Why Professionalism Is Ruining Your Sales
In sales, they always say: stay professional and never rock the boat, right? But think about it. Who do buyers actually remember? The professional who checks all the boxes or the real human with smiles, energy, and personality?
In this episode of Sell by Being Human, host Alex Smith sits down with April Palmer, Account Executive at Duckbill, adjunct professor at VCU, and self-described "hot mess boss," to explore why showing up as your authentic self is not just good for your soul, it is good for sales.
April's path started in unexpected places. From selling mistletoe door to door as a kid to closing multi-million dollar enterprise deals, she has learned that the real secret to sales is not better scripts or sharper rebuttals. It is genuine human connection. With 20,000 "weirdos" following her late-night LinkedIn chaos, April has proof that people buy from real people, not robots or talking heads.
In this conversation, you will hear why she tells prospects not to buy from her, how a ruptured Achilles led to 12 job offers, and why the platinum rule beats the golden rule every time. She also shares her dad's most annoying and effective question, what hula hoops and cheesecake taught her about prospecting, and why showing up looking like a "cotton candy machine that turned into a human" is actually a calculated strategy.
If you have ever felt pressure to dim your personality at work, wondered if you could be "too much" for corporate America, or suspected that vanilla ice cream is not your flavor, this conversation offers a different way forward.
Key Takeaways
- Why "professionalism" is often just fear in beige clothing
- How being authentically you attracts the right buyers and repels the wrong ones
- The platinum rule: Treat others the way they want to be treated
- Why "help me understand" is the most powerful phrase in sales
- How to know when to tell a prospect not to buy from you
- The importance of systems and transparency in building trust
- Why calculated risks (like wearing a hot pink suit to a tech conference) pay off
- How being vulnerable creates safety for buyers to open up
- The art of connecting people and why introductions reveal how you really feel
In This Episode:
[00:00] Introduction to April Palmer
[01:29] April's legendary outreach email
[04:34] What "sell by being human" means to April
[05:26] Why rebuttals give her the "ick"
[07:58] The platinum rule vs. the golden rule
[08:56] Growing up in the Bible Belt without TV
[11:06] The seven-layer man: April's dad and the art of asking why
[14:33] "Help me understand" and the power of shutting up
[16:43] Professionalism is fear masquerading as beige
[19:21] Being pistachio in a sea of vanilla
[23:28] Surfing as a metaphor for life and sales
[24:48] Posting about sexual assault and the connections it created
[26:48] Getting fired while injured and the 12 offers that followed
[29:45] Transparency in the sales process: Project plans and aligned expectations
[32:28] Why April tells people not to buy from her
[34:00] Hula hoops, cheesecake, and standing out
[37:30] Fear in sales: Disappointing clients and handing off deals
[42:43] Chaos with a purpose: The strategy behind the unhinged
[47:37] How being yourself invites buyers to drop their armor
[49:33] The story that's so April: How introductions reveal everything
[52:53] Where to find April
Notable Quotes
- [05:11] “When I hear sales tactics from someone else, I get the ick so hard that even if I love the thing, I hesitate to buy from them.” — April
- [06:17] “ If you’re super curious about someone’s needs, you don’t have to have a rebuttal; you just figure out if you’re the right solution for them.”— April
- [08:18] ” I go by the platinum rule: treat others the way they want to be treated.— April
- [11:44] ” I learned it’s okay to keep asking questions until you figure out what’s actually behind what people are asking you to do.”— April
- [18:20] ” In a sea of vanilla ice cream, people on LinkedIn be pistachio.”
- [21:40] “People come to me and buy from me because they love the energy I bring and know I’ll tell them the truth.” — April
- [28:50] “ I don’t want to sell you a lie about who I am. I could convince you I’m somebody else, but wouldn’t that be a horrible bait and switch?” — April
- [38:32] “I have a lot of anxiety around not providing the sales experience I want to give to other people.” — April
- [40:20] ”What happens if I build this level of trust and then I hand it over to a team and they don’t care about the customer as much as I do? That keeps me up at night.”— April
Our Guest
April Palmer is an Account Executive at Duckbill, where she helps companies fix their AWS bills by making them "smaller and less horrifying." She is also an adjunct professor at VCU, teaching students how to network and land jobs. With a career spanning founder roles, VP of Sales positions, and enterprise sales, April has made a name for herself by showing up exactly as she is in hot pink suits, bedazzled boots, and unfiltered honesty. She believes in making revenue strategy feel like a group chat gone slightly off the rails, teaching business like it is 2 AM and everyone is a little loopy. Find her on LinkedIn as "Hot Mess Boss," where 20,000 weirdos follow her late-night chaos.
Resources and Links
Sell by Being Human
April Palmer
Alex Smith
