In this episode of Executive Connect, Melissa Aarskaug sits down with Javier Lozano Jr., a fractional growth leader who helps B2B companies build repeatable go-to-market systems and move from reactive marketing toward more predictable growth.

Javier explains why entrepreneurship often becomes chaotic when founders try to do everything at once, chase too many channels, or mistake more marketing for a real growth strategy. He shares how narrowing your audience, clarifying your positioning, creating repeatable offers, and tracking the right signals can make growth more focused and easier to manage.

The conversation also covers building a predictable pipeline, using LinkedIn strategically, knowing when to say no to the wrong client, creating simple quarterly growth plans, and using AI and automation to remove bottlenecks instead of treating AI like a glorified search engine.

For executives considering the leap into entrepreneurship, Javier also shares why networking should begin before you leave corporate and why building in public can make the eventual transition far less uncertain.

Growth does not come from doing everything. It comes from building the right system and executing it consistently.

Chapters:

(0:49) What disappears when you leave corporate

(3:00) Why entrepreneurship is not for everyone

(5:37) Stop trying to do everything

(9:10) The hidden cost of scattered marketing

(10:49) Building clear market positioning

(12:39) What to focus on in the first 30 days

(15:53) Why founders struggle to narrow their niche

(16:31) Knowing when to reject the wrong client

(20:15) Building a predictable go-to-market system

(24:46) The metrics founders should actually watch

(28:36) Using leading indicators to guide growth

(32:46) When the founder becomes the bottleneck

(33:44) Using AI to remove repetitive work

(38:47) What post-corporate operators must unlearn

(43:16) Finding your area of genius

Javier

(0:00) Helping us create a little bit more, just work, like something that just is a bottleneck that you’re doing all the time, like manually, that is something that we need to like lean into. (0:11) And I’m going to say this, I’ve been kind of on a little, you know, soapbox on this, but like, don’t use AI to like, as like glorified Google, like use it literally to like alleviate pain and create opportunities and breakup bottlenecks. (0:23) So as far as like tools, I have one example, like a LinkedIn automations, you know, where I do connection requests.

(0:29) Like I’ll just use that as an example. (0:31) Like I don’t have the time to literally go through every single connection request. (0:35) I don’t have the time to do that.

(0:37) That’s a, it’s time consuming. (0:38) So what I do is I use sales navigator and then I essentially create a list and of my ideal customer as my, as my ideal target.

Melissa

(0:49) Leaving corporate sounds exciting. (0:51) No politics, no red tape, full control until the structure disappears. (0:56) The brand trust disappears, the team disappears, and suddenly growth feels chaotic instead of strategic.

(1:05) Today’s guest has helped founders and post corporate operators replace hope with predictability. (1:11) Javier Lasagna Jr. is a fractional CMO and CRL who has helped B2B companies scale from 1 million to 20 million in revenue by building repeatable go-to-market systems, not campaigns through Boulder Media Company. (1:28) He works with founders who are done guessing and ready to install a growth engine that actually works.

(1:35) This episode is about operating systems. (1:38) Most companies never build, but desperately need. (1:42) Welcome Javier.

Javier

(1:44) Thanks for having me, Melissa. (1:45) I’m really excited about this.

Melissa

(1:47) Now when founders or executives leave corporate, what usually is broken or missing inside the businesses?

Javier

(1:56) Oh, gosh. (1:57) I mean, it’s, it’s everything. (1:58) I mean, it, uh, if, um, cause I, I almost guarantee that even whenever you’re in there, there’s still stuff broken in there as well, too.

(2:06) So it’s, it’s just, there’s so many different things. (2:09) I mean, the difference is, is that, you know, you’re essentially on your own. (2:12) And so you’ve got to kind of be, um, be that person you were in all the different hats and stuff.

(2:15) So, um, either way, there’s always a, I like to kind of joke saying this. (2:19) There’s always a dumpster fire somewhere, you know?

Melissa

(2:21) So, yeah, it’s so true. (2:25) And I think, you know, you’re spot on. (2:27) I think even companies I’ve worked for and I’ve been a part of, I don’t know if they’ve had, you know, a specific structure, a specific timeline and pipeline.

(2:40) Um, so if you don’t have it where you’re coming from and you’re moving into this entrepreneur world, um, it’s tough, right? (2:50) So where do operators overestimate their readiness to go from W2 job to full blown entrepreneurship?

Javier

(3:00) You know, so the thing is, like, I guess when you kind of step back a second, I’ll answer that, but, um, entrepreneurship is not for everybody. (3:08) And I don’t think it’s a bad thing, you know, because it is a challenge. (3:11) Uh, you have to be willing to do a lot of the things yourself that you are accustomed to having someone on your team take care of, you know, a great example is a business development.

(3:22) You know, if you’re working for corporate, you’ve got people working on biz dev. (3:26) You’re not going to those networking meetings until eight o’clock, nine o’clock at night, all the time, unless you are in biz dev and then that’s different. (3:33) But my point is, is that you typically have team members that are doing that.

(3:36) That’s just one example. (3:37) And so when you jump into being an entrepreneur where you’re, you’re going to jump into like such as myself as a fractional CMO CRO, all of a sudden that is something that you’ve take on. (3:47) You can’t just pass that on to Tommy because that’s just his job title.

(3:52) Um, you have to take that on as, as a leader now. (3:55) And so the, the thing that you want to kind of take a look at is, is like, are you, are you ready to take on more than what you’ve done in the past? (4:04) Because I feel as though entrepreneurship is a glorified.

(4:08) Um, sport, if you will, you know, it’s like, it’s like, oh, this is a sport that I can do because it’s so accessible. (4:16) And in reality it’s, it is, but it’s, it’s, um, I think we only see the highlight reels on, on, you know, on LinkedIn and whatnot, and we don’t see the, the, the real tough stuff. (4:28) And so I think the, the, the part is, is that, are you ready to take on more than what you’re accustomed to doing?

(4:36) Are you ready to wear multiple hats? (4:38) And I think the other part is, is that, are you ready to, if you haven’t been building your network, maybe you start working on that. (4:45) Maybe you start building your network ahead of time before you start making these bigger transitions.

Melissa

(4:51) Ready to lead smarter and invest wiser on the executive connect podcast. (4:57) We unpack executive strategies for wealth and influence. (5:01) Hit the subscribe button now.

(5:04) Don’t just watch act. (5:06) Yeah. (5:07) And it’s, it’s funny how quickly chaos shows up if there’s not structure.

(5:11) And I think of kind of, you know, the squirrel, squirrel, squirrel, focus here, focus there. (5:16) Oh, now I gotta do, you know, biz dev. (5:18) Now I gotta do market.

(5:19) Oh, I gotta get my social up. (5:20) So there’s a lot of chaos that happens. (5:22) So let’s chat a little bit about what most people get wrong.

(5:27) So why do founders usually try to fix that gap and why doesn’t it work when they kind of step out on their own?

Javier

(5:37) Yeah. (5:37) So I think a lot of it is, is that you, you kind of nailed it. (5:42) You know, shiny objects, squirrel kind of distracted, and you’re doing all of these things.

(5:47) And in your mind, you’re like, well, but these are all important. (5:51) Well, they are, they, they actually all carry equal weight, if you will. (5:55) But the, the challenge is, is that, and I would actually argue this and you see this in corporate, it’s really focusing on one or two things really well, and just double down on some of those areas, and then once that is going, then you go into something else that is already kind of needing a little bit more attention.

(6:11) And that’s the kind of the same approach that I believe when you make this leap is it’s really focusing on some of those areas that are going to need attention. (6:20) So a great example is, is that if you’re, you know, heavy on LinkedIn, or if you’re not heavy on LinkedIn, then maybe you need to start putting a little more attention there. (6:29) And the attention starts with creating content.

(6:31) And you might be thinking like, well, what do I do? (6:32) Like, how do I create? (6:34) Well, we’ve all been blessed with AI now, and that’s going to help you kind of ideate some ideas.

(6:40) And what you’re going to start doing is you want to start building a presence on there. (6:44) And so the point here is, is that you don’t want to do everything. (6:47) You don’t want to start, you know, you know, posting on a, I’m going to start posting on LinkedIn and then start an email, an email newsletter, and then launch a podcast and do this and do that, because then you’re going to be doing probably 10% of everything.

(7:02) As opposed to getting one thing dialed in really well. (7:05) So I would start with the simplest thing. (7:08) That’s the lowest lift for you.

(7:10) And so if posting on LinkedIn is a low lift for you, then do that. (7:14) Post three times a week. (7:15) If you’re already doing that, great.

(7:17) Then you want to start kind of, you know, seeing where can you take this to the next level? (7:21) Maybe it’s commenting on potential clients in the near future, six months from now on some of their content where you’re building a network that way. (7:29) Maybe it’s starting to build in and kind of figure out your DM strategy where you’re reaching out to different executives or founders of other companies and kind of just getting coffee with them, if you will, and learning what they’re doing so that whenever that moment does happen, you already have a relationship with these folks.

(7:47) So there’s different ways in how you can approach it. (7:49) It’s not one of those where just do it all.

Melissa

(7:54) Yeah. (7:54) And I love that you said that because there is, you know, when I first became an entrepreneur, I was that kind of squirrel. (8:04) I had to do this.

(8:04) I gotta do this. (8:05) I gotta do this. (8:05) And I was burning myself out.

(8:07) And then what happened second for me was I decided to, like you said, outsource the areas I was weak. (8:15) And so I found tools that worked. (8:19) And then what happened after that is I had tool overload.

(8:22) Um, and then I had so much activity to your point that I couldn’t keep up with what I was doing, the tools, the activity. (8:32) And I think a lot of times, and maybe you can tell me, um, if I’m wrong or maybe shed some light on this. (8:40) So I think, you know, founders default to the marketing before the strategy and the system.

(8:46) So they’re like, I gotta get my business out there. (8:48) I gotta, you know, share with the world and find sales, but they don’t really have a strategy on how they’re getting out there. (8:55) And to your point, if it’s LinkedIn and it’s LinkedIn, it’s not LinkedIn and every other social media channel, it’s LinkedIn.

(9:02) And so what’s the cost of chasing these channels instead of building an actual system?

Javier

(9:10) So it’s, it’s, um, you may not see it in a dollar value, but you’ll see it in time. (9:15) And I can tell you right now, that’s something that you and I will never get back dollars. (9:18) You can get back anytime.

(9:19) You can find money almost anywhere, shape or form, you know, depending on what you’re trying to sell or offer. (9:24) But time that’s, it’s all equal to everybody. (9:27) And so the more time you’re wasting in these areas where you’re spinning your wheels, um, then you’re going to lose out on just like the opportunity costs.

(9:36) If you will, you’re going to lose out on some of those momentum and those moments there. (9:39) So, you know, I would say that the biggest thing is, is always to take a step back. (9:44) And this is kind of how I approach when I like engage with clients is it’s, it’s one of those, like, well, we have all these problems and we believe it’s this.

(9:51) Okay. (9:52) Like I’ll take it for what it is. (9:54) Let me evaluate everything.

(9:56) Let’s take a step back and just kind of look at everything else. (9:58) And, and then you can say, actually, yeah, you, you kind of are right, but it’s because of this, it’s something that’s further upstream. (10:05) And so the idea here is, is that you want to build out the strategy based off of what’s, you know, what you see is the culprit of what’s hurting you versus of like, it’s just this one thing.

(10:17) I just need this one silver bullet. (10:18) And a lot of folks believe that marketing is kind of that thing. (10:22) Maybe it’s like, well, I just need to, you know, create viral content.

(10:26) Well, I can tell you this right now as a marketer, if you told me how to create viral content, I’ll push that button all day long, because I want to know how to do that too, you know? (10:34) Cause it doesn’t happen all the time. (10:36) Or if it’s like, well, I just need to have SEO.

(10:39) Well, you know, like, so do everybody else does. (10:42) And they’re all doing the same thing. (10:43) The idea is, is that really kind of look at this holistically and say, I want to be known for X.

(10:49) I want to really, you know, be the person that people come to me for Y. (10:54) And so really kind of knowing exactly what you’re, you’re trying to be known for in the marketplace and then creating that narrative and story, creating that positioning so that people see you and they’re like, this person is known for this. (11:07) This is what they do.

(11:09) And when you do that, it’s no longer about marketing. (11:12) It’s more of like, Hey, I heard that you do these things. (11:16) Can you tell me more?

(11:18) And then that becomes where that story kind of starts shaping itself and the, the client base and their, or the prospects start telling the story for you, which becomes your, your new marketing strategy. (11:29) So where I would kind of like, you know, probably emphasize for people jumping into this is, is figure out that, that audience that you’re going after and figure out that, that positioning and messaging that you want to say, and you want people to say about you. (11:45) And then try to see how you can create that narrative.

(11:48) As you do that, then you’ll get more dialed in and then that’s going to help you with LinkedIn. (11:54) That’s going to help you with newsletters. (11:55) That’s going to help you with podcasting helps you with everything.

Melissa

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Javier

(12:39) Yeah. (12:40) So, you know, it’s, it’s, this is where you’re going to be ideating a lot. (12:44) Okay.

(12:45) So, I mean, the best way I can explain this is that you’re going to sit down and say, okay, I’m like, let’s just say for myself, I let, I tend to focus on the B2B tech side, tech enabled services. (12:56) That’s kind of where my sweet spot is. (12:59) So with that, I have my audience and then I say, okay, I’m going to go after founders and CEOs that are probably doing about a million to 15 million in revenue.

(13:09) All right. (13:10) So that kind of narrows out of my niche a little bit more. (13:13) So, and these, you know, companies are doing, you know, as far as like how (13:18) everything’s going, like, it’s just like founder led, very CEO led we’re leaning (13:23) into the CEO’s network there’s no systems designed there’s probably a couple of, (13:31) you know, salespeople, there’s some engineers, whatever, there’s not really (13:35) a marketing person because, because the CEO kind of took over that and they’re (13:39) also playing the head of, it’s like, you’re, you’re kind of figuring out and (13:42) you’re, you’re, you’re figuring out this person.

(13:44) And then once you figure out that person, then you start kind of creating messaging that is for those people. (13:51) So you start saying, okay, what are these people experience? (13:55) Are they, do they have like misalignment?

(13:58) Do they, are they struggling on hitting their quarterly revenue goals? (14:01) Like they sat down in a, in a, in an office last quarter and they believed in these numbers and then the quarter is done and like, crap, we weren’t even remotely close to this. (14:12) And so like, you’re, you’re kind of creating these stories that, you know, happen in these rooms and you’re then trying to essentially shape a conversation on how you would address that.

(14:23) So the first 30 days, it’s really just figuring those little pieces out as far as who you’re talking to, like, what are their problems, how can you come in and solve that? (14:34) And then you’re just simply just kind of mapping out content from there. (14:37) So on social media, on LinkedIn, you’re just kind of like, maybe you’re posting three days a week.

(14:42) You’re just sharing like, this is what I would do if I was in these shoes or have you ever experienced this before, but something along those lines. (14:49) And then what’s going to happen from there is that the marketplace is going to start kind of seeing if it resonates based off like activity on your content. (14:57) You know, that’s just one example.

(14:59) Okay. (14:59) Now you can do this in other channels and you can do this in other strategies, but that’s the simplest one I can give you in like a 30 day kind of snippet.

Melissa

(15:08) Yeah. (15:09) And so it’s, it’s funny. (15:10) It’s finding the right wedge, I think kind of to your point, getting a strategy, ideating, you know, a lot of times we try to sell everything to everyone and whatever person comes along, we make, you know, we’ll sell that and that and that.

(15:25) And before long you’re the cheesecake factory and it’s hard to operate with so many choices. (15:30) And so I feel like that’s one of the fastest way to stalling growth. (15:35) And I’ve seen it over and over is we get a sale, but it’s not really in our niche.

(15:39) And so we take it to bring in the revenue, but we got to go find somebody to do some of the work or hire. (15:47) So why do you think founders resist narrowing their focus so much to that wedge?

Javier

(15:53) I think, and I’m going to say this, I’m guilty. (15:56) Okay. (15:56) So like we, we all get, you know, put in this like, well, we need this opportunity.

(16:01) Like this is, you know, this is not necessarily my ICP, but like I can solve it. (16:06) We’re all guilty of that, you know, but, and it’s because sometimes we get like, well, we just need to close a deal. (16:12) And, and, and I’m going to say this, it’s okay to close a deal to build a little confidence momentum, even if it’s not your like perfect situation, it’s okay.

(16:20) Like I’ve done that before, but once you figure out like your rhythm and what works best for you and your area of genius, then you’re going to have to sit down and say, no, you know, so I’ll, I’ll give you an example. (16:31) Like I had a prospect two weeks ago. (16:33) Um, they came inbound, they were looking for me.

(16:35) I wasn’t even going outbound for this person. (16:37) So they came looking for me. (16:39) Um, they saw me on my podcast.

(16:41) They sent me an email. (16:42) They jumped on my newsletter, like they did everything right. (16:45) So they had problems, et cetera.

(16:47) And well, they were in my ICP. (16:50) Uh, however, what was going on is that they only wanted, they only wanted one piece of the puzzle solved as opposed to like everything. (16:58) And I was like, well, I can do that, but it’s not going to really solve the problem.

(17:02) Well, then the scope kept changing. (17:04) So as we would put something together, the scope kept changing. (17:07) Like, well, our business strategy is now changing.

(17:09) I’m like, no, you’re trying to get more for less is what you’re trying to do. (17:13) So we parted ways where I’m coming from with this is that I decided to say no in this situation because I knew that it was going to be a nightmare client. (17:21) And so was there in my ICP?

(17:24) Yes. (17:25) Was it working within the offerings and how I’ve created my model of how I go to market? (17:30) No.

(17:31) Was I willing to work with them? (17:33) Yes. (17:34) If they would have stuck with what the plan was.

(17:36) And so, you know, how I like to do this is, is like, is, is like, you have like one or two offerings that helps people get into the, to learn who you are, what you do work with. (17:46) And when you do that, what that does is that it lets people say like, okay, this is what you do. (17:51) And if they fit in those two kind of categories in those two buckets, then you move forward.

(17:56) You know, that’s something that, you know, you, you go for it, it becomes the next step. (17:59) And so like, as an example is like, I either do workshops with prospects or I do an audit on the entire business and they’re both paid engagements. (18:09) But the point is, is that like, I need to do one of these two things because I can’t diagnose what’s going on with a company.

(18:14) And so when you start saying like, this is my offering and this makes it easy because it’s repeatable, I can do this over and over and over again, then that’s something that’s going to help you start focusing. (18:26) So you’re not going like, Ooh, squirrel, Ooh, this, Ooh, that. (18:29) And you’re getting distracted.

(18:30) So with that said, it’s like, once you get that audience down, figure out what’s the enemy that wedge is going to say, like, I think I’m interested in that. (18:39) And then just offer that. (18:41) And that’s it.

(18:41) Because I don’t go forward and say, well, my retainers are this. (18:45) No, I say I got to know what I’m doing or fixing before I say this is what the retainer is going to be, because I have no clue.

Melissa

(18:53) Yeah, and it’s funny, it’s a funny thing that happens when, when your positioning finally clicks, you shorten your sales cycle when you have that strong positioning. (19:06) And once you shorten the sales cycle, then, you know, in my experience I had in my life, I’ve had so many referrals. (19:15) Once I get very clear on my positioning and what I’m offering, who I’m looking for, I, you get so many referrals.

(19:24) It is one of the beautiful things. (19:27) And it, then it affects your pricing power. (19:31) So maybe you were charging $500 an hour, whatever your rate is, and now you’re charging 750 because you have so much coming in that you can charge the higher rate when you’re not in a place of clarity, like you were mentioning, you’re all over the place with your pricing and you’re all over the place with what you’re offering, and it’s very hard to stay focused and not burnt out.

(19:57) And so I want to talk about building a predictable kind of revenue floor. (20:02) You talked about, you talk about predictability, not just, I hope we’re going to sell something today. (20:08) What does a real go-to-market motion look like weekly when you’re working it?

Javier

(20:15) Yeah. (20:15) So let me kind of, you know, share how I do it with clients and then I’ll, and I’ll share a little bit more on how I do it for myself as well too, so that, you know, we, we have both sides of it. (20:23) As far as like, you know, just a normal go-to-market motion, it’s really finding out, I would say is, is like, I create like a quarterly strategy, very simple.

(20:33) And I find out like what the goal is. (20:35) And then from there, I know what the strategy are to help me hit those goals. (20:40) And then I know what the tactics are to help the strategy, to help the goal.

(20:44) So goal is going to be like, let’s just say a million dollars in revenue as an example. (20:48) Okay. (20:48) And we have some guardrails and what we’re going to do, and then we’re going to use two or three strategies.

(20:53) You know, one strategy is going to be outbound. (20:56) Okay. (20:56) As an example.

(20:57) And the outbound strategies is, it’s just kind of like us kind of building pipeline, knowing we’re not going to close everything immediately. (21:02) It’s going to be more of like hoping for three to six months down the road. (21:05) And then another strategy is going to be, I don’t know, podcasting.

(21:10) So we’re going to do that as an example. (21:12) And then you have like tactics within those things. (21:15) That’s the kind of approach and how I would engage a client.

(21:19) Now, those aren’t the strategies I’d be doing for the client because I don’t know what they want, but I’m just giving you something hypothetical. (21:25) If we were going to do this, like as, you know, as a fractional, where you’re going to jump out and do something on your own, it’s almost the same approach where you have a goal. (21:34) And maybe the goal is not necessarily revenue, but maybe the goal is like meetings.

(21:38) I need, you know, 16 meetings this month, or I need 16 meetings this quarter, whatever the case is. (21:44) All right. (21:44) In order for me to get 16 meetings, I need to have how many, how many outreaches, what are some easy ways to have, you know, how to get people to kind of raise their hands and kind of show interest?

(21:54) Well, outbound is one of those. (21:56) And we all know that outbound is a tough thing to do. (21:58) And so we’re going to try to find ways and how to make that somewhat passively.

(22:01) So maybe you create some sort of, you know, DM automations that you have with LinkedIn. (22:06) Maybe you do a little bit of cold emails. (22:08) Maybe podcasting is a great way like this, where you are able to interview prospects that you would love to have in your world to do business with you, but you don’t pitch them.

(22:18) You just basically have a conversation. (22:20) They learn to trust you. (22:21) They like you.

(22:21) They love what you talked about. (22:22) Three months later, they probably call you and be like, Hey, I remember that podcast and you talked about this. (22:27) I want to do some work with you.

(22:29) So like the idea is that you’re trying to find these different little, I guess styles like bait, if you will, that creates kind of like that motion of, all right, I’ve got this going on. (22:40) I’ve got this going on. (22:40) I’ve got this going on.

(22:41) But what I would say is that you’re trying to create a top of funnel where they’re not all popping off in just one place. (22:48) You’ve got something that’s working for outbound. (22:50) You’ve got something that’s working for inbound.

(22:52) You’ve got, and then one of these things are going to pop off, you know, at different stages, and then you’re planting seeds and all of these. (23:00) So the idea is that you’re not having these conversations and be like, well, I can’t believe I didn’t close it. (23:04) Like, well, no, it’s, it’s more of like, all right, I planted the seed.

(23:08) They knew who I am. (23:09) They knew what I do. (23:10) I’m sure if I keep them on my emails list and keep them engaged, there’ll be something that happens three months from now.

(23:15) And that’s how business typically works.

Melissa

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(24:05) Yeah, exactly. (24:06) And I think it’s, you gotta, you gotta organize it where it’s consistent too. (24:11) Like you have to drive this, those numbers and know what your numbers.

(24:16) Um, I hear that a lot, even with my friends in finance, know your numbers. (24:20) And it’s the same thing with understanding your pipeline, what it’s taking you to get where you, you, you need to versus, you know, this randomness with generating revenue for an organization. (24:31) So what metrics, you know, remove this internal conflict or guesswork?

(24:40) Is there a specific metric that you have, or it just kind of test, test and go?

Javier

(24:46) It’s, this is one of those where it’s like a marketer’s answer to everything. (24:51) It depends, you know? (24:54) So, um, I mean, I can answer your question, but it does depend.

(24:58) So here’s the thing. (24:59) I will, I will say that the ultimate goal is a, is that, is a meeting. (25:03) That’s the ultimate goal.

(25:04) Like, yes, I know you want the close of business. (25:06) Like we all want the close of business. (25:07) You’re like, no, Javier, we want the revenue.

(25:11) Yes. (25:11) I know that. (25:12) But like, in reality, you can’t get to revenue without a meeting.

(25:17) And that meeting, like you just need those meetings. (25:20) And so how I kind of look at it is, is like, okay, I want to have, as an example is like a hundred or 150 outbound touch points, and so that’s going to be where I’m either DMing or I’m doing these, those little things and you just track that, like literally throw it on a spreadsheet. (25:37) Okay.

(25:37) And you’re like, well, how do you make the number up? (25:39) Sometimes it’s just arbitrary. (25:41) It’s just, it’s just like today it’s a hundred, you know, and, and you just run with it and you see if you can hit a hundred and if you can’t hit a hundred in a week, then maybe you, you, you drop it down.

(25:51) And then other times what you’re going to do is you’re going to kind of see what the gut says as far as, and I hate using gut, especially as a data driven marketer. (25:58) Like, I, I hate that answer. (25:59) Like, I get this a lot from Sue.

(26:01) Like when my gut tells me this, I’m like, dude, that’s not probably right. (26:04) But in a sense, I do think there is a little gut here because you are in the day-to-day, you are looking at those DMS, you are looking at those emails, you are looking at your LinkedIn. (26:14) So you’re going to be seeing signals in there.

(26:17) So are you going to see any kind of replies? (26:20) That’s a signal. (26:21) Are you seeing any kind of comments or shares on your content?

(26:24) That’s a signal. (26:25) Are you seeing any kind of downloads from your podcast? (26:28) That’s a signal.

(26:30) And so what you’re going to do is you’re going to be looking for signals. (26:33) And as you see signals, then you start saying, hmm, okay, this is interesting. (26:38) This signal is, is it’s not delivering revenue yet, but it’s a signal.

(26:42) It’s pointing me in a direction. (26:44) I’m going to put a little more attention there. (26:46) And so that’s kind of the idea of how I would approach it versus like a metric or a number, or the number is a hundred DMS and you’ll get 15, you know, meetings after that, like, it doesn’t always work that way.

(26:58) And again, it depends on who you’re targeting. (26:59) Like if you’re targeting CEOs and founders, those meetings are a lot less than if you’re targeting like a salesperson, you know, because those people are going to, they’re going to answer to their reply to their DMS all the time.

Melissa

(27:12) Yeah. (27:13) And I think the metrics matter and maybe I’m wrong here, but I love to get your perspective. (27:18) I think the metrics matter more, you know, after you’re, you have your strategy when you’re first scaling.

(27:25) So the difference between a one, you know, 1 million and 10 million is just reps, right? (27:31) It’s reps and it’s knowing what’s working and the signals that you’re mentioning, um, versus we’re going to focus on these 50 things at the beginning and see what’s working. (27:42) Okay.

(27:42) So nobody’s doing this. (27:44) We’re not going to focus on a podcast. (27:45) Okay.

(27:45) People are clicking on our LinkedIn. (27:47) They’re engaging through LinkedIn, you know, let’s work that angle. (27:51) So I think it’s really important to understand the metrics.

(27:55) And when you have bad metrics, typically you’re making bad decisions on bad metrics. (28:02) And so you really need to get your scorecard clean and know what you’re looking at to make best decisions. (28:11) And so one of the other things I find that, you know, I’ve seen some founders track some really random stuff.

(28:19) Um, and they’re tracking the wrong things. (28:23) And so it’s really important to track the right things and to stop tracking the wrong things. (28:29) And I’d love to kind of get, you know, your thoughts on what founders should stop tracking.

Javier

(28:36) Yeah. (28:36) So, you know, I’m very data driven, so that’s, that’s, I mean, I’ve already kind of emphasized that. (28:43) And I really do believe that it’s important to track metrics.

(28:46) Um, and I do believe that tracking vanity metrics is, is a good thing to track at times because those vanity metrics are leading indicators for lagging indicators. (28:57) So that’s kind of how I look at that. (29:00) So, you know, if you’re an established company, you know, the metrics are going to be a little bit different.

(29:05) Um, but if we’re talking more for people that are branching out, doing, you know, the fractional work and kind of, you know, doing their own things where I see some of this stuff is going to be like connection, um, like connection rate. (29:16) So as an example is like, if you’re making a hundred connection requests, um, a week as an example, then you want to see if he can get to like a 15, 20, maybe 25% connection rate. (29:30) Okay.

(29:30) Within your like ICP, you know, who you’re targeting. (29:34) So that’s like, that’s just an example. (29:36) And so you’re like, well, how have you, how did you come up with that number?

(29:38) Because I just, I have those numbers that come into mind. (29:41) Like it just happens with mine. (29:43) Some weeks are 25%, some weeks for 5%.

(29:46) And then in the middle, it’s like 15, you know? (29:49) And so where I’m coming from with that, like, that’s a big indicator is like, okay, that’s going to, cause they’re going to see your title. (29:56) They’re going to see who you are.

(29:57) Like, okay, this person seems like a cool person to connect with. (29:59) That’s one. (30:00) Right.

(30:01) Um, if you’re doing, you know, any kind of, uh, DMing is another example. (30:06) Uh, if you’re sending out, I’m just going to use a hundred as a random numbers again, but if you’re doing a hundred DMS, then what you’re going to want to see is like, well, how many replies do I get from this? (30:16) And so you’re going to want to like, see what the reply rates are.

(30:19) And even if the reply rates is like, no, thank you. (30:21) It’s a reply because in sales, like a no and a yes, they’re both equal because you, you, you know, that someone lives in the other side, like you will, you’ll take a no all day long because then you don’t have to waste your time with that person, you just move on. (30:35) And it’s the same kind of concept.

(30:37) And so, you know, those are some of the metrics I would be looking at it from internally when it comes to like, say, you know, meetings, I would say like, this is my personal goal is, is, is roughly 16 meetings a month. (30:50) So essentially four meetings per week with, you know, somewhat qualified people, not just random people. (30:56) So like meetings are another one that I tend to actually track a lot as well too.

(31:01) Now, you know, as your company’s more established, those numbers are going to be different. (31:05) And then you’re, you’re, what you’re looking for to do are going to be a little different. (31:09) And so your metrics are going to be changing.

(31:11) So just keep kind of keep this in mind is that what you were tracking today may not be what you track tomorrow, because as your company evolves, you’re gonna be like, well, I’m getting a lot more inbound motion stuff, so I don’t really need a ton meetings, I need the right meeting versus like, I need to have, you know, a dozen meetings a week or whatever it is. (31:30) So those are just some examples. (31:32) I hope that kind of helps a little bit.

Melissa

(31:34) No, and it does. (31:35) And I think to your point you know, I had similar metrics and at some point it flipped the other direction and I had so much inbound and I was accepting, accepting, accepting, and then you get to a point where you’re not with your right ICP. (31:52) And these are just people that are coming into me trying to sell me something.

(31:57) And so the other side of it is once you get kind of over that hop to start thinking about who you’re letting in. (32:04) I mean, I have people reaching out, hundreds of people reach out to me a day and it’s anything from, you know, dog collars to, you know, staffing to everything. (32:18) And so what happens when you’re not clear at the beginning, and I’ve made this mistake more than once, is what you’re known for gets muddy and you really have to stay focused on who you are, what you’re selling, what your metrics are, what you’re posting on.

(32:36) And so I love that you talk about that because I think the vanity metrics are important as well. (32:41) And tracking those replies are so key. (32:44) Talking a little bit about founders.

(32:46) I’ve worked with, I would say pretty much my entire career, the founder was the bottleneck all the time. (32:54) And they had a really hard time letting go. (32:59) And then when they transferred ownership to somebody else, even then it was really hard for them to do it.

(33:08) And they ended up micromanaging it and taking it back over in the end. (33:12) So talk to me a little bit about what systems enable true delegation so founders can kind of step back and do the things that they’re supposed to be doing.

Javier

(33:24) Oh, man. (33:25) I mean, this is hard because I think we’re all guilty of this. (33:30) And so it’s almost like looking at yourself and be like, all right, Javier, this is what you’re bad at.

(33:33) And then you have to call yourself out doing it in public. (33:36) So I would say a few things. (33:44) It’s with what we have going on with AI right now, I feel as though that is helping us create a little bit more automations.

(33:52) It’s helping us create a little bit more just something that just is a bottleneck that you’re doing all the time manually. (34:00) That is something that we need to lean into. (34:05) And I’m going to say this, I’ve been kind of on a little soapbox on this, but don’t use AI as a glorified Google, use it literally to alleviate pain and create opportunities and break up bottlenecks.

(34:18) So as far as tools, I have one example, like LinkedIn automations, where I do connection requests. (34:27) I’ll just use that as an example. (34:28) I don’t have the time to literally go through every single connection request.

(34:33) I don’t have the time to do that. (34:34) It’s time consuming. (34:36) So what I do is I use Sales Navigator and then I essentially create a list of my ideal customer as my ideal target.

(34:47) And I make sure they’re engaged as far as they’ve posted on LinkedIn in the past 30 days. (34:52) And then I use that to kind of build my list from there, those contacts, not all of them because there could be like thousands and thousands. (35:00) I take maybe like a hundred or two hundred and I put them into a tool that I use right now is called Meet Alfred.

(35:07) And so that tool essentially helps me do DM connection. (35:10) I’m sorry, do LinkedIn connection requests. (35:13) And it does it kind of automatically.

(35:15) And so I’m going to say this right now. (35:18) If you use it and you get kicked off of LinkedIn, you get banned. (35:21) It is not my fault.

(35:22) OK, you’re using this at your own discretion. (35:25) All right. (35:25) So I’m just putting a little caveat there because there are tools out there that are great for automation.

(35:32) But if you abuse it and LinkedIn or other companies, platforms find out, you will be removed. (35:39) OK, so just letting putting that out there. (35:41) So that’s one thing as an example.

(35:43) Another one that I use is, you know, honestly, like I’m pretty sure a lot of salespeople use this is like Apollo, you know, an enrichment tool. (35:52) And I think that’s an important tool to use because then you can kind of start figuring out like signals and triggers where there are folks that are out there that are using that say like, you know, they raised capital. (36:04) So you can have automations in there where it kind of creates a list for you.

(36:09) Say like, hey, so and so company just, you know, raised capital. (36:12) You know, that’s one. (36:13) I mean, one of the easiest ones, like you can send a Google announcement to yourself whenever like you hear like any kind of fundraising in that industry.

(36:22) Like you can have those email to you. (36:24) Like you can. (36:25) Those are like Google will literally send those to you via email.

(36:28) So those are some things that you can do as far as automations. (36:33) Are there more? (36:34) Yes, I can overwhelm people.

(36:35) But the idea here is that you want to know what what is actually going to take up a lot of your time. (36:43) And so where can you alleviate some of that time? (36:45) So you’re going to put time, a lot of time in the beginning, building out the framework of this.

(36:51) Like this is the audience. (36:52) This is how I’m going to get them through a sales navigator. (36:55) This is how I’m going to connect with them.

(36:57) This is like you’re going to build that up. (36:59) That’s going to take time. (37:00) And then it’s just kind of set and forget.

(37:02) And then you go back once a week and you evaluate like, oh, how is this working? (37:06) Is this audience, you know, connecting with me or not? (37:09) OK, maybe I need to make a shift or a pivot, which is why you didn’t download like thousands of contacts.

(37:13) You downloaded like one hundred or two hundred because you’re testing the market to see how everyone’s responding.

Melissa

(37:19) Yeah, and I love that you gave that disclaimer because I was one of those people who got blocked from LinkedIn. (37:27) I’m like, I got to get help with the replies. (37:30) I can’t handle all this.

(37:31) Yeah. (37:32) And so I automated some of it. (37:34) And LinkedIn shut down my, you know, hey, no, no, no, we don’t do that on LinkedIn.

(37:39) So I had to learn the hard way myself. (37:41) So that’s a good call out. (37:44) But really, I love that you mentioned the Google alerts.

(37:47) I have been using those simple things for I don’t even know, 15 years of my career to get insights on whatever I’m looking for. (37:56) Yep. (37:56) And it’s free to do.

(37:57) And it’s so easy to get it in your inbox. (38:00) That is such a good call out. (38:05) I want to kind of in closing, just kind of last segment here is, you know, for those there’s a lot going on in our world, there’s a lot of M&A, there’s a lot of transition, there’s a lot of layoffs and there’s a lot of people looking about looking into doing their own thing or their own side hustle.

(38:24) I want to get your, you know, advice for post-corporate operators, what mindset shifts do they need to make immediately to kind of make this entrepreneurship and what habits should they maybe unlearn before they make the jump?

Javier

(38:47) Oh, gosh, the whole of this is not my job, or I don’t know how to do this, or I don’t know how to do this, or I’ve never done this before, you’re going to have to throw that all out the window. (38:57) Like, I’m sorry to say this, like the whole, I don’t know, like, especially in the day and age of information being literally accessible at your fingertips immediately, like you’re going to have to be an expert in almost everything. (39:10) Now, when I say experts in quotation marks, OK, you’re just going to have to know how to do some of these things.

(39:15) So what I would say is, is that you’ve got to take away of like, well, this is not my area of expertise. (39:20) You’re going to have to find a way to figure that out. (39:23) The other part is, is that I would actually not necessarily remove, but I would add, I would actually say is if you’re not currently networking right now heavily, then you need to start doing that before you make any kind of decisions.

(39:38) And what I mean by this is like, like literally doing the activity as though if you were already having this, this business going on right now, OK, where you are talking to individuals, where you are building relationships, whether it’s for your business or no business, it does not matter. (39:56) But I would start building and planting the seeds now. (40:00) And you don’t even have to tell them what your goals are six months from now, 12 months from now.

(40:04) It’s just more of like, hey, you know, I see that you’re in this industry. (40:08) I’d love to learn more about what you’re doing. (40:10) I’ve got some thoughts or something like that, or like I want to launch a podcast in this industry.

(40:16) I want to know what your thoughts are, what you think is important, whatever the case is like. (40:21) But have these meetings because that’s going to be those opportunities where they’re like, oh, yeah, I remember talking to Melissa whenever she reached out, you know, six months ago. (40:31) And now that she’s, you know, fractional, interesting.

(40:35) Yeah, I’ll take a meeting with her because you already had a meeting that was selling nothing. (40:39) It was just a meeting to connect. (40:40) There was a meeting to learn and know each other.

(40:42) So that would be something I would say. (40:45) But, you know, going back to like what to remove and what to kind of change, it’s I’m going to say this again. (40:51) I hit this the very beginning is that you’re going to really need to be that spokesperson.

(40:56) You’re going to have to be putting on a show every day. (40:58) You’re going to have to build in public. (41:00) And so if you’re not accustomed to building in public and being on stage every day, if you will, then this might be not what you’re looking for.

(41:09) And when I say on stage, it doesn’t mean like have a podcast. (41:11) It means like literally showing up to LinkedIn. (41:14) It literally means showing up to networking, those things, because people want to see if you show up.

(41:19) That’s just to get the business, you know, for to do that, you have to show up in different ways. (41:25) And so build in public, share your knowledge, let people know what you’re doing, whether you’re starting something or not. (41:31) But like build things in public, have an opinion, make sure it’s contrarian.

(41:36) That pisses some people off. (41:37) Like there’s some things like because if you’re just like middle of the road, like I just don’t want to make anyone mad. (41:42) Like, you know what, you know, there’s a lot of people that make people mad.

(41:46) You got to rethink this. (41:47) I mean, what’s the what’s the water company? (41:50) Death, death, liquid death.

Melissa

(41:52) Yeah.

Javier

(41:52) Like a great example. (41:54) They’re just selling water and they’re pissing everybody off and how they’re doing it. (41:57) And they’re doing an amazing job, you know.

(41:59) So but what I’m getting to is that you want to build in public and you want to be able to do things where people are like, OK, I see who they are. (42:06) I get what they’re doing so that when it is a transition, you know, made, it’s not kind of like, huh, interesting.

Melissa

(42:13) Yeah, and I love that, like for me, I was so busy in my corporate career running around the globe, around the world. (42:22) And to your point, the only time I had to start this podcast was on Saturdays. (42:29) So I did all my content, all my writing, all my podcasting on Saturday mornings when my family was sleeping and I didn’t have to work for another in my W2 job.

(42:40) And so I only had, you know, a finite amount of hours I could give to becoming an entrepreneur. (42:47) And so that’s what I did to start. (42:50) And then I did exactly what I used my network of people.

(42:54) I already knew my friends to be on the podcast that I knew were experts in their field. (42:58) And so, you know, if someone feels stuck in, you know, their jobs or where they are as a founder, what’s the simplest way for them to regain control or what should they focus on first?

Javier

(43:16) I would focus on if you feel stuck, I would focus on getting some sort of clarity on what you love, you know, find out where your area of genius is. (43:26) And I always I love using that phrase because sometimes we lose sight of what it is, you know. (43:32) So find out where your area of genius is, like what you love doing and then just expand on that.

(43:39) You know, like you’re a great example. (43:41) Podcasting, most people would have skipped podcasting, gone straight to blogs or like just posting on LinkedIn. (43:47) They would have just done that.

(43:48) You went straight podcasting. (43:50) You did it on a Saturday morning. (43:51) But like that’s your that’s your area of genius.

(43:54) Like you love that. (43:55) Like you’re a great host and you’re asking great questions. (43:58) And so like where I’m getting to is that you just got to figure out where the clarity is for yourself.

(44:02) And so take a step back. (44:04) Think about like, where do you like just have a lot of joy? (44:06) Like if writing a blog makes you super happy, awesome.

(44:09) Then create a newsletter and get people on that newsletter. (44:12) You know, like there’s different ways of how you can approach it.

Melissa

(44:15) And I love that because I will tell you, Javier, my zone of genius was not podcasting and it was not writing and it has become my zone of genius. (44:25) And I love that you said that because if you were to ask me 10 years ago, I am not a writer. (44:31) I am not a I am not, you know, professional speaker.

(44:35) If you ask me today, I’m a professional speaker and I’m a writer, but it’s not something I would have identified at 10 years ago. (44:42) And so I love that, you know, really figuring out what that zone of genius is and realize it changes. (44:48) Like my zone of genius 20 years ago is absolutely not my zone of genius today.

(44:54) And I would say my zone of genius in 2026 is probably going to be different than 2027. (45:00) So, you know, being comfortable with that. (45:02) And, you know, what I’m hearing today is growth doesn’t come from doing more.

(45:07) It comes from doing the right thing consistently. (45:11) And you make it clear, you know, that predictability isn’t luck. (45:15) It’s built through systems, through clarity, with doing the reps and being disciplined and the execution.

(45:22) So for founders who want growth, they want to feel calm, scalable and repeatable. (45:28) We’ll link Javier’s work at Boulder Media Company in the show notes. (45:33) This episode wasn’t about marketing.

(45:36) It’s about building systems that actually work. (45:39) So thank you so much for being here today and sharing your knowledge. (45:44) And for listeners who enjoyed this episode of the Executive Connect podcast, share it with a founder who’s stuck in the chaos.

(45:52) And for more conversations on scaling leadership and building systems that drive results, find us on YouTube or your favorite podcast platform. (46:02) Thanks, Javier. (46:03) That’s the Executive Connect podcast.