Your Sales Playbook Is NOT Just for Sales

If only your sales team uses your Sales Playbook, you're LOSING MONEY. As a founder or CEO, do you feel like you're the only one who truly understands your sales process? This is a common bottleneck in founder-led selling. To scale your business, you need to get that knowledge out of your head and into a system. The key is a sales playbook. But not just any playbook. Most small businesses make the critical mistake of limiting their sales playbook to the sales team. This creates silos and leaves the rest of your company in the dark. Effective sales management requires total team alignment. This video explains why your sales playbook must be visible to everyone—from finance to product development. When your entire organization understands the sales strategy, objections, and ideal customer profile (ICP), they can provide better support. This simple shift is crucial for moving beyond founder-led sales and building a scalable revenue engine. Biggest Takeaways 1. Fire Your "Yesterday Self" Too many founders operate on autopilot, letting decisions they made five years ago dictate their actions today. The video asks a critical question: "Is your yesterday self still giving instructions to today’s you?" To grow, you have to stop listening to the version of you that didn't have today's experience or resources. You need to clear the cache and make decisions based on who you are now. 2. The "3-Gates" Test for New Ventures Before you pivot or start a new project, run it through three specific filters: Time, Money, and Happiness. Most people look at the money, some look at the time, but almost no one evaluates the happiness factor. If a new opportunity doesn't get a "green light" on all three, it’s a trap. You need the trifecta to sustain the effort required to win. 3. The Downside is an Illusion We often freeze because we fear the cost of a pivot. But the reality is, if you try something new using these guidelines and it doesn't work out, you are usually "no worse off for the effort." You gain data and experience without losing your shirt. The risk of staying stagnant is often higher than the risk of a calculated experiment. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Q1: What exactly do you mean by "Time, Money, and Happiness"? How do I measure that? A: It’s a feasibility study for your life. Time: Do you actually have the bandwidth to execute this without destroying your current business? Money: Can you afford the capital investment, or does the potential ROI justify the risk? Happiness: Does the process of doing this work light you up? If the money is good but the work makes you miserable, you will eventually quit. You need all three. Q2: Why is "Happiness" included in a business decision framework? Isn't that soft? A: Happiness is a hard metric because it predicts sustainability. In a founder-led business, your energy is the fuel. If a project drains your happiness, your energy drops, your execution suffers, and the project fails. If you enjoy the climb, you’ll stick with it long enough to succeed. Q3: What if I have the Time and Happiness, but not the Money? A: Then it’s a hobby, not a business pivot. That’s fine if you want a hobby, but don't confuse it with a commercial strategy. If the money isn't there (either in capital to start or projected revenue), you are setting yourself up for stress, which will eventually kill the happiness part, too. Q4: How do I stop my "yesterday self" from controlling my decisions? A: You have to audit your routines. Look at your calendar and your task list and ask, "Am I doing this because it drives results today, or because I decided to do it three years ago?" If it’s the latter, and it doesn't pass the 3-Gates test anymore, delete it or delegate it. Q5: Is this framework just for big business pivots, or can I use it for smaller things? A: Use it for everything. Use it for hiring a new vendor, launching a new marketing channel, or even taking up a new personal hobby. It’s a quick filter to ensure you are investing your limited resources into things that actually serve your current goals, not your past obligations. You should have a sales playbook that has everything about your computer company and including the objections, the ICP, everything needs to be put in there. Now you should add in your hiring scorecard and your accountabilities document if you haven't written one yet. And make sure that your sales playbook has visibility everybody in the company, even if they're not in sales. They should see it so they know what sales is up to and so that they can see what they're trying to achieve so they can support them better. And I hope these couple tips really help you build a great sales.