Marketing Re-Imagined: Stacey Hall Of Success with Stacey Hall On How We Can Re-Imagine The Marketing Industry To Make It More Authentic, Sustainable, And Promote More Satisfaction

An Interview With Drew Gerbe

Stop teaching salespeople to expect objections and teach them instead how to identify their ideal audience who is likely to want the solutions they are selling.

From an objective standpoint, we are living in an unprecedented era of abundance. Yet so many of us are feeling unsatisfied. Why are we seemingly so insatiable? Do you feel that marketing has led to people feeling unsatisfied and not having enough in life? If so, what actions can marketers take to create a world where people feel that they have enough, and they are enough? Can we re-imagine what marketing looks like and how it makes people feel?

In this interview series, we are talking to experts in marketing and branding to discuss how we might re-imagine marketing to make it more authentic, sustainable, and promote more satisfaction. As a part of this series, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Stacey Hall.

Stacey Hall, Founder of ‘Success with Stacey Hall’, has taken 5 books to #1 best-seller status in multiple countries. She is known for her myth-busting social media marketing training program, “Go for YES,” which has helped thousands of people attract more sales, satisfaction, and success. Her mission is to help salespeople attract and connect with their ideal audience, solve their audience’s problems, and leave a legacy that lives on long after they are gone.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to know how you got from “there to here.” Inspire us with your backstory!

My dad was in sales all his life, and I had a front-row seat to watch how the stress took a toll on him. I watched him use the old-school tactics most sales trainers still teach today. With this approach, people are known as targets, which bothered my father.

He enjoyed people. He enjoyed getting to know them. He was a good listener, always had a kind word, and did his best to find a solution to their problems. He did not enjoy using the warlike tactics he was told to use. I know this because I grew up with the audio programs of these trainers playing in my home and when I was driving in the car with my dad.

He listened constantly and intently and attempted to do what the trainers and his sales manager told him to do. At the end of each day of making calls, this selling style did not sit well with him.

The aggressive, win-at-all-costs approach was not in alignment with his nature. It has never been with me either.

That is why my goal in my career is to make sales in a way that feels good to both me and my prospects from the start

What lessons would you share with yourself if you had the opportunity to meet your younger self?

I would constantly remind myself to make choices in every area of my life based on staying in alignment with my core values and my gifts, talents, and strengths instead of listening to what other people say is the way to be successful.

None of us are able to experience success without support along the way. Is there a particular person for whom you are grateful for that support to grow you from “there to here?” Can you share that story and why you are grateful for him or her?

Each time I made an advance in my career, it is because there were many people in my life who encouraged and inspired me to know that there was something even better or more important to achieve or attain. To single out any one of them would be to dishonor the rest. So, I will again give credit to my father and the sacrifices he chose to make because by watching him make those sacrifices, I chose to find a different way.

And I always give credit to God for the soul-deep guidance to keep fulfilling my Purpose.

What day-to-day structures do you have in place for you to experience a fulfilled life?

I have a set of 9 practices I call my YES Steps, which guide my activities each day and support me in staying motivated each day.

Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think it might help people?

My full focus is on attracting corporations that choose to adopt the Alignment Marketing Formula to train their salespeople on how to make more sales, have more satisfaction, and achieve more success by staying in alignment with their core values and their ideal audience.

Ok, thank you for sharing your inspired life. Now let’s discuss marketing. To begin, can you share with our readers a bit about why you are an authority on marketing?

The criteria that most people use to identify someone as an authority is experience and results. I have won awards for sales growth on behalf of major corporations, direct sales and affiliate marketing organizations, and for my own consulting business over the past 40 years. In addition, I have authored 5 #1 best-selling books related to sales and marketing.

Throughout history, marketing has driven trade for humans. What role do you see that marketing played to get human societies where we are today?

My definition of ‘marketing’ is ‘building relationships.’ Human societies are communities in which relationships have been built. Marketing has contributed to the building of these communities, as well as the continuous evolution of innovations and improvements in every aspect of society.

I work in marketing so I’m very cognizant of this question. What role does marketing play in creating the human experience of “I don’t have enough” even when basic needs such as food, shelter, and clothing are met?

I don’t believe that marketing plays any role in this experience. It is too easy to blame marketing. The role of marketing is to present products and services that are available to purchase.

What responsibility do marketers have when it comes to people feeling that they aren’t enough?

There are sales techniques taught to agitate a prospect’s feelings and thoughts of lack to close the sale.

I do not teach or encourage the use of those techniques because I do feel it is irresponsible and manipulative to do so.

Many 21st-century marketing professionals in a capitalistic society will discuss solving human “pain points” as a way to sell products, services, and other wares successfully. In your opinion or experience, has aggravating pain points led to more pain?

Yes, deliberate manipulation and agitation of someone’s pain is taught and used to close sales. I believe the reason that the main adjective associated with salespeople is ‘pushy.

And, yes, I believe these techniques can lead to frustration and irritation with the salesperson who uses those techniques.

That is a very different approach than the salesperson who demonstrates and explains how a product or service solves a problem that a prospect says they want to have solved.

I designed the ‘Alignment Marketing Formula’ I describe in my book, ‘Selling From Your Comfort Zone,’ based on building genuine trust with our prospects through empathy and understanding of their or their company’s challenges in order to help solve them. Using this Formula, long-term, mutually satisfying relationships are easily built.

Different cultures view trade/marketing differently. While some may focus on “pain-points” others may focus on “purpose-points”. How do other cultures differ in how they approach marketing? Please give examples or studies you may know about.

I choose not to answer this as I am not an authority on different cultures.

Okay, fantastic. Here is the main question of our interview: It seems as if we have never stopped to question marketing. In your opinion, how can marketing professionals be more responsible for how their advertising shapes our human experience of feeling safe, secure, and knowing that we matter?

Most people in marketing and sales have been taught to start selling (‘pitching’) as the first step, hoping to get the person to respond, and lastly hoping to eventually build a long-term relationship with the prospect.

If you ask any salesperson, they are likely to say they have rushed into closing a sale prematurely. The reasons are usually:
*The sales manager told them what to do and when to do it.
*They were trying to make their monthly quote and time was running out.
*They mis-judged the prospect’s intentions by not asking enough questions.

I teach to not sell out on yourself by selling to your prospects too early.

To avoid rushing in too fast, you must know for a certainty where you and your prospect are aligned. You must also be certain you can solve their problem with your product or service.

You must know what problems they are facing that they do not know how to solve. You must be able to convey with authentic empathy that you understand their problems because you also have experienced the same challenges. And you must believe that your products or services are the best solution for those problems.

Your belief will be felt by your prospects, who are now more likely to say YES to you because they trust you. They feel you have their best interests at heart. They feel comfortable with you because you feel comfortably and passionately in alignment with yourself and what you are offering.

There is no need for scripts to overcome objections. It is not likely you will hear an objection at this point. There is no need to put on your battle armor because there is no war. No need for a product-focused script!

What will make you different from other salespeople will be when you begin your conversation with a prospect by asking questions rather than assuming you know the answers.

Let me show you how. First, which one of these two sales situations are you likely to encounter:

Business-to-Business: Do you sell products and services that are paid for by a company and the person who is the decision maker is an employee of the company?

Or

Business-to-Consumer: Do you sell products and services that are paid for personally by the person who will actually use the product or service their self or for a family member?

In either situation, do your best to avoid the “Me, Me, Me Approach” of sharing your experience and the benefits of your products or services before you have asked your prospect about them.

It’s so simple to know what questions to ask if you answered the questions for yourself in Chapter 5 and Chapter 7.

Those questions helped you to discover what problems you have experienced, how you solved them, and how your products and services are the solution to help other people with the same problem too.

Right?!

Following are two examples of how to share the knowledge of the problems and the products in different types of prospecting situations.

Let’s begin with a Business-to-Business situation.

My prospect in this example is a Human Resource Manager. I am selling a Corporate Wellness Program.

This is the first conversation I am having with this sales prospect.

I begin by asking these questions — notice I am asking “What do you,” “Do you,” “Will you,” or “How do you” openings of questions to receive full answers — rather than just a YES of NO:

— Why did you want to be a Human Resources Manager?

— What do you feel is the most rewarding part of your job?

— What do you feel is the most challenging part of your job?

— How do you deal with that challenge?

These questions help me to understand my prospect’s reason for being in the job, how much they enjoy it, where they feel they may be struggling, and if they have attempted to resolve the problem already.

These questions will also help me to hear who else may be involved in the decision-making process.

I will then ask:

— How are the wellness needs of the company’s employees managed by the company?

— On a scale of 1–10, with ‘10’ being there is no need for improvement or expansion and ‘1’ is the entire program must be thrown out so we can start all over again — what score do you give to the state of the company’s wellness program?

Notice that I offered a quick ‘numerical rating scale’ — a way to arrive at an objective answer quickly. It is the easiest way to measure someone’s attitude about what you are asking.

If the score is ’10,’ I will ask for them to tell me why it is exactly as they want it to be now and why there is no need for improvement. As I listen to the reasons, I may discover the situation is not really a ‘10’ after all…that there may be some area of improvement.

If the score is ‘9’ or less, then I know there is room for improvement…an opportunity for me to be of help in solving the problem…an opportunity for me to offer my corporate wellness program as the solution.

Once the prospect has finished their explanation and description of what can be improved, I would ask:

— Again, on a scale of 1–10, with ‘10’ being the improvement must be made right away and ‘1’ is the improvement is not a priority and won’t be for quite a while, what score do you give to the need for this improvement?

And now I ask why they assigned the score they gave to the situation.

Even if the score is a ‘1,’ I will still ask this next question:
Did you know that I have experience in helping other Human Resources Managers resolve that same problem? Would you like me to share with you what I suggested to them that fixed the problem?

Or…if I have not personally dealt with that problem, but someone else in my company has experience in this area…
Did you know I work with someone who has experience in helping other Human Resource Managers resolve that same problem? Would you like me to share with you what they suggested would solve the problem?

If my prospect has any interest at all in solving this problem, they are likely to say YES!

Which now opens the door for me to tell my story or what I know of my fellow employee’s story of the problem and how the corporate wellness program I sell solved the problem.

Once I have told my story, I end with another question:
— What was of interest to you about what I just shared with you?

Notice I am asking what they focused on during my story.

If they feel there is an urgency to getting to the same solution, they will start asking me questions about timing, cost, and other details.

Now I know they are ready for me to make the offer…they are literally asking me to tell them.

If they do not feel any urgency to getting to the same solution, they won’t ask me any questions and I know they are not ready for me to make the offer.

At this point, I will ask this question:
— If I could, what problem would you want me to solve for you as quickly as possible?

I understand I may not be able to solve the problem the person needs to have solved. I am not promising I can solve it. I am simply showing concern and empathy for what is of most importance to this person.

I am offering an ear to listen and the possibility that I may know someone or have a suggestion which can help them.

Most importantly, I want this person to remember me as someone who cared about them…even if I did not make sale that day.

Because as Theodore Roosevelt said, “People don’t care how much we know. They only want to know how much we care about them.”

As another example, let’s say you sell weight loss products direct to consumers.

You are meeting people who match your Ideal Audience Profile in groups on Facebook where weight loss tips are being offered and exchanged. You are sending out friend requests and having conversations via messages to get to know each other by discovering your mutual interests in addition to weight loss.

The first questions to ask to begin the transition to the sales offer ar:

— Since we are both members of (Name of group), what’s the best weight loss tip you have received from someone in the group? What results did you get?

In comparison to a business-to-business conversation, when we are speaking to someone about their personal life, we want to go slower and ask more general questions at the beginning of getting to know them.

Their answers to this question about the group to which you both belong will tell you how active they are in the group and how satisfied they are with the information shared in the group. It will also let you know how well they followed the instructions and the strength of their commitment to lose weight.

They will likely ask you what is the best weight loss tip you have received from the group.

Here’s how you could respond authentically:

— I am enjoying celebrating other people’s results. I haven’t tried any of their tips yet because what I am doing is working so well for me. I have lost (x) pounds and I am now maintaining my ideal weight. Or, I have lost (x) pounds and I know I will be at my ideal weight by my goal date.

Don’t say anything more about what you are doing. If they are interested at that point, they will ask you.

Instead, ask them this question:
— What is your goal date? I would love to cheer you on.

You will discover that most people will not have set a goal date or they are sure they will not achieve their goal by the goal date

And that is when you can respond with your own authentic story. This is an example:
— You may not know that I was in the same situation (x number of years or months) ago. I also did not feel I would be successful at dropping the weight by a certain date. I had tried so many different programs and none of them helped me keep the weight off. I felt disappointed and frustrated with myself. And I was embarrassed by my appearance. Does this make sense?

Notice how you are telling your authentic story and asking the prospect to tell you if they feel or have felt the same way as you just described you had felt.

If they say NO to the question, you can know immediately they are likely not someone who will say YES to your offer of weight loss products because they are not aligned with the problems you described you had. You can wish them all the best and move on to making more friendships with other people in the group.

If they do say YES to the question, “Does this make sense,” you can then ask them:
— Why does this make sense to you?

As you listen to their answer, you will know if they feel the way you described. And if they do, then you can ask:

— Would you like to know what I did that changed everything for me in a positive way and has helped me reach my goal and keep the weight off?

They are likely to say YES.

Next you could ask them this:

— On a scale of 1–10, with ‘10’ being I can’t wait to hear more and ‘1’ is that you are just being polite, where are you on the scale right now?

If their answer is ‘8’ or less, you can say:
— Ok. I understand that this is not a priority for you at this time. Is there any other way you would like support or could use a friend?

By asking this question, you are letting them know you still care for them and want to be their friend. That is what they will fondly remember.

If their answer is ‘9’ or ‘10’, you can say:
— Ok. It will be easier for me to tell you by phone or Zoom. Do you have 5 minutes now?

If they say now is not a good time, let them know you can be available at one other time today and one other time tomorrow. Ask which one is better for them. If those times don’t work and they are truly interested, they will ask you for another time option that would work for them.

When you do speak with them, keep the conversation brief since you only asked for 5 minutes.

Start by reminding the person that you are having the conversation so you can share what you did that worked for you in losing weight and keeping it off.

Make sure you can tell them in 5 minutes or less:
— Why you wanted to lose the weight
— How frustrated you were before you found the products you now sell
— How you found the products you now sell
— How fast the products made a positive difference for you
— How has your life changed in a positive way as a result of using these products

One sentence explanations for each of the above is all that is required. Keep it simple so they can easily understand how the problem was solved by the products you sell.

And then comes the question:

— On a scale of 1–10, with ‘10’ being ‘I want those same results as fast as possible’ and ‘1’ being ‘Thank you and I am not interested in having those results’, where are you on the scale?

If their answer is now an ‘8’ or less, you can say:
— Ok. I understand that this is not a priority for you at this time. Is there any other way you would like support or could use a friend?

If their answer is again a ‘9’ or ’10, you have built up enough trust to make the product offer and you can say:
— Great! Do you still have a few minutes so I can show you how to buy the products and help you get started?

If they say YES, ask them if they are ready to make a purchase now.

They may ask you to wait while they get their credit card. You know they are ready to buy.

This is why I prefer to be on a video sharing app like Zoom, so I can share my screen and show them how to access the website and how to set up their own account.

I don’t proceed if they respond that they want to know how to purchase, but they have to get permission from a spouse or wait until pay day. I will set another appointment with them on a day and time that gives them time to talk with their spouse or after they have been paid.

Now you can understand how ditching a product-focused script and asking genuinely caring questions will make it possible to personalize a conversation so it is comfortable and emotionally satisfying to both your prospect and you…and will lead to closing more sales and building stronger, long-lasting, and more profitable relationships.

Follow my simple Alignment Marketing Formula™ and you will ultimately arrive at the satisfying destination where your Ideal Prospects say YES to YOU!

Based on your experience or research can you please share “Five Ways We Can Re-Imagine The Marketing Industry To Make It More Authentic, Sustainable, And Promote More Satisfaction”?

#1: Stop teaching salespeople to expect objections and teach them instead how to identify their ideal audience who is likely to want the solutions they are selling.

#2: “Ditch the script” and instead encourage and train salespeople how to have intimate conversations filled with genuine empathy.

#3: Stop pushing to ‘close’ the sale and instead put emphasis on building the strength of a relationship with a prospect/customer no matter how long it takes to close the sale.

#4: Create compensation plans based on rewarding the length of the relationship instead of just the number of sales closed in a given period of time.

#5: Above all, STOP encouraging salespeople to ‘get out of their comfort zone’ and instead celebrate their core values, their skills, and their expertise to build their self-confidence!

For you personally, if you have all your basic needs met, do you feel you have enough in life?

I feel I have more than enough in life because I have the time, energy, and money to focus on making a positive difference for others.

Do you have any favorite books, podcasts, or resources that have inspired you to live with more joy in life?

In addition to books I read for my spiritual growth, my favorite authors for expanding my personal and professional perspectives are Sam Horn, Dr. Joe Vitale, Brian Tracy, Caroline M. Billings, and all the authors published by Berrett-Koehler Publishers. I enjoy the ‘Wake Up Call’ Podcast hosted by MyLeadSystemPRO. And I am impressed with the quality of the articles in Authority Magazine, as well as The Network Marketing Magazine.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

I have already started that movement with my 5th book, ‘Selling From Your Comfort Zone.

Let’s face it…we have all done our best to ‘get out of our comfort zone’ to try to be successful doing something others have told us we ‘should’ do.

And every once in a while, with enough training, we find a way to actually do it.

And if we are lucky, we find we actually enjoy it.

I believe when we reach that point, it is only because we simply found a way to expand our comfort zone. We did not actually go beyond it.

Take a rubber band*, for example. Each one is created with a specific circumference to perform its task. Because it has some flexibility, it has the capacity to expand a bit beyond that circumference and still perform its task.

However, if it is bent out of shape or is expanded too far — meaning it goes outside its set comfort zone — the rubber band snaps, breaks and is unable to perform the function for which it was created.

Now what does a rubber band have to do with selling?

Everything in my opinion!

My movement destroys the long-held myth that one must get out of their comfort zone and ‘push for the sale.’

For decades now, sales trainers have all been teaching methods of getting sales…methods that rely primarily on being ‘pushy’ and learning scripts on how to overcome objections.

This approach has been used for decades to teach how to ‘control’ a conversation.

And for many people, this idea of ‘controlling a conversation’ means ‘controlling another person,” which produces feelings of anxiety, which decreases the likelihood of the person being successful in making the sale.

This approach has been described over and over by sales people — and potential customers — as ‘inauthentic,’ ‘pushy,’, and ‘spammy.’

In fact, In HubSpot Research’s study, Buyers Speak Out: How Sales Needs to Evolve, respondents were asked to submit the word they most associated with salespeople.

The #1 response? “Pushy.”

And, it has been often noted that ‘being pushy’ is one of the greatest fears of those in the sales industry.

Taking risks that are uncomfortable creates anxiety. These strong feelings of worry, negatively affect self-esteem, leading to a lack of confidence, and a lack of sales.

It is also the reason that there are great vacancies in this sales industry. No one enjoys feeling defeated over and over and that is why so many people quit on companies after being trained in these spammy sales tactics.

So it could be said that being trained in these methods is forcing people in sales to ‘go outside their comfort zone.’ In doing so, they tend to feel they have to ‘bend their self out of shape,’ which causes them to be out of alignment with their core values.

The call is growing louder for these ‘pushy practices’ has come to an end.

It is being voiced by both consumers and those in the sales and marketing industry.

An article released by the Center for Creative Leadership refers to research which proves people prefer personally meaningful work that connects to their values, purpose, and work-life balance.

This is why my movement is all about expanding your comfort zone to stay flexible and resilient throughout the selling process — including in the face of customer objections — by remaining in alignment with your ‘calling.’

The movement is based on the ‘Alignment Marketing™ Formula (Alignment + Belief x Consistency = Sales, Satisfaction and Success).

* it’s a paradigm-shifting approach away from “pushy” and “spammy” sales tactics, which are outside of your natural comfort zone.

*it teaches how to bring ‘meaning’ to your role as a sales person by solving problems as the first step in building relationships with your prospects.

*it supports you in building confidence and the positive energy to achieve your goals. The more motivated you are, the more likely you are to stay in action.

By working within and expanding your comfort zone — being in alignment with your core values and personality traits — you will have more confidence, more energy, and more courage to achieve your goals — which greatly increases the likelihood of making sales, experiencing satisfaction, and achieving success.

Over the many years I have been coaching thousands of sales representatives in using the Alignment Marketing Formula, my clients report:

*more sales resulting from stronger and more satisfying relationships with prospects who become their customers faster

*greater job satisfaction

*increased self-directed motivation

*longer commitment to the same company and the company’s mission

Your comfort zone is your power zone!

Let’s get back into alignment and make more sales!

What is the best way for our readers to continue to follow your work online?

The easiest way to follow me is through my website: https://www.staceyannhall.com/ And my gift to those who want to experience The Alignment Marketing Formula is my course ‘8 Steps to a Sale’, which can be downloaded here: https://www.staceyannhall.com/courses

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent on this. We wish you only continued success.

About The Interviewer: For 30 years, Drew Gerber has been inspiring those who want to change the world. Drew is the CEO of Wasabi Publicity, Inc., a full-service PR agency lauded by PR Week and Good Morning America. Wasabi Publicity, Inc. is a global marketing company that supports industry leaders, change agents, unconventional thinkers, companies and organizations that strive to make a difference. Whether it’s branding, traditional PR or social media marketing, every campaign is instilled with passion, creativity and brilliance to powerfully tell their clients’ story and amplify their intentions in the world.