Steve Reed is the Creator of Experiences and top seller for the Minnesota Vikings. In his role, Steve provides the very best experience in sports for client entertainment by offering the complete package, including food, drinks, a spectacular view of the action and so much more. Growing up as a superfan of the Vikings, Steve is the ultimate believer in the product he sells. He views himself as much more than a sales professional selling tickets and great experiences, which is apparent as he identifies his ‘why.’ Steve’s ultimate goal is to help the Minnesota Vikings win the Super Bowl by packing the stadium with loyal and passionate fans!
Today, Steve joins Scott to talk about his unique sales origin story, his role with the Minnesota Vikings, and the value he places on relationship-based selling. Steve speaks to the three things that he attributes to his success, including believing, having a Super Bowl mindset and setting big goals, writing them down, and charting a path forward to success. Steve is incredibly humble and intentional as he pulls the curtain back on his day-to-day life. He wakes up at 4:40 every morning, works out or plays pickup basketball, and then heads to the office by 6:45. Once there, Steve writes some notes to his clients (handwritten, of course), monitors LinkedIn, places some phone calls, prospects and answers emails. He ends every day by spending time trekking his children to their various sports and extracurricular activities.
Steve considers himself the most accessible person in sports, as he is always available to his customers. His goal is to provide the very best experience to every single person he sells to. Steve is a big believer that you don’t get what you don’t ask for, so he always encourages sales professionals to always ask for the sale. Scott and Steve talk about the inherent value of team selling and investing in a strong team atmosphere. Steve speaks to his sales style, one he describes as ‘aggressively casual.’ Finally, Steve issues an actionable challenge to the audience. As a huge fan of utilizing video, he encourages listeners who do not make videos to try making one per day; those who do use video, he challenges you to double your efforts. He also challenges listeners to send one handwritten note out per day. By striving to be one percent better every day, you can realize untapped results.
What We Covered:
00:01 – Scott thanks today’s solo sponsor, Vidyard
00:40 – Scott introduces today’s guest, Steve Reed
01:19 – The top three things Steve attributes to his success
01:28 – Number One: Belief
02:10 – Number Two: Having a Super Bowl mindset
03:38 – Number Three: Setting big goals, writing them down, and charting the path
04:50 – Steve talks about his role with the Minnesota Vikings and quantifies his sales results
08:23 – How Steve incorporates video into his sales process
10:10 – Scott takes a moment to thank today’s sponsor, Vidyard
10:40 – Steve’s sales origin story
13:13 – Steve’s journey with the Minnesota Vikings
14:14 – Why communication is key for Steve’s process
17:01 – What Steve would do differently if given the chance
17:42 – Advice Steve would give to young professionals looking to work for a specific sports organization
18:26 – Steve’s favorite sales story
19:25 – Steve’s proudest accomplishment
20:12 – The most challenging aspect of sales today
23:02 – The importance of persistence
25:09 – Steve takes the audience through a typical day in the life
28:16 – Other habits, routines, and mottos that are critical to Steve’s success
30:00 – How Steve manages his relationships internal within his organization
31:15 – Ensuring the most comfortable and convenient experience
33:58 – The books, news, podcasts, and trade information that Steve consumes
34:45 – Steve talks about his love of Fantasy Baseball
36:40 – Steve’s speaks glowingly about his family
38:12 – Steve’s sales philosophy and style
47:03 – What keeps Steve motivated and driven
48:25 – How Steve uses his knowledge of the team and football to enhance his relationships
49:30 – Steve’s distribution list
52:47 – One of Steve’s beliefs that the average sales professional would think is crazy
54:12 – How Steve manages his handwritten notes
56:05 – An average sales professional’s belief that Steve thinks is crazy
58:42 – The most important lesson that Steve learned throughout his career
59:50 – Steve’s favorite question to ask prospective clients
1:00:21 – Steve turns the tables and asks Scott about challenges he faces in his day-to-day
1:02:30 – Advice Steve would give to an upstart sales professional
1:04:18 – Scott provides a special offer to listeners who sign up for the 2022 Sales Success Summit
1:05:44 – Advice Steve would give to a sales professional looking to reach that next level
1:07:16 – A question Steve would like to hear Scott ask on future episodes of the podcast
1:08:08 – Steve recalls his favorite story from a previous episode of Sales Success Stories
1:11:31 – Steve issues an actionable challenge to the audience
Tweetables:
“No one believes in their product more than I do. I grew up a Viking fan and now I’m the luckiest guy in the world to work for my favorite team. And I think that transference of emotion and feeling comes through when I talk to the people I work with.” (01:55)
“I just love the game so much and I appreciate the opportunity to share myself with the people who are willing to invest their time, money, and emotions into the team too.” (16:59)
“I think part of persistence is taking good notes and then staying in touch with the people with whom you’ve had good conversations…Being persistent is about finding the right fit and then not giving up on people.” (23:37)
“I consider myself the most accessible person in sports because if you need me I’m around. I take calls at all hours and take care of the fans. It’s important to me and I know it’s important to them.” (26:57)
“Raising a fantasy baseball team is also like sales because you have to trust the process.” (35:20)
“You’ve heard the phrase, ‘Success leaves clues,’ but so do people. They’ll tell you what’s really important to them.” (59:07)
Links Mentioned:
[email protected]
ALL Enterprise Sales Episodes
ALL Sobriety Inspirational Episodes
ALL SDR Episodes
2022 Sales Success Summit
Steve Reed on LinkedIn
Minnesota Vikings’ Website
Scott’s New Office
Podcasts Mentioned:
Daily Sales Tips
Spartan Up
30 Minutes to President’s Club
Sell or Die
Sales Gravy
Steve’s Top 14 Attributes:
• Stay in touch – this is in regard to my expanding client & prospect distribution list
• Be authentic – I am what I am
• “90% of this game is confidence and concentration”
• You miss every shot you don’t take
• Use your whole team
• Never underestimate the value of one more call, one more question, one more email
• Use videos to show inventory (bring the stadium to them) and increase personalization
• Send hand-written note cards to increase personalization
• Opportunities are everywhere if you’re looking and know where to look
• I work hard because my family and colleagues are counting on me
• Be accessible – I am the most accessible person in sports