Series: Selling Smart, Not Hard
NEW SERIES DROP
Buckle in! We’re going on a 4-part journey together — packed with grit, giggles, and gold-star sales strategies.
Welcome to “Selling Smart, Not Hard”:
This isn’t another “rise and grind” sales sermon.
This is for the women rewriting the script — with sharp minds, strong voices, and zero tolerance for the bro-playbook.
For the ones who want to hit quota without burning out.
For the rookies ready to ditch the imposter syndrome and write their own rules.
For the seasoned pros who’ve been coasting — and are ready to reignite the fire.
For anyone who's ever been told to “tone it down” just to be taken seriously.
This series is your permission slip to do it your way.
No watered-down versions of yourself. No fake urgency. No salesy clichés.
Just smart systems, fresh strategy, and the real talk we wish someone gave us sooner.
If you’ve been craving a little structure, a little sass, and a whole lot of sales power — this is your sign to keep reading and subscribe.
Because when women sell like themselves?
Deals get closed. Quotas get crushed. And rooms start to feel different.
Start qualifying like a quota-crusher:
Early in my sales career, I chased everything with a pulse and a LinkedIn profile. If they booked a meeting, I got excited. If they said, “This is interesting,” I spun up a deck. If they ghosted me after a detailed proposal? I took it personally and tried harder. Sound familiar?
It took time — and a lot of unnecessary follow-ups — to realize that not every lead deserves your energy. A “great call” doesn’t always mean a great opportunity. A polite nod from procurement isn’t a green light. What changed the game for me was shifting my mindset from chasing every maybe to qualifying like a pro. Ask real questions that get to urgency, budget, and decision-making power. Look for red flags like “just exploring” or “no real timeline.” Be honest about fit, and unafraid to walk away early. That’s not rudeness — that’s respect for your time, your number, and your sanity.
This message especially hits home for women in sales — because for many of us, we’ve been trained to accommodate, soften, or people-please to keep a deal alive. I’m six feet tall. I command attention when I walk into a room — whether I want to or not. For most of my life, I wrestled with two choices: shrink to make others comfortable, or stand tall and let them deal with it. In sales, that same battle showed up fast — do I tone down my spark to “blend in” with the traditional sales mold, or do I lean into who I actually am? I chose the latter. And guess what? Owning your personality — your humor, your directness, your warmth — makes you someone people trust. It makes you memorable. And it makes selling feel so much less like a performance and more like a partnership.
So here’s your reminder: you are not a sales golden retriever. You don’t need to chase every lead like it’s a dropped tennis ball. You are a closer. A sharp, strategic, quota-hitting closer. Start qualifying like it — because when you sell from a place of ownership instead of obligation, you win more… and you lose way less of yourself along the way.
Let’s make it practical. Here are quick practices to bring into your everyday sales life.
Ask the hard questions — early and unapologetically
→ “What happens if this isn’t solved by next quarter?”
→ “Who’s ultimately making this decision?”
→ “Is there budget already approved for this?”Spot the stallers
→ “Send me some info” = 🪦
→ “We’re not actively evaluating yet” = maybe later, not maybe nowKnow your red flags
→ No timeline
→ No urgency
→ No authority
→ No real engagement after call #1Walk away sooner
→ Qualification isn’t rejection — it’s protection.
Take these lessons for any stage in your career:
For the woman in tech sales trying to hit quota without losing her voice:
You don’t need to overcompensate with hustle just to prove you belong.
Sales isn’t about saying “yes” to everything — it’s about knowing when to say “no” faster.
You protect your energy by qualifying harder, not working longer.
Ask the tough questions early.
Respect your pipeline like you respect your time.
Drop the people-pleasing — your commission doesn’t come from being nice.
For the rookie building her own playbook:
Every deal feels like a win at first — but real power comes when you learn to separate noise from signal.
You don’t need to prove you’re “grateful for the opportunity.”
You need to prove you’re in control of your process.
Learn to spot the signs of a flaky buyer:
No timeline? No deal.
No authority? No traction.
No urgency? No ROI for you.
Start qualifying like your future self depends on it — because she does.
For the seasoned pro who’s lost the spark:
You didn’t get this far by winging it — but maybe you’ve started mistaking activity for progress.
Reps like us know how to talk. But now? It’s about listening for the signs of a dead-end before wasting another quarter chasing it.
Go back to your roots: what makes a real opportunity?
Stop reliving the “almost deals” — qualify tighter. Close faster.
Don’t chase out of habit. Close with intention.
The magic you once had? It’s still there. But it needs a better filter.
For the woman who’s been told to “tone it down”:
Listen — your instinct is your superpower.
You already know which prospects are stringing you along.
You feel the slow no coming. You hear the hesitation.
Don’t ignore that. Own it. Use it.
Being sharp and direct isn’t “too much.” It’s professional.
Qualify like a woman who knows her worth — because that’s the energy that moves deals
Let’s Talk Methodology: BANT, MEDDIC, CHAMP — and Finding What Actually Works for You
Sales training loves a good acronym.
BANT, MEDDIC, CHAMP… and the list keeps growing.
But let’s be honest — if it doesn’t feel natural to you, it’s going to feel forced to your prospect too.
That’s why I believe in this:
Take what fits. Toss what doesn’t. Build your own blend.
Because when you show up confident and in control, that’s what moves deals forward.
A Quick Breakdown (In Plain English):
Here’s how these frameworks differ — and what’s worth stealing from each:
BANT – Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline
Classic and simple. Great for high-velocity sales or early-stage reps.
Best if you need a quick gut-check to prioritize leads.
Budget → “Is there budget allocated, or are we fighting for it?”
Authority → “Are we talking to the decision-maker, or a champion?”
Need → “Is this a pain or a wishlist item?”
Timeline → “When do they need this solved?”
MEDDIC – Metrics, Economic Buyer, Decision Criteria, Decision Process, Identify Pain, Champion
More detailed. Perfect for complex or enterprise deals.
Best if you're selling to layered buying committees or multi-threading.
Metrics → “Can they define success in real, measurable terms?”
Economic Buyer → “Who signs the check?”
Decision Criteria → “What features or outcomes are they evaluating?”
Decision Process → “What happens between ‘we like it’ and ‘we bought it’?”
Pain → “What’s at risk if they don’t solve this?”
Champion → “Do I have an internal advocate pushing this through?”
CHAMP – Challenges, Authority, Money, Prioritization
Like BANT with more emphasis on the buyer’s actual problems.
Best if you lean consultative and want to open real conversations.
Challenge → “What’s broken, and why now?”
Authority → “Can this person drive action or influence it?”
Money → “Can they buy today, or are they shopping for ‘someday’?”
Prioritization → “Is this #3 on their to-do list, or #13?”
How I Built My Own Blend
I use CHAMP’s Challenge to start conversations.
Then I blend in MEDDIC’s Metrics and Champion questions when I realize it’s a real opportunity.
And when I’m moving fast? I BANT-check a lead in 30 seconds post-call.
You don’t have to memorize these. You have to internalize them.
Let them guide how you listen, how you dig deeper, and how you decide whether a deal is worth the chase.
My Practical Qualification Workflow
Let’s walk through a simple 5-step version of how I qualify a lead on a discovery call:
Start with pain, not product.
→ “What made you take this meeting?”
→ “What’s not working today?”Dig into urgency.
→ “What happens if this isn’t solved by the end of the quarter?”
→ “Who else is impacted if this lingers?”Ask about the buying process without sounding stiff.
→ “How does your team usually move forward with new tools?”
→ “Are there other folks we should loop in to make this real?”Get real about budget.
→ “Has your team allocated budget for this kind of project?”
→ “Or are we still in the planning stage?”Gauge where you stand.
→ “If we were to move forward, what’s the timeline?”
→ “Do you feel like this aligns with what you’re looking for?”
Let’s be real for a second…
Rejection sucks.
Not just in sales — but in every part of life.
Whether it’s a “no” from a buyer, a friend pulling away, a relationship drifting, or not landing that dream role — it all stings.
And it’s not just the moment of rejection — it’s what happens after.
The mental spiral.
The comparison trap.
That inner critic whispering,
“Where did I go wrong?”
“Why them and not me?”
“Am I falling behind?”
In sales, it hits double.
Because it’s not just rejection — it’s public.
You see your name on the leaderboard.
You watch others announce big wins on LinkedIn.
You scroll through socials wondering how everyone seems to be crushing it while you’re… recalibrating.
And if you're anything like me?
You don’t just compare yourself to others — you compare yourself to you.
The version of you who crushed Q2 last year
The one who had that insane cold outbound streak
The one who "used to be more on top of it"
It’s exhausting.
But here’s the truth I’ve had to learn — over and over again:
You don’t earn your worth by chasing.
You protect it by choosing where you spend your time — and who gets access to it.
Qualifying isn’t rejection. It’s self-respect.
It’s looking at an opportunity — or a person — and saying,
“If this isn’t aligned, I’m not going to force it.”
“If this isn’t going to close, I’m not going to cling to hope.”
“If this isn’t bringing me closer to who I want to be — in work or in life — I’m going to let it go.”
Because every time you protect your time…
You reclaim a bit more power
You show up to the next deal sharper
You stop negotiating your value just to stay “busy”
And you carve out the space to be the seller — and person — that others write about
You don’t get to #1 by overextending yourself to prove you belong.
You get there by knowing exactly who you are, what you’re worth, and what you’re not willing to spend another minute chasing.
Respect your time — in sales, in friendships, in love, in everything. And watch what happens when the world starts respecting it too.
Up Next: Part 2 — “Build a System That Works While You Sleep (Kind Of)”
We’re talking calendar chaos, color-coded sanity, and the workflow secrets I swear by to stay organized without losing my soul.
Spoiler: there will be coffee.
Probably a mild breakdown about time-blocking.
Definitely real tips you can steal.
PLUS: I’ll be dropping purchasable content this week to pair with each part of Selling Smart, Not Hard —
Think: templates, sales planners, cold call scripts, and Notion boards built with brains and a little sparkle.
Follow along, share with your sales besties, and let’s keep building a career (and calendar) that actually works for you.