Brian Hicks is the top seller and team leader as VP of Sales at Belkins, but that’s just scratching the surface of what Brian is all about. As a sales professional, Brian has been ultra-successful throughout his career. However, it was surviving a tragedy that completely altered Brian’s mindset, outlook, and approach to Sales. Brian is passionate about helping others in whatever way he can. That passion has provided him with a meaningful and winding road of professional experiences. With over fifteen years of experience in relationship-based sales and management, Brian has successfully recruited, trained, enabled, managed, and integrated solutions and teams in startups, Fortune 100, 500, and 1000 companies across industries such as IT, Finance, Retail, and Food & Beverage.
Today, Scott welcomes Brian to the show to discuss the four things Brian attributes to his success in Sales, including: Brian’s ‘Why,’ having a systematized process and sales journey, working in an environment and culture that supports honesty, individuality, and integrity, and mentorship. Brian gets vulnerable and opens up about his experience surviving a mass shooting and how it impacted him both personally and professionally. Brian speaks to the incredible organizational culture that went well above and beyond to ensure Brian got the support and help he needed in the wake of this tragedy. Scott and Brian talk about the importance of knowing your worth as an employee, why culture is vital in leadership, and dealing with prospective clients that ‘ghost’ you.
Brian continues by discussing his recent lifestyle as a ‘digital nomad,’ and advice he would give to others looking to travel and pursue this type of life. He provides a bevy of sage advice about sales processes, managing pipeline, and how to get better as a sales professional. Brian shares his tech stack, books he’s been reading, and other habits and routines that have been critical to his success. Finally, Brian issues an actionable challenge to the audience. He urges listeners to take three calls from the prior week, listen to the recording of those calls, and analyze them as if you were the best sales professional in the world. Take specific notes as if you are ‘The Professor of Sales.’ Analyze those three calls every week and you will get better.
What We Covered:
00:00 – Scott thanks today’s sponsor, The Sales Collective
00:35 – Scott welcomes back to the show, Brian Hicks
01:08 – The top three things Brian attributes to his success today
01:44 – Number One: Brian’s ‘Why’: his ‘Momma’
03:10 – Number Two: Having a systematized process and sales journey
04:16 – Scott takes a quick moment to thank today’s sponsor, The Sales Collective
04:54 – Number Three: An environment and culture that supports honesty, individuality, and integrity
05:45 – Bonus Number Four: Mentorship
06:59 – The work ethic Brian’s ‘momma’ instilled in him
09:52 – Brian expounds on his role at Belkins
12:48 – Brian quantifies his sales results and guerilla recruiting
17:53 – Transitioning to Belkins
23:31 – Brian’s due diligence process
26:15 – Knowing your worth
30:35 – Why culture is vital in leadership
33:39 – Why Brian wouldn’t do anything differently if given the chance
35:04 – Brian opens up about surviving a mass shooting and the profound impact it had on him and his approach to Sales
51:46 – Scott opens up about his own experience with therapy
54:10 – Brian shares what the co-owner of his company did for him in the wake of tragedy
1:02:27 – Why Brian’s closing process has gotten longer
1:03:49 – Dealing with prospective clients ‘ghosting’ you
1:08:08 – How Brian thinks about his sales journey and process
1:19:41 – Brian’s active pipeline
1:21:13 – Brian’s tech stack
1:24:29 – Lessons learned as a ‘Digital Nomad’
1:29:09 – Brian’s next adventures
1:30:45 – Brian takes the audience through a typical day in the life
1:40:00 – Other habits and routines that are critical to Brian’s success
1:48:16 – Brian’s information diet
1:50:28 – Brian’s sales philosophy
1:53:49 – What motivates and drives Brian
1:56:29 – Scott takes a moment to promote the upcoming Sales Success Summit in October
1:59:01 – One of Brian’s beliefs that the average sales professional would think is crazy
2:00:55 – An average sales professional’s belief that Brian thinks is crazy
2:02:03 – The most important lessons Brian had to learn to get to where he is today
2:06:00 – Advice Brian would give to an upstart sales professional
2:11:27 – Advice Brian would give to sales professionals looking to reach that next level
2:19:22 – What Brian wants to know about top sellers in other organizations
2:20:58 – The worst advice Brian has ever been given
2:23:26 – Brian issues an actionable challenge to the audience
2:25:11 – Scott issues a challenge of his own
Tweetables:
“Action drives presence and presence drives passion.” (09:15)
“There’s a lot that comes along with knowing your worth and understanding that the dichotomy between companies and employees – the paradigm – is shifting. People are recognizing they’re worth more and more every day, and we will no longer settle for a company that treats us like a number. And the more people that won’t do that will continue to change the environment and atmosphere.” (29:03)
“I’ll be damned if I’m gonna waste another day. I’ll be damned if I’m gonna go into another sales call and just go through the motions and ask, ‘How’s your business? What are the problems you’re dealing with? Why is that a challenge?’ I’m not gonna do it, because it’s not rewarding. And I wanted my life to be meaningful.” (49:17)
“My work is my life. I know it may sound crazy to some, but my sales calls now are not typical. My approach is that I want to connect with people and I want to have a meaningful experience with people. Out time is the one thing that we cannot get back. And, if I’m going to spend my time with you, we’re going to connect.” (55:59)
“My best advice to anybody that’s considering [a digital nomad lifestyle] is to take a trip. I know it sounds scary, but just plan your flight, plan to be at an Airbnb, or plan your stay for a couple of weeks, and it doesn’t all have to be mapped out. Travel is way more accessible and much less expensive that you’d expect. It doesn’t have to be a fully mapped out plan to work.” (1:26:15)
“Every single morning I remind myself, ‘Listen, this day is worth more to you than ten million dollars, so make the best of this day. What you do, do it with intention, with passion, with authenticity.’” (1:34:18)
“If I had a sales philosophy it would just be: Be genuine. Be real. Do right by people. And make an impact that you can be proud of.” (1:51:26)
“I believe that our true motivation has to come from ourselves.” (1:54:07)
“This is one of the best lessons I learned when I first got into Sales. Do not be afraid to ask for business!” (2:08:38)
Links Mentioned:
[email protected]
2023 Sales Success Summit
Scott’s Website
Brian Hicks LinkedIn
Brian’s Sales Hacker Article
Belkins’ Website
Josh Braun
Hubspot
Slack
Google Suite
Trello
Panda Doc
Pitch
Folderly
Books Mentioned:
To Sell is Human
Start with No
Drive
The Unsold Mindset: Redefining What It Means to Sell