Mastering Sales Calls: Mindset, Scripting & Flow

Sales doesn’t have to feel awkward or forced; done right, it can become one of your strongest growth engines. In this session, Craig Hewitt will break down a proven formula for running sales calls that close, starting with the crucial mindset shift that transforms selling into a full-contact sport. You’ll walk away with actionable scripting techniques, a clear flow to follow, and best practices you can apply immediately to your next call.

You’ll learn how to:

• Shift your mindset to approach sales with confidence and clarity
• Use a repeatable script and flow that turns conversations into conversions
• Apply real-world best practices from a founder who’s been there

Craig is the founder of Castos (TinySeed 2019), an industry-leading podcast hosting platform. With deep experience in sales and marketing, he leads all revenue operations at Castos and brings hands-on knowledge of what actually works when selling as a founder. Craig is happy to help with anything relating to marketing strategy, sales process and best practices.

Core Concept:

Most founders approach sales calls reactively, often improvising without structure or repeatability. Craig Hewitt emphasized that scaling sales requires a disciplined framework: scripting, mindset shifts, objection handling, and clear sales processes. By evolving from “founder-as-sales-rep” into “founder-as-coach,” companies can build scalable sales engines that drive consistent growth.

The Foundation: Sales Strategy & Mindset

A scalable sales system starts with structure and process:

• Three Essential Next Steps for Growth:
  1. Create a transferable sales process.
  2. Build and lead a sales team.
  3. Shift founder mindset from rep → coach/leader.
• Pain Escalation Method: Sales success depends on surfacing the true pain:
  • Surface pain (problem).
  • Consequence pain (impact of inaction).
• Personal pain (what it means for the decision-maker).
  •  → Use prompts like “tell me more about that” to dig deeper.
• Mindset Shift: The biggest barrier isn’t competitors—it’s the status quo. The customer must feel that staying the same is riskier than change.

Practical Applications and Examples

Craig outlined tactical methods founders can apply across the sales cycle:

• Sales Calls:
  • Use BAMFAM (Book A Meeting From A Meeting).
  • Save the last 5 minutes to confirm clear next steps.
  • Introduce objections proactively (e.g., “You may be wondering if this works in your industry…”).
• Objection Handling:
  • Four buckets: Skepticism, Stalling, Financial, Authority.
• Techniques:
  • • “Feel, Felt, Found” for skepticism.
    • Probe deeper behind “I need to think about it.”
    • Reframe price as opportunity cost of not solving the problem.
  • Identify decision-makers early.
  • Talk pricing early in calls to qualify quickly.
• Buyer Personas: Understand the four types of enterprise buyers:
  1. Economic (budget authority).
  2. Technical (IT/security).
  3. Users (day-to-day operators).
  4. Coaches (internal champions).
• Sales Team Enablement:
  • Build SOPs, scripts, objection guides.
  • Record and review sales calls for training.
  • Use frameworks (MEDDIC, BANT) to qualify consistently.
  • Expect a 3-month ramp-up with possible guaranteed commissions.
  • Comp structure: 50/50 base/commission split.

Technology and Implementation

• Tools: Use call-recording and analysis platforms (Granola, Gong) to improve performance.
• Data Integration: Centralize sales + marketing visibility to enable accountability and alignment.
• Training: Role-play and call reviews in daily/weekly cadences build skill and confidence.

Key Takeaways

• Apply the pain escalation method to uncover deeper prospect motivations.
• Always book the next meeting before leaving the current call.
• Handle objections before they stall deals.
• Talk about pricing early to avoid wasted time.
• Build robust documentation (scripts, SOPs, frameworks) for team enablement.
• Track metrics transparently to drive performance.
• Align team hiring with vision and culture—avoid “big company” hires too early.
• Founder’s role must evolve: from doing sales → to coaching and leading sales.

Even small process improvements (like scripting next steps or introducing objections early) can create massive ROI by reducing stalled deals, improving rep training, and making sales scalable beyond the founder.

Resources

• Presentation slide deck can be found here.