Epic Entrepreneurs

Thrive by Caring Deeply in Sales and Business Interactions

• Bill Gilliland

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Unlock the secret to business relationships that not only last but thrive—discover why Theodore Roosevelt's wisdom holds the key to winning hearts in the corporate world. This episode peels back the layers of what it means to truly care about your clients and customers, a quality that speaks volumes beyond any product pitch or sales strategy. We're not just highlighting how to be more than order takers or product pushers; we're championing the change to become professional problem solvers. 

Join us as we dissect the intricate dance of sales and influence, where your ears are your greatest asset and your ability to connect on a deeper level sets you apart in a crowded marketplace. By listening intently and seeking to understand before being understood, we share how you can foster genuine connections that lead to authentic sales experiences. Step away from the aggressive sales tactics and into a world where caring is your most powerful tool for success. There's no guest this week—it's just us, diving straight into the heart of empathetic business strategies that will redefine your approach to sales and customer relationships.

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Bill:

Welcome to this week's episode of Epic Entrepreneurs Powered by Action Coach Growth Partners. You likely went into business to have more freedom and flexibility so that you could spend more time with your family, do more things or travel or enjoy your hobbies or whatever it is that you like to do in your spare time. We're here to help you find better ways to make more money, build better teams and get that time back so that you can have that freedom and flexibility. We'll help you simplify things and make sense of business, investing and wealth building so that you can be epic and achieve all your dreams and goals. And now enjoy the show. Hey there, I hope you're having a fantastic week.

Bill:

This week we're continuing on the theme of Always Be, and we're up to the letter. I so always be interested, Always be interested. Let's dig into that. Theodore Roosevelt said nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care. Let's say that again Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care. You've got to be interested. So how do you show you care? Let's dig into that a little bit.

Bill:

Have you ever heard the saying that everyone's in sales? Of course you had. You've probably been to a seminar where they said how many of you are in sales and you got to raise your hand as corny. But the truth is, everybody's in sales. You may not be selling a product or a service, but you're definitely selling yourself. You're selling an idea, You're selling your team, You're selling something. Everything's got to be sold. There's an old saying that nothing happens in business until something gets sold. It's very, very true. So let's deal with how some people get it wrong and their view of sales or influence or think so. Some people are order takers. They just sit back, wait for the orders to come in. They're doing nothing proactive, it's all reactive. You know, for some industries sometimes things are rolling. That may work for a little while, but at some point that's going to dry up. That's not going to work for you. So I'm going to suggest don't just sit back and expect things to happen. Don't be an order taker.

Bill:

Some people are product pushers. It's like that guy on the infomercial who's got the gunk and he's going to sell it to you and bam, he's telling you all the great things and doing and showing you how it works and it's amazing and you know it works. It works For some products. That may work, but how do you feel after you buy the product? I guess there's a lot of people buy that stuff and it sits on the shelf. They get talked into it. They wish they'd never bought it. I don't know about you, but when somebody comes in and does that to me, I'm like just shut up. You know, I'm tired of hearing the blah, blah, blah about the product. So I'm going to suggest don't be a product pusher. Don't be a product pusher.

Bill:

Some people got the wrong idea about selling. They think it's like those used car guys. They're overselling man, they're making outlandish claims. They just believe that you just you tell them all kinds of things. In fact, some of them actually just outright lied to you. Let me ask you something how do you like that? How do you like somebody in your face either pushing that product or overselling you or all about won't leave you alone? I don't think you like it. In fact, it's gotten some messed up and so bad that one survey that we read said that 40% of the people 40% of the people in the marketplace, when they're looking for something, would rather do the transaction without talking to a person. You can buy a car now without talking to a person until you have to sign the final things. It is unbelievable what is going on in the marketplace.

Bill:

So what's the answer? What is the answer? How do you show you care? I think the answer is to become a professional problem solve. And how do you do that? You start out by first list two hairs, one mouth. Use them in that proportion. Listen to understand, Then be understood. That's a paraphrase from Stephen Cuffey Listen to be understood, to understand, first. I think the second thing is actually care. Give a rip, Help them solve their problem. Figure out what their problem is and solve it. You may not even be the right person to solve that problem, you may have to call in somebody else, but if you help them, they're going to remember that. I'm going to paraphrase here, but Zig Ziglar made the statement years ago If you help enough people, get what they want, you'll get what you want. In other words, if you help enough people solve their problem, you'll solve your problem. Interesting thought. So my suggestion is make yourself a professional problem solver.

Bill:

Have you ever been to a party and you see there's a person in like there's three, four, five, sometimes six, seven people around them? Guaranteed the people that they think, that they say, oh, that's the most interesting person. My guess is they're not even talking much at all. They just sit there and ask question after question after question. They're curious. Most people love talking about themselves, but if you're that person who asked the question, get some digging. Keep asking, asking, asking, asking. I believe you'll be the most interesting person at the party. So let me tell you. So what does all this mean? Why do all this? Let me tell you a story.

Bill:

So my wife is a professional fundraiser. She's worked at two or three nonprofits over the last 20 years, Some indirect fundraising and some in other areas, but all had something to do with development. Now, as you may know, nonprofits depend on donations to make them work. That's it. They have to go. That's the sales piece of nonprofits. They must in order to serve their mission, to help the people they want to help, They've got to have other people that are willing to give money to it. So my wife's strategy on fundraising is what she calls friend raise Make the friend first, then ask for the money. I'll say that again Make the friend first, ask for the money. It's just like any sales People got to know, like and trust you. They're not going to part with their money if they don't know, like and trust you.

Bill:

Ok, so let me tell you a story. One time she's visiting a donor who owned a company that took mostly produce vegetables and put them in cans, right. So they have a big sort of a canning operation, manufacturing operation, and she goes and visits them in their hometown and at their business and they have a nice talk. They go to lunch and the donor ask her. The donor says don't you have something to ask? He was trying to set her up to. You know, ask for the money.

Bill:

He was prepared. He wanted to give some money and she said, yes, I do. And he said well, what is it? And she said would you mind giving me a plant tour? Would you show me around your business? And he was a bit befuddled by the whole thing. He's like you, you, you're really interested.

Bill:

Well, there's a couple things going on. My wife's family, when she was very young, had a bottling operation and so she grew up going to the plant with her, with her dad, and seeing these bottles going around on the line. So she loved machinery and production and seeing all that stuff. The second thing is that she knows she's making a friend. She's showing that she cares, she's being interested in them and their business. So he gave her the plant tour and the big question is in your mind well, did she get the donation? Of course, of course she got the donation because she was more interested than being interested.

Bill:

So start with curiosity. Ask the questions. Be interested Before you try to be interesting, be interested. Hey, have a fantastic week and until next time, all the best. Thanks for joining us for this week's episode of Epic Entrepreneurs. Here's four things you can do. First, you can listen every week on Biz Radio, Mondays, at one Second. You can subscribe to the podcast. Hey, you get it. The more subscribers we have, the more cool things we can offer you. Three you can also go out and give us a five star rating everywhere. And number four if you'd like a free copy of my book, the Coach Approach Five Principles to Build an Epic Business, just go to giftfrombillcom. It's your roadmap to building your epic business. That's giftfrombillcom. Until next time, all the best.