Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to John Livesay. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
John, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
The place I get my resilience from comes from my 5-5-5 method, which is about getting back up fast after life knocks us down. When we think of ourselves as the movie director of our own lives, we can zoom out on any one experience and ask ourselves, “Will this matter in 5 minutes? How about 5 hours from now? How about 5 days from now?
When we decide we are not going to focus on what didn’t go right or what we did not get (whether it is a job, a promotion, or a sale), we let go of the hurt and regret faster. So instead of being upset for 5 or more days, we decide to let it go in 5 hours or even in 5 minutes!
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
Tech and healthcare sales teams, like those at Olympus Medical and Bausch+Lomb, came to me because they were tired of coming in 2nd place when they pitched to win new business. They were just seen as a commodity. They were pushing out facts that nobody remembered and were on a self-esteem roller coaster which caused them to burn out. I know how painful this can be because I was on it.
Having won salesperson of the year at Conde Nast and written four books on the power of storytelling as a sales tool, my keynote talk is the perfect combination of inspiring and actionable takeaways to get sales teams to win more sales.
After working with me, sales teams win without feeling pushy, and storytelling becomes part of their culture. One client said, “We won 3 new business pitches in a row after your talk.” Clients find they not only win new business, but they do it when they are telling stories that tug at heartstrings that build trust and an emotional connection. Your team can become the one that tells the best story, wins the sale, and literally become revenue rockstars.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
The three most important areas that have had the most impact for me is to define myself as a brand with the core values of integrity, passion and joy. When I have a choice to work with a company or take on a new project, I ask myself are these people who have integrity? Do these people have a passion for what they are doing, and does it bring me or someone else joy? If the answer is yes to all three, then I do it because that is my moral compass.
The advice I have for someone starting out is to not try to be everything to everyone, but decide what you stand for and find people who match your values.
How would you describe your ideal client?
My ideal client is a company with a sales team that realizes that the old way of selling of pushing out facts and data is not working. They are looking for a new way to sell that makes them both magnetic and memorable so they are not seen as a commodity. When I give my keynote “Tell Stories Win Sales” at their sales kick off meeting, the team is not only inspired and motivated, but they get actionable takeaways to start winning more sales. Whoever tells the best story is the one who gets the sale.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://johnlivesay.
com/ - Instagram: @thepitchwhisperer
- Linkedin: https://www.
linkedin.com/in/jlivesay/ - Twitter: @john_livesay
