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Sam Taggart 00:40
Hi, everyone. This is Sam Taggart with the D2D podcast and I am here with Chris Pierce, a very special guest today, he runs sales resilience, and we are going to be diving in on kind of that, like, what is the grit? What is the resilience? What’s the mindset of sales. But before I dive into that, I wanted to kind of make a few announcements we’ve got recruiting summit coming up real quick, September 23, through the 26th. So this will be a three day event in Austin, Texas, it’s once a year, and it’s gonna be epic. So anybody that is wanting to scale grow their team, how to recruit, you know that that seems to be the people that make the most money in this business are the ones that know how to really scale and recruit. And we’re gonna be teaching on a personally network, how to use in deed and online how to train onboard those people to have the biggest chance for success when it comes to scaling, whether that’s you’re in a seasonal job where you’re doing this in the offseason, or if it’s a year round program, there’s only 100 tickets available. We’ve already sold about 60. So about 40 seats left. So make sure to go get your ticket and who knows how many are left by the time we launched this podcast. So don’t hesitate. This is an epic experience and high level training. So So now let’s dive in. And Chris. So let me introduce Chris a little better. He, he is he’s one of a kind, he came out to door, okay, his friends, my brother Spencer. And he’s like, Hey, I hear you’re doing this door door con event. He got into sales coaching because he was coaching the military. And they were you know, a lot of the mental performance when it comes to military. And these guys are under high stress situations. He’s like, Where else are they in high stress situations, and he finds door to door salespeople. And he says, I’m gonna start coaching those guys, because it is similar to the military similar schedule, similar work, ethics needed, and discipline, and you’re dealing with frickin shots fired, which we call objections. So without further ado, let’s bring on our guest, Chris, welcome to the show, man. Thanks. I’m excited to be here. Happy to join you. So first off, like, why door to door sales? Like why was that? Like? Why sales resilience? How did you correlate sales? And it’s not just door to door but like sales and military like like, yeah, where was the tie together there.
Chris Pierce 02:57
It kind of happened on accident, I wasn’t seeking out to work with salespeople. It started off, I’ve got a friend who, you know, is pretty high up with aptiv. And he was just out on vacation in Hawaii. And we just were talking, catching up, hadn’t seen each other in a long time. And he was like, Man, you got to do this with sales reps. Like they need it. And so it’s like, well, if I had sales reps to coach that, but you know, I’d be happy to at least try it out. And so I ended up, you know, just working with one guy last summer, and who ended up doubling his sales from the previous two summers. And so he, from there, it just kind of became this thing. I was like, Okay, well, let’s get you more people. And so it’s just grown organically. But what I loved about it, is that door to door sales reps are just so motivated, like, they’re just they’re hungry. There. And so it was just really cool to work with, with really hungry motivated people. And it’s just, like I said, grown organically and to somewhere I’ve stopped working with the military. And I’m doing this full time now.
Sam Taggart 04:22
I love that. So you took on a client, I’m use this as a as a use case. So I sent you the client because you know, I have a lot of people that want coaching and they want the one on one. And they you know, and sometimes like obviously, I don’t have the bandwidth to do everything. So you said something just before we started this podcast, and you said, you know, I’m trying to give them the frameworks and give them the tools yet. What do you say?
Chris Pierce 04:51
Not everybody does what what you teach. And I’m sure that you experienced that too. Where you know you can bring a horse to Water, you can’t make them drink. And so it’s, and I think sometimes people get frustrated because it’s like, oh, we have these really good conversations. And they’re like, all gung ho and like ready to take on the world. But then, you know, a day passes, and all of a sudden, they go back to their default. They go back to the way that they’ve always done things. They’re like, well, I’ve learned all this stuff, why? Why hasn’t anything changed? And, you know, it goes back to like, you know, what, got you here won’t get you there. Yeah, you have to make changes, and you have to do things differently. Why do you? And that’s not always an easy process?
Sam Taggart 05:42
Yeah, I was gonna say, what are some of the mental roadblocks that people run into? That stopped them from really this progression? You know, I see reps all the time, where they, they they do 100 accounts every year? And you’re like, dude, you’re just satisfied with this 100 accounts? And how do you know, and they’re like, I’m trying to sell a 150, or whatever that number is for them. But like, what are some of the things that they’re struggling with or not seeing that you would help them see, to help move them through these changes in progression?
Chris Pierce 06:12
So I think that most people, they know what to do, they just haven’t given themselves either the structure or the simplicity to do it. Because like, it really comes down to discipline, but you can only be disciplined when you have something very specific to do. Right. And so, so I think a lot of them, they lose the discipline, because they lack the clarity. And so they just need to break down, specifically what they need to do on a consistent basis, and then commit to doing that very simple thing. And I find that people, people want like a big answer, they want like, I don’t know, they want to make this huge change. But the reality is, it’s not big changes that they need to make. It’s this small and simple things that they just need to do consistently. And so, I think that’s probably one of the biggest things that people can do is just simply identify very clearly what they’re going to do, and then commit to doing it.
Sam Taggart 07:25
Love that. And I think one of the things that’s like, super helped me out, when it comes to clarity, is planning. You know, I think there’s so many times where we say, I’ve got so much to do, and I’ve got a busy day today. And you’re like, Okay, define what that means. And then there’s, well, you know, and, and, and the reality is, is it’s they just, they don’t have clarity on like, Okay, I’m gonna do this, from this time to this time, and I’m gonna do this, and I’m gonna get this done. Here’s my checklist. And then I map this all out. And guess when they did that first thing in the morning or the night before, now they start their day. And it’s like, just follow this path that you mapped out for yourself. And I promise you’ll be way more productive. Because there’s this clarity of like, what are all the little things instead of so many of us, we get so stuck in this like, bomb doing so much, but there really is no clarity in what you should be doing and why you’re doing it and what’s going on. There’s no strategy to it. So planning has been, if I were to add to what you just said, has brought so much clarity in my life, I spend two to three hours every Sunday planning, I have a morning planning session. You know, I use my planner religiously, just because it’s clarity, right? It’s like, it’s hard when it’s just those little things. It’s it’s the extra two phone calls I need to make today. It’s the extra five emails I got to respond to that I’ve been putting off. It’s the and and can I get those little things done because I plan for it. And it’s clear which ones I need to get done now. And makes me just do it. So anyway, my life.
Chris Pierce 08:55
The other thing too, is what happens is like so people have their plan, they’ve got their path, right? And then something intervenes, right, and now they’re shooting down this other path. The problem is that they keep going down that path, and they don’t jump back. It’s like, okay, deal with that. Like, I get it. I’ve got three kids, sometimes that happens and I gotta go deal with that. Right? go deal with them, but then come back. Don’t just keep going down this road of chaos. have somewhere to come back to 100%. But people don’t is don’t want to do that.
Sam Taggart 09:31
So so add is a common sales rep thing. Like it was so funny. I had this guy he goes there’s three common traits in sales people he goes they have add their money driven. And trying to think of the third one it was like their, their social or something like that, like add money driven and social. And I just it’s interesting. So like when you deal with these things, People that keep getting derailed like the discipline, the consistency with an add person, there’s some conflict there, like, how do you help an individual, when they seem to always be getting derailed and you’re like, dude, just like, do the thing every day. And they’re like, I draw and how do you how do you? How do you help people, if I’m a manager, stick my people to be disciplined or stick myself to be discipline?
Chris Pierce 10:24
So I think there’s a few things. One is, make it easier. Right? Like, people typically don’t stick with things. Because they’re, they’re either difficult, or it’s just too much. It’s like, I, I’ve got my perfect morning routine, right? And it’s like, I’m doing the whole Miracle Morning. And it’s like, but if one of those things is thrown off, then the whole day is shot. And it’s, you know, it’s like, Okay, well, let’s start again next week or something, where it’s like, Okay, well, let’s pick one, like, what’s one thing that you can do every day. And so just simplify it down to I don’t know, you talked about the 8020 rule, like, like, you’re gonna get 80% of the benefits for 20% of the things you’re doing. And so if you just choose like, Okay, I’m going to do just do one piece of that morning routine, the one that’s going to give me the 80% that they’re going to be much more likely to, to do it. The other piece is, you know, ATD is such an interesting thing, because it’s also, I think, I don’t know if you’ve read any of the books that call it a superpower, because people with ADHD can do things often that other people either can’t or unwilling to do. And especially in sales. And so I think a lot of times people look at it as like this a curse or like, Oh, I can’t do certain days, or I get thrown off. But the reality is, it’s actually a superpower that you can use to you just need to shift your perspective on it. I think another simple thing is just like, coming back, like I was saying before, it’s like, like, and being okay with being thrown off. Like, and I think there’s so much judgment there, where we, when we feel bad, we feel guilty, we feel like we’ve screwed up, we’ve made a mistake, we’ve, you something’s wrong with me. But the reality is, like, that happens, everybody, that when you get thrown off, acknowledge it be like, it’s just like meditation, like, I meditate every day, and I suck at it. I seriously, I, you know, I lay there, doing the things that are like, I haven’t even paying attention. I’m off to my to do list for the last two minutes. But it’s okay, because now I’m gonna bring it back. And I’m going to pay attention to like two breaths, and then I’m going to be off, you know, thinking about my to do list again. But then I’ll bring it back. Right. And I think there’s a big piece to like being okay. With making mistakes. Yeah. And just having a specific place to come back to, as soon as you realize that you’re off.
Sam Taggart 13:20
It’s almost, I would say, and maybe correct me if you’re wrong, or if I’m wrong. Add isn’t the impediment to success, it gets the superpower In my opinion, like, I’m so happy that I have like the ability to juggle and move on and quick decisions and an act. And I almost think it’s this attachment to perfection, that I think a lot of people, that’s really a bigger Roadblock, in my opinion, it’s the OCD, that could hurt you in sales, because you’re like, Okay, Intel, I have the perfect script. And you’re like, dude, there’s no perfect customer responding to perfect scripts. So therefore, just talk bu, you know, and, and, and, oh, I don’t know the lines yet, or I don’t know the so much about the product, there’s always more to learn about the product is gonna ask you a question. It’s totally irrelevant to what you studied about the product. And then then what? So, you know, and it’s when I know I will then be good. Instead of just saying, cool, full sand. There is no perfect good, there is no perfect way it needs to look, because I’ve looked at every which way I’ve closed the deal. And there’s so many different ways I’ve closed deals. I mean, sometimes it’s a high five at the end be like Alright, we’re going let’s do this. And then yeah, sometimes I’m like, Sly and smooth. And they’re like, we just did this and I’m like, yup, and and I’m like, I just hope they don’t say No, you know what I mean? In the back of your head like it’s working. And then sometimes you walk yourself out of that house and they’re like, you’re just kicking yourself and you’re like, wow, that didn’t work totally backfired. You know what I mean? And I think that element of add is such as Super parent sales. It’s the OCD that I tell people, beware of that. Because that’s going to that’s the it’s that impediment to action. Because you’re nervous that it’s not going to look or be the same way. Like we were saying, it’s this like, it’s got to be perfect. And it’s going to be the Certain Way instead of like, that one customer you thought was going to call you back. It was like the laydown will never call you back. And it’s that next door that’s like a complete dick. That all sudden is like, Yeah, fine. Let’s just do it. You’re like, wow, I was so dead set on Timmy buying and all sudden, Steve bought, you’re like, what the heck, like, anyway, it’s just so fun sales. Like I’m like, there is no perfect newness to it. And that’s maybe why add is the superpower.
Chris Pierce 15:37
Well, I love this conversation, because I always ask you like, why did they make pads like, like, protection, like here is like a, you know, this multimillion dollar, maybe billion dollar industry. And guess who wears pads, people who are starting out for the very first time, and professionals and everyone in between? And it’s because there’s an expectation to fall. Like, it’s expected that you’re going to fail, that you’re going to make mistakes. And you’re just giving yourself a little bit of protection so that when you do you don’t die. Right. And so and I think it’s just interesting, because in sales, like yeah, you’re not going around wearing a helmet, the hell, but you’re, but you still got to realize that, like, it’s not about perfection, it really is just about just taking the action, you know, and expecting to fall and expecting to use the paths.
Sam Taggart 16:49
So here’s a question. How do you get out of like a sales slump? So you know, I’m falling, I’m hurt. I can’t get up. You know what I mean? And that happens all the time in sales. So how do I get up? What do I do?
Chris Pierce 17:04
Well, you have to identify a baseline to get to, right. So like, it’s the same as like, if you’ve got a baseball player who’s, you know, batting really poorly, right? They’re valued like less than 100. And like, well, they have to go back to the fundamentals, and to their baseline, because the only way that a person’s going to hit the ball is if they’re doing the fundamentals, right, they’ve got to do their stance, make sure that’s right, they’ve got to watch the ball. And then when it gets thrown out of them, they got to swing it the right time.
Sam Taggart 17:41
I like that just three fundamental.
Chris Pierce 17:44
It’s not about it’s not about hitting a homerun, it’s not about getting on base, it’s about the fundamentals of what you’re basically going to do. Because if you’re if you’re trying to get a hit, and you’re not doing the fundamentals, then you’re less likely to get hit. And so I would say for sales is the same thing. It’s like, well, what are your fundamentals? fundamentals for hitting are going to be different depending on the batter, like when I played baseball, I had a problem where I would pull my head a lot. And what would happen? Well, my coach was was really smart. And he helped me do this thing. It was really embarrassing, but he helped me put my shirt in my mouth.
Sam Taggart 18:30
So that you wouldn’t turn your head.
Chris Pierce 18:34
Like that. So it’s it’s kind of like, like, you’ve got to address but like not everybody had the problem with with pulling their head. Right. Some people had a problem with, you know, dropping their elbow. And so they need to keep their elbow up. Right. And so, you know, I guess the question is for the listeners is like, what are your fundamentals? and go back to the fundamentals, like when when all else is failing? Go back to the fundamentals, because that’s what’s going to get the hits not trying to get ahead. Yes, you know, in fact, the more that you tried to get ahead, the less likely you are to actually hit it, because you stop doing the fundamentals.
Sam Taggart 19:20
I had this huge realization. So I held the two day sales bootcamp last week, and we trained like these high level sales techniques and a lot of these guys are new and I’m literally had to stop myself halfway through the event and I go, you got veterans here that have been doing this 10 years and you got some new guys that have been doing this three weeks. So I’ve got to cater to everybody. And I said you know what, if you can learn these three fundamental closes, and these three fundamental one liners that will overcome pretty much every objection. I want you to fall back on this because I go I’m teaching some wizardry psych psychology. So so like straight up like that. profiling to mirroring and like hypnotizing homeowners. Like I’m teaching the like real high level like NLP embedded command word tracks, like all the fun stuff. And because I like that stuff, I’m like, Oh, I’m like past the fundamentals. But I think back to like, my days of selling, and like selling and consistent doors or whatever, and I’m like, No, I had many days where I was in a slump, where I’m like, dude, just go back to the script, stop trying to be fancy willy nilly, you know, creative because we get bored, we’re add, we’re like, I’ve been saying the same thing. 100 times today. And they’re like, I’m a mix it up. I’m, let’s wing it on this, and let’s wing it on that and, and then all sudden, three days later, after you, you’ve kind of forgot your basic fundamentals, because you’re trying to get off frilly, which is fun. So like, I look at sales, like a dance, or like, like poetry, you know, it’s still words. But why is poetry so much more fun to listen to? Is because it’s it’s so eloquent with the words and how they’re placed and the pace of the way that you say the poet, you know, I mean, like, and I like it sounds very similar. And when I get all poetic, and try to get all fancy, is when it’s like fetch your ride, I just need an option close. Do you want this or this Carter cash, like, let’s go. Let’s get back to the fundamental, easiest clothes you can think of.
Chris Pierce 21:23
But I think you bring up something really valuable. Because like, I don’t know, if you’re playing any sport, you don’t want to just run drills, there’s always like, a place for let’s do a scrimmage or let’s, let’s play a game. Right. And so I think that it’s important to allow space for it. As long as you’re coming back to the fundamentals. Yeah, so so a simple thing. If you get bored on the doors, then go play, go try to do some weird stuff. But do it for like the next five doors. Right? And then come back to the fundamentals. Yeah. And then do the next 10 doors in my way?
Sam Taggart 22:09
Well, as you say, my way you go, you
Chris Pierce 22:15
just say, like, you have to have a place to come back to, right, because the problem is people get bored, and then they go and do the fancy stuff for three days. And then they’re like, what’s going on? And it’s because they haven’t come back, you know, and it’s like, it’s like, playing all the games in sports, right? Without ever running any of the drills. Yeah, like, you’ve got to, you’ve got to play against opponents, you’ve got to do the hard stuff. But also allow yourself some time to have fun. I love that homerun Derby. I
Sam Taggart 22:50
love that. And in sales, it’s interesting, my way of playing was always seeing how I can make people laugh. Because I feel like, you know, that was my way of getting out of a slump. If I’m having a day where I’m just like, Wow, my face is getting hit against the wall. Like I played the game of like, Can I make everyone laugh? And just switching it up? Like that? gave me permission to laugh me just like, you know, you get the the gist heart is and sales that are just like, I’m not laughing. I see what you’re trying to do to me. And you’re just like, just like, I would have never sold this person in the first place. Like, you know, then you laugh because you’re look like the idiot trying to be like a clown of they’re just making people laugh. And so that was my way of just being like, Okay, I need to mix it up a second. Because it’s not about just robot Sam. I’m like, if I can make them laugh, then I can go to back to a robot Sam. And that was my little like, tiny hack on the doors. Anyway, so last last last question. Or maybe like one or two more questions. So if I’m, if I’m trying to be a coach, obviously, you’re coaching people have had to study coaching, coaching is different than managing coaching is different than selling. Just because I’m a top sales rep doesn’t make me a great coach, just because I had to learn how to coach like even today, I’m on a coaching call. And I’m sitting there, I’m like, Look, dude, I’m gonna have to kick in the nuts real quick. I was like permission permission to give full swing to ball sack. And he’s like, okay. So that’s my way of saying I need to give you some feedback. Because as I get even though you don’t want to hear this, it’s what you need to hear. And I guess the question is, what advice would you give managers or people looking to inspire? Trying to coach because it’s hard to play the player, the coach, the captain, and the manager, and the owner sometimes, and you’re just like playing, you know, I mean, you likely like you and I, it’s so nice. It’s like, Good, then you’re gonna either do it or not doing either way. I still get paid when I’m coaching you. So that’s on you know, and but the hard part is when you’re their manager and maybe their friend, maybe their owner, and I guess what advice would you give those guys and gals
Chris Pierce 25:02
That’s a great question. I think it’s, it’s like, make sure that you’re acting with the hat that you have on, you know, like, make sure that you’re, you’re putting the right hat on. And then have the the clear lines between what each of those hats does, right and what those roles are. Because if those roles aren’t clearly defined, then they’re automatically going to mash. And they’re going to, they’re going to be very blurred and unclear. And so, I would say the first thing before doing anything is clearly define each of the roles that you have. And, you know, and just like, like, how we started this conversation, it’s like, gain the clarity first. The second thing I would say is like, what are you willing to do within each of those roles? Right? Because you might have the manager role, and there’s 1000 different ways to manage. So which way are you managing? Right? Like, what what style of manager are you? And and what are you willing to do now? What are you willing to not do? Like, what Where’s beyond the line, that you’re just like, Hey, you know, enough is enough. Like I said, I don’t know if it’s getting rid of people. But you’ve got to have those, those clear lines of what the roles are, but then also what it is that you’re willing to deal with, because there’s some, some people that are just not worth the effort.
Sam Taggart 26:45
That’s true, there’s an ROI of Time, My Time It’s crazy, it’s like, if I’m spending time with you, that means I’m not spending time with something else. And sometimes, if you notice, you get to a point, it is a hardest piece as a manager and owner, is that point where you’re like, hey, time invested in you as being time wasted now. And that’s, that’s tough. And obviously, it’s like, if I invest energy time in you, then there’s hope for an ROI at some point. But at some point, if you’re that rep, that’s just sucking all the life out of the manager, and you’re sucking all the dime out of the manager, they’re, they’re gonna wake up one day and be like, wow, I just wasted all of that. And they’re going to cut and limit and protect themselves. Like there’s certain clients, there’s certain people, or certain employees that I have to protect my time from, because I’m like, I can only give you an hour this week, I can only give you five minutes on a call, I got called on Friday night with my kids. And I’m just like, no, my kids have my time right now. And I’m not even going to respond to you until Monday, if it’s even still important. And it was, it was easy for me to say that because I just was like, my kids have my time right now. And anyway, there’s an element of do do do try, try and try and then cut if it’s just not working. And I think a lot of people, they wait too long to cut, because of that emotional attachment. They’re just like, dude, we, we love you. And I hope that we, you know, I still love you, but I got to spend my time somewhere else.
Chris Pierce 28:23
I think you can also set yourself up for success. Right? Like, like, when you start working with somebody, they have some expectations, whether they’ve clearly defined those expectations or not. And so I always encourage people to have those conversations, you know, have the conversation about what the expectations are. And if they’re off, then it’s better to have that conversation upfront than it is to like, try to backpedal, and like, you know, try to fix things, you know,
Sam Taggart 28:56
yeah. 100%. So I guess to kind of wrap this up. And Chris, thank you so much for your time, this has been already phenomenal. First off, I’m going to put a link in this. So if anybody’s interested in booking a time with Chris hit him up, more than happy to kind of jam with anybody. Go foam sells resilience on Instagram. And but last question I always ask people is like, if you had to give the door to door industry, now you’re kind of penetrating into it, learning it filling it out. If you had to give it one piece of advice, what piece of advice would you give the industry or or you could pick like first year Rep. owner? I mean, you could kind of narrow it down if you wanted to. But I was asked that question.
Chris Pierce 29:36
It’s a good question. I’m sure. I’m sure my answer would change depending on who your dog is doing. Yeah. But yeah, I think I would say that. Their yellow lights, like there’s, I mean, there’s stoplights that we experienced as people right green light means go. It means everything is going well, right? yellow lights means that like, there’s some things that are about to throw you off. And then there are red lights, and it’s like, boom, you’re done. Right. And what I mean by that is like on the doors, and it’s just like something happens, and you’re like, I’m going home. Right. And so I would say, as an industry, I think that people need to pay attention to the lights that they’re experiencing, and just check in. Because what most of us do when we get to a yellow light, I mean, I slam on the gas, and I speed up,
Sam Taggart 30:34
I’m like, if it’s not, I got three seconds after it’s read that I still count as yellow, let’s be real.
Chris Pierce 30:42
You got to get through Wait, you have to do is more important than what anybody else has going on. Right? The problem is that when those yellow lights right, and now we’re not talking about that streetlight, but when you’re talking about having the tendency to speed up, it’s gonna come, you’re gonna lose critical thinking, you’re getting started making mistakes, you’re gonna start self doubting, you’re just going to experience a lot of problems, and you’re going to get closer and closer to that red light. And so it just urge people to understand where, where, and when your yellow lights start happening. And instead of slamming on the gas, which is a natural thing for people to do, hit the brakes, do what’s unnatural. hit the brakes, and just pause. And the better you get out it, like sometimes the positives of be like 10 minutes, and you’re like, Okay, I need to, like chill permitted. Just take some breaths, right? And then you you have the green light, and you can go again, if you practice this and you get really good, you can pause it the green, the yellow light, and then you can go your green light is good to go 30 seconds later. But it’s not going to happen if you’re pushing through those yellow lights hitting the red lights, and then it’s like, you know, all hell broke loose. And it’s like, then you’re second guessing whether you should even do the job. And if you want to be in this industry, you know, it’s it just goes real bad real fast, for sure, for sure.
Sam Taggart 32:29
I love that. That’s great advice. Well, Chris, thanks so much for being on the show, like I said, And guys, subscribe, follow and share this. We’d love your guys’s feedback and comments and what future podcasts you guys want to see and what content you’re looking for what you’re struggling with out there in the streets. And we can help provide some of that content to give you guys the push and the edge that you guys are looking for. Thank you guys so much for listening, another episode DDD podcast.
