Today I’m talking about sales. I know, I know, sales can sometimes feel like an icky word, but an excellent salesperson is a professional who is always trying to solve their clients’ problems, instead of trying to sell them a product. And before we can help our clients find solutions, we need to be able to clearly share Why we do it, How we do it, and What we do. 

In this podcast I’m going to walk us through the lessons I learned after reading Simon Sinek’s fantastic book, “Start With Why.” This book changed how I sell because it helped me understand why water treatment is so important, to begin with. And the book made me realize that if I couldn’t put my deep feelings of love and admiration for water into words, I’ll never be able to clearly express to a client why water treatment is essential. 

 In the book, Simon Sinek’ writes about “The Golden Circle”, which I’m going to break down for you in detail in the podcast but I wanted you to have this visual as a reference. 

 

Bottom line: This podcast is going to give you the tools you need to share with your clients why we love working in the best profession in the world. 

Your roadside friend, as you travel from client to client.  

-Trace  

 

Applying Simon Sinek’s The Golden Circle to water treatment: 

Why: We exist to promote the stewardship of the world's most valuable substance, water. 

How: We optimize how water works in your system by promoting its longevity and efficiency. We reduce our customers operating costs and water usage. 

What: We are a water treatment company. 

Behavior: Let us do your water treatment. 

 

Timestamps:  

I love sales [6:30] 

Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle [8:15] 

How our brains process information [12:45] 

Measuring your sales with key metrics [16:42] 

The importance of a good CRM [22:15] 

James’ Challenge: “Research Ryznar Saturation Index (RSI)” [24:15] 

One of my favorite things to teach: LSI, RSI, PSI [25:55] 

 

Quotes: 

“I love being a salesperson.” - Trace Blackmore 

“Salespeople today are more professional because our customers are more professional, which means we always need to be at the top of our game.” - Trace Blackmore 

“Solve your clients’ issues instead of selling them a product.” - Trace Blackmore 

“You don’t just need company core values, you need to have your own personal core values.” - Trace Blackmore 

“We know that our industry is more than just a commodity.” - Trace Blackmore 

“Lagging metrics is easy to record because it has already happened. Leading metrics are indicators of future performance.” - Trace Blackmore 

“LSI, RSI, PSI were the first things I dove into when I started teaching math. I like to think about why the equation is set up the way it is and work backward.” - Trace Blackmore 

 

Links Mentioned: 

Simon Sinek’s The Golden Circle Presentation 

182 The One Where We Share How We Create The Podcast

Submit a Show Idea 

The Rising Tide Mastermind 

AWT (Association of Water Technologies) 

139 The One With CRM Expert, Resa Gooding

 

Books Mentioned: 

Start With Why by Simon Sinek