Sales is a Process, Not a Mystery: How Founders Build Confidence and Close More Deals

Featuring Jesse Harper — Strategic Advisor | Executive Coach | Business Growth Architect

Overview

Selling isn’t about what you think your product does — it’s about what your customer truly values. In this “Meet the Expert” session, Jesse Harper shares how his sports-tech company once believed they were selling safety, only to learn that their customers cared most about winning games. That discovery changed their entire approach — and it’s a lesson every founder can use.

This interactive session goes beyond presentation — a few attendees will have the chance to share their sales challenge or question live, and Jesse will respond in real time with practical insights and coaching. It’s a candid, engaging format that brings theory to life through real business conversations. Don't forget - you can ask Jesse questions in advance during the registration process.

Jesse helps entrepreneurs and innovators avoid the common mistake of staying too far from their customers by mastering a simple, repeatable sales process that fuels growth with clarity and confidence.

Topics Covered

How staying too far from your customer can derail your business
Building a sales mindset that drives action (and removes the fear of selling)
The end-to-end sales process — from prospecting to closing
The difference between sales, marketing, and business development
Identifying real customer motivators — not just what they say they want
Creating value through storytelling and authentic engagement
Knowing when (and how) to make your first sales hire
Real-world examples of what works — and what doesn’t — when growing sales

Benefits of this Session

Learn a simple, repeatable approach to selling that fits your business model
Gain confidence in communicating your value and closing deals
Discover practical frameworks for pricing, customer targeting, and market entry
Hear how one insight transformed an entire company’s sales trajectory
Experience live Q&A and interactive coaching on real-world business challenges

After This Session, You'll Be Able To:

Define and map your own sales process
Identify the right customers and uncover what truly motivates them
Handle objections and close with confidence
Distinguish between sales, business development, and partnerships
Apply storytelling and “problem–agitate–solve” frameworks to real conversations

Meet the presenter

Jesse Harper is a Strategic Advisor, Executive Coach, and Business Growth Architect who helps founders turn uncertainty into scalable success. As an Entrepreneur in Residence with Ben Franklin’s Transformation Business Services Network, he draws on more than 20 years of experience helping companies translate vision into measurable growth.

He also leads Strategy at PiMios, a Pittsburgh-based engineering firm specializing in intelligent hardware and IoT systems, where he keeps his entrepreneurial feet firmly planted in the realities of building and scaling technology from concept to commercialization.

Earlier in his career, Jesse led a fast-growing sports technology company that taught him an enduring lesson: customers don’t always buy what you think you’re selling. What began as a mission to promote safety became a study in human motivation, and the discovery that staying close to your customer, and truly listening, is the most powerful sales strategy of all.

Today, Jesse helps entrepreneurs and innovators build founder-led sales systems rooted in clarity, confidence, and authentic connection.

Sales is a Process, Not a Mystery: How Founders Build Confidence and Close More Deals