文字起こし 🔗
WEBVTT
00:00:00.640 --> 00:00:06.559
The Surviving Outside Sales podcast, hosted by Michael Kelly, presented by Sales Builder Academy.
00:00:06.799 --> 00:00:15.199
The goal is to survive and thrive at all phases of outside sales, whether you're getting in, dominating, or getting out.
00:00:15.519 --> 00:00:16.960
Surviving Outside Sales.
00:00:17.359 --> 00:00:18.640
Now let's go.
00:00:35.119 --> 00:00:40.320
Man, what a wild first week plus of 2026.
00:00:40.799 --> 00:00:47.600
It is uh, it always amazes me how quickly the first week of January goes.
00:00:47.840 --> 00:00:53.840
And a lot of it is the last two weeks are extremely slow because a lot of people are on vacation.
00:00:53.920 --> 00:00:59.280
Uh, a lot of buyers are on vacation, a lot of businesses kind of have people taking PTO.
00:00:59.520 --> 00:01:02.719
But man, that first week comes in fast and furious.
00:01:02.880 --> 00:01:14.719
And the emails, the meetings, the requests, it feels like it is this probably is the fastest and the most busy I think I've ever been in the first week of January.
00:01:15.040 --> 00:01:28.159
Um, I feel like everybody in December was just taking a pause, and then all of a sudden, you know, my LinkedIn inbox was starting to get flooded, uh, my calendar was starting to get really booked, um, which is a good thing.
00:01:28.400 --> 00:01:35.120
But it also, I think it kind of is a testament of what's happening in the market as a whole.
00:01:35.280 --> 00:01:43.599
When I talk to outside sales professionals, it was a very lean Q4 across multiple industries.
00:01:43.840 --> 00:01:47.359
So if you're sitting there and you're like, man, I really was really struggling in Q4.
00:01:47.760 --> 00:01:51.519
I feel like, I feel like um, I don't know what to do, et cetera.
00:01:52.319 --> 00:01:53.359
You were not alone.
00:01:53.519 --> 00:01:53.840
Okay.
00:01:54.000 --> 00:01:56.879
It was a very soft Q4 for a lot of people.
00:01:57.120 --> 00:02:08.719
And I think that the reason why is that uh there's multiple factors, but really when it comes down to it is the buyers are inundated with information, right or wrong.
00:02:08.879 --> 00:02:10.639
They are inundated with information.
00:02:10.879 --> 00:02:18.240
And now buyers are much more savvy from the standpoint of knowing where to source information and how to find it.
00:02:18.479 --> 00:02:31.680
So, as a sales professional, especially if you don't have a retail business or you don't have people coming into your place of business to buy something, you have to go to them.
00:02:32.000 --> 00:02:35.840
You have to start having deeper conversations.
00:02:36.240 --> 00:02:46.319
You have to start leveraging your expertise as an expert, as a consultant, not just as a salesperson.
00:02:47.360 --> 00:02:50.479
Several episodes, I've said this ad nauseum.
00:02:51.039 --> 00:02:52.560
You can't be a sales rep.
00:02:52.879 --> 00:02:54.960
The days are gone of being a sales rep.
00:02:55.599 --> 00:02:57.759
You know, I represent this product.
00:02:58.479 --> 00:02:59.840
Those days are over.
00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:05.120
I'm telling you right now, you're not even gonna get by with being just an average sales rep.
00:03:05.439 --> 00:03:09.919
You have to be a professional, you have to be a sales pro in order to do that.
00:03:10.240 --> 00:03:13.439
You have to elevate your game.
00:03:14.080 --> 00:03:15.599
You have to elevate.
00:03:15.919 --> 00:03:23.199
You're going to have to approach buyers that you know what you're talking about.
00:03:23.919 --> 00:03:32.400
You have to approach buyers with a plan, a vision, with simplicity and clarity.
00:03:33.520 --> 00:03:37.039
Simply stated, how is your product or service going to improve their life?
00:03:37.919 --> 00:03:38.639
And clarity.
00:03:38.800 --> 00:03:39.919
How are you gonna get there?
00:03:40.960 --> 00:03:44.159
And look, just so you're aware, this happens to everybody.
00:03:44.400 --> 00:03:46.560
This is a struggle for all salespeople.
00:03:48.319 --> 00:03:51.439
And I was talking to a buddy of mine who's in the capital sales world.
00:03:51.520 --> 00:03:54.800
He sells capital equipment in the medical device world.
00:03:55.039 --> 00:04:04.960
And he said, I've had to rethink how I'm talking to my doctors and my office managers because everything has changed.
00:04:05.120 --> 00:04:07.840
And this guy is, you know, president's club.
00:04:07.919 --> 00:04:14.000
He's been around, he's been uber successful, and he had a soft year.
00:04:14.400 --> 00:04:19.519
He still hit quota, but like he he he got it like the last week of the year.
00:04:19.839 --> 00:04:21.839
He got a unit sold in the last week of the year.
00:04:21.920 --> 00:04:22.720
He barely made it.
00:04:22.800 --> 00:04:27.199
And normally he he hits quota uh for the year, usually by mid-November.
00:04:28.160 --> 00:04:31.360
And he's like, Man, I was I was really struggling.
00:04:31.439 --> 00:04:32.639
I didn't think it was gonna happen.
00:04:32.800 --> 00:04:37.839
It was a it was a Hail Mary, something that he didn't even think was gonna happen, and it did.
00:04:39.279 --> 00:04:43.120
And he he he honestly said, I it's changed.
00:04:43.279 --> 00:04:45.279
He goes, it has changed out there.
00:04:45.600 --> 00:04:50.160
And I said, Yeah, I said, I know you listen to the podcast, I've been saying it for years.
00:04:50.399 --> 00:04:53.680
You can't approach every year the exact same.
00:04:54.319 --> 00:04:56.079
Everything has changed.
00:04:57.920 --> 00:05:02.000
And the approach for 2026 is gonna have to change.
00:05:02.319 --> 00:05:08.879
This is the year where if you're listening right now, you gotta become an expert in whatever you do.
00:05:09.120 --> 00:05:11.680
You have to live it, you have to breathe it.
00:05:12.000 --> 00:05:21.040
Now, it doesn't mean you have to sit up every night and spend two, three, four hours, but you got to spend some time every night, every day
Load full transcript
getting better.
00:05:21.199 --> 00:05:23.920
You're gonna have to sacrifice time on the weekend.
00:05:25.199 --> 00:05:32.800
What I used to do is I used to try to uh take the biggest bite of the elephant I could first thing Saturday morning.
00:05:33.360 --> 00:05:37.920
I would wake up, and this is back in my days before I was single, not married, no kids.
00:05:38.079 --> 00:05:49.600
I'd wake up, I'd go work out first thing, I'd clean my house, do laundry, and then before noon, I would get everything done that I needed it done.
00:05:49.920 --> 00:05:54.240
My reading, my role playing, my practicing before noon.
00:05:54.480 --> 00:06:03.839
From noon for the rest of the weekend until Sunday night when I was preparing for the week and reviewing for the week, that was my time to do whatever I wanted.
00:06:04.000 --> 00:06:05.279
That was my free time.
00:06:05.920 --> 00:06:13.759
I'd already exercised the mind, I'd already exercised the brain, I'd already uh cleaned uh the clutter out of my condo.
00:06:14.800 --> 00:06:17.199
By noon on Saturday, I was good.
00:06:17.360 --> 00:06:22.399
Everything else, could visit with friends, could do whatever I wanted.
00:06:23.040 --> 00:06:30.160
So Saturday mornings, I'd spend a couple hours working on the business.
00:06:31.439 --> 00:06:35.279
I would also do it at night, but not as much, you know, 20, 30 minutes.
00:06:35.439 --> 00:06:39.920
Sometimes I'd go down rabbit holes or I'd get really amped up, I'd be in the zone, and I'd go a couple hours.
00:06:40.079 --> 00:06:42.720
But it's it doesn't have to necessarily be every night.
00:06:43.040 --> 00:06:46.319
But in 2026, the game has changed.
00:06:46.639 --> 00:06:48.399
You have to be the expert.
00:06:48.879 --> 00:06:51.279
You have to be the authority, not the buyer.
00:06:51.600 --> 00:07:02.480
I was talking to one of my clients, and um, you know, she's really struggling right now because she doesn't know how to increase her authority with her clients.
00:07:04.160 --> 00:07:05.600
And I I just straight up asked her.
00:07:05.680 --> 00:07:07.519
I said, okay, let's let's do some role play.
00:07:07.680 --> 00:07:09.519
Let's do some role play real quick.
00:07:10.319 --> 00:07:11.600
Tell me what you're doing.
00:07:12.560 --> 00:07:22.160
And a lot of the things that she was doing was putting the onus on my time as the buyer was more important than hers.
00:07:22.879 --> 00:07:24.879
I was the expert, not her.
00:07:25.839 --> 00:07:30.959
So we worked through how can we get you to be the expert?
00:07:31.600 --> 00:07:34.399
How can we elevate your status?
00:07:35.360 --> 00:07:38.000
And then how can how can you back it up?
00:07:39.279 --> 00:08:00.480
And that's one of the things that we're talking about today is when I am coaching sales professionals, it still boggles my mind that there's not enough expertise out there, there's not enough practice.
00:08:00.800 --> 00:08:04.480
You're not gonna get great with like with confidence.
00:08:04.639 --> 00:08:07.680
Okay, you can't just walk in and say, I'm confident.
00:08:07.920 --> 00:08:15.839
The confidence comes from the repetitions, you have to practice, but you also have to have perfect practice.
00:08:16.560 --> 00:08:18.720
It can't just be practice for practice sake.
00:08:18.879 --> 00:08:21.040
You know, perfect practice makes perfect.
00:08:21.519 --> 00:08:27.120
If I don't know what I'm doing and I just do it a bunch of times, do you think I'm gonna get to the desired result?
00:08:27.279 --> 00:08:28.160
Probably not.
00:08:29.519 --> 00:08:35.679
So it's becoming an expert in your field, it's through repetitions.
00:08:36.399 --> 00:08:42.559
Now, not necessarily repetitions in the field, like just making a bunch of calls, but you've got to do the repetitions.
00:08:43.039 --> 00:08:46.399
I mentioned before, I used to have long drive times when I was in the field.
00:08:46.480 --> 00:08:50.080
I would role play with myself, and I still do it to this day.
00:08:50.399 --> 00:08:54.399
I have I have drives of 30 minutes to an hour routinely.
00:08:55.679 --> 00:08:58.799
And I will still roleplay.
00:08:59.039 --> 00:09:01.279
I still roleplay conversations.
00:09:01.440 --> 00:09:02.480
I still role play.
00:09:02.639 --> 00:09:09.360
I still am talking to myself about various things, challenging beliefs, ideas.
00:09:10.240 --> 00:09:13.279
I spend the whole time in thought or role playing.
00:09:13.440 --> 00:09:14.799
How would I say this?
00:09:15.039 --> 00:09:16.320
How would I not say this?
00:09:16.559 --> 00:09:18.799
What is the best, what's the best phrasing?
00:09:21.120 --> 00:09:25.120
It's not necessarily an obsession, but it's just something, it's just part of my DNA.
00:09:25.279 --> 00:09:26.399
It's what I do.
00:09:26.559 --> 00:09:27.840
And I wasn't always like this.
00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:40.399
I used to be the guy when I started in the sales world, I would immediately get to the car and immediately put on a playlist, you know, rap, RB, metal, uh, hip hop, what have you.
00:09:40.559 --> 00:09:42.159
I used to play music.
00:09:42.399 --> 00:09:45.120
Every single moment I was in listening to music.
00:09:46.000 --> 00:09:47.840
And like, that's all I did.
00:09:48.000 --> 00:09:49.200
Got in the car, listen to music.
00:09:49.279 --> 00:09:56.080
Almost like I was a zombie or I just was, I was in a trance, just, you know, that was wasted time.
00:09:56.480 --> 00:09:58.720
All those hours were wasted time.
00:09:59.519 --> 00:10:04.159
One of my first mentors told me the first thing you need to do is stop listening to music.
00:10:04.799 --> 00:10:14.399
Everything in the car that you're doing from the time you leave one appointment to the next, it should be in development, developing your skills, developing your mind, developing your thought.
00:10:14.639 --> 00:10:15.039
100%.
00:10:15.759 --> 00:10:17.039
That's what you should be doing.
00:10:17.200 --> 00:10:19.279
So
listening to podcasts falls under that.
00:10:19.360 --> 00:10:21.679
And I still listen to podcasts and audible books.
00:10:21.919 --> 00:10:28.639
I love consuming audible um podcasts, anything that I can get more information.
00:10:29.759 --> 00:10:32.559
But in 2026, it is about expertise.
00:10:33.039 --> 00:10:38.320
It is about expertise, and it's not about the volume of calls if you're not doing it right.
00:10:39.279 --> 00:10:46.080
I've mentioned before I've worked for a lot of companies where the top sales rep was not the one that had the most sales calls.
00:10:46.399 --> 00:10:54.720
It was the one that was that could communicate, simplify the process, and have complete clarity for the buyer.
00:10:55.039 --> 00:10:56.240
That was the person.
00:10:56.559 --> 00:11:06.879
So in order to get in order to get simplicity and clarity, you have to be an expert.
00:11:07.039 --> 00:11:16.799
You have to be an expert in your product, you have to be an expert in communication, you have to be an expert in your plan, your process, or they're on the buying the buying cycle.
00:11:17.120 --> 00:11:24.639
You have to be an expert in sales, the art of sales, the business of sales.
00:11:26.159 --> 00:11:28.080
You have to be an expert at it.
00:11:28.399 --> 00:11:30.639
You can't just walk around and say, oh, you know, I'm a rep.
00:11:30.879 --> 00:11:33.840
I just walk in and I just regurgitate what my company told me to say.
00:11:33.919 --> 00:11:35.519
That's not gonna get you there.
00:11:37.759 --> 00:11:39.840
That should be your focus in 2026.
00:11:40.080 --> 00:11:41.679
How do I become an expert?
00:11:41.840 --> 00:11:43.840
How do I gain expertise?
00:11:44.159 --> 00:11:47.120
Because that is what's gonna take you to the next level.
00:11:47.440 --> 00:11:54.559
It's not more budget, it's not a bigger sales territory, um, it's not more ride-alongs from your manager.
00:11:55.360 --> 00:11:58.240
The onus is on you to become a professional.
00:11:58.399 --> 00:12:01.679
The good news is you're already listening to this podcast.
00:12:01.919 --> 00:12:04.399
So you're already one step ahead of a lot of other people.
00:12:04.879 --> 00:12:07.759
And not necessarily this podcast, but yes, I'm a little biased.
00:12:08.480 --> 00:12:11.120
This podcast, but also you're listening to podcasts.
00:12:11.360 --> 00:12:14.960
You're trying to consume as much information as possible.
00:12:15.120 --> 00:12:19.200
You're trying to learn, you're trying to get better, you're trying to enhance your skills.
00:12:19.919 --> 00:12:22.480
That is gonna take you a lot further.
00:12:24.159 --> 00:12:29.919
What also is gonna help, I've mentioned before, I'm testing something new in 2026.
00:12:30.399 --> 00:12:32.240
I'm testing to see if this is gonna work.
00:12:32.399 --> 00:12:36.240
I'm testing to see if it's gonna work better than what happened in 2025.
00:12:36.480 --> 00:12:39.279
I'm gonna give this uh six months.
00:12:39.440 --> 00:12:40.159
So we'll see.
00:12:40.320 --> 00:12:43.360
And that's the thing, like not everything happens immediately.
00:12:43.600 --> 00:12:46.639
I had a client of mine say, Hey, what do you think is gonna happen with your school community?
00:12:46.799 --> 00:12:49.679
And I said, I'm gonna give it six months and we'll see what happens.
00:12:49.919 --> 00:12:51.440
Rome wasn't built in the day.
00:12:51.600 --> 00:12:56.480
Every time you do something that's different, every time you change something, there's going to be some friction.
00:12:56.639 --> 00:13:00.639
There's going to be some uh difficulties.
00:13:00.799 --> 00:13:04.000
And it doesn't, it doesn't matter what you do in the sales world.
00:13:04.320 --> 00:13:07.279
Anytime you change something, you're gonna lose clients.
00:13:07.440 --> 00:13:09.600
People are people are gonna be upset.
00:13:09.919 --> 00:13:16.799
I pulled all my coaching programs off of my website, and I had a client who loved it and is upset with me.
00:13:17.600 --> 00:13:19.039
And I said, I apologize.
00:13:19.120 --> 00:13:22.559
I'm I'm recreating everything on this other, this other platform.
00:13:22.799 --> 00:13:25.919
And, you know, you've already got access.
00:13:26.159 --> 00:13:31.840
You've already got access for everything, but she's not happy with me.
00:13:32.639 --> 00:13:36.879
On the flip side, I have I have another client who said, Hey, I was really lost.
00:13:37.039 --> 00:13:39.759
It was really difficult to find the links and get to your stuff.
00:13:39.919 --> 00:13:42.000
I'm so happy that you moved it over.
00:13:42.320 --> 00:13:46.000
So for every one upset, there's gonna be one that's happy that change happened.
00:13:46.159 --> 00:13:49.279
The exact same thing happens with your clients in your market.
00:13:49.919 --> 00:13:56.879
You're gonna have somebody who's a good buyer, who's a good client, and you change something, your company changes something, and they're not gonna be happy.
00:13:57.039 --> 00:14:01.679
And sometimes you can salvage the relationship, and sometimes you can't salvage the relationship.
00:14:01.759 --> 00:14:02.399
And you know what?
00:14:02.559 --> 00:14:03.519
That's okay.
00:14:03.840 --> 00:14:04.559
That's okay.
00:14:04.720 --> 00:14:06.639
You're not gonna have clients for life.
00:14:06.720 --> 00:14:10.879
The goal is to build clients for life, but you're not gonna have clients for life.
00:14:11.039 --> 00:14:11.919
And it's okay.
00:14:12.080 --> 00:14:17.039
It's okay to move on, it's okay to not worry about it, it's okay to not stress out about it.
00:14:17.519 --> 00:14:36.960
I've I've had I have had so many examples in my career, hundreds of examples, of where the accounts loved the person that I took over for, and hundreds of accounts where the accounts loved me much more than they loved anybody else at the company.
00:14:38.080 --> 00:14:42.399
So, what you do is you just double down on the people that love you and you expand
that.
00:14:43.519 --> 00:14:48.240
So, as I mentioned, yeah, the school network, I've moved everything over to school.
00:14:48.480 --> 00:14:55.679
This is what I believe is going to be is it's gonna create simplicity and clarity, the two big things for 2026.
00:14:56.799 --> 00:14:58.320
Simplicity and clarity.
00:14:58.559 --> 00:15:02.559
And I believe it's going to help people become those experts.
00:15:03.120 --> 00:15:07.919
If you're listening right now and you want to go over to school, it is free to join.
00:15:08.399 --> 00:15:09.759
It's free to join.
00:15:09.919 --> 00:15:11.120
Join the community.
00:15:11.279 --> 00:15:20.480
There's some uh free mini courses, there's some free videos, there's some um free cheat sheets.
00:15:20.799 --> 00:15:25.840
If you want to get access to the courses, there's a couple different memberships you can have.
00:15:26.000 --> 00:15:30.879
I'm testing those out as well, doing memberships, allowing people to purchase at their free will.
00:15:31.039 --> 00:15:33.519
They don't have to do a consulting call with me.
00:15:34.320 --> 00:15:35.759
We'll see how it goes.
00:15:36.000 --> 00:15:36.960
We'll see how that goes.
00:15:37.120 --> 00:15:40.799
There's a lot of different opinions in the uh coaching world.
00:15:41.600 --> 00:15:46.240
And everybody says, no, don't do it, do it, keep doing this, keep doing that.
00:15:46.399 --> 00:15:47.840
I'm testing it out.
00:15:48.080 --> 00:15:52.559
I believe what it's gonna do, it's gonna be much more effective to allow people to come and go as they please.
00:15:52.720 --> 00:15:59.519
It's gonna allow people to consume information on one platform that's easy for them to find, easy for them to get, also has an app.
00:16:00.000 --> 00:16:04.960
I think this is this is gonna make a sales professional's life so much easier.
00:16:05.279 --> 00:16:24.480
And as I mentioned, if you are looking for some help, if you're looking for coaching, if you're looking to get out of the grind, if you're struggling, if you feel like you're spinning your wheels, if you feel like you're going nowhere, you don't have a plan, you're just waking up every morning and just driving where the wind takes you.
00:16:27.279 --> 00:16:31.120
Let's sign up, sign up for one of the coaching memberships.
00:16:32.080 --> 00:16:39.120
And let's get started on changing your 2026 and changing your future.
00:16:40.159 --> 00:16:41.440
Let's start today.
00:16:41.679 --> 00:16:52.879
And if you're confused or I haven't created simplicity or clarity, DM me on LinkedIn and we can have a chat and discuss what options are best for you.
00:16:53.039 --> 00:16:55.440
I still get lots of DMs by people.
00:16:55.759 --> 00:17:06.400
That's probably the number one source is DMs on LinkedIn is the number one source of people who are looking to change their future through sales, or shoot me an email, mike at survivingoutsides.com.
00:17:06.559 --> 00:17:07.839
Whatever is easiest for you.
00:17:07.920 --> 00:17:08.960
So there's three avenues.
00:17:09.119 --> 00:17:14.799
You can go to school, you can sign up, you can you can message me, or you can sign up for a membership.
00:17:15.119 --> 00:17:24.640
You can DM me on LinkedIn and request a consult, or email me, Mike at Surviving Outside Sales.
00:17:24.799 --> 00:17:26.799
There's three avenues to get in touch.
00:17:27.039 --> 00:17:29.839
Let's make this the best year of your life.
00:17:30.079 --> 00:17:31.680
I know we can do it together.
00:17:31.839 --> 00:17:36.880
I know you've got that that sales, that sales pro, that sales warrior inside of you.
00:17:37.119 --> 00:17:38.880
Let's develop that together.
00:17:39.200 --> 00:17:44.720
I can help clear the noise, clear the frustration, and get you on the right path.
00:17:45.759 --> 00:17:46.559
Thanks for listening.
00:17:46.720 --> 00:17:47.599
I really do appreciate it.
00:17:47.680 --> 00:17:50.880
Uh, if you like the episode, uh please like it.
00:17:51.279 --> 00:17:56.079
Five stars, share it with a friend, and uh download any other episode.
00:17:56.240 --> 00:17:59.920
And until next time, this has been Surviving Outside Sales.
00:18:00.240 --> 00:18:00.720
Cheers.