When I first launched my business over four years ago, I allowed anyone and everyone to book a sales call on my calendar - whether they were a good fit, based on their pre-call application answers, or not.

And at the start, I truly needed those calls (hundreds of them) for market research.

I made sure I actively listened, I didn’t mind if they said “yes” or “no” on the call - because I was using every piece of information I could obtain on those calls to improve my email marketing, to get better at selling on sales calls, to improve my funnel copy, and even give me insights into what to talk about on social media.

If they had a specific question that I felt others might ask, I sent an email out on it.

If they had an objection to my offer, I made a short reel around the objection and posted it on social media.

And after a few years (and countless sales calls later), I no longer needed to conduct market research - I knew exactly what questions people were going to ask and what “green flags” to look for on the calls.

And I then used this as fuel to filter my pre-call application even further.

I became more intentional on the questions I put in the form so I could intentionally “repel” the prospect who wasn’t a good fit before they scheduled their call.

And then, about a year ago, I started getting even more specific on the qualifications a founder needed to have for me to even want show up to the call.

Why? Because I knew inside-and-out who my offer is for, and who it is not for.

This required a level of absolute confidence in my sales skill set.

Because most coaches spew that it’s a “numbers game” and you need to put in a certain number of “reps” to get a sale.

But that advice was no longer aligned to how I sold (and, quite frankly, where did that idea originate from and was it based on anything factual - or just opinion that became regurgitated by every other coach online?).

And while almost every sales coaches will tell you to “show up and convince” your prospect - everything in me has always felt this completely misaligned with how a 7-figure founder truly sells.

So instead of looking at a percentage of calls I needed to take to reach my “quota”, I decided I was only available to founders who met and matched my standards. Whether that meant fewer calls or not.

Which brings me to the purpose of this article: how to create standards that match your values and align with your goals.

Because to most founders, if the goal is to increase revenue, it feels illogical to intentionally reduce the number of sales conversations and, subsequently, the number of sales calls stacking on your calendar.

For me, it felt like the opposite.

I desired a fully-booked calendar with only the most aligned, perfect-fit prospects who were ready to move forward as soon as possible and who had the funds to invest today.

And I firmly believed I had a limitless supply of ideal potential clients to keep my calendar filled for weeks and months at a time.

The result? The number of calls on my calendar didn't go down - it actually increased.

How? Because I was incredibly intentional in the words I was saying in my ads and the copy I included in my funnel (website pages, emails, texts - all of it).

And this is the magic behind every piece of copy and messaging I craft and set inside my funnels and strategies.

My goal was never to have a full calendar to feel “busy” or to play a "numbers game" - it has always been to have a full calendar of prospects who desired, and needed, my service and offer.

If I had to go back to day one and take any and all calls I would do it again - because that insight fueled everything that has scaled my business, allowed me to craft and then improve on my frameworks, and also fully master the art of premium copy and messaging.

But now I have the luxury of cancelling a sales call that isn’t a good fit (just like I did this morning) - and I believe that cancelling a call with a misaligned prospect is a better use of my energy than taking the call... and I believe that I have an abundant and limitless supply of booked calls coming in daily.

This is just one of the many steps to building a successful business.

Yes, you have to do the "reps" at the start, have to put in the time that you don’t enjoy, at the beginning, so you can refine and build to the ultimate success of where you know you’re going.

But once that is locked in, I encourage you to build standards and "non-negotiable" rules for your business, too. So your business, and clients, are fully aligned with your offer, your values, and your vision for your business.