Uncopyable Women in Sales

Robin Robins - Impressive Business Builder!

February 21, 2024 Kay MIller Season 1 Episode 31
Robin Robins - Impressive Business Builder!
Uncopyable Women in Sales
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Uncopyable Women in Sales
Robin Robins - Impressive Business Builder!
Feb 21, 2024 Season 1 Episode 31
Kay MIller

Kay talks with Robin Robbins, a successful entrepreneur in the tech marketing industry. They discuss Robin's career, her approach to overcoming fear, and the importance of selling based on value, not price. Robin shares insights on the need for businesses to understand their customers and to articulate their unique value propositions. She also addresses the topic of gender in the workplace, rejecting broad generalizations and emphasizing individual competence as the key to success. Robin encourages women to empower themselves and to focus on skill development and hard work to achieve success in sales, regardless of industry gender demographics.

Contact: 

linkedin.com/in/robinrobins

Website: https://www.technologymarketingtoolkit.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robinrobins/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRobinRobins

Full Bio:
Robin Robins is the IT industry’s most in-demand marketing consultant, sales trainer, and direct response marketing consultant who specializes in developing strategic marketing, sales and lead generation systems for MSPs, VARs and IT services companies. Robin is the Founder of Technology Marketing Toolkit, MSP Success Magazine and Big Red Media. To date, her organization has coached, trained and consulted with over 10,000 IT business owners from all over the US and in 37 different countries. She currently runs the largest C-level peer group in the IT services channel for MSPs and her annual event, the IT Sales and Marketing Boot Camp, attracts over 1,600 attendees every year and is sponsored by the IT industry’s leading vendors. Robin has been voted a #1 speaker at many industry events such as CompTIA’s BreakAway, Channel Partners Conference and Expo, ASCII’s boot camps, DattoCon and IT Nation. She has been published in VAR Business, eChannelLine.com, Sales and Marketing Magazine, Selling Power, and SMB Partner Community Magazine. This vast experience has given Robin a broad knowledge of hundreds of MSP marketing and sales tactics used by some of the most successful, sales driven organizations in the world

Website: https://www.technologymarketingtoolkit.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robinrobins/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRobinRobins

Kay Miller interviews women in sales with proven track records, as they share their experiences, success strategies and tools you can use to crush your sales goals. Kay has a history of sales success, earning the nickname “Muffler Mama” when she sold more automotive mufflers than anyone in the world. Kay and her guests deliver actionable insights and real-world tools that will help you overcome obstacles, adopt a winning mindset, and maximize your sales results.

Kay is the author of the book, Uncopyable Sales Secrets – How to Create an Unfair Advantage and Outsell the Competition. Go to Amazon.com and search “Uncopyable Sales Secrets” to order the book, or click the link below.

Contact:
kay@uncopyablesales.com
linkedin.com/in/millerkay
Order Uncopyable Sales Secrets: amzn.to/35dGlYZ








Show Notes Transcript

Kay talks with Robin Robbins, a successful entrepreneur in the tech marketing industry. They discuss Robin's career, her approach to overcoming fear, and the importance of selling based on value, not price. Robin shares insights on the need for businesses to understand their customers and to articulate their unique value propositions. She also addresses the topic of gender in the workplace, rejecting broad generalizations and emphasizing individual competence as the key to success. Robin encourages women to empower themselves and to focus on skill development and hard work to achieve success in sales, regardless of industry gender demographics.

Contact: 

linkedin.com/in/robinrobins

Website: https://www.technologymarketingtoolkit.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robinrobins/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRobinRobins

Full Bio:
Robin Robins is the IT industry’s most in-demand marketing consultant, sales trainer, and direct response marketing consultant who specializes in developing strategic marketing, sales and lead generation systems for MSPs, VARs and IT services companies. Robin is the Founder of Technology Marketing Toolkit, MSP Success Magazine and Big Red Media. To date, her organization has coached, trained and consulted with over 10,000 IT business owners from all over the US and in 37 different countries. She currently runs the largest C-level peer group in the IT services channel for MSPs and her annual event, the IT Sales and Marketing Boot Camp, attracts over 1,600 attendees every year and is sponsored by the IT industry’s leading vendors. Robin has been voted a #1 speaker at many industry events such as CompTIA’s BreakAway, Channel Partners Conference and Expo, ASCII’s boot camps, DattoCon and IT Nation. She has been published in VAR Business, eChannelLine.com, Sales and Marketing Magazine, Selling Power, and SMB Partner Community Magazine. This vast experience has given Robin a broad knowledge of hundreds of MSP marketing and sales tactics used by some of the most successful, sales driven organizations in the world

Website: https://www.technologymarketingtoolkit.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robinrobins/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRobinRobins

Kay Miller interviews women in sales with proven track records, as they share their experiences, success strategies and tools you can use to crush your sales goals. Kay has a history of sales success, earning the nickname “Muffler Mama” when she sold more automotive mufflers than anyone in the world. Kay and her guests deliver actionable insights and real-world tools that will help you overcome obstacles, adopt a winning mindset, and maximize your sales results.

Kay is the author of the book, Uncopyable Sales Secrets – How to Create an Unfair Advantage and Outsell the Competition. Go to Amazon.com and search “Uncopyable Sales Secrets” to order the book, or click the link below.

Contact:
kay@uncopyablesales.com
linkedin.com/in/millerkay
Order Uncopyable Sales Secrets: amzn.to/35dGlYZ








This transcript was machine-generated and includes flubs. 

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Speaker 1 (00:00:00) - Welcome to Uncopyable women in Sales. If you're looking for actionable insights and real world tools to turbocharge your sales starting tomorrow, well, you're in the right place. Your host, Kay Miller, earned the affectionate nickname Muffler Mama when she sold more automotive mufflers than anyone else in the world. In this podcast, Kay will talk to another superstar women in sales, as they reveal un copyable strategies you can use to rack up more leads, snag dream clients, and take your sales numbers through the roof. Stay tuned and get ready to make more sales. And how about this more money?

Speaker 2 (00:00:43) - Today I have the pleasure of talking with Robin Robins. Robin is the IT industry's most in-demand marketing consultant, sales trainer, and direct response marketing consultant. She's the founder of Technology Marketing Toolkit, Mssp, Success Magazine, and Big Red media. Robin, welcome to the podcast.

Speaker 3 (00:01:07) - Thank you. I appreciate you.

Speaker 2 (00:01:10) - Now. I met you through my husband, Steve, and he spoke at one of your boot camps years ago.

Speaker 2 (00:01:17) - A couple, um.

Speaker 3 (00:01:17) - He spoke a couple of times, actually, not. Not at boot camp, but another, you know, interviews and so forth. Yeah. Okay.

Speaker 2 (00:01:23) - Good. And and you do have an annual boot camp that is just phenomenal. And just to give the listener an idea of some of the speakers and guests that you had, they include Robert Markovic, Damon John, Kevin O'Leary from, of course, Shark Tank and Peyton Manning.

Speaker 3 (00:01:44) - And we're having Doctor Jordan Peterson this year. Um, yeah. So we do have some big names, big names.

Speaker 2 (00:01:51) - And Lance Armstrong. Right.

Speaker 3 (00:01:53) - We've had yeah. Lance Armstrong was iconic. Uh, Mike Rowe, Dirty Jobs. Um, it just kind of runs the gamut of different people that we've had. Speak for sure. Sammy Gravano I had him to.

Speaker 2 (00:02:08) - You get some awesome speakers. And I did watch some of the testimonial videos from the the people who attend, and it's just made a huge impact on them and their businesses.

Speaker 2 (00:02:19) - And, and I heard you say, you know, you want to impact not only businesses but lives, and you totally do that. So I want to give the listener just a little taste of of what you've done differently, what you feel has made you successful in your career. And I know that you have had a lot of things to overcome, especially early on. But what makes Robin Robbins so successful?

Speaker 3 (00:02:45) - Um, you know, when I think about how was I able to achieve what I've achieved in building a business and impacting a lot of people? Because really, I think the definition of success is doing what you love with people you love while also building wealth for yourself. Right? I mean, that's my personal definition. So, um, I've been able to do that. And, um, I think I really want to put it down to a, uh, a very passionate, serious, uh, focus on my education and learning. You know, even when I couldn't afford the seminars, I went to the seminars.

Speaker 3 (00:03:20) - When I couldn't afford the coaching, I paid for it. Anyway, um, read every book I could get my hands on. Today. I listen to more on audio. Um, I learn better with video and audio I've discovered, rather than reading. But I still read. If I get a good book, I listen to it on audio audio, and then I'll buy the physical copy and put notes in it. And, um, you know, I'm really big on not just reading a big stack of books to say, oh, look at all the books I'm reading. You know, like there's some accomplishment in that. I think, you know, good book, if you get it and go deep and you really implement the wisdom in it can really make a difference. And I think so. One, I think it's been just a very deep, passionate focus on on skill development and learning and skill development. So learning and learning, knowing how to do something and being able to do it are two different things.

Speaker 3 (00:04:10) - So you can read a book on sales, but are you actually practicing what's in the book? Are you perfecting what's in the book? And I think that's one of the things that makes me different than most people is I get into the weeds, I get into the detail. I don't just read a book and say, oh, that's a nice general idea. And then I go half ass implemented. I think I really do dig in and get into the details, into the specifics, into the step by step, into the documentation, into the process. And I see that as missing in a lot of entrepreneurs in their success, because as the saying goes, there's the devil's in the details. Right? And so, um, to be successful in sales or as an entrepreneur requires you to have a big vision and a big picture, like big, big picture things, but it also requires you to go down to the micro and, and make sure that, you know, if we say that customer service is important, are we actually when we answer the phone, is there a process for how we answer the phone for how we deal with an upset customer? Is there a script? Is there a process that would be number one? Number two, is it being followed? So I think it's skill development.

Speaker 3 (00:05:21) - But then also the I've been very I'm very good at implementation of an idea.

Speaker 2 (00:05:26) - And I know that's been a lifelong passion of yours. You know, you did have to overcome some major obstacles back in the beginning. But even then you mentioned listening to Zig Ziglar tapes and Jim Roan tapes and just always being such a sponge for learning. But as you said, you know, a lot of times we read books and then we forget what we read. So the fact that you really dive in and you take notes and you study so that you can implement that is is really huge. Some of the things I admire about you, um, you were very driven and determined. And to me, you don't even seem like you do have fear. But I'm sure either at some point you've had fear. Or maybe you sometimes still do. How do you overcome that? Well, I.

Speaker 3 (00:06:15) - Think your fears change over your lifetime. You know what I was afraid of when I was a teenager was whether or not I was going to have food and a place to live.

Speaker 3 (00:06:23) - Um, you know, that's not really the fear I have today. Um, and, you know, today, you know, there's there's different things that might keep you awake at night. But, yeah, today, I think my bigger my bigger fear today is anything involving my kids. I mean, I have two girls. And, you know, I worry about the world. I mean, like any parent I think would, if anything, that would be the the thing that I worry about most. Um, I know I do worry about, you know, in business, the thing I would say I am most concerned with or worried about would just be ensuring that as we grow, we are continuing to deliver excellence, um, that we are continuing to be really very valuable and relevant to our clients. Um, you know, those are the things, you know, as you grow an organization when you have like five employees or ten employees. I mean, it's pretty easy, right? And I'm, I'm discovering, as you know, since, you know, we've surpassed the 150 employee mark and we're continuing to grow, it gets harder and harder and harder because you're you have to constantly be reorganizing your leadership team and reorganizing products and services.

Speaker 3 (00:07:36) - And change happens really fast. And when you're big, you know, it's not just one department where you can call every you know, I, I used to be able to, like, bleed my head into the other room and tell everybody, here's what's going on. Right? And everyone's okay. Got it. Um, you know, obviously it's not the case when you have a larger organization and you have to understand the complexity of growing a company. Um, I well, I won't say it worries me because I, you know, in the sense of we know what to do, we know how to do it. It's just a matter of being able to keep that pace up and make sure that excellence is delivered, that we're continuing to be relevant, that we're continuing to do better, bigger things. Um, and I still see I mean, this is what drives me nuts, I guess, is the it's the gap from where we are today, even though we're infinitely better than we've ever been, it's still, like I always say, we could be better.

Speaker 3 (00:08:26) - We could be more excellent. We could drive more value. We can be more profitable. We can be more utilized. We can be more everything, you know. And so I wouldn't say it's fear. It's not fear. Um, I think it's just a desire, maybe an anxiety to make sure that, you know, those those standards are hit. So I don't know if that answers your questions, but I, I'm not afraid to be in a room with a with a successful person anymore. You know, I used to be very intimidated, you know, and now we have like you mentioned, we have these people who come to our event. You know, we had Wolf of Wall Street, we, uh, Jordan Belfort, we've had, you know, um, Emmitt Smith, we've had Peyton Manning, we've had the Sharks at Shark Tank and I've, you know, I mean, I'm not nervous in front of those people anymore. You start to realize, you know, they're just they're just people.

Speaker 3 (00:09:14) - So I'm not like, I'm not intimidated or fearful of that. I'm not. I'm not fearful of talking to somebody. I'm selling something I'm not fearful of, you know, losing a big deal because I know if I lose one deal, I'm going to have ten more lined up. It's just the way. That's the way life is. So, yeah, I think your fears evolve and change because as you gain more capabilities and confidence, you get less fearful. I mean, that's what confidence is. Confidence is is you're not afraid to do whatever it is. Well, how do you get not afraid? You get not afraid by having courage to take a step forward, to do the thing that you're afraid of multiple times until you're you're used to it. And, you know, I mean, like, there was a time when we're probably all scared to death to get behind the wheel of an automobile, and now we don't think anything of it. Why? Because we're capable. We're confident. We're not afraid.

Speaker 3 (00:10:03) - I mean, we might be a little anxious. We're looking around, make sure, you know, drunk driver doesn't hit us or we're, you know, if it's icy. But, you know, by and large, you're not afraid of it. And, um, I think that's the thing I would say to everybody is if there is a fear that is holding you back, the only way to overcome it is to expose yourself to it more and more and more and more frequently. Uh, maybe in small doses at first, but then keep exposing yourself, and after a while it'll just become very mundane and average, and you won't even think anything about it.

Speaker 2 (00:10:34) - Well, I think it is refreshing to hear that you were afraid at on some level in the beginning, because you're right, the only way to overcome that is to do it, and then you become more and more comfortable with that. Uh, since we're talking to women in sales, I would like to address something that I read that you just said.

Speaker 2 (00:10:52) - Uh, I think it was an article in your your magazine, and that is do not sell on price. You had some very interesting things to say about that. And, uh, one of them is, of course, if you live by price, you die by price. And so let's let's talk a little bit about selling on value and how you see that, how you do that. Okay.

Speaker 3 (00:11:15) - Well, I think first and foremost, as an entrepreneur and running a business, the first thing you have to do is get logical, okay, logical in the sense of what is it going to what? Well, first of all, what what am I delivering to my customer? And really thinking about what will surprise, delight, attract, keep that customer. I think most people just like, okay, so I work with MSPs. These are IT companies and what most of IT companies do and they're thinking about like, well, what do I want to sell? First of all, they have no clue on who their target client profile is.

Speaker 3 (00:11:52) - They don't have an idea of who is my sweet spot slam dunk. Ideal customer that I want to get in here. How about.

Speaker 2 (00:11:59) - Your moose? We call that. You see the picture behind me that is your ideal target market. You're the customer you can serve who will want to buy from you just what you're talking about. So you're saying that a lot of your customers, probably a lot.

Speaker 3 (00:12:14) - Of I, a lot of business owners, it's anybody who can fog a mirror and wave right, a check. I mean, that's really and maybe in the beginning when you're just getting started and you really don't know, that's okay as a place to start, just like, hey, let me sell something and see what shows up. And, and sort of because you can't steer a parked car. I love that, you know, that's one of my favorite sayings. So you got to sell a couple of things and well, who do I like, who do I work well with and etc. took me a year to figure out who my my target client profile is.

Speaker 3 (00:12:42) - And we're continuing to develop that even today. Because as your business evolves, you might decide you want to go upstream over to a different market, etc.. So I think you have to start with that. Okay. Then the next thing you have to say to yourself is what is really going to surprise, delight and be attractive? What attract that customer? What do, what are they not getting now? What are they frustrated with? What are they irritated with? And I think a lot of business owners again they they they're not clear on their customer. And then when they design their service, their product, they just look around and go, well, what do you charge? What do you charge? What do you do? And they just sort of cobble something together. That's very middle of the road, very mediocre, kind of like all right, well price it somewhere in the middle and you end up with Applebee's. It's like, you know, it's not terrible, but it's just Applebee's, you know? And.

Speaker 3 (00:13:27) - And so, um, I think for Applebee's, I'll never get a sponsorship from them because I use that thing, you know, it's terrible. Well, you know, I guess they're okay. I've been in them. They're okay. That's what I'm saying. It's just. It's like we. It wouldn't be a place we would go. This is fine. Dining is my favorite place to go. You know, it's just kind of out there. And so, you know, when. So when you create a very fuzzy target market with a very fuzzy, mediocre service offering, then you are basically competing on did you get there first, like Applebee's? You know what? We decide to go to Applebee's or TGI Fridays. It really depends on what side of the street it's on and you're driving down. If if TGI Fridays is on the other side and I got a cross traffic, I'm just pulling in Applebee's because it's convenient, right? Yes. So you're either convenience, then there might be other things price, you know is going to is going to impact that.

Speaker 3 (00:14:16) - And so like if you really want to go upstream in price and and what I when I say price, it's not just price. We're talking about margin. All right. So let's you know because if I can sell a widget and get a $100 margin and you can only get $2, I mean, obviously I want the $100 margin over the two. So when you're really clear in your customer and you're really clear on what the value is, then price becomes a lot more elastic, right? And so, um, I think, you know, the reason if you're selling on price. Then you. You're losing. Like, can you articulate here's who we're for and here's the value we bring over everybody else. And you know, that's what you should be selling on. Not here's the price. The first conversation you have to have with a prospect is, is this right for you? Do you have this problem that I can solve, and can I solve it better than anyone else? Price in terms are like way down the list.

Speaker 3 (00:15:13) - It's like, first of all, the person has to realize they have a problem. So do they. Is there even an awareness of a need? The next thing they're having to think about is, well, how do I solve that need? And then who do I who's the best person to solve that for me? Um, then you get into price and terms. So again, if you move price all the way up, you're skipping over. Is there even an awareness of a need? Is there even a, um, do they even want what you need, what you're selling? Do they see you as the company to buy it from? You know, because then then I won't say price is irrelevant because price is a factor in in a buying decision. Absolutely right. But what I'm trying to say is it's not the only factor. It's not the most important factor, except for there's there's always a small percentage of an audience where they can't afford it, like like they might want it, but they, you know, they might want to drive a Bentley, but they're not going to be able to afford it.

Speaker 3 (00:16:10) - Right. So there's always a some, you know, percentage that's like that. But for most businesses that percentage is a lot smaller. And where they're really missing is that that larger part of the market that would pay more money if they could understand the value you bring and why you're worth more money? Um, I think that's that's kind of my my thoughts on on price. I don't know if that helps you if you want to go deeper on that.

Speaker 2 (00:16:34) - No, I mean it it definitely does help. And you had some really basic examples that you talked about about do you want the cheapest house? Do you want the cheapest car.

Speaker 3 (00:16:43) - Yeah. Heart surgeon do you want. Yeah. And and the answer almost universally is no. You know, they, they you know, even people who can't afford it are, are making their decision on that. They still want good service. They just it's just a matter of can they afford it. And you know, that has to go. Part of your pricing model also has to be designed with your customer in mind, your business model.

Speaker 3 (00:17:08) - So Walmart had a good pricing model. I mean now it's questionable. But you know, they did I mean they they had here's our customer and here's how we can offer low prices. They had a model to back it up. Um, and you know, but that's going to be different than let's say, if I'm, you know, shopping at, um, a high end mall like Neiman Marcus or something like that.

Speaker 2 (00:17:31) - Well, and, you know, price, you know, you said you don't want to say price is irrelevant because, yes, if people don't have money, they're not going to be your moose. They're not going to be your ideal target customer. But as I listened to the testimonials of the people that you've helped these a lot of small business owners who have generated massive income in addition to what they had because of what you provide. Yes. What does the price matter if it's helping them make a whole bunch more money? So yes, you talk about the value and what it means to them.

Speaker 2 (00:18:07) - Um, do you think it's a good idea to guide customers into feeling that pain, or just looking for prospects that already do feel that pain and acknowledge that pain?

Speaker 3 (00:18:17) - Well, I mean, it's always going to be easier to sell to a known need, you know, to try and develop the need for something. Is it's. It's not impossible, but it is more difficult. Um, you know, in the sense of, uh, you know, if I don't even know, I need, like, a lot of people out in the marketplace right now, for example, uh, business owners listening, they do not know how inadequately they are prepared for a cyber event. Like with my clients. They, uh, they think we're fine. You know, we're too small. Nobody would want what we have. And that's the funniest thing. It's like nobody wants what we have. They're not going to break into our our office and ransom us. It's like, yeah, no, they it's not that they they don't want your stuff.

Speaker 3 (00:19:04) - Just like kidnappers don't want your kids. They're not trying to start a family. They're they they you want your kids, you want your data. You want your customer list. So they're going to lock everything up, and you're going to pay money to them to get it unlocked. You know, the best paying sales letters are written. Some notes. You know, it's so, you know, a lot of people aren't aware of that. Like they're aware that they're cyber attacks. They're aware people get scammed of their money. They're aware of phishing attacks. We hear it all the time. But there's this kind of belief that, nah, it's not going to happen to me, right. Um, so, you know, in that case, a lot. That's one of the challenges my clients have is trying to sell to the vast majority of business owners who are grossly ignorant about needing cyber protections. Um, and so, you know, it's always going to be easier for them to sell to somebody who knows they need it, wants to buy it, and they're looking for the best there's going to be in providing it.

Speaker 3 (00:20:02) - Um, because trying to sell to the unconverted is again, it's not impossible, but it's very difficult.

Speaker 2 (00:20:08) - Well. And you're right, you can sell to different customers. Some are harder to sell than others. I think you do a great job just with your content marketing. Your your magazine is just excellent in reminding people that this is a huge issue. Because yes, it's tempting to to bury your head in the sand, right? I don't want to think about it. Um, one of our clients is Tom Kirkham. I know that you know him. He he works with you, and he just wrote a book called Surviving the Cyber Security Pandemic. Because this can and, you know, it's very scary, but it definitely can happen. And so we need to be aware of that. And, you know, you have a huge presence in the market online so that you are attracting those people, educating them and then getting them to raise their hand and be interested in what you provide. So I think the content marketing is huge.

Speaker 2 (00:21:05) - Um, so if if we're talking to a sales person, my target market, my moose, are women. Um, do you have any specific advice? Do you have any additional ideas about how they can be more successful?

Speaker 3 (00:21:22) - Um, yeah, I don't see I don't see successful people as being okay men or successful in different ways than women are. Um, I really don't like broad generalizations, you know, about, like, women, you have to manage women differently. You know, there was I was at a conference, um, several years ago, like, I want to say, maybe it was like it was one of Joe Polish events. And I was on a women's panel and a guy stood up and he said, how do I manage my. I've got a lot of women working for me. I'm a dude. Like, how do I manage them? How what do I need to do to manage them differently? And I my advice was, why don't you just manage them as an individual? Because in my business, the most connected, sympathetic, how would I say just, you know, you know, person is a 70 year old man that you know, that the members love him because he's just he's just that's his personality.

Speaker 3 (00:22:20) - He's very I wouldn't say he's he's not I mean, he's not not manly, if you will. Like. I'm not saying like that, but he's, he's I mean, I'm not the person. I'm not empathetic. I'm not. Somebody's going to sit and let you cry on my shoulder. I'm the one who's going to kick you in the ass and said, it's straight. People get really hung up, whether it's I'm young or I'm old or I'm a woman or I'm a man or what? Something in between, or I'm black, I'm Chinese, I'm, you know, Latino, whatever. I mean, and they think there's different rules, like, the world will treat you differently because of that. But the reality is every single one of us is some kind of combination of those things age, gender, religion, race, all these things. Right? And you can't change that about yourself. But that's part of what makes you unique too. So, um, I think for, for women, like, if, you know, they'll say, well, you know, men are I'm getting passed over for promotions or I'm being paid unfairly, go somewhere else.

Speaker 3 (00:23:22) - What, like there's no gun to your head making you work where you want to work or start your own business, like I did. Go. And then you can make whatever you want to make. And in sales, you can make whatever you want to make. It's very binary. There's a woman and a man on my team who are like, total badass. They have different styles, different approach. But it's not because she's a woman. He's a man. They both hit quota. They both exceed quota. Um, and it's not because she's a woman or because he's a man. Right. So sales is the one thing that it's it's very black and white in the sense you either make your quota or you don't make your quota. And it's based on activities and skill. It's not based on being a woman, being old, being young, being this, that, the other thing. And the minute you start saying, I can't succeed because that's the minute that's that's the problem, not the problem is not because of your old, young, black, white, male female.

Speaker 3 (00:24:17) - The problem is because you've got some hangup, because you think the world treats you differently, and because you believe that it manifests. And because we want to, we see what we want to believe and we we manifest what we want to believe. So, you know, I think, um, you know, again, so I'm framing this because you ask the question the way you did, women specifically, um, you know, and I'm not going to be one of those people that says, well, women are naturally going to be better at sales, and that's pandering. I mean, seriously, there are some women I've met that suck at selling, right? And they should be great at it. And I've, um, met men who've sucked at selling. It's it's not it's it's not. You got to get that out of your head. And I think if you if you become the most competent person you can be with the highest level of skill and good hard work ethic, and you're organized and you're you're focused.

Speaker 3 (00:25:10) - I don't care who you are man, woman or anything. Black, white. It doesn't matter. You will win because the marketplace rewards competence, period. That's it. That's the reality. And everybody wants to make it about something else.

Speaker 2 (00:25:25) - Well, interesting, because you are in a very male dominated industry. You are leading a lot of men and helping them.

Speaker 3 (00:25:32) - I'll stop you there. I don't like dominated either. Dominated. How dominance has a different connotation means something different. And I hate the word empowering because nobody empowered me. You empower yourself. Saying I empower you is like I'm so much greater than you, with more power and more authority and more so I, I will allow you to be successful, which is B.S. and if you think you need someone to empower you, you're giving up your own power. You can do it under your own steam. So just because there's more men doesn't mean that it's male dominated, if you will, that you know, you know, again, so what is dominance mean.

Speaker 3 (00:26:11) - And so I think words matter. I'm a copywriter. So words really matter to me. And um, yeah, there's and I'm proof positive. Believe me, I there's other people. Competing with me in the space. I'm not the only one. Um, they're men. All of them. And I am by far the most successful, if you count in longevity, if you count it by sales and revenue, if you count it by sheer number of members, if you count it by revenue. Profitability of my org. Um, now, I don't know the profitability of the others, but I can just I can count, like if I have 1400 people at my event and they've got 40, um, you know, pretty clear chance I'm making more money, so, you know, but so what I'm just saying is, um, it's just proof positive that it doesn't mean, you know, just because it's male dominated does not mean that you're going to be somehow suppressed or set back or whatever.

Speaker 3 (00:27:03) - And I could tell you in the beginning there was two women who actually were the were the most difficult. That gave me the most problems when I started in this industry. Um, and it's not to say men didn't give me a hard time at all, but as well. But it's just, again, I, I don't like you're getting the sense I really do not like this men versus women. Um, it's it's the oldest hack and and it's just it's not true. Um, are we different? Yes, we are, but every person is an individual. And each individual needs to be judged on their merits of their character, of their work ethic, of their integrity, of their honesty or their competence. And the marketplace rewards competence. Period.

Speaker 2 (00:27:45) - Well, could you now tell me what you really think?

Speaker 3 (00:27:48) - Yeah, well you asked. And of course, I do.

Speaker 2 (00:27:51) - Use the word male dominated. I came from the automotive industry and I was one of few women. And I have to say, I did have to prove myself.

Speaker 2 (00:28:01) - I walked into a muffler shop, and I didn't have credibility until I proved myself. And I think I was held to a higher standard than men. Well, I ended up being the number one salesperson in the country when I was one of just three women. But I've also talked to some young sales women, especially, who are breaking into, I won't say male dominated industries, industries that are typically, uh, have men. Right. And they are talked over the, um, at a trade show. The customer will come and assume that the man is the one that they should talk to. And a lot of times the men and I experienced this too, had my back. And and that is wonderful. I think sometimes women are competing with each other where the men are more supportive, but we have to claim our place at the table. You know, you are a very bold, confident, driven person. Um, and everybody's different. But I've seen over and over again where women do have to work harder, at least at first, to claim that seat at the table.

Speaker 3 (00:29:11) - I to say that, to say I've seen more women. You don't think men have to work hard. Know that you don't think men have to prove themselves. You don't think that men get talked? I see men get talked over all the time. There there are personalities that are extremely bold. Do they tend to be more male? Yes they do. So, you know, men tend to have more dominance and confidence. Um, boldness, if you will. And a lot of women by choice tend to stand to step back. If I'm getting talked over, I will tell them, wait a minute, I'm talking, and I will tell them that to their face. If women don't do that and it's not again, it's not a male thing. I've seen other men talk over other men. So I think this is just again, going back to personal confidence. Integrity. Um, you know, and and the minute you start saying, well, I have to work harder to prove myself, well, then, you know, again, go talk to men.

Speaker 3 (00:30:10) - Men have to prove themselves. They have to stand up for themselves. Men get passed over for, um, promotions. I run a company and I'm looking at it in my organization I work with. I mean, we have over 10,000 customers I've worked with, so I've worked with a lot of entrepreneurs. A lot of them are men. Some of them are women. And I'm telling you, men have to deal with the same challenges improving themselves in overcoming, you know, why should somebody trust me? Why should somebody listen to me? Um, so yeah, I again, I'm not I'm not saying it doesn't happen, ever. That's not what I'm saying. I'm just saying that to say it always happens and that's the way it is, is also incorrect.

Speaker 2 (00:30:53) - And you're right, it doesn't always happen. In fact, some of my biggest supporters and mentors have been men. And so you're right, men deal with the same issues as well. So like you said, how you see this and your words, what you mean manifest your vision, that all affects what you experience in the world.

Speaker 2 (00:31:13) - Mhm. Um, our 30 minutes are up. Can you believe it?

Speaker 3 (00:31:17) - I know that's quick.

Speaker 2 (00:31:18) - I tell it goes quick. And thank you so much for your insights. Uh, you just have a huge credibility because you have done this. You are just the facts. You're a woman dealing with mostly men, and you're proof that it can be done and it can be done exceedingly well. So thank you for the inspiration. I appreciate it, and thank you so much for being on the podcast.

Speaker 3 (00:31:40) - Thank you, I appreciate you.

Speaker 1 (00:31:42) - Thanks for listening to this episode of Unstoppable Women in Sales, your source for secrets you can use to make more sales. Check the show notes for links and contact information. And if you enjoyed the podcast, please spread the word by subscribing, sharing and leaving a five star review. You can always learn more by going to UN Copyable sales compost cast. Until next time, go out and supercharge your sales like a true unstoppable rockstar.