The first call with a new agency client almost always goes the same way. They want more leads. They want a better outbound system. They want to know what sequences to run, which tools to use, how many touches before giving up. They have already decided what the problem is before I ask a single question. Sometimes they are right. But more often, the thing they think is broken is not actually what is holding them back. I have built growth playbooks for four agencies over the pa

The conversation usually starts the same way. A founder tells me they're ready to scale sales. They've got a product that's working, a handful of clients who love it, and real conviction that the market is there. What they need, they say, is more pipeline. More reps. More activity. So I ask a few questions. And within about ten minutes, a different picture starts to emerge. This isn't a knock on founders, it takes real courage to build something from scratch and carry the sal

Last week I wrote about why first sales hires fail, and the feedback said something interesting. Almost nobody pushed back on the infrastructure argument. What they zeroed in on was messaging. One person put it simply: "It's the story, stupid." They're right. And it's worth going deeper on exactly what that means in practice, because "fix your messaging" is advice everyone gives and almost nobody explains how to actually do. So this week: what a Messaging Matrix is, why your

There's a story I keep seeing play out in B2B companies, and it almost always ends the same way. A founder has been carrying the sales function on their own for a year or two. They've landed a handful of clients through their network, through sheer force of will, through the kind of relationship-driven hustle that gets a company off the ground. Revenue is coming in. Things feel like they're working. So they make what seems like the obvious next move: they hire a salesperson.

My brother sent me a text message last week: "Have you ever listened to The Strangest Secret by Earl Nightingale?" I hadn't. He followed up with: "It's from 1956. Just listen to it. Trust me." I'm going to be honest, my initial reaction was I don't have time, but decided to listen while I read the bike and got a workout in and glad I did. Why I Wish I'd Heard This 20 Years Ago Here's the thing that hit me: Nightingale talks about how only 5% of people who start their careers

Here's something that took me way too long to figure out: sales isn't actually about sales. I know, I know. But hear me out. When most people think about "sales," they picture someone in a button-down shirt hammering away at cold calls, armed with a script and unrealistic quota. And sure, that's part  of it. But if that's your entire sales strategy, you're leaving money—and relationships—on the table. Growth Is a Team Sport Here's what I've learned: growth is a mindset that f