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Would you ask a doctor to treat you for free and only pay them once you are better?

No? Interesting.

Many organizations have brilliant products, real vision, and services that could genuinely change their ecosystem. But here is where most of them go wrong: they treat sales like an afterthought.

In my years in sales and business development, I have met so many companies with amazing products, amazing services, and real value who have never invested in their sales function. No real training. No process. No systems. Just vibes and a target.

Here is the thing: sales is a science, not a lottery. Behind every business that scales is a strategic sales leader with an actual system - how they find business, who engages, and how clients actually buy.

Sales is a specialized role. You cannot just pluck someone from operations, hand them a brochure, and say, "go sell." You would not ask your accountant to perform surgery.

Who decided that salespeople should only get paid once results are achieved?

Organizations hire for finance and agree on salary. They hire for operations. They hire for logistics. They build out every function in the org chart except a proper, professional sales team.

Why? Because somehow everyone thinks they can sell. "Here is the product. Go tell someone it is good." Try telling a sales professional that is the job. It is not.

In my years in this industry, the pattern is obvious: the difference between companies that scale and companies that barely survive is the sales team.

When your sales team is strategic, trained, and clear on product, value, and positioning, the business scales. Almost automatically.

When your "sales team" is just whoever got handed the product with a "go sell it to your friends and family," you already know how that goes. A client or two by accident. Revenue that plateaus. A business that survives instead of one that could have hit multimillion-dollar numbers.

So here is what it actually takes:

1. Invest in them. Training is critical, not optional.

2. Have a strategic sales leader with real experience, someone who has been in the game and can train the rest of the team. Do not put a junior sales leader in charge of other junior sales leaders. It will never work.

3. As the founder or vision carrier, actively support your sales leadership. Sales is not a magic wand that solves every company problem, but it is where most of your revenue lives.

So let us discuss it: when was the last time you took your sales team through training that actually enabled them to think strategically, position effectively, and attract the niche customers you are going after?

Or are we still saying, "they know the product, they should just sell it"?

I guess the results speak for themselves.

A green business is a company that operates in an environmentally sustainable manner, meaning it considers the impact of its operations on the environment and works to minimize any adverse effects. This can include reducing waste, conserving natural resources, and using renewable energy sources.

With over seven years of experience in sustainability focusing on the renewable energy sector and a deep dive into the WASH space, I have seen firsthand the transformative potential of sustainable practices.

Here are five key insights that can help any business integrate green strategies and thrive:

1. Innovation at the Core: Embrace innovative solutions in renewable energy technologies. Staying ahead of tech trends not only reduces operational costs but also increases efficiency.

2. Sustainability as Strategy: Integrating sustainability into your business model is not just good for the planet. It is a robust strategy for long-term profitability. Companies committed to sustainable practices gain a competitive edge and improved stakeholder relationships.

3. Carbon Credits Mastery: Understanding and utilizing carbon credits can significantly offset your environmental impact while opening new revenue streams. As a consultant in this domain, I am here to guide businesses through the complexities of carbon trading and sustainability compliance.

4. WASH Integration: The nexus between water, sanitation, hygiene, and sustainability is crucial. Efficient WASH strategies lead to healthier workforces and communities, reinforcing your company's role in social responsibility.

5. Collaboration for Impact: The path to sustainability is a collective journey. Partnering with like-minded entities can amplify your impact, drive change, and create shared value.

As we continue to steer toward a greener economy, the role of specialized knowledge in renewable energy and carbon management becomes indispensable. Let's connect and explore how your business can benefit from tailored sustainability and carbon credit strategies.

I need to say something I have been sitting on for a while.

It has been hard, harder than I expected, to land the roles that align. Not because I lack the experience. I have spent 18+ years building commercial strategy and business development across 22+ African markets. I have led strategic partnerships at Sun King. I have sat as Chief Commercial Officer and Chief Customer Officer. I have closed deals in Banking, Fintech, PAYGO, Renewable Energy, Clean Water, and Telecom, sectors that do not forgive fluff because margins are thin and customers are discerning.

The resistance I keep running into is something else entirely: I started a company.

And somehow, starting The LynchPin Advisory, out of necessity and out of refusing to sit idle while I searched for the right seat, has become the very thing that makes hiring managers hesitate.

Let that sink in.

I did not build The LynchPin Advisory because I woke up dreaming of entrepreneurship for its own sake. I built it because bills do not pause for a job search. Because staying sharp matters more than staying comfortable. Because I would rather be closing deals and advising clients on commercial strategy than watching my skills go quiet while I wait for an inbox reply.

So I did the work. I found clients. I delivered results. I kept my expertise moving instead of shelving it.

And now, in interviews, I watch that get quietly reframed as a liability. As if building something signals I cannot be managed, cannot follow, cannot commit. As if the very instinct that kept me sharp and solvent is now proof I am "not a fit."

Here is what I actually think is happening.

Hiring managers have a template in their heads for what a "safe" candidate timeline looks like: a straight line, one logo to the next, no gaps, no branching paths. Anything that deviates, a founder chapter, a stretch of contract work, a season of consulting, gets read as risk instead of what it actually is: resourcefulness under pressure.

Founding a company out of necessity is not a red flag. It is a stress test. It tells you exactly how someone behaves when there is no safety net, whether they freeze or whether they build. I built. I found clients across markets I had never formally worked in before. I negotiated, delivered, and kept a business alive with nothing but my own network and my own credibility behind it.

That is not a gap in my story. That is the most rigorous interview I have ever been through, and I ran it on myself.

To the hiring managers and founders reading this:

The next time a candidate's CV shows a company they started, a stretch of freelance or contract work, or a founder chapter that did not scale into a unicorn, pause before you file it under "risk." Ask what it took to keep moving during that chapter. Ask what they learned about resilience, resourcefulness, and doing more with less. You might be looking at exactly the kind of operator you say you want, dismissed for the wrong reason.

I am not asking anyone to lower the bar. I am asking that the bar actually measure what matters: can this person perform under pressure, build something from nothing, and deliver when the safety net is not there?

Because I already have the receipts.

And while I wait for the right seat, I am open for consultancy gigs.

If you are looking for a sharp sales strategist who can walk in and get to work, I am your person. If you are looking for someone you can simply tell what to do, I probably do not fit.

I will be back on this feed to share the name of the company that took the leap of faith. In the interim, we keep growing and learning.