Never Goodbye, See You Later

Dear Solutions Community,?

After the most incredible 3.5 years of my professional career, I am stepping down from my role at PreSales Collective. Founding PreSales Collective and serving the global community has been the most rewarding experience of my entire career.

When Yuji Higashi and I started PreSales Collective in March 2020, we hoped to bring the global profession together but did not truly understand the journey we were about to embark on. When the global community shut down with Covid, PSC helped bring belonging to Solutions professionals across the globe, FINALLY creating a place for our profession to come together to highlight best practices, learning, networking, and so much more. Fast forward to today, the PSC community has grown to more than 35,000 members spanning the globe.?

And looking back on all that we accomplished, I couldn’t be more proud. We have ushered in a new wave of Solutions professionals through PreSales Academy , and upleveled and trained more than a hundred professionals through our Enablement programs, and helped set the standard for the #PreSales for professionals in a wide variety of roles. PSC has become a true career platform for those in the Solutions profession.?

In these last three and a half years, I have been pushed and stretched to limits that I didn't know existed - but I loved every minute of it. The opportunity to lead this incredible community, meet the amazing PreSales professionals and take this profession to the next level has been a once in a lifetime experience. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for allowing me to live my dream.

And a special thank you goes out to the team behind the PSC community. None of this would be possible without the hard work of all of our volunteers, collaborators, advisors, and program members. First and foremost the PreSales Collective Team: Kevin Mefford , Mattie Stremic , Courtney Flickwir , Shawna James , Winny Delcin , Nina Berger , Tom Banton , and Christopher Kaikis - as well as freelancers and contractors like Meghan Spork , Ana Wieser , Kathleen O'Donnell , our Virtual Assistants and so many others. And, of course, my co-founder Yuji Higashi . I am so thankful to have worked with each of you and I thank you all for your commitment in bringing awareness to the best job that no one has ever heard of and taking a chance on our little startup.

While I’ve learned a lot in these past few years, if I had to sum it up, it boils down to three things:?

• The quality of your work is everything, and the details are the difference between good and great.?
• When you give back and invest your efforts in the betterment of others, the rewards are greater than you could ever imagine.
• As a leader, you must set the tone of a performance culture; invest the time in developing your employees to reach their potential.?

While my time leading PSC may be over, my journey with the PreSales profession isn’t. I will continue to share my learnings to influence others to make the entrepreneurial leap. Our Solutions ecosystem has experienced massive progress in the last few years, but we are still very early in bringing awareness to this profession's importance.?

I am excited to see more Solutions tools, trainers, communities, events, and resources in the ecosystem. Too many people believe life is a zero-sum game when it isn’t. Competition brings out the best in everything and gives consumers options. The future is very bright for Solutions!?

What’s next for me? Time to relax and unwind. I’ve poured my entire being into PreSales Collective and am excited to finally take a step back to reflect and enjoy this incredible journey.?

Not goodbye, but see you later.

James

PS - As you can imagine, this is a bittersweet time for me, but please don’t hesitate to reach out. I’d love hear about how PSC has impacted you and your career. Don’t be shy, my DMs are open and I’ll always be here to support my fellow Solutions pros!?