7 Things I Learned From Closing $151 Million in Sales

Identity. Attitude. Rejection. Process. Time. Energy. Self-concept. Here are the lessons that volume of selling forced me to learn — and what they actually mean for your business.

$151 million in sales. That's a lot of calls. A lot of one-on-ones. A lot of coaching, training, closing, and sometimes losing.

And through all of it, I made a list. Seven things — not twenty, not fifty — the seven things that actually matter. The ones I come back to with every client, every program, every coaching call.

Get a piece of paper. If you focus on these seven things, you're going to nail it. I'll say that with full confidence.

This was originally a New Wealth Movement podcast episode. Written out here for the people who prefer to read. Go listen if you want the full energy — but this is the substance, unpacked.

Lesson 1: Identity

The foundational piece. Everything else stands on this.

You gotta be it, baby. You gotta be it.

I had a client on a group call — his best month ever, $28,000. When it was his turn to share, he said it matter-of-factly: "I am a salesperson." He didn't say it with uncertainty or pride or drama. He said it the way you'd say your own name. Because it had become true. Not because he earned it first — because he decided it first. And then he acted from that decision, every day, until the decision became his identity.

That's how identity works. It goes down to a choice, and then you follow that choice with actions.

When I got into entrepreneurship, I chose to be a different person. When I quit alcohol, I chose to be a different person. The identity shifts in my life that changed everything all started the same way — with a decision.

People tell themselves false stories. "I'm not a salesperson." If you're an entrepreneur, you need to be a salesperson. Period. The best entrepreneurs are salespeople first. You have to sell your product, your vision, your offer — every day, at a high level. There's no version of a thriving business where that isn't true.

So here's the question I want you to sit with right now:

Who are you choosing to be from this moment on?

That's where the magic happens. That's also where people get most uncomfortable — because choosing a new identity means you don't get to keep the old stories. And as I break down in depth across the full blog series, your revenue ceiling is always an identity ceiling first.

Lesson 2: Attitude

The best attitudes always did the best. Every time.

I've trained over 650 salespeople. And the ones with the best attitudes always did the best. Not the most talented. Not the ones with the most experience. The ones who brought resilience — who could get punched in the face by a bad call and turn it around for the next one.

Sounds obvious. And it still shocks me how often people underestimate it.

Attitude in sales and entrepreneurship isn't about being chipper. It's about being resilient when it costs you. It's showing up with energy on a sales call when you feel like garbage. It's turning around a shitty Tuesday and making Wednesday count.

I know this personally. This last year was really hard. I dealt with mold poisoning that messed with my nervous system — anxiety, panic, not feeling like myself. But I had clients who were paying me. I had sales calls I needed to show up for. I had a business to run.

So I showed up. Not perfectly. But I showed up.

Master your attitude and you master everything. Because business will test it — constantly — and the ones who bounce back the fastest are the ones who build the most.

Lesson 3: Rejection

Make out with it. Befriend it. Love it.

You gotta embrace rejection. You've got to make it your friend.

I run a challenge in my community: who can get rejected the most this month. That sounds crazy. It's not. Because once you stop fearing rejection, you stop playing small to avoid it — and that's when everything opens up.

Sales is rejection. Entrepreneurship is rejection. Life is rejection. And rejection is just redirection.

Rejection is also data. When I was getting a lot of "no's" from a certain type of lead, it wasn't a sign that sales was hard. It was a sign I was talking to the wrong person. That data helped me and my team refine who we were bringing into conversations — and everything improved because of it.

Don't take rejection personally. Don't use it as evidence of your worth. Use it as information. And go get more of it — because the person who is the least afraid of rejection is the most free.

Lesson 4: Sales Process

Never skip the steps. Not even when you think you don't have to.

You cannot wing a sales call. If you are, you should stop.

Every time I asked a salesperson why they didn't close, the answer almost always came back to the same thing: they went off process. And here's the wild part — it usually happened on the most qualified leads. Because when a lead looks great, there's a temptation to assume. To skip a step. To rush to the close.

That's the worst time to skip steps. A qualified buyer is the person you most need to run the process on — completely, every time.

A real sales process includes:

• Qualification before the call — making sure the person sitting across from you is actually a fit before you spend an hour finding out they're not.
• A framework that leads the conversation — not a rigid script, but a clear structure that keeps you grounded and the prospect moving forward.
• A follow-up system — for the people who don't close on the first call. Most sales don't. The process accounts for that.
• A funnel that does some of the work for you — so that by the time someone gets on a call with you, they've already been warmed up, pre-qualified, and shown enough value to arrive ready.

Think of identity as the foundation. The sales process is the optimization on top of it. You need both. But never mistake a good process for a substitute for identity — and never assume your identity is enough without a process to run.

Lesson 5: Time

Your biggest resource. Spend it accordingly.

I've worked with 148+ entrepreneurs and founders. The ones who do the best prioritize their time the best. Same with salespeople. This is not a coincidence.

Time is your biggest resource. And most entrepreneurs are spending it on the wrong things.

A new website. A rebrand. Another product. Admin work. Content that doesn't convert. All of it keeps you busy while the real revenue-generating activity sits undone.

If you're here because you want more sales — spend more time getting more sales. Send the DM. Make the post. Book the call. Have the uncomfortable conversation. That's the work that moves money.

Structure is king. I live by it. And it's one of the things I help my clients build — because when your time is structured around the right activities, everything else becomes easier. The results become more predictable. The business starts to feel like it's working with you instead of against you.

Lesson 6: Energy Sells

If you can't get behind it, nobody else will.

Bring the energy. I mean that.

Not performed hype. Not fake enthusiasm. Genuine energy — the kind that comes from actually believing in what you're selling and actually wanting to help the person in front of you.

When I first got into sales in 2014, one of the owners — Connie — did a training that changed how I thought about selling. She delivered the most authentic, energetic pitch I'd ever seen. I remember thinking: I want to sell like that. Not like a performer. Like someone who genuinely meant every word.

That's what I became. And that's what I teach.

To protect and maximize your energy:

• Protect your time — say no to the things that drain you so you can say yes at full capacity.
• Take care of your body — eat right, move, sleep. Your energy is a business asset.
• Stay locked into your mission — when you know why you're doing this, the energy comes naturally.
• Remember that you're the best at what you do — and mean it. Because authenticity converts better than hype every single time.

People love data. People love proof. And people love energy. Bring all three every time you get on a call.

Lesson 7: Self-Concept

The most important. Save the best for last.

Here we are. The last one. And the most important one.

Self-concept. How you think about yourself. What you believe you're worth. What you believe you deserve.

This one is the variable behind every other variable. Your close rate is a reflection of your self-concept. Your price point is a reflection of your self-concept. The clients you attract — and the ones you turn away — are a reflection of your self-concept.

I've seen so many people come into my space who default to the lower ticket, the easier ask, the smaller number — not because the market won't pay more, but because they haven't gotten past the belief that they aren't worth it yet.

My answer is always the same: you are worth it. Go big. Charge what the work is worth. Charge what it would cost someone not to have your help. And then deliver an exceptional transformation and an exceptional product.

I value myself. My program is not cheap. But I don't get cheap clients. I get clients who say "paid in full — help me" — because my self-concept communicates, before I say a word, that what I offer is worth the investment.

Whatever you're selling — it's the best. Charge it like it is. Deliver it like it is. And raise your self-concept until you genuinely believe that without needing to convince yourself every morning.

Journal on this today: How can I raise my self-concept? How can I evolve into the higher-value version of me that my business actually requires?

And if you want to explore this more — in the context of your specific business, with specific direction — that's exactly what I cover in depth in the self-sabotage deep dive and the confidence through evidence article.

That's the Seven. Now What?

Focus on these seven things. I mean it. Not twenty things. These seven.

And notice that the first one and the last one are the same conversation — identity and self-concept. That's not an accident. That's the point. Everything is downstream of who you believe yourself to be. The process, the attitude, the energy, the rejection tolerance, the time — all of it runs better when the foundation is solid.

Start applying. Not next week. Now.

And if you want someone to hold your hand and lead you through it — someone who is all in, who's paid the dues, who's had the sleepless nights and the anxiety and the hard years, and done it all to get better at helping people like you grow — come book a call. Let's work together.

It's never a good time to start. The best time is right now — because you'll be further along if you start today than if you wait another month.

Become more. Create more. Sell more.

— Samuel Gegen