This podcast episode prominently features the insights of Jeff West, an esteemed author and sales expert, whose work emphasizes the transformative power of storytelling in leadership and sales. Our conversation delves into the concept of "fusion points," which encapsulate the intersection of emotional engagement and logical reasoning, pivotal for making effective connections in sales and leadership. Jeff elucidates how his extensive experience in sales management has informed his writing, particularly in crafting business parables that resonate with readers on both emotional and intellectual levels. Through his narrative techniques, he aims to enhance learning and retention, ultimately equipping leaders and sales professionals with the tools necessary for success. Additionally, we explore the significance of coaching and continuous learning as vital components in nurturing high-performing teams and fostering an environment conducive to growth and development.

In this enlightening episode of the Unstoppable Leadership Spotlight podcast, host Jaclyn Strominger engages in a thought-provoking dialogue with Jeff C. West, a distinguished author and seasoned sales professional. The conversation centers on the transformative power of storytelling in both leadership and sales practices. Jeff shares his journey as a writer and the inspiration behind his acclaimed work, 'Streetwise to Saleswise', co-authored with Bob Burg. He elucidates how storytelling serves as a mechanism for fostering emotional connections that enhance learning and retention in training environments. By recounting a serendipitous moment in New Orleans that inspired the narrative arc of his book, Jeff illustrates the profound impact of creativity on sales strategies. The episode encourages listeners to view storytelling as an essential tool in their leadership arsenal, capable of bridging gaps and fostering deeper relationships within professional contexts.

Moreover, the discussion delves into the concept of becoming 'objection proof', emphasizing the need to reframe objections as opportunities for dialogue rather than as barriers to success. Jeff articulates a structured approach for addressing objections, which includes understanding the client's perspective and cultivating an environment of empathy and collaboration. This segment of the conversation highlights the importance of emotional intelligence in leadership, advocating for a shift away from adversarial sales tactics toward a more relationship-oriented approach. By encouraging sales professionals to embrace objections as gateways for deeper engagement, Jeff provides practical insights that listeners can apply in their interactions with clients.

The episode culminates in a compelling exploration of the broader implications of leadership, urging listeners to reflect on their own practices and the significance of creating 'fusion points'—moments where emotional connections lead to loyalty and trust. Jeff's narrative not only offers actionable strategies for enhancing sales effectiveness but also inspires a reimagining of leadership as a practice rooted in connection, understanding, and shared growth. The rich content of this episode serves as a valuable resource for leaders aiming to elevate their influence and impact in their respective fields.

Takeaways:

• The podcast highlights the significance of storytelling in enhancing learning and retention, particularly in sales training.
• A key insight shared is the concept of 'fusion points', which combines emotional connection with logical reasoning to influence decision-making.
• Listeners are encouraged to explore the process of becoming 'objection proof', which involves understanding and empathizing with clients' perspectives.
• The discussion emphasizes the importance of personal connections in leadership and sales, advocating for an emotionally intelligent approach to team dynamics.
• The episode outlines practical strategies for priming prospects through positive emotional touches prior to sales meetings.
• A recurring theme is the value of continuous learning and mentorship in achieving success in sales and leadership roles.

Links referenced in this episode:

• jeffcwest.com

Companies mentioned in this episode:

• Bob Burg
• John David Mann
• Jeffrey Gitomer

Get the book Streetwise to Saleswise https://amzn.to/4kSujWK

Mentioned in this episode:

Unstoppable Leadership Spotlight - Welcome

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Hello everybody and welcome to another amazing episode of the Unstoppable Leadership Spotlight podcast. I am your host, Jaclyn Strominger.

On this podcast we hear from amazing leaders and their game changing insights and how their insights can propel great leaders to become even better leaders and to help those, those who may not be the best in their game to reach the top of their game. And today I want to welcome you just. I'm so excited to have him on. I have read one of his book, Jeff West.

He is an acclaimed author of business parables such as the Unexpected Tour Guide Said, the Lady with the Blue Hair. I gotta read that. Streetwise to Sales wise, which I have and absolutely love.

He co authored that with Bob Burg and he has turned storytelling into a tool for professional and personal growth.

And these works have collectively earned five distinguished awards and much to Jeff's delight and perhaps maybe to the amazement of his former college English professors. It's quite funny. Anyway, you Jeff, welcome to the show. You've got over 150 million in recurring revenue and sales from your insure.

Like from insurance business. Correct. And you've just, you've, you have a background in music, you live in Texas. Texas.

So you know, welcome to the show and I can't wait to talk about this and hear more about you and well, where these come from.

Thank you so much, Jaclyn. It is an honor to join you today. You're just a, a bubble full of joy and I love this. So thank you for having me on.

So, so, all right. So first of all, you know, I want to talk a little bit about your history, you know, in, in sale of, you know, street wise to Sales wise.

And so where did this book come from?

Oh, such a great question. You know, Bob Burg, as you mentioned, is, has been a friend of mine for 20 plus years and I had already written two parables.

I had actually won the first four awards at that point. Streetwise has actually now won two more. So it's growing as we speak. But Bob and I were always discussing sales things.

Like he was about to put a post out on LinkedIn and he was getting my opinion about how he was wording a couple of things.

And at the end of his email, this was around the end of 22, at the end of his email he wrote, by the way, keep this because when we do our parable, this will be great material. Now I had published two parables at that point and Bob and I had never discussed it even though we were great friends.

And so I answered his question and then I At the very end of my reply, I said, oh, and by the way, if you're serious, oh yeah, we're doing this book.

So we did and we basically, Bob has some great material on becoming objection proof and it's, it's the best people skills you could ever use while you're working with a client's objection.

And you come out the other end building what I call a fusion point, a way that, that the bond is so good and it's because of how you worked with them instead of trying to argue with them or debate. And so we took Bob's material there.

We took my sales training material as well on fusion points and, and My background is 30 plus years in sales and sales management, the majority of that being in the insurance industry. I was actually a state manager for a Fortune 500 insurance carrier. And it was one of those positions you work your way up from the field up.

But anyway, so we took all of that material and we decided to write the parable. And anytime I start writing a book, I'm always the lead writer and I'll come up with a story because I love writing fiction.

And then we'll teach the lessons of whoever I'm working with at the time. Said the lady with the blue hair I did with Lisa Wilbur and she's Avon's fifth highest producer in history. The woman is just as sweet as she can be.

An amazing. And she's built a team of thousands of salespeople. And so that's what that one was about.

But on, on Streetwise to sales wise, my wife and I were sitting in New Orleans. This was New Year's eve, going from 22 to 23. And we're sitting there having dinner, a little balcony restaurant, looking over the Fred J.

Casserberry park. And we're, we're about to leave and, and the waitress came out, she says, oh, you guys are going to love this. And she, I said, why?

She said, look, she pointed down at the street and there was a young street busker getting ready to sing. She was setting up her equipment to sing and she said, she's the best I've seen yet.

And so my wife and I sat there another hour drinking wine and just enjoying the day. And the entire storyline came to me for Streetwise because I've got a musical background. I love New Orleans.

Oh, and I sit there with my wife.

When we were ready to go, I said the entire plot, the entire story arc just came to me for Streetwise and I know exactly what I'm going to do with it.

Oh, my God, that's amazing. So listeners, you have to understand this book is. Is, you know, as Jeff is sharing, you know, this book is a great story. It is, there's.

It's kind of a love story in an interesting way. I mean, and. Well, there's. And there's, there's such great passion in it.

And when you read it or I actually, my first take with it was actually listening to it, and it was one of those books that I didn't want to get out of the car because I didn't want. I didn't want to stop. I wanted to keep listening. Like, my drive is too short. Damn it. Right. Because I want. I wanted to know what was happening next.

And yet it's also filled with just amazing, you know, tips. And so, you know, going, going back to those, like those tips, you know, and actually I'm going to.

Before I even get into that question, storytelling. And we hear this a lot. So how do you. Or how does storytelling in your eyes really enhance learning and retention in. In training and in sales?

Like, where does storytelling come in?

That is such a great question. You know, in part of the sales training and the coaching that I do outside of writing, I teach a concept called fusion points.

And it's basically this. Our. We humans, our brains tend to work exactly the same way when we're making decisions. And decisions are a combination of logic and emotion.

When it's a positive emotion that's happening, it makes. It shoots a somatic marker down into our body. It makes us feel good, we like it, and we want to continue the process.

So whether you're asking for a client, a prospect to take the next step and become like a client, or you're trying to work with a team member and getting them to be more successful, when you can combine that positive emotional experience with the logic that the brain is going to do anyway, those are going to connect and that's going to produce the decision. What happens is it creates what I call a fusion point. And at that moment, it creates a bond, it creates loyalty, it creates acceleration.

So what happens in the reason I write business parables primarily, Although I am working on a novel right now too. But the reason I write business parables is because of that principle.

Because if I can write a story that a reader will fall in love with the story, and they.

And the kind of experience that they would say, oh, I would wanted to read that even if I didn't learn anything, and then combine that with the logic, that's a really good solid leadership or sales training or in the new one I'm doing with Bill Cates, financial management training, if I can do that, then it sticks. It creates that fusion point about the material.

And so that's why some of my favorite books are like the Go Giver, written by John David man and Bomb Burg, or OG Mandino's books. Like the Greatest Salesman in the World, it teaches good, solid principles.

It's always been my favorite way to learn, and I never knew why until I studied how people make those decisions.

You know, not that I want to go back to sixth grade, but I'm going to go back to sixth grade for a minute.

You know, that means I'm going to sit behind you and pull your hair.

We're going to write notes to each other.

Right? Exactly.

So, no, what, what I'm thinking about, you know, is, is in sixth grade, seventh grade, you know, what, what, what I'm aligning storytelling with is the visual, right? It's, it creates that visual picture.

So I remember, you know, one of my, both actually two science teachers, one in sixth grade, we were talking about, you know, what happened when Coke got sprayed all over something and it became sticky.

And they were trying to use all these different things and you know, what do they end up using to take it off was, you know, good old H2O, but it was talking about the molecules. And I remember these two pictures. It's. But it's the story that went with it, you know. Yes.

There was these, these images and as you read your business stories and you know, these books, it creates this beautiful picture in your mind and, and you think about them. So, you know, it's just, it's really, really great. So thank you. You're welcome.

So, you know, in the book, and we, and you just kind of mentioned this a little bit too, we, you talk about being objection proof and you know, describe objection proof and how not just sales professionals, but people leaders can apply that to navigate, you know, the world basically today as we know it.

That's such an appropriate question at this day and time, isn't it?

Yeah.

Well, Bob's material on becoming objection proof basically was using a good set of people skills to work through an issue. You know, in sales, sometimes objections seem to become the bane of a salesperson's existence.

And they don't have to be, because once you learn what to do and what not to do, you can actually build a relationship in it. And the first thing that we teach in the book, the first step is don't try to overcome the objection.

The truth is, an objection, quite frankly, is very much like someone's opinion.

And you don't have to look much further than our political process to know how much people just absolutely love it when you try to overcome their opinion. And so we say, don't try to overcome the opinion, don't try to debate it.

Instead, work with that opinion, work with the, with the objection that you're getting at the time. We also teach to handle common objections, of course, before they come up in the sales presentation or we call it a sales conversation.

Because if it comes up, if you bring up certain things that you know are kind of baked into, what do you, you do anyway? If you bring it up, then along with the solution, it's education.

But if they do it later, it becomes an objection and you have to handle it differently. But anyway, the objection proof process, basically it's just a simple six step process. But I work it into a story and we handle it in the story role.

But it's first off, number one, controlling your own emotions.

What an objection does inside us as a salesperson, you know, I talked about fusion points being the combination of positive emotion and logic, and it makes us feel good. Well, an objection sets up what I refer to as a collision point. It's a negative emotion and logic connecting and it makes you push back.

You don't like the way that feels. And so when a salesperson, especially a newbie, gets an objection, it sets off an uncomfortable feeling inside of them.

And if, if they don't control that, the fact that they can't respond to that feeling, they'll react and they'll, they'll push or they'll argue or they'll debate and it turns the other person off. They don't have anything to do with it. So the first step is to basically control your emotions.

But then the second part is just ask the right questions so you get their perspective and just say that. Can you mind if I ask you a couple questions?

Because I really want to understand your perspective on this and then ask serious questions because you want to understand, not because you want to overcome the objection, but because you want to understand that sets off a big positive emotional response in them because they are not being pushed like a lot of salespeople are. Go ahead.

I was just gonna say just.

But that, that asking the question, I think that's, I just kind of wanted to jump in there because so many times, you know, somebody gives an objection and we, a lot of people either don't respond and they just take it. Or like. Or it could be something that they say, why on earth do you think that way? And not the right question, but maybe asking the question.

Interesting perspective. Can you tell me more?

Yeah. Help me see it from your vision. Help me see it from your perspective.

And once you've done that and you listen, then you get the opportunity to reframe what they say. You'll never get that opportunity if you don't understand it and let them verbalize it with you. And so when you're doing that.

Great example of what I call about reframing is we all see the. The world through our own frame. It's our experiences make up the border around that frame, and that's what we see. So everybody has that.

But if you'll move your head slightly to one direction, then it changes the perspective and you can see it from a different angle. So once you've gotten their perspective, you say, well, you know, you empathize with it.

And you say, you know, I can see how that would be something you'd want to consider. That makes perfect sense to me that that's something that we, we should talk through. Because that empathy is not what they're expecting.

They're expecting a salesperson to push. And when you did so that makes perfect sense, as you might think that. And then say, do you mind if I shed a little different perspective on it?

They'll be open to you doing that, and that's when you give the solution and then you can move forward with providing their value proposition. The value proposition to me has absolutely nothing to do with your product or your service or your company.

Has nothing to do with how great you are as a salesperson.

Even though I know everybody in your audience is wonderful, it has everything to do with how that prospect's life gets better when they begin a relationship with you. In essence, it's really their value from your proposition.

So if you're focused in that direction, once you get where you can reframe it, you give a little social proof. Other clients that have thought the same thing. It's basically a social proof version of the feel felt found right. Traditional training.

And then you can ask the simplest closing question I've ever known in my life is the one I always use. And it was because people naturally really would prefer to say no to salespeople.

My closing question after doing all of that was a, well, let me ask you a question. And if, if you want to say no, please feel completely welcome to do so. Do you see any reason we shouldn't move forward well, no, here we go.

I love it.

You know, and, and you know, that comes up to a couple of things that you know that are coming that come to my mind about, you know, about sales and leadership in particular, which is really helping people see how it is going to help them. So as a leader and I and, and, and listeners, this is a huge insight. Like really think about this.

You know, the people on your team, the people that your clients, the people that you're selling to, if you can make them feel, feel really good, maybe you're, maybe if you're leading a team and you have this great brand new vision about how the team should operate, you need to sell it to them, but you need to get not just their buy in. You have to let them see how it's going to help them.

If I know, for example that Jeff wants to grow into X position, I could say, hey Jeff, this position, this, what we are doing is going, the goal is to help not the team, but we want to help you get here. Right. So absolutely, like see how it can help the other person.

You know, and I say your clients because your employees or your team members as I call them, those are, that's client number one. Client number two are actually your clients, people you know.

Absolutely.

Team members. Team members come first. So, so you know, we talked a little bit about Fusion points and I totally understand.

But you talk about in the book there I call, I'm going to add an extra step but you say three steps and then I, I'm making them four because I try to, I actually do things in twos so it's divisible by two in my brain. I talk about two steps to. Yes, but you talk about. Can you share that, that three step plus one process?

Because I think there's something about that that for me hits home really, really key. But I'll share that after you discuss it.

Well, thank you.

The, the basic premise in a sales organization, when you're making that those prospecting context, whatever the industry and it's of course the way you do, it's a little different based on your business model. But you're going to get one of three. When it's basically a cold call or the first contact, you're going to get one of three response responses.

You'll get one group of people who they consider a contact from a salesperson that wasn't expected an annoyance and so they have a collision point. Their negative emotional response hits them and combines with logic and they don't give you the time of day and Sometimes they may not even be nice.

You got a second group where it is a positive for them. They actually know they have a need. They know maybe your brand or your company. So they see, when you reach out, they see it as a positive thing.

They actually have a fusion point just because you made contact. And those are the easiest ones to get an appointment with. And then you got a third group that's really not thinking about you all at all.

There's no, there's no context, there's no emotional reaction. They just haven't had any reason to think about you because you haven't given them the one yet.

So what I teach people in the book is a process that I really call priming the prospecting pump. But it works on everything.

Yes.

And it's basically before you even ask for the first meeting that you make it three or four in this case, positive emotional touches with that prospect before you ever ask for the first meeting. And it can vary based on your industry.

Things I often suggest is if in a business to business context, maybe you find some sort of positive press about the company or the person. You find a great Yelp review or whatever. You print the thing off, you hand write, because people don't do that much anymore.

You hand write a little note saying, I saw this. I want to make sure you saw it too. I thought it was great press for you and your company. Good job. And then add two sentences at the end.

I would like to meet you soon. Please expect my call. And that's one way to, you can, you can print off a picture of them on social media with their family and say, I just saw this.

You got a cool looking outing that you do with your family. Send that to them.

Lisa Wilbur, my co author on Said, the lady with the blue hair sends out send out cards and she does the same process, but she's sending out actual cards from a company. She puts in the picture, she types in the message and it goes out for that. She sent literally over 20,000 cards over the last few years.

But the reason you do that is because the percentages of people that will say yes when you request that first meeting go up if they have had positive touches, even if they don't know you. And so when you do this, what it amounts to is you give them a positive emotional touch three times or four.

And with each of them you say, hey, I'd like to meet you soon, Please expect my call. Then you follow that up with your call and your request for that first visit. Well, when you do that, it Does a couple things.

It makes them more likely to say yes to the visit.

But the other thing it does is it gives you the ability when you're visiting with the administrative assistant who's basically oftentimes in charge of protecting the person time that you're trying to see. It's very easy and true to say, they very well may be expecting my call. They're likely expecting my call. Something I'd like that.

Well, you've also told them that they're expecting your call. So you, you prime that pump. It's, it's, it's sometimes when, when you. Oh my God. Just like the words just went right out of my brain.

When you're telling people what they're, what to do. Like you're. So you've told them you're going to expect my call.

Right, Told them.

And each time you do it, it just makes that little positive emotional connection and it's sitting there waiting on you to connect it with a logic of why you want to do it and then to make it even a little bit stronger. When you ask for that first meeting, make sure the verbiage you use is about their value from your proposition.

Don't ask for that meeting to explain your company and what you do and all that.

Ask for that meeting to see if they can explore, if they can take advantage of whatever that you're going to do that's going to make their world better. Maybe you're going to put them the home of their dreams or help them get out. You know, like with a realtor. I use this as an example.

When I'm doing seminars, I'm much more likely to give my time to someone who says, you know, I'd like to take.

Help you use that equity in your home to, in a big city, in a higher crime area to get out in a smaller community where the crime's lower, the pace of life is better, and I think you'll enjoy that better. I'm more likely to give that person my time than someone who says, I'm a great realtor with a great company and I can sell your home for you.

Because one connected with the positive emotional response. Because they talked about my value from their proposition.

And so when I'm teaching the seminars, I'll teach that I'll teach getting introductions because those three things, priming the pump into that, it makes a huge difference in the percentage. It'll say yes to you.

Yeah. You know, and I love that.

And there's, you know, in the book you actually talk about, you know, it's, it's and, and you share, you know, and what you just said. It's like sending something in the mail, sending a card and I'm going to share. It's also this, do you understand what this is? It's a phone.

Do you understand?

Oh, and by the way, the phone goes up to the ear or this way if you want to speak to it this way because you don't want whatever, but use it, use it for the phone. I, I, I cannot begin to tell people enough how many times when you send something and you say something, people get, get the emotion.

So much more those two ways than just a quick short text or an email. We'd send the email, send some of that information. But the, when people hear your voice and the excitement in your voice. Oh, it's like powerful.

Well, you know, Jeffrey Gittamer is one of a great sales trainer from decades ago and, and he had a article in Selling Power magazine one time and I've got to visit with Jeff about this since he, his article was talking about the more of the five senses you can involve in the sales process, the higher your percentage of chance of growing the sale or closing the sale are going to be. And so I utilize that in my sales. But it's the same reason if I want to learn material really solidly, I'll get the audiobook like you did.

I'll have the physical book too.

And I'll go through the audiobook and the physical book at the same time and I'm making notes as I go through it just cements the lesson so much more solidly.

Yeah, it does. And it's funny, that's why I actually went and got the printed version because I do that on the books that I love.

So you've had an amazing career and so, you know, I, 30 years, you know, leading teams, you know, you shared some amazing insights. But is there one key lesson that you've learned that you think is super crucial for developing those high performing sales teams?

Absolutely. And you touched on it a bit ago.

It's about creating that culture, creating that environment, creating that connection with your team that is, that is personal. It's one on one in addition to what you do in a group setting or in a massive setting in it.

But it touches them personally and you're combining that with the logic of what you're doing. I was a, I was in field sales management with a Fortune 500 insurance carrier for 20 years. Started off as a district manager, it was decent.

But then I actually read Bob Burg's book, the Endless Referrals. And it catapulted my career. But then I was a regional manager for two years, but I was a state manager for that company for 10 years here in Texas.

And I had a team of hundreds of agents. They were all independent contractors that none of them were my employees. And I would do things to connect with them.

Like we would have big meetings where I would give awards and all that, but I would invite their spouses and we'd have hundreds of people in the room. And during that time, at some point, I was going to see every single one of them.

I was going to touch them, I was going to shake their hand, put my hand on their shoulders. I'm so glad you're here. So nice to meet your spouse. And I would call them by name and I would do those things.

And then with my managers that reported directly to me, the regional managers, I would take 20% of my bonus every year and I would spend it taking them or my wife. And I did this because we're a couple. I actually, we would host them on a trip for them and their spouses.

We took them to the Virgin Islands one year. We spent a week at the Bitter End Yacht Club in Tortola.

Oh, I missed that.

Well, basically the result of that is there was so much camaraderie and so much loyalty. And I've been gone from that industry now 11 years. I still see a lot of the same people. And the state manager that's there now is an awesome guy.

He's doing a great job. He said, you've been gone. I think we were playing golf about two years ago. He said, you've been gone nine years. Your people still love you.

It's that kind of connection that grows an organization. It creates a fusion point for inside your organization. And like you said earlier, it's not just about sales.

Yes, you need to create those fusion points and sales and priming the prospecting pump does that. But it's also about how you grow a team, how you bring someone on board, how you help equip them to be successful.

It's also how you make personal relationships work. It works in so many areas of life that it's. That's the one lesson. It's got to be that connection, you know?

And so listeners, I really want you to really take, take note to that because, I mean, I could go through countless stories and I'm not going to bore you with them. But, but, but one of those things that I really think that, you know, that if we can make. Make it where people truly love.

It's not loving just what they're doing, but loving their environment and loving the company and the people. And it's not about you, it's about your team. You know, I actually share this with somebody.

We were talking about this the other day about, about knowledge, right? The knowledge you have is, is great. It's great wisdom. Don't hold it, share it.

The more you can share it, the better that people will actually be attracted to you and love your team because you are giving into them and you're pouring into them. And so it's so important. You know, I think I, I. Some trajectory and about my career, what it would have been, how different it may have been if the.

It's a very interesting thing. So talking. I do share this and I, and I want to. Because you mentioned this, but somewhere along the way. Did you play professionally in a Dixie band?

I actually did.

Tell me about that.

I have a bachelor's degree in music education and a master's degree in music composition. And by the way, those two degrees will get me a cup of coffee in Starbucks if I have $10 with me. During my master's degree.

I actually played professionally in a Dix glam band here in Texas and I doubled on string bass and tuba and that was making at times four or five hundred dollars a week cash in this. I really. I'm much older than you. This was in the early 80s and that was a lot of money for a college kid. And. But we played up in the East Coast.

We played in the Texas Oil marketers convention. We played in a lot of places. And so music, and especially Dixieland music is, is near and dear to my heart and as. Why wouldn't it be?

Everybody loves the tuba player.

You know, that is so, you know. So going back to that though, how do you think music has played a role in your sales and leadership?

If I were to. I guess the best way I could say that is it probably plays more of a role in two ways.

Number one, to get a degree in music is a difficult degree to get because you are. There will be times. I'd be taking 13 classes in one semester. Some of them were one hour courses because they were ensembles.

And yet I had to take them because I had to get the degree and so that. It's a huge workload and I did that in four years and I did my master's in one. Pulling all nighters. Doing. Pulling all nighters. Working on my stuff.

All right. But anyway, so I think it Helped you helped me develop that ability to stick with something.

But the other side of it is the creativity side, because one of the things I've done in a leadership role in sales is utilized stories, be creative with what I did as far as how to make the lesson stick. And it's exactly what's made my. It's elevated me in my writing. You know, I have a wonderful writing coach.

His name is John David Mann, and he is literally my hero when it comes to writing. He was the lead writer on the Go Giver, the Bookie and Bob Burke did together. And he's. He's the latte factor with David bachman.

He's written 40 books and I think, nine New York Times bestsellers. Well, he's a personal friend and my writing coach.

And it's the combination of the creativity side that I have and then studying like a madman with John, it's really elevated my writing to where I'm getting recognized at a higher level. Like I said, we just won the gold medal from the Axiom Business Book Awards on Streetwise. And that's. That's a good one.

It's not the New York Times bestseller list by any stretch, but it's some really sweet recognition.

Yeah, that's really fantastic. Okay, so you just mentioned two things. I'm going to break them out into two different questions. Learning.

You mentioned that you are learning, obviously, so much with John. Right, right. So talk about learning and how important that is in sales and leadership.

Well, I think if we stop learning, we stop growing. And if you stop growing, you're dying. And the truth is, in my sales career, I wasn't a natural at it, but I had a very great mentor.

Matter of fact, I wrote him into the story of my first book, the Unexpected Tour Guide. It's a man named Jack Amberson. And he was such a great mentor to me, and as a person, as a father and as a sales leader.

And he's one who kind of gave me that thirst for learning. He gave me my first copy of the Greatest Salesman in the World, Bog Mandino. He got me on that track.

He gave me, I guess it was Frank Bettcher's How I Raised Myself From Failure to Success in Selling. So I had to learn what to do. And so. But again, I guess getting the degrees in music, I wasn't.

I wasn't afraid to dive in there and learn things and apply them.

And so it literally took me from being probably someone who wouldn't have made it in sales to being someone that had a really Nice long career and did well in sales. And the same thing when I retired from the insurance industry at 54 years old.

And even though that was a nice position to be in, I started my wife, thank God, she feels, she supports me with this, I wanted to do something else after that. And so I decided I wanted to be right and I wanted to speak and do those things. And so I dove into the writing part in that same fervor.

And I became friends with John, met him through Bob. And I remember us having lunch up in Waco, Texas. He was doing a book signing at a bookstore up there. And I went, drove up and had lunch with him.

It's around the corner in Texas, but it was about two hours from my house. But I had lunch and just got to know him a little bit. And when he finally later put. He was good. He was coaching me a little bit anyway.

And he had put a free resource on his website called how to Write Good or at least gooder. Love the title, right? But I got, I got a lot of benefit out of that. That's where I had read that and that's helped me on Blue Hair.

But when he, he started his Writing mastery mentorship course, he put some advertising about that and he called me and I, and I said, okay, tell me the details about it. And I said, okay, how much is it going to cost? I said, okay, you want it in check, credit card, what? And I was, I was his first sale.

I was, I'm the very first member of that class when he said, tons of people in that class. And I said, but I don't want to spoil you because not all your sales are going to be this easy. But he's a genius and he writes novels too.

He's got a novel series now that's actually been optioned for more than just a book. That's it. That's no more details than I give them.

Okay.

But he's just my hero and he's a good man. And it turns out to this decided we're probably going to bore your listeners here now. His father was a man named Alfred Man.

And when I was in college majoring in music in my junior year in college, I had to study 18th century counterpoint in the textbook. Was his father's book 18th century counterpoint?

Oh my God, that's so great. Okay, so learning is obviously really key and it's again, always be learning. But you also, you know, he's also a coach.

So talk about how coaching goes along with sales success and success in general.

That's a great question and my answer to that is that it focuses on helping the other person get better at what they're doing. If I can coach them to do that, I focus on their value from my proposition and helping that.

And so like today we had a coaching call with a couple out of New York and they, their business is they have a caregiver type business for babysitters and things of that nature. And it's a big business.

They have 400 something employees and we were coaching on that and it was all about, okay, let's get to know them, what they're looking for, where we might be able to help and then come up with ways to help them connect at a higher level with their people.

So it's about, it's about focusing on what the other person needs and then if I've got the expertise to help them get there, helping equip them to do that and get side by side with them as they make it happen. You know, we're doing a three month coaching program with these folks and it'll be concierge access and try to help them get these things.

And they were so excited today. They were such a joy to be around. Anyway, they were very fun people.

So that's really fantastic. Jeff, I could talk to you for hours and hours because there are so many things but so I may have to have you come back on the show.

I'm going to get another one of your books and read that. But you know, how can the listeners connect with you, get in touch with you, get your books, all of those things.

Well, thank you for asking that.

The probably the most important or the easiest way is go to jeff c.west.com and at the very top you'll see a place where you can sign up for my newsletter. I send out a newsletter on Tuesdays and Thursdays and one it's combination of sales coaching, leadership coaching.

Every now and then it's just behind the scenes sneak peeks at what it's like to write a book. And so it's hopefully it's appealing to a multitude of things. Everything, I would say everything from the entry level salesperson to the CEO.

At some point I'm going to be coaching them on that. But also then you'll see the button to do that right at the top and you can find out about my books there too.

But feel welcome to connect with me on places like LinkedIn or Facebook. Just look for Jeff Se West. You have to put the CM because if you just Google Jeff west somebody else comes up.

And I'm not even going to say what the subject matter is, but it's not necessarily something you want to send your audience to. And now they're going to all go there. I shouldn't have said this. Oh, it's, it's. I now wishing you edit that part out because I know where it goes.

So Jeff C. West, go to Jeff C. West and I will make sure the link is proper in the show notes.

So, Jeff, thank you for being such an amazing guest and listeners, please connect with him. And I'm going to put a link to this book also in the show notes. So please grab this book. Trust me, you will enjoy it. Get the audio version.

I'll have that a link to the audio version as well. I would say, you know, get the digital E version, but hold the book in your hand and listen to the audio. It really makes a difference, I think. So.

Sorry to put my opinion on you, but. But I will.

Thank you so much, Jaclyn. It's been an honor to be with you.

Thank you so much. This is the Unstoppable Leadership Spotlight podcast. So thank you listeners for being amazing listeners.

If you have gotten value out of this, which I'm sure you have, please do me the best favor to in fact, one, hit subscribe and two, share it with a friend or colleague or somebody that you know could benefit from hearing Jeff's message and for becoming an unstoppable leader. And again, I'm Jaclyn Schuminger and I thank you both. Thank you for listening and thank you for being a great guest.

Thank you.