You’re Invited: Behind the Scenes of 271 Sales Calls

Marketing

I’m doing something I’ve never done before: Creating a sales team from the ground up. (And I’m taking you behind the scenes!)

Let me back up for a second: I’ve done sales in my businesses in two specific ways: 1. Me selling, one on one; or 2. Me selling, one-to-many by way of a masterclass.

It’s worked incredibly well, but as the business scaled, I realized I wanted to personalize the sales process. Human to human.

So we began systematizing our sales process and THEN I DECIDED TO THROW A WRENCH IN THE PLAN.

I suggested to the team that we should invest in a sales development program so we could build our new department the best way, from the start.

This sounds good in theory, but when I presented this idea, the facts looked like taking a few steps backwards (it’s not lost on me that I could’ve spruced up my sales pitch to my own team!):

  • It was $15k for a 90-day program.
  • It would require certain members of the team (myself included) in weekly calls and trainings.
  • We needed to delay the launch to ensure we reworked our new offer for the new sales process.

Despite this reverse tango, I convinced the team this was the best decision…UNTIL I WAS PUT ON THE SPOT IN A MEETING.

During our first training, the sales coaches walked through our sales process, and gave feedback but paused when we said we were recruiting for our new sales team.

[Silence ensued.]

The coaches looked at each other across the Zoom screen and then said, “We think it’s best for you to handle the first 271 sales calls…”

My teammate Katie and I sat there stunned.

HOW? WHY? WHEN? MAYDAY MAYDAY THIS IS NOT PART OF THE PLAN.

And then the coach said something I’ve always known to be true: You need to understand every part of your business if you expect the best people to scale it for you.

And just like that, I cleared my calendar and began training for sales calls.

How do I feel? Enlightened, excited, and a bit overwhelmed (but not overcome).

I’ve had to consolidate meetings, postpone content creation days, triple batch podcast recordings, cancel trips, and accept that this is the cost of scaling in new ways.

I’m creating video diaries of creating this new department, with the hopes that I can share it one day.

Q: Would you want to watch a behind-the-scenes podcast of how we’re building our new sales department?

I decided to write this note for a few reasons:

  • If you’re in a season building new things and feeling like a pair of running shoes in a dryer, you’re not alone.
  • If you’ve had a plan flip upside down on you, you’re not alone.
  • If you’re investing in yourself and it feels like all you’ve done is slow your process, you’re not alone.

If this is the price of growing beyond my wildest expectations, then I’ll happily pay rent.

I hope the same for you.

On that note, I shared >>a podcast this week<< about where you and I will be in four weeks…it’s my exact 30-day growth plan and I’m sharing the framework so you can use it too.

Here’s to us clearing calendars, paying rent, and scaling in new ways,

j*