Karl's Appearance on the Leaving Nothing to Chance Podcast

Several years ago, Karl was asked to consult with a company he’d worked with before.

“Things have been going great,” a member of the leadership team told him. “But we’ve grown a lot over the past several years, we have new team members, and I think we could use a refresh.”

Karl was excited to get started and meet the new team.

One of the newest members was their director of marketing. Driven, smart, personable, Karl knew he had a lot of potential. In fact, the new director of marketing’s biggest challenge was his age and subsequent lack of experience. There was a lot he didn’t know, but he was aware of it and incredibly eager to learn.

Karl immediately thought about a different client of his who had an upcoming marketing conference and workshop. He knew it was the kind of experience that would benefit the new director of marketing.

“Hey,” he told the guy the next day. “One of my other clients is hosting this workshop. I think you’d really like it.”

Karl watched as the director of marketing’s facial expression moved from excitement to disappointment before he even spoke. “That sounds awesome, and I appreciate you thinking of me. But I just don’t think we have room in the budget right now.”

Karl couldn’t let it go, especially after seeing the young director’s reaction. So he called his client and asked for a favor. “This guy really wants to attend,” he told his friend. “But he doesn’t have any wiggle room. Could you let him come free of charge?”

“No worries,” the client told Karl. “Just send me his info and I’ll register him.”

It was a win for everybody. There was an extra attendee at the conference networking and building connections, the new director of marketing was able to attend workshops he was really excited about, and Karl was able to help his client.

When it came down to it, this moment wasn’t about selling for Karl – it was about providing value that went beyond the services he was paid to provide.

None of it would’ve been possible without Iceberg Selling. Karl had to get to know the director of marketing well enough to understand that this opportunity was one he’d be excited about. He had to have a strong enough relationship with his other clients to ask for a favor. And he had to not just be professionally invested, but personally invested enough to find extra opportunities to provide value.

During his appearance on the Leaving Nothing to Chance podcast, Karl does a mock sales call with host John Solleder, shares how most salespeople have the potential to go from good to great with a few small shifts in their mindset, and discusses why knowing what’s going on in the worlds of your team members and customers makes you a more valuable and successful salesperson.

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