Sales Was Just The Start

About Sales Was Just The Start

Most people think the goal is to close the deal. We think that's just the trailhead. Sales Was Just the Start is a show about everything sales cracks open: the ego, the inner game, the relationships, the meaning, and the money. Alex Kremer and Lauren Goodell bring on founders, leaders, and friends for honest conversations that move between entrepreneurship, dating, spirituality, and high performance, because real life doesn't stay in one lane. If you're ambitious and you're tired of pretending the outer game is the whole game, you're in the right place. New episodes every other week. Sales was just the start.

Publisher

Alex Kremer

Category

business · religion & spirituality · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

12 Aug 2026

Latest episode

5 Nov 2026

Latest episodes

7 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   5 Nov 2026

   What’s Really Fueling Your Ambition? | Sales Was Just the Start

   Scott Britton, founder of Conscious Talent and co-founder of Troops, joins Alex and Lauren to talk about selling his company to Salesforce while feeling deeply out of alignment, the “not enough” story behind so much high achievement, and what it looks like to treat your career as a place to do the inner work. Episode Navigation: 01:30 — Scott’s through line: Princeton, captaining the football team, Forbes 30 Under 30, and always chasing the next number 02:55 — A bald spot at 24 that got him meditating, and the experience at 30 that changed what he was searching for 05:46 — Running Troops with $12 million raised and a great office, and realizing he had built his own prison 11:01 — Selling to Salesforce: relief, burnout, and why he wishes he had left two years sooner 15:43 — Context vs. content, and the “not enough” fuel that quietly drives so many high achievers 24:44 — Building Conscious Talent and the vision of business as a spiritual dojo 32:53 — Where to start: The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership and the practice of looking inward first 34:43 — Saturn returns, “the tunnel,” and why community matters when you start questioning everything 44:06 — What to do when something feels off: sit with the fear and keep your nervous system grounded 47:45 — Scott’s biggest piece of advice: find a teacher who has walked the path ahead of you Connect: Watch: https://www.youtube.com/@SalesWasJustTheStart (https://www.youtube.com/@SalesWasJustTheStart) Sales Was Just the Start: saleswasjustthestart.com (https://saleswasjustthestart.com/) Alluviance (Alex Kremer): alluviance.co (https://www.alluviance.co/) Sell with Goodell (Lauren Goodell): sellwithgoodell.com (https://sellwithgoodell.com/) Clustr (Lauren Goodell): getclustr.ai (https://getclustr.ai/) Resources: How to crush your quota without crushing your soul - https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2rGW9QG0MTuao6rwF1rkEiw (https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2rGW9QG0MTuao6rwF1rkEiw) The 4 masks of sales - https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2NM3dwRaFTAKnZIWUZm7kGQ (https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2NM3dwRaFTAKnZIWUZm7kGQ) The 5 day inner game reset challenge - https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2W1Ko6wnZQPazEVXSwXVD1A (https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2W1Ko6wnZQPazEVXSwXVD1A)

2. 

   22 Oct 2026

   Dating Is Sales, Sales Is Dating | Sales Was Just the Start

   Alex and Lauren trade their best and worst dating stories to show how the same habits that sink a first date, desperation, generic gestures, and grasping at a specific outcome, are the ones that sink a sales deal. Episode Navigation: 00:40 — Alex and Lauren set up a different kind of episode: love, dating, and why marketing yourself is sales 01:52 — Desperation vs. discernment: two ways to approach someone across the bar, and the same two ways to approach a prospect 04:50 — Worrying whether they like you instead of asking whether you like them, and what that means for qualifying fit 07:26 — Lauren on reentering the dating world and the date that became a channel partner introduction 09:48 — Alex on “fail fast,” approaching strangers in New York, and why regret stings more than rejection 17:14 — The Visionary Mirror: how you show up in your career is how you show up in your relationships 19:10 — Planning the marriage, not just the wedding, and selling through implementation instead of to the close 22:55 — Worst dates: bright red pants, a screaming phone call, and a rewritten Bible 28:54 — Weekly roses and donuts for a gluten-free date: why generic generosity doesn’t make anyone feel seen 34:30 — Ditching the three-day rule, being direct, using the takeaway, and holding outcomes loosely Connect: Watch: https://www.youtube.com/@SalesWasJustTheStart (https://www.youtube.com/@SalesWasJustTheStart) Sales Was Just the Start: saleswasjustthestart.com (https://saleswasjustthestart.com/) Alluviance (Alex Kremer): alluviance.co (https://www.alluviance.co/) Sell with Goodell (Lauren Goodell): sellwithgoodell.com (https://sellwithgoodell.com/) Clustr (Lauren Goodell): getclustr.ai (https://getclustr.ai/) Resources: How to crush your quota without crushing your soul - https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2rGW9QG0MTuao6rwF1rkEiw (https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2rGW9QG0MTuao6rwF1rkEiw) The 4 masks of sales - https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2NM3dwRaFTAKnZIWUZm7kGQ (https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2NM3dwRaFTAKnZIWUZm7kGQ) The 5 day inner game reset challenge - https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2W1Ko6wnZQPazEVXSwXVD1A (https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2W1Ko6wnZQPazEVXSwXVD1A)

3. 

   8 Oct 2026

   Consistency Over Perfection | Sales Was Just the Start

   Lauren and Alex break down what actually goes into building a personal brand online, picking pillars, finding your voice, and surviving the LinkedIn-lunatics phase. They get into why the compliments you're most afraid to receive are usually pointing straight at your brand. Episode Navigation: 05:11 — What a “Clem” is, and the first real lesson either of them got in personal brand and reputation 06:23 — Fitting into the corporate mold early on, and the parts of themselves it pushed down 10:03 — Lauren’s investor-mandated LinkedIn experiment, and how it became her top revenue driver 13:18 — Alex’s post-layoff commitment to posting daily, and treating the whole thing as an experiment 19:40 — Picking your pillars: the mistake most founders and sellers make building a brand 28:04 — The exercise for finding your voice: asking people for the best compliment they’ve ever received 35:03 — The line that reframes personal brand: “You are who you think others think you are” 42:32 — The quote on power, vulnerability, and staying credible while being honest 45:21 — Advice for starting small: “baby steps” and picking the first thing you’re willing to open up about Connect: Watch: https://www.youtube.com/@SalesWasJustTheStart (https://www.youtube.com/@SalesWasJustTheStart) Sales Was Just the Start: saleswasjustthestart.com (https://saleswasjustthestart.com/) Alluviance (Alex Kremer): alluviance.co (https://www.alluviance.co/) Sell with Goodell (Lauren Goodell): sellwithgoodell.com (https://sellwithgoodell.com/) Clustr (Lauren Goodell): getclustr.ai (https://getclustr.ai/) Resources: How to crush your quota without crushing your soul - https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2rGW9QG0MTuao6rwF1rkEiw (https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2rGW9QG0MTuao6rwF1rkEiw) The 4 masks of sales - https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2NM3dwRaFTAKnZIWUZm7kGQ (https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2NM3dwRaFTAKnZIWUZm7kGQ) The 5 day inner game reset challenge - https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2W1Ko6wnZQPazEVXSwXVD1A (https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2W1Ko6wnZQPazEVXSwXVD1A)

4. 

   24 Sept 2026

   Building Trust With Yourself | Sales Was Just the Start

   Lauren and Alex get real about the exact moments that pushed each of them out of a comfortable sales career and into founder mode. Lauren's seven-figure wake-up call at Salesforce, Alex's leap from Outreach into Alluviance and the fear, timing, and self-trust it actually took to make the jump. Episode Navigation: 03:01 — Lauren’s path from Microsoft to Salesforce, and the entrepreneurial itch she didn’t notice at the time 05:48 — Hitting a seven-figure year at Salesforce, and realizing the money didn’t fix what was missing 07:01 — The financial advisor’s advice that changed everything: “Why don’t you do it now? Life is short.” 18:44 — What “feeling alive” actually meant, and why Lauren chose it over stability 24:45 — Zinnia’s pivot from offsite retreat planning to sales-intelligence software, and why LLMs upended it 30:08 — Alex’s exit from Microsoft to Outreach, and the three questions that shaped his next move 36:13 — Bringing Wim Hof breathwork into team meetings, and the pushback that came with it 42:53 — How “Alluvium” went from an invented word at breakfast to Alex’s company, Alluviance 53:13 — The two questions Lauren asks anyone wondering if it’s time to leave Connect: Watch: https://www.youtube.com/@SalesWasJustTheStart (https://www.youtube.com/@SalesWasJustTheStart) Sales Was Just the Start: saleswasjustthestart.com (https://saleswasjustthestart.com/) Alluviance (Alex Kremer): alluviance.co (https://www.alluviance.co/) Sell with Goodell (Lauren Goodell): sellwithgoodell.com (https://sellwithgoodell.com/) Clustr (Lauren Goodell): getclustr.ai (https://getclustr.ai/) Resources: How to crush your quota without crushing your soul - https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2rGW9QG0MTuao6rwF1rkEiw (https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2rGW9QG0MTuao6rwF1rkEiw) The 4 masks of sales - https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2NM3dwRaFTAKnZIWUZm7kGQ (https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2NM3dwRaFTAKnZIWUZm7kGQ) The 5 day inner game reset challenge - https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2W1Ko6wnZQPazEVXSwXVD1A (https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2W1Ko6wnZQPazEVXSwXVD1A)

5. 

   10 Sept 2026

   The 5 Skills Every Salesperson Needs to Become an Entrepreneur | Sales Was Just the Start

   Alex Kremer and Lauren Goodell break down the five mindset skills, attunement, uncertainty, resilience, quarterbacking a team, and vision, that turn top sales performers into founders. Episode Navigation: 00:00 — The number was never the destination, it's the trailhead 01:45 — Skill 1: Attunement and curiosity 07:11 — Skill 2: Being willing to sit in uncertainty 11:31 — Skill 3: No fear of failure, and the resilience to keep going 17:28 — Skill 4: Becoming the quarterback, delegating, trusting, and calling the play 21:35 — Skill 5: Clarity of vision and the why behind it 26:53 — Tying every deal back to the real problem you're solving 28:28 — Selling the vision, whether to a customer, an investor, or your own team 28:54 — Lauren's top skill: resilience, and where it came from 32:08 — What each of them is working on right now: quarterbacking and vision Connect: Watch: https://www.youtube.com/@SalesWasJustTheStart (https://www.youtube.com/@SalesWasJustTheStart) Sales Was Just the Start: saleswasjustthestart.com (https://saleswasjustthestart.com/) Alluviance (Alex Kremer): alluviance.co (https://www.alluviance.co/) Sell with Goodell (Lauren Goodell): sellwithgoodell.com (https://sellwithgoodell.com/) Clustr (Lauren Goodell): getclustr.ai (https://getclustr.ai/) Resources: How to crush your quota without crushing your soul - https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2rGW9QG0MTuao6rwF1rkEiw (https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2rGW9QG0MTuao6rwF1rkEiw) The 4 masks of sales - https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2NM3dwRaFTAKnZIWUZm7kGQ (https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2NM3dwRaFTAKnZIWUZm7kGQ) The 5 day inner game reset challenge - https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2W1Ko6wnZQPazEVXSwXVD1A (https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2W1Ko6wnZQPazEVXSwXVD1A)

6. 

   27 Aug 2026

   The Weight Behind the Win | Sales Was Just the Start

   In this episode, Alex Kremer and Lauren Goodell get vulnerable about the depression, gender dynamics, and burnout culture hiding beneath their early sales careers, and land on a framework for building a career without losing yourself in it. Episode Navigation: 00:49 — The Microsoft Academy of Collegiate Hires and starting out at 22 02:11 — Meeting in Atlanta and the speaker who planted the seed 04:56 — Walking into a boardroom as a 22-year-old woman in state and local government 08:36 — Why “sales was just the start”: sales as an operating system, not a career 09:49 — Crushing quota while quietly struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts 15:13 — Being the only woman on the team, and the CFO who changed everything 20:22 — Hustle culture, burnout, and learning to rest without guilt 25:03 — The “Sacred Third”: neither burnout nor escape, but a third way 29:46 — A full-circle dream: returning to inspire the next class Connect: Watch: https://www.youtube.com/@SalesWasJustTheStart (https://www.youtube.com/@SalesWasJustTheStart) Sales Was Just the Start: saleswasjustthestart.com (https://saleswasjustthestart.com/) Alluviance (Alex Kremer): alluviance.co (https://www.alluviance.co/) Sell with Goodell (Lauren Goodell): sellwithgoodell.com (https://sellwithgoodell.com/) Clustr (Lauren Goodell): getclustr.ai (https://getclustr.ai/) Resources: How to crush your quota without crushing your soul - https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2rGW9QG0MTuao6rwF1rkEiw (https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2rGW9QG0MTuao6rwF1rkEiw) The 4 masks of sales - https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2NM3dwRaFTAKnZIWUZm7kGQ (https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2NM3dwRaFTAKnZIWUZm7kGQ) The 5 day inner game reset challenge - https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2W1Ko6wnZQPazEVXSwXVD1A (https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2W1Ko6wnZQPazEVXSwXVD1A)

7. 

   12 Aug 2026

   Sales Was Just the Start: Meet Your Hosts, Alex & Lauren

   In this first episode, co-hosts Alex Kremer and Lauren Goodell trace their friendship back to a Microsoft training program over a decade ago. They reframe sales as a trailhead for self-discovery rather than a scoreboard. And they lay out why this show trades the highlight reel for the whole game. Episode Navigation: 00:00 — Cold open: recording day one and why they're doing this podcast 00:26 — How they met: the Microsoft Academy of Collegiate Hires and the “MARK” program 04:17 — Redefining sales as humanity, not persuasion 05:44 — Introducing Alluviance and Sell with Goodell 09:32 — The breakdown that became a breakthrough 12:28 — Setting the show's vision: vulnerability over the highlight reel 15:37 — What's ahead: guests behind the mask, starting with Scott 19:30 — Reframing failure: “fail fast, learn faster” 21:07 — The Gap and the Gain: measuring progress instead of distance 24:15 — Community and mentorship as the foundation of growth About Your Hosts: Alex Kremer is the founder of Alluviance, a community built for sales leaders and founders doing the inner work alongside the outer grind, through retreats, coaching, and a mastermind community. Before leaving corporate life, he spent 15+ years in tech sales and leadership at companies including Microsoft, DocuSign, and Outreach. He lives with his wife, Alexia, who has also become a leader within Alluviance's community and retreats. Lauren Goodell is the co-founder and CRO of Clustr, which helps organizations build real AI fluency and adoption starting with their people, and speaks and consults on human-first sales and AI through Sell with Goodell. She previously spent nearly a decade in enterprise sales at Microsoft and Salesforce before founding the sales tool Zinnia, which has since wound down. She's based in Charlotte. Connect: Sales Was Just the Start: saleswasjustthestart.com (https://saleswasjustthestart.com/) Alluviance (Alex Kremer): alluviance.co (https://www.alluviance.co/) Sell with Goodell (Lauren Goodell): sellwithgoodell.com (https://sellwithgoodell.com/) Clustr (Lauren Goodell): getclustr.ai (https://getclustr.ai/) Resources: How to crush your quota without crushing your soul - https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2rGW9QG0MTuao6rwF1rkEiw (https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2rGW9QG0MTuao6rwF1rkEiw) The 4 masks of sales - https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2NM3dwRaFTAKnZIWUZm7kGQ (https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2NM3dwRaFTAKnZIWUZm7kGQ) The 5 day inner game reset challenge - https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2W1Ko6wnZQPazEVXSwXVD1A (https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2W1Ko6wnZQPazEVXSwXVD1A)

Contact Sales Was Just The Start

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.