This creator went from cold calls to CEO

….well, she’s still making cold calls. But I’d say in a much cooler context. I’ll explain in a sec.

‘tis the season for a new month, I’m ready! Are you?

I write this staring at the face of my little now-5-year-old dog, Walter. He turned 5 yesterday. I remember picking him up in 2021 as a tiny 12wk old puppy. I remember the day so clearly. Shoutout to Walter.

This week I want to share with you a super cool story about a creator I have been following for a little while now. If you aren’t following her, you will be after this (hopefully)!

Let’s jump in.

Her name is Sara (Plowman) Uy.

I came across her Tiktoks maybe about 1-2 years ago(ish)? Here she is on Tiktok as @sellingsaraa.

At the time, she was posting videos pretty much daily, cold calling people. Over time, she became known as ‘Sara from Pareto,’ — Pareto being the company she was working for at the time, I think as an Account Executive (which she eventually turned into a Manager role, then Director role).

Her videos were very entertaining. Listen, I’m not a sales person in the slightest, and I’m not built for cold calling, but I found her content entertaining, insightful, and at-times, funny. I was laughing with her, not at her. She had some doozies on the other end of that phone.

It didn’t matter to me if there was actually someone on the other end of the line, or if she was doing a skit (but tbh, I just assumed all were 100% real calls lol). What stood out was how she was showcasing the raw, real experience of doing cold calls. Lots of rejection, lots of ‘no’ and then a few meetings locked in and confirmed. Her Friday cold calls with a Pret a Manger iced coffees were the best. Those days almost became a sub-series of their own.

I found Sara’s content relatable in a way that had nothing to do with sales; it mostly had to do with working in a customer-facing role, or perhaps should I say prospect-facing role in Sara’s case. But I did also like getting an inside look at the sales experience. She showed off what I talk about a lot: the “everydayness” of the job. She took what could be, at times, mundane, frustrating, and overwhelming, and she turned it into content, and later, a whole business.

Over time, her posts got more traction. And as I shared earlier, she became known as ‘Sara from Pareto.’ She was consistent. She posted a lot, and gave an inside look at her everyday. She also shared videos where she highlighted open opportunities in Sales, shared some career advice, and some lifestyle content sprinkled in, which was cool too. (Speaking of which, some of her recent videos have been of her and her husband looking for a new place on the Upper East Side of NYC, and they want to buy. So that journey has been fun to watch too, sales content aside).

Fast forward to today, Sara ended up departing Pareto and founded her own sales training company, Selling Sara (Linkedin for reference). And you know what’s great? She hasn’t stopped with cold calling content. This is her bread and butter as far as I’m concerned. And she’s gotta build a book of business and customer base, so how could she do that if she wasn’t cold calling? (I’m sure she has also seen lots of incoming business just from building her personal brand and following; two things can be true here).

Great story.

It has come full circle for her. She took something that some might just overlook (cold calls) and turned it into a component of her personal brand. And now look—she started her own company and continues to thrive. Super cool.

I think about this case study now and then, about how to build a personal brand. Sometimes, your sweet sauce is staring right at you—you just have to find a way to make it stick with an audience and build it out from there. Showing up consistently also matters too. Majorly.

Anyway, follow Sara, she’s great!

Thanks for reading and for being here. I don’t take for granted that you care what I have to say. Or even if you don’t care, and you’re still here; thanks for being a fan anyway. ❣️

All my links are here. Let’s connect!