The Other Side of Sales

Episode 52: How The Turntables- Interview with Brian Smith


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Ashleigh and Kasey flip the script on temporary co-host Brian Smith Jr. this week, asking him about his future in sales, sharing failure, and finding motivation.

Show Notes

Being a Cohost

-Brian’s biggest takeaway while filling in for Kasey as a cohost was that everybody has a story that can help move the sales industry forward, but no one is taking the time to listen. Listening to the unheard voices will help to build better organizations.

Staying in Sales

-Most salespeople struggle with the decision to stay in sales or move on. Sales is a hard industry filled with rejection and many ups and downs, a lot of it out of your control.

-Brian’s unafraid of hard work, and he’s proven that throughout his career, but this has intimidated a lot of people.

-He’s reflected enough to understand that he has the discipline for sales. It’s not his work ethic. He’s dealing with a lot of people that aren’t upfront about their discrimination.

Connection

-Reach out to the people that you admire and follow up if they don’t respond. Throw the rules out the window because they’re only optional. Make moves based on your instinct and experience.

Sharing Failures

-Salespeople only talk about the wins, brushing failures under the rug, and quickly moving on because they think it might cost them their job or a promotion. A lot of positives come from discussing failure.

-Sharing failure allows you to understand where you went wrong and prevent others from making the same mistake.

Motivation

-The quota isn’t a motivator. Dig deeper into your motivation by asking yourself why five times. It’s important to have a personal connection with the work that you do.

-Do the work yourself, don’t wait for your manager to do his with you. The people that understand what they need and bring this information to their managers end up getting way more support.

-We’re told that if you put your head down and work hard, someone will notice and give you a promotion. It rarely works this way. You have to carve a path for yourself.

Perception

-Brian was an outgoing kid, always the loudest in the room. As he grew older, that shifted, and he became much more reserved, feeling he needed to tone himself down.

-He’s been able to use this shift to his advantage. It’s powerful to be able to listen, but he does feel that people haven’t been able to see the real him because he was afraid of how they would perceive him.

Resources

-David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell

-Good Life BBQ

Connect with Brian

-LinkedIn

-Twitter

Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/othersideofsales/message
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/othersideofsales/support

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The Other Side of SalesBy Ashleigh Early