So excited to welcome Jennifer Gluckow to the podcast today!
Jennifer Gluckow is an acclaimed sales trainer, entrepreneur, writer, and speaker. She is the founder of Sales In A New York Minute, which you can learn more about by going to her website, Sales In a NY Minute.com. Together with her husband and partner, Jeffrey Gitomer, who has also been on this podcast, she is the co-host of the popular Sell or Die podcast, a podcast all about sales, which has had well over a million downloads. She is also the author of Sales in a New York Minute — 212 — Two-One-Two — Pages of Real World and Easy to implement strategies to make more sales, build loyal relationships, and make more money.
Before becoming a full-time sales mentor and business owner, Jennifer was a superstar salesperson who climbed the ranks of a Fortune 500 company to become the company’s National Sales Manager, second in command of Sales. She became the Chief Operating Officer of a major test prep and admissions counseling company by the age of 29!
In this episode, Jennifer Gluckow shared a lot of interesting insights about selling that I’m sure you’re going to love and find very helpful. Listen carefully, because she packs a great deal of value into every answer.
To listen to the interview on the podcast, click here: Zev Audio Zone
Zev Gotkin:
My guest today is Jennifer Gluckow. She is an acclaimed sales trainer, speaker, and author of Sales in a New York Minute, together with her partner Jeffrey Gitomer she hosts Sell or Die, a popular podcast about sales with well over a million downloads to date. Welcome to the Zev Audio Zone!
Jennifer Gluckow:
Thank you. I’m so excited to be here. And guess what? We literally just surpassed two million downloads!
Zev Gotkin:
Wow, that’s incredible!
Jennifer Gluckow:
Thanks!
Zev Gotkin:
You recently announced it was up to one million so the big jump must mean it’s strongly resonating with people.
Jennifer Gluckow:
Yeah, I think so. You know what? We have a lot of fun doing it, and when you can have fun in your work, I think that other people can hear it, and it makes them want to listen more.
Zev Gotkin:
Totally. Definitely agreed. On this podcast we’re not quite at two million yet. We’re a little newer, but we’re getting close to 500 unique downloads, and I know we’re going to smash that after this one.
Jennifer Gluckow:
Sweet. My goal is to be your most downloaded episode!
Zev Gotkin:
Amazing, I’ll let you know! So, Jennifer, you’re an acclaimed sales trainer now, but not so long ago you worked your way up the corporate ladder. In a New York minute, please tell us a little bit about the Jennifer Gluckow before Sales in a New York Minute, before you founded Sales in a New York Minute, your sales training program.
What’s your sales background? How’d you get into sales?
Jennifer Gluckow:
I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit, but I worked for a company for six and a half years selling and managing sales people for a company that made educational software, and throughout that time I realized that I was pretty damn good at sales. I started out really low on the totem pole at that company. I wasn’t even on the sales team when I started. I started out as just an assistant, and then an executive assistant to the CEO, and then I begged them to let me sell 20% of the time.
Jennifer Gluckow:
And in that 20% of my time I started selling more than some of the full-time sales people. And so, I was getting noticed, and the manager of sales said “Hey, you got to come over to my team now!” And that’s how I got onto the sales team, which was my ultimate goal, and then eventually I became a manager, and second in charge of the sales division until I realized it was really my life’s goal and purpose to start a company where I could help other people sell.
Zev Gotkin:
Great. So, before you went into the world of training with sales people you worked your way up through an organization and had a ton of experience. I’m wondering what was your biggest revelation, or the most surprising thing you learned, when transitioning from your role in corporate America to being a full-time entrepreneur and business owner.
How would you compare selling as a sales rep to selling as a business owner? Is there a difference?
Jennifer Gluckow:
So one of the biggest things is that it’s easier for a lot of people to believe in the product or service that they’re offering when it’s not their own, when it’s not their own reputation, their name, all of that. And when you become an entrepreneur you don’t only have to believe in your product or service; you also have to believe in yourself, and in your company. And that belief is so important because it’s going to either get transferred to your customers or it’s not, and they’re able sniff it out right away.
And so, for a brand new entrepreneur, often times they’re trying to sell whatever the thing is that they’re really good at, but they’re also sort of hesitant. [They may doubt themselves a little bit]. “Is this really going to work? Is this the right thing? I hope it’s going to be okay. It’s my name.” That kind of thing. And so, you have to build your belief system as you’re building your business, or you won’t [be able to] build your business.
Zev Gotkin:
Wow. That’s interesting. I would’ve thought that people would be more confident when it’s their own thing, but you touched on something so interesting. Entrepreneurship is really a lot of more of a mindset game. You have to believe in yourself, and sometimes that can actually be harder than believing in say, a copying machine or a TV or something that you’re selling that isn’t your own product.
Jennifer Gluckow:
Yes. I think there’re a lot of super confident entrepreneurs out there, but you have to realize it’s something else when your name on the line. When you’re just selling a copy machine, and I don’t want to say just, but when you’re selling a copy machine, if the copy machine breaks down, it’s not really your fault. But if you don’t deliver on the thing you said you were going deliver, or come through with a promise you made to convince them to buy, well, that’s a huge [failure.]
Zev Gotkin:
Yeah, totally. So, Jennifer, you’ve traveled the country speaking at companies and corporate events and between all that public speaking and your website and webinars, and your VIP one-on-one coaching services I imagine you probably get to speak with a fair number of sales people. I think that’s probably accurate?
Jennifer Gluckow:
Yes, that’s accurate (laughter).
Zev Gotkin:
What’s the most common question you get asked and what are the biggest challenges you see people in sales struggling with?
Jennifer Gluckow:
Everyone wants to know the secret. What’s the secret to selling? What’s going to make this whole thing super easy for me? The short answer is: There is no secret, and a lot of times people go into sales because they want it to be easy, but it’s hard work, and you better be up for it. And so, I live by this three-part mantra, which is: Help; don’t sell, Show; don’t tell, Prove like hell. Let me break this down for you.
When I was a teenager working in retail, I got my very first sales lesson. We were a boutique store in the neighborhood. And some girl came in, and she tried something on, and she loved it. And my manager pulled me to the side and said “Do not let her buy that dress.” And I was like “What? But my commission! It’s a $500 dress. What are you talking about?” And she’s like “That dress looks horrible on her. She’s going to bring it home. She’s going to show her friends. They’re going to say: Where did you get that? Never go back there.” And I was like “Alright, what do I do then?” And the manager told me to bring her something that will look good on her.
So I go over to the customer and I’m like: “Hey, I know you love this dress, but I think I have something that you’re going to love even more.” She’s like “Okay, show it to me.” So I bring it over, and she tries it on. It looks way better on her. She falls in love with it even more than the first dress, and all of a sudden, not only does she buy the dress and a whole bunch of stuff, but she becomes my repeat customer! The point the manager was trying to tell me was it’s not about making sales; it’s about helping.
It was a powerful lesson. That customer became a customer for life — or for my lifetime at that store, because I adopted the mindset of help. And so, it doesn’t matter if you’re selling retail, or you own your own business, or you’re selling some sort of product or service, the theory is the same. Don’t go into sales with a mindset of “I’m going to make all these sales today.” Rather, go into it with the mindset of how many people you are going to help today, and how you are going to help them. That’s the first part.
Zev Gotkin:
I love that! Amazing way to think about it, and I don’t want to generalize about age or anything, but I think it’s usually the younger sales people or entrepreneurs who tend to rush the sale. And, when you’re starting out, it’s understandable. You don’t have a lot of cashflow and it could be tempting for people to take the shortcuts, especially if they have the gift of gab and you’re persuasive, but you’ve got to focus on the long-term, long game of building a relationship so that people will continue to come back to you and refer you to others.
Jennifer Gluckow:
Exactly, exactly. And so, the second part of that is: Show don’t tell, and when I was selling Cutco knives — which by the way I still will tell you a decade and a half or two decades later, that they’re still the best knives on the planet, but when I was selling Cutco knives, which is kitchen cutlery for people that are not familiar with it, and I would walk in with a whole presentation. Rather than just tell them that my steak knife was better than their steak knife I would actually have them pull out a steak knife of theirs, and then I would have a whole kit with me where I would show the steak knives I’d purchased from the company so that I could show mine.
And then I would demonstrate why and how ours were better. So, when you’re going in to talk to that customer, or you’re doing a call on the phone, or a Zoom call, or whatever, you always have to paint that picture. You always have to show them the possibility, and show them how whatever it is you’re offering is going to help them rather than just tell them, because telling them is boring.
I would actually take out scissors that were the strongest scissors on the planet — still are — and I would cut a penny. There’s this whole demonstration, and they would be so wowed. Now, the truth is, I realize now not that not everyone really needs that pair of strong scissors unless you’re cutting chicken or whatever, but you know what? It demonstrated the point that these knives would prevent them from being unable to cut something. And so, if I just went in there and was like “Hey, my scissors are the best scissors ever,” no one would care, but once I showed them what it looked like, they were all wowed, and wanted a pair.
You have to bring them into it and paint the picture. Bring them with you on the journey, and to me that begins with building the relationship and building the rapport. So, it’s help; don’t sell, show; don’t tell, and then the last one’s prove like hell.
Zev Gotkin:
Love that! That is great. What a great piece of value for the listeners! And something you shared in your book Sales in a New York Minute, which I personally found helpful and valuable is the idea that you should give so much value in every interaction that it entices the other party to want to learn more. By providing a great deal of value and free advice, not only in your online content, but in your in-person interactions and networking events as well, that it makes the other party excited to hear more, just like you were talking about in your Cutco demonstration where you showed how the product worked. And, we all know it’s really important to demonstrate that you’re an expert in your field to earn both credibility and trust. And, in your book you talk about getting prospects so excited about the value you have to share, that they’re the ones who are pestering YOU for the next call or for the next meeting rather than the other way around. Please talk a little bit about that for my listeners.
How can we get people to look forward to our phone calls, or even call us first so we can avoid a cycle of feeling like we’re always chasing people down?
Jennifer Gluckow:
There are so many people out there that say: :Don’t give value, don’t give them too much, because then they won’t need you.” And I’m of the total opposite mindset. Give them all the value in the world! Put yourself out there. Give them value so that they see that you are the industry expert and want to come to you. It’s more of an attraction thing. It’s a pull approach rather than having to push them to call you, because if they Google something and your article, video, podcast, whatever it may be, but your content, your information, your help comes up, all of a sudden they’re going to start watching it, and then they’re going to look at what more you have, and then they’re going to go to your Instagram or your social media, and try to find out just a little bit more.
And then, they’re going to be attracted and want to learn more from you. And as that happens, you better have some sort of free download to capture them into your email funnel; something so that you can stay in touch with them because otherwise you have no idea who’s clicking on your stuff. And, then you can offer something in your email series, in an email sequence, such as a consultation call. Maybe it’s a free demonstration. Whatever it may be that’s right for you. You have to figure that out. You have to create this kind of value attraction so that people seek you out, people are finding you based on their searches, and then coming to you for more.
I hate when people say “Well, don’t put it all out there, because then they’ll have nothing to go to you for.” People can’t do most of the stuff you’re probably helping them with all on their own. That’s why you have customers; because they think the concept or theory is great but they need more help in some way. And that’s what you probably provide. So, if you put enough helpful content out there and enough information they’re going to want to call you.
Zev Gotkin:
Exactly, yes. So, that actually answers another question I had.
What would you say to sales people or entrepreneurs who fear this value-giving approach, because they don’t want to be taken advantage of or they don’t want to give all their secrets away? And, is there ever a limit to how much you can give away for free? Some don’t want to give away anything, and then there are some people — myself included, that can fall into the opposite trap, where we’re giving so much away, and we’re giving so much value, but at some point you’ve got to be like: “Alright, are you buying the product?” You’ve got to go in for the ask at some point, don’t you?
Jennifer Gluckow:
Oh yeah, for sure. So, you don’t give away everything. First of all, most people wouldn’t be able to utilize all of your help right off the bat. If I gave my top-level sales secrets, people starting out at the introductory level wouldn’t be able to make sense of it. And so, sometimes they need to read the free stuff, watch those free videos, or listen to the podcast, or whatever, to get the base line. And then, we can have a more advanced conversation. I’m not saying I dumb anything down. I don’t dumb anything down whatsoever, but there are more advanced techniques that you only get by working with me directly; same as what you should do as a listener. If you’re listening to this podcast, and you’re like, oh my goodness, I’m going to give away the whole thing; No. You don’t give away the whole farm. You give away a lot of value so that people are attracted to you, people want to share your stuff, people find it helpful, and then you ask. And, you have to ask.
My mom always said “If you don’t ask you don’t get.” I learned that when I was five-years-old, luckily, right in time for the holidays. You have to ask, because otherwise people might not even know different ways to work with you, and so you want to give them that invite and give them that opportunity. But you asked another question, and I’m blanking on it. You asked how much is too much and what was the other part of that?
Zev Gotkin:
At what point is it appropriate to go in for the sale?
Let’s say you’ve had a call, you’ve had the meeting, maybe you’ve even given a proposal. At what point do you decide if it’s worth it to keep giving value, and to keep showing up, or you say: “Okay, maybe they’re just stringing me along, and this is not necessarily the best use of time?
Jennifer Gluckow:
It depends on your gut, and you have to listen to it. You have to determine if you established the right relationship and built enough rapport. Does this person know me and trust me? Does this person think I can offer them value? Do I feel I can help this person? If the answer to those questions is “yes,” and you believe in your heart of hearts that you can help this person, you need to try, because if you don’t, then you’re cheating them! Think about all of the people you could be impacting, and you might not be impacting because you’re not asking them, or offering them help.
Now, if you’re asking how many times you should follow up with the person, then the answer is: Until you feel that either you can’t help them anymore, or that they’re not the right client, or whatever. Would I always keep them in a warm [email] sequence or something like that to stay in touch with them? Yes. Would I personally reach out every single time? Probably not. I don’t know. It depends on the person, but I’ve followed up with people 10 times before they moved forward, so it really depends. Just remember most people give up after two of three tries, and they give up after that short amount of time, because they feel like they’re now nagging the person, and they feel like they’re being annoying.
And the truth is they probably are! So, rather than nag or annoy someone, try to find something of value that you can follow up with. And if you’ve established a good relationship, then you should know them pretty well. So, if someone told me that they love cavalier puppies, and we had a whole conversation about it, and it was a huge connection point, because I also have two cavalier King Charles, and they are my favorite dogs on the planet, and blah, blah, blah, and I saw this really cute dog, or this really cute article, I would incorporate that into my follow-up.
So I’m making it personal. I’m making it something that they’re going to want to read. Now, you also want to make it useful. You also want to make it something that’s a connection point, but it doesn’t always have to be [something dry] like: “I found this article based on your industry, and I thought that you might be interested.” You can have a little fun with it, and just make sure that it’s something that they’re going to care about. Then you’re not annoying them.
Zev Gotkin:
Right, and in fact, that’s a great topic you bring up – the human element and the importance of being human in sales. There are many different ways to provide value. Sometimes that’s information, and sometimes that can be the human touch. Speaking of human touch, let’s talk about networking for a moment. You’re a huge fan of networking, and you talk a lot about it in your book. I think many people are afraid of networking events, or any kind of networking. Sometimes they think it’s a waste of time.
How can people take a more proactive, broader approach to networking, and network with people in a way they feel like they’re making progress rather than leaving empty handed? How can they change their perspective towards networking?
Jennifer Gluckow:
Networking is just about meeting other people, and it doesn’t have to be scary unless you convince yourself that it’s scary. I was terrified the first time I went to a networking event, because I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I walked into this huge networking meeting with like 80 other people who were also there to network, and yes, it was terrifying, but it’s because I allowed it to be terrifying. And the best thing to do is realize that every single person in that room is feeling the same way. Unless they’re extremely extroverted, most people in that room are feeling like: “What is this? There’s so many people and I don’t know who they are, and this is awkward.”
It’s so easy [to lose the fear of networking]. Ready? Here’s the trick. You go find someone who’s not talking to anyone and you go over to them, you introduce yourself, and you ask them about themselves. You get them talking, because people love to talk about themselves. Go to a networking meeting where you feel you could meet other referral partners, other business builders, and gain a strong network, and start to just talk to the people one-on-one. I’ve made lifelong friends and lifelong business connections through networking. It’s totally changed my career. It helped me jump-start my business, and so I highly recommend networking.
Zev Gotkin:
Amazing! So yeah, networking can be nerve racking when you’re new to it, especially if you’re introverted, or a little bit shy, and I’ve gone to these huge networking events in New York, mostly in Manhattan, and it can be intimidating at first.
Let’s say you’ve been networking, you’ve met a lot of people, you got a stack of other people’s business cards, or maybe you’ve even followed up and had a coffee with somebody you met at an event or on LinkedIn. Now what? What’s the best way to follow up? In your book, Sales in a New York minute, you make a distinction between following up and following through, and you say that great sales people don’t follow up; they follow through. So, it pays to understand the difference between the two.
What’s the difference between following up and following through, and how can sales people stay in front of their prospect and close the deal without coming off as pushy, or annoying, or hungry for the money?
Jennifer Gluckow:
If you follow up, you do what you said you were going to do. So, let’s say, Zev, you and I had this great meeting. I promised you I would send you this one thing or make this introduction for you, and when I go home, I go to my computer, I follow up. Okay, that’s done. Follow through is not just a follow-up. It’s so much more than that, because you’re following through time after time, and so I send you that connection that I promised you. I do what I said I was going to do, and now I reach out about something else. I schedule another meeting or I come up with an idea for you; I give you something of value. If I’m trying to make a sale, then following through means you are not just following up to be like: “Hey, are we going to work together? Let’s get started. When do you want to get started?”
No, that’s not enough. Most of the time, you need to be in touch with them six to ten times before they pull that purchasing trigger, and the problem is most sales people, and I would argue entrepreneurs as well follow up two or three times, and then they give up, and that’s because they’re not following up with, or following through with value.
Zev Gotkin:
Totally. People definitely give up too easily, myself included at times, although I’m getting better as a seller. As an entrepreneur I’ve made it my business – my second job — to learn sales and master sales, because sales is the oxygen that keeps a business alive. One thing that can be a challenge when you’re in the follow-up stage is you don’t want to come off as pushy. You don’t want to be like, as Jeffrey Gitomer says on the Sell or Die podcast, “Is the money ready yet?”
How can you continue to provide value during the follow-up/follow-through stage?
Jennifer Gluckow:
Follow up with something that’s going to be of interest to the person you’re trying to work with; to the person you’re trying to meet with. And, like I said before, it may be something that’s personal that you bonded over like some cute dog thing, or it may be some real, informational value-based thing, like: “This person works in your industry, and I thought you should take a look at this,” or “this article came up in my newsfeed, I think it will help you. Here’s what I enjoyed about it. Check it out.” Maybe it’s a video you have already made that answers some of the questions they’re asking you.
And think about it in terms of you. What do your customers ask? What do they need? Give them value whenever you’re following up.
Zev Gotkin:
Awesome. Those are some great tactics right there. And now, let’s say you’ve got the client. Congratulations, you made the sale! Now, what’s the right, tactful, classy way to ask for a testimonial or referral? Obviously, when you want to make another sale, you need to be able to provide proof that you can do what they need. You need to have social proof to demonstrate your value. People like to do what other people recommend. And, you want to ask for it tactfully.
Is it ever appropriate to ask for either a testimonial or referral, and if so, when and how?
Jennifer Gluckow:
Early on in my career I was taught to ask for referrals, and it worked for me, and the reason it worked for me, which I didn’t realize at the time, is because I only asked for referrals when I felt super comfortable [with the customer], and the only reason I felt super comfortable was because I was selling to people who I’d known for a really long time. I had established a strong relationship with them before I ever asked. So, yes, you can ask for referrals as long as you have developed that relationship. If a client finds you online, you deliver that product or service, and then the next hour you’re like, “Okay, great, I’m so glad you have it installed. So, who else do you know who I can work with because my business relies on referrals?” that’s not a good way to go about it.
But if you’ve had this really strong relationship, this really strong foundation and time has gone by and they’ve sat with your product or service for a while and they’ve seen results, now you can say: “Okay, cool. Could you refer me to X, Y, Z people?” But only if you’ve established a deep relationship first.
[Here’s a story that illustrates what I mean.] I used to teach courses on LinkedIn. I don’t anymore. But I used to teach courses on LinkedIn, and I would teach people how to use it in a networking setting. When you are networking with people it’s okay to ask for referrals, because the whole point of networking is to create introductions for those in your network. And so, it’s also okay to look through your connection’s connections on LinkedIn before a networking meeting. I would teach people in my class to say things like: “Hey Zev, we’re going to have coffee next week prior to our meeting. Why don’t you take a look at my connections on LinkedIn? Filter them, sort them out, and see if there’s anyone you’d like to meet, and I’ll do the same for you, and then let’s compare lists.” And so, I might sit down with you, and say “Okay, you know these five people; they would be really great prospects for me. Which of them do you know well enough that you might be willing to make an introduction for me?” And you would do the same with me.
Now, I would teach that advice in my classes, and one of my students who I didn’t feel I had a very strong relationship with because he had only come to one class wanted to meet for coffee. I said: “Sure.” We met for coffee and he had a stack of 50 pages of printer paper in his hands, and I’m like, “What is that?” And he says: “Oh, these are all your contacts on LinkedIn.” I was like “What?” He’s like “Yeah, I did what you said. I sorted through them. I had my assistant print all these contacts, and I circled all the ones I’d like to meet.” I was thinking: “Ohhhh, that’s icky.”
So, don’t do that. [Don’t be that guy]. We literally had no relationship. It was so surface level. He was only in a one-and-a-half-hour workshop of mine and asked me to meet for coffee. I felt like I was doing the right thing by saying yes, and then he comes with this book of my contacts. That feels icky, because we didn’t establish rapport, or a relationship beforehand. So, when you are going to ask for a referral, you need to make sure that the person you’re asking would feel comfortable referring you.
Zev Gotkin:
Because their reputation is on the line.
Jennifer Gluckow:
Exactly; exactly.
Zev Gotkin:
He hadn’t exhibited anything of value, or even established basic rapport, and here he was asking for something. It’s so nakedly and obviously self-serving. And, I love that you brought up LinkedIn, because it’s the perfect segue into our last two questions which are focused on social selling or social media marketing, which is what my company, ZEV Media does.
I read something the other day in my LinkedIn feed that the face-to-face meeting is apparently in decline among sales people. They’re saying the face-to-face meeting is declining due to the rapid advance of communications technology. People are meeting virtually now traveling less.
Do you think there’s still an advantage in meeting in-person rather than virtually? Is there any benefit when you’re meeting someone in-person that you just can’t get over the phone, or over Skype, or Zoom, or something like that?
Jennifer Gluckow:
So, the best way to meet, in my opinion, is face-to-face, but that’s not scale-able, especially not in today’s world. And by face-to-face I actually mean in person. The second best way is face-to-face, but virtually such as through Zoom, or FaceTime or Dialpad, or something where you can actually see their face. It’s one thing to have a phone call with someone. It’s one thing to have an email chain with someone, or connect with them on social media. But’s another thing entirely to be able to hear their tone of voice and see their facial expressions. It feels much different. I can’t even tell you. A lot of people get business on Instagram and then the trick there, I’m sure you teach this, is getting people into the DM [Direct Messenger], because once you get them into the DM, you’re now having a one-on-one conversation with them.
To me, it’s not just about going back and forth on a texting or messaging thing; it’s about sending a voice memo, because when you send a voice memo all of a sudden they can actually hear. First of all, they know it’s not just like a copy-and-paste mass message. I’m actually saying: “Hey Zev, it was so much fun being on your podcast today.” That kind of thing. It’s personal. And, you can hear the person, because if I wrote that out, you would read it monotone, like: (imitates a robotic sounding voice] “Hi Zev it was great being on your podcast today.” You could hear the difference in my voice when I said it. And so, I think that there’s just so much value to still showing up, putting yourself out there not only online, but also in-person, and building that network.
Zev Gotkin:
Definitely. And I think people don’t take advantage of in-person meetings enough. We’re used to communicating through text, and on the Internet most communication was through the written word until recently, but I love what you said about audio, and people should get creative, and send a video or voice message. You can tweet back to somebody with a video. You can do a DM (direct message) that’s an audio message. These are ways to get around the barriers and have a more personal feel in your communication. The concern about technology is that it makes things less human or less personal. It’s harder to get an emotional connection, and you need that in order to sell.
So, I think it’s great what you’re saying. You should vary it up with some video and some audio. You can do an audio message and video call.
So, you’re quite active on social media. I see you on Instagram and LinkedIn. You’ve also got a super impressive website, SalesinaNewYorkminute.com with a ton of resources and content there. A lot of sales people and entrepreneurs are lacking in this department — the digital department. Some are even afraid of putting themselves out there on these platforms. They might have a LinkedIn bio. They’ll share an article here and there, but they’re not really putting themselves out there. They’re not posting or making content.
What are the basics of an online presence which you think any sales professional or sales-driven business owner must have in 2020 and beyond?
Jennifer Gluckow:
Video. You have to get over yourself if you’re not putting yourself out there. I heard someone say this the other day: “If you’re not on live video in 2020, you may not have a business in 2021.” Live video in my opinion is like the thing to figure out right now. If what you say is correct, Zev — and I believe it is — that face-to-face meetings are declining, how else are people supposed to get to know you? That’s why, in my opinion, being live on video is so important, and you don’t need some fancy schmancy camera. Just use your iPhone, and if you don’t have one, well, use your Droid or whatever. I’m all about the iPhone. So, the first thing is live video.
The second thing is as follows. People are going to tell you that you need to be ‘everywhere,’ and that’s BS. You do not need to be everywhere, and it’s physically impossible when you’re starting a business to be everywhere, and if you’re focused on being everywhere, then you’re really going to be nowhere.
So, start by choosing one platform — the platform that you think your audience is going to be on the most, and be there. And then, you can expand. But I know 10-million dollar entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs who have 10-million dollar businesses, who their main platform is Instagram. They got into Facebook a little bit, and now they’re just starting to expand to LinkedIn, because they’re doing it one platform at a time.
Zev Gotkin:
Exactly. I love that you said that, because people get so overwhelmed. There are so many platforms now. There are so many mediums and channels and platforms out there. People get overwhelmed and say: “I can’t do that.” But you don’t have to be everywhere! You don’t have to be an “influencer.” You don’t have to be the coolest or the best looking. The cool thing is that the more content you put out there, and the more you try, the better you’ll get at it, and the more comfortable you will get with it. And, play to your strengths! Start with the one medium or platform that comes the most naturally to you and expand later.
Jennifer Gluckow:
Oh yeah. 100%. It gets easier every single time.
Zev Gotkin:
Exactly. Thank you so much, Jennifer. This was a really value packed interview, and you left my listeners with so many value bombs, and so many things that I and many of the people listening are going to go out and try. Thank you so much for stopping by! I really appreciate it.
Jennifer Gluckow:
This was so much fun! I’m so stoked about it! Thank you.
Zev Content Marketing Writer 