Relationships Over Transactions

Damon Pistulka  00:02

All right? Curt, it is Friday, and you know what that means. It’s time for stop being the best kept secret. We’re gonna have some fun today, aren’t we? Curt, Damon, dude, we have fun every day, don’t we? Yes, just varying levels of fun very

Curt Anderson  00:17

right. So on a one to 10, what are you anticipating today.

Damon Pistulka  00:21

I’m anticip. I start out thinking it’s going to be a 10. Hey, you know

Curt Anderson  00:24

what? Let’s shoot for the stars. What they say if you, if you shoot for the moon and you hit a star, right? I’m

Damon Pistulka  00:29

butchering that one, right. Shoot for the stars. Hit the moon. You still made it to the moon. Still Win.

Curt Anderson  00:33

You still went. So, you know what? Let’s dive in. So we’re talking about stopping the best kept secret. I’ll tell you one thing, you know, one thing that I’m really enjoying is, like, the more you put yourself out here, the more it’s almost like this is kind of like an accountability opportunity, yeah? And it’s like, when you put yourself out there, of you know, you know, we don’t have all the answers. I always speak for you, I don’t have all the answers. We’re trying to figure it out. But what the topic today is we want to talk about relationships over transactions. Yeah, relationships over transactions. I’d say that’s been like a hot topic, at least for me, for the folks, the clients that we’re blessed with, that we work with on a regular basis. You know, there’s a lot of you know, there’s uncertainty anytime, right? I don’t care. You pick a year, you pick a decade, you pick a whatever. There’s uncertainty anytime, yeah, however, like in our space right now, we’ve been we work with the manufacturing extension partnerships, and there have been some challenges there, right? There have been some challenges with the manufacturing extension partnerships. And you know, it’s tough when, like, people in your space are going through difficult times or challenges, because you’re focused on those relationships, right? So let’s dive into, like, the value of relationships over transactions. What does that mean to you?

Damon Pistulka  01:42

Well, I think really it’s about getting know people as people first, right? You know, and it varies the amount you get to do that by by how much time you can you can spend with people. But I really enjoy that. I enjoy getting to know people. Get to know what they like, what their real values and passions are, because that that then helps you to understand, if you are going to do business meet as a buyer or a seller with that person, you know just what, what might be important, and what are the things that we want to really make sure we emphasize

Curt Anderson  02:18

right? And I think, you know, as we’ve gone through, and we’re really we’re going to be doing more of this. When we talk about our digital game plan, understand like that buyer persona, yeah, we call them that soulmate, like, Who is that ideal buyer the you know, you have God given talents, you have expertise, you have things that you are just there’s nobody better than you at what you do, and when you laser focus on, like, your core strengths. What that thing that you do, as opposed to, like, jack of all trades, master of none type thing, you know, movie laser focus on like, where you fit best man, you know, I know, like, I get into situations frequently, where I might Man, am I the best guy for this spot, you know? But I love when you, when you, you know, when you get into the zone. Damon, I know, like, you had a couple calls this week, probably a lot of calls with clients this week, and you’re just like, man, there’s just, you know, saying this with, like, total humility. There’s nobody better than me right now, of like, delivering the solution to this person, and how, together as a team, can we move the needle? Right?

Damon Pistulka  03:14

Yeah, it’s fun when that happens. And I think coming back to relationships over transactions. And Walter Crosby said this. I talked to him, I think it was earlier this week, and he was talking about, he says, you know, and consummate sales professional, just, just one I totally respect, because he’s no BS straight up. And he said, listen, all I want to have is conversations with people and ask questions, learn more about them. And he said, If I’m trying, if I am in that situation, I’m trying to sell. He said, I’m not trying to sell. I’m trying to figure out is what I have going to solve their problem, right? And if it is great, we can talk about it. But if it’s not, I need to keep asking questions, because I need to understand their problem well, because we’re going to leave this conversation with either I’m going to know if I’m the right fit, and if I’m not, I want to be able to refer them to somebody I know that they can get the help they need, right? Because he said, I’d never want to leave that as just well I didn’t sell anything, so I’m off down the road. He said, as a salesperson, those kind of things when you can help somebody else, when you’re not the best fit, by getting them to the best fit. He said, It is a game changer in your success over time, because when they do need what you do, they’re coming back to you because you helped them before

Curt Anderson  04:38

completely I was just I had a meeting in person this morning with a guy, one just, gosh, I can’t speak high enough about this guy. He’s a giant. He’s like, six, seven and, yeah, just a just a powerhouse of a human being. Just, I mean, I could listen to him all day. Just a great guy, very successful salesperson. And he said the exact same thing. He’s the I know a guy, guy. I know a guy. Guy. So the thing is, like, he, he’s an insurance sales, very successful, you know, humble, funny, great guy. Does incredible work. But he said, You know what, when I a client comes to me that needs this, I refer them to this person, I send them to this person. Like, he’s the, I know a guy, guy, but, man, he’s like, when, when somebody comes to me and they need this, they need this. I don’t want anybody else be better than me. He goes, I’m selling a commodity. Like, they can go to anybody. I know they can go to anybody, but, man, when they come to me, I want to give them 110% I want to give them everything I’ve got. So when they have a challenge, because, like, insurance, you know, like, usually, you know, it’s not a fun event. It’s like, hey, hey, this is awesome. I got in a car accident, you know, like, it seems to be not a great event. And so when he’s calling him, like he’s giving that person everything he’s got,

Damon Pistulka  05:48

yeah, well, and that’s a great example, right? Because when you’re selling commodities like that, you know, it there’s, and then there’s a million of them in business, in life, there’s all kinds of things like that. But those relationships and being in help help other people. You can tell those people that do that, that are in those industries, because they’re very successful, right? And and it is because they really care about people, care about their relationships, and care about helping them solve problems, right? So

Curt Anderson  06:18

we’re alright. So what are some tips, advice they have for somebody out there to maybe they struggle their challenges. Like, hey, this is kind of a new concept. Do you have any, I don’t mean put you on the spot. Do you have any tips and advice for folks out there on, how do you focus on those relationships, earn that trust? We’re saying like, Hey, be the I know enough. I know a guy, guy, or I know a gale person, right? How? What do you have any other suggestions, like, what’s worked for you or your career, that advice that you want to share?

Damon Pistulka  06:45

Well, I used to suck at it. Honestly. I’m just gonna say I did because I always thought it was selling, right? Because, well, they can. It did because I didn’t know any different than closing, right? Yeah, yeah. You know that always be closing kind of thing, and, and, and you have to close at a certain point, but it really is, and again, that sales people that I know, that I talk to, it is about asking questions and getting to know somebody, getting to know their problems better. It really the questions you ask people, whether you’re in a networking call, whether you’re in a sales situation, those questions are what makes or breaks your success, because if you’re asking the right questions, and you continue to ask deeper questions when you go this is something that we should we should explore more to either help them clarify in their own mind, or to help you understand better. That’s where you really get the the value from these relationships. Because at at surface level, you could say, oh, yeah, that’s a problem that that we might be able to help with, or whatever. But then you go two levels deeper, and you go, Hmm, it’s really good, and we know exactly what we would do. Or Nope, this is a red flag that I missed if I wouldn’t have asked those second those follow up questions. Now, if you’re the person that’s being asked the question, and this is for people that are trying to build these relationships, right? I’m reaching out. I’m talking to people, the people on the other side. You say this many times, Curt. Who do people like to talk about?

Curt Anderson  08:25

Do another webinar? You know, what do people think about all day, every day? Yeah, themselves. Right? Yeah. They think about themselves all day,

Damon Pistulka  08:34

every day. You know, you know the questions like well and how does that affect your your daily life? How does that, you know, just keep asking those deeper questions, because they feel heard. They feel heard when you do that. Understood, right, yeah. Understood, yeah. And you just those deeper questions just, I mean, in a conversation, two or three of those questions at the right moment can make the difference with that person leaving the with the feeling of, wow, Curt is a great guy. Or, yeah, it was nice talking to Curt, but so with

Curt Anderson  09:06

our friend Ray. Ray’s a guy who calls it commission breath. Remember that, yes, yeah. I have buddies in pharma sales, where they, you know, you come in, you like, you vomit all over, you know, all the features and stuff. I had a mentor years and years ago, a business advisor, just a wonderful human being, great entrepreneur. And he said, If you could be the master question, asker, yeah, don’t need to, you don’t need to know, you don’t need to know the answers. But if you can master the questions, that was the key to success. And I said, like everybody worshiped the ground. This guy walked on like he’d walk in a room. It was just like, you know, you know, it was like The Godfather walk in the room, you know, he’s like a, you know, grandfatherly type guy, and just, you know, people loved him, adored him, but people respected him because he cared and he always asked. He asked questions, and he knew the right questions to ask,

Damon Pistulka  09:56

right Yes. And if you don’t know the right questions, ask. I mean, this is a. Great thing to prompt AI about explain a little bit about the situation. Say, Hey, I want to ask some good questions to really understand what’s going on with them and their situation, or, you know, and it might give you some good ideas there to start doing it and then it there. There are some standard ones, you know, that you can keep doing over time. Yeah, and, and, but that can help

Curt Anderson  10:22

a lot. I was so, I was, I was the, I know a guy, guy this week. And so you and I have a client, and this a wonderful client. They’re in metal manufacturing, metal and, you know, talking about getting, like, real high level E commerce. And so, you know, way out of my league, right? Like, I want to be the commerce guy, but I just, I, you know, it’s way out of my league. Like, I have a, I have a, an incredible e commerce agency for you. We get on a sales call, and, you know, these two guys are probably half my age, you know, and I’m in awe. I’m like, I’m literally, like, if I had a piece of paper, I had, like, totally taken notes. I didn’t say word for 45 minutes, yeah, making notes. These guys just ask question after question after question. And I was just in awe and just total respect of, like, the, you know, of how these guys handle themselves in again, like, you know, at such a young age, with such professional, such care, such concern, it was just, it was really a thing of beauty to watch, you know,

Damon Pistulka  11:20

yeah, yeah. And that’s the that’s the benefit of really studying sales and understanding how the relationships and asking questions and just all of human human behavior, to just understanding how questions can help you in life, not just if you’re trying to sell something too,

Curt Anderson  11:35

right, right? So, all right, we’re going to wind down. So, you know, you know, our dear friend wasn’t here today. You and I said, we’re, we’re jumping on here. We’re talking relationships over transactions. And so, you know, I just finished the book, go giver, phenomenal book that I said that should be mandatory reading. Any other books that you again, not to put you on the spot any like you’ve been reading some great books, like seven habits. What’s, what’s the other book you were just talking about the other

Damon Pistulka  12:02

day? Oh, I’ve been I, well, in a book club. I’m going over Think and Grow Rich again, but about four times, and then I’m actually into a couple AI books right now that are really something.

Curt Anderson  12:16

Yeah, so all sorts of great books out there. You know, big takeaway today is like, focus on the other person. Focus on their challenges, focus on their problems. On top of that, focus on their customers, challenges, their customers problems, yeah, how do you, you know, dive deeper into those and, you know, just a great opportunity to build those strong, healthy, trusting relationships. Last thing I’m going to share as we close out relationships over transactions, out teach the competition. Damon, yeah, I mean, so I was on the sales call earlier today, and we were geeking out about out teaching the competition. The guy was like, you know, and he’s in a real high level, like, way above my, you know, like, there’s some products that I would never be involved in, you know, like real high tech, scientific stuff, and guys like, I’ll teach the competition. That is awesome. What do you when that, when we say that, what comes your mind without teach the competition?

Damon Pistulka  13:09

Well, the the easy part about that, because when you when you realize that’s what you can do, is help inform your potential customers and be that source of of truth for them, and just information, great information. It’s probably stuff that you already know and have, yeah, that’s the thing. It’s not like I have to go out and grand, you know, invent something. It’s like, I’ve been doing this for decades or a long time. I know a lot about it now. I need to look at it with with different perspective, because I’m the race car driver now, and instead of the person that’s never seen a car before, right? And I need to take that person who’s never seen a car before and and explain to them what it’s like to you know, a car is about, all the way into being a race car driver, all those little steps that educate that customer, that potential customer, and position you as the person that’s pretty cool, and you might want to, if they need that, might want to do that

Curt Anderson  14:09

right? Be that Sherpa, be that guide. If you’re selling products, you’re selling widgets, you’re selling your time, you’re selling services. Just be, uh, unapologetic, Shameless, fierce educator, and what a great way to build

Damon Pistulka  14:22

those relationships. Yeah, yeah, good stuff. Alright, dude,

Curt Anderson  14:25

let’s start winding down. So hey, you know what Happy, Happy Father’s Day to you, my friend, Happy Father’s Day. You all of our fathers out there. Happy Father’s Day. If you’re, I don’t care if you’re a pet parent, if you’re a real parent, or whatever it is. And for you know, everybody out there has a father, go wish your father happy Father’s Day. So I just wish everybody amazing, incredible, wonderful weekend. God bless you. Yeah. And Damon, as we always like to say, just go out and be someone’s inspiration, and you too will make the world a better place. Alright,

Damon Pistulka  14:58

have a. Great weekend, everyone. We will be back again next week. You.