I build sales systemsthat drive revenue.
Head of Sales & Marketing. Founder. Commercial operator.
7 Days To Launch
Dog Stairs7 Days To LaunchDog Stairs01Who I am
I build the system behind the number.
My background spans sales, digital marketing, partnerships and entrepreneurship.
In 9+ years I've moved from individual selling, to building businesses, to leading commercial teams, giving me a practical understanding of what happens between generating an opportunity and actually turning it into revenue.
I walk into a business, understand why revenue isn't moving, build the process, give the team the tools, coach the people, and hold everyone accountable to the number.
02Commercial results
Commercial results
Reference
“Michael has a great knack for understanding what a brand needs and turning that into clear, actionable strategies. His marketing recommendations were spot-on and made a real difference in how we connect with our audience.”
03The ZiB Turnaround
A sales model that wasn't working.A system that needed rebuilding.
The situation
I joined ZiB as a Growth Specialist in December 2025.
The business operated through a franchise model, with partners responsible for building pipeline and closing opportunities in their markets. Several partners were struggling to generate consistent sales and make the model commercially work.
Within approximately six months, I moved into the Head of Sales & Marketing role with responsibility for rebuilding the commercial function.
What I changed
- 01Lead generation / outreach
- 02Pre-qualification
- 03Discovery
- 04Commercial analysis
- 05Sales deck
- 06Proposal
- 07Close
- 08Follow-up
The focus shifted from selling marketing deliverables to understanding the commercial problem, qualifying the opportunity and building the business case before presenting a solution.
The result
Sales increased approximately fourfold compared with the preceding several-month period, while qualified opportunities presented through the new process achieved an approximately 80% close rate.
04The system
Revenue doesn't startwith the proposal.
The biggest changes happened before anyone asked for the sale.
Pre-qualification
Qualify before you pitch.
I built a structured pre-qualification journey that captures commercial objectives, customer economics, existing activity, urgency and investment expectations before discovery.
The goal is simple: spend more time with opportunities we can genuinely help, and enter discovery knowing enough to have a commercial conversation.
Discovery
Discovery is commercial.
I rebuilt discovery around understanding how the business makes money, where it wants to go, what that growth is worth and what's preventing it from getting there.
- 01Where does the business need to be in 12 months?
- 02What is a new customer actually worth?
- 03What's stopping you getting there today?
- 04If we solved this, what would that mean commercially?
The objective isn't to discover whether someone “needs SEO.” It's to determine whether there is a real commercial problem worth solving.
View the full discovery framework
- Opening permissionSet up the conversation
“If it's ok, I'd like to ask some questions that help me be more specific. Would that work for you?”
- Rapport & business intelligence10 questions
“Why do customers choose you: price, value, quality, service, range, speed or brand?”
- Trust & certainty8 questions
“What has your digital marketing history looked like: the good, the bad and the ugly?”
- Decision-making & commercials10 questions
“What is the average transaction value, and what is the gross profit margin?”
- Biggest concerns4 questions
“Is there anything else we should consider before we build the recommendation?”
Sales decks
Make the business case.
I rebuilt ZiB's presentation framework around the prospect's commercial problem rather than a list of marketing deliverables.
The new presentation process has achieved approximately an 80% close rate on qualified opportunities presented through it.
Sales leadership
Build the system. Coach the people.
A sales process is only useful if the team believes in it, understands it and consistently executes it.
I currently lead six franchise partners and a Head of Growth across ZiB's commercial function.
My approach is built around five things:
- 01Clear expectations
Everyone knows what good looks like.
- 02Visible pipeline
Opportunities, next actions and gaps are visible.
- 03Consistent process
Qualification, discovery, presentation and follow-up aren't reinvented every time.
- 04Regular coaching
Review the conversation, not just the number.
- 05Accountability
Agree on the process. Agree on the target. Hold each other accountable to both.
AI & automation
Use AI to make the salesperson better.
I built AI into the sales function where it removes repetitive work, creates useful commercial intelligence or gives the salesperson more time to sell.
- 01Audit creation
- 02Discovery preparation
- 03Commercial analysis
- 04Proposal support
- 05Lead generation
05Sales technology
Build value beforethe first conversation.
I conceived and built ZiB OS: a suite of AI-powered commercial tools designed to generate demand, qualify opportunities and make sales conversations more valuable.
The tools turn marketing and business data into something a prospect can understand before they ever speak with the sales team.
- Website / positioning audit
- AI Growth Simulator
- ROI tools
- AI readiness
- Meta Ads Lab
- Google Ads Lab
- Automation tools
Commercial positioning
Changing how an agencytalks about marketing.
I led the strategy and build of ZiB Digital's new website as part of the broader commercial repositioning.
We moved the conversation away from isolated marketing deliverables and toward growth, revenue and measurable commercial outcomes.
07Experience
Experience
- 2025 – PresentZiB DigitalHead of Sales & MarketingPreviously Growth Specialist
Sales leadership, commercial turnaround, process, technology and marketing.
- 2024 – Nov 2025BlueRock DigitalGrowth & Partnerships Manager
Growth strategy alongside directors and senior leadership.
- $250K+ new business in first year
- 23% close rate
- $100K+ referred into other divisions
- 500+ contacts generated through events
- 2023 – Present7 Days To LaunchFounderFormerly Website In A Week
Built from zero through partnerships, referrals and a repeatable sales process.
- Approximately $100K first-year revenue
- $250K+ revenue since launch
- 2021 – 2024Network Effect Consulting · HeyRCG · JRJD ConsultingEarlier experience
Sales, partnerships, digital strategy, client growth and business development.
Selling feels differentwhen it's your money.
Building my own businesses changed the way I think about sales leadership.
When you own the outcome, pipeline isn't an abstract CRM metric.
That perspective shapes how I qualify opportunities, structure offers and lead commercial teams.
Built from zero using partnerships, referrals and direct sales. Approximately $100K first-year revenue and $250K+ revenue since launch, with no paid advertising.
Visit 7 Days To LaunchA premium physical-product business where I manage the commercial process end to end: sourcing, importing, positioning, lead generation, quoting and sales.
Visit Dog StairsDog Stairs · SEO / Organic growth
Building organic demandfrom zero.
Premium dog stairs designed for large dogs and premium vehicles.
Build organic visibility and inbound demand for a new product on a brand-new domain, starting from zero index coverage in March 2026.
Launched and scaled the organic presence from a standing start: 40 indexed pages and 47 URLs earning search impressions within four months of sitemap submission.
Built a programmatic content architecture across vehicle-model, breed and city landing pages, capturing long-tail commercial intent across 94 distinct query variations.
Impression growth. From 119 impressions in April 2026 to 904 in July, on a domain live since March.
Click growth. Over the same three months, with the latest 28-day window up a further 75% in impressions period over period.
URLs on page one. Performing URLs at average position 10 or better, with vehicle landing pages holding positions 2.6 to 7.4.
Sitewide CTR. Against a typical 2–3% for comparable positions; top vehicle pages convert impressions at 20%+.
- 01Maserati Levante dog stairs · position 2.6
- 02Ford Everest dog stairs · position 4.7 · 21.1% CTR
- 03Defender 110 dog stairs · position 7.3 · 20% CTR
- 04Ineos Grenadier dog stairs · position 7.4 · 16 clicks
This isn't an SEO portfolio piece. It's the same commercial motion end to end: build the product, position it, generate demand and convert it, with 79% of clicks landing in the target Australian market.
Outside work
Based in Melbourne. Outside work you'll usually find me training CrossFit, building something I probably don't need to build, or convincing myself the next business idea is definitely the sensible one.
I also once ran a marathon slowly enough to have plenty of time to reconsider the decision.
Building a commercialfunction? Let's talk.
Sales leadership. Growth. Systems. Commercial strategy.