As a part of the Morning Lazziness series about empowering women who are encouraging and doing incredible things with their ideas in society, I had the pleasure of interviewing Carli Long.
With over 16 years of real-life sales experience, Executive sales education from one of the most prestigious business schools in America, and training in High-Performance Coaching from Jairek Robbins, Carli can confidently say that “I am an expert in sustainable sales and business.”
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Hey! I’m Carli Love, a Sales Mentor & Leadership coach who helps the weirdos, misfits, and rule-breakers of the world create a 6 figure business THEIR way. I started my first business in 2016, an e-commerce shop that I quickly scaled to the top .01% of all shops in the world, on its platform. With this success came many questions from my peers about “how I did it”. So in 2020, I combined my real-life experience with my executive training in Sales Mastery and opened my business as a Business and Sales Mentor!
Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
I don’t know if this is an interesting story, but I believe it’s an inspirational one. When I started my business, I was a stay-at-home mom of 2 (now 3) small children. My husband worked at Walmart and had for 19 years. He held a supervisor position, but it wasn’t the work he wanted to be doing. We were deep in debt and lived in an extremely tiny and run down-home. When I decided to start my business, it honestly seemed ignorant. I didn’t have any funding or real experience running a business, but I knew something had to change. Fast Forward to today and I was able to retire my husband from his job, help him start and grow his own multi-six-figure business, and just recently purchased an 8,000 square foot building that we are converting into a home. Entrepreneurship can be a whirlwind, but it can also open up so many opportunities that you never thought possible.
What do you specialize in and why should someone choose you over your competitors in your field?
I specialize in Sales Mastery, but I teach it in a way that’s unconventional, or different, from most Sales Coaches. Sales training, overall, still tend to be very much a “boys club” of outdated strategies, pushy tactics, and a “my way or the highway” kind of attitude, focusing on the ABCs of sales is “Always Be Closing”, no matter the cost. Whereas I approach Sales as relationship building, aligned strategies, and long-term sustainability, with the goal being to leave someone better off than when they came to me. Value-packed, authentic connections lead to long-term, loyal customers and clients. And I’m here to build a business, baby! NOT an expensive hobby. I also teach my clients that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to ANYTHING, and I encourage them to shake things up and break the rules. My motto is: If it feels aligned, do it. If it doesn’t, find something that does.
What are the three things that mostly helped your online business succeed?
Three things that helped my online business succeed the most are high-level mentorship, authoritative positioning, and unwavering consistency.
1. Having the support of a mentor who has already done what you’re doing is like a fast track to where you want to go. Can you drive from New York to California? Yep. But will you get there faster if you fly? Absolutely.
2. Authoritative positioning helps to set you apart from the crowd. It sets you up in a way that positions you as the go-to expert in your niche and shows your audience and prospective clients that you are the solution to their problems.
3. And, lastly, unwavering consistency is maybe the most important piece of all. You hear it all the time, but it’s because it’s true. I see so many people give up too early. I truly believe that if you stick with something and continually find ways to tweak and improve it, your success is inevitable. Don’t give up if you want this, because your big break can happen at any time.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person you are grateful for who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I have received help and mentorship from many people along my journey, but the one person who has helped me the most is my coach, Rachel Spencer/Wolff, on Instagram. I have been working consistently with Rachel for 5 years, and from the beginning, she has inspired me to keep going, even when it felt tough, as well as helped me gain clarity and see my business from an outside perspective. That outside perspective is invaluable, as like Frank Kern says, “You can’t read the label from inside the bottle”.
What’s your piece of advice for readers who want to achieve wealth and success in life?
My piece of advice for anyone reading this who wants to achieve wealth and success in life is simply to follow the desires of your heart and do it with unwavering faith and consistency. True faith in your success means believing that you’re going to get there, even when it looks like it might not happen.
What’s your business model? How does your online business make money?
My business model is based on social and authentic connections. I utilize social media as my main source of business. In today’s world, people want to see the person behind the brand and they want to feel connected to the business. Through social media, I am able to generate new leads, nurture my existing audience, and sell out my coaching packages and programs just by showing up and being me! There’s never been a better time to create an online business than right now.
Where do you see yourself and your business in five years?
In 5 years, I see my business has grown exponentially. I will likely have a full team of people supporting me and my business and will have my face and value content everywhere.
What’s your piece of advice for people who want to quit their 9-5 job and start a business?
My advice for people wanting to quit their 9-5 job and start a business is … do what works for you. If you’re in a position where you can comfortably quit your 9-5 and still have security while you are building and growing a brand new business, then go for it! But if you’re not in that position, remember that it’s ok to use your 9-5 job as a means to support you until your other business can carry you. Many successful people have built and grown their businesses alongside a 9-5, and you can too.
Thank you for this opportunity! 🙂
