0
SPEAKER_01
In this episode of the Advanced Selling Podcast, I reference our current condition and compare it to one of the most boring TV shows of all time.
0
SPEAKER_01
I also spotlight a group of young friends showing their social responsibility in these uncertain times.
0
SPEAKER_01
And Bill and I offer some midweek insight into how to mentally process what s currently going on.
0
SPEAKER_00
Hey, everybody.
0
SPEAKER_00
Welcome back to the Advanced Selling Podcast, the longest running sales training podcast.
0
SPEAKER_00
I m one of your hosts, Bill Kasky.
0
SPEAKER_00
I m the other host, Brian Neal.
0
SPEAKER_00
Brian, good to have you here and healthy today.
0
SPEAKER_00
You know, we- We re safely away from each other.
0
SPEAKER_00
We realized that we released an episode yesterday that actually was recorded earlier last week.
0
SPEAKER_00
And we did not make mention at all of the current affairs, current state of the economy, and the virus, and illness, and all that.
0
SPEAKER_00
And so we didn t want you to feel like, God, these guys are just totally ignoring this, and everybody else is freaking out about it.
0
SPEAKER_00
So we came in on Monday, and we re recording this, and it s going to be released Tuesday.
0
SPEAKER_00
So this is a 24-hour release.
0
SPEAKER_00
But we wanted to talk a little bit about what we re seeing, what we re hearing, a little bit of our own personal impressions and perspectives on the coronavirus, and what impact it s going to have on business.
0
SPEAKER_00
That s why we re here today.
0
SPEAKER_00
We re also going to plan on releasing another episode on Thursday, and then maybe even get into a more frequent cadence next week.
0
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, and we re thinking if we re, because we re in your shoes, Bill and I both own small businesses and everything is kind of
0
SPEAKER_01
up in the air right now, and people are worried and nervous.
0
SPEAKER_01
And so we thought, OK, what can we give to you, the listener, that can help you one step at a time through this whole deal?
0
SPEAKER_01
Because I think some people are trying to go real fast, like, OK, what do we do?
0
SPEAKER_01
We do this and change that and da-da-da-da.
0
SPEAKER_01
Like, no, we deep breathe.
0
SPEAKER_01
But we also just don t deep breathe and ignore.
0
SPEAKER_01
And so we re going to roll through the process.
0
SPEAKER_01
So we think today s episode, for me at least, is more about how do I mentally process everything and keep my thinking column in check?
0
SPEAKER_01
We re not allowed to say the IG word anymore, are we?
0
SPEAKER_01
We get sued.
0
SPEAKER_00
Oh, yeah.
0
SPEAKER_00
We get sued.
0
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, we can t say that.
0
SPEAKER_01
End up in jail.
0
SPEAKER_01
But how do I mentally keep myself in the game?
0
SPEAKER_01
How do I position mentally everything that s going on?
0
SPEAKER_01
Because I think there s also some what I might call mechanical positioning that s outside of just it s an abundant world and detachment, those things we talk about.
0
SPEAKER_01
There are also some ways to think about what s to pull perspective on what s going on and do what I call, I said this in a training session last week with some clients that
0
SPEAKER_01
We had kind of as this was happening, which is we have to find the abundance in the marketplace.
0
SPEAKER_01
We have to look for it It s there.
0
SPEAKER_01
It might be in a different form, but we ve got to think about all that.
0
SPEAKER_00
So this to me is about a reframing and doing it with a sense of humor because I think I think we still need to laugh a little bit and of course you and I love to laugh and You probably make people laugh more than I do but
0
SPEAKER_00
But the point is, I think we can do it keeping in mind that there s a perspective on this.
0
SPEAKER_00
We have to step back and say, what s our long-term plan, not just how to panic today.
0
SPEAKER_00
And so we re going to keep this a little bit light, but a little bit serious, too.
0
SPEAKER_01
I did put up on Instagram a picture, which this will age me a little bit.
0
SPEAKER_01
of the family from Little House on the Prairie.
0
SPEAKER_01
Remember the show Little House on the Prairie?
0
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, sure.
0
SPEAKER_01
This is kind of what life s like now at my house.
0
SPEAKER_01
We ve got five kids all sitting around the living room.
0
SPEAKER_01
The only difference is it s like Little House on the Prairie with Netflix and TikTok instead.
0
SPEAKER_00
There s like something to do.
0
SPEAKER_01
But if you look at the show Little House on the Prairie for all you youngsters out there, it was a show about a
0
SPEAKER_01
Like the 1800s, this family all lived in a log cabin, essentially, right?
0
SPEAKER_01
And there wasn t much to do in playtime, right?
0
SPEAKER_00
That s the way it is.
0
SPEAKER_01
There s not much to do.
0
SPEAKER_01
You got them a little wagon wheel loop and a stick and said, go outside after you do your chores, after you milk the cow.
0
SPEAKER_00
No Netflix, though.
0
SPEAKER_00
No Netflix.
0
SPEAKER_00
No big screen TVs.
0
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, when I think about quarantining, I always think about the old quarantining didn t have 52-inch screens and Netflix and stereo speakers.
0
SPEAKER_00
Constant, constant interaction.
0
SPEAKER_00
Cheetos.
0
SPEAKER_01
I m from Twitter.
0
SPEAKER_01
It s also weird when you see people that are quarantined.
0
SPEAKER_01
You re like, OK, so you re sick.
0
SPEAKER_01
So that s bad.
0
SPEAKER_01
But the people, the stuff that they have to wear when they re around you makes you feel like you re some sort of alien or something.
0
SPEAKER_01
You know what I mean?
0
SPEAKER_01
Well, that s not self-quarantine.
0
SPEAKER_01
That s when you re in an institution or in a hospital.
0
SPEAKER_01
But it s like, come on.
0
SPEAKER_01
Anyway, there s a lot of things.
0
SPEAKER_01
OK, so how do we get our heads straight as we work through this short term?
0
SPEAKER_01
I m a big fan of that.
0
SPEAKER_01
This is a short term deal.
0
SPEAKER_01
I agree.
0
SPEAKER_01
How do we work through this process as a sales professional?
0
SPEAKER_01
You want me to start?
0
SPEAKER_00
Sure.
0
SPEAKER_00
I ve got just one thought here.
0
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, sure.
0
SPEAKER_00
I think that we have to be mindful of our own minds.
0
SPEAKER_00
We ve got to take care of ourselves during times like this, because the media is not going to take care of you.
0
SPEAKER_00
The government s not going to take care of you.
0
SPEAKER_00
Your spouse or your loved ones are not going to take care of you.
0
SPEAKER_00
You have to do it.
0
SPEAKER_00
I don t mean physically.
0
SPEAKER_00
I mean mentally, like you said, Brian.
0
SPEAKER_00
And so we ve got to be mindful of, OK, how does our brain process all of this information?
0
SPEAKER_00
I heard Brooke Castillo the other day give a really good example.
0
SPEAKER_00
She says our brains are built for survival.
0
SPEAKER_00
It s the fight or flight.
0
SPEAKER_00
It s the primitive brain that kicks in when there s danger.
0
SPEAKER_00
The media is all about danger, because that s how they make money.
0
SPEAKER_00
And I m not saying they re not doing their jobs.
0
SPEAKER_00
I m not saying that.
0
SPEAKER_00
I m just saying that if there is a little danger, they will make it look like a lot, because that s how they get paid.
0
SPEAKER_00
And so your brain is sitting there saying there s a little bit of danger, and so we tune into the media, and the media exacerbates that.
0
SPEAKER_00
Again, I m not making judgment on the media.
0
SPEAKER_00
I m saying that the brain and the media together can drive you crazy.
0
SPEAKER_00
For sure.
0
SPEAKER_00
And you can end up in a, as Dave Ramsey said, you can end up in a rubber room if you re spending too much time online or too much time watching things.
0
SPEAKER_00
So one thing I ve decided to do is take a holiday.
0
SPEAKER_00
I m watching it a half hour here and a half hour there.
0
SPEAKER_00
But every minute that I m taking in mainstream media, I m taking in a podcast or I m listening to one of the advanced selling podcast pack episodes.
0
SPEAKER_00
Backmasking.
0
SPEAKER_00
In reverse.
0
SPEAKER_00
It s low speed.
0
SPEAKER_00
I m starting at the beginning.
0
SPEAKER_01
John is dead.
0
SPEAKER_01
We weren t very good at the beginning, Brian.
0
SPEAKER_01
We should do a whole episode on backmasking.
0
SPEAKER_01
Remember that from the 70s?
0
SPEAKER_01
No.
0
SPEAKER_01
You don t remember backmasking?
0
SPEAKER_01
You might have missed it.
0
SPEAKER_01
This is where the theory was that bands like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden hid satanic messages when you played one of their albums.
0
SPEAKER_01
Backwards.
0
SPEAKER_01
Backmasking.
0
SPEAKER_01
I think that was called.
0
SPEAKER_01
I think, yeah.
0
SPEAKER_01
Good old days.
0
SPEAKER_00
You can t really do that on Spotify these days.
0
SPEAKER_01
You ve brought that up before, so I think you have some kind of a little thing for that.
0
SPEAKER_01
Here, a shout out to my back-masking fans.
0
SPEAKER_01
Go into your studio, you ve got a whole back-masking section.
0
SPEAKER_01
John is dead.
0
SPEAKER_01
On the Walrus album, right?
0
SPEAKER_01
Isn t that the thing?
0
SPEAKER_01
Everyone said John s dead.
0
SPEAKER_00
One of the two.
0
SPEAKER_01
OK, so here s my first thought on the mentality of things.
0
SPEAKER_01
I think perspective is my favorite word around this, that I have to make sure I stay within perspective of what s going on around me.
0
SPEAKER_01
on both sides of it.
0
SPEAKER_01
So the first I have to pull back and say, OK, let me kind of think about my life in general.
0
SPEAKER_01
So I m good.
0
SPEAKER_01
I m here.
0
SPEAKER_01
I m healthy for right now.
0
SPEAKER_01
And I ve got clients, and a house, and family, and things are OK.
0
SPEAKER_01
I m good for right now in this moment.
0
SPEAKER_00
I m OK.
0
SPEAKER_01
And then I can look around me and say, well, what else is going on?
0
SPEAKER_01
There are still people here, they re in the same boat I am, and they re moving around and doing things.
0
SPEAKER_01
In some places they re not moving around, but that s a thing too.
0
SPEAKER_01
It doesn t mean with the technology today that when we re quarantined, like we said, we re not really quarantined anymore.
0
SPEAKER_01
I also have the perspective to look at your past history of conducting business and look at how much of it was virtual already.
0
SPEAKER_01
This is where people, I think, get really confused.
0
SPEAKER_01
They think that because of this certain circumstance, business can t be conducted as usual.
0
SPEAKER_01
And I would argue, if you really look at it, 80% high levels of your business already was being conducted virtually on the telephone, via text, via LinkedIn message, via email, via DocuSign.
0
SPEAKER_01
Webinar.
0
SPEAKER_01
And then all you got to do is, then you look in perspective and you go, okay, now I have this 20, 30% that was live in person.
0
SPEAKER_01
What was I doing there?
0
SPEAKER_01
And could that be done virtually?
0
SPEAKER_01
And so that s the first little bit, I think, of a perspective thing.
0
SPEAKER_01
I also think, now I m getting a little philosophical on the economy.
0
SPEAKER_01
Bill and I are hardcore capitalists.
0
SPEAKER_01
I think we both agree with that.
0
SPEAKER_01
And would you agree?
0
SPEAKER_01
Yeah.
0
SPEAKER_01
And we know there are certain industries that are directly- Soft porn, but hardcore.
0
SPEAKER_00
Hardcore on capitalism.
0
SPEAKER_01
Anything you could watch on Showtime after 11, back in the day.
0
SPEAKER_01
So hotels, hospitality, sporting, event things, those things are getting kiboshed fast.
0
SPEAKER_01
I think the rest of us have a duty to stand up and say a pledge and say, we are business as usual, a little modified in the way that we do it, but we are open for business and we are not going to stop.
0
SPEAKER_01
If we all stop, we just trickle effect down and we don t support those people who are really, really hammered right now in the hotels, hospitality, travel, places like that.
0
SPEAKER_01
And so I feel like we have a duty to stand up.
0
SPEAKER_01
Everyone s saying we re in this together, which I am all for, but in this
1
SPEAKER_00
together does not necessarily mean, kumbaya, let s just stay home and enjoy the quiet time.
1
SPEAKER_00
We have a duty to stand up and keep the economy cooking.
1
SPEAKER_00
I really, really believe that to be true.
1
SPEAKER_00
And this is a short-term deal.
1
SPEAKER_00
So to me, the word that we teach on the podcast is intention.
1
SPEAKER_00
Our intention is bigger than it was before all this stuff started going down, I feel like.
1
SPEAKER_00
I really, truly feel a duty to keep the economy, my side of it at least, the little bitty tiny parts that I can influence cooking for the people that are taking a hit right now.
1
SPEAKER_01
Well, I think the same thing applies to the physical part.
1
SPEAKER_01
The government says, and we all believe, that we do our part by not being around a lot of people so that we re not passing this thing on.
1
SPEAKER_01
Same thing here.
1
SPEAKER_01
We do our part by not putting our head in the sand.
1
SPEAKER_01
I just had a call today from one of my clients.
1
SPEAKER_01
And yesterday, it was Sunday.
1
SPEAKER_01
Yesterday, I was in kind of one of those funky moods.
1
SPEAKER_01
It s like, oh, you know, I ve spent too much time watching.
1
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, totally.
1
SPEAKER_01
And last night was when I made the commitment.
1
SPEAKER_01
This morning, I got up, had two or three calls from clients.
1
SPEAKER_01
Lacey said, hey, I got this meeting today.
1
SPEAKER_01
And it felt like business as usual.
1
SPEAKER_01
Totally.
1
SPEAKER_01
And I think the weekends can be damaging for us, or even the weekdays, if we spend too much time on media.
1
SPEAKER_01
So the point there is one day at a time.
1
SPEAKER_01
Don t look too far out.
1
SPEAKER_01
I mean, have a five-year plan.
1
SPEAKER_01
But I think you re right, Brian.
1
SPEAKER_01
You look around and say, if I didn t have Twitter and the media, I would not know anything was wrong.
1
SPEAKER_01
Correct.
1
SPEAKER_01
Because everybody I know is safe.
1
SPEAKER_01
They re comfortable.
1
SPEAKER_01
Everybody s cool.
1
SPEAKER_01
I went to Starbucks this morning.
1
SPEAKER_01
Place was closed.
1
SPEAKER_01
But I mean, they re closed all their cafes.
1
SPEAKER_01
But everything was business as usual.
1
SPEAKER_01
And so I think staying in the present, and the present is, what LinkedIn video should we shoot today?
1
SPEAKER_01
Totally.
1
SPEAKER_01
What do we need to write today?
1
SPEAKER_01
Who do we need to call today?
1
SPEAKER_01
Yes.
1
SPEAKER_01
And sometimes those calls don t need to be sales calls.
1
SPEAKER_00
It s, how you doing?
1
SPEAKER_00
Yep.
1
SPEAKER_00
Everything OK?
1
SPEAKER_00
Yep.
1
SPEAKER_00
I had one of those.
1
SPEAKER_00
A friend of mine is actually in the hot.
1
SPEAKER_00
One of my best friends from
1
SPEAKER_00
seventh grade, has been in the hospitality business his whole life, and he still is.
1
SPEAKER_00
And so I just sent him a little note this morning.
1
SPEAKER_00
I m like, hey, dude, how you doing?
1
SPEAKER_00
I hope your company s taking care of you, just thinking about you, that sort of thing.
1
SPEAKER_00
That s a good thing to do on that side of it.
1
SPEAKER_00
On the other side of it, with our other clients, I m going to encourage
1
SPEAKER_00
We ve got one client, and it s like, when I get it, they re like, we re in unprecedented times, all this stuff.
1
SPEAKER_00
And I ve got a coaching session with some new salespeople that just started a week ago.
1
SPEAKER_00
I m like, hey, we re going to carry on just like we haven t missed a beat.
1
SPEAKER_00
Because the product they sell is still needed.
1
SPEAKER_00
It s no impact type of product on what s going on.
1
SPEAKER_00
And so we have a duty.
1
SPEAKER_00
We re business as usual.
1
SPEAKER_00
I agree.
1
SPEAKER_00
We re going to be talking to people, doing business, working, and all that stuff.
1
SPEAKER_01
And I think that we owe it to our customers to do that, too.
1
SPEAKER_01
Because when somebody calls and says, look, I know we got all this stuff going on, but I m interested.
1
SPEAKER_01
What are some things you re working on for the next year?
1
SPEAKER_01
I think it takes their mind out of the present panic and puts it out.
1
SPEAKER_01
And I think that s an obligation we have to our customers.
1
SPEAKER_01
Just keep doing business as usual, not ignoring the facts.
1
SPEAKER_01
But I just think we owe it there.
1
SPEAKER_01
I agree.
1
SPEAKER_01
We do.
1
SPEAKER_01
We have to do that.
1
SPEAKER_01
So as we close today, you got any other final thoughts?
1
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, that was it.
1
SPEAKER_00
And I think the last thing I would say is we re in this shift of, we ve been in a shift of virtual working for a long time.
1
SPEAKER_00
So this is the one thing that s like, OK, here we are.
1
SPEAKER_00
So it s funny because in the past, the big push has been virtual workspace.
1
SPEAKER_00
Work from home is like a big thing, boom.
1
SPEAKER_00
Now all of a sudden, it s like mandatory, and we think like, oh my gosh, this is going to be so hard.
1
SPEAKER_00
Well, most companies have been talking about it and doing it anyway.
1
SPEAKER_00
And so there, again, is not this big, huge shift in anything.
1
SPEAKER_00
That s another perspective thing.
1
SPEAKER_00
I m like, let s just carry on as it is.
1
SPEAKER_00
It just doesn t change that much.
1
SPEAKER_00
That being said, there is something about humans being in a room with each other.
1
SPEAKER_00
That s right.
1
SPEAKER_00
I think it s really important that you work to stay extra connected.
1
SPEAKER_00
I would encourage all of our listeners, your own sales teams, to reach out to each other just to check in, to spread some of this good vibe around.
1
SPEAKER_00
Like, hey, let s get after it.
1
SPEAKER_00
Let s do some call blocks today, or let s reach out to some old clients.
1
SPEAKER_00
And we ll talk about this on the next podcast about the mechanics of this.
1
SPEAKER_00
the call block and tone might change.
1
SPEAKER_00
We talked about before we got on here, the tone might change, because we do have to have some empathy for where people are.
1
SPEAKER_00
And it doesn t mean we shouldn t talk to people.
1
SPEAKER_00
So I think reaching out right now is a really, really important thing so that we do stay connected as best we can.
1
SPEAKER_00
Socially.
1
SPEAKER_00
Yes.
1
SPEAKER_01
Or you could do what your buddy does and go up to Chicago and rent a bus and drive around Chicago and drink for six hours.
1
SPEAKER_00
I ll post that video.
1
SPEAKER_00
Some very self-aware young people who, on Saturday night, decided that the COVID was for other people, not for them.
1
SPEAKER_00
And they jammed 2,000 people into a party bus and went around and slobbered booze all over themselves Saturday night.
1
SPEAKER_00
And you know what?
1
SPEAKER_00
Nobody will get sick from it.
1
SPEAKER_00
No.
1
SPEAKER_00
It reminds me of like the- It s alcohol.
1
SPEAKER_00
Killed it.
1
SPEAKER_00
Killed it all.
1
SPEAKER_00
You ve heard of parents doing chicken pox parties ever, where they basically get one kid to infect a bunch of kids?
1
SPEAKER_00
Because you get chicken pox once.
1
SPEAKER_00
Oh, one time.
1
SPEAKER_00
Instead of waiting, they all literally get together and play and slobber on each other.
1
SPEAKER_00
So that was their version of the checking box party.
1
SPEAKER_00
It was the COVID bus driving around Chicago.
1
SPEAKER_00
That s good.
1
SPEAKER_00
You got to have some fun.
1
SPEAKER_01
All right.
1
SPEAKER_01
We ll talk to you here in a couple of days.
1
SPEAKER_01
And if you have any thoughts, you can go to our LinkedIn.
1
SPEAKER_01
Go to advancedsellingpodcast.com slash LinkedIn.
1
SPEAKER_01
Offer your thoughts there.
1
SPEAKER_01
Any encouragement, any words of understanding you might want to send to us.
1
SPEAKER_01
And we ll be glad to get it on in a couple of days.
1
SPEAKER_01
Yeah.
1
SPEAKER_01
See you soon.