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Long-time ESA client, Karen Graham, has been in the financial industry for 16 years, advisor and wholesaler. She and Mitch Santala talk about her experiences as a woman in a male-led industry and the four words that she believes have defined her success.
Mitch begins with the reminder that The Whole Enchilada spirit resides in every human and that we hope to awaken it in our listeners.
He starts his conversation with Karen, asking about her sales team leadership keywords. Karen gives four words that she says defines a leadership personality and talks about the different perspective that a woman has in a male-dominated industry. She cites a couple of stories and pieces of advice from the earlier days of her career, giving appreciation to the wisdom she gained.
Mitch and Karen go on to discuss growth in a leadership position and Karen notes her own knowledge of the industry as a turning point in her career. She shares a story about knowing a product will help a client who is reluctant to buy…and why she won't take no for an answer.
The pair move on to talking about motivating a team to carry a success target, with Karen giving her point of view as the head of an all-female sales team, along with the usual, more common targets.
The Whole Enchilada cites the place, the person, and the path and the conversation leans toward what Karen knows to be the most important part of the path, also stating that long cycles need to be considered. The secret to her success? "Just one more."
When Mitch asks Karen if she believes that leaders are a different breed, she goes back to her keywords to explain what makes a successful sales leader. The two also delve into the role-reversal in Karen's family, with Karen giving an insightful example of what it's like for her at a conference versus what it's like for her male counterparts.
Karen talks about betting on herself when she switched career roles, and the pivotal moment when she discovered her "swagger." Mitch agrees that everyone has swagger and that it's important for leaders to determine what sets them apart from everyone else. Karen also believes that success and failure can be rolled into one factor – that a go-for-it attitude can lead to success but can also lead to failure. What is the cost of being the best?
The conversation ends with Karen's story about ethical business practices and Mitch's own thoughts on living beyond the transaction.
The final question lands us at Karen's favorite Mexican food restaurant, Casa Alde in Buda, Texas. She says that we'll be going for breakfast to have their famous "Fatty" breakfast taco and wishes us good luck on that Chuy's dinner with Season One, Episode Nine guest, Brett Collins. Apparently, we won't want to eat again for a long time after indulging in the Fatty.
Table Talk:
Immediately following his conversation with Karen, Mitch introduces The Whole Enchilada team and asks who wants to begin.
Erin jumps at the chance, giving her own story of teaching integrity to her daughters much like Karen did in her story about helping a former who no longer had a sales agreement with her distribution company. Gil equates it to his time in media relations and the need to build trust with reporters.
Isaac says that he connected with Karen's philosophy of listening, talking about a friend who gave up a big sale in order to benefit the client…and how that came back to bless him later on. Gil says that a solar salesperson he recently met with had a similar story.
Mitch recalls learning the lesson that the harder he has to work for a sale, the harder the client is to keep, and that sometimes success means letting go. He ends the episode talking about how success is a tricky and subjective concept.
Links:
The Spanx Story by Charlie Wetzel and Stephanie Wetzel
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07T8SG7WZ/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
Margin by Richard Swenson
https://www.amazon.com/Margin-Restoring-Emotional-Financial-Overloaded-ebook/dp/B00IDHW5KK
The Whole Enchilada, Season 1, Episode 9
https://www.thewholeenchiladapodcast.com/podcast/episode/219df1d9/s1-e9-why-bet-on-yourself
Casa Alde, Buda, TX
https://www.facebook.com/helenscasaalde/
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