How Employee Engagement Became the Secret to Sales

Author: Leah Grimm

I still remember the first time we opened the doors to our brand’s very first restaurant in 2012. The room was buzzing with energy, every detail carefully placed, every light tuned just right. Tucked into the chaos of launch week, I was focused on something that felt almost secondary at the time: building a private events program. We had no national platform, no playbook, and no budget beyond the basics. What we did have was a belief that this part of the business could become something special.

At that point, I understood sales. I knew how to pitch a space, how to win business, and how to keep a calendar full. What I didn’t know was that this program would one day grow into a national engine, generating $43 million annually for a startup company. That growth didn’t happen by accident. It came through iteration, missteps, and a constant commitment to improvement.

Along the way, my own journey shifted. After helping grow the events program to multiple locations, I stepped out of sales entirely and moved into Training & Development. At first, it felt like leaving the very thing I had built. But it was in training that I learned something that would change how I viewed performance forever: the power of engagement.

We didn’t just create training manuals or checklists. We designed a system that showed people they were part of something bigger, gave them confidence in their role, and reminded them they were cared for both personally and professionally. Engagement wasn’t just a leadership slogan — it became the thread running through every piece of the employee experience.

Three years later, when I returned to lead the events program, everything clicked. I realized the same principles that inspired employees could also transform how we approached sales. Clients, after all, are people too. They respond to the same levers of trust, belonging, and care that drive engagement inside an organization.

We began to treat sales less like a transaction and more like a partnership. Booking an event wasn’t about securing a date on the calendar — it was about making the client feel proud to host their colleagues in our space, confident that we were guiding them toward the best possible experience, and reassured that every detail would be delivered with care. It wasn’t just about the event; it was about how they felt throughout the process.

This shift changed everything. Corporate clients — who made up the bulk of our business — kept coming back. Social clients followed through word of mouth. And perhaps most importantly, we redefined the role of our operations team. They weren’t just executing events; they were the most critical part of the sales cycle. A flawless experience wasn’t service alone — it was what turned a first-time client into a repeat one.

Looking back, the lesson is clear. Engagement isn’t limited to employees. It’s a universal principle that applies across every relationship a business touches. When people believe they’re part of something special, when they understand their role, and when they feel genuinely cared for, they give their best — whether they are employees inside the company or clients deciding where to spend their budget.

That was how an idea born in one restaurant grew into a national program. Not by chasing transactions, but by building engagement into the very core of both our people and our sales strategy.