Prepare For Impact With Ryan Estis

Posted by John Livesay in podcast0 comments

 

Take a moment to just sit with yourself and ask, “What kind of impact do you want to create?” What is your purpose in this world? How are you impacting your friends, your business, your community, and yourself? You have to be really clear on that so that you know what direction you’re going to go. Join John Livesay as he talks to the CEO of Ryan Estis and Associates and Founding Partner of ImpactEleven, Ryan Estis. Ryan is also a top-performing sales professional, a human-centered leader, and a keynote speaker. Tune in to learn why you need to start investing in yourself. Know how to stay in the learning lane as a leader. Find out how you can unleash your inner superhero. Create an impact like no other today!

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Listen to the podcast here

 

Prepare For Impact With Ryan Estis

Our guest is Ryan Estis, who’s an expert at helping people and specifically, sales teams prepare for impact. He said that when you live your truth, that’s a form of loving yourself. He talks about how important it is to get and stay in the learning lane. Enjoy the episode.

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Our guest is Ryan Estis, who has more than twenty years of experience as a top-performing sales professional and leader. As the former Chief Strategy Officer for the McCann Worldgroup advertising agency, he brings a fresh perspective to business events. As a keynote speaker, Ryan is known for his innovative ideas on leading change, improving sales effectiveness and preparing for the future of work. He was recognized as one of the best keynote speakers ever heard by Meetings and Convention Magazine, along with Tony Robbins, Bill Gates and Colin Powell.

He delivers keynote speeches, courses and online learning with an emphasis on actionable content designed to elevate business performance. His curriculum emphasizes emerging trends that influence leadership effectiveness, sales performance and customer experience. He helps people prepare to thrive in an ultra-competitive, hyper-connected business environment. Ryan, welcome to the show.

John, thank you for the lovely introduction. It’s great to be with you.

You’re more than welcome. One of the things that I want to mention for the regular readers is that you are part of a company called ImpactEleven with Josh Linkner and Seth Mattison, who’ve been guests on the show in the past. You’re one of that whole four core groups. We’re going to get into that. Before we hear how that all started, I would love to hear your story of origin. You can go back to school or college, wherever you want to start your story when you first started realizing, “I’m interested in sales advertising and/or becoming a speaker.”

I’ll give you a little bit of context. I grew up outside of Cleveland, Ohio. Both my parents were school teachers and education was very emphasized in our household. I knew going to college was as important but why and what that was going to mean for my future, I had no idea. As I was approaching graduation, I still had no idea. I had a lot of fun in college but I didn’t have a lot of focus on the future.

I made the decision serendipitously. I had some friends who had graduated the year or two prior and they had gone into sales. Listening to their stories and then getting an internship over the summer, I thought, “This is something that seems accessible to me that I could do and that I might be pretty good at.” That was my decision and it wasn’t a very strategic decision. I was nine months into my first sales job out to college and I hadn’t made a sale. I was on probation. I was on the verge of getting fired and being forced to move back into my parent’s basement to sell baseball cards for beer money.

I love that alliteration. Baseball cards for beer money.

That’s where it was heading. It would’ve gone that way had I not caught a break. By circumstances, I ended up on a Thursday night through the invitation of a friend attending a seminar and it was a networking seminar. The only reason I went was that there was a free happy hour but I caught a break from a man by the name of Jim Rohn. He took the stage and for three hours, I was mesmerized. I moved from the back of the audience to the front. During the break, I borrowed a workbook and a pen and started taking notes. That weekend, I read two books that he recommended, Think and Grow Rich and The Greatest Salesman in the World. I bought his books on tape. My investment in myself started that night and it hasn’t stopped.

I always say that was the night that my life changed. I went from on the verge of being fired. At that time, I had not made a single sale but eighteen months later, I was the number one salesperson in the company and got promoted again and again. In the last four years, I was there. I was running the sales and the go-to-market strategy for the division of a Fortune 500 company. I could trace it all back to that defining moment that night.

You said a couple of things there that I want to double-click on. One is your investment in yourself started then and hasn’t stopped. That’s crucial for everyone reading. No matter how successful you get, whether you’re an athlete, an actor on Broadway or in the movies, those people keep refining their craft. What you are promoting is whether you’re a speaker or salesperson, yes?

That’s exactly right. It’s more important probably now than it was certainly when I encountered Jim. He had this great quote. I still remember it. “Don’t wish it was easier. Wish you were better. Don’t wish for fewer problems. Wish for more skills.” Investing in you is the single best investment you can make. If you get better, nobody can take that from you. It’s true for me. Whenever I hit a plateau, I know it’s usually because I am relaxed and my commitment to learning. I force myself to stay in the learning lane, keep growing and keep getting better.

[bctt tweet=”Investing in you is the single best investment you can make. Because when you get better, nobody can take that from you.” username=”John_Livesay”]

Is there something that you see that you were doing wrong that you learned from reading all those books and listening to Jim that you would give us? You are Jim Rohn for so many thousands of people who hear you speak. You’re continuing that on in your journey. What is the biggest mistake you see salespeople making, especially those at the beginning of their career that they’re not getting any traction?

One of the big ones and it’s very analogous to a conversation on investing in you are mastering the discipline of preparation. I emphasize that when I talk to salespeople and it’s more incumbent upon sellers to be prepared now than it was when I started. It wasn’t that I didn’t have the desire but I lacked basic skill and competency. The discipline of professional selling, at times, gets a bad rap but to me, it’s no different from the discipline or practice of the law or neuroscience.

It is a skill-based vocation. There is a specific set of competencies that have been studied, practiced, mastered and implemented consistently that can lead to outsized success. That requires discipline, commitment, planning, routines, preparation and study. All of those things are required to build competency. Once I matched the desire, the mindset with the process, discipline, skills and competency, I was off to the race.

Speaking of preparation and discipline, you do something I’ve never seen anyone else do where you and your team publish original research that features the client’s case studies that talk about customization. Can you tell us a little bit about how you got that idea and what that looks like for the clients when they have you as a speaker?

Two ways. We’ll do qualitative and quantitative research. I have a bit of a research background from working in advertising. I know you did too but I also got lucky. A very good friend of mine owned a research firm. As I got into this world and through our relationship and talking about, “Is there an application for the work you do inside the context of the work I do?” We do have the capability of prior to working with a client or doing an engagement, whether that’s a keynote, a workshop or a series of seminars doing very specific quantitative research. We can assess or study an audience or an organization. I can walk into that learning experience with very specific customized data and typically teach a room full of people things about themselves that they did not know.

The other thing I love to do is qualitative research. An example of that would be we’ve got a fun keynote that we’re giving in Punta Cana for Jacuzzi and Sundance Spa Systems. They sell hot tubs all over the world. I said, “I don’t own one but I would go into a jacuzzi dealership and learn all about them. I’ll bring my team and my camera crew.”

We spent a morning inside a dealership learning all about the spas and hot tubs, interviewing staff and having a whole experience. I can bring that knowledge, assets, that media and that interview into the keynote experience. To your point, it lends a lot of customization and personalization. It delivers more value to the client.

You’ve done this for almost a wide variety of clients. I saw you do it for a hamburger restaurant if I’m not mistaken.

We were with Five Guys. We did it for another restaurant chain, Culvers. We’ve done it for a whole variety of different companies. You have to have a client that wants to engage at that level and give you access to the opportunity. When we do, we’re willing to go all in.

You said something about that experience for the audience. You are able to teach them something they didn’t know about themselves. When I work with sales teams, I help them figure out their story of the origin of how they got into healthcare, “My mom was a nurse. I was a microbiologist. I didn’t want to spend my life behind a microscope.” People will say, “I’ve worked with you for two years. I never knew that about you.” Can you give us an example of you from doing this research where you were able to give the audience some information about themselves that they didn’t even know?

I’ll give you a beautiful example. We went into the restaurant corporation Culvers and went into a very successful operation. It’s a beautiful story. I get a little sentimental when I tell it. We spend time with a district manager and a general manager. We’re having lunch in the restaurant. I noticed the general manager get up a couple of times. As guests were sitting down with their food, he was walking over and put his hand out. He got back to the table and I said, “You keep getting up. What are you doing?” He goes, “Those are table touches. I like to come out into the restaurant and touch physically.”

He’s telling me about the table touches. All of a sudden, the staff started singing Happy Birthday in a chorus. There was a woman a few tables over. Her name was Helen. I’ll never forget this. She was celebrating her 96th birthday. This was not planned. It was not scripted. The manager didn’t even know she was there. In a stroke of good luck, we got to get up, sit with her, meet her and wish her a happy birthday but asked her why she was celebrating her 96th at Culvers.

The cameras are rolling. When you talk about value, actionable ideas for any general manager for table touches, what does that look like? Why do you do it? How do you do it? Also, the understanding of why someone would choose to spend 96 in your restaurant and remember that’s what you’re doing and that’s who you are. That’s a whole lot of value delivered from the stage that day.

It’s because it gives people a purpose bigger than making numbers, doesn’t it?

It becomes less about being successful and more about being helpful. You recognize the impact that you have on other people. You become part of something larger than yourself. When you recognize that and are consciously aware of that consistently, you show up differently.

 

Let’s talk about some of your different topics and one of the takeaways. You have something here called Sell your Way Forward and Staying in the Learning Lane, which goes back to what we said about investing in yourself all the time. Can you paint that picture a little bit of how you help your clients stay in the learning lane?

By staying in the learning lane hack is out of your comfort zone and into the learning lane. That’s where all the growth and breakthroughs happen. I always ask people, “How many hours do you spend on your development every week?” My recommendation or prescription for this is to commit to the five-hour rule. Five hours a week, you got to set aside time to invest in yourself. Everybody learns differently. You could have a mentor and coach. You could go to a therapist. You could read or listen to audio.

Listen to a podcast.

The idea is what gets scheduled gets done. If it’s a priority, put it on the calendar. That’s important. Leaders are learners. The idea is you never stop growing. Never relax, never settle. Be curious and conscious about the investment you’re making in yourself.

 

You also give people this great way to make sure that their value proposition lands. Without that, you’re just a commodity and you’re fighting about price. Do you have a story of how you helped clients from a keynote in a workshop?

A couple of things. I am fond of the sentiment that customers don’t buy on price. They default to price in the absence of value. They will perceive an equal experience. It’s very important to understand the value you bring to the marketplace. If somebody has a problem with my price or I find that I’m running into those conversations, I inspect my value proposition. We have a very specific way to do that. There’s a link on my website under the Resources section. It’s free. It’s a 22-point value proposition checklist. You could run your specific value proposition through the lens. This is something I do a few times a year because I need to change as the market changes.

By all predictions, we’re heading into a recession and the market’s contracting. People are more sensitive to discretionary investment. In a climate like that, how do you bring more value to the marketplace to your customer? How do you stack value? The story I shared with Culvers, that’s unique for a keynote speaker. Culvers wasn’t hearing about ten other speakers that had a similar offer or were willing to make that investment.

That’s a very clear way that I’m differentiated and I’m stacking value into the experience. You have to have evidence that demonstrates your proficiency or how you deliver that. We have a whole way of walking a client through that and landing at a place where they have an authentic differentiated and compelling value proposition or statement of value.

You also have a wide variety of topics while still staying in your expert lane. One of them that caught my eye is unleashing your inner superhero. There must be a story here about you being inspired as a kid. I want to start with, who’s your favorite superhero?

[bctt tweet=”Unleash your inner superhero.” username=”John_Livesay”]

I shared my superhero story. For me, it was Jim Rohn. Superman is my favorite superhero.

You got the glasses. You got the whole Clark Kent thing going.

You have the Clark Kent look but inside me, there’s more. I truly believe that so often, there’s this pent-up potential inside of us and there’s more that we want or more we’re capable of. For me, I had a desire. I wanted to bring out my potential. I still do. When I get to the finish line, at the end of this one beautiful life I get to live, I want to look back and say, “That was max. You did it. You took the shots and played full out.” There’s more inside of us often than we realize.

Unleashing yourself more of who you’re capable of being, more of your talent, potential and calling into the world is what that talk is about. It’s not sales or leadership specific but it’s about teaching the growth mindset principles and putting people in a position where they’re ready to become truly who they’re capable of being. It’s not for everybody. You have to want that. For the people that are inspired and do, it’s a fun talk to give.

I love your choice of word there, unleashed. When I take my dog to the dog park on a leash and then I get to the place where they can be off-leash, all of the dogs are so happy to go run. Unleash that energy and be free. That analogy, energy and picture from one word are why you’re a master at what you do.

Let’s take that analogy a step further. What are the leashes or constraints in your life that are holding you back? Be honest with yourself. Don’t fake it until you make it. Face it until you make it. What’s your truth? What’s getting in the way? What could you do or would you do if that barrier didn’t exist? Is that barrier real or is it self-imposed? Confront your limiting beliefs. If you want to bring out your potential, I believe most people do but we sell ourselves on a story or rationalize the reasons we can’t. I’ve lived through that and come out to that on the other side. I’m inspired to share that if people are interested.

Anytime we’re vulnerable and authentic at the same time, in my experience as a speaker, that is when you have an emotional connection with the audience, as well as that’s what people are looking for when they buy something from someone. It’s that emotional connection. You walk your talk. Thank you so much for deciding to partner with what could be perceived as competitors and launch something with a bigger purpose than just making money called ImpactEleven. How did that all come about? What is it?

You’re right. Perception is reality. They are competitors. They’re dear friends and business partners but we compete for deals. ImpactEleven is a company I’m a Founding Partner of. I’m proud to be. We’re a thought leadership development company, essentially a speaker accelerator. We do live events and online learning. We have a community offering. We do coaching and creative services. If you’re an expert looking to bring your message to the world, that’s whom we support. Those are our clients.

 

When COVID happened, if you were an expert or a thought leader, you did a lot of live events like I do. COVID was unsettling. It was this moment of pause where it said, “My speaking calendar for the year came down. I have some free space. What am I going to do here?” That was overwhelming at first but it was also an invitation as the weeks took by to inspect, “I’ve been on this treadmill for about a decade. I’ve been going at it pretty good doing 75, 80 events a year, growing the practice.”

I have this moment to sit back and say, “That was the last ten years. How do I want to do the next? What do I want to keep doing? What do I want to stop doing that maybe isn’t serving me for the long journey?” When I sat with that for a minute, it was very clear. It came to me in a single meditation. The answer for me was, “I don’t want to do this alone anymore. I wanted to be part of a team. I wanted to do it in the community.”

I underestimated leaving a large organization with a large team, the void that was going to get created, being out there on the road, traveling, touring, whatever you want to call it on my own. The genesis of ImpactEleven was 4 experts coming together and then expanding it into 10 experts with the impetus that we’d be better together. We’d all benefit that there was some inherent competition for a certain but with an abundant mindset recognizing that there’s way more business than could support 4 or 10 of us or frankly, a community of 1,000 of us.

It’s that big of an industry. Wouldn’t we be better served going on this further journey together? The truth is part of the business is about giving people an opportunity to share their message, take the platform and make an impact. Simultaneously we’re all growing, learning and improving together. Do you want to talk about learning in the learning lane? ImpactEleven is the place I go for my deepest learning and professional development for certain. I hope that’s been the case for you and everybody else that’s part of the community. I certainly have received a lot more out of it than I’ve contributed to it. It’s an incredible gift. It’s the way I want to work going forward.

Even the name, because you zoom out and you say, “What is my purpose in being a sales keynote speaker?” It’s to have an impact. That’s the first word. An impact on a scale of 1 to 10, what would an 11 look like? Hence the name ImpactEleven. Did I get that right?

You got it exactly right. It’s interesting, prior to that meditation and ImpactEleven, a mentor of mine asked me this question at the onset of the COVID pause. He said, “Ryan, on a scale of 1 to 10, you’re starting, a beginner crawling and you don’t know what you’re doing yet, that’s a 0 to 1 or 10, you are maxed potential. You’ve rung it out like this is the top. As a professional speaker, an entrepreneur or an expert, there’s no room for growth. You did it. You crossed your finish line. On that scale of 1 to 10, where are you, honestly?” I sat with that for a second and said, “I’m a six.”

He said, “Honest, awesome. You’ve done a pretty good six. Bravo for your six. Let me ask you the second question. Do you have the desire to move up the ladder beyond a six?” “Of course I do.” He said, “What would you like to get to? A seven?” “No, you heard me. I’m going to bring out the potential guy. I want to unleash my potential. I want to be a ten.” He said, “Awesome. I thought that was the case. Tell me your specific plan to go from a 6 to a 10.” I didn’t have a very good answer to that question, as you might suspect but I do now. That plan is contained inside ImpactEleven.

Let’s take a second here and give people a future pace experience of what it feels like to have that plan in place and an answer to that question versus the awkwardness when you got asked that question without an answer.

It’s inspiring. I’m learning, growing and getting better. I can almost see the future. My energy is very clear and focused. I’m moving toward it. I didn’t invent this mantra and I’m not going to be able to credit it appropriately. It’s Derek Sivers. That’s not a hell yes. It’s a no. I’m not distracted. I’m clear and focused. It’s not just about building a good business because I probably would’ve done many or a decent one. It’s also about building a fulfilling life.

[bctt tweet=”If it’s not a hell yes, it’s a no.” username=”John_Livesay”]

I’m much richer in relationships, community, balance, perspective, my priorities and what’s important. Speaking of my practice, it’s wonderful. I’m grateful to be able to do it. I’m very fortunate in my life but that’s a part of me. It’s not all of me. Putting all of those things into the right perspective allows me to be the best version of myself when I set foot on stage. That’s what clients are paying for and they deserve that.

Richer in your life. That was what I was going for. I asked Seth this question and it’s something I’ve never heard before. A commitment to a friendship that 90 days will not go by without you guys being in the same city. That’s a tricky thing with your travel schedule. Can you tell everyone how that came about and what that looks like?

Seth is a business partner but prior to being a business partner, he was a dear friend. Seth’s one of my best friends. I considered Seth as a family. I spent a lot of time with him and his wife, Kristen. I was at their wedding. Seth and I went on this journey together. I met Seth before either one of us was an entrepreneur or had speaking businesses. We both had corporate jobs. We were doing that. We became friends. As we went on this journey together, our friendship deepened and we become business partners.

However, Seth and I haven’t lived in the same city for many years. We realized the gift of friendship was too important to not make it a priority. If we’re coming up on 90 days, we will get on the phone and start comparing calendars. We’ve met in random cities. It’s like, “I’m in Chicago.” “I’m in Orlando.” “Maybe we can meet. I have to go to LA.” “I could pop into Denver for a night if you could stop halfway.” We’ll drop in for dinner. We do it because it’s worth it.

When you’re willing to make those deposits and invest that way, certainly, there’s a deep sense of security that comes from having a friend, a brother like Seth. We’re both growing and expanding together. To be on that journey with someone and then to have a friend who cares enough to make that investment back is rewarding. I love Seth. I love Pete and Josh too. I’m lucky to be on this journey with them.

What I also find interesting within your team and you sent an email out about this is the willingness to be transparent and honest with each other about what’s working and what’s not working, even if it requires some painful conversations. You also teach that to your clients as well. It’s an example of you walking your talk. Let me have you expound upon the importance of having a safe environment to do that.

The study was commissioned by Google. They set out to analyze what are the ingredients of the perfect team. Do the people have to get along? Do we have to have different backgrounds? Do they have to connect outside of work? With all the data, science and inputs, there was one defining characteristic among the high-performing teams that were non-negotiable and that’s psychological safety.

It’s true for me. If I don’t feel safe, I will start to close down. What you minimize in those circumstances where you’re closing is you don’t confront the truth. Living your truth is loving yourself. Also, it’s loving the people you work with. At the onset of going on this little bit of a further journey with three competitors, we sat in a room and talked about things like strengths and weaknesses and blind spots. Being willing to be vulnerable and be honest about where you might need help or support set the stage for a team, culture and environment that is very open and transparent.

[bctt tweet=”Living your truth is loving yourself.” username=”John_Livesay”]

We’re all contributing our best in the service of something larger than ourselves. We’re devoted to the mission. If somebody’s in a business, our business and another business, nobody comes in intentionally and says, “I’m going to do a mediocre job or a B-plus job. I’m going to half-ass it.” If something is going wrong consistently, it might be an invitation to sit down and be honest about it. Say, “We’re off here. How do you see it? Tell me more about what’s happening so I can support you.” That’s a much better environment than a lot of what goes on in environments where people don’t feel safe and can’t confront the truth. That’s been the way we’ve worked and it’s been a real blessing.

It even extends into corporations with big HR departments. You wrote about that. HR is taking on a whole new role to keep the environment safe but also create productive teams. Can you touch on that for a second? That’s a unique perspective you bring to your audiences.

I’m a big advocate of HR. I’ve done a lot of work in and around HR organizations for years. I’ve spoken to hundreds of SHRM chapters at conferences. I did National SHRM as an Omega session for 8 or 9 years in a row. This is the defining moment in the history of time for HR. We’re reimagining work and working hard to make work better. At least, that’s the opportunity.

Why? Let’s run it down. 60% of people feel lonely, 70% of people feel highly overworked, 80% of people feel more distracted, 70% of leaders are burned out and 80% of people feel more stressed and anxious at work. Over 50% of people don’t feel comfortable talking to their manager about burnout. We aren’t in a safe environment. We aren’t taking care of our people and we have to do better.

 

We’re at a moment where there’s this tension between the need for growth, performance, innovation, advancing and the need to take better care of the whole person. Those things are bumping into each other. You see the result. You see the statistics like the ones I ran down that are responsible for the Great Resignation, quiet quitting and disengagement. Seventy percent of leaders, the managers are burned out.

We have to step back and do a better job of humanizing our approach to work. The talk that I gave to 3,000 HR leaders was about human-centered leadership and how HR is in the driver’s seat to make work better. It’s called the Make Work Better Summit. I applaud Betterworks for initiating that conversation. We’re at that threshold. The way we are working isn’t working and this is that moment to make it better.

I can feel your passion and I know the audience feels it as well. Any last thought or quote you want to leave us with, Ryan?

I don’t have a signature quote. The other last thought is we talked a lot about impact. I have my newsletter. I’ve got a new book coming out called Prepare for Impact. That’s the invitation. Sit with yourself and this is a perfect time to do it. We’re making resolutions, doing year-end reviews and planning for next year. Particularly if you’re in sales, you’re putting that number up on the board. We’re going through this in our company.

Take a moment and be honest with yourself. Decide what you want. Not just about your performance and number but what’s your purpose here? What impact do you want to create in your family, friendships, community, own well-being and business? It’s all interconnected. When you get real clear on that, you get focused and directional. It’s a lot easier to say if it’s not a hell yes, it’s a no. You have a better year because of it.

Thank you. If people want to reach out to you to book you as a speaker, they can go to your website, RyanEstis.com. You’re represented by all the top bureaus. ImpactEleven.com is the other place for any speakers. I’ve gotten incredible value from all of you and I highly recommend that to anyone wanting to make the investment in becoming a better speaker. Thanks again, Ryan.

Thank you, John.

 

Important Links

• Ryan Estis
• ImpactEleven
• Josh Linkner – Past episode
• Seth Mattison – Past episode
• Think and Grow Rich
• The Greatest Salesman in the World.
• Resources
• Better Selling Through Storytelling Method Online Course

 

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Tags: Human Centered Leadership, ImpactEleven, Inner Superhero, Invest In Yourself, Learning Lane, Professional Selling