A Guide to Relationship-Driven Sales in the Age of AI | RR282
How are AI and social selling changing the way we connect in sales?
Join me as I sit down with John Golden, a globally recognized sales and marketing thought leader, to explore the evolving world of sales. John shares how social selling has become an essential part of the sales process, blending relationship-building with smart strategies. He emphasizes that sales today isn’t just about making transactions—it’s about creating meaningful connections, and AI can be a powerful tool when used thoughtfully.
We also talk about his journey as a brilliant podcaster and how his natural curiosity has driven his success in business and life. John shares how his experience in Taekwondo has shaped his approach to discipline and focus, teaching lessons that have impacted both his personal and professional world.
Highlights:
- Social selling has become an integral part of the modern sales process, not a separate skill.
- Building strong, authentic relationships is more important than focusing solely on transactions.
- AI can enhance sales, but personalization and authenticity are crucial for success.
- Curiosity is a powerful trait that drives success in both business and personal growth.
- The discipline and respect learned through martial arts have shaped John’s approach to leadership and sales.
Connect with John:
Website: https://www.pipelinersales.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johngolden/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RealSalesPOP
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SalesPOP
Sales POP! Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sales-pop-podcasts/id1455305326
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A LinkedIn Checklist for setting up your fully optimized Profile:
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3 Card Sampler – you won’t regret it.
AND … Don’t forget to connect with me on LinkedIn and be eligible for my
complimentary LinkedIn profile audit – I do one each month for a lucky
listener!
Connect with me:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/janiceporter/
https://www.facebook.com/janiceporter1
https://www.instagram.com/socjanice/
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Transcript
John. Hello everyone, and welcome to this
Janice Porter:week's episode of relationships rule. My guest today is John
Janice Porter:golden, coming to us from sunny California, and I am quite
Janice Porter:excited to delve into some sales and marketing topics with John.
Janice Porter:He is a globally acknowledged sales and marketing thought
Janice Porter:leader, speaker and strategist, and has conducted over probably
Janice Porter:more now, but over 1500 video interviews of thought leaders
Janice Porter:for his podcast and online sales magazine called sales pop. And
Janice Porter:his use YouTube channel and his audio podcast channels, where
Janice Porter:sales, pop lives, is rated in the top 2% of most popular
Janice Porter:popular shows out of 3 million plus globally ranked by listen
Janice Porter:notes. I know I got it at 2% once, but I haven't checked it
Janice Porter:lately. So that's pretty cool, though. So welcome to the show,
Janice Porter:John.
John Golden:Thank you. Thank you for having me. I'm excited
John Golden:to do this.
Janice Porter:Oh, you're welcome. I'm, first of all, I'm
Janice Porter:going to back out, back up a little bit, because I hear that
Janice Porter:little Irish accent. I know that you were originally from
Janice Porter:Ireland, correct?
John Golden:Yeah, that's right, originally from, from Dublin,
John Golden:from Ireland. Yeah, born bread and buttered, as we like to say,
John Golden:well, and I'm from, yep. And I said, and I came here about 27
John Golden:years ago, during the.com era. So that's how I ended up here.
Janice Porter:I never left, right?
John Golden:I've never left. No, yeah,
Janice Porter:I I'm from England, so I've got that United
Janice Porter:Kingdom piece in me as well. So, but I was a kid when I came over
Janice Porter:here, so I grew up here, but love sunny, sunny California. I
Janice Porter:was just there a couple of weeks ago visiting family, and you're
Janice Porter:in a beautiful spot in Carlsbad. I think it is so, so amazing. So
Janice Porter:I want to dig in about something that I saw on your on your bio,
Janice Porter:and it dates back a little bit, but I know it's probably
Janice Porter:something that is important, I think still, and more so today
Janice Porter:than ever, and that is what we call social selling. And you
Janice Porter:wrote a book called social upheaval, how to win at social
Janice Porter:selling. So I'm curious, how did you get into that what? What
Janice Porter:prompted writing that book for you,
John Golden:it's an interesting it's interesting because I wrote
John Golden:the book. It's a number of years ago, as you said now, many years
John Golden:ago now, when social selling was kind of in its infancy and
John Golden:people were trying to grapple with the whole idea of of
John Golden:LinkedIn and of social of social networks in general, and how do
John Golden:you use this and and so I kind of wrote the book to help people
John Golden:get a grounding in some of the ways that they could approach,
John Golden:approach social selling and approach building their their
John Golden:online presence in order to be able to take advantage of it.
John Golden:And I think the thing today, Janice is like, social selling
John Golden:is just selling. Now it's just part of selling. It's not a but
John Golden:in the early days, there were early adopters who definitely
John Golden:got a jump on a lot of their colleagues because they they
John Golden:adopted social selling and and the thing, the thing about it at
John Golden:the time, which was really interesting, was, you know, so
John Golden:most sales leaders or sales managers, they wanted you
John Golden:either, you know, pounding the phones or you're going out and
John Golden:visiting clients or doing the idea of watching one of their
John Golden:sales people, if they were in the office on LinkedIn or on
John Golden:something, you know, posting stuff and commenting was was
John Golden:counter intuitive at the time. It's like, well, why aren't you
John Golden:calling people? Why aren't you upset? And they're saying, I am,
John Golden:well, show me the, show me the result of it. And they're
John Golden:saying, Well, it's, it's a gradual thing, and it's only
John Golden:part of an overall process. You know, in many ways, it's just
John Golden:getting a, you know, a foot in the door, sort of, he, hey, this
John Golden:is who I am. So that's where he wrote. It was to try and bridge
John Golden:that gap at the time between what was, you know, known as
John Golden:traditional selling and social selling, and as I said, they've
John Golden:all just morphed together, because at the end of the day,
John Golden:it's just selling.
Janice Porter:Well, that's, that's very true. However, I
Janice Porter:think there, there's that distinction between
Janice Porter:transactional selling that still creeps in, even on social media,
Janice Porter:like, oh, yeah, yeah, on on LinkedIn in particular, because
Janice Porter:I, I often hear from from my clients, about people getting
Janice Porter:pitched all the time, and how do they, you know, and it's still
Janice Porter:there. And people that, even though they're not pounding the
Janice Porter:pavements, so they're, they're hitting their numbers by, you
Janice Porter:know, copy and pasting the same email or having a robot do it
Janice Porter:for them, right? There's one of those things. So I think in at
Janice Porter:least for me, social selling is more about building
Janice Porter:relationships. How do you feel about that? No, I would agree
John Golden:with. With you. And I think that's what selling is
John Golden:really about. Unless, as you said, unless you're in a maybe
John Golden:you can, you know, B to C, or you're in a very transactional
John Golden:sale where, where you rely on volume, as opposed to repeat
John Golden:business. But when you get into the B to B realm, yes, it's all
John Golden:about it's all about relationship, all about
John Golden:relationship building. And back when I wrote the book, it was
John Golden:interesting. David Meerman Scott, who is an author of
John Golden:marketing books, well known author I had, I had a
John Golden:conversation with him, and he told me, he said, things are
John Golden:changing now. Once upon a time when you reached out to a
John Golden:prospect or whatever, you know they would obviously, they would
John Golden:Google and research your company, not so much you as a
John Golden:person, because there wouldn't be much as you of you as a
John Golden:person there. But that changed with with social media and
John Golden:LinkedIn, suddenly they were going and researching you as a
John Golden:person. And most people didn't realize that, and they and they
John Golden:were, you know, a lot of the social media was sort of in its
John Golden:infancy, so when people started to be researched themselves. It
John Golden:was all sorts of either nothing was coming up or stuff that was
John Golden:coming up that you probably rather not come up, not not
John Golden:presenting you in in such a great light. And I think that's
John Golden:absolutely and I think it's a fundamental it became, and it is
John Golden:a fundamental piece now of you're you're going to be
John Golden:researched. So how are you, how do you present online? Like, how
John Golden:do you, how are you representing yourself online? Those things
John Golden:are very important. And I do agree with you about the the
John Golden:pitching, I think during, especially during COVID, you
John Golden:know, a lot of people suddenly ran to LinkedIn, right and
John Golden:thought, Okay, this is where I'm going to do all my prospecting
John Golden:from now on, and they got into those usual bad habits of of
John Golden:just spamming people. And I think, to be honest, I have a
John Golden:bit of a beef with LinkedIn over they should never have
John Golden:introduced that auto email, you know, because I it really
John Golden:frustrates me when I get a connection request from
John Golden:somebody. It's all lovely, personalized, and it looks like
John Golden:they reached out, you know, in an elegant way, and all of this.
John Golden:And I'm like, Okay, I hit Connect, and then Bing, up comes
John Golden:a pitch. And I'm like, great, you've just completely undone.
Janice Porter:Yeah, the work you did bait and switch, right?
Janice Porter:Bait and Switch? Yeah, exactly. I know. I agree with you
Janice Porter:totally. So how do you think just to bring it now to the
Janice Porter:future and the present and the future? How do you think AI has
Janice Porter:has shaken that in the mix? Because there's so many things
Janice Porter:on LinkedIn that you can do directly. I have an app, an AI
Janice Porter:app, that's just on my LinkedIn that I can use. And I just did
Janice Porter:it to demonstrate to you on your posts from this morning, because
Janice Porter:I wanted to have fun with that and talk about it. So you did a
Janice Porter:post on LinkedIn. I think it was today. It might have been
Janice Porter:yesterday, but it was interesting. And it was about,
Janice Porter:uh oh, a 5000 year old technology, about the shoe
Janice Porter:laces, and it was interesting, and so I used my AI prompting
Janice Porter:piece to respond to you, just because I wanted to see what
Janice Porter:you'd think about it. So can I share Can I share that with you?
Janice Porter:Yeah, please, please do. You won't have seen it yet, right?
Janice Porter:So you wrote this great post on LinkedIn about what is a 5000
Janice Porter:year old technology. It was three weeks ago, actually,
Janice Porter:sorry, a 5000 year old technology that still dominates
Janice Porter:its market. Answer, shoelaces. And then you went in and gave us
Janice Porter:the history of shoelaces, and then tied it into business,
Janice Porter:which was great as well. And the last sentence, in a world of
Janice Porter:increasingly rapid change, there are still some things that
Janice Porter:endure, and the good old shoelace proves that. And there
Janice Porter:was a an image as well. And I went to my AI prompting, which
Janice Porter:is right there, and I I tweaked it a little bit because I didn't
Janice Porter:want it to sound completely like the same. But it was so easy to
Janice Porter:respond to using that that that is the way of the future. Here's
Janice Porter:what we said. What I said? It said, although I changed the
Janice Porter:beginning, interesting post, John, I love learning about
Janice Porter:things we often take for granted. That was me. I didn't
Janice Porter:that. And then it says, it's incredible how something as
Janice Porter:simple as shoe laces has stood the test of time, proving that
Janice Porter:sometimes the most effective solutions are the ones we've had
Janice Porter:for ages. It's a reminder that innovation doesn't always mean
Janice Porter:reinventing the wheel. Sometimes it's about enhancing what
Janice Porter:already works beautifully. Now for me, doing that was so much
Janice Porter:more sounded so much more interesting than just saying,
Janice Porter:hey, great post. John,
John Golden:yeah, no, absolutely, and that those are
John Golden:the the Hey, great post is, is just shorthand for, I haven't
John Golden:read your article, but I'm hoping, if I post a comment
John Golden:here, that somehow I get, I'll get something in return, even
John Golden:though I've given nothing. Yes, so no, I think what you did
John Golden:there, I think, I think that's a for me, that's an elegant way of
John Golden:using AI, you know, you it created. Nice reply for you, but
John Golden:you also tweaked this, you know, to make it personal. So I have
John Golden:no issue with that. What I would have an issue with is, if you're
John Golden:just using AI to, okay, just generate a comment quickly and
John Golden:throwing it in, just because, again, it's you're taking the
John Golden:great post, great post, John up just another level, yes, but I
John Golden:think if you're, if you're engaging and you are like
John Golden:tweaking. I think that's, I think that's absolutely I think
John Golden:it saves me half an hour, yeah, yeah. And I think that's
John Golden:absolutely fine, because here's the thing, at the end of the
John Golden:day, we're not all writers. We're not all, you know, some of
John Golden:us, it comes very easy to for some people, it's very, very
John Golden:difficult, and but they want to engage, and they want to, you
John Golden:know, show feedback, and all of that stuff. So I think AI has a
John Golden:great role to play. And also, yeah, I mean, sometimes you take
John Golden:in the realm of sales, right? You know, sales people,
John Golden:generally speaking, you're not the greatest writers, not the
John Golden:greatest, like email communicators, and that, you
John Golden:know, that's normally something that resides in person, your
John Golden:people, people, yeah, that resides in marketing. So if
John Golden:you're leveraging AI to write a good email, and you're reviewing
John Golden:it, and you're tweaking it yourself, and you're making sure
John Golden:it hits the mark, I and it's saving you time, and more
John Golden:importantly, it's, it's it's delivering a better outcome to
John Golden:the cost to who's ever on the receiving end of that email,
John Golden:right? If it's clear, if it's written properly, all of that, I
John Golden:think that's a, I think that's a great use of I think that's a
John Golden:great use of AI
Janice Porter:well, and I didn't, I was just thought I'd
Janice Porter:have fun with that. I hadn't even thought about it until I
Janice Porter:till we got online, because I did it before this morning,
Janice Porter:earlier this morning. But, yeah, I'm just having fun with AI in
Janice Porter:some ways. But I think what you said is really important that we
Janice Porter:still have to think about making it real and and putting some
Janice Porter:thought behind it, and not like you said, What did you call it
Janice Porter:hate, and the hate and great, like, the fact that we haven't
Janice Porter:read it, but we just say great article, yeah, right through
Janice Porter:that, right?
John Golden:Yeah, absolutely. And just, and just one other
John Golden:thing too, is yes, is, you know, if you're using AI as a tool to
John Golden:support your to support what you're doing, I think that's,
John Golden:that's the key to it. If you just use it, like I said, if you
John Golden:just use it as a shortcut, spam tool, or whatever you eventually
John Golden:you'll get caught out. Because the thing, I think one thing
John Golden:that's really, really up these days Janice, is our antenna
John Golden:about what's real and what's not real and who's authentic and
John Golden:who's inauthentic, and and therefore, I think over time, if
John Golden:you, if you misuse AI, eventually people are going to
John Golden:see you as inauthentic, because they're going to see through it.
John Golden:It's inevitable that eventually they'll see through it.
Janice Porter:Yeah, good point. So I'm going to switch topics
Janice Porter:for a minute, because I love the fact that you are a podcaster as
Janice Porter:well, and you're a very successful podcaster. And I want
Janice Porter:to first of all, how did you get into podcasting? Yeah,
John Golden:so it's, it's an interesting story. So, oh, good.
John Golden:Well, at Pipeline, or CRM, a number of years ago, I think it
John Golden:was 2016 17. We were, we were actually, it's funny how things
John Golden:happen kind of almost accidentally. But you look back
John Golden:and you think, you know, there was obviously some purpose to
John Golden:that, or reasoning why that happened. But we were migrating
John Golden:a blog right from one technology to another. I think we're moving
John Golden:off type Oh, three, off the product, onto onto WordPress,
John Golden:right and and as we were doing that, I was like, we're all
John Golden:about education. We really like to give back. We really like,
John Golden:you know, we're really into helping educate sales people,
John Golden:you know, we might. We're a technology company. We sell a
John Golden:platform, but we're really into the theory and the practice of
John Golden:sales itself. So why not do an online magazine instead of just
John Golden:a blog, right? And then the second point was, well, where do
John Golden:we get content from? Well, we said, well, we can write some
John Golden:content, but then again, there's lots of people out there with
John Golden:great opinion, so maybe we could get them involved. And then we
John Golden:started doing these short sales chats, right where we just live
John Golden:sales chats with one person, and then, and then that morphed
John Golden:into, well, this is great, because we get way better
John Golden:content when you interview people, plus you can interview
John Golden:people from around the globe. So then that morphed into, let's
John Golden:just go out and interview as many interesting people as we
John Golden:can and bring their perspectives to our audience. And so when we
John Golden:first started off, Janice, you know, we were reaching out, we
John Golden:were finding guests. And you know what it's like when you
John Golden:start a podcast, initially, it's like, well, who are you and and
John Golden:your podcast is tiny, like, why would I want to be on that? But
John Golden:I have to say, we found so many people who were so gracious with
John Golden:their time and their insights that even coming on a small, you
John Golden:know, obscure podcast, you know, they were willing, they were
John Golden:willing to do it. And then over time, as it grew, we're at the
John Golden:stage now where. To be honest, we don't outreach anymore,
John Golden:right? So, in fact, we have almost difficulty managing the
John Golden:amount of requests we get. Plus, you know, we work with the we
John Golden:work with the podcast agency also that's, you know, supplies
John Golden:us with a lot of guests. So that was kind of the metamorphosis.
John Golden:It was kind of an accidental thing that took on a life of its
John Golden:own, which is often the best, the best things in life are like
John Golden:that.
Janice Porter:But now, is that something that like? Are you?
Janice Porter:Have you always been one to want to speak in front of a crowd? Or
Janice Porter:are you the life of the party? Or, you know, are you right? Did
Janice Porter:you always want to be that person in front of the
Janice Porter:microphone? Because, yeah,
John Golden:I think so. I think I always think, you know myself
John Golden:as I'm more of, yeah, I love to speak. I love to speak in an
John Golden:audience. I love to come on a podcast. I love all of that, you
John Golden:know, the that that's a part that I really love, you know,
John Golden:it's, you know, I'm not, I'm not probably the person who's going
John Golden:to burst into the room and do all like, Hey, look at me, and
John Golden:look at me, and all of that kind of stuff, you know, that's not,
John Golden:that's not really me, but standing in front of an audience
John Golden:I find or doing a podcast, you know, I really enjoy that part,
John Golden:and I enjoy the connection like you. And when you're live
John Golden:speaking, you love to see, you know, you spot somebody over
John Golden:there who's smiling, or somebody who's taking a note, or somebody
John Golden:who's nodding their head, or all of that, and, and, and then you
John Golden:see the person who's not, and then you're going, like, this is
John Golden:my challenge. Now I'm going to get a reaction out of those
Janice Porter:people. So true, yes, yes, absolutely. And
John Golden:so it's, I find it very energizing. And I think
John Golden:also, you know, podcasting, and that's why, generally, I do
John Golden:interviews, I don't do monologs, because I think, yeah, yeah. I
John Golden:mean, I probably, maybe I have something interesting to say.
John Golden:But I think the interaction between two people, and the
John Golden:essence of podcasting I love, is when you feel like you're just
John Golden:listening in on a conversation between two people. It's like
John Golden:you're, you know, going back to when I was young, like you're
John Golden:sitting on the bus and you're bored, you know, on the way
John Golden:home, and you hear a conversation behind you, and it
John Golden:entertains you for the whole journey. True,
Janice Porter:that's very true. Yeah, that's good. So, so it
Janice Porter:started for a way to promote, really, and help your clients
Janice Porter:through the pipeline or company the CRM product that you sell,
Janice Porter:correct,
John Golden:yeah, it was really, it's really about
John Golden:helping them with sales and with sale, you know, with sales
John Golden:skills, insights and that. And then we got into sales
John Golden:management and leadership and marketing. So it really is that
John Golden:it really is a kind of an altruistic give back. It's a
John Golden:free education resource, you know, that we we bring to
John Golden:people. Because, as I said, we have, we have the tool, but we
John Golden:believe that it's tool and theory, at the end of the day,
John Golden:that makes the difference. And frankly, you know, we know
John Golden:buyers have been through massive changes over the last number of
John Golden:years, and how they buy sales is sales has lag behind a little
John Golden:bit, I think, in in terms of change, in terms of of evolving
John Golden:to meet those, those changing needs. And that's what we tried
John Golden:to plug that gap a little
Janice Porter:bit so just as a podcaster, have you ever? So
Janice Porter:people get pitched to you by your sales agency and so on, or
Janice Porter:by your podcast agency. And also, you find people along the
Janice Porter:way that you want to interview. Have you ever can you think of
Janice Porter:an example where you've gone, Okay, this one was really great,
Janice Porter:but this one was a bomb. Like, how did you don't have to name
Janice Porter:names, of course. But, you know, the experience, I'd be,
John Golden:to be honest, I've been generally being very, very
John Golden:fortunate that I've had very few of of, and I wouldn't even say
John Golden:that any that I would say are a bomb. I think I've had a couple
John Golden:of, you know, sometimes you get somebody who's maybe a little
John Golden:who's not as used to doing it, who hasn't been on many
John Golden:podcasts, and struggles with, maybe, at the beginning,
John Golden:struggles with having a free flowing conversation. You know,
John Golden:they'd be more comfortable if you gave them the questions and
John Golden:you just asked the question, they have their their answer.
John Golden:And that's not how I operate. So I would die if I had to do that.
John Golden:Yeah, I know me too. I mean, too, because it just some of the
John Golden:best conversations end up being like very little to do what you
John Golden:started off talking Exactly, yeah. So, yeah. I mean, so I
John Golden:think that's that's been the only times that you know, there
John Golden:have been ones that maybe, and then I wouldn't say, like I
John Golden:said, I wouldn't say they bombed. I would just say maybe I
John Golden:had to work a little harder at them, just because I realized
John Golden:that the person was maybe not as comfortable as other guests. And
John Golden:therefore, you know, I had to find a way of getting them more
John Golden:comfortable, allowing them to, you know, come out of their
John Golden:shell or and you know that that that's a difficult thing in
John Golden:itself. Surprise. I mean, I could list you so many people
John Golden:who are being so surprising, just in, in what they've done
John Golden:and in what they talk about, like I there's a guy, Kevin
John Golden:cotton, who's, where's he? I can't remember where he's based
John Golden:now, but somewhere, I think he might be in Singapore, somewhere
John Golden:like that. But he got, he's gone and spent. Spent a year or two
John Golden:with the Maasai tribes, you know, oh, really,
Janice Porter:I remember studying them in in
Janice Porter:anthropology. He,
John Golden:he has lived, lived among them, and, you know,
John Golden:studied what they do, and you know, brought that into into
John Golden:business, and that which has been fascinating. In fact, he
John Golden:invited me if I ever wanted to go and spend some time with him
John Golden:in the Maasai. But oh how fast. I don't have a few months to
John Golden:spare right now. And and like Dave Sanderson, the guy who was
John Golden:the last, the last civilian off of the plane that ditched in the
John Golden:Hudson River. You remember the miracle in the Hudson, he was
John Golden:the last of the passengers off that plane as well. I mean, so
John Golden:there's so many people like that who have these life experiences
John Golden:that are just so mind blowing. But the but the the lessons that
John Golden:come out of them are so adaptable to our to our lives.
John Golden:You know, we don't need to have these dramatic incidences. And
John Golden:then you just have people who have just had what I would call,
John Golden:you know, regular life experiences, just like the rest
John Golden:of us, with their ups and downs and their bumps, but they've
John Golden:been able to parlay that into into interesting insights for
John Golden:other people. So yeah, so that's, that's probably the most
John Golden:surprising, is it's not the people who have the dramatic
John Golden:event. Because, that's an easy one. You think, yeah, it's the
John Golden:people who've had a life that most of us would go, yeah,
John Golden:that's kind of like mine. It's not, you know, it's ups and
John Golden:downs, it's yeah, it's a very regular but they've come up with
John Golden:these great, great insights through that to share, or
John Golden:they've made changes in their lives. You know that, yes, yes,
John Golden:applicable to other people,
Janice Porter:and those are the things that actually put me in
Janice Porter:awe when I think of when I see those stories, or read those
Janice Porter:stories of people that have really changed their life in a
Janice Porter:big way. Yeah, I noticed that you're a martial artist, yeah,
Janice Porter:and I have a little granddaughter who's five, and
Janice Porter:she's taking Taekwondo, and has been since she was three, and
Janice Porter:she's the most super active kid that needs the discipline of it,
Janice Porter:and we're actually struggling right now with it, because she's
Janice Porter:supposed to take her next test, but she's been so busy not
Janice Porter:Paying attention that she really wasn't ready, and the, the the
Janice Porter:coach hadn't or the, what do you call him, the Master? Yeah, the
Janice Porter:master hadn't invited her to take it yet because she wasn't
Janice Porter:ready, right? So you say you're a fourth dan in in WT in
Janice Porter:taekwondo, okay, what's a, what's that? What's a dead
John Golden:fourth degree black belt.
Janice Porter:Okay, okay, that's pretty cool. Yeah. So do
Janice Porter:you ever teach? I'm
John Golden:a little bit but I mean, generally, I'm still a
John Golden:student myself, you know. I mean, a lifelong student. But
John Golden:interesting, what you say about you, about your niece, because
John Golden:my granddaughter, my granddaughter, sorry, I, you
John Golden:know, I did Taekwondo in Ireland when I was younger, and then I,
John Golden:you know, drifted away from it. But when my son was born, he
John Golden:was, you know, he's an only child, and and I thought, you
John Golden:know, when he was three, I thought, you know, I need to get
John Golden:me to martial arts, because I just want him. I just want him
John Golden:to be left alone. Should we put it that way? Right? Yes, I'll be
John Golden:bothered by Pete, by both. And so I started him in taekwondo
John Golden:when he was three. And within a few weeks, the the Masters,
John Golden:where we were living in Virginia, Grand Master mental
John Golden:came and the master Danny, and they said, why aren't you doing
John Golden:it with him? And I was like, Oh, well, you know. So anyway, so
John Golden:they, talked me into it, and I started. So three and a half my
John Golden:son started, I started with him, and he's now 19, and he's still
John Golden:doing it, you know, he's got other things too, but he still,
John Golden:you know, does it as much as he can and and so we went on this
John Golden:phenomenal, like, 16 year journey that we're still on of
John Golden:just and it was a great it's a great bonding experience for us.
John Golden:But also, I would tell you this Janice is, I don't know when he
John Golden:was growing up, the amount of times people mentioned to me,
John Golden:like, why your son is very manly, he's very respectful. And
John Golden:they were saying like, and, you know, how do you, how do you,
John Golden:how do you get him like that? And I said, well, because we're
John Golden:fantastic parents, obviously. And I said, Well, no, I said,
John Golden:but to be honest, I think martial arts has played a
John Golden:massive role in that, because it's the it's one of the few,
John Golden:it's one of the few places left where you have to earn things,
John Golden:where you have to show respect, where you have to respect you
John Golden:have to respect seniority. You have to respect people older
John Golden:than you. You might be better than them, but you have to
John Golden:respect them, because they're more senior, they're older, and
John Golden:you happen to be maybe younger and more agile, or whatever.
John Golden:And, and that is, that is, so that's such a critical piece of
John Golden:it, and, and, and I'll tell you a funny story you might want to
John Golden:share with your granddad. Yes, I'd love that. Is, there was one
John Golden:time I. When, when my son was really small, he was like, maybe
John Golden:four or five, I don't know, but after I he used to do a kid's
John Golden:class, and then he would do the adult class with me. So I would
John Golden:sit through the kids class, and it was one day he was messing
John Golden:about in the class, right? He wasn't paying attention. And at
John Golden:the end of the class, there was only about four of them in that
John Golden:class. Particularly, for some reason at the end of that class,
John Golden:the instructor said, Okay, I'm going to give a stripe on your
John Golden:belt, you know, a little bit of tape on your belt to everybody
John Golden:who really worked hard today. So the other three got it, and he
John Golden:didn't right. And so he came back at the end of class to me,
John Golden:and he was, you know, really upset and and everything like
John Golden:that. And I was trying to console him. Then I said, Okay,
John Golden:go talk to Macedonian. Ask him, ask him why. And so, so he sat
John Golden:him down, and he said, and he said to Jake, what color's your
John Golden:your belt? And it was like yellow or green or something, at
John Golden:the time, green. He goes, and what colors his belt over there?
John Golden:And he said, Well, he's a yellow belt, and, you know, so he's a
John Golden:lower belt, yeah. And he goes, How would you feel? How would
John Golden:you feel, Jake, if I just went into the office now, grabbed her
John Golden:a green belt off the wall and gave it to him. How would you
John Golden:feel? And he said, Well, he hasn't earned it. He hasn't, he
John Golden:hasn't done his and he goes, Yes. He goes, Why did you not
John Golden:get a stripe this morning? And he goes, Well, because I didn't
John Golden:earn it. And he goes precisely. And, you know, just the one
John Golden:small and that stuck with him forever after that. And it's
John Golden:just those phenomenal life lessons, but done in an but done
John Golden:in an elegant way, right, in a way where understandable and
John Golden:relatable. So that's why I think beautiful, and I hope for you,
John Golden:you know your granddaughter will that will have the same impact
John Golden:on her, and she realized that, yeah, it's not, it's not
John Golden:participate. You don't get participation, right? Oh, you
John Golden:earn what you get. And I just think that's a phenomenal life
John Golden:lesson, particularly totally things are, you know, there's a
John Golden:lot of mixed kids are getting a lot of mixed messages these
John Golden:days. So true.
Janice Porter:I know she, um, her mom took her out of class
Janice Porter:towards the end of the class because she was fooling around
Janice Porter:and not paying attention. And then gave her, you know, a
Janice Porter:little had a conversation with her that night, and she said, Do
Janice Porter:you want to get your next belt? She said, Yes. And she said,
Janice Porter:Well, you can't do it if you're doing that in class. So we're
Janice Porter:not going to go back if this is how you're going to be. She
Janice Porter:says, I want to. I want to. So she went back last I think it
Janice Porter:was last Monday and or last Wednesday, and she was fine. So
Janice Porter:I don't know how she was yesterday yet, but, you know,
Janice Porter:it's like, but it's, this is what it's there for, to teach
Janice Porter:them that discipline and to teach them, yeah, so that's a
Janice Porter:great story. I will share that. Thank you. And the other thing I
Janice Porter:noticed is that you, you say that you or it says in your bio
Janice Porter:that you are a secret, a secret of wisdom. So that, to me, means
Janice Porter:you're a lifelong learner. And also, just that post that we
Janice Porter:talked about earlier, about the sneakers, there are things that
Janice Porter:you come across that that you want to, you know, find out more
Janice Porter:information, because you had to, to find to do that article, I'm
Janice Porter:sure. So are you a natural writer, or do you just, like,
Janice Porter:find things and then just, is that become part of that
Janice Porter:learning and seeking wisdom? Yeah. I mean,
John Golden:I'm fortunate to be a natural writer. I've always
John Golden:been, you know, throughout my life, it's I wish, I wish. I
John Golden:know that comes really easy to me. Other things don't. So,
John Golden:yeah, we all of our of course, but I think, I think, I think
John Golden:curiosity is, and I think you're, and if we're just
John Golden:talking about sales and business people, Curiosity is so key. And
John Golden:I think we through technology and social media and all the one
John Golden:of the One of the downfalls, it's a double edged sword,
John Golden:right? I mean, it's given us access to so much information.
John Golden:So if you're curious, by nature, you've got, like, so much
John Golden:information out there. You can find information about anything,
John Golden:but because it also feeds all this nonsense to people, they
John Golden:kind of lack, I think it's diminished the curiosity of a
John Golden:lot of people. Or if people aren't curious, you know, they
John Golden:or they would be very superficial in terms of, you
John Golden:know, they some, they hear something, they check a
John Golden:headline, okay, but I've got it. I don't need to go any deeper.
John Golden:And I think there's a little bit of a superficiality creeping in.
John Golden:But I think for me, it's, it's natural curiosity, it's just
John Golden:things that are fascinating and and like you said, the shoelace,
John Golden:the shoelace one, because I've tried that, I tried that a
John Golden:number of times to people like in groups, and I say, name me a
John Golden:technology that's 1000s of years old. That's that basically has
John Golden:not really been improved upon and has never been replaced, and
John Golden:nobody ever gets it right. And then shoelaces people go, Whoa.
John Golden:That's that's never thought of that. And and so I just think
John Golden:that that, you know, just that cure that curiosity. And I think
John Golden:if you're naturally curious, or if you develop a heightened
John Golden:sense of curiosity, it makes you a better sales person and makes
John Golden:you a better business person, because you really want to learn
John Golden:more, you want to understand, and the only way it's rich even
John Golden:says the only way you're going to understand more about an
John Golden:organized. And what's going on is by having conversations,
John Golden:asking questions, and then listening and then going deeper
John Golden:and really wanting to to understand and being curious
John Golden:about the business of business, because that's changing all the
John Golden:time too. So I would say curiosity is probably one of the
John Golden:number one traits that will help you be successful. And if you're
John Golden:not in that, yeah, some people are. If you're not naturally
John Golden:curious, it is something that you can develop and nurture.
John Golden:Because let's face it, I'm I don't age you, but I'm certainly
John Golden:old enough to remember the encyclopedias in our in our
John Golden:living room at home. And when you needed to look up something,
John Golden:you went to the encyclopedia. Now, the information and
John Golden:encyclopedia was already, I don't know, five years out of
John Golden:date, but that was your only source of information. So, you
John Golden:know, it took a little bit of effort. You had to go and open
John Golden:it and open and find it and do that. And then if you found
John Golden:something, maybe you then had to go to the library and find, see
John Golden:if there was a book camera and all of that those days ago.
John Golden:Everything is there in front of you. So it's kind of like you
John Golden:have no excuse anymore. So so
Janice Porter:that that whole that thing that you just said
Janice Porter:was just like gold, because if you read the thing I sent you
Janice Porter:about my about some questions I may ask, my biggest thing is
Janice Porter:about curiosity, and you just answered it without even me
Janice Porter:asking you. Because I always like to to do that with my with
Janice Porter:my guests and and I love that. I love that. I think we all are
Janice Porter:born with curiosity, but I think some of us get it drummed out of
Janice Porter:us, and some have to come back to it. But you also made me
Janice Porter:think of something else when you talked about the shoelace. I'm
Janice Porter:thinking of another thing that might be worthy of a topic,
Janice Porter:because I was always fascinated with the umbrella, and the
Janice Porter:umbrella has not changed forever, and then it did. Then
Janice Porter:there was this guy in Germany that invented a new umbrella,
Janice Porter:that I bought one actually online. And it was so
Janice Porter:disappointed, because it came from China, and it was, it was
Janice Porter:not in a great shape, and it broke after a while, but it was
Janice Porter:the best in improvement on an umbrella I have ever seen.
Janice Porter:Instead of closing down, it closed up, so all the wet stuff
Janice Porter:didn't come all over you, right? The water was on the inside
Janice Porter:brilliant umbrella. When you get in a car and you close it,
Janice Porter:right, you don't get the So, but it never has caught on. That's
John Golden:an interesting I mean, I think it's also
John Golden:obviously knowledge, and sometimes people get comfortable
John Golden:with things. But that's an interesting I tell you, though.
John Golden:And there's another interesting one is, and I think this is
John Golden:where sometimes you know, it's, maybe it's a it's an even better
John Golden:example of what you're talking about, because it has been
John Golden:successful. The people who did the Swiffer, yes, jet mobs,
John Golden:right? Yes. They said, they said they were not inventing
John Golden:something new. They were just making something that worked
John Golden:really well for a long time. The mop more efficient. So they took
John Golden:that thing. It's like, we're not inventing the mop. The mop is
John Golden:already there. We're just making them up more efficient. And
John Golden:obviously that caught on. Clearly, the the guy who
John Golden:invented the umbrella, for some reason, it didn't catch on in
John Golden:the same way. Maybe didn't have the funds to market it, or
John Golden:whatever part of it. Yeah, but that's why I always say to
John Golden:people, sometimes you don't, you know, it's great to be
John Golden:innovative and like earth shattering and break a paradigm
John Golden:and all of that. But sometimes it's more effective and better
John Golden:to just improve something that's already there.
Janice Porter:Yeah, this has been delightful. Thank you,
Janice Porter:John. Thank you for being my guest and for sharing, just
Janice Porter:having this great conversation. We went touched a lot of topics,
Janice Porter:and I and I appreciate that, because I you know, it allows me
Janice Porter:and my audience to get to know you a little bit, and hopefully
Janice Porter:they will go and explore your podcasts and the things that you
Janice Porter:talk about that and where they may get hold of you. I'll put in
Janice Porter:the show notes. So the podcast is, would you, I think I have
Janice Porter:here. It's on Apple, but you want it on YouTube as well,
Janice Porter:right? Yeah, yeah, it's
John Golden:on, it's on all the podcasts. Oh, yeah, got it,
John Golden:okay, yeah, it's
Janice Porter:on everything. And Pipeliner sales.com is where
Janice Porter:you, where you live, as well, right? Yeah,
John Golden:pipeline sales.com says pop.net, and obviously you
John Golden:can find me on LinkedIn,
Janice Porter:absolutely. And one final, maybe business tip
Janice Porter:for my audience, if anything comes to you,
John Golden:yeah, I think the biggest business tip I would
John Golden:give is is never make assumptions. We, you know, we
John Golden:tend to do that. Sometimes we're hardwired, sometimes to make
John Golden:assumptions. I think, at this time of year, particularly as
John Golden:the end of the year is coming up in that is, you know, don't make
John Golden:assumptions. Don't make assumptions that your customers
John Golden:are happy because you haven't heard from them. That's, you
John Golden:know, that's one. Don't make an assumption that maybe you've
John Golden:tapped out on on a client. Because, you know, circumstances
John Golden:are changing all the time. There may be opportunities you. Don't
John Golden:assume that maybe you have, you know, you've asked for a ref,
John Golden:you've asked for a referral once, and it never came, so
John Golden:you've given up on that. You just assume that it doesn't
John Golden:work. I think assumptions are your worst enemy. Put it that
John Golden:way,
Janice Porter:oh, I think that's a great segue into what I
Janice Porter:always say at the end of my podcast, actually, because I
Janice Porter:totally agree with you, and that is first I think I'll thank you
Janice Porter:for being here again, and I thank my audience for being
Janice Porter:here. And if you like what you heard, please let us know we
Janice Porter:always love five star reviews. And I want you to remember to
Janice Porter:stay connected and be remembered.
John Golden:Perfect. Thank you. Janice,
Janice Porter:thank you.
