Stephen Holgate is the Senior Vice President of Client Engagement at Dale Carnegie, an organization that helps communities prosper by improving the personal and financial well-being of the people who live there, and the companies that do business there. As a Dale Carnegie Master Trainer, Stephen has helped companies and individuals succeed through his unique blend authentic selling, leadership, engagement and communication skills. He has worked with clients ranging from Indeed and Justworks to Bank of America and AIG. However, his true passion lies in giving back to charitable organizations by helping develop their leadership teams in order to maximize the good they are able to accomplish.
In this episode, Stephen talks about his unique hybrid role at Dale Carnegie, which is part sales and part training. In this capacity, Stephen must manage his time effectively and think strategically as a salesperson in order to hit his goals. Stephen talks about the sales philosophy he subscribes to, one that has been heavily influenced by the Dale Carnegie culture and brand. He identifies the three things that have attributed to this success. These include having the right mindset and attitude, asking consultative questions, and standing out from the crowd by being unique and memorable.
Stephen places a tremendous amount of value on confidence and having a strong mental capacity in sales. He preaches the importance of patience and placing client needs above all else. Stephen uses the Four Minute Mile example to prove that limits can always be tested and overcome in life and especially in sales. This mindset has allowed Stephen to become a top performer in his field. Finally, Stephen leaves the audience with some sage advice. He urges them to be inquisitive, thoughtful, and to ask more value-adding questions in order to learn and grow.
What We Covered:
00:24 – Scott takes a moment to thank the sponsor of today’s episode, Dale Carnegie
00:42 – Scott Ingram welcomes to the podcast, Stephen Holgate
00:57 – The top three things Stephen attributes to his success
02:17 – Number 1: Mindset and attitude
03:12 – Number 2: Asking more consultative questions
05:30 – Number 3: Being unique and memorable in order to stand out
07:02 – Stephen’s role at Dale Carnegie
08:12 – Scott talks about an upcoming webinar he is doing in partnership with Dale Carnegie
09:05 – Stephen’s sales results
11:11 – Other factors that affect managing client relationships/client prospecting
12:30 – Strategies Stephen uses as a salesperson
15:58 – The amount of time Stephen spends in his sales and delivering training
16:31 – How Stephen got his start in sales
21:18 – What Stephen would do differently in his career if given the chance
22:45 – The most informative experiences of Stephen’s career
25:25 – Stephen’s proudest accomplishment
27:23 – One tip that Stephen has recorded that received positive feedback
28:40 – The Four Minute Mile example
29:58 – Stephen’s journey to become a top performer in sales
31:43 – The biggest challenges of Stephen’s sales career
34:42 – How Stephen built confidence and a strong mentality
35:49 – The importance of patience
38:07 – Stephen describes his routines and daily habits
42:02 – Tools and apps Stephen uses on a daily basis
44:51 – How Stephen manages travel
46:40 – The books, news and trade information that Stephen consumes
48:13 – The sales philosophy that Stephen subscribes to
49:43 – Stephen’s sales style and approach
50:39 – What motivates Stephen
53:41 – One of Stephen’s beliefs that the average salesperson thinks is crazy
57:02 – An average sales rep’s belief that Stephen believes is crazy
59:07 – The most important decisions Stephen has made throughout his career
1:00:05 – Lessons Stephen has learned throughout his career
1:03:14 – Advice Stephen would give to an upstart sales professional
1:04:55 – Advice Stephen would give to his younger self
1:07:37 – One thing Stephen would like to know about top sellers in other organizations
1:09:16 – How Stephen has managed through conflicting priorities
1:11:39 – Parting words of wisdom from Stephen
1:12:47 – Stephen’s actionable challenge to the Sales Success Stories Podcast audience
Tweetables:
• “Part of my fundamental beliefs are that every experience we’ve had in our past contributes to who we are now.” (22:07)
• “For me, the achievement is when I feel like I’m helping people.” (26:03)
• “If I was to say what the sales philosophy is that I follow I would say it’s be a relationship builder and a problem solver.” (48:55)
• “I think in also training other people in sales, as well as being a salesperson myself, I’ve had to be a little bit more self-reflective and self-analytical.” (53:06)
Links Mentioned:
Sales Success Summit
Daily Sales Tips Podcast
Daily Sales Tip Podcast on iTunes
Sales Success Stories Book
Dale Carnegie Webinar
Stephen Holgate on LinkedIn
Books Mentioned on the Podcast:
Questions That Sell: The Powerful Process for Discovering What Your Customer Really Wants
How to win Friends & Influence People
The Challenger Sale: Taking Control of the Customer Conversation