Episode Overview
A funny thing happened to Sebastian Jimenez on his way to becoming founder and CEO of Rilla: He started out as a stand-up comedian.
A certain part of his current tech-focused strategy for sales in the trades is based on his experience telling jokes–sometimes for not-completely-enthralled crowds.
There were times his stand-up material didn’t match the demographic of his audience, he says. The jokes may have been good but the performance still bombed.
“Fifty percent of the battle is not just the product, it's the marketing,” Jimenez says. And so I learned how to do sales. I learned how to handle failure. I learned how to be resilient.”
He’s keen on the notion that any good product needs help in finding the most-profitable consumer base.
“You could have the best product in the world,” Jiminez says. “If it's not a great market, then that product's not going to grow.”
Rilla aims to simplify efforts to boost sales and find the perfect markets for clients with today’s cutting-edge AI technology.
He says the trades are ripe for adoption of AI practices.
One tool Rilla is finding success with is “virtual ride-alongs.” The company records conversations of techs, managers and comfort advisors and uses a proprietary tool to ascertain and highlight the practices of the top industry practitioners.
“Now you can improve your sales and your service with big data that analyzes everything,” Jimenez says.
That may not be a comedy punch line–but it’s a line that definitely packs some punch.
Sebastian Jimenez recently joined ServiceTitan’s Jackie Aubel on the “Toolbox for the Trades” podcast, which included Jiminez’s thoughts on:
[05:58] The correlation between stand-up comedy and tech products
[10:19] Getting trade workers to record customer interactions
[11:58] The market opportunities Sebastian saw that inspired him to co-found Rilla
[28:57] How AI is creating opportunities for companies in the trades
[39:39] The difference between AI data from the internet and home conversations
To hear more stories from the trades, subscribe to “Toolbox for the Trades” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, or anywhere you get podcasts.
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