--- title: Ever considered sales? (The story of Elliott.) description: Elliott Boll becomes a RainMaker Maker image: https://www.rickroberge.com/hubfs/elliott.jpeg --- # [SELLING IN THE 21ST CENTURY](https://www.rickroberge.com/) [![header-sm-linkedin-blue](https://www.rickroberge.com/hs-fs/file-465400397-png/images/header-sm-linkedin-blue.png)](http://www.linkedin.com/in/rickroberge) [![header-sm-twitter-blue](https://www.rickroberge.com/hs-fs/file-465371692-png/images/header-sm-twitter-blue.png)](https://twitter.com/RainMakerMaker) [![header-sm-google-plus-red](https://www.rickroberge.com/hs-fs/file-462412948-png/images/header-sm-google-plus-red.png)](https://plus.google.com/+RickRoberge/posts) [![header-sm-rss](https://www.rickroberge.com/hs-fs/file-480298330-png/images/header-sm-rss.png)](https://www.rickroberge.com/rss.xml) # [Science for Sales Rock Stars](https://www.rickroberge.com/) ## [Ever considered sales? (The story of Elliott.)](https://www.rickroberge.com/ever-considered-sales-the-story-of-elliott) ![](https://www.rickroberge.com/hs-fs/hubfs/elliott.jpeg?width=35&height=35&name=elliott.jpeg) By [Elliott](https://www.rickroberge.com/author/elliott)   Oct 27, 2025, 12:00:01 PM Before someone books a call with Rick and me, it’s not unusual for them to have read [*My 5 Decades in Sales*](https://www.rickroberge.com/my-5-decades-in-sales). If you haven’t, read it. Someone brought it up recently, and I thought, “Huh, I’ve had 10 times less time in sales, what do I know?”. Weirdly, I’ve worked at three different sales training and consulting companies. I’ve spoken with over 1,000 sales leaders and business owners. Thousands of reps. Hundreds of clients. I may not know everything, but I’ve seen some things. Let me start from the top… My mum moved from France to England to become a teacher. My dad, raised in a Newcastle council estate, became a professional flute player. Growing up, I learned early: if you want something, work hard. Then my parents split. My mum, a single parent, worked tirelessly but always had money stress. I remember thinking, *I don’t ever want money to be a source of stress.* Her estranged father, a Spanish immigrant in France, was wealthy with house overlooking the sea in Nice, marble everything, infinity pool. But by all accounts, not a great bloke. That contrast stuck with me. Can’t you have success *and* be a good bloke? I poured myself into football as a kid trials at Bristol city ended with a reality check. So I focussed that same intensity into school work. Sold my Xbox to study. Worked in a coffee shop and used the money to pay for a tutor. Somehow got top 3 grades in school. The local newspaper covered it. But, I thought, *“Small village, small pond.”* So I applied to a top school in the city. Got told it was full by the Headmaster. Then someone I knew put in a word, and I got in. What’s the lesson there? That changed everything. I was suddenly surrounded by people from different backgrounds, with different worldviews and ambitions. One friend mentioned a place called [Imperial College](https://www.imperial.ac.uk/about/introducing-imperial/league-tables/). I thought college was for hairdressing. They explained it was one of the top universities in the world just behind Oxbridge. I figured, *Why not?* My career plan was: meet a princess in London, marry her, and start a business with her backing. Imperial was amazing. I didn’t love biology, but I loved London and being surrounded by smart people from every corner of the world. After graduating, the natural path seemed to be consulting. Then in one interview, a partner looked me straight in the eye and asked, “Have you considered sales?”... Sales? It felt like a slap. I pictured fast talkers and flashy suits. It wasn’t what I imagined for myself. But consulting didn’t excite me either. So I thought I’d do sales for a bit, earn some money, travel, and figure things out after... I ended up in a suit on Fleet Street, desk phone and business cards. Surely the last of our kind to experience a boiler room? I got humbled quickly. But got a key from the CEO: first in, last out. I told myself I’d quit once I hit the top of the leaderboard. But then… I started loving it. Talking to people, solving problems, it was addictive. I said I’d dedicate five years to mastering the craft... About this time I'd met Hayley who's a princess! She's a world-changer. I then chose to join a startup with a strong mission and solid investors. We had a good run; high growth, then loads of different challenges to learn from. I learned from multiple sales leaders and three different CEOs. But during the tougher times at the very end of my time there, I kept thinking: *How can anyone sell something they don’t believe in?* Despite startup chaos, I was the top-performing purely through hard work. High-volume outbound, no referrals. I had a newsletter with 20,000+ subscribers I barely knew, 12,000 LinkedIn connections, and almost no real relationships. On the outside, I looked successful. But inside? It felt hollow. That’s when I met Rick Roberge. Rick didn’t offer praise or flattery, just piercing questions that turned my brain inside out. I said I wanted more. He asked, “Why?” Again and again. And I realized… I’d never stopped to reflect on what I was chasing. If you’ve met Rick, you know: he’s fully present, brutally honest, and selective with who he works with. I wasn’t ready at first... But eventually, I was. And Rick changed my life. He didn’t just make me a better salesperson, he made me want to be a better man. I let go of tricks and tactics and focused on being real. Rick showed me what it meant to under-promise and over-deliver, to build deep relationships, to care. Real care. That’s what turns clients into evangelists. How to have fun. Do great work. Slowly but surely, I changed. I sold more, made more money with way less grind. Happier customers, more referrals & intros, better relationships and outcomes. And the best part? I was having fun. Rick helped me strip away the BS and just...be...real… Since, I’ve worked with a few more companies but they didn’t feel right. One focused more on media and reputation than actual customer outcomes. Another pressured me to close anyone, even bad fits. When I refused, I got pushback. Still, I stuck to what I knew was right and got better results anyway. But I knew I couldn’t stay… Meanwhile, I was seeing more pressure across the board. More spam. More tech. Fewer real relationships. Most reps had become transactional, not trusted. And I thought: *There have to be others like me, people who want to do business the right way.* What If I could help people get what Rick had given me? That’s why JUNTO was born. To bring together people who believe in achieving the impossible in a human way WHILST HAVING FUN?! So, if any of this resonated: – [Check your competencies](https://stats.objectivemanagement.com/443EB). – [Fill out the form and ask a question](https://www.rickroberge.com/contact-me). – [And consider JUNTO…](https://www.rickroberge.com/sales-junto-rick-elliott) - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) ### Want updates as they're published? #### Enter your email: BTW, do you have an idea or question that would make a good article? Would you like to write or co-author it? Either way, **[send me an email](mailto:therainmakermaker@gmail.com?Subject=Blog%20article/author%20idea)**. **[Rick Roberge](https://plus.google.com/116082120720832878924/posts?rel=author)** ## About this blog *This blog is for, by and about Sales Rock Stars, RainMakers, Entrepreneurs (and/or those that strive to be)* ## [Read My Articles on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/rickroberge) ## [About Rick](https://www.rickroberge.com/contact-me) **[The Original](http://therainmakermaker.com/)[RainMaker Maker Blog (pre-2012)](http://therainmakermaker.com/)** [**Remote Bookkeeping**](http://www.slcbookkeeping.com/blog/bid/116710/remote-bookkeeping-made-easy)[**Made Easy**](http://www.slcbookkeeping.com/blog/bid/116710/remote-bookkeeping-made-easy) [**Awesome Website Design**](https://www.inbounddesignstudio.com/contact/) Search RainMakers & Sales Rock Stars Search ### Subscribe to Email Updates ### Posts by Month - [November 2025 (19)](https://www.rickroberge.com/archive/2025/11) - 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