Shamil Patel, Co-Founder and CEO, Fleet

When we first met with Shamil Patel, Co-Founder and CEO at Fleet, he described a challenge familiar to many B2B businesses — a lack of structure in lead generation and inconsistency in how prospects moved through their pipeline.

Working side by side with Fleet, The Closing Co. introduced structure around their pipeline, refined lead generation, and built a clear go-to-market strategy. By taking the time to deeply understand their target clients, we were able to ensure that the leads coming in were not only higher in quality but also highly relevant. This shift created a more efficient sales process, freeing the team to focus on conversions and building relationships.

Today, Fleet is moving faster, smarter, and with stronger client relationships. Here’s what Shamil had to say about their experience working with The Closing Co. through interim sales management.

Before we started working together, what were some of the main challenges you were facing in managing your sales process?

Before engaging The Closing Co., our biggest challenges were a lack of structure in lead generation and inconsistency in how prospects moved through our pipeline. While we had strong products and services, our sales approach was reactive, and we often struggled to reach the right decision-makers in our target market.

What changes or improvements have you noticed in your sales operations since you started working with The Closing Co.?

Our sales operations have become far more structured and efficient. The Closing Co. have taken the time to understand our target clients very well, and as a result, the sales leads we now receive are highly relevant and aligned with our business. Their professional and rigorous approach has helped us focus more on conversions and less on prospecting.

How has the clarity around your products or services improved for your customers?

TCC has helped us refine how we communicate our products, such as Fleet Planner and Fleet TMS, to the market. Customers now have a much clearer understanding of the differences between the two and how each solution can solve their unique challenges. This clarity has shortened our sales cycle and created stronger engagement in customer conversations.

Andrew Miller, Co-Founder, Fleet

In what ways has your sales pipeline grown or evolved since we began working together?

Our pipeline has grown both in size and quality. Thanks to TCC’s well-informed approach to lead generation, we now have consistent engagement with well-matched prospects, including more enterprise-level clients. 

The quality of opportunities has improved significantly, giving us greater confidence in our sales forecasting.

If you were to describe the biggest benefit of our work together so far, what would it be?

The biggest benefit has been TCC’s ability to combine deep market understanding and professionalism. They treat every engagement with seriousness and rigour, ensuring that the leads they provide are not only relevant but also well-qualified. This has given us a more predictable and repeatable sales process, positioning us for sustainable growth.

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At The Closing Co., we know that strong sales leadership is critical to scaling any business. But not every company is ready for a full-time sales hire. With The Closing Co.’s interim sales management service, experienced sales professionals step in temporarily to assess your current strategies, align sales teams with revenue goals, and drive measurable growth. 

Reach out to us for a FREE 30-minute consultation: sales@theclosingco.org or 0712 527 347

We had been following Jiji Health’s journey for a while, watching Co-Founders Kilemi and Aaron build health tech solutions that improve service delivery. From Damu Sasa to Rafiki360 and Bydii, their mission to bridge gaps in healthcare access through technology stood out. So when we got the opportunity to work with them as their interim sales managers, it was a quick and easy yes. And this wasn’t just about improving sales numbers; it was about supporting a mission-driven team to grow sustainably and reach more healthcare providers across Kenya.

To dive deeper into their experience and transformation, we spoke with Kilemi, Co-Founder of Jiji Health. He shared the sales challenges they faced, what it was like working with The Closing Co., and how interim sales management helped them build a scalable, performance-driven sales function. Read on for our full conversation.

Tell us about Jiji Health — what inspired your solutions like Damu Sasa, Rafiki360, and Bydii, and what healthcare gap are you solving?    

Jiji Health is a digital healthcare company focused on advancing healthcare access and delivery through simple, connected solutions. Our journey began with Damu Sasa, an end-to-end blood services management system born from the need to address inefficiencies in how blood is sourced, distributed, and tracked in Kenya.

We then expanded our offerings with Rafiki360, a hospital management system designed to be friendly, scalable, and easy to use – especially for facilities that struggle with complex or expensive digital systems.

Our latest innovation, Bydii, is an e-learning platform and learning management system built to equip healthcare workers and community health actors with the knowledge they need to deliver better care. It supports structured training, certification, and continuous learning, making it easier for institutions and individuals to build capacity at scale.

At our core, we’re solving for access, efficiency, and continuity of care, particularly for underserved or resource-constrained health facilities.

Before working with The Closing Co., what were your biggest sales challenges or missed growth opportunities?

Like many founder-led teams, we had a deep passion for our mission, a strong product-market fit, and measurable impact on the ground. However, we recognised a gap in having a structured, consistent, and dedicated sales team. We faced challenges with pipeline visibility, lead qualification, and navigating the longer sales cycles common in health tech.

Much of our growth had been driven by referrals and organic interest. While valuable, this approach made it difficult to scale predictably and limited our ability to proactively expand.

Kilemi Thambura, Co-Founder, Jiji Health

What made you consider interim sales management as a solution?

We were at a point where we needed to strengthen our sales approach with more structure and strategic direction. Interim sales management provided an opportunity to bring in experienced leadership without immediately committing to a full-time hire.

It allowed us to test and refine our sales processes, gain valuable insights, and lay the groundwork for a more scalable system.

This approach gave us the flexibility to continue focusing on our core operations while leveraging external expertise to enhance our sales function in a thoughtful and practical way.

What were you looking for in a partner? And why was The Closing Co. the best fit?

We wanted a partner who wouldn’t just “advise” us from the sidelines, but roll up their sleeves, immerse themselves in our work, and help us get real results. We also wanted a team that could align with our mission, understand healthcare complexity, and respect the resource constraints common in emerging markets.

The Closing Co. brought not only structure but empathy – meeting us where we were, while guiding us toward where we needed to go.

How have things changed since bringing in TCC’s interim sales leadership on board?

We now have a clearer sales process, an organized pipelin@e, and the confidence that comes from knowing what stage our leads are in and what actions to take next.

Perhaps more importantly, we’ve gained internal alignment on the role of sales in our growth strategy and begun building a performance-oriented culture around it.

Aaron Ogunde, Co-Founder & CEO, Jiji Health

What impact have you seen in your pipeline, lead quality, or conversion rate?

Our pipeline quality and visibility have significantly improved. We’re more disciplined in lead qualification, which means we’re spending time with the right prospects.

We’ve also seen stronger engagement with hospital administrators and decision-makers, a testament to the more focused messaging and strategic outreach put in place.

How do you see the role of sales evolving in your company as you scale?

Sales is no longer an afterthought; it’s a core pillar of our growth. As we scale, we see the sales function becoming more data-driven, team-led, and integrated across departments like product and customer success.

We’re building toward a model where sales not only close deals but also shape product feedback and deepen market insight.

What advice would you give other founders considering interim sales management?

If you’re at the stage where you know sales needs to evolve but you’re unsure how to do it right or fast, interim sales leadership is a powerful bridge.

Choose a partner who listens deeply, challenges assumptions, and builds with you, not just for you. The right interim team can do more than just sell; they can help you reimagine how your company grows.

At The Closing Co., we know that strong sales leadership is critical to scaling any business. But not every company is ready for a full-time sales hire. With The Closing Co.’s interim sales management service, experienced sales professionals step in temporarily to assess your current strategies, align sales teams with revenue goals, and drive measurable growth.

Reach out to us for a FREE 30-minute consultation: sales@theclosingco.org or 0712 527 347

Synopsis:

Sales is a high-pressure, high-performance career. And it often comes at a cost to your mental well-being. According to the 2024 State of Mental Health in Sales Report, 70% of sales professionals say they struggle with mental health. And it’s not just personal; mental health issues cost the global economy around $1 trillion every year, as reported by Spill.

The constant drive to hit targets and meet deadlines can leave many sales professionals struggling to keep their mental health intact. But what if there was a way to thrive in sales without burning out?

To mark Mental Health Awareness Month, we sat down with Dr. Teckie Karoki, Executive Coach, Positive Intelligence (PQ) expert, and Founder of InSage Coaching, to dive into the critical topic of mental fitness for sales professionals.

In this eye-opening conversation, Teckie shares why mental health is important for high performers. She unpacks the science of mental fitness and how it helps salespeople shift from stress and self-doubt to clarity, calm, and confidence. If you’ve ever felt like you’re stuck in survival mode, this is for you.

Who is Teckie, and what inspired you to start InSage Coaching?

I am a leader, a lifelong learner, and a passionate champion of unlocking human potential, especially when it’s been buried under stress, self-doubt, or endless to-do lists. Through my work as an Executive Coach and Positive Intelligence practitioner, I help mid-to-senior-level leaders build the mental muscles they need to thrive, not just survive, in leadership and life.

At the heart of it all is my love for learning and people (preferably together!). That’s why I founded InSage Coaching. It provides a space where we pause, reflect, challenge saboteurs, and get intentional about leading with resilience, purpose, and calmness.

Whether I’m facilitating leadership development programs, coaching through transitions/decisions, or helping someone finally quiet their inner critic, my goal is simple: to help individuals move from mental fatigue to mental fitness, self-sabotage to self-mastery,  and from stuck to Sage.

And yes, I believe serious breakthroughs can happen with a little laughter, a deep breath, and a well-timed “aha!” moment.

Sales is often described as high-performance and high-pressure. Why is mental health support critical in this profession?

Because sales is a pressure cooker dressed up as a performance metric.
Behind every enthusiastic pitch and dashboard update is a person who’s likely exhausted, overthinking, emotionally stretched, or questioning their entire career on a Tuesday afternoon – and yes, I was that person. I relate because I have been there.

In this high-performance, high-pressure world, most sales professionals don’t realise they are bearing a hidden burden: an overworked brain locked in survival mode. We spend our days overanalysing every move, pushing ourselves from one goal to the next, avoiding tough conversations, micromanaging everything within reach, and pretending emotions are a luxury we can’t afford. And all of that creates a cocktail of stress, anxiety, frustration, and burnout.

This is where mental health, by way of mental fitness comes in; not just as a wellness trend, but as a professional necessity.

Mental fitness trains the mind to shift from reactivity to response. From panic to presence. From rigid thinking to calm, focused action. It strengthens the brain’s capacity for clarity, empathy, and creativity – so we can face challenges without spiralling, bounce back faster from setbacks, and stay grounded even when pressure mounts.

When we build mental fitness, we don’t just improve how we perform, we also improve how we relate with ourselves, colleagues and our clients. We become more connected, more resilient, and more human in how we sell and how we lead.

Let’s be honest, hitting your targets is great. But hitting them while protecting your wellbeing, your confidence, and your joy – that is where the real success lies.

What are some of the biggest mindset shifts you’ve helped sales professionals make regarding stress and performance?

The most powerful shift I’ve seen, and the one that consistently changes everything, is the realisation that we all have internal saboteurs, and they are often the hidden drivers behind our stress, self-doubt, as well as performance, wellbeing, and relationship struggles.

This simple but profound awareness is a lightbulb moment for many. It’s like pulling back the curtain and realising, “Wait… I am not broken. I am just being hijacked.” That inner critic, the overthinking, the pressure to prove, the avoidance of tough conversations, it is not “just how I am,” it is coming from specific, predictable patterns that we can intercept and shift.

Once sales professionals begin to recognise the real cost of these saboteurs, low confidence, reactive behaviour, strained relationships, anxiety, and diminished performance, they start to ask the most important question: “So what do I do about this?”

That is where the real shift happens; when they start building mental fitness – training their minds to operate from their Sage brain instead.

By building mental fitness, they learn to access empathy (especially for themselves), regain perspective, tap into creativity, reconnect with purpose and take calm, focused action, even under pressure. People go from spinning in stress to selling with clarity and confidence, simply by learning to lead from the inside out.

It has been a joy to witness. Because once you meet your Sage, you can’t un-meet them! Furthermore, life, leadership, and sales are never quite the same again.

What are five mental health tips you’d give to sales professionals trying to stay sharp and motivated?

Sales can be tough on the mind – the targets, the pressure, the constant push to perform. That is why protecting your mental health isn’t just nice to have, it’s non-negotiable. But here is the good news: mental health can be strengthened through mental fitness. It’s about training your mind to respond with clarity, calm, and confidence, especially when the heat is on.

Here are 5 simple but powerful ways to stay sharp, grounded, and motivated in your sales journey:

1. Spot the internal saboteurs before they hijack you.
We all have internal patterns that trigger stress and sabotage our success. The trick is learning to recognise them in real time; during prospecting, follow-ups, or even in that “should I even make this call?” hesitation.

2. Stop confusing noise with effectiveness.
Busyness doesn’t equal progress, nor is it a status symbol. Loudness doesn’t make you a better leader. And stress is not a badge of honour. These are tricks your saboteurs play to keep you in survival mode. Instead, pause. Breathe. Reflect. Listen more deeply. Mental fitness encourages you to slow down just enough to sell with intention, lead with clarity, and stay connected to what matters.

3. Train the mind that is driving the results.
Behind every confident pitch and closed deal is a mindset that has been nurtured, not neglected. Take time to build your mental fitness; it is what helps you stay steady under pressure, bounce back from setbacks, and lead your sales conversations with clarity and presence.

4. Flow and focus are not unicorns.
You can sell from a place of ease, clarity, and focus, not just hustle and grind. But like any real success, it takes commitment, self-awareness, and the courage to slow down to speed up.

5. Be kind to the person doing the work.
Yes, that is you. Allow yourself to pause, to breathe, to reflect, to celebrate the small wins. A little empathy for yourself goes a long way in staying resilient, recharged, and ready to learn and lead.

What’s one powerful lesson you’ve learned as a saleswoman, coach, and mother that continues to shape how you show up every day?

I have learned that God created us in His image so that we can show up in all our roles with a sound mind and fully equipped with the unique potential, skills, talent, and abilities that He placed in each one of us.

We have it in us to live the full life that our God intended for us to live. Therefore, with a lot of prayer, gratitude, guidance from the Word of God, and a proactive focus on building our mental fitness and mental health, we will see ourselves transformed by the renewing of our minds every day. That is guaranteed!

This Mental Health Awareness Month, I encourage you to check in with yourself – how are you doing? Try putting one of these tips into practice; even the smallest shift can make a meaningful difference in how you show up and lead in your career.