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During a session this week, someone told me he can’t be taught anything new. He explained that he is the best sales guy out there. He knows everything.
One of the key traits of a good salesperson is the ability to listen and adapt.
People tend to think of salespeople as a negative thing. I see them as problem solvers. When you can’t listen and can’t improve, you “push sell” the wrong thing to the wrong person.
Stay hungry. Stay passionate.
In today’s Storyletter:
Think long-term to close more deals
My Birthday
Some fun, weekend vibes
THOUGHTS
Sending proposals.
Preparing for another meeting.
Spending hours designing a slide no one will read.
Our weeks are full.
Client meetings. Delivery. Firefighting. Everything in between.
Then Sunday night comes and we ask,
what did I build this week that makes next week easier?
A scope of work should take minutes, not days.
Marketing content should be part of the workday, not a “when I have time.”
Improving the client experience should be planned, not reactive.
2026 is almost two months in. I made a decision to track something simple.
Two things move the needle: habits and scale.
Habits make you better.
Scale makes you bigger.
But neither happens accidentally.
Working with clients around the world, I see long-term goals getting less than 5% of attention. And that’s generous.
Most people are solving today’s problems instead of building tomorrow’s systems.
80% is delivery.
20% is scale.
Those 20% hours are where compounding lives.
For me, that’s writing my next book.
Thirty minutes a day.
Not exciting.
Not dramatic.
Just consistent.
So what are your 30 minutes a day?
Because short-term pays the bills.
Long-term builds the engine.
Progress will happen with or without you.
Make sure you ride the wave.
Building in Public
The talk went so well, we only got 1 pic from 300 people in the audience 😃
Birthday week.
I’ve never been big on taking days off to celebrate, but this year I had to prepare for two talks the following day. It was fun and stressful at the same time.
Key learning: next year, I’m not doing anything work-related on my birthday.
This week had some great wins. Here are three:
We’re preparing a client for an investor session in Mexico. Dozens of investors will judge a competition and decide where to invest. I rewrote the pitch draft three times, and when we received the official criteria list, we were happy to see we hit all ten points. It’s about the story we tell. The right mix of data and emotion.
This will be my third project with this client.A random comment I left on LinkedIn led a friend to connect me with Fusion, an early-stage Israeli VC, and a last-minute invite to their B2B Bootcamp.
I gave the closing 30-minute storytelling session. The reactions were outstanding, and I’m happy to work with such a young, hungry, passionate crowd.A U.S.-based client is seeing real change in their customer journey. After two months of hard work, the team is starting to see the funnel convert. The message is clearer. The journey is easier.
If your brand isn’t building a real customer journey, you’re missing out on easier sales.
Last week I shared my sprint service, two weeks to create better messaging, pitch, or customer journey. I’m almost done building the funnel and happy to say it will run under Streetwise Agency.
This marks the return of the agency name I launched in 2011.
Happy birthday to me and to Streetwise Agency.
Just For Fun
When Brenada Fraser was just starting out
Every week, I collect things I enjoy online. This is my curated top three: playlists to work with, trailers, videos, or just fun stuff.
🎧 Music
This Storyletter was written while listening to Bella Becke’s playlist
👉 🎧 Listen
🎬 She Dances
I’m a sucker for these types of indie movies
👉 🎬 Watch
🎥 Brendan Fraser makes the hardest decision
One man made a decision that changed the outcome of World War II
👉 🎥 View
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