Is 'sales' a dirty word?

This month, we’re lifting the hood on that dirty word: sales.

But as we started digging in, we couldn’t help but notice something… sales is actually kind of magical.

From the donuts at your local 7-Eleven to the growing companies in our portfolio - sales is the spark that turns ideas into reality.

Take Daniel’s Donuts, now taking up half the donut shelf at 7-Eleven. That didn’t happen by chance - that was a sales effort.

Or look at our portfolio companies, growing their businesses through revenue - through sales:

• Recime, making life easier with meal planning.

• Ferve Tickets, powering ticketed events everywhere.

• Muval, simplifying move day.

• Karista, making healthcare more efficient.

• QSIC, whose speaker systems play in 7-Elevens across the world, letting you know that Daniels Donuts are now in stock. 

Without sales, none of this exists. 

 Sales is how the future gets built.

So, We Took a Look Under Our Own Hood

 As our ecosystem expands and more players enter the alternative capital space, we knew it was time to re-examine our own sales motion.

 That’s where the Sell Anything team came in.

(Check out their site here!!) 

 We’ve known Sean and Roy for a while now - they’re part of our growth partner community, and two years ago, Sean ran a sales masterclass for our portfolio. 

 He dropped a tonne of gold on how to think about sales, grow your audience, and boost revenue - especially through LinkedIn.

 So, as we headed into one of our busiest times last year, we brought them in to help.

Getting into the Grit

We kicked off a series of deep dives - working across our sales, credit, and marketing teams - to really explore the problem we’re trying to solve: helping founders grow without diluting their ownership.

We leveraged everything we had - current thinking, past experiences, hard-won insights. 

And we found a few gold nuggets in the process.

Bonus: it created a whole new level of team bonding. Suddenly, we all had a better understanding of the challenges each role faced. (And yes, in true Tractor style, there were laughs. Lots of them.)

The Output

 Together with Sell Anything, we built:

• A shiny new Sales Playbook

• And a set of Battle Cards (Tractor vs. Banks - let’s go )

(here's an example of a battle card). 

We discovered our close rates were already sitting above 90% (from funding approval to deployment)

So instead of major changes, we made subtle tweaks to strengthen what was already working:

• Handling objections early and clearly.

• Sharpening our unique value proposition - why Tractor?

• Keeping our friendly, curious tone while tightening the message.

“Working with Sell Anything was a game-changer for me (in a new sales role). Their coaching helped sharpen our overall approach, but the real aha moment for me was around battle cards - simple, smart tools that completely changed how we prep for competitive conversations. Highly recommend their work.” - Olivia Doherty, Capital Strategy Partner at Tractor Ventures

The Results (What's working and what we've learned)

We didn’t wrap it all up by year-end—but we rolled into Q1 ready to go.

 And it worked.

 We hit 103% of a big target, deploying the second-highest volume of funds in Tractor history - just 6% shy of the record, with half the team size.

So what actually moved the needle? Here are the sales tactics that delivered:

Leading with clarity on our unique value proposition

In a competitive space, being able to clearly articulate “Why Tractor?” - especially before questions are asked - has been huge for conversions.

 Front-loading the real customer problem

 We spend more time at the start understanding what the founder actually wants to solve - beyond just capital. That clarity shortens the decision cycle and builds trust early.

Speed, speed, speed

We don’t let deals stall. Momentum from first contact to term sheet to funds deployed makes all the difference. “Time kills deals” isn’t just a saying - it’s our reality.

Objection-handling before objections even land

We’ve built battle cards not just for our team - but to empower founders with clear, easy ways to compare us to traditional options and newer competitors alike.

Having a repeatable framework

Our Playbook means new team members can ramp faster, and veterans stay aligned. Everyone knows the process - and when to adapt it.

Bringing in fresh eyes

Working with Sean and Roy gave us perspective we couldn’t get internally. If you haven’t reviewed your sales motion with a third party in a while - do it. 

So... Is Sales Still a Dirty Word?

Or is it actually the execution of creativity?

It’s the fuel behind every new idea, every founder pushing forward, every moment we challenge the norm.

 Sales is how the magic happens.