You're Going To Be Great At This!

On a recent episode of the "You're Going To Great At This" podcast, I interviewed Stone Payton, the co-founder of Business RadioX, about his journey in entrepreneurship, the mechanics of scaling a business, and the power of professional coaching. Stone shared his background and how he transitioned into the world of business media. One of the key takeaways was that scaling isn't just about getting bigger; it's about creating systems and processes that allow the business to run without the constant intervention of the founder. Even those that may sound easy, but it can be a long and time consuming process.  Unlike traditional "hard sell" tactics, Payton also advocates for building genuine relationships. His "pro-relationship" approach to business development, which focuses on providing value first. This process also can take time, but it can also produce much more success and help grow a much more sustainable business.  Of course, this all goes h...

Networking is important for the success of our business, sales goals, and even personal relationships. Meeting people and building a rapport with them can lead to other introductions and referrals. But what should you do after a networking event to increase the odds of meeting your goals? Years ago, I would go to a networking event and hand out business cards like I was dealing poker. People would be polite and say "thank you" with an occasional "I'll give you a call". Of course, they did not call. Disappointed, I would question why I should bother and ask myself how this was working for other people. A coworker explained that I needed to be more proactive. Instead of handing out my cards (which are not cheap, by the way), I should be collecting cards from others, and following up on my own. This worked and I was soon booking appointments and getting some traction. Recently, I had Dorien Morin-Van Dam, host of the Strategy Talks podcast (a great listen) and we ...

I met Carl Willis a few years ago through LinkedIn and I immediately was struck by his generosity. He is always happy to get on a Zoom call or accept my invitation to appear on my podcast. He has even invited me on his podcast, as well as other online events like his webinar.  In this episode, Carl and I discuss working on skillset, and more specifically, communicating your business' mission online. Listen in and let me know what you think. And please subscribe/follow the podcast! Chris Castane s is a humorous speaker who helps sales people succeed through workshops and humorous presentations. His new book, "Nearly Motivated" is available on Amazon. For booking information,  click here . His new podcast,  "You're Going To Be Great At This!"  is available on most platforms.   He's also the president of  Surf Financial Brokers  selling life and disability insurance in several states.

As someone who is self-employed, I have found that a great way to get my message out and to network with people I want to meet. By joining my local chamber of commerce, I've met great people, become referable and learned about all kinds of businesses that I didn't know existed. In an episode of the "You're Going To Be Great At This" podcast, I talked with Wendy Malenfant of the Little River (SC) Chamber of Commerce and we discussed the perks of joining a chamber.  I sincerely hope you find value in our podcast and ask that you follow/subscribe.  Chris Castane s is a humorous speaker who helps sales people succeed through workshops and humorous presentations. His new book, "Nearly Motivated" is available on Amazon. For booking information,  click here . His new podcast,  "You're Going To Be Great At This!"  is available on most platforms.   He's also the president of  Surf Financial Brokers  selling life and disability insurance in sever...

I recently had a great talk with Dave Campbell from True Media Solutions and host of 9 (!) podcasts. We discussed how people don't take action and delay their goals because they are waiting to learn more and their desire to make it "right the first time".  If you are in the process of starting a business, a podcast or any other project, and you keep putting it off until you think the time is right, now is a great time to listen. And please subscribe or follow. Chris Castane s is a humorous speaker who helps sales people succeed through workshops and humorous presentations. His new book, "Nearly Motivated" is available on Amazon. For booking information,  click here . His new podcast,  "You're Going To Be Great At This!"  is available on most platforms.   He's also the president of  Surf Financial Brokers  selling life and disability insurance in several states.

Over the years I have moved around a bit working for several companies. The reasons for doing this have varied, but mostly it came down to a couple of factors. The first one being money.  For example, I went to work with a very large insurance company years ago. They offered me a base salary and a commission based on my sales. My job was to contact current clients and have them come by the office to purchase life insurance. When these people would come into the office the other staff members would write the policies seeing notes I had already put into the client's file. I didn't get my commissions and brought this up to my superior, who didn't care. After seeing this happen again and again I left with no explanation.  Another reason I have left jobs is because the recruiting manager was less than truthful about the job. As I have mentioned in my book, when I interviewed for my first sales job (I was right out of college) the recruiter said all kinds of things that weren...

A couple of years ago, before Covid arrived, I was asked to speak at a breakfast meeting of a local civic organization. I brought a few copies of my book along just in case someone wanted to purchase one. The person who had invited me to speak apparently had a last minute appointment or something and couldn't be there, but he let the rest of the group know who I was and why I would be there. As I walked in a young professional looking man approached me and introduced himself. "Hi, I'm Bob. We're looking forward to your talk," he said. "Please feel free to eat something. It's on us." He pointed to a table filled with store bought muffins and Krispy Kreme doughnuts, my favorite. Since I had not eaten breakfast at home (I was told there would be food) I thanked him and treated myself to an assortment of the delicious round treats. In retrospect, I probably had too many, but hey, you only live once, right? The young man was the president of the group and...

Have you ever watched a comedian bomb onstage? If done correctly, it can be both horrific and entertaining at the same time. Sometimes you actually feel sorry for the poor idiot on stage with their crappy material and defensive attitude when the heckling starts.  But sometimes when a comic has been especially bad and even more defensive, watching him or her fall without a parachute can be gratifying. I once saw a comic in Raleigh, NC who was mediocre at best. He had this crappy "I shouldn't have to be working this crappy club in North Carolina, I should be in Vegas," attitude. At one point he made a racist joke that more than irritated a very large African-American gentleman on the front row. "That joke sucked!" the man said with a very loud booming voice.  The air had been sucked out of the room. The comic lost his train of thought and blamed us, the audience. At this point, he should have been trying to win us over, but instead he decided to push us away. It w...

When one is hired as a new sales rep for a company, they may be required to attend a sales training course as part of the onboarding process. Recently some coworkers and I were discussing the various companies we have worked for over the years and how these training sessions differed from one employer to the next.  My first job in sales had a required two week sales class. As I have mentioned in previous posts, this company was so shady that we were in the third day of the training when one of our classmates finally realized that we were hired for door-to-door sales. "When were you going to tell us?" the angry young man screamed at the instructor.  It had been previously suggested to us that we would have clients ready to see and that referrals and leads would be served up on a silver platter. None of these things were true, as were most of the other things they told us while hiring us. This was my first experience dealing with a company being less than truthful with me, but ...

Years ago I realized that I needed to work on my public speaking skills because I was winding up in situations where I would have to stand up in front of a crowd and talk about myself or my business. A prospective client told me about his great experience at Toastmasters, so I looked into it and joined my local chapter.  One of the added benefits of joining an organization like Toastmasters is the opportunity to meet some awesome people from all walks of life. And even though it's not a networking group per se, I have managed to get some clients and great friendships through the club. One of those people is my friend, Rachel Pitts.  Rachel is a Master Sales Coach who brings her experience as a realtor, mortgage loan officer, entrepreneur and fitness coach to Sales Gravy. She understands the challenges that realtors face, which helps her relate to her realtor partners as she assists their buyers get a mortgage. After 10+ years as a realtor, she made the switch to the mortgage s...

There are too many times when we meet a client, get some information from them and, for a myriad of reasons, never bother to give them another call. Maybe they didn't seem interested in what you were offering or they didn't fit into your target market. Or maybe you thought they said "no" when they really wanted to think it over. Whatever the reason is, you need to pick up the phone and give them a call back. When I meet a client for the first time, I do a "fact finder" questionnaire, which sounds formal but really is just a track to run on to get a conversation started. Open ended questions help get the client talking.  When they talk, I listen and ask follow up questions. It sounds easy, but our human nature makes us want to sell our product instead of hearing about someone else's issues. By listening to the client and getting them to open up, we build trust. People love it when others laugh at their jokes and are genuinely interested in their lives.  B...

We all have a specific market that we would like to aim our attention to, be it business owners, single moms, realtors, or some other group of people. For me, as an example, I prefer working with small business owners, but I also do a lot of work with realtors. I didn't go looking for them, but we just have so many realtors in my area that it couldn't be helped. There are times, however, when you find yourself working in a totally different market, That's fine because in the end a sale is a sale. I'm not going to turn away business because the client was not in my business plan. And neither should you. When you do have someone approach you that you had not planned on helping, it's important to remember they may have different needs and budgets than what you are used to. Your usual banter may not be applicable or appropriate when talking to a new group of clients either. A good example of this is when I recently found myself getting referred to several school employe...

For anyone who is a business owner, entrepreneur or otherwise in sales, you need to know people. Even if you haven't gotten your business going yet or if you are still in school, networking can pay off for you in spades. Getting your name out there and building relationships is one of the best ways to grow your business. How you do it is up to you, but making it part of your daily routine is of utmost importance. There are several reasons why you should be networking. The most obvious one is to get referrals. Word of mouth recommendations don't cost a penny but are so much more effective than paid advertising. Having someone in your corner as an advocate for you lets others know that you are trusted and good at your job.   Of course, it's important to make sure that the person speaking on your behalf has a good network to refer you to. Sure, it's great to meet the new person in town, but if they don't know anyone their recommendations of you will be limited.  Then t...

Many years ago when I was working in retail I had a boss who was a real sarcastic guy. Whenever we had a problem with a customer or an employee he would say, "If it weren't for people it would be the easiest job in the world." He was absolutely correct in this assessment. People can be a pain in the butt. Dealing with people can be difficult. Everyone handles the day-to-day problems they have differently. Some get stressed out while others are like those non-stick pans with their problems just sliding off of them. There is no "one size fits all" approach to people, especially when it comes to your clients, customers and co-workers.  I once worked with a very abrasive young man. He had a thick New York accent, which in South Carolina went over like a lead balloon. In a lot of ways he sounded like the cartoon aardvark that was always trying to eat the ant. So when he would make his morning calls to set appointments, he didn't have much success.  "I do not...