My Story:

For as long as I can remember, I knew deep down in my veins I was going to be successful, but like many of you, I did not know where to start. I remember having a conversation with my mentor (at the time, I did not know this advice would change my life) 

He urged me to look at life with a more optimistic lens— how exciting to not have everything figured out? But telling someone stressed about success to “just chill out?” Not the best move! I just knew I was meant for more than being a college sorority girl juggling three jobs just to pay the bills. He said, “If you remember anything from this chat, it’s to get into SALES.” 

Sales? At the time, that felt laughable; I was an insecure girl worried about what everyone thought of me. Sales is that last thing I ever imagined myself doing.

But beneath that uncertainty, I had a burning passion  for business and problem solving. I started my first nail painting business at 7 years old, and my mom always jokes that she knew back then I was destined to create something special. This transformation didn’t happen overnight; it was a gradual journey filled with self-discovery, bold risks, and a fck ton of discomfort!

In this blog, I’ll share the key steps that helped me evolve from an insecure girl into a confident successful leader, along with valuable lessons I learned along the way, so you can skip the mistakes I made and unlock your greatest potential as a badass sales girly – because you deserve to live a life you love and make bank doing it! Let’s get to mf work!

Embracing Growth and New Opportunities:

The journey began when I decided to listen to my mentor and step into sales.

Sales was the skill set my mentor told me I needed to master, so I took his advice. I didn’t just pick any traditional sales role; I went headfirst into the rawest form of sales possible: door-to-door.

Yes, you heard that right; I did door-to-door SALES and “what was I selling?” The answer is: very overpriced pest control services! 

I was so nervous and consumed by the gut wrenching thought of how I’d be perceived by my sorority sisters and friends, I even tried to back out. What did I do? I caved into fear and called my manager to quit, but he saw right through my bs excuse and called my bluff. He goes, “pack your things and start driving to Minneapolis for your first summer of door to door sales!”

So while all my friends were spending their summers traveling through Europe or partying in Las Vegas, I spent mine in the Minnesota heat knocking on doors to sell some overpriced bug spray to strangers who didn’t need bug spray lol! 

Before the 23 year old Pink Porsche Miami high rise living Shelby Sapp you all know, came the “bug girl.” She became my super cool alter ego. I started playing this character, and it ultimately aided in my success becoming the top sales rep in a VERY male-dominated company. What I was doing was absolutely psychotic, so embodying this character while I was selling allowed me to almost disassociate from my “ASU sorority girl self” in order to dominate door to door sales!

Let me also note that I didn’t have it easy– none of the sales bros believed I would even show up for training (I didn’t think I would either tbh) let alone become the top sales rep with all odds stacked against me as the only girl in the company. I am SO glad 18-year-old little Shelby got out of her comfort zone and took the opportunity that ultimately changed her life.

Becoming the Hot Girl:

The sales bros began to notice as I consistently finished every month at the top of the charts. They came up with every excuse possible: “She’s just a pretty girl! She got the good neighborhoods!” “People only buy from her because they feel bad seeing a girl in the heat!” But eventually, it became clear that numbers don’t lie.

Instead of letting being underestimated deter me, I tapped into the advice my mentor gave me and used it as fuel to my advantage.

I’m the ONLY girl. There is so much room for new perspectives, opportunities, and growth. How exciting.

I designed my own uniforms (thank god bc the sales bros did NOT get the vibe) and ultimately created a new sales framework. I called it the “Hot Girl Sales Mindset.” 

Embodying the Hot Girl Mindset—Overcoming the Fear of Rejection: 

One thing I learned throughout my sales journey is that people will tell you no, a lot, get used to it. These “no’s” turn into dollar signs. I started to LOVE to hear the word “No.” Objections mean that this person is actually listening to you and internalizing this conversation, start getting excited at every objection and this will help you overcome them and turn these objections into reasons they SHOULD buy. Develop the ability to bounce back from setbacks, rejection or lost sales. View challenges as opportunities for growth. It helps to take notes and be honest with yourself about why a sale didn’t happen, learn from it and put train your team in order to make sure you never lose a sales for that same reason again. This is how you develop and refine the art of sales. This is important for mindset because if you stay stuck in the negativity of a lost sale, it will affect all your sales calls moving forward. Again, you HAVE to go into every sales call with the energy that you just sold the last 10.

Unexpected New Doors Opened: 

The following summer, I got promoted to Sales Manager, and things really took off! I couldn’t help but recruit all my girlfriends to join me in this adventure. I knew we were on the brink of something amazing. My sales team quickly began racking up six-figure months, and our success didn’t go unnoticed. We caught major attention from even other competitors, and suddenly we were nationally recognized as the #1 team for our company! It felt surreal being invited to train women from other organizations and speak in front thousands of people at some of the largest sales conferences in Arizona! It felt incredible to share the strategies and insights that had worked so well for us.

It was such a full circle moment and it hit me that this was my calling in life. Sales not only changed my life and I don’t just  LOVE sales, but I love teaching and empowering other women to step into their potential in sales. 

Your Network is your Net Worth: Building a Supportive Community 

I was SO deeply passionate about sales and dedicated to helping women, so I began sharing sales tips on social media. It blew up. The response was incredible; women from around the world started reaching not only for sales tips, but wanted to pick up and JOIN me in spending the summer in Minnesota going door-to-door!

I spent my days on Zoom calls from my new Miami luxury apartment, training and recruiting women for the upcoming summer, but something didn’t feel quite right. While I loved the opportunity and the skills I was developing, my heart was telling me there had to be a better opportunity than knocking doors in the Minnesota heat for 4 months. 

I’ll never forget the day I stumbled upon the golden opportunity. 

I was hanging out with a guy friend who told me he was in sales. I literally laughed in his face because, let me tell you: he is the LEAST charismatic guy I know (if he’s reading this blog: I’m very sorry I’m just being honest lol) 

He told me he was closing deals for content creators over Zoom. It’s called Remote Closing. 

He made his own hours, worked from anywhere, and made LOTS of money doing it.

It sounded too good to be true.

I jokingly took a call for him and ended up closing the deal. He had me take another call, and I closed that one too—making $2,000 just by hanging out with him. (Yes, he did Venmo me my commission duh) The calls became addictive, and I realized I needed to get in on this, so I started taking them part-time. 

My Million Dollar Dilemma: 

I quickly realized that remote closing was far more enjoyable than door-to-door sales. (Shocker lol)

Not only was I earning more money, but I was also embracing the lifestyle I was meant to live. 

A 10 AM Pilates class, followed by a matcha from Joe and the Juice, a few sales calls, and a walk along Brickell Key with a gorgeous view—it was hard to imagine giving that up.

As summer approached, the thought of returning to knocking on doors felt impossible, especially with hot leads coming to me in remote closing—it was an obvious choice.

However, I still longed to teach women (my ultimate purpose in life), which managing teams allowed me to do. I just spent all summer training and recruiting these women and wanted to be a part of their journeys. I found myself torn, facing a huge dilemma: giving up a VERY large lump of money, my comfortably secured sales teams, and what I’ve been working towards for the last 4 years to build something new. I knew what needed to be done and I decided to break my “golden handcuffs.”

She Sells Remote was born. 

I took the biggest leap of faith, saying goodbye to my old comfortable and impressive sales career to launch what has become the largest movement for women in sales history.

From the moment I closed my first remote sale, I knew this opportunity was something special, the perfect sales opportunity for women. The chance to earn a lot of money while living on your own terms and setting your own hours? That’s the ultimate girl-coded job. It confused me why this industry was so male-dominated. I realized that with the right training and opportunity, women could thrive. All that was missing was a community and female-specific sales training, so I created it.

Today, She Sells Academy boasts over 1,500 women from around the globe! They’re networking both in person and online, forming lifelong friendships while mastering a high-value skill and transforming their lives.

Together, we’re reshaping the future of sales and empowering women to take control of their destinies.

So, I have a question for you to ask yourself: is today One Day or Day One?The story is ultimately yours to create.