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The Origin of the Tao of Sales Babble #438
Today we’re going to talk about the Tao of Sales Babble and how it sprang from the Tao Te Ching of Sales blog. If you’re new to this podcast, each week we take a concept in selling and look at it from a Taoist point of view with a poem, a vignette, and then a quote with advice on how you can apply this wisdom to your business. Sounds like crazy talk, right?
Today I’d like to take a time out and to share the origins of Sales Babble and what I’m trying to do here on the podcast and why I’m solely focused a Taoist approach to selling and how the heck we all ended up in the place!
Today’s Chapter: Tao of Sales Babble
I’ve been podcasting about sales for quite some time, interviewing sales experts mostly in the B2B space. I come from tech sales and love that topic and really enjoy the process and the challenges of enterprise sales. I had a lot of great times with the podcast but after 7 years I felt like I was getting stale. So I decided to change things up, by going backwards.
So what do I mean by that?
Let’s rewind 10 years ago when I started a blog called the Tao Te Ching of Sales. It was based on the idea of wu-wei, or in English, “effortless action”, like when things happen naturally and events just fall into place. For example it’s masterful selling when a buyer gets so excited about your product, they talk themselves into it and all you do is smile. That’s the best. The blog was based on the writings of Lao Tze, a Chinese philosopher who authored a book called the Tao Te Ching 2600 years ago. His book is the second most translated book in the world secondly only to the Bible. To say I’ve been highly influenced by this book is an understatement!
The first time I was exposed to the idea of Taoism and business was when I was a new manager in the telecom industry. I was reading a business magazine that provided advice for managers. Being a new boss I was hungry for managerial advice. I was so impressed by the article I cut it out and posted it on the wall of my desk. I’ve had many desks since that day, but I still have the article.
This is the complete article::
Lead From Behind
The philosopher Lao-Tze suggested that “to lead the people, walk behind them.” and “when the best leader’s work is done, the people say, ‘We did it ourselves,’” In creating this atmosphere, I convey the image of being a shadow figure in the background who really does not do very much. Nevertheless, I have found it is the best way to manage. Management, like mass transit, is only noticed when it is bad!
– Everett T. Suters Wall Street Journal December 20, 1985
I took advice from this one little article to heart and it was noticed on my team. One day Serge asked me why I wouldn’t tell him in detail what to do and I why I wanted him to come up with solutions. I showed Him the article and he smiled, nodded and said oh now I understand. Back in those day empowering your employees was a new idea and I had no interest in being a micromanager. I hated working for people like that nor was it my natural compulsion. A Taoist approach made a lot more sense.
So when I moved from engineering into sales, I took the Tao with me and applied it in all I did. I was so successful with this approach I wanted to share what I had learned with the world. Blogging was very hot in those days so I started one called the Tao Te Ching of Sales and I wrote three times a week on the topic. Each post took one of Lao Tzu’s chapters and framed it in a selling context.
The Master’s power is like this
He lets all things come and go
Effortlessly, without desire.
He never expects results,
Thus he is never disappointed.
He is never disappointed;
Thus his spirit never grows old.
I love this. Such wisdom can applied many ways in life. For my blog I would then place the message in a selling context. It goes like this…
The Master Sellers lets business come and go,
They know they can’t close all sales,
Thus they are never disappointed when deals are lost.
Because they’re never disappointed,
They are forever excited to work on the next opportunity.
That’s a good example of how the Tao Te Ching of Sales works. I wrote this blog for maybe 18 months and by then had said all there was to say. I also thought my chapters were too esoteric for the average seller, nobody was really reading it and I didn’t know enough about marketing and social media to get it out into the world. Instead I pivoted to starting a podcast on non-selling selling and we called it Sales Babble. The Tao Te Ching of Sales was then set aside.
This podcast has been a great opportunity to grow my sales skills and meet a bunch of great experts in sales but as I mentioned it was last fall I had had enough. I was ready to pause the podcast and move on to my other adventures. But surprisingly, something happened that was very wu wei.
Get this,
A sponsor reached out to me and asked if they could return. It was a lot of money and I hated to turn them down. I took it as a sign to continue the podcast, but reinvent it by going back to my earlier blog. I was concerned that I would lose listeners. Sales babblers were used to hearing a 30 minutes interview, would they accept a 6 minute episode? I wasn’t sure but I took a chance and switched simply because I need to grow. It was a bold step and to my surprise, grow it did.
It took 5 months but I’ve been able to double my audience! This was not the goal! My goal was to do something interesting. My goal was to use the podcast to help write the book I’ve always wanted to write.. And by adding the vignettes with Pat, Chris and Lee it has brought a broader dimension to the podcast with a practical example the listener can identify with and apply in their own professional life.
And that’s my story and why we are here. I hope you’ve found this week interesting and it provides some answers on what we’re trying to do and what you can expect for the next year. We have many chapters to go.
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How to Connect with Pat Helmers at Sales Babble
Sales Babble shares selling secrets for non-sellers. Masterful selling is understanding what buyers want, discerning if you can help, showing what you have and helping them to make a decision that is good for their business and yours. See https://salesbabble.com
You can be yourself when selling. It’s all about helping others with their challenges and aspirations. I’ve interviewed 100s of sales experts and discuss all things sales: prospecting, qualifying, value propositions, presentations, demos, closing, generating referrals, earning references, upselling, marketing, lead generation, copywriting, and most important the right selling mindset. Stop fearing sales and embrace it. Learn the selling secrets for non-sellers and start making a difference today. Here is the entire back catalog of episodes in the sales podcast. Look here https://www.salesbabble.com/sales-podcast-free-advice/
This is a production of Habanero Media https://habaneromedia.net
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In this episode returning guest Neil Kristianson joins us for our 10th anniversary of babbling conversation on the top 10 sales and marketing tips for the upcoming 2024 new year. It’s a great time of year to celebrate our successes and consider our 2023 journey. Give it a listen!
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