Beth Standlee: “We are doing something FOR people, not TO them”

An interview with the author of People Buy From People

Despite Sales being a noble profession, sellers tend to have a bad reputation. To help break the stereotypes associated with salespeople, we spoke to Beth Standlee, Founder of TrainerTainment and author of People Buy From People. In an interview, Beth explained why sales is a noble profession and how sellers can capture the attention of buyers to truly make a difference.

HI BETH, PLEASE INTRODUCE YOURSELF AND HOW YOU GOT INTO THE WORLD OF SALES. 

Hello, I'm Beth Standlee, Founder and CEO of TrainerTainment, and author of People Buy From People: How to Connect Personally in an Impersonal World. I would say that sales came to me. I’ve always had an outgoing personality, making it easy for me to talk to others and meet new people. (I tease in my book that I was selling lemonade and Girl Scout cookies as a child. So that might be how I actually got started).

I had children when I was pretty young, and it was a priority for me at the time to be home with my children. However, I was lucky enough to be introduced to Tupperware when I was 24 and fortunate to work with Tupperware home parties for over 11 years. It was a great opportunity to balance family and work which I craved. I promoted 25 other people to manage during that time, and I learned a ton about selling. Direct sales is actually a great platform for sales coaching and training. 

After Tupperware, I worked in hospitality selling events and learning operations, had a short stint selling cars, then sold capital equipment, and eventually started TrainerTainment in 2005. I found great joy in teaching teams how to improve their sales.

I published a book, People buy From People: How to Personally Connect in an Impersonal World in 2019, and as the CEO and founder of my company, it feels like I am selling every single day.

YOU TEACH SALESPEOPLE NOT TO BE TYPICAL SALESPEOPLE. WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THIS? 

I think we have all had that experience with the annoying “Have I got a deal for you” guy in the plaid jacket who sells used cars. I think a lot of times, that is how people view folks who are in sales. What we try to teach - and what I believe - is that great selling is about helping other people.

There is no nobler thing to do than to help somebody, whether you are helping someone get into a new car, getting them the best plasticware for their family, or curating the finest team-building event for their company. I know in my heart of hearts that I have really helped make their world different (and hopefully better) as a result of their purchase.

I think that is the difference. We are doing something FOR people, not TO them. Smarmy comes to mind - don't be that! Also, do not be afraid to use the word sales in your title. Don't hide behind a message like "account representative." What does that mean? Rather, try "New Business Development." Know that you need to be transparent with others, and you'll have to be more diligent in communicating with people on THEIR terms. Don't rely solely on digital access to others being enough to build long-lasting relationships. 

CAN YOU SHARE A FEW EXAMPLES OF SALES LIMITING BELIEFS AND HOW THEY DETER SALESPEOPLE FROM CLOSING DEALS? 

• It's too expensive (except you don't really know because you haven't asked). 
• They won't call me back so they must not want my stuff.
• They don't like me.
• I'm not ready.
• I don't know enough yet about my product.
• I can't possibly sell it. 
• I don't have a good-looking brand or business card. 
• I don't feel good enough today.
• I won't put out the right vibe and nobody will buy from me today.
• I've lost every sale this week.
• I don't know what I'm doing. 

All those things, whether said out loud or only in your head, are limiting beliefs. Here’s the thing: If you had a belief that every person that you talked to for the entire day was going to buy from you, what effort would you make? If you knew that everybody would say "yes" today, you couldn't get to the phone fast enough, you couldn't get to your business fast enough, you couldn't get to the trade show fast enough – wherever the opportunity for buyers and sellers to come together – if you knew everyone was going to say “yes” today, you would talk to everyone you possibly could.

My point is, if you're going to have a belief, have one that doesn't limit, but one that explodes. I had a sales manager in my life one time that when people didn't buy from her, she always acted so shocked. She looked real pleasantly surprised like, “Oh wow, I thought we were going to do this”. She genuinely thought everybody would say “yes” to her. Guess what? Her close ratio was the best I had ever seen, but it's because she did not limit her belief system. 

If you must choose a belief, choose to think that there is more business available than you can handle. 

WHAT DO YOU VIEW AS TODAY'S BIGGEST OBSTACLES FOR SELLERS? 

I think that the inability to discern how people prefer to be connected is a real problem. There is too big of a reliance upon digital communication. All the digital ways we have available to communicate with one another are tools, not substitutes for real communication.

If you look up the meaning of the word “virtual” in a Miriam Webster Dictionary, it means “very close to being something without actually being it”. By that definition, virtual is "not real." Every digital communication is on the verge of an unreal kind of communication.

Depending on where you are, if I'm first meeting someone, I think it’s important to have a physical connection. Even Zoom – at least a two-dimensional communication – is better than anything else. I will say I use the phone a lot, and I've met many folks on the phone first rather than in person.

Some kind of personal interaction always trumps the virtual in my humble opinion. I think there's too heavy of a reliance on a spray and pray, digital hope that an opportunity will fall out of the sky. I don't know that I think hope is all that good of a strategy. Maybe if you're dealing with things at church, but other than that, business hope is a flimsy strategy.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO SALES LEADERS AND SALESPEOPLE TO OVERCOME THESE CHALLENGES? 

Mix it up, and don’t give up. If you make a phone call and it goes to voicemail, leave a voicemail and follow up with an email. If you have permission to text, send a text. Utilise every tool available to you. I have sent Facebook messages and LinkedIn messages to people I couldn't reach in the past. They responded with “Oh, Beth, I'm so sorry. I know you've been trying to call; I’ve been meaning to call you back when I have a free moment.”

Every form of communication can be valuable. Check with the client to see how they best like to be communicated with, how often, and in what form. And if you've got to have a belief system, choose to believe that they want to hear from you.

Have a HIT mindset (from People Buy From People). Build strong consistent HABITS. Work daily. Develop the habit of spending at least 25% of your time looking for new business. Be INTENTIONAL. Make every second count. Time is a salesperson's most valuable asset. Use it wisely and with intention and attention to every opportunity. Be TENACIOUS. Never give up. Good habits and intentional focus can be the rocket fuel for the tenacity it takes to be a great sales pro! Remember, people really do buy from people! 

Beth Standlee

Author of People Buy From People