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Hi Reader,
Notes from a Female Founder
Last week I told you to plan the revenue and plan to get it the easiest way possible. Here’s what I mean.
It’s tempting to plan 2027 by taking this year’s number and adding to it. More calls. More emails. More hires. Work harder.
The easy way starts with who you sell to. When you target the wrong customers, everything gets harder. Deals take longer, discounts get bigger, and your team starts to believe sales is just hard.
It doesn’t have to be.
Before you set your 2027 number, look at your best customers. The ones who bought fastest, stayed longest, and sent you referrals. Plan to find more of them.
Then plan your own year with the same care. Who and what deserves your time in 2027? That is exactly the kind of question I want female founders asking together inside Revenue + Real Life™.
Sales Sharpenher
Here are a few questions to ask as you plan sales at your company for 2027.
- Who are your best customers today? What do they have in common, and when did you last update your ideal customer profile?
- Are you measuring activity or effectiveness? How many meaningful conversations is your team having with buyers who can actually say yes?
- Have you mapped your customer’s journey, or only your sales process? What is your buyer doing before, during, and after they talk to your team?
This week’s conversation
This is episode 200 of Sales Talk for CEOs, and it felt right to make this one just me. Sales shouldn’t be this hard. But so many CEOs and sales teams are working harder than ever and still struggling to bring in consistent revenue. In this solo episode, I break down why.
Sometimes it starts with mindset. If you believe sales is hard, your whole organization feels it. Sometimes it’s the wrong metrics, the wrong people on the team, or a process built for yesterday’s buyers. Very often, it’s targeting the wrong customers.
What I share.
- Activity isn’t effectiveness. Focus on meaningful customer connections, not activity for activity’s sake.
- Map the customer journey, not just your sales process. Know what your buyers are doing before, during, and after they talk to your team, and meet them where they are.
- Define your ideal customer profile and keep refining it. The right target, methodology, team, and mindset make sales easier.
“If you believe sales is hard, it will be hard. And if you talk about sales being hard at your company, then the people who are listening will believe it’s hard also.” – Alice Heiman
👉 Listen to the episode - and forward it to a founder who is working too hard to close deals.
On LinkedIn this week
Sales Talk for CEOs just hit 200 episodes! That’s 200 episodes full of real conversations about building companies and driving revenue. Over time the conversations have grown into something bigger, about the people behind the businesses and the real life that shapes their success. Thank you to every guest who shared their story and every one of you who listened, shared an episode, or took something away from a conversation.
👉 Read the LinkedIn post
To Your Sales Success,
Alice
P.S. Revenue + Real Life™ is growing. Founding Members are joining, our Founding Mentors are on board, and weekly Office Hours have been kicked off. If you are a female founder CEO leading an AI, innovative, or technology-driven company, this is the room to plan 2027 with women who get it. Founding membership is open now. Hit reply to join, or learn more at www.revenueandreallife.com
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