Sales Is Therapy

Let’s face it—sales is often considered a dirty word. What are the first thoughts that come to mind when you hear salesperson? Exactly.

But why is this? Isn’t selling really about guiding someone from a state of need and uncertainty to one of peace and fulfilment?

Sales is Therapy reveals the deeper, more human side of selling, where each interaction becomes more than just a chase for commission. Selling transforms from a mere transaction into an opportunity for connection—where understanding another’s needs, fears, and desires becomes a true art. This approach offers a grounded way to sell, leading to more consistent and predictable results that actually work.

Through a therapeutic lens, we learn that empathy, not persuasion, is the key to building lasting trust. Selling is no longer just an exchange, but a dialogue—an honest search for mutual value. In these moments of connection, both seller and client are invited to step beyond the surface into something more meaningful.

“Sales is Therapy offers a fresh perspective for sales professionals.
Zac and Jack reveal how, when done right, sales elevates both the client and the professional, reshaping lives and driving meaningful change.”

— Foreword by Daniel Priestley, entrepreneur and bestselling author

Author

We Have a Meeting

I am the Founding Director of ‘We Have a meeting’ an outsourced business development agency. 

We're invited in by businesses who are struggling to get in front of enough people, the right types of people or maybe break into new sectors or industries. 

Through our innovative cold outreach methods, we're able to get businesses in front of their ideal prospects on a consistent, predictable basis. 

Or we teach them how to do it themselves!

Give me a shout if any of that applies and you’re motivated to fix it.

Founding Director

A Sales Consultancy

At 'A Sales Consultancy' our mission is to empower businesses to unlock their full
sales potential and achieve consistent, predictable, and sustainable growth.

Director

We Have A Meeting Podcast

Officially: I co-host a podcast that brings honest, unfiltered conversations to the world of sales, mindset, and business.

Unofficially: I turn up once a week, chat nonsense with interesting people, and somehow convince them (and myself) that it's valuable content. Alongside Jack Frimston, my partner in podcasting crime.

Co Host

All over the show

Various sales jobs across the UK learning my craft. Mostly in software and construction for both startups and blue chips companies. 
Lots of lessons, mistakes, deals won, deals lost until I decided to start my own company in 2020.

Various sales roles

Getting consistent, predictable meetings in the calendar is hard.

Usually, companies struggle because

• They've noticed they don't have enough meetings in the calendar and as a result, the pipeline is looking a bit bleak. 

• Or maybe they are meeting people but they just don't seem to convert because they're not the right types of people. 

I'm guessing this doesn't sound like you but if it does.

Website: www.wehaveameeting.com
Email: zac@wehaveameeting.com
or you can call me: 07712177411

Last week we said our saddest goodbye in We Have a Meeting history. 

After over 2 years, Megan Harvey decided it was time to strap on the travel backpack and be a 21 year old. 

Meg exhibited everything you'd want in an employee: 

- The right attitude. 
- Eagerness to learn.
- Professionalism with clients.
- Accountability 

and most of all an ability to laugh in the face of adversity. 

When I was asked who demonstrates our culture the best I always thought of Meg. 

They'll be a Meg shaped hole in the business that I'm not sure we'll ever fill, but I'm always grateful for anyone who leaves us a little bit better than they found us. 

We'll miss you Meg.

Zac Thompson

Founder, UK’s #2 Sales Agency | Sales Is Therapy Author (#1) | Co-Host, We Have A Meeting | Your Team Struggles to Book Meetings, We Fix That.

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If you’re ever curious you’re sat next to a LinkedIn user but don’t want to ask.

Pretend to sneeze and see if they say 

‘Thanks for sharing.’

I closed a deal today.

All because of consistency.

I messaged this prospect twelve times over three months.

“Hey, did you see my last message?”
“Just bumping this to the top of your inbox.”
“Hope you’re well, any thoughts on my earlier note?”
“Hey again!”
“Maybe you missed this?”
“Circling back.”
“Just checking in.”
“Still keen to connect.”
“Still keen to reconnect.”
“Still… keen.”
“Please.”
“Hi.”

They finally replied today.

“Fine. Let’s have a call.”

If you give up after one message, that’s not outreach, that’s wishful thinking.

So keep showing up.
Keep following up.

I never had the classic entrepreneur origin story.
No lemonade stand. No school “business”. No Gary V childhood.

I was into music. That was it.

From a young age I was in rehearsal rooms, practice rooms, tiny venues with dodgy sound systems, doing my best to not mess things up. I wasn’t thinking about business or “career paths”. I just wanted to get better.

Music has been a great proving ground for starting We Have a Meeting

You learn to fail in front of people.
You learn to perform even when you don’t feel confident.
You learn that creativity is mostly problem solving.
You learn to handle pressure, last-minute changes, off days, and tough crowds.
You learn that the show goes on whether you feel ready or not.

And when you build a business, those skills matter more than you expect.

'Can I come and work for you for FREE?' 

Those were the words on Giulio Segantini 2 years ago. 

I'd never met him and he wasn't the internet sensation he is today. 

Out of nowhere he rang me and said I want to learn from you, let me come and work for you for free. 

In he came working every hour, doing more dials than anyone with a hunger I'd never seen. 

He soaked up everything and made it his own. 

Flash forward to now Giulio is everywhere, so much so were frequently asked 'Do you have follow that gorgeous Italian bloke?' when we make our own calls. 

This week in a full circle moment we teach a masterclass on all we've learnt from cold calling along side my better half Jack Frimston

Wednesday 12th November
Online 
16:00–17:30 (UK time)

We've added 5 more tickets before we're sold out, so dont miss out. 

Grab yours here: https://lnkd.in/eGQTwTpR

Everyone pretends December is a write off.
It is not.
It is only dead if you are.

Here are five ways to book meetings in the Christmas lull without begging, pushing or sounding like a knock-off chatbot:

1. Break their autopilot

People switch off in December. 
Try something that makes them stop for half a second.
“Look, this might be nothing, but would it be mad to ask how you are planning for January?”

They think. You win.

2. Shake the tree. 

Did that 'almost deal' from 3/6 months ago go with a competitor, did they solve the problem? 

Reach out to all lost opps and see what's possible. 

3. Multi thread 

Land meetings with all stakeholders in deals in progress. Influencers, Blockers. 

If the IT director can stop the deal, why aren't you meeting with them? 

4. Wake dead leads with closing the file. 

 No one wants another “checking in” message.

 Try this instead:

 “Last time we spoke, timing was the issue. Are you happy for me to close the file and say you've gone with someone else?”

 It cuts through. 

5. Aim for the emotion, not the diary

December is a cocktail of pressure, fatigue and ‘I’ll deal with it next year’.
Use questions that speak to that.

“If nothing changes before January, is that going to bite you?”


December is not dead.

If you stop performing and start helping people think, you will book more meetings than the SDRs who mentally clocked off weeks ago.

Here I am motivating Jack Frimston to feel the same.

Starting a business is a humbling and lonely place some times. 

No one understands the pressures the way you do. 

The looming and every changing financial goals. 

The struggle to manage work and personal life. 

The clients that suddenly want to grow and do more. 

Or the clients that suddenly want to leave. 

The pressure to keep the staff happy and motivated. 

I am however one of the lucky ones. 

I get to work with my best mates. 

I've known Jack Frimston and Ben Owen since I was 15, we've lived together, laughed together, cried together and done lots of things that aren't suitable for Linkedin together. 

There is a myth in business that you should never work with friends, I'm here to tell you that opposite is true because I can't imagine how I'd do it without them.

Last year, we helped a client add over £1m in new business by anchoring everything around one thing: the problem they solve.

Here’s the framework we used:

1. New prospects
We didn’t spray cold calls at random lists.
We built data that showed signs people actually had the problem.
Buying signals. Triggers. Real-world indicators.
Then we called with a point of view, not a pitch.

2. Re-engage old conversations
We went back to people who’d spoken to them before.
Instead of “just checking in”, we asked about what might have gone wrong since they tried to fix it.
Relevance beats memory every time.

3. Upsell through insight
Most upsells are lazy.
We mapped the problems that appear once the first one is solved and built the messaging around that.
When clients see you understand their next challenge, they buy again.

4. Referrals that convert
We stopped the small talk.
Every partner and referral conversation started with “Who do you know showing these signs?”
That shift alone doubled introductions in 90 days.

This approach works because it’s built on data, timing and problem signals not guesswork.

We achieved the goal with 3 months to spare. 

If your team is still feature dumping instead of identifying symptoms, you’re leaving serious revenue on the table.

The bigger a business gets, the further every team drifts from the only thing that ever mattered.

Not revenue.
Not pipeline.
Not campaigns.
Not dashboards.

The goal is simple:
Solve your customer’s problem consistently.
Get paid as a bi-product of a job done well.

And here are some signs you’ve strayed:

Marketing obsesses over campaigns and impressions, yet no one can say which customer problem they solved this week or ever.

Demand gen hits MQL targets that don’t go anywhere because they want volume not quality.

Events teams brag about badge scans not realising 70% of event leads are time wasted.

Account managers become meeting organisers instead of problem solvers. The process takes priority over any progress.

Sales talks about quota and ‘hopeful’ ‘they really liked us’ meetings. A pipeline full of hope rather than fact.

Leadership celebrates dashboards that look green while the business feels red.

Everyone argues about ownership instead of asking the only question that counts:

Does this help the customer?

If you ordered a pizza and it turned up cold, you’d send it back.

But in your business when the calls are cold, the flow of money should be warm. 

Cold calling is our best performing new business channel. 

We win 70% of our clients from it. 

Then Referral, then Linkedin inbound. 

Cold calling is king for a set of simple reasons. 

You cannot rewrite it ten times.
You cannot “circle back next week”.
You cannot blame the algorithm.
You cannot pretend you are busy.
You cannot disguise fear as “strategy”.

Cold calling exposes your mindset, your confidence, your clarity and your ability to handle silence.

That is why it works.
And that is why people avoid it.

Cold calling forces you to be a real salesperson, not a keyboard warrior with a Canva post.

If you want more new business, pick up the phone.

There’s a scenario you rarely imagine.

One where you don’t feature in the future you’re so worried about.
Where the perfect time to do the thing never comes.
Where next time never comes.
Where the chance for the first time quietly passes you by.

Most of what you call worry or overthinking isn’t weakness.
It’s your mind trying to tell you that something needs attention.
It’s saying: something here matters, look closer.

Problems are a privilege.

Imposter syndrome is growing pains. 

And whilst you wait for life, life passes. 

Onward.

Every time someone asks me for a discount,
I take that money from a charity.

The balance must be maintained.

Value cannot vanish, it only shifts form.
If you refuse to value mine,
someone else must carry the weight.

A children’s hospice loses a donation.
A food bank goes without.
Because you wanted 10% off.

When you ask me to lower it,
you’re not negotiating.
You’re desecrating dogs trust.

So yes, I redirect the cost.
Because every transaction has a soul,
and mine refuses to work in deficit.

This is about equilibrium.

And equilibrium always collects its debt.

Stop handling objections.

WILD, I know.

Because the truth is that the best person to resolve an objection is the prospect themselves.

Here’s an example:

	1.	Accept

“I accept your objection wholeheartedly, the price is a bit spicy, you majestic creature.”

	2.	Clarify

“When you say spicy, what specifically are we talking about?”

	3.	Explore

“Oh, so it’s not the price at all. It’s that it doesn’t integrate with a bungalow.

Why is that piece important?”

	4.	Redirect

“So if we could build something that cools the pond, updates your CRM, trims your hair and syncs beautifully with the bungalow, what happens next?”

	5.	Summarise

“Alright, here’s what I’m hearing so far.”

And scene. That my friends is ACERS.

Try it. It works absurdly well.

I am Hiring in Bournemouth! 

If you're a salesperson or knows someone who is and want to refine your skills whilst working with varied clients across all B2B give me a shout.

It surely also goes without saying but this is a phone heavy job so manage your expectations before saying hello.

'What happens if you don't get the results?' 

Evidence is a funny thing. 

With enough of it, you start get to a science. 

We know we can charge a client 3k a month for 4-6 meetings and get them. 

Why? 

We know how to find the right data set. 

We know what the right approach is. 

We know the level of qualification needed to make someone show up motivated to solve a problem. 

We know the amount of input needed and how to do it consistently. 

We know people like Jack Heavingham will always deliver, these type of results.  

At this point 'What happens if you don't get the results?'  - isn't the question, it's what happens when we do.

I require all graduates to have 3 years experience.

None of them do.

Why?

Because graduates aren't real.

You cannot graduate from anything, you are always a student of the game.

The next time I tell someone they don't have experience, I'm not looking for them to be sad.

I'm looking for them to apologise for not having lived enough life.

This week, we launched our new January offer and we've already sold 3/5 spaces....

If you're looking for a way to kick start your pipeline in January

Our first and only Low commitment, one month only offer

Let us do it for you....

Give us your list of lost opportunities and we'll call through and book you appointments

One month worth of dialling

Don't wait until April to start closing deals

Drop me a message for more details

Remember you will dial

taplio

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