"My success is actually when a client stops working with me." - John Zurowski John is the Founder of JZ Sales Consulting with Twenty years of corporate sales leadership before going fractional. And that line is the most honest thing you'll hear from a consultant this year. His goal isn't to become indispensable. It's to build companies to the point where they can replace him with a full-time leader. He calls that the win. Most founders hitting a growth ceiling make the same move: rush to hire a senior sales leader. Big salary, fancy title, high expectations. And more often than not, it doesn't work. Not because the hire is wrong. Because the foundation isn't there yet. John sees it constantly. You sit down with a company's employees and ask a simple question: what does your company do and what problem does it solve? You'll get five different answers. Every time. If your own team can't align on that, no sales leader in the world is going to fix your pipeline. That's where John starts. Not with a CRM. Not with a headcount plan. With clarity. Get the team aligned on what you do and who you help. Build process that's designed to flex, not break. And when you're stuck, stop looking for a new tactic. Go back to the fundamentals. He put it simply: "When you're in a rut, it just takes one small win to get that wind in your sail again." Make the extra calls. Review your proposal with fresh eyes. Do the basic things well. The breakthrough rarely comes from doing something new. It comes from doing the right things consistently. John's also direct about AI: it's a productivity tool, not a replacement for genuine human conversations. People still buy from people. That hasn't changed, and the market fatigue with AI-driven outreach is only going to accelerate it. The sales leaders winning right now are the ones combining structure with hustle, and knowing the difference between a phase and a ceiling.