminutes and if at the end of
five minutes you don't feel likerunning, stop.
If at the end of five minutesyou keep going, go.
And so there've been some dayswhere I'm like just five, just
(39:05):
give it five minutes and then,by five minutes I'm like woo,
ready to go.
I've got a really good book.
I typically listen to books tokind of like learn.
I've had some really good onesabout being relentless and
that's just really motivated meto just never give up and keep
on running and just sweatthrough it.
Speaker 2 (39:24):
And make that first kilometer your slowest, go slow.
Speaker 1 (39:28):
Yeah, that's really good.
I've really tried to outdomyself.
I think sometimes it is justlike slow down and just enjoy
the run.
Speaker 2 (39:36):
And you touched on like listening to books and
things.
Final question like what do you, you know, listen to, read,
consume as a way of learning andbeing inspired?
What kind of things do youtouch on?
Speaker 1 (39:49):
I do lots of different things.
So, like I was saying before,I'm a Christian.
So I read the Bible quiteregularly.
They call it your daily breadand I'm only recently returned
to faith in the last few years,and I find there is something
that has been so fulfillingabout reading the Bible.
(40:09):
There's like this sense ofpeace and completeness in me
when I do that.
So I have devotionals regularly.
I also listen to podcasts around.
You know different books, likedeep dives into the book of Mark
, for example.
There's another one calledMessenger X.
There's a pastor called JohnBevere.
I listen to him and it'sinteresting.
A lot of them.
(40:29):
I find it talks a lot aboutmental state.
There's so many thingsapplicable to my business life
that I think it just reallyfeeds me in a more kind of a
secular sense.
I love Tony Robbins.
He is just like the man I feellike he gets into my head and he
just powers me up.
Love him.
And I'm always constantlylistening or looking at YouTube
(40:51):
videos around businessefficiency state of mind.
I'm reading a book calledWinning the War in your Mind
yeah, so I don't want to soundlike I'm like oh, I'm always
listening to scholarly things.
It's definitely not that I lovesome good funky chill tunes as
well.
But yeah, I just find whateverI'm in the mood for, just
something to kind of feed me.
(41:11):
If I feel like I want to have abit of self-help, I do that.
If I'm like I'm tired ofself-help, I just want to
breathe and enjoy and just singreally loud.
Speaker 2 (41:20):
Larissa, it has been such a joy chatting to you today
.
I'm so impressed by you.
You are a very good salesleader and I think you know
there's been some ideas andthoughts and tips just around
approaching sales.
But we've also kind of coveredsome slightly controversial kind
of topics as well and that'sbeen refreshing and I think
there's a lot of people outthere that would find this
(41:40):
really really refreshing.
I'll make sure there's waysthat people can connect both
with you and Black Pearl in theshow notes when we publish this.
So really want to thank you foryour time today.
It has been, you know, it'sbeen a real joy.
Speaker 1 (41:55):
Oh, thank you so much for having me, greg.
It's been an absolute pleasureand I appreciate you pulling out
a lot of honest answers from me, and I would love to connect
with anybody that wants to talkmore.
Speaker 2 (42:07):
Fantastic.
Thank you so much.
Hey, don't forget to check outDeskwork, the team behind you,
being able to buildhigh-performing offshore teams
for your startups and SMEs.
It's deskworkco.
Backslash, greg, and go andsave yourself some hard-earned
money.
When it comes to my team from a business level, I
definitely don't letunderperformance slide.
What is your blocker?
And typically it's a mentalthing or it's a small process
thing, and so I find no probleminsurmountable.
I typically will go, I'm goingto coach you and coach you, and
coach you, and some people getcoached until they're like, yeah
(00:24):
, this isn't me.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Larissa is a new VP of sales at the Black Pearl
Group.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
You fell over.
Okay, brush it off, move on.
I think that there's a pointwhere we need to stop saying oh,
I'm hurting and say I was hurt,this is what I'm doing about it
.
I just am a firm believer thatanybody can do it with the right
coaching and tools, and I'vebeen able to work through that.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Hey everybody, it's Greg Sheehan.
Welcome to my podcast, whereyou will hear from a range of
guests, including those from thestartup world and those that
have had incredibly interestinglives and some stories to tell.
I would really appreciate it ifyou could hit the follow button
and share this amongst yourfriends, but, as you know, time
is limited, so let's get on withit and hear from our next guest
(01:14):
.
I want to tell you a little bitabout desk work.
Desk work is your offshoringoption.
If you want to save around 50%of your total headcount cost for
equivalent talent acrossaccounting, marketing, sales,
your operations or your admin,then check out Deskwork.
Honestly, if I was looking tostart an accounting firm again,
(01:37):
it would be a no-brainer for meto use Deskwork.
I've used offshoring teamsbefore in the past.
I got past my skepticism onbeing able to do it and it was
so phenomenally successful.
Go have a look at desk-workcobackslash, greg, and book
yourself a free discovery callto learn more about it.
(01:58):
Better still, mention my nameand get yourself some discounts.
Check it out.
Now back to the show.
My guest today is LarissaHollis.
Larissa is a new VP of sales atthe Black Pearl Group.
Welcome to the podcast, larissa.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
Thank you for having me, greg, good to be here.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
It is such a delight, and we were just comparing
weather stories.
I'm in Sydney as we speak andit's cold and rainy, and Larissa
is in Auckland and it's coldand rainy.
So we've got that in common.
Larissa, I always sort of startthese podcasts.
The way humans like to connect,we want to know a little bit
about the person we're talkingto.
So give us a little bit of yourbackground.
(02:41):
Where did you grow up?
How did you ultimately get tobe here in New Zealand, because
we can all hear that Americanaccent.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
Yeah Well, look, I've got Peter Jackson to thank for
my arrival in New Zealand.
I grew up in Washington DC andthen moved to Indianapolis and
that's where I went touniversity.
And then I got the opportunityto teach overseas, and one of
the many different countries wasNew Zealand.
Never heard of New Zealand,didn't even know it existed, and
(03:10):
then Lord of the Rings came outand I thought where is this
place?
And then it just all wasserendipitous and then came to
New Zealand, met my Kiwi husbandat a wedding three weeks in.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
It's always a wedding right Like it's always it's
always a wedding.
It's the best because you knowsomebody's already pre-vetted
them, you.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
It's always a wedding .
It's the best because you knowsomebody's already pre-vetted
them.
You know they're going to pay$100 a head on that person, so
they must be relative quality.
That's true, and then yeah, so19 years ago I moved over to New
Zealand to be with him withjust two suitcases and one was
just filled with shoes andhandbags.
So I was a young woman andready for a new adventure.
(03:43):
So yeah, I've been here eversince.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
And then got started into the sort of world of sales.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
That's right.
Well, I kind of started out ata record label, Warner Music.
Yeah, you've got some bigbrands.
Yeah, and you're a CV, thank you.
I've been really lucky.
I started out there and startedworking in kind of digital
media, kind of a coordinator job, and I'm just one of these
people that is hungry andcapable and I love to work hard
(04:09):
and drive results.
And so, right place, right time, I moved into MediaWorks and
did digital sales there and theneventually have done all of
kind of the different mediamarketing, primarily working
with media agencies.
So I'd say for the last 15years I've worked supplier side,
so it's Stuff and Bravo.
And then most recently I wasthe head of client at Archipro.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Yeah, and that was, I guess, your introduction into
SaaS.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
That's right.
Yeah, it's a hybrid SaaS model.
It has a lot of kind of mediaplay elements and moving towards
SaaS, and when I left there inJanuary, I knew that I wanted to
find a role that was very trueSAS and what could I do to kind
of do something really different?
And I found Black Pearl.
Well, actually, it found me andI'm so thankful for it because
(04:59):
it's just this amazing rocketship of innovation and intensity
and camaraderie and I'm just,and I'm just thrilled to be here
.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
And what I love about Black Pearl is the company has
decided to take a listing prettyearly in its life and we've got
some, but very few numbers ofpeople or companies that have
done that, one being Xero.
So Xero did a listing and fewpeople actually even know this
or remember this.
Xero listed with something like$3,000 or $5,000 a month in
(05:30):
revenue.
So Black Pearl is taking thisjourney too.
So what's it been like thefirst you know what?
Five or six weeks in now?
Speaker 1 (05:36):
Yeah, five weeks in, yeah, just finishing my fifth
week.
It's been absolutely incredible.
The team here you know, whenyou interview at a company and
they kind of say, oh, it's goingto be like this, and they kind
of paint this beautiful picture.
And then you get there and yougo, oh, this isn't what I signed
up for Not quite what I thoughtit was.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
I can say it has been consistently exactly what they
told me, which is the people arethere for each other.
As the head of sales the VP ofsales I know that I'm
responsible for a lot, but Iknow every single department is
there to help us achieve ourgoals and other roles that I've
been in in sales.
You are responsible and toblame for everything, so it's
(06:14):
really nice to have this senseof camaraderie and everyone's
trying to work together to finda way to do it.
We're currently hunting down$10 million ARR and on track to
do that and I don't want to setmy sights there because I know
that there's huge potential,because we listed in the New
Zealand Stock Exchange, becauseas a data company, you need to
be trusted, you need to bereally, really transparent, and
(06:37):
no other tech company in thiskind of field is doing that.
So we wanted to set ourselvesapart and it's opened a lot of
doors and going into the States,it's just been an amazing
result and I feel like we'veonly just scratched the surface.
So you know we're hunting 10million ARR, but pretty soon
it'll be a hundred million.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
That's so cool.
It's actually going to be socool to watch Black Pearl as it
grows.
So what does Black Pearl do?
Speaker 1 (07:06):
So Black Pearl exists to help businesses grow, which
you know it sounds a bit fluffybut it's really not.
They put data in the hands ofthe owners of those sites so
that they can analyze who'svisiting their site and then
take action and based on theuser experience or kind of
market to those audiences.
The thing for me is I reallywant to make a positive impact.
(07:30):
One of my favorite people inthis industry is Nicola Taylor
from Taxi and she has a sayingno dancing llamas.
I don't know if I'm allowed tosay this but I can say anything
on this podcast.
I absolutely love it because shesays you know, we don't want to
just create something thatdoesn't have a purpose.
It's about doing something thathas purpose.
(07:50):
And I met her before I startedat Black Pearl and that's
definitely what I'm looking forSomething that's actually going
to create a serious positiveimpact to somebody's bottom line
.
And I've seen Black Pearl dothat.
I mean, their customerretention rate is 97%, which is
just unheard of, like thecustomer service, the smarts
that they bring.
(08:11):
It's just amazing.
And so who is the customer forBlack Pearl, like typically,
yeah, so typically, black Pearlhas really been servicing small
to medium businesses.
So you own your website.
You might have 10,000 visitorsa month, so our job is to
resolve that data for you andidentify who's visiting your
(08:32):
site so that you can thenretarget them with marketing or
change your user experience oridentify who your audience is.
As we grow, the interest hasalso grown and so we're getting
some major enterprise clients,particularly in America, around
media marketing, data, analytics, and so we're kind of moving
(08:54):
into more enterprise solutionsas well.
So we kind of run that fullgamut where we can help a small
mom and pop with their websiteand then we can also help bigger
clients and then they can kindof be an agent for us as well.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
Obviously, the company is going into the US.
You having a background youknow being born there, raised
there, going to college therethat must help.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
Yeah, that definitely helps.
It's quite interesting, havinglived in New Zealand now half my
life, obviously still American,sound American it's been so
nice.
I love the Kiwis, don't get mewrong, I absolutely love the
Kiwis, but working withAmericans again has just been
such a laugh.
It's just been like cause I'malways told I'm quite full noise
(09:36):
, I'm chill, but I have a lot ofenergy and the Kiwi way is just
this beautifully, like a littlebit more laid back.
So, meeting some of my staffthat are in America and they're
like hey, and it's like, yeah,you know, there's that amazing
energy and even the clients aswell.
It's really nice to work withthem and kind of have even just
(09:57):
that human touch point.
Or like, oh yeah, you're inColorado and you went to this
concert and we talked aboutdifferent spots that we go to
and, yeah, it's good.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
It's funny.
I've got a son who is inMelbourne and he is in sales and
, being a Kiwi born and raisedin New Zealand he said to me the
interesting thing about being aKiwi is he felt like he was too
big, sometimes he was too much,he was too too overt, too loud
in a room and he can't be loud.
But in Australia he feels likehe fits in and I think the US
(10:26):
and Australia are kind of moresimilar.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
There's something in our Kiwi psyche where we're like
, hey, buddy, not too Totally,don't go too big.
It's funny my husband and Ioften we have these kind of
discussions analyzing thingslike this, and we say Australia
is more like an America, whereasNew Zealand's more like a UK.
Stiff upper lip, and you'd be alittle bit stoic and it's been
a really cool learning for me,like I've had to kind of tone
(10:49):
down my big white smile.
I kind of Kiwi smile a littlebit more, except when I'm
talking to Americans I get thebig smile again.
Speaker 2 (10:57):
It's so funny, isn't it.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
Yeah, yeah, it's been quite an interesting ride.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
It's so funny, just culturally, how we go.
And what about sales?
Like sales is one of theseareas that doesn't have a great
rap right, Particularly inplaces like New Zealand or maybe
even in Australia, definitelyin the UK.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
I know the person who introduced us was saying you
need to talk to Larissa abouther view on sales.
She's just got kind of arefreshing view, so thank you.
Well, look, I shout out, jodie.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
Yeah, thanks, jodie.
I think sales often, like in myhistory, kind of felt like this
a key word Ooh, you're asalesperson, yeah, but I take it
from a different approach,which is just around I help
solve people's problems and sothat's why, like I was saying
with Black Pearl, it's reallyimportant to me that whatever
I'm working on actually candeliver a tangible solution to
(11:48):
your business.
Otherwise, I don't really wantto align my life mission with
that.
So I look to really understandwhat clients need and then drive
a solution for them.
I don't really like kind of justselling things just in kind of
different like boxes.
I like to partner with them andreally kind of be a part of
(12:09):
their business.
So it feels like I work with athousand businesses.
I'm part of a thousandbusinesses rather than you know,
I just work for Black Pearl.
So it's really important to meto deliver them something that
is going to solve a problem forthem and make their lives easier
.
Otherwise, I'm open to sayingbye, we're not the right thing
(12:31):
for you, because I think it'sreally important to be authentic
and honest and align with them.
Speaker 2 (12:34):
And what strikes me about Black Pearl is that it is
a rocket ship already andtherefore is likely to continue
to be a rocket ship, which meansthat your role is going to
change dramatically.
It's going to be a scaling rolewhere you go from a certain
size team to whatever that isnow to being something very
different in a short space oftime.
(12:54):
How do you feel about that?
Speaker 1 (12:56):
I'm in my wheelhouse.
It's exactly what I was lookingfor Because, like I said, I
love to work hard.
There's something that, at theend of the day, if you've given
it everything, you've got andyou just feel so good, and I
love that feeling.
I don't like to shirkresponsibilities and when I was
looking for a company, I wantedto find a kind of a startup
company, but some place that hadreally good foundations, that
(13:20):
we have learned kind of this iswhat works and this is kind of
what our rhythm is.
But they need somebody to comein and exponentially grow.
So I would come in and, yeah,I'm looking to kind of like
spark it up.
I'm not trying to completelychange everything, but how can I
amplify exponentially all thisgreat work that we've done?
And I feel really, reallyconfident doing that.
(13:42):
I think if I worked forcompanies where I feel like
there's a bit of it's notconsistent with what they don't
consistently know what they wantor what they want to do, and so
I found trouble kind ofnavigating where to put my
energy, because it couldn't makeits mind up, stability and kind
of cadence, and I found thatthat got a bit repetitive and
bored.
So this is this perfect mix ofI create foundations and I
(14:04):
create templates for a reallygood foundation, and then I help
grow the company.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
How would you describe your sales leadership
style?
Are you sort of a I mean, atthe end of the day you got to
hit numbers right, andparticularly in a listed
environment?
Are you somebody who's kind ofvery hands-on or are you kind of
getting out of the way?
Are people like how would youdescribe that?
Speaker 1 (14:25):
I guess it really depends on the person or the
situation.
My typical thought is, when wehire adults and professionals, I
expect them to do what they'rehired to do.
However, if I need to get myhands dirty and get in and just
get side by side with them, howcan I help them out?
But I think when it comes to meas a leader, I first try to
(14:46):
understand the person.
What drives you?
I think you know any success islike 80% psychology, 80%, 20%
kind of skills.
So what is your state of mind?
Do you believe that you can doit?
How can you drive that kind ofpositive state of mind, trying
to create a winner's mentality,this kind of robust character
(15:08):
where you're giving iteverything you got.
You're never just relying onyour last best score.
It's like how can I just dobetter?
Cool, I did that.
How can I do better?
And it's not this rat race totry to grow for the sake of
growing.
It's like you're alwayscompeting with yourself.
I did that, Cool.
How can I do better there?
So I really try to understandwhat motivates people.
(15:29):
I really focus on them growing.
I think in sales you alwaysfocus on this is the number.
This is the number that youhave to hit.
But I also think that peopledon't just come just for the
number.
It's like how else can I grow,how can I become more valuable
as a person?
And I will always try toidentify what that is in each
person.
In saying that, I think I focusfirst to understand the person,
(15:54):
but also the numbers are reallyfoundational.
I think I get into the team andfigure out a rhythm for
reporting and analysis so thatjust becomes as habitual.
They know their numbers likethis, and then my job is to
guide and coach and upskill themto how they can create more
influence, how they can betterunderstand clients, how they can
(16:14):
connect more with the decisionmaker, how they can convert a
sale on the spot, how they canconvert a sale on the spot, how
they can continue that ongoingrelationship, that cyclical
relationship, so that they cancontinue to go cool.
I use that as my model.
I'm going to get more, I'mgoing to get more, I'm going to
get more.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
And if you were to describe both your sales ethos
and the culture that you like tobuild, would you say you are
more of you know.
On the continuum, you've sortof got some people who are more
we're all family versus actuallyno, we're a high performing
sports team.
Which one?
I get the sense, I know whichone.
This is for you.
Which one do you think you are?
Speaker 1 (16:50):
Oh, I mean my family and I play a lot of sports.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
So yeah, I would say really definitely, definitely
hybrid.
This is a nice mix.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Yeah, I would say really definitely a hybrid.
I mean, I definitely would sayit is like a family.
I think that we all bringsomething different to the table
.
So my job is to go how can Imake your strength, your
superpower, and how can I letyour kind of areas of
development either get up to abase level or just get by?
(17:17):
And I think that if something'snot going right, we need to
flag it with each other.
I see myself as more of aservant leader.
I think one of my most favoritethings when I started leading
teams about six years ago was Ijust get such a kick out of
seeing other people thrive.
I get such a kick out of seeingthem win and grow and kind of
(17:39):
go.
Oh, thank you for telling me,and for me it just feels like
this one little thing I said ina passing conversation or in a
one-on-one and they tell meabout the impact that's made to
them and how it's kind of madethem more efficient or more
confident.
And I think that you feel somuch more confident and you get
this great momentum when youhave that self-belief and
(18:01):
confidence.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
I guess the thing is, though, the reason why I ask
the question is because we allwant to be connected from a
family point of view.
We want to feel loved, we wantto feel part of something.
We want to feel yeah, this deeplevel of connection.
Yet we're hired to do a job,and if we miss our sales numbers
, you know we don't let membersof our family go because they
didn't hit a sales number right.
(18:23):
So there is a difference.
This is a high performing teamand there are people in the team
who keep dropping the ball, whofail to get that puck down the
other end, right?
So that's kind of a differentpsychology, right?
So you must play that balancenicely.
Speaker 1 (18:38):
Oh, I definitely do.
I mean, you should just ask myhusband if he doesn't do the
chores.
No, I'm kidding.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
Hope he's listening.
He will be listening.
He will be listening.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
I guess the reason I say family is because I just
don't give up on people unlessthey give up on themselves.
So if you want to move out ofmy house, you move out of my
house, but I'm going to workreally hard to go.
I believe in you and I knowthat you can do this.
You just maybe don't know howto do it yet, so let's work
together to figure it out.
(19:11):
In my family, we all bringsomething to the table.
The kids get paid their pocketmoney because they participate
in the house chores.
We all participate in makingthis our home, and I think that
you got to keep your room tidy,you got to take out the trash,
all those things, and I think,when it comes to my team from a
(19:31):
business level, I definitelydon't let underperformance slide
.
What is your blocker?
And typically it's a mentalthing or it's a small process
thing, and so I find no probleminsurmountable.
I typically will go, I'm goingto coach you and coach you, and
coach you, and some people getcoached until they're like, yeah
(19:52):
, this isn't me, and then theygo.
Okay, cool, they've chosen toleave.
Speaker 2 (19:55):
But I just am a firm believer that anybody can do it
with the right coaching andtools and I've been able to work
through that do you think thatthat psychology and I think it's
a really refreshing psychologyand you and I kind of talked a
little bit off air about this doyou think that that psychology
is something that's commonplaceacross New Zealand, that
psychology around play to win,play hard, but fair, but fair,
(20:20):
and even at a global level we'vekind of got this victim
mentality.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:24):
Yeah, yeah, the victim mentality.
I think we've never been moreemotionally vulnerable,
emotionally open in any part ofsociety than it feels like today
.
If you are on meds and you havea counselor and all of that,
it's kind of this badge of honor.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
You get extra points yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:41):
Yeah, and I understand people have needs and
I'm not trying to bag anybodythat needs that support, but it
feels so commonplace and it'slike you get this kind of extra
credit if you kind of talk aboutyour problems in that way.
So we're emotionally vulnerablebut at the same time, if you
look at any report, we're alsosome of the most unhappy people
(21:05):
in society and I think thatthere has a lot to do with the
fact that people aren't takingownership of their feelings.
I think that I was actuallyjust watching doing a Tony
Robbins course.
I love him, he's amazing but hesays life isn't what happens to
you, life is happening for you.
So what are you going to makeof it?
(21:26):
And I feel like a lot of peoplejust kind of go, I'm on the
treadmill and it's just kind ofall happening to me, but it's
like no, take the bull by thehorns and go after it.
I also think that there'ssomething to be said for
stoicism.
You fell over, okay, brush itoff, move on.
I think that there's a pointwhere we need to stop saying oh,
(21:46):
I'm hurting and say I was hurt.
This is what I'm doing about itWith my teams.
When they come to me with aproblem, I listen and we
brainstorm how to fix it, or Itell them forget about it.
So the mantra is always fix itor forget about it, and that way
we can kind of go I'm eitherdoing something about it or it's
(22:08):
not something that's aroadblock anymore, because I
think that we can create all ofthese invisible barriers around
what's stopping us from doinganything.
But I guess my thought isanything is possible.
I am unstoppable.
The only thing that's stoppingme is myself.
So get out of my way mentallyand take control.
(22:30):
I think that a lot of people gooh, I've tried to do everything.
It's like dieting, for example.
Have you stayed away from thosetreats?
Did you order the fries?
Are you getting a good night'ssleep?
Are you getting fresh air andwater?
And you know, are you reallythinking about it like that or
are you just kind of going oh,actually, to be honest, I'm a
little bit too lazy to reallyget into it and I kind of don't
(22:51):
want to deal with the pain.
But I always say pressure makesa diamond.
You only get the toothpaste outwhen you squeeze it right, and
I think that we need to putourselves under pressure.
You know, you grow muscles bylifting iron.
I think some people just needto harden up, god I love it
Honestly.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
It's probably not going to go down, well, no this
is controversial, but this isexactly what we should be
talking about, because we areall unhappy.
As a general rule, people areunhappy and they are as you said
.
They're more vulnerable thanever.
You know, there's thatexpression that if you think you
can, you are right, and if youthink you can't, you are also
right.
Speaker 1 (23:31):
Totally.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
Right.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
Completely, completely, and I think about, I
do feel for people that aregoing through problems and can't
get out of their way, but I'mquite fortunate because I have
faith in Jesus, I'm a Christian,and so I see Jesus as an
example, and he definitely ledthe way for truth, but also
forgiveness and love, andthere's this beautiful mix.
(23:55):
You know, like I said, leadersthat I aspire to be like.
There's this beautiful mix.
You know, like I said, leadersthat I aspire to be like.
I look at him and go how can Ibe honest and loving but also
guide them along the way?
Speaker 2 (24:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
Leaders have followers.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
Right.
Leaders have followers, so be aleader.
If you want to be a leader,make sure you've got followers.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
Exactly, but also I think I've heard this before
that the truth is not trendy,and I think I've heard this
before that the truth is nottrendy and I think a lot of
people are changing the way theyfeel about certain things
because of what the currentculture is saying, and it's like
, I think, that there's alwaysbeen a place for taking
ownership of yourself and whatare you in control of?
(24:35):
You can't control what happensto you, but you can control how
you react, and I try to thinkabout it from that point of view
.
Speaker 2 (24:44):
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(25:24):
headaches.
Let's get back to the show.
It's so true, and we weretalking offline about some of
the sort of, I guess, issues ofour time around gender yeah, and
let's go there.
You know like it's acontroversial thing.
As is probably clear, I'm amale, I identify as a male.
I am also part of that categoryof society that has the highest
(25:47):
suicide rate in the world.
Clearly, you know, men are, asa general rule, are finding it
really really tough.
Yet we've also got a lot ofmale bashing.
That goes on.
Speaker 1 (25:58):
Yeah, and I'm glad that you brought this up because
it's something that I'm reallypassionate about.
I have two boys One is 13 andone is 10.
And I'm married to a man that Ilove dearly, and I feel like
I'm living in a culture nowwhere they've got to apologize
for their gender and the colorof their skin when having done
(26:21):
nothing, and I think that I wantto do absolutely everything I
can to.
This isn't me protectinganybody, but it is about
creating, I guess, equity.
I'm not saying equal outcome,I'm saying equal opportunity for
everybody.
I think that I'm living in aculture where it's okay to bash
(26:44):
white males and it bothers me.
I've been in an office where itwas International Women have
the life that I have, but I alsofeel sometimes marginalized by
an international woman's day.
Is there an international man'sday?
No, and society would say, ohwell, every day is international
(27:12):
man's day, and I wouldcompletely disagree.
I think that a lot of men arenot able to do men in business
events or men in media or thingslike that, and I feel like I
want to live in a world where itdoesn't matter the color of
your skin, it doesn't matteryour sexual orientation, it
doesn't matter your gender,anything like that.
(27:34):
It's just about people thatwant to do good, that have
similar interests, and I justthink that we label things too
much and is not helping anything.
Martin Luther King said I judgepeople by the content, of the
character, and that's how Iapproach things.
I mean, I see everybody as asoul.
(27:54):
We're all souls.
Let's just love each other thatway.
Goodbye.
Speaker 2 (28:00):
It's so cool.
It's actually really refreshingto talk to you about that and
you know you've got twodaughters.
I think a lot of men are afraid, I think a lot of men.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
They don't want to say hey, that's not fair,
because I think that they'reworried about getting pushed
down further, like, oh, you'vehad it for so long.
Well, I think my job is tosupport men as well, and I think
that men are wonderful andwomen are wonderful, and we all
bring something different to thetable and let's celebrate that.
The future is not female.
The future is human Well,hopefully, human, not AI.
(28:29):
The future is human, and it'slike we're all in this together,
and how can we work cohesivelyrather than against each other?
Speaker 2 (28:37):
I couldn't agree more .
I've got two daughters, you'vegot two sons.
I've also got a son.
I could not want success for mydaughters more.
I want them to be in a worldthat is truly equal and to do
that, I don't want to get thembashing the males.
I want them to be seeing thebenefit and the joy of being all
(28:59):
they can be, in exactly thesame way as I was with my son.
You know, there shouldn't be adifference there.
There really shouldn't be.
Speaker 1 (29:06):
For sure, and I think when I look at women in general
that I've worked with you know,they talk about the pay gap as
an example.
Well, I don't feel like I'veever experienced that.
I'm not saying whether or notit's real, that's not.
I haven't feel like I've everexperienced that.
I'm not saying whether or notit's real, that's not.
I haven't studied it enough.
But one of the things that I amvery conscious of is that women
(29:27):
are the ones that are leastlikely to ask for the pay rise.
That's right.
So, rather than goingestablishing mandates around
equality just because she's awoman, she should be paid at the
same level.
I think it should be paid atthe same level.
I think it should be based onwhat is the output and the
experience.
So what I would love, and whatI do encourage women to do, is,
(29:47):
well, ask for it.
If the guys are going to askfor it, you ask for it.
So anytime I go intonegotiation, I ask for it, I go
full in, I'm going to go big,I'm just going to give it a go,
and it's always worked out in myfavor, and I think some people
are too afraid to ask for it.
So if I was going to kind ofsingle out women.
(30:08):
My job would be to coach themand encourage them to take
what's theirs and do it based onyour experience and make a
business case for it.
Speaker 2 (30:18):
I could not agree more.
I have this conversation a lotwith the three kids.
My son if he's got two of the10 requirements that a job needs
, he thinks he's got what ittakes.
The two daughters would say ifI haven't got 10 out of 10, they
won't go for it.
They all have a very strongfemale role model in their mom.
She's outstanding.
Their grandmother, her mother,is an outstanding female role
(30:41):
model and yet they still havethat psychology.
They've grown up in the samefamily.
So whether that's kind of anexample of what it's like in
society I don't know.
But we have to encourage womento go.
Go for it, you know, just gofor it in the same way a male
would.
Speaker 1 (30:55):
I do think I have seen a couple more companies in
my job search earlier this year.
I have seen them say they'veput in some stats Women are
sometimes more likely or somepeople that wouldn't fit the
typical mold are sometimes morelikely.
And we encourage you to try andI think that that's a nice
initiative of companies to justremind people like give it a go,
(31:16):
you never know.
Speaker 2 (31:17):
Yeah, that's so true.
Just a little bit about you.
So you are in an area that isquite tough, like sales and that
whole, you know, customerexperience.
It's a tough area.
Speaker 1 (31:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:26):
What has been probably the toughest part of
your career to date.
If you look back and you think,gee, that was a really tough
time in my career, but I learneda lot.
What might that have been?
Speaker 1 (31:35):
When I was at Stuff and I was the National Sales
Director of the agency team, Iwas there in lockdown during
COVID and obviously and I wasworking on the Ministry of
Health campaign, so I justremember the intensity of having
to stay across all of theircomms.
(31:56):
I was working probably 12 hoursa day.
I was running the team.
I was trying to keep my familyspirits high.
Speaker 2 (32:03):
Functioning.
Speaker 1 (32:03):
Functioning and I found that that probably was the
hardest time because not onlyare you hit with the intensity
and craziness of work, but itwas just dialed up that much
more because of the intensityand craziness.
At home Usually you can kind ofcope because work might be
(32:24):
crazy, but personal life ispretty balanced.
So it wasn't even just mypersonal life or my work life,
it was the entire community justwent a bit kind of bonkers, so
kind of navigating through.
That was probably the hardestfrom an exhaustion point of view
, from an uncertainty and tryingto navigate through.
(32:44):
But here's the thing I love achallenge when you're in it
you're just like but here's thething I love a challenge when
you're in it, you're just likeoh so hard, and then you get out
of it and you're stronger andyou're smarter.
So I always see theseopportunities, these tests, as
my testimony, this mess as mymessage I get really excited as
an opportunity to learn.
(33:05):
I may not like it while I'm init, but I come out of it and go.
That was great.
I've had jobs that arechallenging, I've had bosses
that are challenging and youkind of go okay, cool, what can
I learn in it?
And I think, as I get older, Ialso am learning to recognize in
the moment, in the middle ofthat pain and pressure to go
(33:28):
okay, this is intense.
You know, in the middle of thatpain and pressure to go okay,
this is intense, but I'm goingto get through it and I'm going
to make my way and becomestronger, off the back of it, I
pray, I get up and I take breaks.
I work from home and so I mightdust a windowsill just to not
think about something for aminute.
But I think it's reallyimportant in those times of
(33:49):
pressure to stop and recognizewhere you're at and really just
take a moment to remind yourselfto breathe, rather than just
try to bulldoze through, becauseoften solution will come to you
when you take a step away, andsometimes the solution just
solves itself in some problemsif you just leave it for a
minute.
Speaker 2 (34:07):
You strike me as somebody who, when you get to
the end of your life, is notgoing to regret giving it all on
the field, right To your family, to your career, to everything
that you're doing.
You're really pushing the boatout and you're doing things that
are, yeah, you're not going tosit there at the end of your
sort of mortal life and go, oh Iwish I had done this, I wish
(34:28):
I'd done that.
You're getting out there andyou're doing it right, which is
an attitudinal thing.
Speaker 1 (34:33):
Thank you, Greg, Thank you for recognizing that,
and I think it's just a habit.
Energy is a habit and I want totry everything.
I want to enjoy everything andI want to live life to the
fullest.
I don't want to, at the end ofmy day, go I didn't do enough
and sometimes it works againstme.
My husband's like you don'tneed to do all of those things,
(34:57):
but I do.
I give it everything I got andgosh.
I've definitely improved overthe years.
I've just started exercising,so I'm about two months into
exercising.
I was on a mom to run challengeand I had to run about 6k a
week.
I've never run before.
I hate running.
And one girl invited me to thisgroup and I was like, oh no,
(35:18):
I'm not going to do this, I wasjust going to ghost it.
And then they added me and Iwent from kind of going, oh I
just do not like you guys to.
I won the gold medal.
Speaker 2 (35:28):
Well done, that's awesome, oh, that's awesome.
It's not not the Olympic goldmedal, but it's still a gold
medal yeah, not based onperformance, I'll have you know.
Speaker 1 (35:37):
It's just based on grit to actually complete every
single week.
Speaker 2 (35:41):
So it's so interesting, isn't it running?
Because I was going to ask youthe question about how you
recharge because you're in a.
You know you're a busy person,so are you finding an outlet
through running?
Now that you've got past thatmindset of I don't like running?
Speaker 1 (35:53):
Yeah, I mean I still kind of wonder whether I do like
running or not.
But I've found that I went fromhating it to I've now used it
when I'm feeling overwhelmed orjust kind of just feeling a
little bit down or something.
I'll go for a run and I go fromreally flat to like yeah.
I'm ready to.
I've also one of my littlesecret sauce tips is the 5 am
(36:17):
club.
It has changed my life.
I get up really early and Iremember I was in a Duncan
Garner was talking to us when Iwas at MediaWorks and he was
going you get there earlier thaneverybody, you work harder than
everybody and that's how yousucceed.
And I was like, okay, how doyou do that?
And I don't know why, that justpopped up in me, but it's
(36:39):
reminding me of how I'm livingmy life now, which is I get up
at 5am before anybody else, andlately it's been 4.30 because my
staff are in America so I'vegot to get onto client calls.
But I get up really early.
I have my time to strengthenmyself.
I will lift weights and dosquats and I sweat and I am just
(37:01):
in beast mode and sometimesit's just so hard.
But I've tackled it and it'slike not only am I
physiologically feeling better,but mentally it's like I've
accomplished something.
I've accomplished somethingtoday.
I have a cold shower after I'vea.
I'm very blessed to have asauna at my house.
I've splurged on that and so Ihave a sauna to kind of detox
(37:21):
and pray, and then I have a coldshower afterwards and I'm like
ready and raring to go, and somepeople are only just kind of
wiping the sleep out of theireyes.
So I think it's something thatI've had to do, because I was
trying to squeeze all that inwhen everybody else was up and
it didn't work for me.
And, as a woman who wants to bea mother, an amazing mother and
(37:45):
a great businesswoman, I've gotto find a way to make it work
for me, and the only personthat's going to do that is
mewoman.
I've got to find a way to makeit work for me, and the only
person that's going to do thatis me.
And I've got to carve out extratime.
And that's cool.
I go to bed at a reasonablehour.
I don't watch screens at nighton the weeknights, so yeah.
Speaker 2 (37:58):
It's interesting talking about running, because I
think most people don't likerunning.
I would say it's the mostcommonly hated form of exercise.
For most people is running, andthe kind of the hot tip I would
give because I'm no greatrunner but I do see the benefits
to me physiologically andmentally of when I run is just
slow down.
We just run too fast.
(38:19):
Whatever the paces that you do,we just run a little bit too
fast.
So just take even 30 seconds akilometer off.
It's a phenomenal change to howfar you can run, how good you
feel you know, just run a littlebit slower.
Speaker 1 (38:31):
I love that advice, greg.
I think my Instagram algorithmhas been feeding me all these
run things.
It's like I basically telleverybody I'm basically an
athlete?
Speaker 2 (38:41):
Yeah, you're identifying as a runner now.
Speaker 1 (38:43):
Yeah.
I'm basically an athlete, but Ilove this reel that it said when
you don't feel like running,you need to do these three
things One, put on your runningclothes.
Two, go running for fiveminutes and if at the end of
five minutes you don't feel likerunning, stop.
If at the end of five minutesyou keep going, go.
And so there've been some dayswhere I'm like just five, just
(39:05):
give it five minutes and then,by five minutes I'm like woo,
ready to go.
I've got a really good book.
I typically listen to books tokind of like learn.
I've had some really good onesabout being relentless and
that's just really motivated meto just never give up and keep
on running and just sweatthrough it.
Speaker 2 (39:24):
And make that first kilometer your slowest, go slow.
Speaker 1 (39:28):
Yeah, that's really good.
I've really tried to outdomyself.
I think sometimes it is justlike slow down and just enjoy
the run.
Speaker 2 (39:36):
And you touched on like listening to books and
things.
Final question like what do you, you know, listen to, read,
consume as a way of learning andbeing inspired?
What kind of things do youtouch on?
Speaker 1 (39:49):
I do lots of different things.
So, like I was saying before,I'm a Christian.
So I read the Bible quiteregularly.
They call it your daily breadand I'm only recently returned
to faith in the last few years,and I find there is something
that has been so fulfillingabout reading the Bible.
(40:09):
There's like this sense ofpeace and completeness in me
when I do that.
So I have devotionals regularly.
I also listen to podcasts around.
You know different books, likedeep dives into the book of Mark
, for example.
There's another one calledMessenger X.
There's a pastor called JohnBevere.
I listen to him and it'sinteresting.
A lot of them.
(40:29):
I find it talks a lot aboutmental state.
There's so many thingsapplicable to my business life
that I think it just reallyfeeds me in a more kind of a
secular sense.
I love Tony Robbins.
He is just like the man I feellike he gets into my head and he
just powers me up.
Love him.
And I'm always constantlylistening or looking at YouTube
(40:51):
videos around businessefficiency state of mind.
I'm reading a book calledWinning the War in your Mind
yeah, so I don't want to soundlike I'm like oh, I'm always
listening to scholarly things.
It's definitely not that I lovesome good funky chill tunes as
well.
But yeah, I just find whateverI'm in the mood for, just
something to kind of feed me.
(41:11):
If I feel like I want to have abit of self-help, I do that.
If I'm like I'm tired ofself-help, I just want to
breathe and enjoy and just singreally loud.
Speaker 2 (41:20):
Larissa, it has been such a joy chatting to you today
.
I'm so impressed by you.
You are a very good salesleader and I think you know
there's been some ideas andthoughts and tips just around
approaching sales.
But we've also kind of coveredsome slightly controversial kind
of topics as well and that'sbeen refreshing and I think
there's a lot of people outthere that would find this
(41:40):
really really refreshing.
I'll make sure there's waysthat people can connect both
with you and Black Pearl in theshow notes when we publish this.
So really want to thank you foryour time today.
It has been, you know, it'sbeen a real joy.
Speaker 1 (41:55):
Oh, thank you so much for having me, greg.
It's been an absolute pleasureand I appreciate you pulling out
a lot of honest answers from me, and I would love to connect
with anybody that wants to talkmore.
Speaker 2 (42:07):
Fantastic.
Thank you so much.
Hey, don't forget to check outDeskwork, the team behind you,
being able to buildhigh-performing offshore teams
for your startups and SMEs.
It's deskworkco.
Backslash, greg, and go andsave yourself some hard-earned
money.
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