Before someone books a call with Rick and me, it’s not unusual for them to have read 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. 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: