Growing A Sales Team Organically with David Vanden Boom

Wesleyne Greer: 00:00:00

As a sales manager, you are judged by the

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performance of your team, and you're praised when they do

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well. But one thing that you've not been able to figure out is

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how to get everyone on your team consistently hitting quota every

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single month. On the Snack size sales podcast, we discuss the

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science of selling stem sales leadership in the science,

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technology, engineering and manufacturing fields is

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difficult. You will learn from sales managers just like you

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that will give you actionable insights and tips on how to

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develop as a leader and achieve your revenue targets every

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single month. So pop your headphones in and get ready to

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listen to my guests today. They will give you information and

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inspiration to ensure that you have actionable insights that

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you can put into place today. Hello, and thank you so much for

Wesleyne Greer: 00:01:02

joining us for another episode of the science of selling stem.

Wesleyne Greer: 00:01:06

today. My guest is David Vanden. Boom. How are you, David?

David Vanden Boom: 00:01:11

I'm very well, thank you Wesleyne

David Vanden Boom: 00:01:12

yourself.

Wesleyne Greer: 00:01:13

I'm doing amazing. Thanks for joining us

Wesleyne Greer: 00:01:16

today. So let me tell you guys a little bit about David. He is

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the senior sales director with experience in oil, energy and

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chemicals. He is an expert in coaching, negotiation, business

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planning, operations, management, sales and market

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research. He is a self directed professional with an MBA

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specializing in management and organizational theory. So you

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are a person after my own heart, well see chemical. That is my

Wesleyne Greer: 00:01:46

world. So tell me, how did you start your career? And how did

Wesleyne Greer: 00:01:50

you end up where you are today?

David Vanden Boom: 00:01:52

Sure. That is actually a really good question.

David Vanden Boom: 00:01:54

I have one of those long and varied experiences. I'm actually

David Vanden Boom: 00:01:58

a teacher by trade. And I started out the first decade of

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my career teaching anywhere from the elementary level all the way

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up to some of the collegiate level courses. From there, it

David Vanden Boom: 00:02:08

was actually a transfer into the financial industry, thanks to

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some of the family members who had helped on the weekends. And

David Vanden Boom: 00:02:14

it was a hop, skip and jump over to the chemical industry where I

David Vanden Boom: 00:02:19

initially started with sales. So it's been transitioning always

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from education, to finance and into the sales market. And here

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we are today.

Wesleyne Greer: 00:02:28

So tell me about you said you are helping some

Wesleyne Greer: 00:02:31

family members out I always like to understand what exactly were

Wesleyne Greer: 00:02:35

you doing in that financial market, helping the family

Wesleyne Greer: 00:02:38

members

David Vanden Boom: 00:02:39

not a problem, my great aunt was long

David Vanden Boom: 00:02:42

standing financial advisor. And on the weekends, I would help

David Vanden Boom: 00:02:45

her while I was teaching. And she ultimately pushed me to get

David Vanden Boom: 00:02:49

some of the licensing requirements in order to help

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her and help her clients at that point in time. So I did get my

David Vanden Boom: 00:02:56

series six and 63, and series seven and all the other

David Vanden Boom: 00:02:59

wonderful series that goes along with getting into that financial

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field. So as I work weekends, and as I said during my day job

David Vanden Boom: 00:03:08

was teaching, and that ultimately moved me from

David Vanden Boom: 00:03:11

teaching into the financial industry.

Wesleyne Greer: 00:03:13

So you went from being a teacher, so dealing with

Wesleyne Greer: 00:03:18

our next budding generation, so you went from the budding

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generation, to helping people achieve their retirement goals.

Wesleyne Greer: 00:03:29

So it really sounds like you went from one end of the

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spectrum to the other. So what in your teaching career helped

Wesleyne Greer: 00:03:35

you in the new career path of financial services?

David Vanden Boom: 00:03:39

You know, I think when you're in the

David Vanden Boom: 00:03:40

teaching industry or in the when you're in the education

David Vanden Boom: 00:03:43

industry, you're always there's not a one size fits all, in

David Vanden Boom: 00:03:47

terms of education and how you teach a student as opposed to

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teaching another student. And in the financial industry, the same

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thing applies, especially when you're your funding, educator

David Vanden Boom: 00:03:58

funding retirement, somebody's retirement plans looks

David Vanden Boom: 00:04:02

absolutely different from somebody else's financial or, or

David Vanden Boom: 00:04:05

retirement plans at that point. So there's that, you know, one

David Vanden Boom: 00:04:10

of the best things from having a foundation in the educational

David Vanden Boom: 00:04:13

industry is that there's no time clock. Yeah, the kids are there

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from eight o'clock until three or whatever that timeline may

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be. But your job as an educator is, always extends beyond that.

David Vanden Boom: 00:04:24

And I know that that's the case in many different niche

David Vanden Boom: 00:04:28

industries. But having that foundation and education really

David Vanden Boom: 00:04:31

helped exemplify some of those aspects that not that you're

David Vanden Boom: 00:04:35

always on the clock, but you're always thinking about how you

David Vanden Boom: 00:04:38

can improve and how you can improve your students or your

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clients or your customers. That's one of the really big

David Vanden Boom: 00:04:44

takeaways that I've had from education.

Wesleyne Greer: 00:04:47

That's good and you have all of those licenses

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and then you said you worked in the energy and chemical industry

Wesleyne Greer: 00:04:54

so like your me and my husband all packaged up in one because

Wesleyne Greer: 00:04:58

he was a financial advisor. They're in his previous life.

Wesleyne Greer: 00:05:02

And so he's had to take all those certification exams also.

Wesleyne Greer: 00:05:05

Wonderful. So now going into the financial services industry,

Wesleyne Greer: 00:05:09

that's it's kind of like sales, right? It's kind of like your

Wesleyne Greer: 00:05:11

first step into sales. So you took that step into the

Wesleyne Greer: 00:05:15

financial services industry, and how did you leap over onto the

Wesleyne Greer: 00:05:19

dark side?

David Vanden Boom: 00:05:20

Well, the dark side always comes across

David Vanden Boom: 00:05:22

either from a connection or from a headhunter. So that transition

David Vanden Boom: 00:05:27

to chemical sales was actually with a connection from the

David Vanden Boom: 00:05:31

financial industry. And it was an individual who I was helping

David Vanden Boom: 00:05:35

that said, Hey, I have a friend who runs a company, make it

David Vanden Boom: 00:05:38

really use your help, why don't you go meet with them. And

David Vanden Boom: 00:05:41

simple cup of coffee later, I was in sales in the fine

David Vanden Boom: 00:05:45

chemical industry.

Wesleyne Greer: 00:05:47

So everyone, everyone, you know, one of my

Wesleyne Greer: 00:05:51

favorite phrases about getting your competitors rejects, I talk

Wesleyne Greer: 00:05:56

about it all the time on the podcast, stop getting your

Wesleyne Greer: 00:05:59

competitors rejects. So someone said, Hey, you're really good at

Wesleyne Greer: 00:06:05

sales. And financial service sales is not even b2b sales.

Wesleyne Greer: 00:06:09

It's not b2b sales. It's not chemical sales, you didn't have

Wesleyne Greer: 00:06:11

a chemical background, you were just a strong salesperson. And

Wesleyne Greer: 00:06:14

they took a chance on you. So when you started that job as a

Wesleyne Greer: 00:06:18

chemical salesperson, what were some of the synergies and some

Wesleyne Greer: 00:06:22

of the Oh, my gosh, what did I do moment?

David Vanden Boom: 00:06:25

Well, I'll tell you what the first Oh, my

David Vanden Boom: 00:06:26

gosh, moment is you're jumping into an industry, I had no

David Vanden Boom: 00:06:30

background, I'm not a chemist by nature, you know, I did not have

David Vanden Boom: 00:06:34

a good educational background in chemistry or in the items that

David Vanden Boom: 00:06:40

we sold at that point in time. So my Oh, my gosh, moment is I'm

David Vanden Boom: 00:06:43

here. I'm excited. I'm ready to get out there. What is it again,

David Vanden Boom: 00:06:47

that I'm selling. And, you know, I think part of the the thing

David Vanden Boom: 00:06:51

that really helped me is a really enjoy building those

David Vanden Boom: 00:06:55

relationships with customers and with clients. So that take away

David Vanden Boom: 00:06:59

from the financial industry that take away from the educational

David Vanden Boom: 00:07:02

background and industry is is one of those where I said, Okay,

David Vanden Boom: 00:07:05

I'm really good at talking with customers and listening to what

David Vanden Boom: 00:07:09

they're looking for what their needs are, and building that

David Vanden Boom: 00:07:12

into kind of my whole conversation with going into it.

David Vanden Boom: 00:07:16

And that was my okay, what can I transition? Or what do I bring

David Vanden Boom: 00:07:20

with me to the table as I make this leap into the dark side of

David Vanden Boom: 00:07:23

sales?

Wesleyne Greer: 00:07:25

The dark side. And I think that often times

Wesleyne Greer: 00:07:29

when sales managers are hiring new salespeople, hiring someone

Wesleyne Greer: 00:07:34

that doesn't know the industry doesn't know, b2b sales doesn't

Wesleyne Greer: 00:07:36

know petrochemicals, like you know, any of that you need to

Wesleyne Greer: 00:07:38

have a book of business, you didn't know the products they

Wesleyne Greer: 00:07:41

were selling, you didn't know any of the customers. And it's

Wesleyne Greer: 00:07:44

like, well, I don't have time to train them, right, and they want

Wesleyne Greer: 00:07:49

somebody who's ready made. But at the end of the day, when you

Wesleyne Greer: 00:07:52

get strong sales skills will outperform any day, somebody who

Wesleyne Greer: 00:07:56

has a book of business, because you're scrappy, right? You know

Wesleyne Greer: 00:08:00

how to listen to somebody you know how to say, Okay, I don't

Wesleyne Greer: 00:08:04

know the answer to your questions, but I do know how to

Wesleyne Greer: 00:08:06

write them down and go ask the other people that do know the

Wesleyne Greer: 00:08:09

answers.

David Vanden Boom: 00:08:10

Correct? And that's the right way of putting

David Vanden Boom: 00:08:11

it. I don't know the answer. And a lot of salespeople out there

David Vanden Boom: 00:08:14

really have a hard time saying, I don't know that answer. But

David Vanden Boom: 00:08:18

let me get back to you. Because I know somebody who does have

David Vanden Boom: 00:08:21

that answer. And I know that we're going to have a solution

David Vanden Boom: 00:08:23

for you. Let me get back to you. And that is a great tip. That's

David Vanden Boom: 00:08:26

a really good comment that you have on there. Why do

Wesleyne Greer: 00:08:30

you think it is that salespeople are afraid to

Wesleyne Greer: 00:08:32

say, I don't know what is it?

David Vanden Boom: 00:08:34

A lot of times it's our own upbringing,

David Vanden Boom: 00:08:36

where a we're in sales, and we need the sales and whether it's

David Vanden Boom: 00:08:39

the drive from our bosses or from management that we need to

David Vanden Boom: 00:08:43

have all the essential tools that are, you know, we can pull

David Vanden Boom: 00:08:46

out of our pocket at any point in time taking a step back and

David Vanden Boom: 00:08:49

saying, I don't have that answer. I think a lot of people,

David Vanden Boom: 00:08:53

when they say that phrase, they ultimately think she lost the

David Vanden Boom: 00:08:58

sale. But I think it's just another step in continuing the

David Vanden Boom: 00:09:03

communication that you have with that customer client.

Wesleyne Greer: 00:09:06

I love that. It's the fear of losing the

Wesleyne Greer: 00:09:10

sale, especially, you know, when you're at a time of year, like

Wesleyne Greer: 00:09:13

now we're in the fourth quarter, and it's like I need every

Wesleyne Greer: 00:09:17

single conversation must convert. Right. And so it's in

Wesleyne Greer: 00:09:20

your brain you have that thought, but I know a lot of

Wesleyne Greer: 00:09:23

times, you know, I will tell people so I'm gonna get Mr by

Wesleyne Greer: 00:09:27

trade. But a lot of times when I was in sales, I was calling on

Wesleyne Greer: 00:09:30

engineers, right? And so I had to learn how to speak engineer.

Wesleyne Greer: 00:09:34

And I would always tell my team when I was leading them, we know

Wesleyne Greer: 00:09:39

our product. We know our product better than anyone out there.

Wesleyne Greer: 00:09:43

The customer knows their product better than anyone out there.

Wesleyne Greer: 00:09:47

It's okay. When they ask you a crazy off the wall question. And

Wesleyne Greer: 00:09:52

you're like, I don't know. Let me go ask somebody who's smarter

Wesleyne Greer: 00:09:54

than me. And what does that do? It brings down the barrier and

Wesleyne Greer: 00:09:57

they start laughing right? It's okay. All right,

David Vanden Boom: 00:10:01

that's exactly correct. That's a great

David Vanden Boom: 00:10:03

point to bring home. It really is.

Wesleyne Greer: 00:10:05

Yeah, I love it. So you got into chemical sales?

Wesleyne Greer: 00:10:09

How did you find your flooding? How did you really figure out

Wesleyne Greer: 00:10:12

how to start learning the jargon, figuring out those

Wesleyne Greer: 00:10:15

customers,

David Vanden Boom: 00:10:16

you know, it all takes that picking up the

David Vanden Boom: 00:10:18

phone and calling customers that are their calling existing

David Vanden Boom: 00:10:21

customers, you know, having a conversation with not only your

David Vanden Boom: 00:10:25

teammates, or the people that are on staff or part of the team

David Vanden Boom: 00:10:28

of that organization, but also those that are broader reached

David Vanden Boom: 00:10:32

with the customers and client base, having those conversations

David Vanden Boom: 00:10:35

and learning the jargon, like you said, you know, learning how

David Vanden Boom: 00:10:39

to talk to them, but more importantly, how to listen to

David Vanden Boom: 00:10:41

them what they're actually looking for. So and that's the

David Vanden Boom: 00:10:44

biggest thing is listening to those customers and listening to

David Vanden Boom: 00:10:47

everything that's out there. And most of the time, we're so

David Vanden Boom: 00:10:50

focused, like you said, it's the end of the year, we're crammed,

David Vanden Boom: 00:10:52

we're trying to get everything done. We're trying to get

David Vanden Boom: 00:10:55

everything, you know, budgets accomplished and all of our

David Vanden Boom: 00:10:58

goals accomplished by the end of the year, that you take that

David Vanden Boom: 00:11:01

step and that meeting with the customer and listen to what

David Vanden Boom: 00:11:05

they're looking for, listen to how you can help them. And that

David Vanden Boom: 00:11:08

just builds that relationship from there.

Wesleyne Greer: 00:11:11

That's so good. As a new salesperson that one of

Wesleyne Greer: 00:11:15

the things that I love to say like, if there is an existing

Wesleyne Greer: 00:11:19

book of business, go learn from your customers, ask them

Wesleyne Greer: 00:11:22

questions, you're the new kid on the block, they're not gonna

Wesleyne Greer: 00:11:24

yell at you. And one thing that we all know is everybody loves

Wesleyne Greer: 00:11:28

talking about themselves. So they will tell you about their

Wesleyne Greer: 00:11:30

research. They'll tell you about their awards and their patents

Wesleyne Greer: 00:11:33

and everything that they've done to get them to where they are.

Wesleyne Greer: 00:11:37

And you're just listening and learning and asking questions.

Wesleyne Greer: 00:11:40

And then I also like to take it a step further, like, Hey, I'm

Wesleyne Greer: 00:11:43

the new kid on the block. What do you not like about the

Wesleyne Greer: 00:11:45

company? What have you had any issues, any kind of things that

Wesleyne Greer: 00:11:49

you want me to bang up the chain? Right, like, open the

Wesleyne Greer: 00:11:52

door?

David Vanden Boom: 00:11:53

That is so true. Actually, I love that

David Vanden Boom: 00:11:55

line, I still use the line. I've been in this industry for over a

David Vanden Boom: 00:11:58

decade now. And most of the customers that I have, or most

David Vanden Boom: 00:12:01

of the people that I meet, I still use that line. I'm new

David Vanden Boom: 00:12:04

here, what would you tell me that I'm missing? And once you

David Vanden Boom: 00:12:08

it's not a form of humility, but it brings down that wall between

David Vanden Boom: 00:12:12

you and the person that you're speaking with.

Wesleyne Greer: 00:12:14

That's a great breaks the barrier, right? It's

Wesleyne Greer: 00:12:17

the because that's what it is like you're new, I'm new. And

Wesleyne Greer: 00:12:20

there's a wall in between us, who's going to knock this wall

Wesleyne Greer: 00:12:22

down. First, we're going to talk about sports. We're going to

Wesleyne Greer: 00:12:24

talk about the weather, we're going to talk about all these

Wesleyne Greer: 00:12:26

niceties. But at the end of the day, I'm trying to learn and I

Wesleyne Greer: 00:12:30

actually want to get your business, but you don't want to

Wesleyne Greer: 00:12:33

actually talk to me about it, you feel like I'm wasting your

Wesleyne Greer: 00:12:36

time. So let's figure out how to break it down. And you don't

Wesleyne Greer: 00:12:39

always have to be so serious, because I think a lot of times

Wesleyne Greer: 00:12:42

in these very technical sales that we're in, people are just

Wesleyne Greer: 00:12:45

way too serious, right? It's just like, it doesn't always

Wesleyne Greer: 00:12:48

have to be so serious. We can break down barriers sometimes.

David Vanden Boom: 00:12:52

Correct. It's a point of commonality to I'm

David Vanden Boom: 00:12:54

new, you know, everybody wants to help somebody, no matter who

David Vanden Boom: 00:12:58

you are, they're gonna want to help somebody out. So that line,

David Vanden Boom: 00:13:01

I'm new, that gives them the opportunity to teach you

David Vanden Boom: 00:13:04

something.

Wesleyne Greer: 00:13:05

Absolutely. So tell me, you stepped into the

Wesleyne Greer: 00:13:09

industry. And then you made in a sense into a leadership role.

Wesleyne Greer: 00:13:13

What was that transition like for you? How did that work?

David Vanden Boom: 00:13:16

It was a smooth transition, I was very

David Vanden Boom: 00:13:18

blessed by having a really great team around me, and really great

David Vanden Boom: 00:13:21

individuals to work with that backed up by a great book of

David Vanden Boom: 00:13:25

business, or a great group of customers that made that

David Vanden Boom: 00:13:28

transition so smooth, it was almost like I was doing it

David Vanden Boom: 00:13:32

anyways. And once again, I go back and I reference my

David Vanden Boom: 00:13:35

background and education where, you know, trying to help

David Vanden Boom: 00:13:38

somebody out or trying to teach somebody or trying to learn or

David Vanden Boom: 00:13:41

continually learn has always been a great benefit and a great

David Vanden Boom: 00:13:45

benefit for anybody to have. If you're looking at going into a

David Vanden Boom: 00:13:49

leadership role. It's that building of a team or listening

David Vanden Boom: 00:13:53

to others, or the commonality that we had talked about that

David Vanden Boom: 00:13:56

you said, you know, breaks down those barriers that happens

David Vanden Boom: 00:13:59

internally are intrinsically an organization. And if you make it

David Vanden Boom: 00:14:03

a point that you're there to help them to help them succeed,

David Vanden Boom: 00:14:07

to help them to grow. And you not only say that, but you live

David Vanden Boom: 00:14:11

that type of philosophy, building a team and being in

David Vanden Boom: 00:14:15

charge of those individuals to help them grow. It happens

David Vanden Boom: 00:14:18

organically at that point.

Wesleyne Greer: 00:14:20

So when you stepped into leadership, did you

Wesleyne Greer: 00:14:22

have to build your team from scratch? Or did you inherit a

Wesleyne Greer: 00:14:25

team?

David Vanden Boom: 00:14:26

A little above? You know, there was a

David Vanden Boom: 00:14:28

couple of members that were already existing, you know, that

David Vanden Boom: 00:14:31

I've worked side by side with and some where we had to go out

David Vanden Boom: 00:14:34

and we had to hire some folks for some territories.

Wesleyne Greer: 00:14:37

So how was it from being friend to boss, talk

Wesleyne Greer: 00:14:41

to us about that transition in your career?

David Vanden Boom: 00:14:44

I think the biggest stigma when it says

David Vanden Boom: 00:14:46

friend to boss, or you move to that type of relationship is

David Vanden Boom: 00:14:50

when you start talking about money, because you know, in any

David Vanden Boom: 00:14:53

type of atmosphere, money is still a very personal thing, and

David Vanden Boom: 00:14:56

you can't be afraid to have that discussion. And the more upfront

David Vanden Boom: 00:15:00

that you are about everything, the better that communication or

David Vanden Boom: 00:15:04

the line of communications between each individual on your

David Vanden Boom: 00:15:07

team is going to be available and going to be open. So it's

David Vanden Boom: 00:15:11

been my experience, money is number one, the most difficult

David Vanden Boom: 00:15:14

thing when making that transition from friend to boss

David Vanden Boom: 00:15:17

or to leader or team lead, whatever phraseology you want to

David Vanden Boom: 00:15:21

use with it, once that conversation is done, though,

David Vanden Boom: 00:15:24

and you're there to help the individual, you're there to help

David Vanden Boom: 00:15:28

anybody that's on your team to grow the team to grow the

David Vanden Boom: 00:15:31

organization success, I think it happens by itself, at that

David Vanden Boom: 00:15:35

point, you have to, you know, I'm gonna keep using the phrase

David Vanden Boom: 00:15:38

that you said, but you're gonna keep breaking down those

David Vanden Boom: 00:15:40

barriers and breaking down some of the different aspects that

David Vanden Boom: 00:15:44

makes individuals on your team not want to communicate with

David Vanden Boom: 00:15:47

you, you break those down, and everything becomes a lot easier.

Wesleyne Greer: 00:15:51

That's good. That's a good perspective, that

Wesleyne Greer: 00:15:55

going from really working alongside someone to having to,

Wesleyne Greer: 00:15:59

you know, redirect them when they're doing something that

Wesleyne Greer: 00:16:02

they shouldn't be doing or praise them. Whereas before you

Wesleyne Greer: 00:16:05

guys were in the trenches together, it's like, oh, now you

Wesleyne Greer: 00:16:08

know how much money I make, huh, we used to make the same amount

Wesleyne Greer: 00:16:11

of money, but now you might be making a little bit more. And a

Wesleyne Greer: 00:16:13

lot of times, that's where that infighting comes, because a lot

Wesleyne Greer: 00:16:17

of times when people are moving up in the ranks, and they start

Wesleyne Greer: 00:16:20

leaving their former colleagues, they have lots of issues. And it

Wesleyne Greer: 00:16:24

sounds like you were like, Okay, we're gonna have this

Wesleyne Greer: 00:16:26

conversation, we're gonna get on the same page. And then we're

Wesleyne Greer: 00:16:28

gonna go out there and keep hitting these goals. 100%. And

Wesleyne Greer: 00:16:31

then you started building the team. So in hiring or do you

Wesleyne Greer: 00:16:37

said, you've built some new territories, so tell us as a

Wesleyne Greer: 00:16:41

relatively new sales manager, or maybe even somebody who may not

Wesleyne Greer: 00:16:45

be new, but they have inherited a team, and they're back filling

Wesleyne Greer: 00:16:49

positions, but now they're in growth mode. And so they have to

Wesleyne Greer: 00:16:52

define new territories go into new markets, what are some tips

Wesleyne Greer: 00:16:55

that you would have for those people,

David Vanden Boom: 00:16:57

you know, for the individuals that are going

David Vanden Boom: 00:16:58

into new territories, or for the individuals that are growing

David Vanden Boom: 00:17:01

your team going into new territories, it all comes down

David Vanden Boom: 00:17:05

to conversations, it all comes down to listening to your

David Vanden Boom: 00:17:08

customers listening to the customer base in that area. And

David Vanden Boom: 00:17:12

if it's an individual that you're throwing into that new

David Vanden Boom: 00:17:14

territory, it's coaching them, it's coaching them, how to ask

David Vanden Boom: 00:17:18

the right questions, and how to listen, not necessarily just sit

David Vanden Boom: 00:17:22

there and think about what their answer is going to be to what

David Vanden Boom: 00:17:24

your customers saying, but to listen to the customer's actual

David Vanden Boom: 00:17:27

needs, and then applying those particular solutions, you know,

David Vanden Boom: 00:17:30

going into new territories, you're going to have the same

David Vanden Boom: 00:17:34

set of goals and principles that you had in your existing

David Vanden Boom: 00:17:37

territories, especially if it's a foundation that's based on

David Vanden Boom: 00:17:41

having conversations with individuals and building those

David Vanden Boom: 00:17:43

relationships for the greater good of both of you.

Wesleyne Greer: 00:17:47

You talk a lot about listening and talking,

Wesleyne Greer: 00:17:50

right and coaching. And so I'm curious if we were to survey

Wesleyne Greer: 00:17:57

both your reps and your leaders, or your your managers, the

Wesleyne Greer: 00:18:00

people who you report to what would they define as your true

Wesleyne Greer: 00:18:04

leadership style?

David Vanden Boom: 00:18:05

Wow, that's a great question. I think they

David Vanden Boom: 00:18:08

would actually respond in very supportive, listening,

David Vanden Boom: 00:18:13

nurturing, and then through accomplishment, or successful

David Vanden Boom: 00:18:17

praise, if you will. Everybody has their own unique set of

David Vanden Boom: 00:18:20

skills that they bring to the table. And it's identifying

David Vanden Boom: 00:18:24

those set of skills, growing them, letting them know, Hey,

David Vanden Boom: 00:18:27

this is a great set of skills that you've got here, take that,

David Vanden Boom: 00:18:31

use that to your advantage as you go out, and you talk to

David Vanden Boom: 00:18:34

these customers, and you can really grow their own confidence

David Vanden Boom: 00:18:38

as their confidence grows. So do the communications and the

David Vanden Boom: 00:18:41

relationships that they have with those individuals. Does

David Vanden Boom: 00:18:44

that make sense? It absolutely

Wesleyne Greer: 00:18:46

does. And it's always really hard to toot your

Wesleyne Greer: 00:18:48

own horn. And so I like to kind of throw some curveballs in

Wesleyne Greer: 00:18:52

there. So that's I was like, what would they say about you?

Wesleyne Greer: 00:18:56

But I just did listening to you for the few months that we've

Wesleyne Greer: 00:19:00

been speaking, I would agree with you right that they would

Wesleyne Greer: 00:19:03

say that not only are you really able to meet your reps where

Wesleyne Greer: 00:19:07

they are and speak their language, but you're also

Wesleyne Greer: 00:19:10

holding them accountable and pushing them right, because you

Wesleyne Greer: 00:19:12

don't go from inheriting a team to opening up new territories

Wesleyne Greer: 00:19:16

and growing and building without doing some of those things.

David Vanden Boom: 00:19:19

You know, you brought up the term

David Vanden Boom: 00:19:21

accountability. And I think accountability is one of those

David Vanden Boom: 00:19:24

terms where if you've got a salesperson who is rockin and

David Vanden Boom: 00:19:27

rollin hit somebody who's hitting their territory and

David Vanden Boom: 00:19:30

building the relationships with our customers and clients, the

David Vanden Boom: 00:19:33

accountability portion of it kind of falls away because that

David Vanden Boom: 00:19:36

takes care of itself. Accountability would be I almost

David Vanden Boom: 00:19:39

refer to it as almost on the dark side of it. And it happens

David Vanden Boom: 00:19:42

to some points simply because if you have a rep or somebody who

David Vanden Boom: 00:19:46

isn't pulling their weight or or struggling, then that

David Vanden Boom: 00:19:49

accountability starts creeping up. Then you start looking at

David Vanden Boom: 00:19:52

your KPIs and what's going wrong and you're not hitting this goal

David Vanden Boom: 00:19:55

and you're not hitting these metrics. And that's a totally

David Vanden Boom: 00:19:58

different thing. Those accountability The aspects make

David Vanden Boom: 00:20:00

you take a step back and look at that individual on your team or,

David Vanden Boom: 00:20:04

you know, where are they struggling? How can you help

David Vanden Boom: 00:20:07

them? How can you help them grow? Does that make sense?

Wesleyne Greer: 00:20:10

Absolutely. I have this, this little matrix

Wesleyne Greer: 00:20:13

that I use. And I tell managers that every quarter you planning

Wesleyne Greer: 00:20:18

to plot your people on it, right? And it's really a quota

Wesleyne Greer: 00:20:21

and effort matrix. And so literally, you're like, where

Wesleyne Greer: 00:20:24

are you? Are you at quarter? Are you putting in the maximum

Wesleyne Greer: 00:20:28

amount of effort? And really based on where people are

Wesleyne Greer: 00:20:30

falling that quarter? That's where you need to focus your

Wesleyne Greer: 00:20:33

attention, right? And those people that are below quota, and

Wesleyne Greer: 00:20:37

not putting in the effort, I always say, Why are they here,

Wesleyne Greer: 00:20:41

because of uniting your number, and you're not doing the things

Wesleyne Greer: 00:20:43

you need to do, then why and those people that are hitting

Wesleyne Greer: 00:20:46

their quota, and they're putting in the most effort, they're

Wesleyne Greer: 00:20:49

knocking on doors, they're still making phone calls, they're

Wesleyne Greer: 00:20:51

still filling the funnel, they just need a little encouragement

Wesleyne Greer: 00:20:53

every out most of the time. It's those other two quadrants that

Wesleyne Greer: 00:20:57

you have to focus on, right, those people who are like, Okay,

Wesleyne Greer: 00:21:00

I'm below quota, but I am knocking on every door and

Wesleyne Greer: 00:21:03

nobody will say yes, right. So you, as a manager, get to say,

Wesleyne Greer: 00:21:07

How can I help you? What can I do? Because I know you want it,

Wesleyne Greer: 00:21:11

just a little tweak here, or maybe don't say this, or don't

Wesleyne Greer: 00:21:14

get so eager, I see what's happening. And then they win a

Wesleyne Greer: 00:21:18

sale, and then they win another sale, and then they're confident

Wesleyne Greer: 00:21:21

grows. And that is how you really turn those reps that are

Wesleyne Greer: 00:21:26

really struggling into top performers.

David Vanden Boom: 00:21:29

That's correct. And success breeds

David Vanden Boom: 00:21:31

success. And it keeps rolling to that point. And those

David Vanden Boom: 00:21:35

individuals are those sales individuals that are out there.

David Vanden Boom: 00:21:37

And they're putting the effort in and like you said, they're

David Vanden Boom: 00:21:40

knocking on the door, they just can't get a yes, they can't get

David Vanden Boom: 00:21:42

a sale, just a little tweak. Usually, that's all that it is.

David Vanden Boom: 00:21:46

And all of a sudden, you've got a basket full of success.

Wesleyne Greer: 00:21:49

I know. And you're like, wow, I remember

Wesleyne Greer: 00:21:52

when you were just struggling. And now you're at the top of the

Wesleyne Greer: 00:21:55

leaderboards. Right. And it's like, those are the things that

Wesleyne Greer: 00:21:58

good leaders hang their hats on.

David Vanden Boom: 00:22:00

That's right, good points.

Wesleyne Greer: 00:22:02

So tell me about a something in your career that

Wesleyne Greer: 00:22:06

you're really excited about having accomplished?

David Vanden Boom: 00:22:10

That's another really good question.

David Vanden Boom: 00:22:12

You know, when you take a step back, and you look at everything

David Vanden Boom: 00:22:15

that you've done, and I've been in basically almost any industry

David Vanden Boom: 00:22:18

you can think of, I think the most, or the thing that I'm most

David Vanden Boom: 00:22:21

proud of is the type of relationships that I've built

David Vanden Boom: 00:22:25

with colleagues and customers hands down. And it's, it's that

David Vanden Boom: 00:22:29

relationship, I don't want to call it relationship selling,

David Vanden Boom: 00:22:32

but it's having those relationships with the

David Vanden Boom: 00:22:34

individuals that I'm most proud of

Wesleyne Greer: 00:22:37

your relationships, you know, and

Wesleyne Greer: 00:22:39

what that made me think about is like, I tell people my word, my

Wesleyne Greer: 00:22:44

word is good, right. And if you think about your relationships,

Wesleyne Greer: 00:22:48

it's all built on, you are doing what you say you're going to do,

Wesleyne Greer: 00:22:52

right? You are the person that you say you are you show up the

Wesleyne Greer: 00:22:57

same way all the time consistently.

David Vanden Boom: 00:22:59

It's a really good point. And I think with

David Vanden Boom: 00:23:01

some of your listeners, I'll tell you the first time that I

David Vanden Boom: 00:23:05

remember the first time that I was on a sales call with a new

David Vanden Boom: 00:23:09

customer. And it was a competing bid on a project. And there was

David Vanden Boom: 00:23:13

a very good apples to apples comparison, the pricing was the

David Vanden Boom: 00:23:17

same very similar. It was a draw basically of who was going to

David Vanden Boom: 00:23:22

win this particular project with this customer. And I was sitting

David Vanden Boom: 00:23:25

right across the desk from this individual. And he said, Okay,

David Vanden Boom: 00:23:28

well what if I go with you, what do I get that's different from

David Vanden Boom: 00:23:31

your competitor. And without a beat, I said, you get me. And

David Vanden Boom: 00:23:35

with that, I'm going to work tirelessly to make sure that

David Vanden Boom: 00:23:38

everything that we say we're going to do is done to 110%. And

David Vanden Boom: 00:23:43

you know, for most of the salespeople out there, don't

David Vanden Boom: 00:23:45

forget that you are your greatest asset. And it's okay to

David Vanden Boom: 00:23:48

say that now it's not something that I say on a day to day

David Vanden Boom: 00:23:51

basis. There's humility that comes along with that, but keep

David Vanden Boom: 00:23:54

that in the back of your head that you are your greatest

David Vanden Boom: 00:23:57

asset. What is your customer getting? They're getting you

David Vanden Boom: 00:23:59

they're getting your time they're getting your expertise,

David Vanden Boom: 00:24:02

you're getting your your conversations, and that's a

David Vanden Boom: 00:24:05

great thing to keep in mind.

Wesleyne Greer: 00:24:06

I love that. I mean that that right there is so

Wesleyne Greer: 00:24:12

paramount that is speechless. Ever baby think about so I don't

Wesleyne Greer: 00:24:20

know, maybe 10 years ago, the company that I worked at and I

Wesleyne Greer: 00:24:24

sold for my younger brother is now a supervisor in that lab and

Wesleyne Greer: 00:24:31

they have printed emails right next to the instrument with my

Wesleyne Greer: 00:24:36

name on it, of how to do things. My business card is still on the

Wesleyne Greer: 00:24:40

instrument. Right? And it's because of what you said. They

Wesleyne Greer: 00:24:45

get you people buy from people and even in this world of

Wesleyne Greer: 00:24:51

everything is digital and this and that they buy from you.

Wesleyne Greer: 00:24:56

They're getting you when something breaks when something

Wesleyne Greer: 00:24:58

happens they want you Who? And I tell people when I have a

Wesleyne Greer: 00:25:02

customer that says, Hey, Wesleyne? Do you sell this? Do

Wesleyne Greer: 00:25:05

you do that? And it's like, I absolutely don't do anything in

Wesleyne Greer: 00:25:09

terms of marketing, or PR, but you trust me enough to think

Wesleyne Greer: 00:25:15

that I do. And you value my recommendation. That is an

Wesleyne Greer: 00:25:18

honor. It's not like no, you don't know what I do. And it's

Wesleyne Greer: 00:25:21

exactly what you said, it's the fact that people get you and

Wesleyne Greer: 00:25:25

salespeople don't say it enough. And you're right, don't have the

Wesleyne Greer: 00:25:28

big head and said all the time. Right, right. But you need to

Wesleyne Greer: 00:25:30

use it at the appropriate times when it's down to the wire, and

Wesleyne Greer: 00:25:33

it's you against a competitor, what's the differentiating

Wesleyne Greer: 00:25:36

factor you?

David Vanden Boom: 00:25:38

That's right, your hustle everything else that

David Vanden Boom: 00:25:40

comes along with it, you know, and you'll find that not only

David Vanden Boom: 00:25:43

that, you build that relationship with the customer,

David Vanden Boom: 00:25:46

all of a sudden, you got a referral, and that customer is

David Vanden Boom: 00:25:48

going to refer you to somebody else. Hey, I was working with

David Vanden Boom: 00:25:50

David and I really liked how he did it, I know that Jim over

David Vanden Boom: 00:25:53

there is going to need the same thing, Jim, go talk to David,

David Vanden Boom: 00:25:56

he'll take care of you. And then you build that relationship. And

David Vanden Boom: 00:25:59

all of a sudden, you've got a referral book of business that

David Vanden Boom: 00:26:02

continually comes at you when you're not even looking for it.

David Vanden Boom: 00:26:05

So not only have you established yourself as a very good

David Vanden Boom: 00:26:08

relationship building person, but you've established yourself

David Vanden Boom: 00:26:12

as an expert in the industry, simply because of your hustle

David Vanden Boom: 00:26:15

and your determination. And most importantly, yourself.

Wesleyne Greer: 00:26:18

Hmm, that is so good. David, I am so excited.

Wesleyne Greer: 00:26:23

That was yeah, that's good. People buy from people period.

Wesleyne Greer: 00:26:29

And I think that really sums up all of the things that you've

Wesleyne Greer: 00:26:33

talked about today, you talked about listening, you talked

Wesleyne Greer: 00:26:35

about being a resource, you talked about educating just by

Wesleyne Greer: 00:26:38

asking questions. And that's why people like you, right, as a

Wesleyne Greer: 00:26:43

manager, as a salesperson is anything. That is what people

Wesleyne Greer: 00:26:47

are attracted to the most. This has been an amazing, amazing

Wesleyne Greer: 00:26:51

time chatting with you.

David Vanden Boom: 00:26:53

No, I appreciate it. I look forward to

David Vanden Boom: 00:26:55

any of the conversations or any questions that you would have or

David Vanden Boom: 00:26:58

future conversations.

Wesleyne Greer: 00:26:59

Awesome. Well, if people want to chat with you

Wesleyne Greer: 00:27:03

and pick your brain or speak with you a bit more, what is the

Wesleyne Greer: 00:27:06

one best way for them to get in contact with you?

David Vanden Boom: 00:27:08

I'm still old school, I still appreciate a

David Vanden Boom: 00:27:11

phone call. Emails are great. But I love a phone call. If

David Vanden Boom: 00:27:16

you're good giving out a phone number, I have no problem with

David Vanden Boom: 00:27:18

that. Otherwise, emails or LinkedIn is always going to be

David Vanden Boom: 00:27:22

another way to get in touch with me.

Wesleyne Greer: 00:27:24

Okay, well, David's phone number will be in

Wesleyne Greer: 00:27:26

the show notes. So if you guys want to give him a call, you can

Wesleyne Greer: 00:27:29

literally just click his phone number in the show notes and you

Wesleyne Greer: 00:27:32

can connect with him. Awesome. Awesome. Well, thanks again so

Wesleyne Greer: 00:27:37

much for your time, David.

David Vanden Boom: 00:27:39

Thank you. I appreciate being on. Awesome.

Wesleyne Greer: 00:27:41

And that was another episode of the science

Wesleyne Greer: 00:27:45

of selling stem. Wasn't that interview amazing. I mean, how

Wesleyne Greer: 00:27:50

many gems How much do we have that we can really put into

Wesleyne Greer: 00:27:54

action today. Remember in everything that you do transform

Wesleyne Greer: 00:27:59

your sales. Until next time.

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