When Sales Systems Break: How Founders Can Scale Without Burnout
In this episode of Executive Edge Live—part of the Scale Smart, Grow Fast podcast by Workergenix—Harley Green is joined by four sales and strategy powerhouses to tackle a painful but common issue: What happens when your sales systems stop working?
If your business is running on duct-taped processes, manual follow-ups, and founder-fueled hustle, this conversation is your wake-up call—and your roadmap forward.
Preferred listening on the go? Catch the full podcast episode on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
From “Controlled Chaos” to Scalable Sales Systems
💬 Beth McClary-Wolford (Fractional Sales Leader) revealed why most businesses don’t actually have sales systems—they have people and tools… and crossed fingers.
💬 Sara Chevere (Offer Architect & Wealth Strategist) called out the clarity gap: too many founders keep stacking courses, certifications, and tech without addressing the root problem—messy messaging and no clear flow.
💬 Stephen Orefice (Sales Culture Strategist) shared his own burnout story, and how focusing on people, processes, and purpose helped him rebuild sustainably.
💬 Kelly Ann Peck (Pipeline Expert) reminded us that movement builds momentum. A CRM isn’t optional—it’s foundational. And the sale doesn’t count until the contract is signed and paid.
Key Takeaways for Founders & Execs
- 💡 Stop selling alone. Sales success can’t depend solely on you. It’s time to systematize, delegate, and empower others.
- 💡 Start with real conversations. Don’t over-engineer. Begin with your network and build from there.
- 💡 Track everything. From proposals to payments, follow-up is where deals are made (or lost).
- 💡 Shift your mindset. Selling is serving. Don’t hide your offers—make them clearly and often.
“If you build it, they will not come—unless you tell them. A lot.” – Beth McClary-Wolford
🎁 Bonus Masterclass: Reclaim 15–30 hours/week with smarter delegation → workergenix.com/bonus-masterclass
👥 Connect with the Panelists
- Kelly Ann Peck – linkedin.com/in/kelly-ann-peck
- Sara Chevere – sheprospersher.com
- Stephen Orefice –@fixintowindowsdoors.com
- Beth McClary-Wolford – superpowerstrategies.com | Email:
Schedule a discovery call to start building a sales system that scales without you burning out.
Like what you read? Get weekly insights on scaling, efficiency, and profitability—straight to your inbox. Click here to subscribe.Transcript
Harley Green:
All right, just waiting for all the streams to get activated online.
All right, we got confirmation. It’s live on Instagram, very good.
And it’s good to go on Facebook as well. So we will go ahead and get started.
Welcome everybody to the Executive Edge Live part of the Scale Smart Grow Fast podcast by Workergenix. I’m Harley Green, founder and CEO of Workergenix, where we help founders and executive teams delegate what drains them so they can focus on scaling strategically.
Today’s session is all about what happens when your sales systems hit their breaking point. The missed follow-ups, the messy handoffs, the “how are we still doing this manually” moments.
I’m thrilled to be joined by a powerhouse of leaders who’ve built revenue engines that run without them constantly propping them up.
Whether you’re selling services or widgets or investment offerings, these are the frameworks, workflows and mindsets that help sales scale without spiraling into chaos.
Thank you all to our panelists for coming here today. We’re gonna kind of go around and a quick introduction. We’ve got Kelly, who’s a business sales coach and strategic revenue leader.
Kelly has tripled client revenue in down markets and driven over $30 million through strategic event-based sales. She has over 26 years across sales, coaching, and marketing leadership, and she’s known for turning messy pipelines into clean, profitable ecosystems.
Next we have Sarah. Sarah’s a wealth strategist and premium offer architect. Sarah helps women package their expertise into high ticket offers that actually sell. With over 17 years in coaching and finance, she’s scaled dozens of service-based businesses by helping founders lead with clarity and price with confidence.
Next, we have Stephen, a sales leader, strategist, and culture builder. After rebuilding his life and business from the ground up, Steven now helps high-performance sales teams grow with systems that stick. He’s obsessed with alignment, ownership, and letting purpose lead process.
And last, but certainly not least, Beth is a fractional sales leader and process coach. Beth builds outsourced sales solutions for founders who want results without micromanagement. She’s hands-on, process-driven, and deeply focused on helping teams execute consistently.
Thank you to all of our panelists for being here today. How’s everyone doing?
Kelly Ann Peck:
Really good. Thanks for having me.
Sara Chevere:
Amazing. Thank you, Harley.
Harley Green:
Before we went live, we were talking a little bit about where everybody is in the world. I think it’s kind of fun that we’ve got great coverage across the world and across the US. Maybe we take a second to just kind of go around, quick introduction and share where you’re coming from today.
We’ll start with you, Kelly.
Kelly Ann Peck:
Hi everybody. My name is Kelly Ann Peck. I am sitting in St. Petersburg and I’m closing on my home tomorrow, so I will be moving 30 minutes up to Palm Harbor. So I’m very excited.
Harley Green:
Awesome, thank you, Kelly. Stephen, you wanna go next?
Stephen R. Orefice:
Yeah, I’m located here in the beautiful DFW Metroplex, Dallas, Fort Worth. So I’m a proud Texan now, but former New Yorker and yeah, just big in the home improvement industry here in DFW.
Harley Green:
Awesome. And Sarah?
Sara Chevere:
So I am like you, Harley, so I’m location independent. And at the moment, I am in Austin, Texas.
Harley Green:
Awesome. All right, Beth, where are you coming from today?
Beth McClary-Wolford:
I’m coming from the scenic city in Chattanooga, Tennessee. But I know that Texas is hot too, so we are having a heat wave. I was sitting out on a porch originally and I thought, “my goodness, bless his heart.”
Harley Green:
Love it. Chattanooga.
Nice. And I’m coming from Wallingford, England. So we’re enjoying our summer here in the UK with a little bit milder weather, which we’re very much enjoying.
All right. Well, let’s start with the obvious.
Beth, I’m going to send this one to you first. Why do so many growing businesses think they have a sales system when what they really have is just a string of people and tools?
Beth McClary-Wolford:
Wow, you’re really kicking it off. The reality is that as business owners, as human beings, and we are the subjects of great marketing, we think if we keep buying stuff and layering it on top of whatever we have, that it’s going to fix our problems. And unfortunately, that doesn’t fix our problems.
It just adds complexity and more layers. And so sometimes you have to strip it down to the bare bones and take it back to the real basics and say, okay, what is it we’re really trying to accomplish? Let’s not buy anything else. Let’s not layer anything else on top of it. Let’s just figure out what it is we’re trying to accomplish and see what you have that fits.
We want that quick fix. We want that magic pill that’s going to make wonderful things happen. And that isn’t necessarily what happens. You just get a rotten onion, as I call it, with lots of bad layers.
Harley Green:
Awesome. Yeah.
Great insight there. Anybody else on the panel want to add to that?
Sara Chevere:
Yeah, so one of the things that I notice with many entrepreneurs, service-based businesses and consultants is that they keep buying courses that probably they never finish. Like how many of you have purchased many courses and said yes, thinking they’d be very supportive, but they have not really resolved the problem?
Not only that, but now they go to the next program, or the next high ticket, or the next mastermind, and then they’re just accumulating things. Or they feel that they’re not ready because they need to get these certifications or this degree.
And the reality is that it just creates a lot of confusion in what they offer, instead of having a flow—an intentional flow—on how they provide their information and how they support their clients.
A lot of times it’s lack of clarity, having clear messaging that attracts their ideal client, and having an offer that provides a big transformation.
Stephen R. Orefice:
If I can add, I love what you said about that. I’m a baseball coach at heart—I played Division II ball—and I always go back to fundamentals.
It’s so important for business because as we scale, I love the scaling process, but it’s very easy to get unwound in the chaos.
Sometimes you’ve got to take a step back from all the chaos and go back to the fundamentals—websites, CRM, focusing on your clients, focusing on conversations with your employees to better their growth.
Sometimes we become too innovative with all this AI stuff and everything that’s coming out now, but that old school, face-to-face connection with your client or with your employee goes a long way.
That’s something I’m experiencing now. We’re dialing back in our company and we’re putting focus on our customers.
Harley Green:
All right, well, this next one, Stephen, I think is a good one to start with you. You kind of mentioned dialing back. What was your moment of truth—when you realized your sales process needed to evolve or was going to stall or blow up?
Stephen R. Orefice:
I’m an A personality. So once you hit that point of rust out, burnout, or knockout—call it what you will—you hit that phase mentally, physically, spiritually where you just can’t take on any more.
That was the lightbulb moment. I went back to my baseball days and realized that anything I’ve ever done in a team setting allowed us to achieve things we never imagined.
That’s when you need to dial back and go into what I call the “process and procedure phase.” Because without processes and procedures, you can never scale.
Otherwise, you’re always doing minute tasks or running yourself into the ground 12, 16, 18 hours a day. I was doing that during the pandemic.
I hit the rust out and burnout phase. After that, when I started my own company, I came in with experience.
My wife and I are business partners. We’re growing a team—we have install teams, communication, and a CRM that handles a lot of the small stuff.
We help each other not take on too much so we can have that family-work balance, which is so important.
I know people say balance doesn’t exist for entrepreneurs, but I believe there’s a way to maximize your potential by finding it within your business and your life.
Harley Green:
Awesome. Anybody else have a moment of truth they want to share real quick here?
Kelly Ann Peck:
Sure. Last year I decided—my company got bought in 2022. I worked with an amazing coach that bought my company, and then I decided, this isn’t my client anymore.
I absolutely love this person who bought my company, but I wanted to figure out what I wanted to do next. I think my husband freaked out because he was like, “My gosh, she’s going to go back to being an entrepreneur again.”
And I see a lot of laughs right now because, you know, our spouses and significant others don’t always realize they’re on this ride with us when we start these companies.
So my husband was like, “Okay, what are we planning?” And I’m like, “You know what? I’m not going to do what I did before.”
It goes back to what Beth and Sarah were talking about.
When I started my second company, I thought I had to have a website, I had to have this and that. But I’m a salesperson at heart. What I really needed to do was just figure out what I wanted to do—and just go and have conversations.
So last August, that’s exactly what I did. I just had an open heart and was open to every opportunity and every conversation that came my way.
And I have landed numerous clients—my dream clients—without having to do all the “big stuff.”
They wanted to work with me because of me—not because I had a website or certain marketing in place.
I was able to have real conversations to help them get to the “yes,” and to know that I could fix the problems they were facing.
That headspace of standing on the mountain and being open to opportunities, instead of being stressed out, really helped. It’s been a big reason for my success this past year.
Sara Chevere:
I want to follow that. One thing I realized when I was in all of that chaos was that I wasn’t doing my business in alignment.
I sat down and visualized—who is the person I see in the future? Who is that Sarah that’s super successful, living in alignment, living her vision and ideal lifestyle?
Then I asked her, “Where do I need to go? What do I need to do to become you now?”
And I’ll be honest—it was hard. When I heard what I needed to do, I resisted. I felt like I wasn’t ready.
But once I listened to that vision and brought it into the present, I started living the life I wanted and building a business that aligned with it.
That alignment allowed me to serve my clients at a high level—helping them live their vision as well.
So to anyone watching: visualize your future self and ask, “Who do I get to be to become you now?”
Stop waiting. Start living that vision today.
Stephen R. Orefice:
Yeah, I want to add to what Sarah said. One thing that changed my life was not getting addicted to the company name—but getting addicted to the people and the processes.
Companies open and close. People move on.
If you get attached to processes, procedures, and people, that’s where it gets exciting.
If something falls off now, it doesn’t bother me. I know I can recreate it.
The confidence, the energy, and the experience are all there.
We have a gift as entrepreneurs to do whatever we want.
Once you find balance and alignment, you can create the life you want—your own field of dreams.
Harley Green:
Thank you.
All right, Kelly, this one’s for you first—you’re the expert on pipelines.
How do you start building a system that converts leads without needing you to check in every day? Where’s the first fix?
Kelly Ann Peck:
When you’re starting out—or launching a new service—it doesn’t matter how long you’ve been in business.
You need to start by talking to your circle of influence.
That includes your biggest cheerleaders, repeat clients, or, if you’re brand new, it’s simply, “I have a new business, and I’m excited to tell you who I help.”
The most important part of building a pipeline is movement.
Some people get stuck before they even take that first step. I’ve been there. But having movement is everything.
Go out, build relationships, have real conversations.
Also, I’m a huge believer in two things:
- Use a CRM to follow up. The fortune is in the follow-up.
- Have a CRM that lets them sign a proposal and pay immediately. Don’t lose the deal at the payment stage.
If you don’t have a CRM, an amazing spreadsheet can work.
But you must follow up—and ask for the yes.
Everyone wants to get to the “happy dance” moment of the sale, but you have to fall in love with selling.
A lot of small business owners say they hate sales. But you have to become the #1 salesperson in your business.
Sales is what puts cash in the bank.
And you also need to be in rooms where your actual clients are.
When I was figuring out what to do last year, I followed my own advice.
I didn’t have a job—but instead of going back to corporate, I just landed deals. I had conversations and created movement.
It takes time to close deals—whether from raving fans or strangers on the street.
And here’s the thing—we sell every day. I sell my kids on brushing their teeth, my husband on furniture, my daughter on when she can use her iPad.
We’re selling all day long. So lean into that and create movement. That’s how people get to know what you offer.
Harley Green:
And for them to say, yes, you can help me—and for you to land the deal.
But starting out, it’s follow-up, it’s conversations, and it’s rinse and repeat.
Beth McClary-Wolford:
I always ask people, “How bad do you want it?”
Yes, I want you to go build your field of dreams, but if you build it, they won’t come unless you talk about it. Even Kevin Costner in the movie went out and talked about it!
Every presentation I give, I say, “Everybody sells.”
And you can watch people want to crawl under the table. They say, “No, I don’t.”
Yes, you do.
Everyone in your company sells. Anyone interacting with a buyer is selling.
Because selling isn’t bad. It’s about helping people.
It’s about providing solutions. It’s not manipulation—it’s about making a difference with what you’re doing.
Changing that perception is hard.
Somewhere as we grow up, we lose that resilience.
Think about kids in the grocery store—“Mom, I want M&Ms.”
“No, we have dinner soon.”
“Mom, I’ll wait until after dinner.”
That persistence fades as we get older.
But action is key.
Like Kelly said, the more you tell your story, the better.
Sara Chevere:
One of the big gaps I see in selling is people view it as something negative.
Or they’re afraid they’ll lose the client if they try.
I want to go beyond just “selling.” Let’s talk about making offers.
Because if we don’t make offers to our audience, we’re doing them a disservice.
I get emails that are filled with value—but with no offer.
So I’m left asking, “Who is this person? What are they offering?”
Instead of thinking you’re “selling,” remember—you’re serving.
Your audience already wants what you offer. But they can’t buy it if you don’t offer it.
So the invitation is: make offers. Make them so you can serve your audience and help them get results.
Many fear sounding salesy or getting unsubscribed from emails.
Or they worry that people won’t like them.
Well, if they unsubscribe or don’t like it, they weren’t your audience anyway.
When you speak to your ideal client, offer value, and make offers, the sale becomes inevitable.
You’re offering something valuable—and that’s what matters.
Stephen R. Orefice:
Exactly.
People move for either pain or pleasure.
I use something I learned from Grant Cardone every day in follow-ups:
Is it the price?
Is it not solving your problem?
Or is it something else?
Those three questions uncover what’s really holding someone back.
And today, sales isn’t just about selling—it’s about giving people options, a relationship, and a seamless experience.
It should be easy to do business with you.
So stop talking, listen, and let them tell you what they want. They will.
Harley Green:
Great insights, everyone.
Beth, going back to you—as a sales leader, where do you see founders and leaders wasting the most time or energy in their sales process?
Beth McClary-Wolford:
Not understanding the value of a lead.
We become so transactional—if we don’t get the deal, we just let it go.
But what about following up?
They paid to generate that lead. But if it falls off, they don’t go back.
They don’t build the relationship.
So while they think they’re saving time, they’re really wasting money.
Even worse—it’s a missed opportunity.
People make decisions they regret. Someone else will get that business—because they followed up.
I always say, I help people find their people, love their people, and keep their people.
That means customers.
Nurturing, loving, and showing value are critical.
I read that 85% of customers cannot communicate the value you bring.
That means we’re not selling the value—or maybe the salesperson doesn’t even know it.
And that starts at the top.
Messaging needs to come from the top—and it has to be consistent across the organization.
If it’s just you—then write it and own it.
Talk about what value you bring and what makes you different.
Harley Green:
Stephen, you talk a lot about alignment. How does that show up in a healthy sales ecosystem? And what are some signs it’s missing?
Stephen R. Orefice:
I’m big on company culture.
This is my third time scaling a company. I’ve worked in family-owned businesses, corporate structures, and even Fox Television.
You can tell from someone’s face if they enjoy their work.
If you need to constantly motivate people to show up—you’ve got a problem.
After the pandemic, people started reassessing what’s important—time, freedom, money, family.
If you can meet those needs, they’ll carry your brand forward.
It’s like a baseball team during a World Series season—162 games is a grind. But they all row in the same direction.
Business is the same.
You need a team, communication, and understanding what matters to your people.
It’s not about what matters to corporate anymore.
And when everyone’s dreams align with the company dream—that’s when the brand becomes authentic.
You know alignment is real when people look around the company and don’t even know who the CEO is.
That’s the magic. That’s the goal. I’ve been there, lost it, and I’m building it again.
Harley Green:
Powerful.
Sarah, you help leaders step into premium pricing with confidence.
How do strong sales systems support that shift and keep those conversions consistent?
Sara Chevere:
One of the things I teach is to have a specific flow when making offers.
I call myself “The Empire Architect” because what I’m great at is breaking things down step-by-step.
You need to know exactly what to do in order to connect with your audience—so that when you share your message, they’re ready to buy and become premium clients.
Without a flow—what I call the Offer Flow Framework—it’s really hard to convert at that level.
Connection, intimacy, and openness are what build trust.
Also, I love AI, but let me clarify. What I don’t love are fake videos of fake people. Those don’t connect emotionally.
Your audience knows what’s real and what’s not.
To really connect, you have to show up and share the strategy that’s working for you—so they can apply it to their own businesses.
What’s often missing is clarity: in your message, in your steps, in your process.
And without that, it’s very difficult to provide real value or connect with your ideal audience.
Harley Green:
Absolutely.
And Kelly, you’ve coached teams through downturns and still helped them grow.
Can you share some systems or rituals that made a difference during chaotic times?
Kelly Ann Peck:
Sure.
When teams hit a downturn—plateaued revenue, or decline—the first thing I recommend is to look at the data.
The numbers don’t lie.
Often, people don’t know where their clients are coming from.
With large teams, I always ask: Who did we market to? What closed? What kind of client was it?
Or why did we see massive growth in July last year? Was it a project? Something external?
Gas prices? Tariffs? Whatever the reason—look at it.
Recreate what worked.
The key is: study what created success, and reverse engineer it.
That allows you to make smarter, faster decisions and boost sales with confidence.
Once you know where your leads came from and why they converted, you can rebuild that growth intentionally.
Harley Green:
So true.
Let’s wrap with a rapid-fire question.
For anyone watching who still feels their sales are founder-dependent—what’s one thing they could do this quarter to change that?
Beth McClary-Wolford:
Ask yourself: “Does this have to be done by me?”
If not—delegate it or automate it.
As founders, we white-knuckle everything. We hold on.
But that kills your capacity.
And letting go is scary—it hurts.
But do it.
Even if it’s uncomfortable, it changes everything.
And also—don’t expect others to sell exactly like you. They’re not the founder.
We can duplicate the process—but not your energy. Adjust your expectations accordingly.
Harley Green:
Great insight. We got a bonus there!
Sarah?
Sara Chevere:
Stop doing low-value work.
If you can’t afford a full-time assistant—start with part-time.
Eventually scale into having an executive assistant like what you offer, Harley.
That person will take everything off your plate, so you can focus on the high-value tasks that only you can do.
You’ll scale faster than you think.
Harley Green:
Awesome, great points.
Kelly?
Kelly Ann Peck:
I promise—you get a do-over the next day.
Even when things go terribly, you didn’t mess it up that bad.
Sleep, hydrate, eat—then start again.
The hard days are where growth actually happens.
And Sarah’s point about offers—yes. It’s so much easier and faster to go out and sell a high-value offer than it is to grind for low hourly rates.
You’re worth it. So is your client.
The relationship comes first—but price for the transformation you deliver.
Harley Green:
Awesome.
Huge thank you to all of our panelists for sharing so openly—from the wins, to the mess, to the systems that make this all work.
Let’s go around real quick—how can people connect with you?
Beth?
Beth McClary-Wolford:
Just send me an email: .
You can go to my website too—superpowerstrategies.com—but email is fastest.
Harley Green:
Thank you. Sarah?
Sara Chevere:
My website is sheprospersher.com.
That’s the best way to connect and learn more about my offer.
Harley Green:
Stephen?
Stephen R. Orefice:
Email is best:
Harley Green:
And Kelly?
Kelly Ann Peck:
Connect with me on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kelly-ann-peck
My phone and email are there. Thanks again for having us, Harley—we appreciate it.
Harley Green:
My pleasure.
And for everyone joining live—or catching the replay—thank you so much.
We know how much is on your plate, and our goal is to help you grow without being buried in the day-to-day.
As a thank-you, we’re giving you free access to our masterclass: Delegate to Dominate—where I walk through how top execs reclaim 15 to 30+ hours/week with the kind of strategic support we talked about today.
You can watch it and unlock your bonus at: workergenix.com/bonus-masterclass
Sara Chevere:
Thank you, guys. Bye!
Beth McClary-Wolford:
Now let’s go sell.
