Built to Sell Chapter 5: The Real Test of Your Business

Every plan looks good on paper until reality shows up and punches you in the face. That’s basically what Chapter 5 is about. Alex has been doing everything right so far. He picked his niche, built a process, created a manual. And now the universe decides to test if he actually means it.

The Dream Client Shows Up at the Worst Time

So here’s what happened. Alex comes into the office on Monday, feeling good after a weekend with his family. Opens his email. And there it is. A message from the chief marketing officer of USW, a big brand. They want the Stapleton Agency to become their agency of record.

This is huge. We’re talking $50,000 per month in steady fees. For a small agency, that’s life changing money. This is the kind of client Alex would have dreamed about a year ago.

And that’s exactly the problem.

See, Alex has been working with his mentor Ted to transform his business from a generic do-everything agency into a specialized logo design company. He’s been making hard choices. Firing a difficult client. Telling his team they can’t do whatever they want anymore. And now the biggest temptation of all lands right in his inbox.

Ted’s Reality Check

Alex walks to Ted’s office (twenty minutes on foot instead of driving, because he needs time to think). He tries to sell Ted on the USW deal. The prestige. The awards they could win. The steady revenue.

Ted listens. Then he asks one simple question: “Why did you come to me for advice in the first place?”

And then Ted breaks down what would actually happen if Alex takes the USW deal. A big agency might buy the Stapleton Agency to get access to the USW account. But they’d tie Alex into a five-year earn-out agreement. A little cash up front, then the rest depends on hitting targets set by someone else. Alex would be working for a middle manager at a big corporation, following their rules, for five years. If he misses targets, they don’t have to pay him.

Here’s the thing. That’s not selling your business. That’s selling yourself into a job. A risky one, where you take all the downside and control none of the outcome.

Ted’s advice stays the same: build a business that can exist without you. That’s the only way to sell and actually walk away.

But he doesn’t tell Alex what to do. It’s Alex’s call.

The Phone Call That Hurts

Alex calls Blair Donaldson, the USW marketing chief, to decline.

Blair does not take it well. He calls Alex a fool. Threatens to tell everyone in the advertising community that Alex wasted their time. Says Alex better get used to designing business cards for real estate agents. Then hangs up.

Ouch.

I have to say, this is the most realistic scene in the book so far. When you say no to something big, people don’t always respect your vision. Sometimes they just think you’re an idiot. And you have to sit with that feeling and trust that your long term plan is worth the short term pain.

The Problem Comes From Inside Too

The same day, Alex catches his employee Dean doing exactly what he was tempted to do with USW. Dean is about to present a client with a full launch campaign, print ads, brochures, the whole thing. Way beyond the logo-only scope they agreed on.

Dean’s argument? “This is a really big client and I thought it was worth going the extra mile.”

Sound familiar? It’s the same logic Alex used with USW. “But this one is different. This one is special.”

Alex tells Dean to remove everything except the logo concepts. Follow the process. Show black-and-white sketches first, like the system says.

Dean rolls his eyes.

This is something I see constantly in tech companies. You build a process, you define a scope, and then someone decides that THIS particular case is the exception. And if every case is an exception, you don’t have a process at all. You just have chaos with extra steps.

The Numbers That Make It Worth It

At their next meeting, Ted helps Alex see the math behind his specialized approach. They look up Census Bureau data. There are 210,000 businesses within a hundred-mile radius. About 58,000 of those generate at least $1 million in revenue, meaning they could afford a $10,000 logo.

Then they calculate Alex’s close rate. He emailed 44 companies, got 14 appointments, closed 2 sales. That’s about 4.5% on warm leads, so roughly 2% on cold ones.

Two percent of 58,000 potential clients equals 1,160 logos. At $10,000 each, that’s $11.6 million in market potential just in their local area. Nationwide? Could be $100 million.

Suddenly, turning down a $600,000-per-year client doesn’t seem so crazy.

But here’s the part that matters even more. Ted explains that a buyer won’t just want to see revenue. They want to see a predictable sales formula. How many leads turn into appointments? How many appointments turn into sales? If a salesperson works fifty productive weeks per year and closes one logo per week, that’s fifty logos per rep. Two reps means a hundred logos means $1 million in revenue.

This is the difference between “we’re doing okay I guess” and “here’s exactly how our business grows.”

Two Reps, Not One

Ted tells Alex to hire two salespeople, not one. The reason is smart. Salespeople are competitive. Two reps will push each other. And having two proves to a potential buyer that the sales model works regardless of who is selling. One good rep could just be a fluke. Two is a pattern.

The downside? Payroll goes up. Which means Alex probably needs to let go of one or two people who no longer fit the new specialized model. The chapter ends with Alex knowing he has some difficult conversations ahead.

My Take on This Chapter

This chapter is about something bigger than just business strategy. It’s about commitment. Real commitment, not the motivational poster kind.

When I was in academia, I saw this all the time with research projects. You pick a direction, then a shiny opportunity comes along that’s technically related but would scatter your focus. The people who say no to the distractions are the ones who actually publish something meaningful.

The same applies to tech, to startups, to any career really. Your strategy is not defined by what you say yes to. It’s defined by what you’re willing to say no to. Especially when saying no costs you money and makes powerful people angry.

Alex lost a $600,000-per-year client relationship in this chapter. That takes guts. But he gained clarity on a path to $11.6 million in potential revenue. And more importantly, he gained a business that someone would actually want to buy.

The hardest part of any transformation is the moment when going back to the old way looks really, really attractive. That’s the test. And Alex passed it.

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