The Millennial Salesman: Recent Episodes
Pete Dola V and TC Anderson III
The Millennial Salesman podcast is about changing the perception of the sales profession. A sales job is often met with negative feelings and misconceptions. We are here to show people that it's about creating relationships and solution seeking. Our plan is to interview innovative and successful sales professionals and business owners to hear about their journey. Our goal is to educate those who are in sales or wish to pursue a career in sales and improve their performance from this podcast.
In this episode we interview one of our co-hosts, Pete. We try a new format that we want to implement every couple episodes. It’s going to be a “How to” episode on what a path into a particular industry looks like. We understand everyone's journey is different but this should give an idea for our younger listeners on where to start or the type of experience needed for that role. We got into what Pete wanted to do when he was younger and how that evolved over time through college. We touch base on Pete's past internships and how networking led to where he is today. One of the biggest takeaways is do not be afraid to leave a certain industry for more experience. Experience creates wisdom, wisdom creates wealth.
We have been a little busy lately and we apologize for the large gap in episodes! Pete has been getting back to traveling to see customers out in the field and TC has been getting busier at the car wash with things re-opening, its been a lot of change with day to day life. We are excited to get back at it and re-connect with you again! We hope your sales journey has been going well through out Covid and we look forward to dropping future episodes to help grow your numbers and your confidence!
In this episode, I interview one of my past college professors on tips to building a great resume. Dr. Dustin Bass talks about formatting, filler, fluff, and the whole nine yards of what it takes to have a standout resume. We discuss how resumes are a necessary evil because they only get you the interview, not the job. Dustin goes over how resumes can be tricky because it’s not an exact science and largely depends on the person reading them. One takeaway tip is to keep a master resume with the list of all of your current and past experiences. Then for each job application take from those experiences what best fits the job description and duties. Be specific and use metrics when talking about experience and accomplishments. It was awesome getting to catch up with Dustin and learning about how to get your resume selling you in the best way.
In the episode with sit down with Cornelius Kirk. He has been in the sales arena, specifically furniture sales, for 25 years and recently started his own brand, "You Matter".
He has so much experience to share with us and how important it is to reach and build a relationship with people. While in the furniture industry he has done it all from the sales floor to managing the entire sales floor, managing a multi-million dollar branch. He talks about the ability and importance to manage up and down. Being able to check the room and read it in order to understand your customer is vital in building a relationship. He stresses on being intentional from start to finish so the customer and/or coworker sees value in what you have to offer.
He is now using the brand "You Matter" to help others along the way to see the importance and value in themselves. Give him a follow on Facebook and Instagram for some daily motivation, encouraging words, or insight that might strike you in a way you didn't think you needed.
Quote of the show - "The answers are there if you pay attention."
In this episode we interview Brady Revels on his journey in sales and what he has learned so far in his career to be successful. He shared some principles that he was taught early on in his sales career. He hits on the importance of building a relationship with his customers and talks about how close he has become with them outside of work. He shares a story about firing a customer and how vital it is to have a good fit with a customer. He strives to make it tough for the customer to say "no" and wanting them to feel bad about it. Always put the customers needs first and foremost.
Principle 1: Don't bother a customer before noon on Monday or after noon on Friday.
Principle 2: Find ways to get involved in your community.
In this episode we sit down with a high school teacher/fellow podcaster, Alex Mann. Her elevator speech is epic! We dive into how education is a sales role and how teachers are selling day in and day out. She talks about being honest from the get go with students and parents. She discusses a checklist to look at when your feeling blue and it’s a great concept to reference throughout your journey.
Here is the link to her podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/6ADUaM9D9WqP9qyiq5mJj2?si=--8ucx6zTLiWfTgX9fDFrA
Check out our website.
This week we interview Brent Schneider, in Pharmaceuticals Sales. He hits on the importance of adapting to whatever the customer needs from a sales rep during the pandemic and moving forward. We hit on planning for the future and the importance of finding mentors to help navigate through your current role and a potential role in the future. Be sure to find yourself within a company culture that encourages this type of behavior. No matter where you're at in your career, whether that be just out of college or smack dab in the middle of it, always be networking. The people in your industry might change companies but most will be in the industry in twenty years and you never know who you may come back into contact with.
Welcome back for another great Kickback Cocktail Episode! We have two of our past Millennial Salesman joining us for this round of discussions: Andrew Gocek and Ronnie Few. We talk about being in a rut and how to battle through that mentally to get back on track. We hit on a trivia sales stat, some hot topics, and their biggest takeaways from the last four episodes.
Andrew Gocek Episode 4: Dive in and Work Hard
Ronnie Few Episode 9: The Next Step Comes from Failure
In this episode we talk with Erin Crowder who is medical device sales. She is from an entrepreneurial background with both parents having their own businesses while she was growing up. Having that influence has prepared her to be successful throughout her life and in the role she is in today. We discuss why educating the customer is one of the most important things you can do in a sales position. You will hear how passionate she is about helping others and how that is a main focus in her daily grind.
Quote of the show- “I don’t think a no means no. I think it means change your approach”
In this episode we talk to Christian Morris with RHM Staffing Solutions. Christian tells us about his baseball career and how he applies that to his sales role now. We spend a lot of time talking about cold calling and methods on how to get the most out of them. It’s certainly a numbers game and you have to make a lot of calls, but have to stand out to the prospect. Christian is all about going the distance and making sure the person on the other end of the line knows he is real person and that he cares about their business.
In this episode we sit down with Jared Lanier and he emphasizes on the importance of being organized. His three keys attributed to being successful is faith, family, and Farm Bureau. He talks about how being organized shows how prepared and confident you are in the eyes of the customer. Jared uses his organization skills to be a relentless relationship creator, ensuring that his farmers and ranchers feel as though their voice is being screamed from a mountain top.
Florida Farm Bureau:
https://www.floridafarmbureau.org/
Enneagram:
https://assessment.yourenneagramcoach.com/
Agendio:
https://agendio.com/
Quote of the show: “Being unorganized is disrespectful to the customer.”
Join us for a shorter episode where TC and Pete talk about life and the most recent vacation with the family! We also discuss some of Pete's business and talk about a great podcast that we listened to recently.
The podcast we discussed is the Tony Robin's Podcast: "Start small, think big, scale quickly - Spanxfounder Sara Blakely on how to bootstrap a billion dollar business."
Please check out our website!
Join us for a great episode where we reflect back on the last four episodes with two of our past guests, Brian Wood (Episode 3) and Andy Starnes (Episode 7). We throw out a lot of stats on this episode about anything from Generation Z to general sales to Millennials.
Our hot topics were about cold calling during the Coronavirus pandemic and trying to develop/maintaining relationships if those customers don’t want you to come around. Brian gives a great idea about talking points to use if you are not able to go stop by and see your customer.
Quote of the show:
“If price is king then customer service is queen and without one of them you will look like the court jester!" - Andy Starnes
Check us out at our website or visit us at our Facebook or Instagram page!
In this episode we sit down with Rich and talk about how the Coronavirus has impacted the meat industry and if we really were in a meat shortage. He hits on how important TRUST and VALUE are when building and maintaining a relationship. Being able to adapt is also a key component when in a sales role. He stresses how important it is to be driven in order to surpass your sales goals and keep climbing.
Quote of the show- "You have to adapt to the customers, the customers won’t adapt to you.”
In this episode we sit down with Casey Leeper with Ferguson Waterworks. He has worn many hats within the company as he has changed roles three times. He has been very successful in each position all while gaining experience and knowledge along the way. He really hits on how important it is to listen and being dedicated to your craft. As you'll hear in the interview many times, Casey has a competitive edge about him which leads him to do whatever it takes to make sure that customer is happy. He is all bout going the extra mile to ensuring that his customers get top of the line service hand in hand with top of the line material.
Quote of the show- "You want a pink Cadillac, I'll get you a pink Cadillac."
Get up with Casey at casey.leeper@ferguson.com for any sales advice or stop by the branch if you're in the Charlotte, NC area.
Join us for a great episode where we interview Francie Mitchell with Bayer Crop Science. You can hear her passion for helping others and working in agriculture. We talk about the impact of internships and how they can help you learn about different fields and companies. We talk about knowing your customers personality and how to adapt your sales conversation to that customer. Her customers motivate her and she considers them close friends and family. She is the epitome of the what we are trying to talk about on the podcast with creating relationships and really caring about your customer.
Four Tips on Gaining Respect:
1. Work Ethic
2. Do What You Say
3. Be Honest
4. Respect Others
Quote of the show: “No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care.”
If you would like to get in touch with Francie, here is her email: Frances.mitchell@bayer.com
Check out our website for my episodes.
In this episode we sit down with Fabian Samuels, a recruiter with ADP. He tells us about his journey and how he ended up getting into sales. He discusses how recruiting is selling with finding the perfect person for a job. You can hear the passion in his voice about his job and his company. Fabian does a great job connecting with people and learning about who they are to make sure the job is a perfect fit for them. He does an excellent job with using social media to do research and finding candidates. If you would like to reach him, check him out on LinkedIn to learn more about what he does or if you're interested in a career change please reach out to him. Check out our website for more episodes.
Quote of the Show: "Be Confident" - Fabian Samuels
Welcome to our first ever Kickback Cocktail Hour!! We are hanging with great friends having a couple drinks and reflecting on the last 9 episodes. We have Brett and Matt join us on the show to share their opinion's of the podcast and how we can improve. We discuss major take away's from our past guests and how to apply those. Brett and Matt share their experiences in sales and business with us. We added Hot Takes to the podcast. This was to add some fun discussions to the conversation.
- If you are hitting your sales goals or way above them can you slack off per se and go fishing or work on your side hustle?
- Low performing sales people spend more time visiting existing customers and high performers spend more of their time finding new customers?
Quote of the show: "Make selling a conversation"- TC Anderson
Join us for a great episode where we interview Ronnie Few, Business Development Manager for Ruppert Landscape. This interview has a lot of great sales tips and ways to cultivate better relationships with customers. Ronnie has a great sales journey of starting on the production side and selling himself to management to moving up in the company and over to the sales side. He talks about how the Coronavirus is affecting his sales and how he is continuing to sell during a pandemic. Ronnie shares his steps when making a call: 1. Open with something funny and relate to the person 2. Have a goal or objective 3. Create a verbal contract of a follow up plan. He hits on know your style of selling and tailor your presentation to that style. Check us out on our website.
Quote of the show: " Your Next Step Comes From Failure"
This episode was a lot of fun to record! We interviewed Josie Solomon with Cargill Animal Nutrition. She specializes in equine nutrition but sells a variety of feeds for several species. She gives us an update on how the Coronavirus is affecting her market and how she is adapting. She gives us great insight on how to do your pre-call planning before visiting a prospect and to use open ended questions during the interaction. We asked her about how to earn respect among co-workers and even customers in older generations. Josie does an incredible job during this interview and her biggest advice is, "be a problem solver!" There is a lot of great tips so take out your notepads and get ready for an exciting interview.
Quotes on the show: "Some customers are easy come easy go"
In this episode we interview Andy Starnes and asked for his advice on what new sales people will encounter when starting their sales journey. We asked about what comes from failure and hearing the word “No”. His number one rule... don’t panic! Andy gave us a summary about the short story called The Go-Giver. We highly recommend people check out that short story! We really appreciate Andy coming on the show and sharing his advice to millennials.
In this week's sales journey we interview Tate Mikell, who does a fantastic job creating relationships with his clients. He thinks outside the box and truly cares about the people he works with. Not only prior to a sale, but continuing those relationships after the sale. He goes to say that his, "friends become his customers and his customers become his friends." You can hear the passion in Tate's voice about how he loves what he does and really enjoys the daily grind. We learned about how the Cornavirus is affecting the real estate market in Gainesville and how Tate his adapting to the current situation.
Quotes of the show:
- "My friends become my customers and my customers become my friends."
- "Comparison is the thief of joy"
- "Don't show negativity on social media."
In this interview we talk to Matt Griffin, the East Coast Sales and Product Development Manager at United Genetics Seed Company. We get to hear about his sales journey and how Corona-virus is affecting his customers and business. We also get to hear a little Florida history in this podcast too. Matt is very passionate for the Ag industry and it was great to hear his view on the show.
Big take away is to leverage trade shows. They are a great opportunity to meet new customers and strengthen relationships with existing customers.
In this episode we interview Andrew Gocek to learn about insurance sales. Andrew gives us a lot of information about creating relationships with existing customers to increase sales and find referrals. His grandpa was a big fan of Zig Ziggler and so is he for finding motivation. He even tells us what its like to be selling during the Corona-Virus.
Quote of the show: "Everyone has fears, if you don't then you’re lying." - Andrew Gocek
I interview our Co-Host TC Anderson III and in this episode we change it up a little bit by interviewing him about entrepreneurship to learn about his car wash business and the way he is selling his service. He even talks about sales reps calling on the car wash and what kind of relationship they have with their top rep. We even go over how the Great Recession affected his business and how Corona-virus is affecting it today.
Quote of the show: Chapter 1. Everyone's got problems. Chapter 2. It helps to be tall - His basketball coach in college.
His dad has set the motto of "provide for your family and help others along the way."
Service Selling at the Car Wash! Check out our website for more episodes.
In this episode I interview Brian Wood with NextGen about selling cotton seed in Eastern North Carolina. We cover how he is handling sales and communicating with customers with Coronavirus. We also, talk about his sales journey and how he got into selling and agriculture. We talked about car programs, compensation programs and how to find customers.
Quote of the episode: "If you learn to sell something you will always have a job."
Brian Wood's plan for success: 1. Prepare/Prepare/Prepare 2. Be Honest 3. Internal Confidence 4. Drive 5. Follow-up
Check out the website.
Introduction to the podcast and what led us to wanting to create a show that helps change the perception of a sales career. We will interview sales professionals to hear about their sales journey and what makes them successful. We go into more detail in this introduction about the type of questions that will be asked and the direction the show will go.
Check out the website.