Unlocking Success: The Power of Gratitude and Personal Engagement in Sales Relationships with Ken Wilson

Freddy D: 00:00:00

Ken Wilson is just your average small time guy.

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Who grew up in a blue collar family

in the cornfields of Illinois.

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He overcame adversity early on.

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He lost his mom at a very young age.

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His dad remarried and ended up going

through a difficult divorce, which

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left the family with little money

and living in low income housing.

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Ken used sports to get him

through the hard times.

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He excelled in baseball and got a

scholarship to play college ball only

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to suffer a career ending injury.

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After graduation, he landed an

unexpected job in a technology industry,

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selling manufacturing software.

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And over the past 25 years,

Ken has created a successful

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career in that industry.

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Winning many honors.

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He attributes his success to a

positive attitude, great work ethic

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surrounding himself with some incredible

people and a true desire to serve.

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Ken lives in Florida with his wife of

almost 30 years and has a 23 year old

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son and a 21 year old daughter for fun.

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Ken likes to hang out on the beach, hike

in the mountains, ride his electric bike

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workout and spend time with his family.

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He is also the author of two books

that he wrote during the pandemic,

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The Bible Simplified and The

Invitation both available on Amazon.

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Welcome Ken Wilson to the

Business Superfans Podcast.

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Ken Wilson: Freddie D.

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Wow.

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What a blast from the

past when you called me.

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I remember our early days in the

manufacturing software industry

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in Chicago, like 30 years ago.

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Freddy D: Yeah.

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Ken Wilson: Just think about it.

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I was just how young and

clueless I was as a sales rep.

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But you had drive.

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Freddy D: You had Drive, and I remember

when we drove together in a couple of

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accounts that we went because I was

managing the channel, and I think you

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worked for CAD CAM tools at the time, if

I remember correctly, we just hit it off.

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And we went to a couple of accounts.

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We had

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the same mindsets.

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And it was a lot of fun.

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Ken Wilson: Had a lot of fun.

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And you taught me a lot.

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Again, I was coming out of school.

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So you were a little bit more polished.

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It took me a little time to

learn from you on this stuff.

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That kind of feeds into a little

bit more about my background

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and set the stage here.

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Like you said, anything is

possible with hard work, grit.

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A desire to learn and

get better every day.

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And most of the time You gotta have a goal

to have that vision of where you want to

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go, because if you don't know where you

want to go, you're going in a circle.

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Exactly.

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But I think Fred, Freddie, I think the

most important thing is the ability

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to deal with other people, right?

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Not just in sales, but also in all

aspects of our lives, whether it's a

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friendship, your marriage, any type of

relationship, it's just basically gets

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down to, how do you deal with people?

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I grew up in the cornfields of Illinois.

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In a blue collar family, several

of my family members only

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had fifth grade educations.

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My dad went to army.

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He got his high school degree.

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So from my perspective, Freddie

is, we really weren't this

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career minded driven family.

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My grandma, she helped raise me and

she washed dishes most of her life.

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My dad worked at the local

refinery on the night shift.

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The majority of his life, he was just

doing all these odd and end construction

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jobs, but what they did teach us.

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Was the core values of trust,

integrity, respect, and hard work ethic.

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It was driven by discipline too.

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Like when we got out of line, my

dad made sure we got back in line.

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Freddy D: I know that story very well.

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Cause my parents came from

Europe, similar thing.

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They were beginnings and what changed

my life was the fact that I met a guy

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at a gas station when I was pumping gas.

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I'm still friends with this gentleman.

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His name is Don Tocco.

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He gave me a pamphlet that had all

these books, the power of positive

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thinking and think and grow rich and

how to win friends and influence people.

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I read that stuff and it completely

transformed me and he taught

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me to believe, so I totally

get where you're coming from.

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Ken Wilson: Yeah, I used to work days

at the lumber store, nights stocking

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shelves at the grocery store, just trying

to make ends meet and then thinking,

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what the heck am I going to do with

the rest of my life with this degree?

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Who am I going to be?

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And is, do I want to be in advertising

and graphic design the rest of my life?

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So I was basically lost after

college with no real direction.

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And I sent out hundreds of resumes,

no callbacks, no responses.

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So out of nowhere, a couple

of years out of college, I

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get this call from a company.

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Who wanted me to sell computer

RAM chips back in: 1992

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Again, I'm an advertising graphic

design guy, and the only chip I knew

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back there was like potato chips.

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Right?

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I'm like, okay, you

want me to sell for you.

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What does that have to do with

anything graphic design related?

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And what about my lack of

experience and knowledge in sales?

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A lot of us aren't, right?

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Right.

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Old and trained on how

to be a salesperson.

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But this company, out of

nowhere, gives me a chance.

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I said yes.

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And the rest is history, as I've been

in sales now for, God, 30 years now, and

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it's the best career move I've ever made.

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Freddy D: You're very good at it.

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Ken Wilson: And my advice to those people

out there who think they're just not good

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enough, or maybe they don't have any idea

what they want to do with their life, or

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maybe they don't think they deserve the

opportunity, I want to make it very clear.

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Yes, you do deserve it.

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You deserve it.

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And you can do it.

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You gotta go after it.

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But you gotta make a choice, too.

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Right, Freddie?

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You gotta get past the fear, accept

the invitation, because you never

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know where it's gonna take you and

the people you're gonna meet along

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the way that are gonna help shape

your life and impact your career.

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Freddy D: Yep.

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Sylvester Stallone says it the best.

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There's nothing tougher than life

because it will knock you down and it's

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going to knock you back down and you

got to get back and knock back at it.

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Ken Wilson: You know what?

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You were so right.

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I was reflecting back too.

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So when your call came out of the blue,

I'm thinking about old school days on

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that journey and just how far I've come.

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All these struggles and obstacles

I've been encountering along the way

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to help shape me into who I am today.

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I'm grateful for you, all the

people and experiences in my life.

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I truly believe the best education

is being in the trenches.

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Freddy D: Absolutely.

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Ken Wilson: Taking the punches.

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You gotta take the punches.

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Fall down.

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Freddy D: And they hurt.

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They leave a mark.

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But you gotta get back up.

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Ken Wilson: That's why they call them

the College of Hard Knocks, right?

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I remember having a lot of these face

flat, on the mat moments along the way.

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I always tell our kids this too, but

separates the winners from the losers.

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This getting back up, getting back

in the game and doing it all over

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again that you were talking about

the desire and then how you respond.

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That's how you respond to those obstacles

and circumstances along the way.

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And it's all gets down to your

choices that you make in life.

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Freddy D: And sometimes

it's hard to get back up.

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You think that it's over.

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You can't make it and you get delusional.

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But you got to slap yourself

upside the head a few times.

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It doesn't happen right away.

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Once you do and snap out of it,

you get back on the horse and

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you start going forward again.

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Ken Wilson: So old school days, Freddy,

early nineties, hip hop music, Michael

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Jordan, the Bulls, fax machines were in.

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Internet was just starting up and

knocking on doors, handing out business

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cards when we were in a suit and tie.

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You remember the old James Bond 007

brick phones that were so cool back then?

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Freddy D: I had one.

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I had a couple of them, but

we were cool, man, in our back

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pockets, these big bricks.

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So, yeah, those were wild times.

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Ken Wilson: Freddie, do you remember

the one where I thought I was so

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professional when I got my first leather

briefcase with those gold clasps?

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Oh, yeah.

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It would make that loud click when you

press the button to open a hard briefcase.

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Oh, yeah.

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Yeah, and we were men, man.

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We made it to the top.

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If they didn't buy, you just use it.

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Freddy D: For real

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Ken Wilson: it's eyeopening and pretty

amazing to think back on those 30 years.

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I'll share what I mean and what

makes a person stand out from

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another person or why one sales rep

is more successful than another.

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Because when you get right down to

it, Freddy, it's not really magic.

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Freddy D: No, it's not.

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Ken Wilson: There's just some plain,

simple things that people can do, certain

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values and principles that you can embrace

and practice that were in place hundreds

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of years ago and are still in place today.

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Freddy D: And they work, that's the thing

is the society has changed a bit to where

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it's a lot more transactional, but the

ones that blend old school have a dramatic

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advantage over those that are just

strictly in a transactional world today.

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Ken Wilson: Exactly.

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So for all the young people out

there too, who are deciding what

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they want to do in their lives,

whether it's to get into sales.

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Be an accountant, a

nurse, a doctor, whatever.

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I think what I'm going to talk about

today with you, Freddie, is it applies

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to every career and in life, even

someone who's 50 years old and wants

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to reinvent themselves, this is for

them too, because I was reading up too.

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Look at Colonel Sanders.

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Freddy D: He failed many times.

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Everybody kept saying no.

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He never gave up and he made it.

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There's a lot of people that

retire out of corporate world.

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Okay.

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And then they realize

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this is boring.

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That's why I was so quiet.

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Nothing's happening.

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And so they want to start a

business, but they got no clue

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on how to start a business.

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So that's one of the reasons I wrote

the book because it incorporates a

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multitude of aspects from the beginning

of prospecting, you got to have a

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roadmap, you have to have a vision.

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And so just like you're saying, it

doesn't matter what the industry is,

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it's the principles are the principles.

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They don't change.

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They're applicable everywhere.

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Ken Wilson: Exactly, Freddy.

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And you know what came to mind

too, like reading your book,

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Business Superfans, awesome book.

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And what came to mind after I read

that book is a great book that I read.

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That had a huge impact in my life.

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My success is Dale Carnegie's.

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Freddy D: Yep.

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Ken Wilson: How to Win

Friends and Influence People.

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That was written back in 1936.

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And it was about how to deal with

people, things you don't learn in

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school, just becoming genuinely

interested in other people.

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Freddy D: Sales is building

relationships and creating those

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superfans out of those relationships.

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That's why you and I were so successful

and still are successful in our

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sales approaches is because of the

fact that we built relationships.

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It wasn't the product

that we were selling.

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We were helping that individual achieve

their vision of where they wanted to go.

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The tools that we had were just

the tools to help them get there.

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Ken Wilson: One of the core ideas

in his book, and is that possible

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to change other people's behavior by

changing our behavior toward them.

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Be enthusiastic.

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Just make people feel

a bit more important.

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Freddy D: Here's an important

aspect is if someone says their

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name is Robert, don't call him Bob.

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It's just who gave you the

permission to shorten the name?

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If, especially if they

say it's Robert or Steven.

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And turn around and says, Oh,

Steve, uh, it just that right

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off the bat annoys people.

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They don't usually say something,

some do, but right off the bat,

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you just disrespected them.

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Ken Wilson: Absolutely.

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You really did.

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And right off the bat, you wouldn't

believe that how much of an impact

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that's going to have later on.

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Freddy D: I learned that the hard way.

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In Europe, you don't call the

person by their first name.

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It's actually Mr.

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Whatever their last name is.

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Until they give you the permission to say,

okay, you can call me Robert or whatever.

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Same thing in the Asian culture.

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It's even more so important because

their culture is very different.

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Ken Wilson: That's interesting.

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Another thing too, Freddie is you gotta,

you know, me, I don't take life too

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seriously, but I take my job and taking

care of my clients seriously, but I don't

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let drama, negative talk get in my way.

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Just like you, I surround myself

with positive, energetic, make it

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happen, figure it out kind of people.

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And I can't stress this next key

point enough because 95 percent

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of the salespeople don't do it.

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Be a great listener.

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When I go into a meeting, I talk maybe 5

percent of the time, and that's basically

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because I'm asking them questions about

themselves, their challenges, their goals.

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And learning how we can

maybe solve a problem.

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People want to feel understood

and get their point across.

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Yep.

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Think about the last time you had

a doctor's appointment, right?

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And which doctor did

you decide to go with?

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Do you want to go with the doctor

who prescribes you medicine the first

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three minutes without even know what

your problem is, or you want to go to

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a doctor who is genuinely interested

in you, your problems, your pains,

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and they get to know you a bit more

before they offer you some advice to

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validate your pain or fix your problem.

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It's the same in business, right?

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Acting, intentional.

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Freddy D: Listening.

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Ken Wilson: You know, listening.

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Freddy D: Yep.

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Ken Wilson: Because really, you're

building a case for your product

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or service and why they need it.

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And why I always tell people, Freddie

is I want the prospect or the client

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to sell me on why they need my product

or service, not the other way around.

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Freddy D: They're actually

selling themselves and that's

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the fun part of the game.

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Cause I look at sales as a game

because at my level and at your

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level, we know how to play it.

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So all we do is guide with the question.

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Like I said earlier.

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Whatever the software is, the widget, the

tool, whatever the gizmo is irrelevant.

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It's all about how can we help

them get to where they want to go.

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And the component that we're

selling is a component to help

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them get to where they want to go.

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Ken Wilson: You nailed it.

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Far too many times, I see even the most

experienced sales reps, they'll just

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come in and they'll just throw up on

clients for 95 percent of the meeting

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about how good their products are, how

great their company is, and it doesn't

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even apply to what they want or need.

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And that turns people off and they

see right through that too, Freddie.

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That rep never really took the

time to understand what the

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company was trying to accomplish.

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You only get one shot sometimes.

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And if you blow it, you're out.

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So you got to make a

great first impression.

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They pick up on that.

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Freddy D: And that's how you create

super fans is the fact that when you

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leave the meeting, they're excited

because they know that you understand.

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Where they're at and

where they want to go.

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Ken Wilson: People buy from

people they like and trust.

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And people can tell within the

first few minutes if you're

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genuinely wanting to help them

or if you're trying to sell them.

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Here's another thing too, Freddie,

is you got to get to know your

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customers and their company.

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So before my meeting, I'll

go to LinkedIn, ZoomInfo.

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And I'll find out who I'm meeting

with, what their roles are, what their

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previous jobs they had, where they used

to work, what colleges they attended,

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groups they've associated with.

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I research what the company does,

and when you meet with them, talk

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about some of those things, right?

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Learn about their family,

their favorite sports teams.

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That conversation is more of a natural.

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Fun way.

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And it gets them to talk about themselves.

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Maybe you got something in common.

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Freddy D: Totally agree.

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I used to drive a Mercedes, I still do.

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And people would tell me,

Oh my God, you're coming in.

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You're wearing expensive suits.

322

: 00:15:47

You're driving a Mercedes.

323

: 00:15:49

They're going to think your stuff is

too expensive and everything else.

324

: 00:15:52

They completely missed the situation

because really, while the tech guys

325

: 00:15:57

were talking to the tech guys, I'm

talking to the owner of the company.

326

: 00:16:01

And most of the time, what was he driving?

327

: 00:16:03

An expensive car.

328

: 00:16:04

And if it happened to be a Mercedes,

him and I would be yakking about

329

: 00:16:08

our cars and the tech guys would be

tackling, handling all the tech stuff.

330

: 00:16:12

We could care less.

331

: 00:16:14

It was a conversation about cars

and which mechanic did you use and

332

: 00:16:18

what issues were, and which car

were you thinking of getting next?

333

: 00:16:22

And just like you said, we built the

relationship and it was a game changer.

334

: 00:16:26

And that really showed more importantly,

success because people buy from people

335

: 00:16:31

that they like and trust and feel that

they're on the same level as they are.

336

: 00:16:35

Ken Wilson: And it's a

great icebreaker, right?

337

: 00:16:37

It tears down the walls.

338

: 00:16:39

It makes them feel more comfortable

and at ease that you're just a regular

339

: 00:16:42

person, maybe with some similar interests.

340

: 00:16:44

And then conversation and the meeting

flows with less of this wall of what is

341

: 00:16:51

this guy or gal trying to sell me into,

wow, you know what, this guy's different.

342

: 00:16:56

Maybe he does care.

343

: 00:16:57

I'll give him a chance.

344

: 00:16:58

And that's where the

magic happens, Freddie.

345

: 00:17:00

You go from selling to serving, right?

346

: 00:17:04

Selling to serving.

347

: 00:17:05

How can I serve this person?

348

: 00:17:08

How can I serve this company

and make them more successful?

349

: 00:17:11

Because you know this, and it's all

over your book, Business Superfans

350

: 00:17:15

too, is once you build that trust,

they start to become your Superfans.

351

: 00:17:20

Freddy D: Yep

352

: 00:17:21

Ken Wilson: And when I need a reference,

guess who I can feel confident to ask?

353

: 00:17:25

Those successful clients

who are now my friends.

354

: 00:17:29

Because prospects love to talk to actual

clients who've been in their shoes and

355

: 00:17:33

are trying to solve the same challenges.

356

: 00:17:36

And now they hear it firsthand

from their peers and not just us.

357

: 00:17:39

And those referral connections is where.

358

: 00:17:42

My business has grown

tenfold, no doubt about it.

359

: 00:17:46

Freddy D: And that's why I named the book

Creating Business Superfans is because

360

: 00:17:52

the focus is on the business aspect.

361

: 00:17:55

It's not, even though you can see

behind me, the faces are painting.

362

: 00:17:59

I took the idea, really, the

idea came from sports fans.

363

: 00:18:02

So if you think of the sports fans, the

guys that go to the football games, the

364

: 00:18:06

baseball games, the basketball games, got

their faces painted, they got the jerseys.

365

: 00:18:11

And they're just diehard fans.

366

: 00:18:14

What are they doing?

367

: 00:18:15

They're promoting that team.

368

: 00:18:18

Is the team paying them for that?

369

: 00:18:19

No.

370

: 00:18:19

Are they probably making

money off the merchandise?

371

: 00:18:22

Absolutely.

372

: 00:18:23

But those fans are promoting,

they got the bumper stickers,

373

: 00:18:27

they're wearing the stuff.

374

: 00:18:28

They're promoting that team.

375

: 00:18:31

So that's where my idea came.

376

: 00:18:33

And that's why we've got our faces

painted, but we're wearing business

377

: 00:18:35

attire is why businesses create

super fans for their business and

378

: 00:18:42

get, which are basically brand

advocates or advocates on steroids.

379

: 00:18:47

The ultimate advocates are the

superfans that are the diehard marketing

380

: 00:18:52

tool, in a sense, for that business.

381

: 00:18:54

Ken Wilson: It's like you said

in, your book too, Freddie.

382

: 00:18:56

I remember you had to swoop in and save

the day with that disgruntled customer.

383

: 00:19:02

What I just mentioned above to save and

grow that account, you basically went in

384

: 00:19:07

to save it and then grow it and create

some good relationships from that.

385

: 00:19:12

Freddy D: I felt like I was the cleaner.

386

: 00:19:14

Okay.

387

: 00:19:14

We're sitting, sending in the

cleaner to go and get it cleaned up.

388

: 00:19:18

And it was fun.

389

: 00:19:19

I enjoyed doing that because it gave

me energy to listen to their issues.

390

: 00:19:25

Again, we go back to

listening, hearing them out.

391

: 00:19:28

But most people do is they try

to solve the problem right away.

392

: 00:19:32

Versus let them vent, let them

get it out of them because once

393

: 00:19:35

it's out of them, Its gone.

394

: 00:19:38

That's one of the secrets.

395

: 00:19:39

You let them just spill it all out

till they run out of stuff to talk

396

: 00:19:43

about because they got it all out of

the system and says, okay, great, Ken.

397

: 00:19:47

So where do we go from here?

398

: 00:19:49

How do we get going?

399

: 00:19:50

How do we get moving forward?

400

: 00:19:52

And now all of a sudden all

the negative stuff is gone.

401

: 00:19:56

And so mentally they're transformed into,

you're right, let's start moving forward.

402

: 00:20:01

And that's really the secret.

403

: 00:20:03

Ken Wilson: It really is.

404

: 00:20:05

Here's another thing that kind of feeds

into that is you can't speed date clients.

405

: 00:20:10

I remember getting a new account

passed on from a few previous

406

: 00:20:15

reps about four months into it.

407

: 00:20:18

I finally got him on the phone and he

said, why would I try building trust

408

: 00:20:21

in a relationship with you knowing

you're going to leave me in a year?

409

: 00:20:26

Well, like, well, that's

pretty harsh, right?

410

: 00:20:28

And I told him to just give me a chance.

411

: 00:20:30

And I met with him in person.

412

: 00:20:32

And now two years into it,

we've got a great relationship.

413

: 00:20:35

We're doing some cross promotional

marketing campaigns together

414

: 00:20:38

and we've grown their business.

415

: 00:20:40

So having a happy, successful client

is like a friendship or marriage.

416

: 00:20:45

It takes time to nurture it,

build that trust, respect.

417

: 00:20:50

Freddy D: And you get out of the

conversation, talking about the

418

: 00:20:53

business and you start really,

the business is 15 minutes.

419

: 00:20:57

In the next 45 minutes, you're

talking about what vacation

420

: 00:21:02

they're planning to go on.

421

: 00:21:03

Where have they been?

422

: 00:21:04

How was that vacation or what their

next gig that they're looking to do?

423

: 00:21:09

Not business wise, but

adventurous wise or life wise.

424

: 00:21:13

Ken Wilson: Yeah.

425

: 00:21:14

Another thing, this is all over

your Business Superfans book too,

426

: 00:21:17

is thanking people, thanking people

and building that bond of trust, and

427

: 00:21:22

that's really about the relationships.

428

: 00:21:24

It's amazing how those two

simple words, just thank you.

429

: 00:21:27

Can transform your life and

another's person's life and

430

: 00:21:31

you'll stand out from the pack.

431

: 00:21:32

People recognize that and they're never

going to forget you because of that

432

: 00:21:35

attitude of gratitude you had for them.

433

: 00:21:37

I like how you said it too in your

book, Freddy, is you use their

434

: 00:21:40

mailbox, not always their inbox.

435

: 00:21:43

Everybody's hiding behind

text messages and emails.

436

: 00:21:46

Send an actual handwritten

paper card next time.

437

: 00:21:49

Freddy D: Game changer.

438

: 00:21:50

Ken Wilson: Think about how you feel when

you get something in the mail, right?

439

: 00:21:52

Freddy D: Well, what happens is

because realistically, we get.

440

: 00:21:56

Junk mail.

441

: 00:21:56

We get bills, okay,

that used to get bills.

442

: 00:21:59

Now a lot of it's come email, but

then you still go to the mailbox

443

: 00:22:02

and, Oh my God, something personal.

444

: 00:22:04

That's the first thing you open.

445

: 00:22:05

Ken Wilson: Yeah.

446

: 00:22:06

Yeah.

447

: 00:22:07

And it's the same with birthdays too.

448

: 00:22:08

I know you have some apps

that you use too, but I've

449

: 00:22:10

got this app called Smashups.

450

: 00:22:13

I send some of my close friends and

business clients e cards that are

451

: 00:22:17

customized with their first names on it.

452

: 00:22:19

Freddy D: I use Mailbox Power.

453

: 00:22:21

It has the ability to send a physical

card through the mail, as well as you

454

: 00:22:25

can actually do personalized gifts.

455

: 00:22:28

I add the name to the conversation,

and now it's your water bottle.

456

: 00:22:33

It's not my water bottle.

457

: 00:22:34

It's just that little thing

changes it dramatically.

458

: 00:22:38

So now it's, don't take my water bottle

versus, oh, that's their water bottle.

459

: 00:22:42

Ken Wilson: Little things like

that make you rare, right?

460

: 00:22:45

You're rare.

461

: 00:22:46

You're above 98 percent of the

population of business people or

462

: 00:22:50

salespeople out there as well.

463

: 00:22:51

Freddy D: My quote in the book,

people crawl through broken glass

464

: 00:22:54

for appreciation, recognition.

465

: 00:22:56

Ken Wilson: Absolutely.

466

: 00:22:57

You know what the thing is too, Freddie,

I'm not just talking about clients.

467

: 00:23:00

I just sent a gift card to one of my

colleagues who has been instrumental

468

: 00:23:05

in helping me and my clients out.

469

: 00:23:07

And then like Dale Carnegie

said, people work for money.

470

: 00:23:11

But they go the extra mile for

recognition, praise, and rewards.

471

: 00:23:15

And that's so true.

472

: 00:23:16

Freddy D: Absolutely true.

473

: 00:23:17

How important is to follow up, for

example, after a visit and saying, thank

474

: 00:23:26

you for your time, because the most

precious commodity we have is the clock.

475

: 00:23:33

You can be a gazillionaire and you can't

buy more time and you can't buy it back.

476

: 00:23:39

Ken Wilson: Yeah, you took the time.

477

: 00:23:41

Out of the blue, I'll

bring home some flowers.

478

: 00:23:44

It's not even a special occasion.

479

: 00:23:45

I'll send something to a friend

who was always there for me to let

480

: 00:23:47

him know how much they mean to me.

481

: 00:23:48

Listen to this one, Freddy.

482

: 00:23:50

A few years ago, I wrote a 10

page letter to my pony league

483

: 00:23:55

baseball coach who believed in me.

484

: 00:23:58

And he gave me a chance to pitch

how instrumental he was in helping

485

: 00:24:02

me land a college scholarship.

486

: 00:24:03

He put me up on the pitcher's mound.

487

: 00:24:05

I was the last kid picked out

of 200 kids and ended up with a

488

: 00:24:09

full ride college scholarship.

489

: 00:24:10

So he changed the trajectory

of me, of my life.

490

: 00:24:13

And I wanted him to know that and I called

him after that and he was almost in tears.

491

: 00:24:18

Freddy D: It's the same thing with

my friend, uh, mentioned Don Tocco.

492

: 00:24:21

I met him pumping gas in

Michigan and I was 18 years old.

493

: 00:24:26

At the time I was living on my own.

494

: 00:24:29

He pulled in with the Lincoln

continental phone in the car.

495

: 00:24:32

He's like 10 years older than me.

496

: 00:24:34

And I'm going like, man,

this guy is so cool.

497

: 00:24:36

I don't know why we just hit it off.

498

: 00:24:39

He actually had a second car and

it was repaired at the gas station.

499

: 00:24:42

He asked the owner for me to drive that

car because he couldn't drive both cars.

500

: 00:24:48

So I followed him to his place.

501

: 00:24:50

He walked in, he had the really cool

pad with the clear water bed on the

502

: 00:24:55

floor, the lamps going down, it was

just like a bachelor pad to the twelves.

503

: 00:25:00

And that's where he gave me the

pamphlet and I still have it.

504

: 00:25:03

I reached out to him and

I thanked him in a book.

505

: 00:25:06

I still have the pamphlet and I just

met with him in February this year.

506

: 00:25:10

He was in Arizona.

507

: 00:25:10

We reconnected after 30 plus years.

508

: 00:25:14

He had my book with him and he had

all these pages marked and he goes,

509

: 00:25:18

How did you learn all this stuff?

510

: 00:25:19

I read the books listed in the

pamphlet and shared my career.

511

: 00:25:23

He's actually going to order between 50

and 200 books, stick them into Hillsdale

512

: 00:25:28

college in Illinois as part of a group

of 12 books, cause he lectures there

513

: 00:25:32

and they're designing a space for him.

514

: 00:25:34

He changed my life because he helped

me get a janitorial business started.

515

: 00:25:39

And he taught me to think

big and believe in myself.

516

: 00:25:42

Ken Wilson: Yeah.

517

: 00:25:43

Those people.

518

: 00:25:45

I think about my coaches all the time.

519

: 00:25:47

When people in my life, whether

it be a teacher or be a pastor's

520

: 00:25:51

message that spoke to me at a time

or whatever it is, those things

521

: 00:25:54

really, they really hit your heart.

522

: 00:25:57

And another thing I want to talk about too

is there is no replacement for community.

523

: 00:26:02

Community like that even starts

with employees turning on

524

: 00:26:04

their zoom or teams cameras.

525

: 00:26:07

Like I always turn on my team

camera or zoom camera to help

526

: 00:26:10

build that personal relationship.

527

: 00:26:12

And then going on site

and visiting your clients.

528

: 00:26:15

Freddy D: It is.

529

: 00:26:16

Ken Wilson: Since COVID, it seems

like more and more people have stopped

530

: 00:26:19

visiting customers face to face.

531

: 00:26:20

And it's too bad because going on site,

and I tell this to my counterparts

532

: 00:26:26

too, going on site is worth more than

a hundred zoom calls because that's

533

: 00:26:31

when you really get to know that

person on a whole different level.

534

: 00:26:35

So my goal every year.

535

: 00:26:38

I've got a certain amount of counts

is to go out and meet every one

536

: 00:26:41

of my customers face to face.

537

: 00:26:43

Freddy D: It's transformational

because one, they get to see

538

: 00:26:47

you, you get to shake hands.

539

: 00:26:48

You get that personal touch right there.

540

: 00:26:51

There's a connection that's made.

541

: 00:26:53

There's energy that's shared.

542

: 00:26:55

But you start seeing their environment

where their world and it's the dynamics

543

: 00:27:01

are completely different and more

importantly, most of the time, they're

544

: 00:27:06

going to welcome you with open arms.

545

: 00:27:08

However, sometimes you're walking into

a hornet's nest, but the fact that you

546

: 00:27:13

walked in, usually you calmed it down.

547

: 00:27:16

Ken Wilson: Hey, our profession is

not all unicorns and rainbows, right?

548

: 00:27:19

You're going to have,

those bad days and those.

549

: 00:27:22

Tough customers or prospects

who just never call you back.

550

: 00:27:25

They go dark on you and they just

think you're another one of these

551

: 00:27:27

pesky sales reps out to sell them more.

552

: 00:27:29

And that's okay.

553

: 00:27:30

My mindset has shifted from, boy.

554

: 00:27:35

Maybe they just don't like me.

555

: 00:27:36

I was taken at personally going

through the college of hard knocks.

556

: 00:27:40

My first few years, I changed

that self talk, right?

557

: 00:27:42

That's the self talk you

have in your mind, right?

558

: 00:27:45

I go now it's, Hey, that's their loss.

559

: 00:27:47

Not in a mean way.

560

: 00:27:48

I just say that's their loss

because there's so much value

561

: 00:27:50

I could have brought to them.

562

: 00:27:51

And they missed out because they

maybe have some preconceived

563

: 00:27:55

notions of salespeople.

564

: 00:27:57

And that's unfortunate that some

clients or prospects don't give you a

565

: 00:28:00

chance to prove yourself and show you

why you're different from the others.

566

: 00:28:03

That's on them, Robert.

567

: 00:28:04

And I always say this too.

568

: 00:28:05

Remember, some will, some won't.

569

: 00:28:09

So what?

570

: 00:28:10

Who's next?

571

: 00:28:10

And you got to move on.

572

: 00:28:12

It's like a deck of cards.

573

: 00:28:13

You're flipping these cards

and it's a numbers game.

574

: 00:28:17

Sometimes there is.

575

: 00:28:18

Jokers and then you're going to hit an

ace and boom, then you're on your way.

576

: 00:28:22

Freddy D: Yeah.

577

: 00:28:22

So let's talk, Ken, about some

old school sales approaches that

578

: 00:28:28

have gotten put aside that if were

brought into play in today's world.

579

: 00:28:34

How would that be a game

changer for salespeople today?

580

: 00:28:37

Ken Wilson: Yeah.

581

: 00:28:38

Freddy D: We talked about thank you.

582

: 00:28:39

Ken Wilson: Here's something that's a

game changer for me too, is I've gone

583

: 00:28:42

from like this transactional mindset

early on, where it's let's hurry up,

584

: 00:28:47

let's close the deal to more of a

transformational who genuinely taking

585

: 00:28:51

the time to get to know them and their

business and bringing in the right

586

: 00:28:54

people to help them achieve their goals.

587

: 00:28:56

I always tell people that.

588

: 00:28:58

I don't know everything, but I

know people who know everything.

589

: 00:29:01

I can usually find them the right

person to get you answers fast.

590

: 00:29:05

And that's why it's so important

to build, this network of very

591

: 00:29:10

smart, reliable people that are

available to help me and my clients.

592

: 00:29:15

And then I became their go to guy.

593

: 00:29:18

Okay.

594

: 00:29:19

And instead of them spending hours

researching a topic or a solution,

595

: 00:29:23

they come to me and I connect them and

facilitate the meetings with our experts.

596

: 00:29:28

So, It's this ecosystem that we

have, that we built and all the

597

: 00:29:33

connections on LinkedIn I have and

all the good friends that I trust.

598

: 00:29:37

I bring them into conversations

and it doesn't always have to

599

: 00:29:39

be about my product, right?

600

: 00:29:40

Freddy D: The fact that you're a

connector, so you may make zero money

601

: 00:29:44

on it because it's not about the money.

602

: 00:29:46

It's about helping them get to where,

solving their need at that moment.

603

: 00:29:52

Ken Wilson: Yeah, that's so true.

604

: 00:29:53

And you've seen it too.

605

: 00:29:53

Heck, you've got, I'm sure, a

massive Rolodex of phenomenal

606

: 00:29:57

contacts and connections in

the industry over the years.

607

: 00:29:59

Everybody today wants

things like now, right?

608

: 00:30:02

So what I try to do.

609

: 00:30:04

It is, I pick up the phone, I

answer their emails immediately.

610

: 00:30:08

It really sets you apart.

611

: 00:30:10

It shows them when they need

something and they're in a

612

: 00:30:12

bind, they're going to call you.

613

: 00:30:14

Freddy D: Speed is everything.

614

: 00:30:16

I tell people that you get an

inquiry through your website.

615

: 00:30:21

You got 15 minutes.

616

: 00:30:22

Look at it as it has to be

responded to in 15 minutes.

617

: 00:30:27

Because if you respond within that

timeframe, one, it shows, wow, they're

618

: 00:30:32

actually paying attention to this thing.

619

: 00:30:34

They call somebody else, right?

620

: 00:30:35

Yeah.

621

: 00:30:35

So if you respond within 15

minutes, you set the tone.

622

: 00:30:38

One is you're responsive.

623

: 00:30:40

Number two, you've pretty much eliminated

any chance for competition because they're

624

: 00:30:46

wowed that you responded to them so

fast that their mindset already is while

625

: 00:30:52

these guys care, I've closed more sales

than they've Because I was the first

626

: 00:30:56

one to respond to their website inquiry.

627

: 00:30:59

Ken Wilson: Exactly, exactly.

628

: 00:31:01

What are some other things you do daily?

629

: 00:31:03

I think the way you start your day

sets the tone for the rest of your day.

630

: 00:31:07

What I mean by that, Freddy,

is I get up real early.

631

: 00:31:10

I'm a five o'clock in the morning.

632

: 00:31:12

I get up.

633

: 00:31:13

I work out.

634

: 00:31:14

I go sit in Kenny's corner, right?

635

: 00:31:16

My little place away from everything.

636

: 00:31:19

You know I pray, I thank God for

all the things I'm so grateful

637

: 00:31:22

for, I listen to positive podcasts.

638

: 00:31:25

I fill my mind with all this positive

energy and I may have 20 or 30 emails out

639

: 00:31:32

before it's eight o'clock in the morning.

640

: 00:31:33

So right off the bat, I'm two

hours ahead of the other people.

641

: 00:31:38

And if you start figuring all those

hours out, two hours multiplied by 365

642

: 00:31:43

days, that's a lot of extra hours I have.

643

: 00:31:47

And it really, it makes me feel at peace.

644

: 00:31:50

So I'm at peace with myself

when I go into my day.

645

: 00:31:54

I keep healthy and it really helps

me to get through the day as far as

646

: 00:31:58

having this positive energy and just

having great conversations with people.

647

: 00:32:02

Freddy D: Very important to stay ahead.

648

: 00:32:04

Ken Wilson: Yeah.

649

: 00:32:04

Freddy D: So let me ask you another

question is how has cloud based software,

650

: 00:32:09

for example, in the SaaS industry

changed and become more transactional

651

: 00:32:15

than the old school ways where we

would go in person, do a presentation.

652

: 00:32:21

Slug all the computer equipment

all along and put it all together

653

: 00:32:26

and in time to tear it down and

schlep the stuff out of there.

654

: 00:32:29

Remember those days?

655

: 00:32:31

Ken Wilson: My back still

hurts from those days.

656

: 00:32:33

Lug and a 200 pound monitor everywhere.

657

: 00:32:35

Freddy D: I know, I remember those days.

658

: 00:32:38

Having to go upstairs because

they didn't have elevators.

659

: 00:32:40

Ken Wilson: If you think back 30

years ago, you sell a computer, a

660

: 00:32:45

high powered computer, with software,

to one person at a large company,

661

: 00:32:49

you're talking 30, 000, 40, 000.

662

: 00:32:52

Freddy D: Mm hmm.

663

: 00:32:52

Ken Wilson: Those were the days.

664

: 00:32:54

Workers needed some serious

money, so I think it broke

665

: 00:32:56

down the barriers to anybody.

666

: 00:33:01

Right?

667

: 00:33:01

Think about what you can do now when

you're not paying this upfront, expensive

668

: 00:33:07

software cost and now computers in the

cloud, it's so inexpensive that anybody

669

: 00:33:13

now can start a business for a thousand

bucks, you get a laptop, you're paying

670

: 00:33:17

monthly now on the software instead of

paying everything upfront and you've

671

: 00:33:21

got Facebook now, you've got LinkedIn,

you've got all these other tools.

672

: 00:33:24

I wish we had these tools.

673

: 00:33:26

And software and technology back in our

days, Freddie, we would be, we did well.

674

: 00:33:31

I think today's business people and

sales reps have a huge advantage.

675

: 00:33:37

Not only that, but it opens up

bigger opportunities for people

676

: 00:33:42

who are buying the software now.

677

: 00:33:44

Freddy D: Right.

678

: 00:33:44

I'm going to twist that a little

bit and go, okay, you've got the

679

: 00:33:47

software platforms, and I think

this is advice for those people.

680

: 00:33:52

Ken Wilson: It's transactional

because you go in, you put in your

681

: 00:33:55

credit card or you got your 30

day free trial and you get emails.

682

: 00:33:59

Some people will actually call you

and say, Hey, I just want to thank

683

: 00:34:04

you for trying out our software.

684

: 00:34:06

And those people usually have a better

close ratio because they get a chance

685

: 00:34:11

to build that relationship versus the

emails, because you're still hiding.

686

: 00:34:18

Freddy D: As we talked earlier,

you're still hiding behind emails.

687

: 00:34:21

So I think that in today's world

for those SaaS companies out there,

688

: 00:34:26

throw in a little bit of old school.

689

: 00:34:28

Reach out, if you've got that person's

contact information, but if you don't

690

: 00:34:32

have their phone number, send an email,

say, Hey, I'd like to schedule a quick

691

: 00:34:35

video, a 15 minute conversation with

you just to understand why you're

692

: 00:34:41

looking for the software, that's

going to be a game changer in my mind.

693

: 00:34:44

Ken Wilson: Yeah, it really

is because you're right.

694

: 00:34:46

So the client bought the

cloud software, see you later.

695

: 00:34:48

And that's it.

696

: 00:34:49

That's the end of the journey,

but it is a journey, right?

697

: 00:34:51

So I always try to leverage

multiple touch points.

698

: 00:34:55

I'll email, I'll text.

699

: 00:34:58

I'll pick up the phone and call them.

700

: 00:35:00

I'll link in with somebody.

701

: 00:35:01

I'll send them a webinar, but I always

want to consistently drip and keep my

702

: 00:35:07

name in our company in front of them at

all times, because I see far too many

703

: 00:35:12

times reps who they sold the software,

they hit their quota, they move on.

704

: 00:35:18

What's next, and it's too late because

maybe that customer who was your

705

: 00:35:22

customer just purchased from somebody

else and they got a different solution.

706

: 00:35:25

Yeah.

707

: 00:35:25

Freddy D: Or they use your

product for six months and then

708

: 00:35:30

all of a sudden they disappear.

709

: 00:35:32

They will do another platform because

again, it's so easy to just say, you

710

: 00:35:36

know what, I'm done with this package.

711

: 00:35:38

I'm going to another package.

712

: 00:35:39

And usually you don't

even get any followup.

713

: 00:35:41

Why did you leave?

714

: 00:35:42

What can we do?

715

: 00:35:43

It's poof, gone.

716

: 00:35:44

Ken Wilson: Freddie, everything

is so dispensable today, right?

717

: 00:35:47

Oh, you know what?

718

: 00:35:47

My, my cell phone, gosh, it

just doesn't seem to work.

719

: 00:35:51

That's why you really have

to be on top of people.

720

: 00:35:53

Freddy D: You can leverage

technology, but you can send video.

721

: 00:35:57

You can send a video message to somebody.

722

: 00:35:59

I love that.

723

: 00:36:00

I mentioned it in the book, is you can

send someone in just a quick one minute.

724

: 00:36:04

Ken, just want to reach out to

you, say hi, hope all is well.

725

: 00:36:07

There's tech, there's a

bunch of tools out there.

726

: 00:36:09

The onboarding of a new customer that's

in a SaaS world, you sending them a video,

727

: 00:36:14

welcome to the family, blah, blah, blah.

728

: 00:36:17

There's little things that you can do.

729

: 00:36:19

There's still old school

way, using modern way

730

: 00:36:22

.

Ken Wilson: Spot on, exactly.

731

: 00:36:25

Good stuff, Freddie.

732

: 00:36:26

You know, I'll end it

like this too, Freddie.

733

: 00:36:28

My favorite.

734

: 00:36:30

Saying, and you mentioned this in your

book, Business Superfans too, right?

735

: 00:36:35

It's from Teddy Roosevelt.

736

: 00:36:36

It really encapsulates everything we

were just talking about here, where

737

: 00:36:40

people don't care how much you know

until they know how much you care.

738

: 00:36:46

So true.

739

: 00:36:48

Freddy D: Yeah.

740

: 00:36:48

So I said, there's the little tools you

can, there's multitude of ways in today's

741

: 00:36:52

world, there's so much technology that you

can utilize to build those relationships.

742

: 00:37:00

Absolutely.

743

: 00:37:00

Quick video.

744

: 00:37:01

There's times where I FaceTime customers

because it just makes it, they're

745

: 00:37:07

like, Whoa, why not look at each other?

746

: 00:37:09

And they start laughing.

747

: 00:37:11

That's the other thing too, is I think

the thing is getting people to laugh.

748

: 00:37:16

That's one of the secrets.

749

: 00:37:17

You get people to laugh.

750

: 00:37:19

Everybody starts to relax.

751

: 00:37:22

Ken Wilson: Yeah.

752

: 00:37:22

Freddy D: So I really always try to get

some form of humor in the conversation.

753

: 00:37:27

And you just make fun of myself.

754

: 00:37:29

Ken Wilson: You know what?

755

: 00:37:30

That's good.

756

: 00:37:30

You're humble.

757

: 00:37:31

When you can make fun of

yourself, that's a good thing.

758

: 00:37:33

Some people can't do that.

759

: 00:37:35

But yeah, I totally

agree with you, Freddie.

760

: 00:37:37

That's why I was saying, I

don't take life too seriously.

761

: 00:37:39

I just like to have fun.

762

: 00:37:40

And people all like to have fun.

763

: 00:37:42

But you gotta also solve a problem.

764

: 00:37:45

Get down to business.

765

: 00:37:46

My wife does that too.

766

: 00:37:47

She runs a health business and

she got this automated text app.

767

: 00:37:52

What used to take her hours to do.

768

: 00:37:56

Now it takes her minutes where she

can send out hundreds of personalized

769

: 00:38:01

text messages to people to let them

know about a new product or whatever.

770

: 00:38:04

I love the FaceTime.

771

: 00:38:06

She does a lot of FaceTime interviews.

772

: 00:38:08

You'll have them talk about how

much weight they've lost or, how

773

: 00:38:12

much better they feel or how they

transform their life and those really

774

: 00:38:17

have a huge impact in people's lives.

775

: 00:38:19

Freddy D: My soon to be wife.

776

: 00:38:21

Ken Wilson: Congratulations.

777

: 00:38:22

Freddy D: Oh, thank you.

778

: 00:38:22

Thank you.

779

: 00:38:23

Yeah.

780

: 00:38:23

Coming up in a couple of months.

781

: 00:38:24

We're guests.

782

: 00:38:25

She sells hearing aids over the phone.

783

: 00:38:28

Okay.

784

: 00:38:28

No visual, no nothing.

785

: 00:38:30

Think about that.

786

: 00:38:31

She sells and their top

of the line hearing aids.

787

: 00:38:34

Over the phone, but what she does

so unique and she's one of the

788

: 00:38:38

top salespeople in the company.

789

: 00:38:40

Is she's real with the conversation.

790

: 00:38:43

It'd be like, okay, Ken, hang on.

791

: 00:38:45

Let me grab my keyboard,

take a sip of my coffee.

792

: 00:38:48

And that's how she does it.

793

: 00:38:49

It's just like, she's having

a conversation with a friend.

794

: 00:38:53

She's not selling them and she

starts off asking what's their

795

: 00:38:56

challenges and everything else.

796

: 00:38:58

And she kills it.

797

: 00:38:59

And because she's real.

798

: 00:39:01

Ken Wilson: I'll be right back.

799

: 00:39:02

Freddy D: Those are some things that

we can still do to create business

800

: 00:39:05

superfans being real and authentic.

801

: 00:39:08

Really, at the end of the day is

being authentic and looking at

802

: 00:39:12

how we can help them get to where

they want to go, whatever it is.

803

: 00:39:17

Ken Wilson: Boom.

804

: 00:39:18

Authentic, real.

805

: 00:39:19

Freddy D: So last thing I want to

talk about is really how important

806

: 00:39:25

is it to really recognize the

whole ecosystem of a company.

807

: 00:39:30

When you're talking with the customers,

the employees, management, the

808

: 00:39:35

partners, the suppliers, we talked

about that a little earlier before

809

: 00:39:39

we started recording the show.

810

: 00:39:41

So what's your take on really

recognizing that whole ecosystem?

811

: 00:39:46

Ken Wilson: Extremely important.

812

: 00:39:48

And I'll tell you why.

813

: 00:39:49

I see some experienced sales

reps do it too, where they're

814

: 00:39:51

tied down to one person.

815

: 00:39:53

Or maybe that's the gatekeeper they're

in touch with and they're not making

816

: 00:39:56

any movement within the company.

817

: 00:39:58

That's why it's so important

to reach out to other groups.

818

: 00:40:01

Within the company, they might have 30,

40 subsidiaries within their company.

819

: 00:40:06

You need to get to know each and every

one of those and their pain points and

820

: 00:40:09

how they interact and how they share

projects and data back and forth with one

821

: 00:40:13

another and their suppliers too, because

their suppliers can tell you stories of,

822

: 00:40:18

Hey, you know what, did you know X, Y, Z

company also works with didn't know that.

823

: 00:40:22

So you learn so much by being

involved with the entire.

824

: 00:40:26

Ecosystem of a company.

825

: 00:40:28

So yeah, I try to

leverage as many contacts.

826

: 00:40:31

Individuals, when I go into a company,

how do we touch more people within

827

: 00:40:35

that organization, within that

ecosystem to provide them more value?

828

: 00:40:39

Freddy D: And you learn more,

like you just said, you learn

829

: 00:40:41

more about the business.

830

: 00:40:42

And sometimes the individual

that you're thinking is the

831

: 00:40:46

individual, isn't the individual.

832

: 00:40:49

Ken Wilson: Yes.

833

: 00:40:50

Freddy D: How many

times has that happened?

834

: 00:40:51

Ken Wilson: You can't break

through that and find that person

835

: 00:40:53

unless you did everything we

were just talking about, right?

836

: 00:40:56

You got to get them to trust you

and then they'll start to open up.

837

: 00:41:00

Clients that I've had, it could

take a year or two, two, who

838

: 00:41:03

knows how long it's going to take.

839

: 00:41:04

But once you get to that point, those

relationships with your customers,

840

: 00:41:07

they'll introduce you to other people and

then you'll start them to other people

841

: 00:41:11

in their industry who can help them.

842

: 00:41:13

So it just, it's a circle of love, right?

843

: 00:41:14

Freddy D: I remember one time I was

selling a software product to a company

844

: 00:41:19

and there was this old guy walking around.

845

: 00:41:21

Nobody ever paid attention to this

old guy and he was walking around.

846

: 00:41:24

I'm talking to all these people.

847

: 00:41:25

And so I finally asked, who's the old guy?

848

: 00:41:30

He was the original founder of the

company and he just hung around there.

849

: 00:41:35

But he was the influencer.

850

: 00:41:37

So I learned this and I started to

talk to him to educate him on what

851

: 00:41:42

we were doing, because at the end of

the day, they didn't make any large

852

: 00:41:47

decisions unless he thumbed it up.

853

: 00:41:50

It's so important to really understand

that whole ecosystem of a company, because

854

: 00:41:57

like you were saying before, the guy

may not be the guy, but that's the guy.

855

: 00:42:03

Ken Wilson: That's so good.

856

: 00:42:05

And if you talk to my family.

857

: 00:42:06

I talk to everybody, whether it's

in business, like you said, I'll

858

: 00:42:09

be in the lobby and I'll just be

chatting with the receptionist and

859

: 00:42:12

finding out information from her.

860

: 00:42:14

We're just having a conversation

or, yeah, I could be in an elevator.

861

: 00:42:18

Elevators are great places to trap people.

862

: 00:42:22

I'll see the name of the company

I'm going to see on the elevator

863

: 00:42:24

and I'll be like, Hey, who are you?

864

: 00:42:25

And it could be the

president of the company.

865

: 00:42:27

I encourage people to talk more, to

ask more questions, really, just like

866

: 00:42:32

you did, whether you're in the lobby,

whether you're at the grocery store.

867

: 00:42:36

Wherever you're at, just talk to people.

868

: 00:42:38

You never know who that person might be.

869

: 00:42:40

Freddy D: It could be the CEO of

the company, and here you get a

870

: 00:42:43

chance to be one on one with them.

871

: 00:42:45

Ken Wilson: Yeah.

872

: 00:42:46

Yeah.

873

: 00:42:47

You got to break down those barriers.

874

: 00:42:48

I think the older I get too,

Freddie, I get to a point where

875

: 00:42:52

awareness level is so much higher.

876

: 00:42:54

What I mean by that is I'm always out.

877

: 00:42:56

I'm looking for things.

878

: 00:42:57

I'm looking for people.

879

: 00:42:58

I'm looking for opportunities.

880

: 00:43:00

Everything out there to

me is an opportunity.

881

: 00:43:02

I think it's just being

aware of your surroundings.

882

: 00:43:05

Being a little bit more confident too,

and not having self doubt, like, God,

883

: 00:43:08

what are they going to think of me?

884

: 00:43:09

That could be the best conversation

they've had all day long.

885

: 00:43:12

Freddy D: You don't know what

someone's going through in life.

886

: 00:43:16

And sometimes a little goodwill can

be transformative for that individual.

887

: 00:43:22

They may be having a bad day.

888

: 00:43:24

And the fact that you acknowledge them,

recognize them, little stuff is big stuff.

889

: 00:43:31

Because again, you don't know

what's going on in their world.

890

: 00:43:35

Ken Wilson: Yeah.

891

: 00:43:35

Like my dad always said, you

don't know what it's like until

892

: 00:43:38

you're in somebody else's shoes.

893

: 00:43:39

And he's so right.

894

: 00:43:40

I remember walking into a

grocery store, going to get a

895

: 00:43:43

pound of turkey or something.

896

: 00:43:44

I went there and saw the deli

lady and she just looked upset.

897

: 00:43:48

Like she was frustrated.

898

: 00:43:49

It looks like she was having a

bad day, just down in the dumps.

899

: 00:43:52

And I remember looking at her

name tag and going, Hey Joyce.

900

: 00:43:55

How's your day going over there?

901

: 00:43:57

And she just brighten up and

she's slicing me some turkey.

902

: 00:44:01

She gives me a couple of pieces

and I hopefully made her day.

903

: 00:44:04

So just never know.

904

: 00:44:05

Freddy D: That's how you create superfans.

905

: 00:44:07

Everybody will remember

how you made them feel.

906

: 00:44:09

Ken Wilson: Absolutely.

907

: 00:44:10

Freddy D: If you make them feel special,

recognized, they're your superfan.

908

: 00:44:14

Ken Wilson: That's right.

909

: 00:44:15

Freddy D: Cool, man.

910

: 00:44:16

Ken Wilson: Stuff,

911

: 00:44:16

Freddy D: Man and a great show.

912

: 00:44:18

So, how can people find you, Ken?

913

: 00:44:20

Ken Wilson: Yeah, Freddie, so people

can reach me by going to my website.

914

: 00:44:23

It's StorytellerLove.

915

: 00:44:24

Storytellers with an S dot love.

916

: 00:44:28

They can hit the contact me button.

917

: 00:44:31

And that site, it's basically

about ordinary people

918

: 00:44:34

doing extraordinary things.

919

: 00:44:35

There's some great videos on there.

920

: 00:44:37

There's podcasts and book recommendations.

921

: 00:44:40

And they can even call or

: 2102

922

: 00:44:47

And speaking of books, I've authored a

few books that are available on Amazon.

923

: 00:44:51

There's the Bible Simplified, where I

boil down the Bible to make it easier

924

: 00:44:56

and less intimidating for anyone to read.

925

: 00:44:59

And then my other book is called The

Invitation, and it talks about when a

926

: 00:45:03

door is opened and an opportunity is

presented, it's our choice to walk through

927

: 00:45:07

that door and do it, and how we need to

pay more attention to these nudges and

928

: 00:45:11

opportunities and people in our life, and

how they are more than just coincidental,

929

: 00:45:16

you know, to take more chances and

not let fear or self doubt hold us

930

: 00:45:20

back from some massive breakthroughs.

931

: 00:45:22

I'd like to offer both of those books.

932

: 00:45:24

As a gift to an audience member there.

933

: 00:45:27

So thanks again, Freddy D.

934

: 00:45:28

I appreciate you having me on.

935

: 00:45:29

I had a great time with you.

936

: 00:45:31

Freddy D: Yeah, it's a great conversation.

937

: 00:45:32

Let's set up another show to

talk about one of those books.

938

: 00:45:35

I like the one, what'd you call it again?

939

: 00:45:37

The Invitation.

940

: 00:45:37

I like that.

941

: 00:45:38

Let's have a conversation about that.

942

: 00:45:40

Cause that's so important.

943

: 00:45:42

Ken Wilson: You got it.

944

: 00:45:42

Congratulations on your book

too, Business Superfans.

945

: 00:45:46

Thank you.

946

: 00:45:47

Freddy D: Ken, been a pleasure having you

on the Business Superfans podcast show.

947

: 00:45:51

We look forward to having

you on the show once again.

948

: 00:45:54

Ken Wilson: Thanks again, Freddie D.

949

: 00:45:55

Appreciate it.