0
SPEAKER_01
In this episode of the Advanced Selling Podcast, I share my first travel masks shaming story.
0
SPEAKER_01
Bill offers a callback to a classic SNL skit that all of you must Google and watch called Coffee Clatch.
0
SPEAKER_01
And we riff on one of our favorite topics, mastermind peer groups.
0
SPEAKER_01
Should you join one?
0
SPEAKER_01
Should you start your own?
0
SPEAKER_01
Are they worth it?
0
SPEAKER_01
We give you all the answers.
0
SPEAKER_00
Welcome back to the Advanced Selling Podcast, the longest running sales training podcast in the world, on the planet.
0
SPEAKER_00
I m Bill Kasky.
0
SPEAKER_00
And I m Brian Neal.
0
SPEAKER_00
And we welcome you.
0
SPEAKER_00
And if you just are getting your first few experiences of us, make sure you go to advancedsellingpodcast.com on the homepage.
0
SPEAKER_00
There is a place where you can download the top 10, 15, 20 episodes, and also some places to connect with us, either through the LinkedIn group,
0
SPEAKER_00
or some other places you can email us.
0
SPEAKER_00
Lots of different content there at advancedsellingpodcast.com.
0
SPEAKER_00
So if you re new, welcome.
0
SPEAKER_00
If you re a seasoned vet of the podcast, we ve got something a little bit different today.
0
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, we do.
0
SPEAKER_01
Brian, you ve got a story.
0
SPEAKER_01
So it s travel time.
0
SPEAKER_01
It s time I ve been traveling a ton in August, starting to go to training camps.
0
SPEAKER_01
preseason games and things like that.
0
SPEAKER_01
And the planes are full.
0
SPEAKER_01
The planes are full.
0
SPEAKER_01
We re moving around.
0
SPEAKER_01
It s great.
0
SPEAKER_01
Everybody knows we wear masks on planes, don t we?
0
SPEAKER_01
It s very safe.
0
SPEAKER_01
How many COVID-related infections have you heard of from airplanes, Bill, in the news?
0
SPEAKER_01
that have come from an airplane.
0
SPEAKER_00
Well, I follow this stuff, so I know it s very few.
0
SPEAKER_01
The answer is, it s zero, I believe.
0
SPEAKER_01
Zero.
0
SPEAKER_01
But that s fine.
0
SPEAKER_01
And we still wear masks.
0
SPEAKER_01
And it s great.
0
SPEAKER_01
And I love it.
0
SPEAKER_01
It s protected the air filtration system.
0
SPEAKER_00
You don t love it.
0
SPEAKER_00
What are you talking about?
0
SPEAKER_00
I love it, though.
0
SPEAKER_00
I love masks.
0
SPEAKER_00
I sit down.
0
SPEAKER_01
And of course, you know, this is what we do.
0
SPEAKER_01
So we re flying up front in front of the plane, first class.
0
SPEAKER_01
That s where we fly sometimes.
0
SPEAKER_01
We fly for football stuff.
0
SPEAKER_01
And so you kind of think, well, other people that would fly a lot would be the ones sitting up there, would have, you know.
0
SPEAKER_01
knowledge and things and know what s going on.
0
SPEAKER_01
So we re sitting down and there s a very agitated person in front of me, like with her bag and kind of messing with it and everything like this.
0
SPEAKER_01
And then she goes, well, I, my stuff s there.
0
SPEAKER_01
She s telling the guy next to him, the guy s like, okay, I ll just put my back here.
0
SPEAKER_01
She goes, there s a space back there.
0
SPEAKER_01
And she turns around and looks at me and she goes, are we going to wear our mask properly?
0
SPEAKER_01
And I go, and I didn t know she was talking to me.
0
SPEAKER_00
She was a passenger.
0
SPEAKER_00
She s not a flight attender.
0
SPEAKER_01
Passenger.
0
SPEAKER_01
I go, and then she s staring.
0
SPEAKER_01
I mean, you know how it is, seat to seat, staring at me.
0
SPEAKER_01
I go, are you talking to me?
0
SPEAKER_01
She goes, yeah.
0
SPEAKER_01
Oh, and then all of my coaching to make myself a better human had to kick in.
0
SPEAKER_01
Because of all the things I wanted to do or say, I just said, yes.
0
SPEAKER_01
And that was it.
0
SPEAKER_01
It was very difficult.
0
SPEAKER_00
That s the right answer.
0
SPEAKER_01
It s just so interesting to me, though,
0
SPEAKER_01
what in a person drives that seething anger to, and what had happened.
0
SPEAKER_01
And you don t really, I m sure at some point, even if you re very, very, very, you know, conservative with your mask wearing and things, which is great, I m all for that.
0
SPEAKER_01
At some point, I bet something maybe slipped under your nose a minute or whatever, you know, they just don t fit.
0
SPEAKER_01
And you re just like, you re in your own world.
0
SPEAKER_01
Anyway, so I got mask shamed and it wasn t it wasn t down around my chin No, no, it wasn t it was literally had slipped under my nose when I was looking down.
0
SPEAKER_00
Oh, so she saw it was on it was It was here appropriately connected.
0
SPEAKER_00
Okay, that was right.
0
SPEAKER_01
It was right like i ll do this.
0
SPEAKER_01
Well, she had every right then she did what?
0
SPEAKER_01
We have a great topic though.
0
SPEAKER_01
We really do Talk about switching gears Yeah
0
SPEAKER_01
So topic today is something near and dear to our hearts, also inspired by members of the Advanced Learning Podcast Insider Group, who are also active in our LinkedIn group.
0
SPEAKER_01
You need to be in both of those.
0
SPEAKER_01
And this comes from a listener in Oregon.
0
SPEAKER_01
Anthony Sierra.
0
SPEAKER_01
Oregon.
0
SPEAKER_01
We believe Oregon.
0
SPEAKER_01
Thank you.
0
SPEAKER_01
You ve heard anyone call it Oregon ever?
0
SPEAKER_00
People in southern Indiana do.
0
SPEAKER_01
Exactly.
0
SPEAKER_01
That s where I m from.
0
SPEAKER_01
That s what my friends do, or my family.
0
SPEAKER_01
And he was going to reach out to some colleagues and friends and other ASP listeners, and he s a member of the Insider Group, about starting a little mini group together, like a little peer group.
0
SPEAKER_01
And Bill and I thought, what a great topic to share with you.
0
SPEAKER_01
We both have had lots of experience as members of peer groups.
0
SPEAKER_01
We facilitate our own peer groups.
0
SPEAKER_01
And we are both, I don t want to speak for me, but I think you agree, Bill, very, very, very pro be part of a group.
0
SPEAKER_01
And now more than ever, you as a listener and as a salesperson may have felt isolation on your own working from home.
0
SPEAKER_01
and may not have a group that you re a part of.
0
SPEAKER_01
So we want to talk about today what to do in that case.
0
SPEAKER_01
How do you find a group?
0
SPEAKER_01
Do you start one?
0
SPEAKER_01
How does it go?
0
SPEAKER_01
What happens in a group, in a peer group?
0
SPEAKER_01
What s the agenda?
0
SPEAKER_01
What are the outcomes?
0
SPEAKER_01
Is it worth the time?
0
SPEAKER_01
All that stuff.
0
SPEAKER_01
Just riff on it a little bit.
0
SPEAKER_00
And we re not doing this to pitch you on the ASP Insider Program.
0
SPEAKER_00
I mean, we ve talked about that.
0
SPEAKER_00
We talk about that a lot.
0
SPEAKER_00
But that is a group.
0
SPEAKER_00
But we re doing this in a more unbiased, generic fashion about the power of groups and the limitations, too.
0
SPEAKER_00
Because I do think there s some limitations.
0
SPEAKER_00
I think if you get in the wrong group, you might as well not be in a group.
0
SPEAKER_00
So I think there s some limitations.
0
SPEAKER_00
So why don t we start with just you and I both doing a minute riff on what
0
SPEAKER_00
what you think generally of the small group environment when it comes to learning and growing, and just do it pluses and minuses.
0
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, of course.
0
SPEAKER_01
I ll start?
0
SPEAKER_01
Yeah.
0
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, so I first started probably almost 15 years ago working, doing sales coaching with you here in Indianapolis.
0
SPEAKER_01
And I didn t feel like I had a place I could go that would push me.
0
SPEAKER_01
to the level I felt I needed pushed and bring different ideas that I couldn t get.
0
SPEAKER_01
Because it was just me and you, and it s great.
0
SPEAKER_01
But then it s limited, because you ve got one person or two or a small team.
0
SPEAKER_01
The other thing that happens is you don t have objectivity there, because you all work on the same team.
0
SPEAKER_01
So a lot of you work on, that are listening, you work on sales teams.
0
SPEAKER_01
So your sales team is good, but you re on the same spot.
0
SPEAKER_01
So I searched around here in Indianapolis and found a group that a lot of people for called Vistage, V-I-S-T-A-G-E.
0
SPEAKER_01
And I went and visited a Vistage group and saw the way the process worked and really, really was enamored right out of the gate.
0
SPEAKER_01
I thought this is a really cool thing because you have different people in different roles that get together all in the spirit of helping each other.
0
SPEAKER_01
And then you have this attachment to what we always called the mothership of Vistage Corporate that would provide us speakers at every meeting.
0
SPEAKER_01
So we d get these speakers come in and share new knowledge and that sort of thing.
0
SPEAKER_01
That was really, really helpful.
0
SPEAKER_01
So the viewpoint of others is one huge benefit.
0
SPEAKER_01
Secondarily, there was an element of accountability that was part of the process, where people would self-report accountability, things that they wanted to achieve or accomplish or make sure they did before the next meeting.
0
SPEAKER_01
And then our chairperson would read those back.
0
SPEAKER_01
That s an idea that I ve stolen in my peer group.
0
SPEAKER_01
So I think accountability is a great, great outcome from that.
0
SPEAKER_01
And then lastly, are just the connections and the relationships that you have.
0
SPEAKER_01
Some really, really good friends with several of the people that I was in a peer group with.
0
SPEAKER_01
And I was in that group for 11 years, long, long run.
0
SPEAKER_01
It was really great.
0
SPEAKER_01
The downstroke, and this to me wasn t a downstroke.
0
SPEAKER_01
It wasn t, but it could be for some.
0
SPEAKER_01
We met once a month from 8.30 to 1.
0
SPEAKER_01
That is a huge chunk of time.
0
SPEAKER_01
And most peer group meetings can gobble up some time.
0
SPEAKER_01
The ones we run around here, we do two and a half or three hours.
0
SPEAKER_01
And people go, good gosh, boy, that s a long time.
0
SPEAKER_01
We believe that you really need to spend that time.
0
SPEAKER_01
But that can be a downstroke.
0
SPEAKER_01
That can be a thing where people just struggle to find their way there.
0
SPEAKER_01
That s it on the downstrokes.
0
SPEAKER_01
What about you?
0
SPEAKER_01
What benefit do you see?
0
SPEAKER_01
And do you see any downstrokes in just overall peer group or group?
0
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, I think the downstroke of time gets alleviated a little bit because of virtual groups.
0
SPEAKER_00
I don t think people can sit for four and a half hours on a Zoom call.
0
SPEAKER_00
I m sure we have before, or three in a row.
0
SPEAKER_00
But I think an hour to two hours, as long as it s periodic, whether it s weekly or biweekly or monthly, I think you can
0
SPEAKER_00
You can get a lot done.
0
SPEAKER_00
I don t think you need to meet for four hours.
0
SPEAKER_00
I agree with that.
0
SPEAKER_00
However, I do think that in any group that you join, the moderator has to be conscious that everybody needs some space to talk.
0
SPEAKER_00
And the surest way to lose people in a peer group is to not let people talk, is to have the moderator do all of the talking.
0
SPEAKER_00
And I ve been in groups where the moderator just won t shut up, and nobody gets a chance to share.
0
SPEAKER_00
And so what happens is, at some point, two or three people leave, and then two or three more people leave, and then two or three more people come in.
0
SPEAKER_00
And so if you re going to moderate a group or if you re going to join a group, make sure the moderator leaves space for people to share their problems, hold themselves accountability or accountable for things.
0
SPEAKER_00
Expansion of ideas, hot seats.
0
SPEAKER_00
We love in our groups, we do a lot of hot seats where people get a chance to come up in front of the group digitally and say, OK, here s my issue or here s what I m thinking about.
0
SPEAKER_00
Here s something I m excited about.
1
SPEAKER_00
Excited about shoot holes in it.
1
SPEAKER_00
Those kinds of experiences are really good.
1
SPEAKER_00
So this is not just I think the The small group has grown up from where it s just hey, you know, here we are what what s on your mind, right?
1
SPEAKER_00
Right to more of a little bit more structured where okay today.
1
SPEAKER_00
We re going to go around I want you to give me one thing right now You re working on and as you work on it, you re not sure you really should be working on.
1
SPEAKER_00
Okay, everybody go.
1
SPEAKER_00
Yeah
1
SPEAKER_00
And so I think the moderator s role is really important, and I think it makes the group really come together and look forward to joining it rather than, oh God, it s 8.30, it s the first Monday of the month, I guess I gotta go five hours and sit there.
1
SPEAKER_00
You don t want people to have that spirit.
1
SPEAKER_01
I will tell you also from experiences that we ve had here.
1
SPEAKER_01
So my wife, who s our CEO, was in a peer group, a formalized peer group.
1
SPEAKER_01
And then she and four other members broke away and formed their own group.
1
SPEAKER_01
They just weren t getting value from the other one.
1
SPEAKER_01
And they tried to self-facilitate.
1
SPEAKER_01
They did it for a year.
1
SPEAKER_01
They disbanded.
1
SPEAKER_01
Because trying to self-facilitate a group is really- It always sounds good, though.
1
SPEAKER_00
It does.
1
SPEAKER_00
I know.
1
SPEAKER_01
It always sounds good.
1
SPEAKER_01
Because you get so used to the rhythm of the meeting, you re like, we could do this without Brian.
1
SPEAKER_01
We could do this without Bill.
1
SPEAKER_01
We don t need them.
1
SPEAKER_01
And then you do it, and you realize that actually that extra objective third party neutral energy is very, very different.
1
SPEAKER_01
So if you are thinking about joining a group, I love what Bill talked about in my words of it, you ve really got to vet out the facilitator.
1
SPEAKER_01
That person has really got to be your kind of person.
1
SPEAKER_01
Gives you space, lets you talk, brings people together.
1
SPEAKER_01
That s really important if you re going to join a formal group.
1
SPEAKER_01
What doesn t work also, in my opinion, for this purpose is the meetup.
1
SPEAKER_01
So there are dozens and dozens and hundreds and thousands of meetups all over the country going on.
1
SPEAKER_01
Hey, we re having a SAS SDR meetup.
1
SPEAKER_01
There s going to be a meetup.
1
SPEAKER_00
Well, that s kind of a clubhouse model in a way.
1
SPEAKER_00
We re going to talk about this topic.
1
SPEAKER_00
We re just going to open a room and have people pontificate and moderate.
1
SPEAKER_00
And I agree.
1
SPEAKER_00
I agree.
1
SPEAKER_00
I don t think that works.
1
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, I think a great moderator.
1
SPEAKER_00
should, let s say you have an hour and a half meeting, and this is your group facilitation, mastermind, whatever you want to call it.
1
SPEAKER_00
I think half of that should be some sort of orchestrated structural, either instruction, curriculum, exercises, something that takes people through a process.
1
SPEAKER_00
And then the last half of the meeting, or thereabouts, should be problem solving, idea creation, open form kind of thing.
1
SPEAKER_00
And because I think if you leave it all to open form and don t have any kind of curriculum or structure, I think you ll lose people.
1
SPEAKER_00
Because people do come wanting to learn.
1
SPEAKER_00
And if you re a moderator of a group, like I know for me, I always have something to talk about at the very beginning that s either a teaching lesson or an instruction or a new way to look at an old problem.
1
SPEAKER_00
And I think people appreciate that.
1
SPEAKER_00
And then there s always time at the end for back and forth discussion, role playing, what did you like, what didn t you like, what else you re working on, that kind of thing.
1
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, there s no doubt.
1
SPEAKER_01
And I find that people go to these meetups.
1
SPEAKER_01
And it s so interesting to me, too, that a lot of people go to meetups, and they keep going back.
1
SPEAKER_01
And when I talk to the people individually, they go, yeah, you know, I go.
1
SPEAKER_01
I just like seeing everybody.
1
SPEAKER_01
That s kind of the overall attitude.
1
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, and they keep going.
1
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, and so to me, also, most meetups are free for the most part.
1
SPEAKER_01
Most people, yeah, everybody can come.
1
SPEAKER_01
So there s an element also, you need to get your checkbook out, I think, to be part of a good formalized group.
1
SPEAKER_01
To have the best experience you can have, you pay someone to facilitate for you, or join a group that s already existing and pay the fee to be there.
1
SPEAKER_01
I also love that kind of etheric,
1
SPEAKER_01
energetic exchange that I m going to not only just show up with my time, but I m going to write a check out of my checking account that I ll put more into it, right?
1
SPEAKER_01
It s more important.
1
SPEAKER_00
So if you re wondering, you know, some, most people haven t really been a part of the group of groups before.
1
SPEAKER_00
They might ve been a part of church groups, but when it comes to a mastermind or things like this, you re going to need to, to slice a check for, you know,
1
SPEAKER_00
3, 4, 5, all the way up.
1
SPEAKER_00
I mean, there s some masterminds that are a couple grand a month.
1
SPEAKER_00
Now, those are high level, and those are with a lot of high level people.
1
SPEAKER_00
But you re talking in the hundreds.
1
SPEAKER_00
You re not talking in the $9.95 a month.
1
SPEAKER_00
You re going to have to spend some money.
1
SPEAKER_00
And it s money that you will certainly earn back, and you re betting on yourself.
1
SPEAKER_00
And you know what?
1
SPEAKER_00
If after three or four months you don t like it, you can always get out.
1
SPEAKER_00
I always tell people in our groups, look, count on a year, but if after six months you re not getting anything, or I m letting you down, or you re just not trainable, we abort the process.
1
SPEAKER_01
It s pretty easy.
1
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, very easy.
1
SPEAKER_01
Now, if you are, as the listeners that inspired this topic are, just putting out a little call to the world to say, hey, I m an advanced selling podcast fan.
1
SPEAKER_01
I live in Oregon.
1
SPEAKER_01
And I d like to hang out or start a little mini group with people.
1
SPEAKER_01
You can still do that.
1
SPEAKER_01
I think that s great, because you have this common connection.
1
SPEAKER_01
We just want to make sure when we re doing that, and that s on the side, so we re not really writing a check for that, that you do have some elements of structure behind those.
1
SPEAKER_01
Because those get easy to blow off.
1
SPEAKER_01
if there s nothing formal there.
1
SPEAKER_01
People will start to, and most of them fizzle.
1
SPEAKER_00
You need a moderator.
1
SPEAKER_00
If you re going to do that, whether it s ASP Insider or wherever, you need somebody to say, OK, there s five of us getting together.
1
SPEAKER_00
Brian, next month, you re the moderator.
1
SPEAKER_00
And you might not be able to share as much of your own stuff because you re facilitating the group.
1
SPEAKER_00
That s OK.
1
SPEAKER_00
You ll get a chance the next month.
1
SPEAKER_00
But someone has to take charge.
1
SPEAKER_00
If it s four people getting together for coffee, it s just going to be a coffee clash.
1
SPEAKER_00
Blah, blah, blah, blah.
1
SPEAKER_00
And nobody s really going to go deep.
1
SPEAKER_00
It s going to be all very superficial.
1
SPEAKER_00
Nobody s going to be challenging each other.
1
SPEAKER_00
And you re going to leave empty.
1
SPEAKER_00
Coffee Clatch?
1
SPEAKER_00
Did you say Coffee Clatch?
1
SPEAKER_00
Isn t that what it s called?
1
SPEAKER_01
I think it is.
1
SPEAKER_01
But I haven t heard that.
1
SPEAKER_01
Remember the Saturday Night Live skit?
1
SPEAKER_01
Coffee Clatch.
1
SPEAKER_01
For those of you who don t know or maybe have missed that generationally, go Google Coffee Clatch Saturday Night Live.
1
SPEAKER_01
It s Mike Myers.
1
SPEAKER_01
Mike Myers, OK.
1
SPEAKER_01
Right?
1
SPEAKER_01
Who s Austin Powers, does Coffee Clatch.
1
SPEAKER_01
It s brilliant.
1
SPEAKER_01
Because I think he s all about Barbra Streisand, and Barbra Streisand comes on the show, if I remember correctly.
1
SPEAKER_01
It s just fantastic.
1
SPEAKER_01
You need to go see Coffee Clutch for sure.
1
SPEAKER_01
Last thing I ll say about being in a group is if you join a group, my recommendation is if you re joining a group for networking, make that the very last reason on your list.
1
SPEAKER_01
I see too many people want to come into these groups and sell to the group.
1
SPEAKER_01
And they think, oh, I ve got to be part of a group.
1
SPEAKER_01
And the first thing you do is you start to look around the room and size everyone up for prospects.
1
SPEAKER_01
Do not do that.
1
SPEAKER_01
It just kills the integrity of the whole process.
1
SPEAKER_01
Everyone will know it.
1
SPEAKER_01
It won t feel good to anybody.
1
SPEAKER_01
Just don t.
1
SPEAKER_01
There are lead groups.
1
SPEAKER_00
Go ahead.
1
SPEAKER_00
There are a lot of groups.
1
SPEAKER_00
like mastermind groups, you cannot sell to the other person.
1
SPEAKER_00
It s just not.
1
SPEAKER_00
And it s like, well, wait a minute.
1
SPEAKER_00
What if they want to buy?
1
SPEAKER_00
It poisons things.
1
SPEAKER_00
Then it s like, OK, well, if he likes my stuff, maybe she ll like it.
1
SPEAKER_00
It just poisons a group.
1
SPEAKER_00
And I m not saying selling is bad.
1
SPEAKER_00
I m saying that in a group like that, it s a very vulnerable place.
1
SPEAKER_00
You want it to be vulnerable.
1
SPEAKER_00
You want people to share.
1
SPEAKER_00
And you want people to open up.
1
SPEAKER_00
And if you start pitching everybody, it just doesn t work.
1
SPEAKER_00
It doesn t work.
1
SPEAKER_00
It does not work.
1
SPEAKER_01
So yeah, recommendations, go join a group.
1
SPEAKER_01
Just go find a group, spend the time, write the check.
1
SPEAKER_01
I promise you it will be worth every dime and then some of the amount of money.
1
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, just search on mastermind groups in your area or small group coaching or, you know, sales peer groups, peer groups, something like that.
1
SPEAKER_01
Yeah.
1
SPEAKER_00
So anyway, good job.
1
SPEAKER_00
Good topic today.
1
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, so if you haven t done so, go join the LinkedIn group.
1
SPEAKER_01
That s where we re pulling these topics from.
1
SPEAKER_01
We re gonna have lots of other new stuff and become an insider.
1
SPEAKER_01
You re gonna be hearing, if you haven t heard already, we re offering some very, very cool extra episodes, extra content, access to other voices besides Bill and me.
1
SPEAKER_01
And the only way to get access to those is to become part of the insider.
1
SPEAKER_01
So hope to see you there in the next insider call.
1
SPEAKER_01
Talk to you later, bye, bye.