Confessions Beyond the Food

Successful Sales Strategies - Top 10 Ways to Kick Off Your New Year

• Nancy Ridlen, W3 Sales

Share episode

Celebrating 10 years of W3 Sales provides a platform for reflection, growth, and valuable lessons learned. Nancy delves into the importance of learning from mistakes, nurturing team culture, adapting to market challenges, and embracing failure as part of the journey.

• Reflecting on the past as a critical step for growth 
• Importance of learning from mistakes to avoid the insanity cycle 
• People-centered approach as the company's DNA 
• Establishing and maintaining a strong company culture 
• Importance of teamwork and building friendships in the workplace 
• Building a solid infrastructure to support clients 
• Navigating the complexities of the marketplace and technology 
• Embracing new ideas while ensuring the right timing 
• Learning to embrace failure as part of the growth journey 
• Importance of mentorship and positive relationships 

Please like, comment, and subscribe. Stay tuned for more of this special edition Top 10 series.

Speaker 1:

Welcome to Confessions Beyond the Food. I'm your host, nancy Redland. Let's dig in and get inspired. Hi, welcome back to Confessions Beyond the Food. My name is Nancy and I'm with W3 Sales.

Speaker 1:

So we started W3 Sales 10 years ago and this month, in January, marks our 10th birthday. So we're super excited that we're still here after 10 years and we've built it from the ground up. Everything has been organic growth and it's just really cool to celebrate 10 years of creating my ultimate dream company and, while it's been filled with lots of bumps and bruises and getting knocked down, but it's also been full of many triumphs and awesome people that I've met along the way and people that I've learned from, and especially our team. Our team is super, very, very special people, group of people who care about what we do, and I'm just really, really honored to be sitting here today at 10 years. So, and I love birthdays If you're my friend, you know I love. I love birthdays because it's just a really great time to be around people and reflect on you know the past year and you know what went great and all that sort of thing, and it really ties in with the new year, with the new year. So, with us being 10, we're going to be doing 10 podcasts and about just you know, our journey throughout the year, so we will sprinkle these in throughout the year and it'll always be around about the number 10. So I don't know about you, but I love new beginnings.

Speaker 1:

I think new beginnings are great because it's a great time to kind of refresh and start over. And that's what I think a lot of people think about in the new year is you know what is this next? You know you get to dream a little bit about what you want, what you expect for things to happen. And, of course, you know you get to dream a little bit about what you want, what you expect for things to happen. And, of course, you never know what's going to go down in the next year. Right, I used to say this is our year, you know, ever since 2020. And it has not been our year.

Speaker 1:

You know as what I planned, but when I look back, it was our year and it's important to look back, and that's why number one is it's really important to look back and see you know what worked and you know what has worked and what did we fail at and what are obstacles that keep us from achieving our goals. The number two thing we look at is I like to learn from our mistakes. So this is probably the most important thing, because if you keep doing, if you don't address the mistake, if you're not able to step back, look at honestly, very honest, without shaming, and but just, you know your failures and, um, where you know you need to grow, you know that's when. That's when breakthroughs come, come about. Uh, we often talk about if we continue repeating mistakes or not changing. You're just on the insanity cycle, and the insanity cycle is doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results, and that is not going to happen. And so it's important to you know, really pinpoint. You know, where was this mistake, where was the miss, what can we do differently? And you might not know the answer, and that's okay. That's when you ask people around you, your teammates, your you know other people in the industry that you look up to, other businesses like yourself, people outside of your industry. So I think this is really important and to just get really good and honest feedback as well, I like to ask you know, how are we doing with our clients? What are we doing well? What do we need to do better and I think, with these two things is looking back and learning from our mistakes and you can really set yourself up, you know, with a solid foundation.

Speaker 1:

The third thing that we like to look at is obviously the most important thing is our people. So Our people make the DNA of W3 sales and they are very important to me. Retaining them is very important to me. So we're a little bit different, because we typically bring people outside the industry into W3, into the food service industry, w3, into the food service industry, because right now there's not a lot of people, that not a lot of new blood coming in, and it's harder Believe me, I know, I realize why. It's definitely the road less traveled, because they get in, they may not like it, it may not be what they thought it was going to be, and they get out.

Speaker 1:

So because our job is pretty tough and our days go by really, really fast and it can be a grind and it's not like the super glamorous job that everybody has and you're a professional schlepper and so it's really checking in with our people and making sure they're okay, you know, and asking them how's it going? Do you enjoy coming to work? Is this a place where you can grow, that you feel like you have opportunities. It's really challenging in a small company versus a large corporation because, you know, in a large corporation you can see, okay, I'm going to start off as inside sales and then I'm going to go up to sales, and then I'm going to go to be a sales manager and then all the way up to CEO and you can really see that progression. But with smaller companies, just because we're small doesn't mean that you don't have an opportunity to grow.

Speaker 1:

We really like to figure out what people are good at, obviously, and where their strengths lie and what they love to do and outside of sales, like are they artistic, do they do well with technology and all those things? And as far as management goes, you know how do they relate to others. We use a system called Enneagram and if you don't know about it, I definitely recommend you check it out, and they do have Enneagrams for businesses. But this really goes into a crazy deep dive of who you are in terms of traits, characteristics, blind spots, and that's been something that has really helped me, as a leader of the business, understand my people and how they respond to things, how they engage with people, and it also helps our employees in that they can see hey, this is where I need to grow, this is what I'm doing great at, so it really gives them a breeding ground for growth, and so looking back at our people is super important. Going right along with that is our culture.

Speaker 1:

So we want, from the inside out, we want to be walking the walk and talking the talk, and what I mean by that is that we have a list of 12 core values that we have established within our company, and throughout the year, we do activities to remind everybody about those core values, and, while you may not have seen that, if you check out W3 Sales, our social and our website, we don't really say those things. We want to show those things, we want to be those things, and so you really have to start from the inside and work your way out. It's pretty hard to fake these values when you're face-to-face with people, and as far as having a reputation people when you know and as far as having a reputation On the flip side is that social can make everyone look amazing, and so and and I mean I love a good filter, I'm not going to lie and we are all about being splashed all over social media, but important thing is that we want to reflect what we're showing from the outside. So the outside has to match the inside and it really does start with the inside and leadership making sure that I am living up to the goals that we have set and the standards, the characteristics leading with a servant heart and working as a team. So I have to follow. I am actually probably more accountable to the core values just because I'm asking people to do that and they want to see that, that I'm gonna step up as well. And we're not all perfect, and I know that it's gonna shock you that I'm not perfect, just kidding, I'm very imperfect and I think it's important, if you have a manager that you're struggling with is to realize that they're not perfect and every there's no perfect scenario. We are all human but we could. These can be opportunities to you know, if you do have a manager, to talk to them, like about things you're working on and developing and and being open to having a better working relationship with them. So it's a really good time to do a check, not only if you're an owner, but if you're an employee, and to figure out, like, hey, what are the core values of my company and what can I do to live those out? And maybe the core values don't align with what, you know, your personal values are, and so that would be a really good gut check too.

Speaker 1:

Another thing that we and culture, and culture again is a really big deal for us is you know, w3 is very adaptable. You know, w3 is very adaptable. We're a young company. We've had to be really quick on our feet and we have to be able to. You know, we get pulled in lots of different ways, and so, you know, being adaptable is awesome, but you have to balance that with being consistent, so that every time that we sit down and have a meeting, it's not going to be like, okay, stop everything, we're doing, we're scratching everything, we're going to try this other thing, and or just doing. You know, fire drills constantly, and this is easy, much easier said than done. It's something we've always wanted to be good at, but we've had to fine tune that each year.

Speaker 1:

Another thing is just having a team culture. So team is very important to me. Within our organization, we work together, because if we work together we can accomplish much bigger things than working individually, and that's you know, mind share like, hey, what are you doing that works? What are you you know? What are you struggling with? You know having you know that bond, those friendships. I recently saw a post that was like don't get too personal with your fellow coworkers, and I have a problem with that because I mean, obviously you need to make sure it's a safe place to be a friend with that person. However, I think it's really important to establish friendships. We work most of our days I don't know the exact percentage, but we work a lot of our days, more than I'm with my family. So I definitely want to work with people that I enjoy working with. So, establishing that relationship, that friendship outside and then just with being in outside sales, it can be really tough and it's really nice to go back to a team that you feel supported and that you feel that they're going to cheerlead you through whatever struggle you're going through.

Speaker 1:

So the fifth thing that we really look at is our infrastructure and our big thing is we, as we grow, we want to be able to support our client base. We have people spread throughout Texas and Oklahoma and my vision, my promise to my factories, is I want you to have the same experience as we grow, as you did when we first took on your on your line, and that is um, and that's something that's been challenging, because sometimes people say, oh yeah, we'll hire these three people down the road, don't worry about it. We want to make sure that we have the right infrastructure, the right coverage, the right resources so that this factory can grow, because you're a team and they're taking, you know, when you work with a client, whether it be somebody you know who's using your services, they're trusting you, you know with their business and because there's lots of other options out there, and so our job as salespeople is to make sure that they get the experience that we sold them on. The sixth thing that we kind of look at is the marketplace, and I know it's really really difficult to predict the marketplace right now. There's just every year there seems to be some crazy challenge and that you know upcoming.

Speaker 1:

This year we're looking at potential tariffs and many other things, and I think this is really important for you to not just make a broad generalization, especially if you cover multiple states or multiple cities, because every city is different, every customer is different, they all have their own unique challenges and so to really go through those customers and figure out like, hey, what are they going to face, like what is it to walk in their shoes and how can we come up with solutions to help technology? So the real fun thing lately is AI and so, whether you agree with it or not agree with it, you're not on board, you don't want to figure out. I recommend checking into it because it's not going to go away and I think it's really important. You may not, you know, even if it's just picking off a little piece of that technology and implementing it to make it work for you. And that's what we're planning on doing this year.

Speaker 1:

And then my favorite part about planning for the year is number eight is what do we want to try this year? What are our new ideas? And oh my gosh, if you were to sit in one of our think tanks or leadership meetings or just be in my head for a minute, I mean, the ideas are just, they're always coming, and that's a really fun thing is to think about what if we did this, what if we did that? The challenge is number nine, once you figure out those ideas, is evaluating. Does it make sense?

Speaker 1:

Is this the right time to adopt this. It may be an incredible idea, but the timing of it is probably not one that's going to work at this time. And how do you figure that out? So several mentors that I've reached out over the past couple of years and just as we've grown and how to grow our infrastructure with that, every single one of them have said make sure you have the time available to do it, the resources, the talent, the money. So if you have those things, then that would be a good time to adopt it. If you don't, it's probably not a good idea. That doesn't mean that you won't be able to never do it, but you have to do first things first and really prioritize what's important.

Speaker 1:

Then the last thing number 10, I have to say, is probably especially with it being our 10th birthday is just, I have to say, is probably especially with it being our 10th birthday is just not being afraid to fail. And this is hard because I hate failing. Failure is never an option, but unfortunately that's just part of life is that we're going to fail. And I'm going to be honest, there's been days where I'm just like I quit, I can't do this anymore and I feel not to be honest, there's been days where I'm just like I quit, I can't do this anymore and I feel not to the ground but I just start going. I don't. I haven't lately been putting as much pressure to just jump up and be like you know, because that's not sometimes I can't do it, do it and so just crawling is all I can do. And then I can, you know, stand up, you know, and then start walking, and then I can, you know, get back into the run. But I think that during our failures, really good things can come out of that. Again, same thing going back through this list of looking through all these steps.

Speaker 1:

But the most important thing, I think, is every day is a new day and we're not perfect and we have to remember that we are not our worst moments. I don't make you know great decisions all the time. I know another shocking revelation, but no, just kidding. But I make you know we all make mistakes. We all. We all could have done things you know a little bit better and you don't want to be stuck in a shame game and the thing is, is you just want to keep moving forward? They have a saying in my church and I just love it. It's okay to not be okay, but just don't stay there. And so I have found myself in these, like I'm on the ground. I don't want to do this anymore. I just want to quit and I just keep taking little steps and then eventually you can look back and see wow, look at this hill that I've climbed out of this deep, dark crevice and it's been really helpful.

Speaker 1:

And I think in these situations too, it's really really important to have positive people around you, people that will support you, people that push you. I have a mentor. I have a personal mentor. I have mentors within the industry, but I have a personal mentor and she is one of the scariest ladies I've ever met and she's really really nice. However, she can look at me and she can just tell, she can pull out what I'm really thinking and she will call me out and I can't sell my way out of it because she can just really read me and I pray for a mentor for years like that and I'm so thankful to have her in my life and to be able to run things by and make sure it makes sense. You know as far as my, you know what my purpose here on life is and what I want to do with the company. You know, in the 10 years it's. In the beginning I thought we're going to make so much money, and if you're wanting to make billions of dollars, this is not the job to do. However, it is a very rewarding every you know moving forward, because if I focus on my people and I focus on our culture, I we give. You know we were always looking to improve the industry. You know, that's what, that's the legacy I want to leave behind. So so, yeah, so this year we're just going to be taking a look at, you know 10 things. You know that we've learned along the way Funny times, crazy times, you know all the things around 10. So I'm really excited about this year.

Speaker 1:

My confession is that I don't know about you, but I am not a resolution person. I stink at diets, and so I'm more about just adjusting some of the behaviors and um, but I'm not giving up chocolate. I'm not giving up wine. Um, dry January I did. However, I found those new mocktails that can make you relax, you know. So I might put those in, but so that's another thing is just don't, don't get down. You know, I mean with, and resolutions might work for you, and that's great. But I like to focus more on a word, a behavior that I want to work on, and not just beating myself up when I don't achieve that, you know every day, of every single second, because it's just not possible.

Speaker 1:

But I hope in all this you are able to find some encouragement, some things to maybe think about for your upcoming year. Whether you're a salesperson and you have a big number to chink away, to chisel away I don't know what the word would be or that you are a sales manager and you have people that you want to train and grow, and just to look at all of these factors, and then, of course, as a business owner, there's nothing more important is to have a really good, solid plan, a good understanding of where your Achilles heel is and what you guys' strength is and also what's going to bring your clients value. So, in all that, I wish you guys a happy new year, happy planning, and I'll see you soon. For more inspiration, follow our social media at W3Sales. Please like, comment and subscribe. You know all the things we would love to connect with you.