The beginning
There’s a moment – somewhere between the fourth role-play of the morning and the realization that you genuinely cannot feel your legs anymore – when you look around the room and think: okay, this is actually happening. That was Sales School in Nashville, Tennessee. Seven people who already knew each other, standing together at the edge of something genuinely bigger than anything we’d done before.
Welcome to the official first chapter of Team 7UP’s summer story.
The grind (aka: Nashville didn’t let us laze)
If you imagined Sales School as a breezy orientation with some motivational posters and a team lunch, we are here to lovingly correct that picture. The schedule was relentless. Early mornings, packed sessions, constant movement. The kind of week where you go to bed already reviewing what you’ll practice tomorrow, and wake up wondering if you ever stopped.
But here’s the thing nobody warns you about: the exhaustion felt good. Every early alarm, every rehearsal, every moment of stepping in front of the room when you’d rather disappear into your chair – it was all pointing somewhere. Experienced Southwestern leaders walked us through the real stuff: not just the product, not just the pitch, but the mindset. How to handle a door that closes fast. How to reset after a rough hour. How to keep showing up when showing up is the hardest part.
Team 7UP – seven youngsters, one crew
Our name isn’t just a fun reference (though yes, the fizzy drink parallel is very much intentional – we’re bubbly, we lift things up, and we go well with everything). 7UP means seven people, fully committed, moving upward together. And somewhere between the shared meals, the late-night conversations, and the moments of genuine “I can’t believe I just did that” – we became a team in the truest sense.
Mari, Liisa, Luise, Parvin, Matthias, Gabriel, and Michael. Seven completely different people with different backgrounds, different fears, and different strengths. By the end of the week, those differences weren’t dividing us – they were the whole point.
Gabriel:
Watching our group come together over just a few days was my favorite part of Sales School. Seeing everyone buy into the vision, support each other, and push toward the same goal. That team spirit carried straight into the field, and seeing it show up in the hard moments made it all worth it.
Liisa:
My favorite memory from Sales School is all of us singing together in the ballroom. One of those simple moments that somehow says everything about who we are as a team.
Matthias:
My favorite moment was when we sat down and shared our WHYs - completely honest, straight from the heart. What surprised me most? I can make people laugh, and people genuinely enjoy being around me. That was something I hadn't expected to discover this summer.
Mari:
My core memories are the morning meetings full of fresh knowledge and the approach sessions - brutally difficult, but the moments I felt most alive. And the roommate ceremony is something I'll never forget
Parvin:
Getting a photo with Dave Brown and hearing him speak was my favorite moment - so many ideas, so much energy. What surprised me most was my own calm consistency. This work feels like part of me, and that quiet realization pushed me to want to go even harder.
Luise:
I was genuinely proud of everyone. Sales School isn't easy, and watching every single person keep pushing with a good attitude, day after day, meant a lot to me.
Michal:
I loved every bit of the intensity. Sun, rain, all of it. Schedule and attitude above everything, always. But my favorite moment was assignment night, when we made a pledge to our roommates, like some kind of sales school sorority. Unforgettable.
June 2nd – Happy Birthday, Gabriel!
One of our favorite moments of the whole week had nothing to do with training. On June 2nd, right in the middle of Sales School, we got to celebrate Gabriel’s birthday. There is something genuinely special about spending a birthday surrounded by people who are becoming your people – in a city that doesn’t sleep, at the start of an adventure that’s just getting started. Gabriel, we hope your birthday in Nashville was one to remember. (We’re fairly sure it was.)
What’s next
Sales School is over. The real summer is beginning.
Somewhere out there, families are going about their mornings with no idea that one of us is about to knock on their door. Kids who might flip through our books for the first time. Conversations that haven’t happened yet. Doors we haven’t reached. Miles we haven’t driven. Versions of ourselves we haven’t met.
Team 7UP is ready. We are nervous and excited and everything in between, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
SW Eesti 