Guest: Tony Stillinger Guest Bio: I have been in the seal and gasket business for 37 years. I started off in production and quality, moving into sales in 1997. I quickly learned that to be successful in a sales role you needed to be self-motivated, competitive, reliable, and a great listener (2 ears > 1 mouth). I have had the privilege of working for a multi-billion-dollar giant in the industry to a small distributorship. I have found that sales leadership gives me great satisfaction. I love coaching and talking sales strategy with my team. I get more enjoyment from their success than my own. I guess you could say I view my success is tied to their success. My current position with ESP has been very satisfying because I was tasked with finding acquisitions, building a sales team, and guiding the team toward acquiring new business. I told one of my direct reports this morning that I don't see retirement in my future because I love what I do and the company I work for. Key Points: Background, Journey to Sales, and Path to Engineer Seal Products: · Tony started in production and quality at Southern Rubber in Greensboro, NC, with a family connection and gained valuable product knowledge. · Attended college at night while working, with the goal of transitioning into sales; found success despite being an introvert by focusing on listening to customers and solving their problems. · Moved to Engineer Seal Products after helping them explore acquisitions in the Southeast; later, ESP acquired Southern Rubber, Tony's former employer. Cold Calling and Prospecting: · Cold calling is a primary strategy for new business acquisition, particularly in the Southeast region, where ESP had limited presence before the speaker joined. · Post-COVID hybrid work schedules have made cold calling more challenging, but it has still led to valuable conversations and new accounts. · Tony views cold calling as less common today, which gives their team an advantage in reaching decision-makers. Sales Team Development and Coaching: · Building a sales team from scratch required careful coaching and mentoring, particularly in managing the frustration of cold calling. · The sales process can be slow and requires persistence. Tony compares sales to a baseball player, where even a 30-40% success rate is considered good. · Coaching involves encouraging perseverance, trying different strategies, and using personal stories to motivate the team. Hiring and Training Salespeople: · When hiring, Tony looks for candidates with a "hunter mentality" and technical knowledge of the industry, understanding that the sales cycle is long-term. · The interview process involves assessing candidates' daily routines, sales plans, and role-playing cold calls. · Tony values networking to find potential candidates and looks for people willing to hunt for new business rather than manage existing accounts. Mistakes in Hiring: · Tony shared a past hiring mistake involving a candidate with the right skills but who had personal issues that impacted their work. · The lesson learned was to inquire more about personal hobbies and interests during the hiring process, which may reveal potential red flags. Overall Philosophy: · Tony emphasizes the importance of caring for employees and helping them succeed, which adds to the satisfaction of leadership. · Even though firing employees can be painful, it is sometimes necessary for the benefit of the company. · Tony’s competitive nature and enjoyment of challenges drive their success in building teams and acquiring new business. Guest Links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonystillingermbasalesgrowth/ About Salesology®: Conversations with Sales Leaders Download your free gift, The Salesology® Vault. The vault is packed full of free gifts from sales leaders, sales experts, marketing gurus and revenue generation experts. Download your free gift, 81 Tools to Grow Your Sales & Your Business Faster, More Easily & More Profitably. Save hours of work tracking down the right prospecting and sales resources and/or digital tools that every business owner and salesperson needs. If you are a business owner or sales manager with an underperforming sales team, let’s talk. Click here to schedule a time. Please, subscribe to Salesology®: Conversations with Sales Leaders so that you don't miss a single episode, and while you're at it, won't you take a moment to write a short review and rate our show? It would be greatly appreciated! To learn more about our previous guests, listen to past episodes, and get to know your host, go to https://podcast.gosalesology.com/ and connect on LinkedIn and follow us on Facebook and Instagram and check out our website at https://gosalesology.com/.
