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Helix Sales Development Sales consultancy that helps CEOs and Senior Sales Executives create high performance sales teams.

10/13/2026

I interview entrepreneur Jim Zazenski to talk ci**rs, relationship-driven sales, building a high-end sign business, hiring salespeople, accountability, mentorship, and the lessons learned from decades in business.

What Can a Cigar Shop Teach You About Sales?
Quite a bit.

This episode of Sales & Ci**rs was recorded at Edward's Pipe & To***co in Englewood, Colorado. Jim has been walking through that door for 22 years. His office is one mile away, and by noon most workdays, everyone there knows where he's headed.

The conversation starts with the ci**rs and the relationships that form around them. For Jim, a cigar shop stopped being a place to smoke a long time ago. It's where friendships get built, business gets discussed, and perspectives get challenged. He calls the regulars he trusts most his informal, unpaid board of directors.

Relationship-driven sales works the same way. The people you'd call for advice are the people who'd take your call.

10/08/2026

Experience is usually just a collection of mistakes you survived.
I’ve made plenty of them.
So has Steve Van Diest.

That’s why there’s so much value in learning from people who have already screwed things up, figured out what went wrong, and are willing to share it.

You don’t have to learn every lesson the hard way.
Listen to the full episode here:�https://helixsalesdevelopment.com/podcast/

10/06/2026

You need people in your life who are willing to tell you the truth.
Not another person telling you what you want to hear.

Steve Van Diest and I talked about why business owners need a room where they can be challenged, admit when something isn’t working, and learn from people who have already made the mistakes.

That’s a powerful thing.
Listen to the full episode here:�https://helixsalesdevelopment.com/podcast/

10/05/2026

Sales gets a bad reputation because too many people approach it like hunting.
Find the prospect. Close the deal. Get paid.

But the best salespeople I know think differently.

You’re there to help people.

It sounds simple, but that mindset changes everything about how you sell.

Steve Van Diest and I get into this on the next Sales & Ci**rs.
Launching tomorrow -
https://helixsalesdevelopment.com/podcast/

09/20/2026

He mirrored your words. Told a story with no scars. Made you feel like he got it.

Three moves. Every time. And they're the reason your last bad sales hire cost you six figures.

The worst part? It didn't feel like being sold. It felt like finding the right guy.

There's a 3-part check that catches all three before the offer goes out.

Listen to them here - https://helixsalesdevelopment.com/podcast/

09/18/2026

𝐇𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐨𝐭.
Six months later, you're writing his exit paperwork instead.

That instinct just cost you $125,000 — and here's the twist: it's not because your read on people is bad. It's because it's good, and salespeople train for years to exploit exactly that.

The product he sold you in that interview wasn't his future performance. It was himself.

Ask this before your next offer: did he interview well, or will he perform well? Only one shows up on the P&L.

Listen Full version here - https://helixsalesdevelopment.com/podcast/

09/10/2026

You don’t go from a garage to making 100,000 ci**rs a day by being laid back.

Jim Zazenski got to spend some time with Nick Perdomo and saw that intensity firsthand.

He’s competitive. He’s driven. And he’s built a brand that sells around the world.

That kind of growth doesn’t happen by accident.

Listen to the full episode here:
https://helixsalesdevelopment.com/podcast/

09/08/2026

Anybody who says it’s easy to fire a salesperson for non-performance has probably never had to do it.

There’s a person behind those numbers. A family. A mortgage. Responsibilities.

But keeping the wrong person too long doesn’t help them either.

Jim Zazenski learned that the hard way.
Sometimes the hardest leadership decision is also the right one.

Listen to the full episode here:�https://helixsalesdevelopment.com/podcast/

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