September 30, 2025 • 14 mins
In this episode, I unpack a recent sales call where I faced manipulative tactics designed to make me doubt myself and my approach. I dive into why you don’t have to buy from fear, guilt, or shame and why there’s never just one right way to build your business or manage your finances. I share personal insights on trusting your own timing, honoring your progress, and embracing support that feels empowering—not pushy.
If you’ve ever felt pressured or “broken” in a sales conversation, this episode will help you reclaim your confidence and stay true to your path.
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Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
So I just got off a sales call thatturned in one of those conversations,
(00:03):
you know, where it feels like someone'strying to sell you, not just on their
offer, but the way that they're doingthat is by having you doubt yourself.
And there was a line thathe said that stuck with me.
It was like, if it would've workedby now than it would've worked.
And I wanna unpack that today becauseI know I'm not the only one who's
been told something like this.
And this is, yeah.
(00:24):
Line of the sand.
We gotta shift thistoday, so let's get to it.
This is Money Simplified, thepodcast where I help female
entrepreneurs go from stress andstruggle to unstoppable with money.
(00:45):
Money is more than just budgetingand p and Ls, and we're gonna
take you through all of it here.
We blend proven financial strategywith mindset work and energetic
alignment, so you can create unstop.
Finances, build an unstoppable businessand truly enjoy your unstoppable life.
It's time to take my wisdom andmy expertise to help you simplify
money and go beyond the numbers.
(01:07):
I'm your host, Aimee Cerka.
Welcome.
I'm so glad you're here.
Well, welcome back to Money Simplified.
I'm your host, Aimee Cerka.
I'm feeling a little, um.
Spicy, for lack of a betterword, you know, agitated.
Anyways, so today I wanna talk about,um, manipulation tactics and how
(01:30):
you can overcome them and lettingyou know you can opt out of those
as well when it comes to sales.
Sales calls, all those things.
All right, so, I just got off asales call and it was one that I
was actually kind of excited aboutthat I was looking forward to that.
, I get email pitches, pitches onLinkedIn all the time for, . YouTube
(01:51):
marketing or you know, guest exper guestappearances and stuff on the podcast.
I know you get pitches as wellfor people that do things.
But this one pitch had came in andYouTube editing is something that
I do wanna outsource at some point.
Like I want to be able, I'll havea team member that'll handle it for
me, or a company that I contractout to handle it for me, right?
So I have in mind.
(02:15):
A vision of what I'm looking for.
Well, this pitch came in and it includedthe thing that like I'm open to.
It's like, okay, hey, likethis could actually be a fit.
This could be a possibility.
Now we're actually gonna get tothat more here in a little bit
with the manipulation tactics.
Right.
But I went ahead and booked thecall, whatever got on the call.
Yeah, no, not quite.
(02:36):
So, , like I said, in the.
Opening there, there was a line,and essentially the point that
he was trying to make, like wasthat there's something missing.
Because if what I had done up untilthis point, you know, we've been
publishing videos, I've been doingvideos since 2018, so it's been
six years that I've been on video.
Right.
And if what I was doing would'veworked and the way that I wanted
(02:58):
to work, it would've worked by now.
And that is a very classic wayof invalidating the past effort.
It makes it seem like there's,you know, something wrong
with me, something's broken.
Um, shame huge, like shame leverhere that you're trying to hit, but
(03:21):
didn't work like that.
It's like, no, like Idon't believe that at all.
And we went back and forth for.
I dunno, 10, 15 minutes and finally it waslike, you know, this is not productive.
Like neither one of us is going to see.
So this is a stickingpoint for the services.
Like, then we need to just walkaway 'cause this isn't gonna work.
Okay, so let's talk aboutwhy that's not accurate and
(03:47):
maybe this will help you here.
So especially with the way thatI've built my business, I know.
That this goal.
'cause again, we wanted, he wanted like atactical, um, financial number and yeah,
I have that, but not in the timeline,like the way that he was doing that.
And it's a different way of operating.
(04:07):
There are some people that, thatmethod of operating and setting
the goals, it's a much more, um,masculine, , way of operating.
Like in the next 12 months, you'regonna make X amount of dollars.
What's your next, what's your incomegoal in the next 12 months type thing.
And that's not how I operate because, andthis has so much to do with, with the self
(04:29):
trust, trust and the emotional regulationthat we're working to create because it.
Been there, done that, likeI've done those things, right?
We've set those goalsand it has to happen.
It has to show up there.
And then what I've discovered isyou're setting yourself up for a lot of
(04:53):
dysregulation so we can have the goals.
Yes, but it has tohappen in that timeframe.
That's where we create.
Friction.
Because if you don't hit thatgoal, right, how many times have
we set a goal and not achieved it?
Right?
Then you go to set it again,and then there's the voice
in the back of your head.
It's like, well, what's gonnamake this time different?
(05:13):
And there are people who can overpowerthat and they don't have that problem.
And if that works for you, fantastic.
It's not that there'sjust one way to operate.
And that's kind of the pointthat I was trying to make to him.
Like there's not just one wayto operate like that is not.
Where I'm at.
I have the trust.
This is, this is the way that it'll work.
(05:37):
This is what I want to happen.
This is the way that Iwant to run my business.
This is what I'm looking for.
And really, you know, it's kind ofinteresting 'cause I think the, the point
he was trying to get me to make was likethat there I was missing that piece of
information or it would've worked by now.
It's like I know that I'm not.
I know I'm not an expert at this.
(05:58):
This is why I'm looking for help, butdon't tell me I'm missing something
because that like there's nothing missing.
You're not broken.
There's new levels out there, buteverything that you've learned
in your past, I'm not the sameperson that I was six years ago
when I started recording videos.
I'm not the same personI was two years ago.
(06:20):
I'm not the same person I was amonth ago, and neither are you.
Like you're doing the work, you'regrowing and if you trust in the
timing and in your alignment, likeyou can move forward and open, unlock
new levels, move forward, right?
But it doesn't have to be outof like there's a missing piece.
(06:42):
Because that missing piece isn'tlike a new shiny offer, like having
somebody do the YouTube for me,that's not the missing piece.
The missing piece of anything islike the internal work, right?
It's the confidence in myself.
It's the clarity and like knowingwhat I'm doing and not being pulled in
all the different directions, knowinghow I want to operate my business.
Like this is what I want to work.
I'm very clear on that.
(07:06):
Or consistency.
Consistency doesn't have tobe consistency like that.
That was a bustle raising myhand for those who are listening.
Like
that was the thing that Ihad to work to overcome.
I mean, we didn't release a podcastepisode last week and even it's
still, like I said, I would do it.
(07:26):
I said that I would be consistent.
But you know what?
The world didn't fall apart and wedidn't release a podcast episode.
Like it's just moving forward.
And trust in yourself and knowingwhat's right for you and knowing that
you're not going to be pressured intothose things isn't being closed off.
(07:47):
I am very open into like,I can learn new things.
I can learn new things fromall sorts of situations.
It's not even like it hasto be this specific people.
My kids taught me something this week.
Did he realize he was teaching it?
No.
But I know for me, Godcan work through anybody.
So am I open to that?
Am I open to hearing what couldbe the next level for me when
(08:09):
the next thing that I can take onthe new level that I can unlock?
And yes, I have goals that I'mworking towards, and yes, you
have goals that you're workingtowards, but you're not broken.
And you know what?
That's kind of hard to say right now
because there's definitelytimes where I felt broken.
(08:32):
I didn't think this was gonna get thisemotional or transparent, but I know that
I'm not broken even when it feels thatway and when it feels that way, that's
where it's much more important thatyou've got people in your corner that are,
(08:54):
that you've got people in your cornerto support you and the right people.
You don't have to buy from the fearor the guilt or the shame, the fomo.
If the sales call makes you feel likeyou're broken instead of feeling more
empowered support, like that's a red flag.
I, and it takes strength, it takes trust.
(09:18):
It takes being able to hearyourself that this is the way
that you want to do things.
And to stay in your lane, especiallywhen you're working, and not stay
in your lane, but stay focused.
Especially when you're working towardssomething and you haven't achieved the
goals that you're working towards yet.
It's like, okay, maybe this was wrong.
(09:40):
Maybe this isn't the wayit's supposed to work.
And there's times where we needto take action and we're avoiding
taking action, or we're playingsmall because we're afraid.
And again, that doesn't go backto doing something differently
or something that you're missing.
It's just the next layer.
It's the the new thingthat you have to unlock,
(10:04):
but you are not broken.
You're not missing anything, and youdon't have to subscribe to those things.
It's like
there's so many things, tactics,strategies, that are presented out there
(10:24):
as the only way to make something work.
And there's not one way to do this.
There's not one way to grow your business.
There's not one way to run your business.
There's not one way toorganize your finances.
That's why we have the tacticalstrategy, but you're not tied to it.
I have multiple clients that havebeen clients for years that I know
(10:45):
don't use the strategy the way thatI've taught it, but you know what?
We still make tremendous progresstogether because I'm not, my
strategy isn't the only strategy.
I know my strategy works and itworks well, but you don't have
to take all of my strategy.
We can use your strategy.
(11:09):
And it works just fine because again,it's about the new level, a new
identity, a new role that you wannaplay, and doing that internal work
is what makes the strategy stick.
So, okay.
I think that's what I've got for.
You don't have to buy fromfear, guilt, or shame.
(11:31):
You can trust your gut.
You don't even have to do sales calls.
Like I have them available, but Idon't love them as a consumer, so
why would I wanna get out that?
This experience right here is whywe don't love them as consumers.
Right?
We've had too many experienceswhere it's like, oh my gosh,
like do I need to go shower?
(11:51):
But.
If you're ready to learn whatsupport could look like without the
pushy sales tactics, let's talk.
Okay.
Reach out, send me a message on Instagram,at Aimee Cerka, and let's see what
it could look like to work togetherthat feels empowering and aligned.
Aligned support is not outof reach as you might think.
(12:14):
And that mentality like, Hey,you can show up now, this type of
thing that I've been looking for.
Okay.
Yeah.
I am not done.
We're gonna highlight the expectation,like this is something that I had
on my radar that I want supportwith, that I don't want to handle.
We need to have those things in place.
This might should be a, aseparate podcast episode.
(12:35):
Oh, well, but have those things.
That you're envisioning and knowit can show up now, be open to it.
Don't feel like it has tobe this long off thing.
And that's part of the whole, like it'sgotta be 12 months out, 24 months out.
Like maybe it'll show up tomorrow.
Do you have the systems in place?
Do you have the things in place?
Could this show up now whileyou're listening to this podcast?
(12:58):
Could it be here?
Could that be available now?
Could it be available to you tomorrow?
Those things being open to it.
That it's not off on a Sunday list.
It's possible now.
Remember, you're not behind, you're notbroken, and you're definitely not alone.
You're building somethingreal and that takes courage.
(13:19):
So keep going.
You're doing better than you think.
We're doing this the unstoppable way.
Thank you so much forlistening to Money Simplified.
My favorite place tohang out is on Instagram.
You can find me at Aimee Cerka to catchall the behind the scenes of my stories.
Send me a message to share yourbiggest takeaway or just to say hi.
(13:41):
I love hearing from podcast list.
Nurse, when you're ready to take actionon your mindset, your money, or the
systems behind it all, I'm here for you.
Whether you're snagging a free resource,exploring a mini course, diving into the
fundamentals with Money Mastery Academy,getting in-depth support inside the
unstoppable experience, or schedulinga complimentary bookkeeping consult to
(14:02):
finally get hands on help with your books.
Your next step is waiting for you, AimeeCerka.com/podcast links has all the
information, and of course, that link ishanging out in the show notes for you.
We'll see you next time.
So I just got off a sales call thatturned in one of those conversations,
(00:03):
you know, where it feels like someone'strying to sell you, not just on their
offer, but the way that they're doingthat is by having you doubt yourself.
And there was a line thathe said that stuck with me.
It was like, if it would've workedby now than it would've worked.
And I wanna unpack that today becauseI know I'm not the only one who's
been told something like this.
And this is, yeah.
(00:24):
Line of the sand.
We gotta shift thistoday, so let's get to it.
This is Money Simplified, thepodcast where I help female
entrepreneurs go from stress andstruggle to unstoppable with money.
(00:45):
Money is more than just budgetingand p and Ls, and we're gonna
take you through all of it here.
We blend proven financial strategywith mindset work and energetic
alignment, so you can create unstop.
Finances, build an unstoppable businessand truly enjoy your unstoppable life.
It's time to take my wisdom andmy expertise to help you simplify
money and go beyond the numbers.
(01:07):
I'm your host, Aimee Cerka.
Welcome.
I'm so glad you're here.
Well, welcome back to Money Simplified.
I'm your host, Aimee Cerka.
I'm feeling a little, um.
Spicy, for lack of a betterword, you know, agitated.
Anyways, so today I wanna talk about,um, manipulation tactics and how
(01:30):
you can overcome them and lettingyou know you can opt out of those
as well when it comes to sales.
Sales calls, all those things.
All right, so, I just got off asales call and it was one that I
was actually kind of excited aboutthat I was looking forward to that.
, I get email pitches, pitches onLinkedIn all the time for, . YouTube
(01:51):
marketing or you know, guest exper guestappearances and stuff on the podcast.
I know you get pitches as wellfor people that do things.
But this one pitch had came in andYouTube editing is something that
I do wanna outsource at some point.
Like I want to be able, I'll havea team member that'll handle it for
me, or a company that I contractout to handle it for me, right?
So I have in mind.
(02:15):
A vision of what I'm looking for.
Well, this pitch came in and it includedthe thing that like I'm open to.
It's like, okay, hey, likethis could actually be a fit.
This could be a possibility.
Now we're actually gonna get tothat more here in a little bit
with the manipulation tactics.
Right.
But I went ahead and booked thecall, whatever got on the call.
Yeah, no, not quite.
(02:36):
So, , like I said, in the.
Opening there, there was a line,and essentially the point that
he was trying to make, like wasthat there's something missing.
Because if what I had done up untilthis point, you know, we've been
publishing videos, I've been doingvideos since 2018, so it's been
six years that I've been on video.
Right.
And if what I was doing would'veworked and the way that I wanted
(02:58):
to work, it would've worked by now.
And that is a very classic wayof invalidating the past effort.
It makes it seem like there's,you know, something wrong
with me, something's broken.
Um, shame huge, like shame leverhere that you're trying to hit, but
(03:21):
didn't work like that.
It's like, no, like Idon't believe that at all.
And we went back and forth for.
I dunno, 10, 15 minutes and finally it waslike, you know, this is not productive.
Like neither one of us is going to see.
So this is a stickingpoint for the services.
Like, then we need to just walkaway 'cause this isn't gonna work.
Okay, so let's talk aboutwhy that's not accurate and
(03:47):
maybe this will help you here.
So especially with the way thatI've built my business, I know.
That this goal.
'cause again, we wanted, he wanted like atactical, um, financial number and yeah,
I have that, but not in the timeline,like the way that he was doing that.
And it's a different way of operating.
(04:07):
There are some people that, thatmethod of operating and setting
the goals, it's a much more, um,masculine, , way of operating.
Like in the next 12 months, you'regonna make X amount of dollars.
What's your next, what's your incomegoal in the next 12 months type thing.
And that's not how I operate because, andthis has so much to do with, with the self
(04:29):
trust, trust and the emotional regulationthat we're working to create because it.
Been there, done that, likeI've done those things, right?
We've set those goalsand it has to happen.
It has to show up there.
And then what I've discovered isyou're setting yourself up for a lot of
(04:53):
dysregulation so we can have the goals.
Yes, but it has tohappen in that timeframe.
That's where we create.
Friction.
Because if you don't hit thatgoal, right, how many times have
we set a goal and not achieved it?
Right?
Then you go to set it again,and then there's the voice
in the back of your head.
It's like, well, what's gonnamake this time different?
(05:13):
And there are people who can overpowerthat and they don't have that problem.
And if that works for you, fantastic.
It's not that there'sjust one way to operate.
And that's kind of the pointthat I was trying to make to him.
Like there's not just one wayto operate like that is not.
Where I'm at.
I have the trust.
This is, this is the way that it'll work.
(05:37):
This is what I want to happen.
This is the way that Iwant to run my business.
This is what I'm looking for.
And really, you know, it's kind ofinteresting 'cause I think the, the point
he was trying to get me to make was likethat there I was missing that piece of
information or it would've worked by now.
It's like I know that I'm not.
I know I'm not an expert at this.
(05:58):
This is why I'm looking for help, butdon't tell me I'm missing something
because that like there's nothing missing.
You're not broken.
There's new levels out there, buteverything that you've learned
in your past, I'm not the sameperson that I was six years ago
when I started recording videos.
I'm not the same personI was two years ago.
(06:20):
I'm not the same person I was amonth ago, and neither are you.
Like you're doing the work, you'regrowing and if you trust in the
timing and in your alignment, likeyou can move forward and open, unlock
new levels, move forward, right?
But it doesn't have to be outof like there's a missing piece.
(06:42):
Because that missing piece isn'tlike a new shiny offer, like having
somebody do the YouTube for me,that's not the missing piece.
The missing piece of anything islike the internal work, right?
It's the confidence in myself.
It's the clarity and like knowingwhat I'm doing and not being pulled in
all the different directions, knowinghow I want to operate my business.
Like this is what I want to work.
I'm very clear on that.
(07:06):
Or consistency.
Consistency doesn't have tobe consistency like that.
That was a bustle raising myhand for those who are listening.
Like
that was the thing that Ihad to work to overcome.
I mean, we didn't release a podcastepisode last week and even it's
still, like I said, I would do it.
(07:26):
I said that I would be consistent.
But you know what?
The world didn't fall apart and wedidn't release a podcast episode.
Like it's just moving forward.
And trust in yourself and knowingwhat's right for you and knowing that
you're not going to be pressured intothose things isn't being closed off.
(07:47):
I am very open into like,I can learn new things.
I can learn new things fromall sorts of situations.
It's not even like it hasto be this specific people.
My kids taught me something this week.
Did he realize he was teaching it?
No.
But I know for me, Godcan work through anybody.
So am I open to that?
Am I open to hearing what couldbe the next level for me when
(08:09):
the next thing that I can take onthe new level that I can unlock?
And yes, I have goals that I'mworking towards, and yes, you
have goals that you're workingtowards, but you're not broken.
And you know what?
That's kind of hard to say right now
because there's definitelytimes where I felt broken.
(08:32):
I didn't think this was gonna get thisemotional or transparent, but I know that
I'm not broken even when it feels thatway and when it feels that way, that's
where it's much more important thatyou've got people in your corner that are,
(08:54):
that you've got people in your cornerto support you and the right people.
You don't have to buy from the fearor the guilt or the shame, the fomo.
If the sales call makes you feel likeyou're broken instead of feeling more
empowered support, like that's a red flag.
I, and it takes strength, it takes trust.
(09:18):
It takes being able to hearyourself that this is the way
that you want to do things.
And to stay in your lane, especiallywhen you're working, and not stay
in your lane, but stay focused.
Especially when you're working towardssomething and you haven't achieved the
goals that you're working towards yet.
It's like, okay, maybe this was wrong.
(09:40):
Maybe this isn't the wayit's supposed to work.
And there's times where we needto take action and we're avoiding
taking action, or we're playingsmall because we're afraid.
And again, that doesn't go backto doing something differently
or something that you're missing.
It's just the next layer.
It's the the new thingthat you have to unlock,
(10:04):
but you are not broken.
You're not missing anything, and youdon't have to subscribe to those things.
It's like
there's so many things, tactics,strategies, that are presented out there
(10:24):
as the only way to make something work.
And there's not one way to do this.
There's not one way to grow your business.
There's not one way to run your business.
There's not one way toorganize your finances.
That's why we have the tacticalstrategy, but you're not tied to it.
I have multiple clients that havebeen clients for years that I know
(10:45):
don't use the strategy the way thatI've taught it, but you know what?
We still make tremendous progresstogether because I'm not, my
strategy isn't the only strategy.
I know my strategy works and itworks well, but you don't have
to take all of my strategy.
We can use your strategy.
(11:09):
And it works just fine because again,it's about the new level, a new
identity, a new role that you wannaplay, and doing that internal work
is what makes the strategy stick.
So, okay.
I think that's what I've got for.
You don't have to buy fromfear, guilt, or shame.
(11:31):
You can trust your gut.
You don't even have to do sales calls.
Like I have them available, but Idon't love them as a consumer, so
why would I wanna get out that?
This experience right here is whywe don't love them as consumers.
Right?
We've had too many experienceswhere it's like, oh my gosh,
like do I need to go shower?
(11:51):
But.
If you're ready to learn whatsupport could look like without the
pushy sales tactics, let's talk.
Okay.
Reach out, send me a message on Instagram,at Aimee Cerka, and let's see what
it could look like to work togetherthat feels empowering and aligned.
Aligned support is not outof reach as you might think.
(12:14):
And that mentality like, Hey,you can show up now, this type of
thing that I've been looking for.
Okay.
Yeah.
I am not done.
We're gonna highlight the expectation,like this is something that I had
on my radar that I want supportwith, that I don't want to handle.
We need to have those things in place.
This might should be a, aseparate podcast episode.
(12:35):
Oh, well, but have those things.
That you're envisioning and knowit can show up now, be open to it.
Don't feel like it has tobe this long off thing.
And that's part of the whole, like it'sgotta be 12 months out, 24 months out.
Like maybe it'll show up tomorrow.
Do you have the systems in place?
Do you have the things in place?
Could this show up now whileyou're listening to this podcast?
(12:58):
Could it be here?
Could that be available now?
Could it be available to you tomorrow?
Those things being open to it.
That it's not off on a Sunday list.
It's possible now.
Remember, you're not behind, you're notbroken, and you're definitely not alone.
You're building somethingreal and that takes courage.
(13:19):
So keep going.
You're doing better than you think.
We're doing this the unstoppable way.
Thank you so much forlistening to Money Simplified.
My favorite place tohang out is on Instagram.
You can find me at Aimee Cerka to catchall the behind the scenes of my stories.
Send me a message to share yourbiggest takeaway or just to say hi.
(13:41):
I love hearing from podcast list.
Nurse, when you're ready to take actionon your mindset, your money, or the
systems behind it all, I'm here for you.
Whether you're snagging a free resource,exploring a mini course, diving into the
fundamentals with Money Mastery Academy,getting in-depth support inside the
unstoppable experience, or schedulinga complimentary bookkeeping consult to
(14:02):
finally get hands on help with your books.
Your next step is waiting for you, AimeeCerka.com/podcast links has all the
information, and of course, that link ishanging out in the show notes for you.
We'll see you next time.
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The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.