THE SECRET TO KEEPING YOUR SALES TEAM FIRED UP TO WIN IN B2B SALES

Hey, everybody, welcome to the show. Or welcome back. Hey, this is the show where we interview the very best of sales leaders and understand first, why did they get into leadership? What's the distinction there between the motives of getting into sales leadership and what differences have they found? And what is working today to get the very most out of their team and have it be fun along the way. Before we get in, make sure you check us out over@b2b revenue.com where you can learn about all the stuff that we're covering as far as driving revenue in today's world. And at the very end, I'll sum it up. Let's get into the interview. Hey, Desiree, thanks for joining us today. As a way of getting started, give us a little background on yourself. Hi. Well, first of all, thank you so much for having me here. So. So I have been in industrial cells for a very long time. I've actually been on Commission for 26 years. I've been in many different verticals from industrial air conditioning, plumbing, telecommunication, litigation support, and I've been in industrial chemicals now for almost a decade. What do you like about it? I love everything from the. I love the entire process. Like, I almost like at the beginning when you're a private detective and you have to find the person, see how to get to the person, you know, especially when you're going after some of these large corporations where you just can't walk in anymore, especially now with our latest thing, the Pandemic. So I love the beginning of the process to finding out who you need to talk to, how you get to that person all the way to the end where you have the best presentation and you have a brand new client. Like, I'm one of those crazy people that actually like to cold call. And many people, that's their fear. But I'm used to being a performer because I'm an artist as well. So I can stand in front of, you know, many people and it doesn't bother me. So. And what kind of artist are you? Well, for about 20 years, I'm a spoken word poet and I'm a host. So I'm used to getting on top, you know, on the stage and directing the entire show. So that kind of confidence. I don't have problems going into a boardroom or in front of some major decision makers in the government and just. And just talking. So I've been blessed with something called, I think, natural rapport, which is something that can't really be taught. So it doesn't matter if it's the Janitor on the elevator, or if it's the CEO, I get instant rapport with almost immediate, almost everyone, immediately. So I'm actually very grateful for that talent. And how do you do that? How do I get that? You know what? I try to stay positive. No matter what is going on in my life, personally or unfortunately, the environment, what's going on in this world right now, I stay positive. And no matter how mean they are, I always smile and I find some way to connect with them. I. I mean, I know everybody says, I'll look around the office and see, you know, what pictures they have on their desk or something like that. I find the oddest ways of connecting with people. I just take anything that they say in any sentence and I go from there. Yeah. So, yeah, where did this come from? When did you first develop? You know, because that performance that you do with the poetry and the hosting, it's how well you do it, right? It's not that you just stand up there. You can't be pan face and just monotone. You have to engage people. I think, I think, I think a lot of my talent is natural. But at the same time, you know, in order to have growth, you obviously have to do your research. You have to practice. There were so many times, especially when I got into industrial chemicals, I knew nothing about chemicals when I started this, okay, I started out a sales rep. I then became a corporate trainer. I then became the east coast sales manager, and now I'm the national sales director. And nine years ago, I couldn't tell you what a bacteria was. I couldn't tell you what a degreaser was. But what I did is I learned the products, I did the work at the beginning, and I would literally. My poor husband, I would take the chemicals and he would be my audience, and I would practice until I could flow. And that's the thing is, is you have to be completely confident in what you're talking about, because people sense that in a second. And there's no problem with not knowing the answer. And that's the other thing that is important is accountability. I'm not the chemist. I represent the company. So when somebody throws off a question that is way above my wheelhouse, I'm going to say, okay, let's step back. I'm going to get the answer for you for that. That is not my, you know, that's not in my wheelhouse. So I think that's very, very important. Unfortunately, there's some people in cells that they just want to give, you know, the client the answer, even if it's not the right answer. So. And you write poetry and you present poetry, too. Is that also yes? Yes. I write, I perform, I host. So because of that, you know, when you do poetry, a lot of stuff is very personal. So if I can stand on a stage in front of 500 people and talk about personal things, then definitely when I'm in my corporate world, it makes things a lot easier. I'm more comfortable. Because that's the thing in sales. It's. You have to be comfortable going in. I don't even go in anymore if I'm cold calling. If I'm out with the sales rep in the territory, I don't walk in and say, hi, I'm Desiree at Proline. We sell industrial chemicals. Is John available? I come in and I say, I'm here to see John. Don't tell him where I. Who I am, why I'm there, anything. And usually when you come in and you don't ask, but you say you're there, they don't ask questions, especially if you have the confidence. And the next thing I know, they go get John. John's coming up. He's like, who are you? So that's one technique that I've kind of tweaked over the years is don't explain too much when you're. When you're trying to get it, you know, your foot in the door. Don't be in a submissive role because. Exactly. When you describe. When you sound like a salesperson, you get treated like one. Exactly. And they know how to sniff us out. Right. You want to talk to John because you're a business person, right? Yes, exactly. Exactly. So. And the poetry, because that fits sales a lot more than people would think. Oh, yes, because it's selecting words with emotion and then presenting it over and over until you feel comfortable. You're presenting it the way you want it to be heard. Yes, exactly. Exactly. It has actually helped me, too, because I've had clients come to my shows. They love it. They love it, and it gives you a whole different type of relationship with that client. They see you in a different light, and entertainment and business go hand in hand. So. And what I've done over the years is I've made my clients on a level of a friendship because people buy from people that they like and that they trust. And that's one thing that I love about the company I am at right now, is our integrity, is everything we. I'm sure you know, you've had a million horror Stories, you know, when people are out there selling products, they'll sell people stuff that they don't need and amounts that they don't need. We actually care about our customer because it's all about the, the long term goal. It's about building that trust and that rapport. And so, so I've taken the entertainment industry and it kind of gave me a whole different end with, with a lot of these customers. So, so. And how do you differentiate yourself, your company, your products? Because I got to believe they want to view you even though you're not as a commodity. Yes. So this is what separate separates our company. A couple of things. First of all, if you take a look, we're a woman owned, woman ran. So we're, we bank and we're sba, right. So first of all, we're in a predominantly male industry. We're out here in a dirty industry because wastewater plants and a lot of places are glamorous, isn't it? Yes, it's just wonderful. So we're in that industry and we really teach our sales rep chemicals. So we're there and what we do is we provide solutions, we put preventive maintenance solutions together for large corporations. We go in and after we meet with the decision maker, they purchase our products. Not only, we don't stop there, then we come in and we do safety seminars and teach their employees how to use it. Because people aren't good with change. I don't know if you're familiar with this. People don't like to change. So when a new chemical company comes in, in order to make sure they're using our products correctly, we go in and we actually show. Not that people can't read directions, but sometimes people don't like to do that. Like an active ingredient in a lot of chemicals is water. Some people don't add water. So that's what strives us apart from a lot of places as we are very hands on, we like to partnership with people, not come in and just sell your product and then we're on to the next. We're all about longevity, but they're using something already. Is that true? Yes. Yes. So everybody, this is the fascinating thing about chemicals. When I got into industrial chemicals, people were like, you do what you sell. What. What a lot of people don't realize is all these large commercial buildings, all these military bases, all these entertainment venues, they have to have chemicals to make their properties run. Just like our house. Right? Our house. Like what the state average person has, what, three to five people in their family? Your Your toilet is ran how many times a day? Now you take a military base, how many hundreds of times, you're going to make us imagine that. Sorry, sorry. That's just an example. That's just an example. But you know things from your air conditioning at your house. Where do I order those chemicals? So, yes. So when people, when I first told them I sell industrial chemicals, they're like, what is that? But in order for these facilities to run and to run properly, because some of these facilities are 24 7, they can't shut down their restrooms, they can't let their AC go down. And then with COVID they needed a hospital grade disinfectants to make sure everybody was safe. But why would they switch? Okay, so we have a large green line, right? And when you hear green products, you typically think they're diluted. They don't. They're weak, they don't work. Well, what we do is we come in and we actually demonstrate straight the product and not we will even walk around the facilities and you show us where your issues are and we take the product and we give you the wow factor right then and there. Almost like, like the telecommercials, not to sound corny, but we do that physically because I can tell you our product does a million things. I can show you before and after pictures, I can show you testimonies. But when you see it physically, and I'm excited, and then you get excited because I just solved a problem that you, you've had to be specific. We have a product that removes rust. Calcium, soap, scale, everything from metal. Have you ever used clr? Are you familiar with clr? I know what it is, yeah. Okay. I watched the infomercial. Yeah, it's an acid, right? And it removes those things. Yeah. We have a completely green product you can literally pour in your hand. It will wipe rust right off of metal. And I mean, when I say right off, you spray it on and it wipes right off. When I demonstrate this product, people are wowed. They're excited. But what I, what I'm able to do in these facilities that have watermarks and rust and things are starting to look bad, I can literally save their finishes, save them thousands of dollars, thousands of dollars by our product. So what separates us is now there's a lot of competitors out there, a lot of chemical companies out there, but we have some select products that when you compare it to our competition, it blows them away. Now, when you took the trainer role, what was that like? Because you sound like you have your way of Doing which is working for you. Is it transferable, though? I wouldn't say everything is transferable. But what was interesting when I took on the role is I was so new in this position. I was still familiar with what it was like starting day one with no chemical experience. And what I like about now that I hire and I mentor people, I like actually typically finding people that have never sold chemicals because you can teach them different techniques, where if they've been doing it for several years, they're kind of stuck in their. Their. Their, you know, their old ways. So, I mean, I've learned little tips over the years that. And I'm. I know this is what your show is about, but simple things, and this is what I try to teach everybody, is there's some talkers out there and you'll go into a meeting and your half of your day is spent. So I've taught my people as far as when you have that type of client, you make sure you go in an hour before their lunchtime, an hour before they leave. I've literally set an alarm clock because I've told them, hey, when this goes off, I have to leave. Because, you know, over time, when you build that type of rapport, it becomes less and less like work. Now, obviously, we're there to sell a product, and they need our products. But I'm sure you're familiar how you. You almost become a therapist. Well, I was during college. I was on the other side of it. You know, I was the guy that would buy the chemicals. Oh, okay. You know, but, you know, I'd have three visitors a day, though, you know, saying, hey, I'm here to see Brian. Oh, and they were all selling you the same things? Well, you know, variations. Right? Yes, yes. And it's a hard sale because. Oh, yes, right. Because there's many ways to solve the problem. You know, it's not my money, so money isn't really the thing. I'm looking. Do I care? I want, I guess, service. I want to make sure it's there. Right, right. What I have found is I actually want a customer because of my consistency, But I wasn't aggressive. So there was one account. It was a large account. When I started with the company, I went there every month. I went there every month for about 18 months without one order. And when I got the order from them, it was the largest order I'd ever received. And she told me I was consistent, but I was not aggressive and I was professional. Because that's the thing. There are so many competitors out there. You, you said, had three people coming in every day to see you, to sell you. Pretty much the same thing. But I've gotten to the point where when people realize I always call myself I'm one of the good ones, I'm the good salesperson. Right. Because most of them were completely transactional. If I didn't buy, I never heard from them again. Yes, yes. But were the patient ones the ones that would show me the difference, would educate me, would help me, or try and understand what I'm up against? Yes, exactly. Exactly. We're one of the good ones. So you've seen a lot of salespeople. What do you think separates the best from the rest? There's multiple things, but first you have to want it. You have to be self motivated, you have to be driven. And that's something that can't be taught. So some people get into sales and unfortunately this just is not, is not for them if they are not motivated and a self starter. It's all, I don't want to say anything's impossible, but you have to have that drive. So that's one of the things that I definitely believe in. And how do you see that in an interview? What do you look for on the resume? What questions do you ask? What are you thinking? Okay, so one of my best hires, right? We talked on the phone. Our initial conversation lasted over an hour. Because I'm one of those few people that I love what I do and that shows when I talk to people. So at one point I would joke with the owner and I said, I think I'm better at selling this job than the chemicals anymore because not too many people actually enjoy what they do. Before the pandemic, I really loved what I did. This pandemic has done a lot to us. So, you know, you know, the zoom calls and being at the house and I was traveling all the time, and then I was just stuck in a box for a long time. So. So what she did after we had our initial phone conversation, which I loved, her personality on the phone, she said, I want to be the first person you interview. She set the bar so high. And even though she had no chemical experience and very little sales experience, I seen something in her. I seen the drive in her. And now she is making over six figures and now she's managing people on her own. And she was in the same place I was, had never sold chemicals. But even more, she didn't have that much sales experience. And I mentored her. I taught her tricks that I had learned myself. The hard Way over decades. And she listened, because I think it's all about growth. We have to constantly grow. There's constant changes. Even like the normal objections we used to have, like, I already have a sales rep, your products cost too much. Now we have the objection is we're not taking people into the facility. You know, all of our money is being spent on ppe. We have no budget. Like, we have different objections now that I'm learning myself, because once again, it's constantly about growth. And how can you tell if they have that part? Because the drive and the personal responsibility, you can kind of see that. How did they get into college? Why did they pick that college? Did it fall on their head? Did they ever have to work part time? When you hit a roadblock, what happened? But the taking, feedback. Mm. That's even another kind of advanced skill. Because a lot of people are very sensitive, you know, because a lot of people wouldn't get on that stage and read poetry. Someone like, this job is not for everybody. Yeah. This industry is not for everybody. So what I do at the very beginning is, I am brutally honest. I will tell you the good, the bad, and the ugly. Because the last thing I want to do is. Is waste my time and waste their time. So what. What I always do is I always have the person after we have the conversation, after we have the interview, I have them do a ride day, and sometimes I have them do multiple days out in the field so they can see what it is really like, because if they're new to this industry, it's a completely different animal. And then also, I like to see how they interact, because some people will jump in, they don't even know anything about chemicals, but they'll have that interaction with the customer, which is very important. So that's what I. But that's what I tend to do. And, you know, sometimes it's not a good fit. And at the end of the day, I mean, they. They gave, they tried, because that's the thing that, you know, fear. Like I am. When. When this company sought me out, I was comfortable where I was. I was almost stagnant where I was. I didn't have to work anymore. My client base was my client base. They were 80% of the people at my wedding. I had done it for so long, and then someone found me on LinkedIn and they offered me this position, and it was scary. I completely changed the industry I was in. I knew nothing about chemicals, but what do they say? Great risk, great reward. And I'm really glad that I Did that. So at this life is too short. So if there's something you're interested in, I think you should jump out there and see if it happens. And you don't know, it might be your best, best career choice ever. So. And have you found anything particular about that motive? Is it money motivated? Is it competitive motivation? Is it. I think it's a hybrid. I think it's a hybrid. I think it's a little bit of everything. The thing is, in any cells, you have to be motivated enough to really go out there and put in the work. Because at the beginning, no matter what you do, that first year is usually the hardest. You're building your client bas, so you have to have enough resources to be able to survive while you're building that. But you also. I have found people when they don't have a need for money necessarily, their determination isn't as great. So it's kind of like in between they have to be financially secure enough to maybe not make so much money at the beginning. And this also depends on where they are in their career and what type of book of business they already have for brand new people coming into sales. They have to have enough to survive, but not enough to where they're comfortable is what I have found. So yeah, because there's the need and there's the have. Like if you have five kids, you have to make money. Yes, yes, that, that definitely makes a difference. But if you're hyper competitive, you need it as validation. Yes. Your skill level. Yes, definitely, definitely. So there's so many things that motivate people. But like I said, it's definitely an interesting industry. I love it. It's not for everybody. I've seen that. But. And what made you decide? Because it looks like you had a great job, you were doing well, and now you're going into something that's could be viewed as a commodity. Yes. Very hard, very cold, not inbound, complete outbound. I cried at the beginning when I took this job like a month in, I was like, what have I done? What have I done? But once again, it was overcoming my fear and trying something different. And there was no room for growth where I was. I'd already gotten every client there was. It was a very small area. I could only sell to attorneys and paralegals and it was in West Palm Beach. So with this position, I seen room for growth. And that's exactly what I did. I'm not stopping until I'm the VP of sales. Like that's the next step for me. So. And Is that what motivates you? Is it moving up the org or what excites you? I'm definitely driven by moving up the ladder. I definitely can't wait to have that title vp. And one thing that I do love where I am right now is because we're women owned. I love empowering other women. Whether it's been in the entertainment industry or the other sales careers I've had, I'm usually one of the few. But you understand, women cannot be salespeople. Joking. Click. No, just doing my bora. What country you live in. Well, and one thing that is a pro for, you know, because there's pros and cons. One thing I feel about being a woman in sales is we're disarming. And I'm sorry, men that out there listening to this. We are usually a lot disarming. And when it comes to us, especially at the very beginning and we're cold calling, it gets us in the door a little bit easier. Let's face it. When you were a teenager, you probably talked on the phone, right? Oh, yeah. How many teenage boys do you know who talk on the phone? Well, who do you think the girls are talking to? Usually the teenage boys. About the boys. You don't remember? You hang up. No, you hang up. And then you got on the phone with the girls and then you talked about the post game. Yeah, yeah, but you wanted to. The guys hated it. They dreaded it. I don't know. I remember being on the phone with my boyfriend in high school and he would fall asleep on the phone, like, what does that tell you? That's true. That's true. That's not a ringing endorsement for your conversations. Yeah, that's true. That's true. Well, my point is, you know, I think women naturally are more social. Yes. You know, guys, you know, social interactions, punching each other. Yeah, yeah. So definitely, you know, I think women naturally make better salespeople. Yeah. At least that part, that empathy, that conversation, the social part. Yes, I agree, I agree. I know we're probably offending a lot of men out there. Sorry, guys. No, but men have the, you know, hyper focus, competitive stuff that. And sometimes they have a respect level that we don't get, unfortunately. I've seen that a lot too, with some people, not everybody. But I have been in. I have been in, in meetings where it didn't matter what I knew about the chemical component. I was a woman. And unfortunately, that does still happen. Not as often. It is 20, 20, 22 now, so. Yeah. Yeah. Especially depending in different areas Because I'm all over the country, so I see different cultures differently. Right. And it's individuals and. Yes, but do you find it harder hiring women than men or with. With or without sales skills? I don't believe so. And this has not been on purpose, but I've only had two men as far as sales reps at this company, so. And it's just been the applications and the interview process. It's been women. And that's one thing though that I'm not ashamed of is like I said, women empowerment is very important to me. And I love it because I have people on my team that are, they're single mothers. That's one of the hardest jobs in the world. And I'm giving them a whole different lifestyle now. They are making double and triple the type of money they were before. And in sales, outside sales, we have a flexibility that you don't have when you have a regular corporate 9 to 5 job. You know, your kid gets sick and you got to go home. Like now. It's different if you're in a large meeting or if you're in a different state, you know, if you've flown flow somewhere to do a large presentation. But our industry, we're pretty flexible and we make a lot of money, but it is a lot of hard work. And do you find that a lot of people are just unaware of it because you don't see industrial sales in the movies or on tv. Right. So how would you learn about it unless a parent or a friend is engaged in it? I wouldn't even know about this industry if somebody hadn't gotten reached out to me on LinkedIn. I said industrial chemicals, you know, so I'm like, what do you mean? It doesn't hold me down. Yeah, like that doesn't sound exciting, but actually it is pretty cool. Some of the things that we get to do and see. And I've now been in places like Quantico and FBI headquarters, the back of the house at mgm, like places that most normal people would not have access to. I've got to see some amazing things. One of the largest wastewater plants in the country. Like, it didn't smell very well, but it was very interesting to see how things are processed, to see, you know, different things. So when you did hire and you made a mistake, what was the typical root of the mistake? They weren't self motivated. I can't hold your hand at the end of the day, like, we're, we're pretty much based on commission, right? So is it 100% commission? Or no, no, it's not 100% commission, but like I said, high risk, high reward. So we make most of our money on our commission. And I've had positions before where you had a big salary but low commission. I prefer this because we have no cap. So the more you put into it, the more money you're making. Actually, we're. We're. Our commission base is on a scale, so the more you sell, the higher your commission is. So. So, by the way, any great salespeople out there, there's my LinkedIn. Please come find me. But. Because we're looking for some great people. But. But what I find is there's some people out there. They. They have a certain number, and they're comfortable. And once they reach that number, I'm not going to micromanage you. If you're happy making 70, 80, 100,000, and that fits your lifestyle, that's fine. But what I love are the sales reps are out there that are like, they just want to keep improving every year. They want their numbers to go up every year. They want to make 200,000. They want to make 250,000. Like, there's no cap on this industry. So cool. Hey, appreciate your time today, Desiree. Where can people go to connect and follow you on LinkedIn? Desiree carnosrivas. Right there. Yep. And are you looking for people now? I definitely am. I'm looking for some good people. We have lots of territories open in this country, and one of the great things about our industry is why some companies were. Unfortunately, during the pandemic, they were shutting down, and they were losing people. We increased by 30% in the pandemic, so we actually brought in a couple new people, and we grew. So if somebody's out there and they're up for the challenge, please don't hesitate to reach out to me, even if you have no chemical experience. I did not have chemical experience. Some of the best people I have working for me right now did not either. So it's just a learning curve like everything else. Hey, what a great guest. I really enjoy talking with other sales leaders, understanding their motives, their differentiators. And I think you get a lot out of hearing how other people are solving these particular problems. If you or your team is looking to up your game, check out our training courses over@b2b revenue.com. the letter B, the numeral to the letter B, and then the word revenue dot com. Isn't that a beautiful word? Revenue? Also, if you'd like to support the show, please put a rating, a review, or even better, tell another sales leader or even your team to check us out. Either this podcast or we got several others. We got the Brutal Truth About Sales and Selling which is interview based about the very best reps in the world and what is working today. Sales questions, brutally honest answers, a daily Q and A type show talking about the questions that people are asking today and the answers that I have for them. Also the B2B Revenue Leadership show where I talk to CEOs, CROs and CMOs about what is working today. Look at all that content and if you happen to see my videos, pass you by on LinkedIn. Brian G. Burns Give it a little thumbs up. Whether it's comedy or content, I try and break up the day with a little sales comedy as well as some content about what is working today. Little tips, tactics, techniques that have been working for me, different ways of looking at the sales world and how to get people's attention. Get conversations started and keep those deals moving. Appreciate you listening and we'll see you next time.