{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Sales Leader’s Playbook: In Their Words","title":"E08 How to Build a $7B Financial Services Firm from Zero | With Michael Konopaski and Justine Tindall","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":2834,"description":"Discover how Michael Konopaski built Designed Wealth from $0 to $7 billion in assets under administration in just 3 years—competing directly against Canada's biggest banks with virtually no marketing budget.In this episode of Sales Leaders Unscripted, host Justine Tindall sits down with Michael Konopaski, Managing Director of Designed Wealth, to uncover the unconventional sales and business development strategies that helped him succeed where 97% of financial advisors fail.What You'll Learn:Sales & Marketing Strategies:Why direct mail outperforms digital in financial services (and how to use it effectively)The LinkedIn algorithm secrets that drove 5,000+ hours of organic reachHow to compete against billion-dollar brands with minimal budgetThe critical difference between selling features and solving pain pointsBusiness Development:Managing a 98% failure rate while scaling to 175+ advisorsThe 2-3 year sales cycle strategy for high-stakes B2B dealsWhy you should never call prospects (and who you should focus on instead)How to identify and attract advisors ready to make the moveLeadership & Growth:Transitioning from startup survival mode to sustainable scalingThe hardest part of hiring business development reps (and why salary expectations are crushing startups)Building a self-managing team as you scaleWhy your market should emerge rather than be targetedReal Talk on Challenges:Dealing with last-minute deal collapses after 100+ hours of workCompeting against $5-15M signing bonuses from private equity firmsThe truth about hiring salespeople who \"look great on paper\"Managing 50 head office staff + 175 independent business modelsKey Takeaways:🎯 Stop targeting local markets—think 100x bigger from day one📧 Old school tactics (direct mail) work when everyone else abandons them🤝 Authenticity and transparency beat polished corporate messaging in B2B sales⏰ Accept the long game: B2B sales cycles can span 1-4 years💰 Performance-based compensation attracts truly motivated...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/NdfZGxVsWzYdpz90rBknYGaUpdUP2Lrn-aU7XvswGss/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS8xOTBl/NDFhYzM3YWU1NzJi/ZGRlYTJmNTYzYmM2/ODQ4ZS5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}