• 47:46
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
Selling authentically, building trust, winning clients, executive business coach, sales techniques, personal development, confidence, follow-up, self-reflection, morning routine, influence, overcoming fears, sales strategy, client relationships, business success.
SPEAKERS
Speaker 1, Coach Dan Gordon, Damon Pistulka
Damon Pistulka 00:09
All right, everyone, welcome once again, the faces of business. I am your host, Damon Pistulka and I am so very excited for our guest today, because we’ve got none other than coach Dan Gordon stopping by with us today to talk about selling, authentically, building trust and winning clients. Dan is an executive business and sales coach. Dan, thanks for being here today,
Coach Dan Gordon 00:37
Damon, it is such an honor to be here. You know, it’s always so good to talk with you. This is like our fourth or fifth time talking, and I’m really happy to be here, man.
Damon Pistulka 00:45
Awesome, awesome. Well, I’m excited, too, Dan. I mean, your your experience teaching people how to how to just communicate well and build that trust is so important. So like we always want to on the show Dan is get to know Dan. How did Dan get into being an executive business and sales coach? You
Coach Dan Gordon 01:09
know, it’s really strange. About eight years ago, I was a man in a very unusual position. I was on the floor of my apartment in a pool of my own snot and tears, because my marketing company had just failed. It had crashed historically, right? I had lost over $100,000 I was I was another 100k in debt, and it was looking pretty bad. I was having what I can only call an emotional breakdown, yeah, and something came to me in that moment, a truth. And the truth is our outer world is a physical manifestation of an inward belief system, right? If you ever want to know what you believe inside, you look around in your world. Look around the people in your life, the your income, the type of your surroundings, like everything. And so I had to ask myself a big question. The big question was, why did I choose to destroy my company? Right? Kind of subconsciously, but in one way or another, if you’re in a bad position, who’s the common denominator, right? You right? So I’m like, okay, obviously I don’t want to be in marketing, right? And it was true, like I realized I hate marketing. I’m just really good at it. What I was supposed to be doing was being in the changing people’s lives business, because way before that, I used to teach personal development courses, right, these intensive three day seminars, and I was really good at it, and I loved it, right? There wasn’t a lot of money in it at the time, so I got into marketing, right? And a bunch of other stupid stuff that I just just wasn’t me. So I’m like, Okay, I’m gonna erase the the whiteboard and start over from the beginning and Damon, eight months later, eight months later from that very day that I was on the Florence, not in tears, I walked out on stage in Dallas, Texas being paid $10,000 for my very first speaking gig, nice, and that was the start of my life as it is today. And I love what I do. I am my eyes pop open at 5am my my feet hit the floor at 510, after I cuddle with my girl a little bit, and then, and then, right? You know, pray, meditate, exercise, and then at work, no later, by seven, right? Yeah, and, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love this life and, and it’s a life where I get to support people in doing the things that they love, right? Because so many people right, are great at what they do, and they suck at selling what they do, right? Yes. And the problem is they put all of their effort into being great at what they do, thinking, well, if I’m really good at this, people will just naturally hire me. Well, the crappy ones out there are putting a minuscule amount of time into being good at what they do and a tremendous amount of time at learning how to sell what they do, right? So I helped turn that around, right? Yeah. Because look, when I first got into coaching, I didn’t know how to sell what I was doing. Just because I’m good at sales, it doesn’t mean I’m great at selling everything. I couldn’t sell myself, right? Yeah. And so I was watching these scammy, spammy coaches, boom, boom. I mean, they were just sucking up clients left, like someone by like, I would talk to a prospect, I get them really interested in coaching, and then somebody else would would close them. And it was heartbreaking, because I would see these terrible coaches who I knew were not going to do any good at helping this person swoop up these clients. And I know you who are listening right now have have had that feeling. Why? Why are my prospects going to somebody else who are terrible and not working with me because I’m great now, Damon, you’re gonna have to jump in here, because I’ll just keep talking.
Damon Pistulka 04:59
No. I know, and I think this is, this is this is really good. First of all, the love. I mean, I, I don’t know anybody that hasn’t gone through some real strife in their life. I mean, if there, I’m sure there are. I’m sure people haven’t, but I’m sure. But the vast majority of people that I meet have all gone through something wrenching that did a major turn in their life. And most times while they go through that tough, tough, tough time, and it may be dark as heck coming out of it, and you talk to them like yourself after a while, yeah, it’s much better, does it’s funny how we, how we, we run into those walls and get down in the muck, and then we realize a year, maybe two years, sometimes even five years later, how much better we are because we went through
Coach Dan Gordon 06:03
that. Yes, yes. And you know, I’ve studied successful people all my professional career, and when I hit that floor and sat in tears, I knew this was my turn, because there you go, one of them, right? Every one of them had had this, yeah, I didn’t know how I was going to get out of it, right? I didn’t know how I was going to end up not being homeless, you know, because there was no money, yeah, less than no money, right? Yeah. But I, you know, it’s a strange thing. It’s a strange thing when, when you reset your switches, when you follow your passion. Now, you can’t just follow your passion. You actually go, I’m passionate about this, and go eat a sandwich, right? Yeah, yeah, you got to do the work, right? You know this crap I hear about, do what you love, and the money will follow, right, right? Yeah, it’s do what you love, work your ass off at it. And then the money starts trickling a little bit, right?
Damon Pistulka 06:56
Let’s just stop there for a minute. Okay, I like that. So do what you love. Work your ass off at it, and then the money starts trickling in. And over time it may trick, yeah, faster. But you see, you look at most people. That’s the way it happens. You look into you talk to you. I mean, just pick I was, I was at a concert a while ago, and I remember what the what. And this is a pretty, pretty well known band. They fill up arenas everywhere, in stadiums, and they said, Listen, 15 years ago, we were paying playing to 200 people, if we were lucky, sometimes 20 people in the little corner bar, and to see where we’re at today, we would have never we would have always wanted to get here, yeah, but we are so appreciative of being here. And it just goes to show that, you know, keeping that working your ass off, like you said, towards those goals, is a great thing. So we got Ron Higgs stopping by. He’s on YouTube right now. Said it trickles slowly.
Coach Dan Gordon 08:02
It does run. It does man, you know, I guess it’s true. Do what you love and the money will follow. But there’s a big middle part there, right? That most people talk about. Talk about how hard it is, and it is hard and it’s soul crushing, because you don’t have a magic ball, you know, a crystal ball that’s going to tell you when is going to turn around? Yes, you just have to, kind of like, you know, find your way in the dark, and it just starts to, you know, somehow, some way, if you stay with it long enough, all the people who are weak will fall off, and you just naturally arrive, you know, first place in line.
Speaker 1 08:38
Mm, hmm. So I agree.
Coach Dan Gordon 08:43
I do. I do want to cover something, unless you got something.
Damon Pistulka 08:46
No, go for it. Okay, so
Coach Dan Gordon 08:50
here’s, here’s a way to shorten the time in between the hard stuff and the good stuff and like anything. Everything that you want starts with doing something you don’t want to do. Everything that you want starts with doing something you don’t want to do. And one of the things that most good, solid, moral business owners don’t want to do is they don’t want to talk positively about themselves, right? We got this thing put in our heads early in life that if you talk about yourself, you’re what Damon bragging. You’re bragging, right? Yeah, you’re bragging. You’re full of yourself. You’re, you know, yeah, you know, you should just kind of put your hands in the pockets of your overalls and kick the dirt and go toward nothing, right? But here’s the truth. In order to get people to trust you, to have faith in you, you have to show that you have faith in yourself. So I’m going to tell you something. Damon, I am better at what I do than most people are at anything that they will ever try. And I know. Say that just to say it. I say it because I’ve worked hard to be that, and I’ve had people say it back to me. Now this thing that I just said, it took me a long time to be able to say that, because it used to sound like, oh, I can’t say that. I can’t say I’m great at what I do. But when I said it, did it sound weird or crazy, or did I sound like a jerk? No, no. I just sounded like a guy who really liked what I do, right and worked hard to be so this is the thing for you who are listening right now, I want you to begin practicing speaking positively about yourself, right when you’re in a sales meeting, when you’re talking with someone to say, Look, I am really good at this. In fact, I don’t know anybody who is better at this, and I don’t want you to work with someone who’s not as good as I am, right? There’s plenty of them out there, right? I want to make sure that you are handled Yeah,
Damon Pistulka 10:57
yeah. I think it’s, it’s, it’s hard for a lot of people to say that, but the truth is, there are, I think, a lot of people that are in that category, yeah, that don’t want to that don’t want to sound too confident, don’t want to sound too and there is a, there is a, you know, there’s a fine line You get to there. But when you don’t give people enough comp, showing people enough confidence in yourself that they can have confidence in you, that’s where you’re really losing out.
Coach Dan Gordon 11:29
Yeah, it is. It is. And unfortunately, like I said earlier, people of lesser quality, who are better at selling will get your clients Yes, yes, and and they will mishandle them, right? They will underserve them. And I’m gonna say something gold, it’s your fault, right? If those people go to somebody else, it’s your fault because you didn’t work hard enough, right? Yes,
Damon Pistulka 11:52
yes. And like you said, it’s, it’s, it’s your fault because if, if, if it really is a good fit, and you didn’t communicate well enough exude the confidence that you needed to or show them the confidence that they could be confident and you’re the right solution, then it’s your deal.
Coach Dan Gordon 12:11
Yeah, it really is. And you know that that extends out to following up with people. You know, if you have this thing in your head that says, Well, if they really wanted to work with me, they would return my call. All right, you’re, you’re smiling, right? Because, you know, right? That’s not how it works, right? They do really want to work with you, but they got a lot of other stuff going on, yeah, right, so you got to keep after them. I mean, my sales cycle is up to six months, right? Look, I’m expensive, right? And so people don’t make snap judgments, you know, they don’t invest, you know, $60,000 in coaching, you know, on a whim. And so it takes a while. And so it’s a lot of following up. It’s a lot of following up. And there have been times where I’m like, Oh, God, am I bothering this person? Like, that’s none of my business. It’s not my business. If I’m bothering them, right, my business is helping them. If they say, Dan, stop bothering me, then it becomes my business. Yeah, I but if I’m trying to get into somebody else’s head, and guess what, they’re thinking, that’s a bad business to be in,
Damon Pistulka 13:18
yeah, yeah. Well, and follow up is something that is, is so underrated because it does take a lot of time, and especially with an expensive decision, I’m in that same boat. When you’re talking about expensive decisions, it is, it is something that takes a lot of time, and your follow up has to continue to build confidence all the way through the process, and it has to, and it really has to, allow them to make a comfortable decision at their timeline and and that’s, that’s the thing that I think in Yeah, following up once and then not hearing anything back is not cool. Following up a bunch of times and not hearing anything back. Well, then maybe, you know, if I’m in 10 or 12, I’m, I’m, I might be thinking about, all right, do something else. But the The wonderful thing is, if you get consistent with follow up, you will understand that it usually takes a handful of times because people are busy and we may think, well, they haven’t thought of, well, no, they have. We, there’s a million other things that can be taken their attention away. Every single time that that, that communication, you know, got to their phone, got to their email inbox, wherever it was, they could have been really busy doing something else. They could have, you know, said, Oh, I got to get to this hit red on it. It got lost in the void of, right,
Coach Dan Gordon 14:43
yeah. I mean, right, they might get an email from you, Damon, like, oh yeah, I’ve got to call him back. I’ve got to get in touch with Damon. Really want to work with him. And then, you know, something happens at home, right? The kid is the flu, right? And then, right? And so you keep Oh yeah, Damon, yeah. Got him so good, right? I can’t. Tell you the number of times somebody said, Oh, thank you for staying in touch, yeah. And it like, the first time I heard that like, oh, wow, that’s really interesting, because I thought I was being a pest,
Damon Pistulka 15:10
yeah, yeah, yeah. And like, Ron says following up is the first indicator of your
Coach Dan Gordon 15:15
integrity. Oh, I love that, Ron. Way to go. Yeah. Yeah. Great,
Damon Pistulka 15:20
Ron, thanks. So you said something a little bit ago. I want to go back to this now, because I think some people don’t, don’t really understand how much you said talking about self confidence, and in really, I’m going back to this again. The you talk about your day, the way you start your day, right, taking the time to work out, to get your mind right. You said, prayer, meditation, exercise, whatever it may be. I’m just curious, did you have that same morning routine when you had your marketing company? Or did that start after?
Coach Dan Gordon 16:05
It started after? I? I laughed because I, I really hated that company, you know, and I didn’t even know it. I did it because I had a vision of myself Damon, that was like, Dan, the executive, right? Yeah. And I was trying to force myself into a mold that just wasn’t me and and I thought that, like, once I got there, I’d be really happy, like, I’d be making money. I’d have, you know, the nice car and the office, like, all the things, and that would somehow give me this thing, right? And so, of course, I wasn’t doing meditation, because in meditation, I would be doing a lot of self reflection, this self reflection, I would be saying things like, I hate my life, right? I’d be praying, and God would be going get out of marketing right before I crash your company, right? But you know, so I wasn’t doing those things because I didn’t want to hear the truths, right. And so in doing that right and spending time with yourself, the truth start to come out, and you have to pay attention to them and plenty of time the truth that you don’t want to hear, but it’s truth that you need to hear. Yeah, and you know, I’m the way that my business has evolved is because of those very things that I do, right, some things that come up in meditation, in prayer while I’m working out, like, oh, wait a second, what if I did that? You know?
Damon Pistulka 17:48
Yeah, I asked that because in in my previous career, I didn’t either. And taking the time to get into a morning routine that allows you to really get yourself prepared for the day. I think a couple things happen. You know, meditation, just quiet, whatever you want to call it, you really can begin to address some of the things that you may not like about yourself, that you may help you get more confidence in yourself and move forward past that. And then two, one of the other things that I think is is just so sorely missed, is, is, if you don’t start your day right, if you wake up and I’m just hit the ground problems slamming me right in the face at the beginning, it’s, it’s like, it’s Like a little weed that just got blowed over in the surf, right? And if it and if you’re ready to go, and you’re worked out, and your mind is solid, and you’re I’m coming from a good place into the day now, I feel like I’m a rock, and that rock just sits there and the waves hit it and just crashes around you and and when the tide goes out, it gets sunny, right? And that’s such an important part. When we look at success, and we look at personal happiness, as you go through these ups and downs that we will and especially as we’re talking about today, selling authentically, you want to go, you’re going to go through the ups and downs. So starting that day the right way, getting that feeling the right way, and then you can, you can help other people feel that throughout the day,
Coach Dan Gordon 19:30
it is, it’s really well said. And look, I don’t always wake up in a great mood. I don’t know. Sometimes I wake up and the weight of the world is on me, and just like Doom lives inside of me and, and, no kidding, and this, and I’m talking very recent too, yeah, and it may happen tomorrow, right? Yeah, but here’s what I know. I know that my mind is my job right, and getting my mind right is my. Business. And so if I wake up in a bad spot, I got to get up out of bed, because the longer I lie there in bed, the more time the darker forces of my mind have to start to twist and turn things. And I’ll say this too, those thoughts, those negative thoughts, that we have in a strange way are designed to help us, because what my mind is trying to get me to do is to stay in bed. Right? If I can tell Dan a story that the world sucks and he’s never going to be successful, then he’s just going to stay in bed and nothing bad is going to happen to him, right? It’s like a it’s like a six year old’s version of the world, like, let me just stay in my bedroom, right? And it makes perfect sense from that perspective. But who’s the grown up right? I am, right. So I gotta get that grown up energy going, right? I gotta get that that CEO energy like they mind. I hear you. I get that there’s some scary stuff that we’re going to work on today, and what do we know that when we start working on it, it gets better, not worse?
Damon Pistulka 21:04
Yeah, yeah, I love that, and that’s and I think, as we’re talking today, when, when we’re talking about people that do have trouble, you know, being having that confidence in a group of people, or in in in a one on one setting, and really exuding the confidence about they have put the time in to be really good, and they do have the skills to really help somebody, whether it’s in an employee role, whether it’s in a consulting role, services role, whatever you’re doing, I think that that internal feeling that you talked about getting that right before you start going and I know I’ve heard a lot of sales people say I get myself ready before I get going. Get myself ready before I get going. Because it is, it’s like baseball, right? I’m going to strike out a lot before I hit and and we just have to get ready like that before we get going. I think
Coach Dan Gordon 21:58
that’s it’s really well said. And, you know, you just made me think of something that I want to share. I get really frustrated when people say that sales is a numbers game. And I’ll tell you why. Think of it this way, because you just mentioned baseball, if you decide to be a baseball player, and every time you go to you go up to to bat. Instead of bringing a bat, you bring a feather, right? And you say, You know what? Instead of swinging at the ball with a bat, I’m going to use this feather, and it is the numbers game. Eventually I will get on base, right? Well, look, if you’re playing the game wrong, if you’re not playing the game by the rules, you’re never going to win. So when, when, when people excuse their lack of of professionalism or ability in sales by calling it a numbers game. What they’re doing is they’re excusing themselves from investing in learning how to sell. All right, it’s only a numbers game once you know how to play the game, but don’t excuse yourself from learning how to play the game like calling it a numbers game.
Damon Pistulka 23:08
That’s a great point. I hadn’t heard that before, but it is true, because if you’re you’re not using the right approach and the right tools you you are not playing the game properly.
Coach Dan Gordon 23:19
Yeah, yeah. And there’s, there’s a lot of flips and twists that people do in their mind to avoid learning how to sell because it’s hard and it’s uncomfortable, and I get it right. This is, this is a difficult thing, but really selling about learning how to be influential, right? You can’t be great at what you do and you can’t achieve your goal of helping a lot of people unless you are influential, unless you know how to influence them, unless you know how when they’re about to make a poor choice, to influence them to make a better choice, right? And it takes doing things that you don’t want to do. It takes doing things that may feel a little pushy, right? They may feel a little direct, right. They may feel like you’re stepping over the line a little bit. But what do you think about it this way, if someone who you loved was suffering from the disease of alcoholism, and you knew to save their life, you had to get them into rehab, right? You sat down and talked with them, and they said, Well, you know, you gave me a lot to think about, you know, I’m really going to think about rehab, and I’ll get back to you sometime right now. There’s no way that person is going to get help. And if you really love that person, what you do is you go, Uh, no, that’s not where this conversation ends. This conversation ends with you getting in the car and me driving you to rehab. Hit me forever, but that’s what’s going to happen. Yeah, right. That’s love, that’s care, that’s being influential. Now, if you’re selling websites or printing or coaching or whatever you’re selling, no one’s going to die if, if, if they don’t buy in but the principle. Was there, yeah, if you really care about that person, you’re willing to lean in and get serious and push a little bit. And there’s bad pushy, but there’s a good pushy, right? There’s the good pushy is, hey, I don’t want to look I know you don’t want to do this right now, but you know, I I’m unwilling to just sort of let go, right? I’m unwilling to agree with the fact that you should wait. You may you may not buy it from me, but I’m not going to agree with you on something that I know isn’t true.
Damon Pistulka 25:31
Yeah, yeah. Well, and you bring up a great point, because one of the things that I think a lot of people that are trying to sell don’t realize is their biggest competitor oftentimes, is indecision. Yeah, I love that, because it is. It really is like, what’s and it is. It does take enough of a nudge to move out of the comfort zone, because, because, on the other hand, of that too. Making the decision to do something is is moving into the unknown, and it’s a little bit uncomfortable. They’re going to spend some money, they’re going to do have to do some things like you said, they may not like to do, but if you can, can show the the appropriate benefits or reasons that they should be able to do it, and then continue to to reiterate that to the point that they go, you know, you’re right. I really shouldn’t do the do the rehab thing. I it’s, it’s, I’ve been putting it off way too long. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, and, and you continue to help them until they get there. That’s, that’s good influence. It
Coach Dan Gordon 26:42
is, right, right? It’s good pushy, right? Yeah, right. It is. It is staying focused on what is best for the other person. And it’s really easy to say, well, they know what’s best for for them. Oftentimes they don’t, right? They don’t know what’s best for them because you’re an expert at what you do. They are not, you know, once they’re happily engaged with their product or service, how their life will, will will be better. They don’t right. They only know life from their side, right? They don’t know life from your side, right? People don’t know what it’s like to coach with me until they coach with me. Right? To be actively involved in a coaching relationship with me, it’s a no bullshit experience, right? Yeah, and they love it, right? But they don’t know how much they love it until they do it. So I have to give them an experience of it, and then be very clear about if this is something that you want in your life, if this is if you want to achieve these things, before you leave this earth, I will help you do that. I don’t know who else will I don’t know who else will be committed to you at the level that I am, because I only know my coaching. Yes, I know how committed I am, right? These are things that I talk about, right, and they don’t sound pushy or full of myself. They just, they sound like, Okay, this guy seems to nobody’s talking about it.
Damon Pistulka 28:09
Yes, yeah, I do awesome. Well, as you’re as you’re helping people get through this, break through this, get more and more comfortable with selling, with being an influential person and really helping the the people they’re trying to to help sell, sell to whatever I’m trying to say here, what are some of the most common things that people say to you? So someone’s sitting here today and they’re thinking about Yeah, but yeah, but yeah, but, yeah, those Yeah, but that you get,
Coach Dan Gordon 28:43
oh, I can’t afford it. You know, that’s really easy one, okay, you know? And anytime you’re selling a product or service that is has a high dollar value, you’re going to hear, I can’t afford it. And here’s the thing with I can’t afford it. And you touched on this. Damon, I really appreciate it. It’s fear, because, let’s face it, if they, God forbid, they needed a kidney, they’d afford it, right? Nobody says, you know, I’d really like to have that kidney to save my life. It’s just not in the cards right now, right? I got some other expenses. Okay? So it’s, it’s a matter of making the money make sense, right, and going back to that influence of helping them recognize that it is that the time is now and to achieve the things that they want. This is the path, right? And so one of the things that I do, I’ll say it this way, a big mistake that a lot of sales people make, is somebody says, I can’t afford it. They start talking about features and benefits. Well, look, you want this, you want this. You say this. To say that. But something that you really have to understand is that when somebody says I can’t afford it, what they’re saying is, I’m scared, yes. And so if you start launching in with something else without acknowledging what they’re experiencing, you’re just telling them that they’re wrong, and even if they are wrong. I mean, Damon, can you remember the last time somebody proved you wrong and you felt good about it? Like, oh, thank you for proving me wrong. I really appreciate this feeling of being, you know, a moron. My words, please, not yours, but Right? We don’t feel good when somebody proves us wrong. So the first thing that you want to do is go to where they are, acknowledge it, right? So somebody says, I can’t afford it. I go, man, I know that feeling, you know when I went to buy my Tesla, right? I mean, it’s really expensive car. And I took a look at that, and I’m like, Well, I can’t afford that. And then I realized something. What I realized is that car had everything that we wanted, that Rosalyn and I wanted, right? It’s a car that drove itself, right? We love traveling, we hate driving, right? And fortunately, we live in a world and a time where a car can drive itself, but that’s the cost, right? That was the cost of getting what I wanted. So I had a choice. I either turn away from what I want and not get it, or I move in and I get it. And here’s what I realized I was really afraid of. What I was afraid of was buying the car and not being able to pay the car payments, and someone driving my car away. And that feeling like, that feeling of that sick feeling of, like, God, I failed, right? And so I get that there’s a lot of feelings that you’re having about this cost, and I don’t think it’s just the money. So can we talk about what these feelings are? Yeah? So that’s how I get there. I get there by going where they are, by talking about the feeling, the fears, talking about my own experience with the fears of paying a lot of money. And then, even if it ends up being a No, at least we’re having an honest conversation. I met them where they are. I’m talking about the things that they’re really struggling with and I’m helping them resolve it,
Damon Pistulka 32:23
yeah? Because that’s the mission well, and it’s a, it’s, it’s a way to help them, right? Even if so, if you’re in that situation, and you take that time that you’re, you’re talking to someone about your product, service, whatever it is, and they say, Oh, I can’t afford it. And you meet them there, and you talk about that, and you talk about, you know, how similar situations, how this is. This is a big decision, understand that, and then, and then move forward with, you know, but on the other side of this, there are, there are, what would happen if, if our work together produce these results. Yes, right? Then, how would we feel? Then how would we feel? Understand, there’s risk going into everything we do, but there’s also reward with that risk. And this is, this is where it could go if it went relatively well, if it went wonderfully well, if it, you know, went out of this world there. There’s all kinds of ways to look at it that way. But way, because our as you talked about a long time ago, our mind is trying to protect us all the time. So it goes to the negative. To start out, I can’t afford it. And you can say I understand that this is a lot of money. Yeah, no doubt, lot of money. And like you said, with your Tesla or yeah, there are many other times that we do this in our lives and in business, but then again, there are times when we look at things and we we go back, and we spent an awful lot of money on that Tesla now, but it really is an experience in a way that we can travel and do it the way we want and do the things that we want with it because of that, and my fears were unfounded, and that we’re on the other side of that. We’re in the positive benefits part of this. I
Coach Dan Gordon 34:17
think I’m making, yeah, I’m making more money after I bought that car, than than it was before. Like, the car payments don’t even, I don’t even think about them anymore, right? Yeah, and I love having that vehicle. It’s an amazing piece of technology. Yeah, we do a lot of driving, and especially in LA it’s a crappy place to drive, right? So just sitting there, the car does the driving? Rosalind, I having great conversations. We look up, oh, we’re here, right? That never would have happened if I hadn’t taken the risk. Yes. So these are the things I talk about, right? These are the things like, and, you know, for you who are listening, share personal experiences like, that’s, you know. Authenticity. Authenticity is about sharing hearts. It’s not about trying to drag someone over to your kind of thinking or to where you know your product or service. It’s like, man, we’re the same, you know, we have the same fears, the same feelings, the same concerns. You know, in this one area, I got it, like, I can help you, right? Yeah. And if you, if you take it from that perspective, kind of, you know, you’re putting your arm around them, like, Man, I get you. I get it. I’ve been right where you are, and I don’t want you to miss out on something that you want because of, you know, 4 million years of, you know, evolution, yeah, that tells your brain don’t do new things. It’s dangerous, right? It’s why human beings have lasted on the planet this long. We are risk averse.
Damon Pistulka 35:56
Yes, yes. So as you as you’re going through this with people, and you’re starting to, you’re down the coaching lane with them, and they’re starting to get more comfortable. What are some of the things that they talk about?
Coach Dan Gordon 36:13
I love getting to the point where people talk about their greatest fears, right? Their greatest concerns, and everything. Damon, from the moment the sale begins to you get to really know someone everything is headed towards. I just want the people I love to be happy, right? That’s what everybody wants. You know is why people go on vacations or go to a comedy club or buy. It always comes down to, I just want the people I love to be happy, right? And so when I’m working with someone, you know, and it’s really easy for me to start with sales, that’s a great place to start. It’s also a way that I can get them paid back, which is really important to Yes, yeah, right. I paid over $100,000 in crappy coaching, right? Paying out money with a lot of promises and people that, right? So I started working. When I started really doing this, I said, look, the first thing we’re going to do, and it’s on my agreement, the first thing we’re going to do is, is work to get you paid back. Yeah, because I’m a business coach, if I’m not making you money, I’m a fraud, and I refuse to be a fraud, right? Yeah. So we start with that. We start with looking at selling. And it’s a cool thing, because selling is the ultimate personal development experience, like anything that you struggle in with business life or relationship shows up in a sales interaction. So as we start to work in sales, people’s doubts and fears come up, right? And then, oh, good, now I can really start working on them personally, right? I can really start to unwind the trauma that they’re living under that’s preventing them from doing or saying certain things to help them, right? We can talk about what they’ve been through in life, right, the hurt, the pain. Just started working with someone who lost their spouse right to cancer, right? So we’re having some very intense conversations about navigating business with that trauma. And these are the things as a salesperson you really do want to get to. I mean, you can’t open with that, right? You can’t open with, Oh, tell me how you’ve been hurt in life. But when you start doing the things I’m talking about, like, Hey, I get it, right? It’s really scary to buy something new, right? It, it opens a space for someone to share very personal things. And so in my coaching, it is a it’s not just about goals and accountability and crap like that. I mean, you get that stuff online. You don’t need me for for that. What you need me for is to help unwind the things that you’re struggling with. Right to take you on a journey. And I’ll tell you something. Damon, I’ve I put myself in really hellacious, physical and emotional spaces because I needed to learn how to help someone through the most difficult things that they’ve done. I mean, I’m talking about going skydiving and boxing and psilocybin trips like I mean I’ve done, I’ve kicked the door down of a lot of really scary shit, right? Because I need to know how to do this, right? I need to know how to help navigate people through difficulty in order for them to achieve the things that they want out of life and to secure helping, help them secure goodness for the people that they love.
Speaker 1 39:43
Well, that’s awesome. So what
Damon Pistulka 39:50
if you had to pick one thing, what do you love the most about what you do? You
Coach Dan Gordon 39:59
know most it. I ask people that question a lot, and people tend to say, I like helping people and like I don’t. I reject that answer, right? Everybody likes helping people. There’s a point where someone either goes for it or they don’t. And and I think you know that that moment, Damon, I’m sure you’ve had those people with yourself and with other people, and you know, one of the GO FOR IT moments is just to hire me, right? That’s the first go for it. That’s the Yeah, that’s the easy one. Really, I don’t tell people that, you know, like, Oh, this is the easiest part spending the money. It’s when they get to a point of, okay, I’m going to have to start saying and doing things that I’ve never wanted to say and do, because whatever trauma that’s inside of me, whatever hold backs are, whatever things that were put in me, it said, don’t go there, right? I’m going to have to do those things to ultimately achieve the things that I want in in life, business and relationships, right, to get true fulfillment in this life journey. You know now we’re at the final door and Damon putting my arm around someone and guiding them through that door, that’s what I love doing, awesome. Because when we get there and when they do that, on the other side of that door is freedom, a shitload of money, but also freedom. Yeah, they go together, right? Yeah, they do. They do. Because, right? Because when you stop worry isn’t the right word. When you stop traumatizing yourself over this thing, whatever it is that you’ve kind of approached the door but then moved away from when you when, when you move through that. And it’s tough moving through it, but when you finally do. It does heal trauma. It does because what it says to your internal systems is, I’m safe. I don’t have to use the trauma anymore to protect me, because I’m not that person anymore, right? I’m not a six year old getting hurt or beaten, right? I’m a grown person now, right? And it heals that psyche, that that psychosis that has been put in place to protect you, that you don’t need anymore. And it is an awesome feeling. Yes, it is. It is my favorite thing.
Damon Pistulka 42:33
Awesome. That’s great. That’s great. And I can hear the passion in your voice. Yeah, it’s, well, I mean, it’s like, really, if you’re, I mean, there’s, as you said, with your marketing firm, you know, you did that, but that’s not where your heart was. You knew it, but you kept on because you and it’s, it’s good when you, when you can have that feeling about what you’re doing and how you’re helping people, because that allows you to help them more fully. And that’s, that’s a, really, a key difference, I think, between someone that’s just going through motions or someone that really changes lives. I see it.
Coach Dan Gordon 43:10
I see it a lot. I see so many people dissatisfied with their lives and certain that their lives are locked and cannot be changed and it is never true. If you believe it’s true, I want you to put your finger on your wrist, and if you have a pulse, if you can feel that, then you still have time. Yes, and by the way, I would like to to help your audience, if you’re open to it, I’d like to give away a book. I’d like to give away my book. All right, this book is a book that I wrote based on somebody, that somebody said to me once I was talking about sales, and he said, Oh, selling is bullshit. And like, Oh, that’s a title of my next book. Yeah. And so I wrote the book selling is bullshit specifically for people who love what they do, who are great at what they do, but really don’t like selling. And so you can go on Amazon and buy it, but I’d rather give it away for free. So to get that book, just text the letters B S, B S, as in bullshit. Text, B S to this number 21340983662134098366,
Coach Dan Gordon 44:19
and text the letters BS, text, Bs to 213-409-8366, and download my book selling is bullshit for free, and everything that I’ve shared with you and more is in that book.
Speaker 1 44:33
That’s awesome. That’s awesome.
Damon Pistulka 44:36
Well, Dan, I just want to thank you for stopping by today with us and and really, just really laying it out there with some you know, your story, how you’re helping people be more authentic and confident in in themselves so they can, then, you know, achieve the success that they’re looking for in their sales and in their lives. So. So if people want to get a hold of you, what is the best way to reach you? Dan,
Coach Dan Gordon 45:05
well, first of all, just download that book. 213-409-8366, and text BS and say, hey, we’d love to chat, right? And I will chat with you. Oh, you know, the other thing you can do is you can text help, the word help, H, E, l, p, to that same number, 213-409-8366, and book a call with me. There’s two things I will guarantee you in that call. One, you will walk away with at least $10,000 worth of advice. And two, you will not be a client, because I will not ask you to be a client. Those calls are not to close someone, right? That’s not what this is about, right? Rarely do people take me up on that. They’re always afraid I’m going to try to to sell them on. Look, I’m very particular about who I take as clients of Don’t, don’t worry, it takes a bit of a you have to climb a bit of a hill before I will. I will take you on. The other thing is, just do a search for Coach Dan Gordon. Coach Dan Gordon, just do a Google search. I’m everywhere. Go on LinkedIn. Coach Dan Gordon, you know, Facebook, Instagram, and you know what? Here’s the thing I really like, jump on jump on LinkedIn. Do a search for Coach Dan Gordon, find me. Send send me a DM, okay, tell me. Tell me something that you got out of this, right? I only know the world from my eyes out, right? I don’t know the world from your experience of me, and I’m really curious what that experience is like. Just tell me one thing that you got out of this. I would love to hear that awesome,
Damon Pistulka 46:37
awesome. Well, coach, Dan, thanks so much for being here today. You know, we’re talking about selling authentically, building tests and winning clients, and you just gave us a masterclass, my friend. Thank you so
Coach Dan Gordon 46:55
much. Well, thank you, Damon, thank you for what you do. I love the way that you serve brother. This has been a delight.
Damon Pistulka 47:01
I’m just just happy I can. I want to say, Hey Ron. Thank you so much for dropping the comments in there today. And I saw we had a bunch of other people that were listening today. Thank you so much for being out there. And if you got into this late, you want to go back to the beginning. Coach, Dan started right off with some great things about, you know, how he got started, some of the things that he went through to get started, to really feel, feel his story and how he is helping people today. Thanks everyone for being here today. Dan, hang out for a minute. We’ll finish up offline. Go out and be someone’s inspiration. Just have a great rest of your day and rest your week. Thanks everyone for being here.
Speaker 1 47:43
Bye, bye.
