Uncomplicating Business with Sara Torpey

Hosted by Sara Torpey

Business

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Episodes

196

Latest episode

Nov 2026

Language

EN-US

About the show

Business gets WAY less complicated when you keep it human. In the Uncomplicating Business world, we use a simple, flexible four-part framework—ground, plan, connect, sell—to help you simplify decisions, set (and keep!) effective timelines, and show up consistently without burning out. You’ll hear bite-sized solo episodes and thoughtful interviews that turn messy challenges into actual actions, from pricing with confidence to building trust with yourself, your offers, and your community. Come for the clarity, stay for the momentum. Let's create *functional success* - where successful businesses are one part of our successful lives - together.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

November 10, 2026Episode 209 min

How to Stop Losing Sales at the End of the Call

This episode is for you if your sales calls feel like they go well... then the person says “I’ll think about it” and you never hear from them again. Today’s episode is short, practical, and one single piece of coaching I have been giving over and over lately to clients, colleagues, and new connections. It’s about the last five minutes of a sales call, and changing this one thing has helped close rates every single time someone actually does it. Three things you’ll walk away with: **Please - stop sending the email recap into the abyss. An email is not a decision-making tool - it’s a paper airplane you throw into the void. The people you’re working with are often overwhelmed, busy, and juggling too much. An email asking them to make a decision on their own is not making it easier for them. **The job of a sales call isn’t to get a yes - it’s to help someone make a decision. And closing a loop on a decision often takes more than one conversation. Not fifteen. Just one more - a quick follow-up call where they can ask questions, say yes, or say no. All of those outcomes are fine. ** End the call with a concrete next step on the calendar. Not a “I’ll follow up!” - an actual time to talk again. If someone declines the follow-up or no-shows, that’s an answer too. But most of the time, people show up ready to decide. That’s what you’re building toward. This is NOT a high-pressure tactic. It’s just a cleaner, kinder (and more effective...) way to close the loop - for you and for them. Join the Uncomplicating Business Lab: https://www.torpeycoaching.com/thelab Grab your free masterclass: https://torpeycoaching.kit.com/freemasterclass Join the Uncomplicating Business Lab Community: https://www.torpeycoaching.com/thelabTorpeycoachingtorpeycoaching.com/thelab Grab your free masterclass here: https://torpeycoaching.kit.com/freemasterclassKitUNcomplicating Your Business and Make your Whole Life Easier Masterclass More actions

October 27, 2026Episode 1913 min

How to Get Out of Your Own Way When It Comes to Sales

This episode is for you if you're doing all the right things and still not closing sales - and you have a sneaking suspicion the problem might be you. This is part four of our series on what's really going on when you don't have enough clients. We've covered connection, planning, and the sales process. Now we're getting into what I call the squishy part: the way you're thinking about sales, and whether that's quietly working against you. Three things you'll walk away with: Your logical brain and your emotional brain are probably giving you different answers. Do you actually believe in yourself, in your offer, and that people will buy it? Logically, most of us say yes. Emotionally? Sometimes that's a very different story - and it's the emotional answer that shows up in a sales conversation. Change is the whole point, and your brain might be fighting it. You can't grow your business and stay exactly the same. If you're trying to do both at once, it creates an internal conflict that makes you inconsistent - sometimes it feels like it's working, sometimes you're in a black hole. Your brain needs to decide that change is okay. Would you buy what you're selling, at the price you're selling it? If the answer is no, that's the problem - not the clients. You can't sell at a price you don't actually believe in, and you can't convince other people your work is worth it if you're not sold on it yourself. If confidence is the thing that keeps getting in your way, the grounding mini-course inside the Lab is exactly where to start. 30-day free trial available through mid-November - reach out directly to grab it. Join the Uncomplicating Business Lab: https://www.torpeycoaching.com/thelab Grab your free masterclass: https://torpeycoaching.kit.com/freemasterclass

October 13, 2026Episode 1822 min

How to Uncomplicate Your Sales Process

This episode is for you if you know you're not talking about what you do enough - and some part of you knows that's why the clients aren't coming. This is part three of our series on what's really going on when you don't have enough clients. We've talked about connection and planning. Now we're getting into the part people like to crawl under their desks for: selling. Three things you'll walk away with: **You're almost certainly underselling. There's no magical "perfect selling" balance point - there's just a line from underselling to overselling, and you're never going to actually reach the overselling end. Stop worrying about being too much, and start talking about what you do more. Whatever you're afraid people will think of you? They've already thought it. You haven't burst into flames yet. **If it takes 10 minutes to explain your offer, that's a problem. Your offer needs a container - something clear, visible, and easy to say yes to. Think of it like a plant pot. Without the pot, there's dirt everywhere and nothing can grow. You don't have to be rigid about it, but you do have to give people something their brain can hold on to. **Stop trying to drag in people who aren't ready - focus on your easy yeses. There are people in your world right now who are close to saying yes. Are you talking to them? Because trying to convince the people who aren't ready is exhausting, and it's not where your energy belongs. If selling is the piece that's holding you back, this is exactly what we work on in the Lab - including Selling for Weirdos, which is one of the best things I've ever made (and I have two kids, so that's saying something). 30-day free trial available through November 15 - reach out directly to grab it. Join the Uncomplicating Business Lab: https://www.torpeycoaching.com/thelab Grab your free masterclass: https://torpeycoaching.kit.com/freemasterclass

September 29, 2026Episode 1716 min

How to Plan Your Way to More Clients

This episode is for you if you're not getting the clients you want - and you're starting to wonder if the problem might be in how you're planning (or not planning). This is part two of a series on what I look at as a coach when someone tells me they don't have enough clients. Last episode we talked about connection. This week we're talking about planning - because sometimes what's standing between you and more clients isn't effort. It's friction. And a lot of that friction is self-created. Three things you'll walk away with: **A goal is a direction, not a stick to beat yourself with. If you've given up on goals because they've never worked for you, it's probably not the goals - it's what you've been doing WITH them. Knowing where you're headed makes everything else simpler. **Are you giving it long enough? Most offers need at least 12 weeks of consistent, diligent effort before you have enough information to know if something's wrong. If you're changing things every three weeks, you're not giving anything a real shot - and that's the problem, not the offer. **Your actions need to actually match your goal. It sounds obvious, but it's one of the most common things I see: great goal, wrong actions. If your goal is getting to the grocery store, doing a workout isn't going to get you there. Same idea. If planning is where you get stuck - making the plan is fine, doing the plan is the hard part - the Lab is exactly where this work gets done. 30-day free trial available through November 15, reach out directly to grab it. Join the Uncomplicating Business Lab: https://www.torpeycoaching.com/thelab Grab your free masterclass: https://torpeycoaching.kit.com/freemasterclass

September 16, 2026Episode 1616 min

How to Get More Clients Without Waiting for Them to Find You

This episode is for you if clients aren't coming in and you're not totally sure why. Here's the thing: when people come to me for coaching, there are really only two reasons. Either they don't have enough clients, or they have so many they've stopped sleeping. This episode - and the next few - are for the first group. And we're starting with the simplest, most skipped piece of the whole puzzle: connection. Not a CRM. Not a cold outreach strategy. Just actual human connection - and four honest questions to help you figure out where yours might be falling short. Three things you'll walk away with: **Posting is not the same as connecting. If your whole strategy is sending things into the internet and hoping people find you, that's likely what's stalling things. Business happens when people buy from people - and people need actual conversation to do that. **The people who already know you might be your fastest path to new clients. Do the people closest to you actually know what you're offering right now? Because sometimes you send one honest email and the response is "oh my god, it's me." It really is that simple sometimes. **Connection is a trend YOU set. If you're frustrated by the lack of engagement you're getting, check your own. You're the trendsetter here - and you have way more control over this than you think. There's a 30-day free trial in the Lab available through November 15 - reach out directly on LinkedIn, Facebook, or at sara@torpeycoaching.com to grab it. Join the Uncomplicating Business Lab: https://www.torpeycoaching.com/thelab Grab your free masterclass: https://torpeycoaching.kit.com/freemasterclass

August 18, 2026Episode 1512 min

How to Uncomplicate Success: Fall Edition

This episode is for you if you feel like the real new year starts in September, and August is the moment to get ready for it (hello, teacher-friends ;)). For a lot of us, September through November is when we make the most progress all year. It's energizing, it's productive, and FLIES. And it means what you do (or don't do) in August actually matters. Today I'm sharing four simple things to do in the next few weeks so that when fall hits, you're already in motion: Three things you'll take away: --> Reconnect first. --> Sketch a fall plan and connect it to your offers. --> Before you add anything, take something off. Short, practical, and worth 12 minutes of your August. Ready for that? Listen on! Join the Uncomplicating Business Lab: https://www.torpeycoaching.com/thelab Grab your free masterclass: https://torpeycoaching.kit.com/freemasterclass

August 4, 202613 min

How to Reset Your Business in Under an Hour

This episode is for you if August has you feeling like it might be time to look at your business with fresh eyes - annnnnd you don't want to blow everything up in the process. A reset isn't about destruction - nope, It's about straightening the piles, putting away the chaos, and getting clear on where you are before you decide where you're going. Today I'm walking you through exactly what I do for myself every August - a simple recalibration that takes about less than an hour and leaves you with a real plan for the second half of the year. Three things you'll take away: *Start with25+ successes before you touch anything else. Your brain will tell you there are only five. It's wrong. Sit with it, let it percolate, and for the love, do. not. skip. this. step - knowing what's working makes you far less tempted to tear everything down. *Data without context is just nonsense numbers. Revenue, client counts, list growth - they don't mean much on their own. Adding context is where the real story is, and it's almost always better than you think. The reset isn't just about what to do or even to stop doing - it's about how you want the next six months to feel. Do more of / do less of / do none of is the framework, but the feeling question is what makes your decisions actually stick. This one's practical, fast, and something you can do with a notebook and a half hour. Let's go!! Join the Uncomplicating Business Lab: https://www.torpeycoaching.com/thelab Grab your free masterclass: https://torpeycoaching.kit.com/freemasterclass

July 23, 2026Episode 1345 min

The Alternative to Multitasking with Nadine Elsasser

This episode is for you if you're exhausted from all of the multitasking, you've done all the ways 'they' told you to do it different and you're still second-guessing yourself. My guest Nadine Elsasser spent 30+ years in corporate boardrooms in New York and London - and just as many years quietly in the world of intuition and deep inner work. Today she's a spiritual and transformational coach, and this conversation is a good one. Three (of the 92389) things you'll take away: Multitasking isn't a superpower — intuitive prioritization is, and they are not the same thing Your intellect and intuition aren't in competition — but one of them needs to be in charge first It's not "trust again" — it's trust deeper, and that changes everything about how hard it feels Ready for an amazing conversation and a deep breath? This is for you. Listen on! Find Nadine on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nadine-elsasser-consultant/ AND now on Substack (!): https://nadineelsasser.substack.com/p/a-return-to-writing?r=447v5m Join the Uncomplicating Business Lab Community: https://www.torpeycoaching.com/thelab Grab your free masterclass here: https://torpeycoaching.kit.com/freemasterclass

June 16, 2026Episode 1218 min

How to get Unstuck: 6 Three-Word Questions Every Business Owner Needs

This episode is for you if you ever feel stuck, off track, or like your brain is running the show - and not in a good way. The other day, a client told me that the questions with the fewest words are always the most powerful ones. So I sat down and wrote out the questions I ask clients over and over again... the ones that create real change, real movement, and real progress. Turns out, not a single one of them is longer than three words (who knew?!). Today I'm sharing all six: What's working? (The one I lead with every single time, and yes, there's a reason for that) Is it true? (The assumption-challenger your brain really doesn't want to hear) What's the evidence? (Because your emotional brain and your data are often telling very different stories) Does it matter? (The fastest way to cut your to-do list in half) Why not? (The question I should have tattooed on my forehead) Now what? (The one I'm asking a lot of clients right now as we head into the second half of the year) These are post-it note questions. They're simple on purpose. And at least one of them is exactly what you need right now. Join the Uncomplicating Business Lab Community: https://www.torpeycoaching.com/thelab (Summer bonuses available through the end of June!) Grab your free masterclass here: https://torpeycoaching.kit.com/freemasterclass

June 2, 2026Episode 1114 min

The Messy Middle vs. Actually Hard: How to Tell the Difference

This episode is for you if you've been telling yourself "business is just hard"... and wondering if that's actually true, or if maybe you're making it harder than it has to be (doh). There's a real difference between the natural messiness that comes with growth (and yes, success is messy; no that's not the problem!) and the kind of hard that happens when you're taking 30 steps when 3 would do. Today we're talking about how to tell which one you're in. I'm sharing four common ways business owners turn the messy middle into an uphill battle: The role your expectations are secretly playing The gap between your plan and your actions (and what's actually creating it) What connection — or the lack of it — is doing to your momentum The confidence disconnect that makes selling feel way harder than it needs to The question I keep coming back to - one I learned from a colleague at Encyclopedia Britannica, of all places - is: what's the problem you're actually trying to solve? Because when you can answer? Everything else gets a lot simpler. You don't need to berate yourself to success. You don't need to be shoving yourself uphill. But you do need someone willing to ask you the hard question - because trust me, we are ALL very good at ducking it. Join the Uncomplicating Business Lab Community: https://www.torpeycoaching.com/thelab Grab your free masterclass here: https://torpeycoaching.kit.com/freemasterclass