Lisa J. Smith

Founder CEO at SMITH Company LLC

Small Business

Education: The University of Cincinnati - Edgewood College MBA
Saint Paul, MN, USA

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Biography

Meet Lisa J. Smith, Founder and CEO of SMITH co., the premiere sales consultant for Women & BIPOC Business Owners. “I believe that sales are the catalyst that can transform a business from surviving to thriving.” She works every day through consulting, training, and coaching to create radical change and ensure small businesses beat the odds of failing.

Lisa is a sought-after speaker and trainer and can cover many topics depending on your audience and demographics. She is most proud of her groundbreaking research project. She surveyed over 120 female-led business leaders to better understand the feelings, attitudes, and habits surrounding sales and debunk potential limiting beliefs. She is a passionate, funny, dynamic, and inspiring public speaker.

Passion

I passionately believe that we need to start having honest conversations about sales, especially for women and BIPOC business owners. I am on a mission to debunk the current limiting beliefs about sales. I believe sales are a catalyst that can transform a business from surviving to thriving, resulting in women with more power, control, and capital to create an unprecedented impact in their communities and a more equitable business landscape.

Featured Video

I am willing to travel

More than 100 miles

When it comes to payments

I generally get paid for speaking but make exceptions

Topics

sales performance businesstobusiness sales sales sales training women in sales sales management women entrepreneurship women in business empowering women women and leadership bipoc women leaders bipoc female entrepreneurship female ceo female founder female founders female empowerment female leadership business strategy small businesses small business ownership women in small business business growth business development catalyzing business growth business growth and strategy small business growth revenue business growth scaling culture scaling scaling an organization scaling companies scaling your business

Best Story

📺 When I say I am passionate about sales, that passion runs deep!!

I vividly recall being eight years old in a TV repair shop with my dad and negotiating a sale for a COLOR television. I laugh at how antiquated this sounds now, but a color TV was a game-changer then. It was the 80's people. While in the shop with my dad and the salesman, for whatever reason, I felt the need to be a part of the negotiation. When the salesman quoted a price, I whispered what I thought was fair to my dad. He passed that number along, and the salesman eagerly agreed to the sale. I’ll never forget the rush of pride and the thrill of exhilaration. It still makes me smile to this day. Standing with two grown men and being included felt empowering as a little girl from a rural town. 💪

I’m still passionate about sales today because I believe sales are a catalyst that can take your business from surviving to thriving.

Origin Story

Lisa launched SMITH co. June 2020 as a “COVIDpreneur.” I actually think it was the best time to start a business–because the whole world was changing-–and I am a change agent. Having spent 30 years selling professional services in every economic environment imaginable, I knew that sales would be forever changed, like many aspects of our lives, because of COVID.

Getting started was hard. Then there’s making it through my first year. Despite the turbulent economic landscape, I reached six figures in my first year. I did stuff I never expected to do. Manage people? Hard. Going it alone? Even harder. Wearing all the hats? Definitely a challenge, and here’s the kicker. On top of it all, I had to SELL! In my 30 years of working in professional services, no one has ever lit up with glee when I say I work in sales.

Guess what? We all work in sales!!! We are all selling all the time. Job interview: you're selling yourself, right? Presenting to a group of people. Selling. Your three-year-old– pestering you for ice cream before dinner-- they’re selling.

When I tell my clients I’ve been there, I have. I profoundly understand their challenges, feelings of limitation, and fear. Therefore, I can authentically show up and help them reframe their mindset to realize their potential.