Winning Every Sale Isn’t the Goal
Most salespeople start their careers believing one thing: success means winning every deal. But the reality is, even the best salespeople lose far more often than they win. That’s right we don’t win every sale. I know, I know you hear it all the time from “Sales Guru’s” that say they are amazing and they win every sale. That is not the case unfortunately…
The Trap of “Always Be Closing”
Sales culture often glorifies closing as the ultimate measure of success. The average close rate across industries is 29% according to (HubSpot, 2024) report. That is a low percentage of success per sale. This means that there is a great opportunity, but let’s get into the “close” that I take issue with.
I won’t say hate, but I firmly dislike “closing” because closing is coming to an end. We don’t want to come to an end in the relationship with the customer. We want them coming back to us again and again for more business. So how can we reframe this notion that we should be closing… I tend to think of the end of this sale as in a dating relationship with someone. We don’t close unless we want that one night stand. If we value the other person, we focus on generating a relationship.
When speaking on stage or training sales team, I often walk people through the fact that each customer has an acquisitional cost to add them to our database and manage through the sales process. That means if we only make one sale to a customer and have to chase another customer our costs are increasing. Having customers coming back again and again means we have lower costs and make more profit.
Don’t focus on the close, but focus how you can go through the file cabinet of opportunities that lie in with the customer and how you can support them not just in one sale, but in becoming a consultive advisor to help them grow their business. The by-product will be more and more sales.
By not focusing on how we can get a quick close today with a product / service and think about how we can become a trusted advisor to the customer, we will see a better future.
And just because you hear a “no” today , does not mean you won’t hear a “yes” in six months—if you’ve built the right relationship with that customer. Some of my best customers were the hardest to secure at the beginning, but I kept showing up, and kept adding value which in turn made me the go to person when they needed help. This is when I also made more profits as well.
Have a great week!
Master the Art of Influence: Build Trust, Drive Sales, and Lead Effectively
Are you ready to become the magnetic force that attracts top performers and your best customers?
I’m Kevin Sidebottom—keynote speaker, sales trainer, and author—and I help organizations unlock the power of influence to achieve breakthrough results.
In this blog, I reveal why influence is the ultimate currency in business and leadership—and how you can use it to:
✅ Motivate customers to stay loyal and buy again
✅ Build trust and engagement with your team
✅ Transform your leadership approach to inspire stronger performance
With decades of experience studying why people buy and how leaders earn loyalty, I equip sales professionals and executives to deliver lasting value, strengthen customer relationships, and drive higher revenue.
👉 Featured Resources to Grow Your Influence:
· Email: kevin@kevinsidebottom.com
· The Sales Process Uncovered Membership
· The Sales Process Uncovered (Book on Amazon)
If you’re serious about elevating your sales process, leadership impact, and team performance, this blog will show you the path.
The Engagement Power of Trust and Autonomy
There is nothing worse than being micromanaged by someone. This is an energy and effort drain to constantly having to look over our shoulders to see if we are making a manager, or leader happy. Constantly having to report out on my effort and to be told I should change this to make the impact was frustrating. I had a new manager that was also a friend one time and it was hard to manage the relationship.
I thought I could, but when the manager would constantly tell me how to do things, change the report to this view, put in these bullet points, it caused me to stop and say, why do you have me doing this? I can be kind of blunt so I’m sure when the manager heard this their blood pressure skyrocketed as well.
It took many discussions to figure out the relationship because I had a friendship, but think about how many people report to micromanagers that are not friends with them. I shared a few weeks ago that engagement globally fell to 21% in 2024. Now there are various reasons why, but one can be attributed to leaders and managers that are micromanaging their teams.
Involve, Don’t Dictate
As a high driver, it is sometimes hard for me to let my son do things his way when I have had the experience. Sometimes I am even surprised by the fact that it worked out even when not doing it my way. Yes, I have a lot to learn about parenting, but the same is true for leadership and management. They need to let the employees develop their own way of doing things and not be told exactly how to do everything. By dictating to people we are in essence training robots. Sometimes we can be surprised at the outcome being better or more efficient than our ways.
Autonomy Is Key
We can have Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) about the position and show the employees how to perform certain tasks, but then leaders and managers need to step away and let the employees take ownership of the operation so they feel like they are apart of the decision and outcome. If we direct every movement when things go wrong, the employee will just throw up their hands and say it’s not their fault. By giving autonomy, the employee will take ownership on how the task / operation is done and want to improve and make better the outcome. They will want to keep showing up and improving to become more efficient.
Tell the Truth
The best leaders take ownership of the outcome when things fail and give credit to the team when missions succeed. They also tell the truth. We are not talking about my bluntness here. We are talking about when the leader makes a mistake they don’t brush it under the rug, they acknowledge it and own the mistake. Transparency and ownership of the issue allows the employees to see the value that the organization has and they will start taking more ownership and communicate better as well.
The employees are looking at the leadership to see how they are to engage in the environment so it is up to leadership teams to make sure they are doing thing well as a guide to what success looks like. They need to sometimes show, then step away to let the employees lead themselves on the task. Being truthful and transparent will also carry the weight of the mission with the employees allowing them to take more ownership and become more engaged as well.
Hope this helps and here’s to your success Cheers!
Master the Art of Influence: Build Trust, Drive Sales, and Lead Effectively
Are you ready to become the brand of choice for top customers and employees? Kevin Sidebottom—keynote speaker, trainer, and author—shares proven strategies to elevate your sales success and leadership impact.
In this blog, Kevin reveals why influence is the ultimate currency in building lasting relationships. Learn how to:
✅ Motivate customers to stay loyal to your brand
✅ Build trust and engagement with your team
✅ Transform your approach to leadership and sales
With decades of experience studying why people buy and how to inspire loyalty, Kevin equips sales professionals and leaders to deliver exceptional value, ensuring customers return again and again.
Featured Links to Grow Your Influence:
Winning With Others: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/stopgambling
Kevin’s website: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com
Kevin’s email: kevin@kevinsidebottom.com
The Sales Process Uncovered Membership Page
https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/pricing-page
The Sales Process Uncovered Book
How Recognition and Feedback Boosts Engagement
Last week I shared the numbers from Gallups report that 21% of the workforce globally is engaged and how it cost in the Billions in revenue lost. I also shared why leaders need to help employees see the purpose. If you missed that post check it out. This week I want to further the engagement discussion with one more step that leaders and managers are missing the mark on.
It’s recognition. That’s right something as simple as recognition can help the employees feel so valued and known that they are willing to go the extra mile to move the needle for the organization and customers.
Employees think ping pong tables are novel, but what they want more is to know that they are valued and seen, Without this they have no idea (until the annual review) how well they are doing. Too often when I ask leaders and managers how their employees are doing, they say great, no problems….When I talk to the employees however, they give me this look of lost hope and wishing for something better to come along and make their lives better.
This is a huge disconnect between the leaders and the employees. The answer is simple. There is a lack of feedback to understand how things are going. There are a few ways that this can be accomplished to really fire up the team.
Celebrate the Small Stuff
Leaders and managers can really start the uplift for the employees quickly by celebrating the small stuff. And no, I am not talking about participation trophies here. I am talking about celebrating the fact that someone went the extra mile to do something to help another employee, customer, or department. I hand out coins when I see people at our church doing something like this and you would be amazed at how uplifting that makes the volunteers. I’ve heard people do kudos notes that anyone can write on to give to the person as well. People need to feel seen for the value that they bring.
Make Feedback Real-Time and Real
Employees need more than just an annual check in with leadership. They need regularly checking in and providing feedback as well as not a fake interaction. I have heard guidance from people to do the sandwich effect when giving correction where you give a good compliment, then an area to improve, followed by a good compliment. Employees can smell this coming a mile away and will immediately shut down and feel like the leader is just trying to correct them. This drives engagement into the garbage which is where that management critique sandwich needs to go.
Set up regular check ins with the employee to see how things are going and hear of their wins. Also focus on learning one new thing about the employee each time and build that CRM so leaders can really know the employee. Don’t treat the employees like a cog in a machine.
Acknowledge Effort over results
We have implemented this at home with our kids as well. I am a high driver and remember being scolded whey I did not have all A’s on a report card. It made me feel small and unvalued. Sometimes we don’t get the results we had hoped for even though we put in so much effort.
By focusing on the effort that someone put in, they know that just because a metric may have been missed, they are still valued and seen for the effort that they put forth and are willing to do it again in the future to help the organization hit the goals. If we only focus on the results and not the massive effort employees will stop trying hard and check out.
Leaders can really move the needle with engagement by focusing on these three simple ways. And no you don’t have to master all three at once. Try one at a time and over time leaders and managers will grow the engagement from the team.
Master the Art of Influence: Build Trust, Drive Sales, and Lead Effectively
Are you ready to become the brand of choice for top customers and employees? Kevin Sidebottom—keynote speaker, trainer, and author—shares proven strategies to elevate your sales success and leadership impact.
In this blog, Kevin reveals why influence is the ultimate currency in building lasting relationships. Learn how to:
✅ Motivate customers to stay loyal to your brand
✅ Build trust and engagement with your team
✅ Transform your approach to leadership and sales
With decades of experience studying why people buy and how to inspire loyalty, Kevin equips sales professionals and leaders to deliver exceptional value, ensuring customers return again and again.
Featured Links to Grow Your Influence:
Winning With Others: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/stopgambling
Kevin’s website: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com
Kevin’s email: kevin@kevinsidebottom.com
The Sales Process Uncovered Membership Page
https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/pricing-page
The Sales Process Uncovered Book
Leaders Need to Communicate Purpose to Jumpstart Engagement
Gallup provided their state of the business report for 2025 and engagement in the workplace worldwide fell for the fifth straight year to 21% costing businesses a total of $438 Billion in lost revenue. Managers feel less equipped than ever before, and let’s sit on the fact for a second that only 21% of the workforce is actually fully engaged. This is being measured in the Billions of dollars.
This is not to be blamed on the employees, or because they are lazy. It is because they don’t feel a sense of purpose when they show up to work. Granted a teller at a bank may not think that they do as much as a first responder, but it is the leaders and managers JOB to equip the employees to know what value they are bringing to the customers and the organization.
If they don’t, well you see the numbers above…
Employees need to feel the sense of purpose of why showing up day in and day out matters. If they don’t, then they will not do the tough things and just mail in their effort dreaming about what the weekend will hold.
Leaders and managers need to define the what the organization is doing for the customers. Especially now that the Millennials and the GenZ’s are in the workforce. They have a greater value on purpose and impact. If they don’t feel it and understand why they are showing up, they will find something else to fill that void. They need meaning, not just tasks.
When I first started in sales and was frustrated because I was not making end roads. That is when my mentor stepped in and let me know why we do what we do. It is to support small businesses that are working hard with products and services that will enable them to be better and work more efficient. That is such a better vision than sell more stuff right!
Leaders and the managers need to also connect the dots to how each role serves the mission that the organization is on. That may mean reviewing the duties and the roles to see how they help other functions of the business and then ask the employees what they like about the position and why. That is right, this is not just a one-way street, this is a collaboration.
I know it may seem daunting with all of the other duties that leaders and managers have, but if the teams are functioning well and working hard without having to motivate them don’t you think your future will get better? I have witnessed organizations that thrive no matter the environment and it is electric. You can feel the energy and why people are working so hard for the mission.
It all stops with the leaders and managers casting the vision and showing each employee why they matter to the mission and hopefully the mission is not just to make numbers for the quarter and make shareholders happy. The mission needs to be greater!
Master the Art of Influence: Build Trust, Drive Sales, and Lead Effectively
Are you ready to become the brand of choice for top customers and employees? Kevin Sidebottom—keynote speaker, trainer, and author—shares proven strategies to elevate your sales success and leadership impact.
In this blog, Kevin reveals why influence is the ultimate currency in building lasting relationships. Learn how to:
✅ Motivate customers to stay loyal to your brand
✅ Build trust and engagement with your team
✅ Transform your approach to leadership and sales
With decades of experience studying why people buy and how to inspire loyalty, Kevin equips sales professionals and leaders to deliver exceptional value, ensuring customers return again and again.
Featured Links to Grow Your Influence:
Winning With Others: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/stopgambling
Kevin’s website: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com
Kevin’s email: kevin@kevinsidebottom.com
The Sales Process Uncovered Membership Page
https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/pricing-page
The Sales Process Uncovered Book
Five Limiting Blind Spots Sales Professionals Have
Sales professionals like many other professions suffer from blind spots. We are familiar with blind spots while driving our vehicles. The same is said for blind spots in ourselves. Everyone has a blind spot or two. Today we will talk about five blind spots that plague sales professionals.
Lack of Personal Development
This one is high on just about anyone’s list. But especially for sales professionals, personal development is crucial. If sales professionals are not improving their skills, their presence, competitive marketplace landscape, or their mindset, they will fall by the side of those that are developing their craft. Many different professionals can hide behind a title, but sales is all about performance. There is no excuses when the sales person is not succeeding.
Not Adapting to the Buyer’s Style
Buyers come in all shapes and sizes, backgrounds, and presentation styles. When I first stepped into sales, I was told to memorize the DISC personalities and be able to quickly diagnose the different styles so that I could present to the buyer in the way they like to be presented to. I have since taken and understood more assessments like predictive index and Myers-Briggs. To understand the other person is crucial to help them find their communication style so there is no miscommunication. I large deal can be lost because someone did not understand the value.
Thinking it’s a Numbers game
Too many people in sales start out thinking it is just a numbers game. Smile and dials, cold calls, running the phone, all different names for it. What I found is that the more influence I had with customers the more they helped me sell my products and services. This meant selling actually got easier. Now I will say the numbers approach does mean we have to build the relationship so that takes time and relationship, so showing up multiple times is required.
Not Building Relationships
Long-term success is about influence, not transactions. As mentioned above it’s all about relationships and influence than about selling a product / service. When perform my “Sales Titans” keynote help the audience with refocusing on how to make the customer a hero of their story. As with any relationship, if we are only self-focused then the relationship fails to thrive. The same is said for sales. We need relationships if we are going to succeed in sales.
Misaligned Motivation
Ever seen a broke sales person? They are almost hanging on the customer’s leg as the customer races to the door as to say, “please don’t go, I need this sale.” Customers can sense when they are being manipulated and they don’t like it. Would you? We need to stop chasing sales targets and making sure that we are putting the customer in a light so they can win. When we do that sales actually take off. No this is not a quick fix kind of strategy, it is a long-term sales future. I have been in sales for over two decades and it’s because I don’t manipulate, or am self-motivated in the relationship.
These are the top blind spots that sales professionals have when approaching sales, but the cure is making sure after every sales call we review how it went and where we may have missed the mark so we can learn, grow, and make more sales for a successful career.
Have a great week!
Master the Art of Influence: Build Trust, Drive Sales, and Lead Effectively
Are you ready to become the brand of choice for top customers and employees? Kevin Sidebottom—keynote speaker, trainer, and author—shares proven strategies to elevate your sales success and leadership impact.
In this blog, Kevin reveals why influence is the ultimate currency in building lasting relationships. Learn how to:
✅ Motivate customers to stay loyal to your brand
✅ Build trust and engagement with your team
✅ Transform your approach to leadership and sales
With decades of experience studying why people buy and how to inspire loyalty, Kevin equips sales professionals and leaders to deliver exceptional value, ensuring customers return again and again.
Featured Links to Grow Your Influence:
Winning With Others: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/stopgambling
Kevin’s website: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com
Kevin’s email: kevin@kevinsidebottom.com
The Sales Process Uncovered Membership Page
https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/pricing-page
The Sales Process Uncovered Book
Top Five Ways Sale People Fail to Execute
The sales industry has made it almost impossible for the customer to trust sales professionals.
Sales is tough and it only seems tougher as the noise around us continues to increase in volume. The noise of constant email drips to us with sales pitches even though we have unsubscribed multiple times. Spam calls coming in even though we have spam blockers on our cell phones. That’s right it is hard to win sales when we are competing with the others in our industry trying to sell to the same people that we are. This is making the customer apprehensive to engage with even the best intentions from a sales professional.
Today let’s talk about the top five reasons why sales professionals are losing before they even begin the sale’s process.
Talking Too Much, Listening Too Little
There was a saying when I first started in sales that stuck with me ever since. We have two ears and one mouth so we need to be listening twice as much as we talk with the customer. Far too often sales professionals jump right into their pitch about how great the product or service is for the customer without knowing enough about the customer and their needs. Sales professionals pitch before they understand the customer. If sales professionals want to quickly end the sales cycle, this is by far the quickest end it.
Focusing on the Product, Not the Problem
I started in sales like most people rattling off how great my product offering was and I had the opportunity from one individual to stop me and say the following…”That’s great, but how does it help me?” Insert the gut punch. Until the sales professional knows what is keeping the customer up at night and what is causing the customer to wonder if they will move forward with their organization, the sales person is going to lose the sale. We cannot sell our product or service before we understand what is going on and how our product will support the customer to achieve their goals.
Skipping Discovery
I know this goes along with the item above, but far too often the sales professional has not asked enough questions to get to the root of the issues that the customer is having. If the customer is trying to figure out why they are having an issue and we jump in and say that our product will fix it, how do we think that customer is going to respond. It’s like going on a date with someone and asking them to marry them on the first date. Huge red flags if we are not understanding the other person in the conversation first.
No Clear Value Proposition
I did this when I first started in sales and yes, I own that. I just said my product will fix your issue and solve your efficiency issue because of this feature and this feature and this feature…The customer must have been saying to themselves how is this going to solve my problem because this product is shiny, or red, or have these cool things on it. When we present the solution, we need to make sure that the customer is understanding the value, not the sales price. If we are not selling value, we are going to turn into a commodity that will have us in a race to reducing profits against the competition.
Failing to Handle Objections
No one really enjoys objections. We in sales want everyone to say yes and thank us for saving their lives. When sales professionals hear an objection, instead of understanding that this objection is a map to help find the sale, most sales professionals instead, pack up and leave. Objections are like guardrails on the expressway helping us stay on track so we can get to the destination. Objections are great because they help us refocus and make sure we have discovered the largest issues the customer is facing. When we face objections and calibrate to align with the customer, we start building trust. If we are going to go anywhere with customers, we have to have trust.
That is why I have written, “The Sales Process Uncovered,” and created the online training to help sales professionals succeed in their careers by making the customers a hero of their story. The more we avoid these top five areas of failure the quicker we will win more sales with higher profits.
Hope this helps and have a great week!
Master the Art of Influence: Build Trust, Drive Sales, and Lead Effectively
Are you ready to become the brand of choice for top customers and employees? Kevin Sidebottom—keynote speaker, trainer, and author—shares proven strategies to elevate your sales success and leadership impact.
In this blog, Kevin reveals why influence is the ultimate currency in building lasting relationships. Learn how to:
✅ Motivate customers to stay loyal to your brand
✅ Build trust and engagement with your team
✅ Transform your approach to leadership and sales
With decades of experience studying why people buy and how to inspire loyalty, Kevin equips sales professionals and leaders to deliver exceptional value, ensuring customers return again and again.
Featured Links to Grow Your Influence:
Winning With Others: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/stopgambling
Kevin’s website: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com
Kevin’s email: kevin@kevinsidebottom.com
The Sales Process Uncovered Membership Page
https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/pricing-page
The Sales Process Uncovered Book
Influence is Great, But Does It Impact The Bottom Line?
When I am speaking on stage, or performing trainings on influence, I am often asked a question along the lines of “ How does influence impact my bottom line?”
I usually ask the question to the individual to ask them if they know their costs to recruit new talent to replace someone that has left the organization. Often they are shocked with I let them know it is roughly 200% of an impact to replace someone. This is rolled up in the cost of onboarding, training, recruiting, and placing the new person in the seat. This does not include the fact that progress with moving projects forward is slowed to a crawl for the first 6 months, or the impact that the new person has to build all new relationships.
Often the response is, “Oh….ooooohhhhh!”
Increased Speed
Yes that is right when we have influence over those that report to us and trust levels are high, guess what, the second guessing and slow processes fade making our teams function at a high rate of speed. Things get done, people are not worried about making the wrong decision, and things happen. This means costs decrease. That means more profits.
External Influence
When we have influence with our customers and they know that we are not some snake oil salesperson they will buy more regularly from us. Each new customer we have has an added cost to them to input them into the system, get set up to procure, and train them on our systems. When we have customers that are returning to buy more and more from us, that means we get more turns on the inventory with lower costs. This means more profits as well that we can invest into the organization for more impact.
Influence Attracts Top Talent
Ramsey’s Solutions is an organization that thrives with attracting top talent that are on mission to overcome challenges and drive results. When we have influence with our high performer employees, they tell their friends and family about how awesome it is to work for us and they actively recruit for us. We have a roster of individuals that are willing to come on mission with us that we don’t have to pay extra costs for recruiting. That saves our organizations time and money. See the first paragraph of this blog for more information When we have more top performers, guess what, we make more profits.
Yes I say profits. I have seen a lot of companies go bankrupt that had high revenues, but unfortunately their costs were higher. When we have high profits, we can make change in the environment we are working in and drive increases impact.
People like great paychecks, but they crave making an impact more.
Next time the topic comes up about does focusing on influence really matter, the answer is a resounding “YES!”
For more information check out the links below.
Have a great week!
Master the Art of Influence: Build Trust, Drive Sales, and Lead Effectively
Are you ready to become the brand of choice for top customers and employees? Kevin Sidebottom—keynote speaker, trainer, and author—shares proven strategies to elevate your sales success and leadership impact.
In this blog, Kevin reveals why influence is the ultimate currency in building lasting relationships. Learn how to:
✅ Motivate customers to stay loyal to your brand
✅ Build trust and engagement with your team
✅ Transform your approach to leadership and sales
With decades of experience studying why people buy and how to inspire loyalty, Kevin equips sales professionals and leaders to deliver exceptional value, ensuring customers return again and again.
Featured Links to Grow Your Influence:
Winning With Others: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/stopgambling
Kevin’s website: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com
Kevin’s email: kevin@kevinsidebottom.com
The Sales Process Uncovered Membership Page
https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/pricing-page
The Sales Process Uncovered Book
Trust Is Grown, Not Given So Earn It Every Day
When I talk about Influence with others I often help people visualize it by thinking of influence as a bank account and trust is the currency that builds up that bank account of influence.
In our daily lives we interact with others unless we are a hobbit living in a remote village without any sort of communication besides smoke signals. Okay back on track here. When we are engaging with others their brains are trying to figure out in nanoseconds how much value they want to place on the relationship and the person in front of them.
Trust is that enabler for others to want to lean in and engage with us. Without trust, there is no moving forward together. We can not go far without others. We need a team to accomplish any major goal.
So how to we build high levels of trust?
There are three easy ways we can do this in theory, sometimes its harder for people to practice.
Keep Your Word
That’s right it may seem really simple, but how many times have we had good intentions to do something for someone else and ultimately forget, or get too busy to do the thing we said we would do. When we do what we say we will do we build consistency with others and without consistency there is no trust. We need to make every effort to do something if we say we will do it.
Own Your Mistakes And Quickly
I know I am not the only one that has said I would do something for someone and forgot or gotten tied down with another project that did not allow me to follow through. I pride myself on doing what I said I was going to do. Unfortunately, there are times when I do not and even though I feel awful about it, if I don’t apologize and try my best to get working on it at that moment and follow through, trust is going to dwindle like a candle that has been burning for a long time. We need to own the mistake and do our best to not let it happen again, or make it right. Some of my best relationships and trust has come when I have made a mistake and came back with an over promise to rectify the situation.
Be the Same Person Everywhere
I heard a quote a long time ago that said Be careful of meeting your idol because you may be disappointed. I was at an event once and I was in total “fan boy” mode when I saw a celebrity that I had watched for decades only to be snubbed by the celebrity when they walked by and to find out that they were much shorter in real life. That is something we can all learn from. We need to be our authentic selves no matter where we are. Because over time if we deviate from our online personas the word will get out and kill our influence with others.
If we want to have influence with others we need to make daily deposits in the account and make sure we are the same person day in and day out while making things right when we can. If we don’t we will lose trust and influence over time making us unimpactful to what we need to do and leading to our bank balances zero.
I have posted more blogs on trust so check out my blog page at www.kevinsidebottom.com/blog for more if you liked this one.
Have a great week.
Master the Art of Influence: Build Trust, Drive Sales, and Lead Effectively
Are you ready to become the brand of choice for top customers and employees? Kevin Sidebottom—keynote speaker, trainer, and author—shares proven strategies to elevate your sales success and leadership impact.
In this blog, Kevin reveals why influence is the ultimate currency in building lasting relationships. Learn how to:
✅ Motivate customers to stay loyal to your brand
✅ Build trust and engagement with your team
✅ Transform your approach to leadership and sales
With decades of experience studying why people buy and how to inspire loyalty, Kevin equips sales professionals and leaders to deliver exceptional value, ensuring customers return again and again.
Featured Links to Grow Your Influence:
Winning With Others: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/stopgambling
Kevin’s website: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com
Kevin’s email: kevin@kevinsidebottom.com
The Sales Process Uncovered Membership Page
https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/pricing-page
The Sales Process Uncovered Book
Influnence That Makes People Feel Known
Did you know that your job as a leader is not to just direct, but to build influence with others? That’s right as John Maxwell has stated in many books, keynotes, and interviews…”Leadership is influence.” Without influence we have no leadership. That is why as a leader we need to focus on how to build influence each day.
That starts with taking the focus off our agendas 100 percent of the time and put focus on others around us to make connection. Not just connections on social media, but true connections with these individuals that we interact with on a daily basis.
While I was traveling in Spain from the US I was first taken back by the fact that their culture shuts down from 2 p.m. – 5 p.m. for siesta. I did not understand this as in the US we are always go, move, accomplish. What I learned was that the Spanish culture not just during siesta, but all meals, parties, everywhere is about connection and acts of service to each other. When you are at a party and your drink is low, or your plate is empty, someone is offering you more.
They take time to learn about each other, laugh, cry, serve each other. It was a culture shock for me, but one that left a lasting impact on me that we don’t need to be so focused on goals that we forget how we accomplish these goals. It’s together.
When working with others we need to make sure we are taking time to help others feel known instead of cogs in a machine. They want to know that they matter and that they are making an impact. They also need to be noticed.
Practice Noticing People
Do you know how much impact a simple card when it is someone’s birthday does for that person? They feel like they matter and that others see them. They feel valued and appreciated. Their body language changes where they sit up a little straighter, lean in, and smile.
Practice “Micro-acknowledgement”
Ever been in a meeting and had a leader acknowledge your effort on a tough project? That moment when everyone in the room looks at you and you feel like the one who was just knighted. We may even want to jump up and say that was me, in our minds. It feels great. What about giving kudos to a team member for something they did to help us? A simple thank you goes a long way to the other person feeling known and valued.
Let Curiosity Lead
Far to often we are asking questions to we can push the conversation into one that we win our view point. We want others to jump on our direction and just get things done. When we stop and lean in to curiosity to who people are, why they have a particular view point, we can actually avoid obstacles. I have had many times where I have stumbled because I was so focused on driving forward with my own idea. Being curious about others allows them to feel like they are adding value and that they matter.
When we take time to make sure that others feel known and appreciated, we end up with a strong connection and influence that allows the others to want to go the extra mile with us to achieve the wins we need. When we do this, speed goes up and costs go down. That means more profits for our teams and when that happens everyone wins!
Have a great week!
Master the Art of Influence: Build Trust, Drive Sales, and Lead Effectively
Are you ready to become the brand of choice for top customers and employees? Kevin Sidebottom—keynote speaker, trainer, and author—shares proven strategies to elevate your sales success and leadership impact.
In this blog, Kevin reveals why influence is the ultimate currency in building lasting relationships. Learn how to:
✅ Motivate customers to stay loyal to your brand
✅ Build trust and engagement with your team
✅ Transform your approach to leadership and sales
With decades of experience studying why people buy and how to inspire loyalty, Kevin equips sales professionals and leaders to deliver exceptional value, ensuring customers return again and again.
Featured Links to Grow Your Influence:
Winning With Others: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/stopgambling
Kevin’s website: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com
Kevin’s email: kevin@kevinsidebottom.com
The Sales Process Uncovered Membership Page
https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/pricing-page
The Sales Process Uncovered Book
The Top 3 Things You Can Do to Truly Learn About Others
Last week we talked about being curious about others and how that can actually benefit ourselves. Not for the fact of using people, but the byproduct of being curious in general.
We live in a world where we’re constantly surrounded by people, coworkers, family, friends, even strangers. But how many of us truly take the time to learn about the people we interact with? To understand their values, experiences, and motivations?
Learning about others is more than just making small talk. It’s about building meaningful connections, fostering empathy, and becoming more insightful in your personal and professional life. If you're looking to form deeper relationships or just want to understand those around you better, here are the top three things you can do to learn about others.
Ask Thoughtful Questions
The most straightforward way to learn about someone is to ask them the right questions. But don’t just ask surface-level, “How’s your day?” or “What do you do?” questions—dig deeper to understand their values, aspirations, and experiences.
Think about asking questions like:
“What’s something you’re passionate about?”
“What’s been the biggest challenge in your life right now holding you back?”
“What’s one thing you’ve learned recently that surprised you?”
“What do you value most in your relationships with others?”
These kinds of questions invite the other person to share more than just a quick response. They encourage reflection and lead to genuine conversations that can reveal insights about their personality, experiences, and worldview. Plus, active listening is just as important as asking—when you listen attentively, you send the message that you genuinely care about their thoughts and feelings.
By showing curiosity about the person’s experiences and interests, you also create a space where they feel heard and valued, which fosters trust and connection.
Pay Attention to Body Language
Sometimes, you can learn a lot about someone without them saying a word. Non-verbal communication, body language, facial expressions, and posture, can give you deep insights into how someone feels or what they truly think. Hostage negotiators and interrogators watch body language when questioning suspects to learn if they are being lied to, or if they are on the correct path.
Pay attention to:
Facial expressions: A smile, raised eyebrows, or a furrowed brow can tell you if someone is comfortable, happy, or confused.
Posture: Leaning in can indicate interest or engagement, while crossed arms might suggest defensiveness or discomfort.
Eye contact: Are they making eye contact or avoiding it? It can indicate trust, confidence, or a lack of interest.
Gestures: Subtle movements like tapping feet, fiddling with an object, or using hands while speaking can reveal nervousness or excitement.
By tuning into these cues, you can better understand someone’s emotional state and what they might be trying to communicate, even if they’re not using words. It’s a powerful way to read between the lines and deepen your understanding of others.
Observe Their Actions and Behavior
Sometimes, you can learn a lot about someone simply by observing how they act and interact with the world around them. People’s behaviors often provide more insight into their character than anything they could tell you.
How do they treat others? Notice how they interact with strangers, employees, or people they don’t know very well. This can reveal their values, such as kindness, respect, or humility.
What do they prioritize? Observe how they spend their time—whether they’re dedicated to their family, career, or personal hobbies. What someone prioritizes often speaks volumes about what they value most.
How do they handle stress or conflict? Pay attention to how they behave in stressful situations. Are they calm under pressure, or do they react impulsively? This can teach you about their emotional intelligence and coping mechanisms.
By observing someone’s actions and behavior, you learn about their true nature, often in ways that words can’t express. People often act in alignment with their core beliefs and principles, and these actions can teach you more than any conversation ever could.
Learning about others isn’t just about gathering information, it’s about building meaningful relationships, increasing understanding, and cultivating empathy. Whether you’re looking to improve your personal relationships, become a better leader, or simply connect on a deeper level with those around you, these three practices, asking thoughtful questions, observing body language, and watching behaviors,will get you closer to truly understanding others.
If you approach every interaction with an open mind, a curious heart, and the willingness to listen, you’ll unlock the power of human connection in ways that can positively impact your life and the lives of others.
Master the Art of Influence: Build Trust, Drive Sales, and Lead Effectively
Are you ready to become the brand of choice for top customers and employees? Kevin Sidebottom—keynote speaker, trainer, and author—shares proven strategies to elevate your sales success and leadership impact.
In this blog, Kevin reveals why influence is the ultimate currency in building lasting relationships. Learn how to:
✅ Motivate customers to stay loyal to your brand
✅ Build trust and engagement with your team
✅ Transform your approach to leadership and sales
With decades of experience studying why people buy and how to inspire loyalty, Kevin equips sales professionals and leaders to deliver exceptional value, ensuring customers return again and again.
Featured Links to Grow Your Influence:
Winning With Others: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/stopgambling
Kevin’s website: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com
Kevin’s email: kevin@kevinsidebottom.com
The Sales Process Uncovered Membership Page
https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/pricing-page
The Sales Process Uncovered Book
Why Being Curious About Others Is Your Secret Weapon for Success
Curiosity is often seen as something children are naturally good at, but in reality, it’s a superpower that adults should harness, especially when it comes to personal and professional growth. The simple act of being curious about others can open doors, build connections, and enrich your life in ways you never expected.
Curiosity isn't just about asking questions, it's about being genuinely interested in the people around you, understanding their perspectives, and valuing their experiences. Here’s why being curious about others is a game-changer, and how it can work in your favor.
Build Stronger Relationships
At the core of every meaningful relationship, whether personal or professional requires communication. But effective communication goes beyond talking; it’s about listening and showing genuine interest in others. When you’re curious about someone, you’re demonstrating that their thoughts, feelings, and experiences matter to you.
People love to feel heard and understood in which curiosity allows you to show that. Whether you're asking about someone's hobbies, interests, or challenges, the simple act of asking the right questions shows that you value their perspective. This deepens your connection, which naturally builds trust.
In the workplace, trust is crucial. People who show curiosity toward their colleagues foster a more collaborative environment, making teamwork smoother and more effective. According to Harvard Business Review, leaders who demonstrate curiosity are more likely to inspire loyalty and creativity in their teams.
It Expands Your Perspective and Knowledge
When you’re curious about others, you're actively seeking to learn and grow. You might find yourself exposed to new ideas, different worldviews, and diverse experiences that you wouldn’t have encountered otherwise.
Imagine asking a colleague about their background and discovering insights into a culture or philosophy you weren’t familiar with. Or perhaps you're intrigued by a peer’s unique approach to problem-solving and you end up incorporating some of their techniques into your own work.
The more you’re curious about others, the more you expand your mental horizons. Curiosity is a way to learn about the world and the people in it, and it can significantly enhance your adaptability in an ever-changing environment.
It Creates Opportunities for Growth and Networking
Curiosity leads to deeper conversations, which, in turn, can create opportunities. Networking isn’t just about collecting business cards or handing out your resume, it’s about connecting with people on a personal level. When you're genuinely curious about someone, you create authentic bonds that often lead to professional opportunities down the line.
Think about it: people are more likely to remember you if you've made them feel heard and valued. In fact, a study from LinkedIn found that 85% of jobs are filled via networking, and people with strong, meaningful connections tend to get hired faster. When you're curious about others, you naturally foster those kinds of connections.
Furthermore, curiosity can help you stay relevant in your industry. By learning from others' experiences, successes, and mistakes, you stay in the loop on new trends and techniques that can boost your personal and professional growth.
It Helps You Become a Better Problem Solver
Curiosity encourages a mindset of inquiry, always asking "Why?" and "How?" This kind of thinking is essential for tackling complex problems and finding innovative solutions.
When you're curious about the way others approach challenges, you start to build a toolkit of strategies and perspectives that you can apply to your own problems. It’s like having a mini "think tank" inside your network.
Consider a manager who's curious about the struggles their team faces. By asking the right questions and listening attentively, they might discover ways to make workflows more efficient or improve team morale. By genuinely seeking to understand, they’re actively creating better solutions for everyone involved.
Being curious about others isn’t just a trait, it’s a tool for success. Whether it’s forging strong relationships, gaining fresh perspectives, or discovering opportunities, curiosity can work in your favor in ways that are hard to measure but easy to feel.
So, if you want to elevate your career, enrich your personal life, and become a more effective communicator by embracing curiosity.
Master the Art of Influence: Build Trust, Drive Sales, and Lead Effectively
Are you ready to become the brand of choice for top customers and employees? Kevin Sidebottom—keynote speaker, trainer, and author—shares proven strategies to elevate your sales success and leadership impact.
In this blog, Kevin reveals why influence is the ultimate currency in building lasting relationships. Learn how to:
✅ Motivate customers to stay loyal to your brand
✅ Build trust and engagement with your team
✅ Transform your approach to leadership and sales
With decades of experience studying why people buy and how to inspire loyalty, Kevin equips sales professionals and leaders to deliver exceptional value, ensuring customers return again and again.
Featured Links to Grow Your Influence:
Winning With Others: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/stopgambling
Kevin’s website: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com
Kevin’s email: kevin@kevinsidebottom.com
The Sales Process Uncovered Membership Page
https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/pricing-page
The Sales Process Uncovered Book
Why People Working a 9-to-5 Should Think About a Side Hustle
And How It Can Change Your Life
We all know the drill: you clock in, you grind through the workday, and then you clock out. Rinse, repeat. But let’s be honest, this traditional 9-to-5 hustle doesn’t always check the boxes. The paycheck? Sure, it’s there. But is it enough to meet your dreams, secure your future, or even give you the freedom you crave?
For many, the answer is no. That’s where the side hustle comes in. It’s not just about making extra money but about gaining control over your life. Here’s why working a 9-to-5 should be the catalyst for thinking about your side hustle, not an excuse to settle for less.
Multiple Income Streams = Financial Security
The world is uncertain. Economic instability, job layoffs, inflation, these are just some of the risks we face every day. But a side hustle? That’s your financial safety net.
According to a 2023 survey by Bankrate, 45% of Americans say they have side hustles to supplement their main income. It’s a smart move. Having an extra source of income cushions you from unexpected expenses and gives you financial flexibility.
And it’s not just about emergencies. A side hustle could enable you to hit financial milestones faster, whether that’s saving for a down payment on a home, paying off debt, building your emergency fund, or simply padding your retirement account.
A traditional 9-to-5 paycheck may be enough to get by, but it’s unlikely to build the kind of wealth you dream about. According to a report from Credit Suisse, the top 1% of wealthiest Americans own 40% of the nation’s wealth, and they didn’t get there just by sticking to their 9-5 day jobs.
Side hustles give you an opportunity to diversify your wealth-building strategies, whether it’s through real estate, stocks, or launching an online business. Multiple streams of income are a cornerstone of building wealth. A side hustle is an investment in your future.
Unlock Your Passion and Potential
How many times have you daydreamed about something other than your 9-to-5 job? Maybe it's photography, graphic design, writing, or teaching. A side hustle allows you to explore your passions without quitting your main gig.
A side hustle can also help you develop new skills that can improve your current job performance, or a new passion. You might discover that your hobby is actually an untapped talent that can take you far beyond your 9-to-5. Maybe you want to work from home or spend more time traveling, the beauty of a side hustle is that you get to control the hours, location, and pace.
Starting a side hustle isn’t just about making more money, it’s also about pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. It requires you to develop new skills, take risks, and learn the ins and outs of running a business. Whether it’s learning about digital marketing, customer service, or time management, a side hustle forces you to grow.
Think about it: you’re no longer just following a set of instructions you are actually creating something. You’re learning by doing. This process not only builds your confidence but opens doors to new opportunities in your career and beyond.
It’s time to stop thinking of a side hustle as an afterthought. It’s your opportunity to start building the life you truly want, on your terms. If you’re still on the fence, consider this: start small. Whether it’s selling a few products online, freelancing in your area of expertise, or launching a service, the journey to financial freedom and personal growth begins the moment you take action.
So, what’s your side hustle going to be?
Master the Art of Influence: Build Trust, Drive Sales, and Lead Effectively
Are you ready to become the brand of choice for top customers and employees? Kevin Sidebottom—keynote speaker, trainer, and author—shares proven strategies to elevate your sales success and leadership impact.
In this blog, Kevin reveals why influence is the ultimate currency in building lasting relationships. Learn how to:
✅ Motivate customers to stay loyal to your brand
✅ Build trust and engagement with your team
✅ Transform your approach to leadership and sales
With decades of experience studying why people buy and how to inspire loyalty, Kevin equips sales professionals and leaders to deliver exceptional value, ensuring customers return again and again.
Featured Links to Grow Your Influence:
Winning With Others: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/stopgambling
Kevin’s website: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com
Kevin’s email: kevin@kevinsidebottom.com
The Sales Process Uncovered Membership Page
https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/pricing-page
The Sales Process Uncovered Book
The Power of Small Businesses: Driving the Job Market in Today’s Economy
Small businesses are often seen as the backbone of the economy, but their true impact is more profound than we might realize. In 2024, small businesses employ nearly half of the workforce in the United States, with over 60 million Americans working for businesses with fewer than 500 employees. These businesses are not just small players, they are the lifeblood of job creation and economic growth.
As large corporations scale back and automation continues to rise, small businesses are taking up a bigger portion of the labor market. Let’s break down why small businesses matter more than ever and how they are driving job creation.
Over the last decade, the role of small businesses in the job market has expanded rapidly, especially in response to major economic shifts. According to a 2019 survey by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), nearly 90% of small business owners reported that they were actively hiring or planned to hire within the next six months. This trend has only grown, especially as businesses increasingly focus on resilience, innovation, and agility in the face of challenges.
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated these trends, pushing many people toward entrepreneurship or remote work. Small businesses were pivotal in the recovery of the labor market, with an estimated 1.4 million new businesses being created in the U.S. alone in 2020. This number was a 24% increase from the previous year, proving that when larger businesses faltered, small businesses rose to fill the gap. A great deal of this happened from individuals staring their side hustles that have flourished into full time small businesses.
Small Businesses as the Engine of Innovation
Small businesses often drive innovation in ways that large corporations can’t. Without the red tape and corporate structure, small businesses are able to pivot quickly, try new things, and take risks that lead to new jobs and new industries. A study by McKinsey & Company found that small businesses are more likely to innovate than larger companies, particularly in sectors like technology and creative industries.
This spirit of innovation not only leads to new products and services but also creates jobs that didn’t exist before. Think about the rise of remote work tools or e-commerce platforms—many of these innovations came from small businesses seeking to fill a gap in the market. As these innovations grow, so too do the opportunities for employment.
Small Businesses Are Bigger Than Ever
From providing the bulk of new job opportunities to driving local economic growth and innovation, small businesses are not just surviving they are thriving and expanding their role in the job market. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, a job seeker, or someone looking to make an impact, small businesses offer opportunities that larger corporations simply can’t match.
According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), small businesses are responsible for 66% of all new jobs in the private sector. In fact, the number of small businesses continues to rise, with over 30 million small businesses operating in the U.S. today. This includes everything from mom-and-pop shops to tech startups, restaurants, and family-owned enterprises.
The diversity of industries in which small businesses operate means that they are constantly creating new opportunities across the board. They don’t just create jobs, they create opportunities for growth, innovation, and a wide range of specialized positions. There are businesses that pick up dog poop and clean garbage cans in my neighborhood. The possibilities are endless at this point.
The job market is no longer dominated by just a few large corporations. Small businesses are the true job creators, and they’re changing the face of work as we know it.
Master the Art of Influence: Build Trust, Drive Sales, and Lead Effectively
Are you ready to become the brand of choice for top customers and employees? Kevin Sidebottom—keynote speaker, trainer, and author—shares proven strategies to elevate your sales success and leadership impact.
In this blog, Kevin reveals why influence is the ultimate currency in building lasting relationships. Learn how to:
✅ Motivate customers to stay loyal to your brand
✅ Build trust and engagement with your team
✅ Transform your approach to leadership and sales
With decades of experience studying why people buy and how to inspire loyalty, Kevin equips sales professionals and leaders to deliver exceptional value, ensuring customers return again and again.
Featured Links to Grow Your Influence:
Winning With Others: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/stopgambling
Kevin’s website: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com
Kevin’s email: kevin@kevinsidebottom.com
The Sales Process Uncovered Membership Page
https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/pricing-page
The Sales Process Uncovered Book
The Truth About Passive Income
Yes, It Takes Work (And Here's the Data to Prove It)
Ever heard these statements on social media with the promise to make life easier?
“Make money while you sleep.”
“Earn six figures from your laptop on a beach.”
Sounds great, right? Who wouldn’t want passive income? The promise of earning money without working for it every single hour is tantalizing. But here’s the reality: passive income requires work. A lot of work.
Statistics show that, while passive income can eventually bring in cash with minimal effort, it takes a significant amount of initial effort and time to set up. Let’s understand a few facts:
Passive Is Front-Loaded
The biggest myth is that passive income requires no effort. In reality, it's front-loaded work that eventually pays off.
A study from The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) found that 65% of people who invested in rental properties had to spend more than 10 hours per week in the first year just to manage their properties effectively. That’s not passive. That’s commitment. Those shows that take only a half hour to do a complete flip. Yeah those ones.
Even digital products like online courses require significant upfront effort. According to Teachable, a platform for creators, it takes an average of 3–6 months to create and launch a successful online course. And that doesn’t include the time spent refining and marketing it afterward. Only about 5% of course creators report making enough money to replace their full-time income, according to DataCamp.
Passive income may pay off later, but only after you’ve put in the the great amounts of sweat equity up front.
Systems Don’t Build Themselves
Systems are a key part of building any passive income stream, and they don’t come easy. 95% of small businesses fail within the first five years due to a lack of proper systems and strategies according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Whether it’s affiliate marketing, an online store, or a blog generating passive revenue, the systems behind them require continuous effort—especially at the beginning.
For example, Shopify reports that over 1 million businesses use its platform, but 75% of new stores fail within the first year because owners don’t dedicate enough time to systematize processes like inventory management, customer service, and marketing. That means the give up.
Even after systems are in place, there’s no such thing as “set it and forget it.” A study from MarketingProfs reveals that 49% of marketers still need to spend an average of 12 hours per week on their content strategy, even for blogs or websites that generate passive income. The effort to optimize systems never truly ends.
I have been running my blog for multiple years and I am not supporting myself just on these writings.
Passive Income Is Still a Business
While it’s tempting to think passive income means you can completely step away, the truth is—it’s still a business. You still need to monitor, manage, and maintain. You still need someone to help you crash through the ceiling to hit the next level of success.
According to The Motley Fool, 90% of investors report that generating passive income through dividend-paying stocks still requires ongoing monitoring and strategy adjustments. You have to consistently reassess your portfolio to ensure it’s delivering the right returns—meaning passive income is only passive when you’ve actively managed it for years.
A statistical analysis from Forbes also shows that 85% of successful side hustlers spend at least 10 hours per week working on their business. That means that simply working from the beach means you are still working from the beach.
Final Word: Build It Now, Reap It Later
The key takeaway? Passive income isn’t “easy money.” It’s earned income—just earned over a longer period of time.
57% of millionaires in the U.S. report that they have multiple income streams, but these income streams didn’t materialize without substantial upfront work and sacrifice according to Charles Schwab’s 2022 Modern Wealth Survey.
While the work is challenging in the beginning, once the systems are set up and automated, passive income becomes more predictable. So if you're feeling discouraged by the initial grind, just know: you’re on the right path. Grit will help you achieve success that you can some day leave the day to day grind and work for yourselves, but you will still need to work at it.
Master the Art of Influence: Build Trust, Drive Sales, and Lead Effectively
Are you ready to become the brand of choice for top customers and employees? Kevin Sidebottom—keynote speaker, trainer, and author—shares proven strategies to elevate your sales success and leadership impact.
In this blog, Kevin reveals why influence is the ultimate currency in building lasting relationships. Learn how to:
✅ Motivate customers to stay loyal to your brand
✅ Build trust and engagement with your team
✅ Transform your approach to leadership and sales
With decades of experience studying why people buy and how to inspire loyalty, Kevin equips sales professionals and leaders to deliver exceptional value, ensuring customers return again and again.
Featured Links to Grow Your Influence:
Winning With Others: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/stopgambling
Kevin’s website: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com
Kevin’s email: kevin@kevinsidebottom.com
The Sales Process Uncovered Membership Page
https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/pricing-page
The Sales Process Uncovered Book
How to Thrive in a Stressful Environment (Without Burning Out)
Let’s be real: stress isn’t optional anymore. Our pace is faster. Expectations are higher. And calm? That’s a luxury, not a guarantee.
But here’s the good news: thriving in a high-pressure environment isn’t about eliminating stress. It’s about learning how to thrive in it.
Let’s break down three key ways to thrive when everything feels like it’s on fire.
Don’t Panicked and Don’t Spiral
Stress doesn’t just exhaust us it likes to follow us around like a pet.
When we don’t take care of ourselves we can run in a constant fight or flight response. Running in this state for long periods of time will cause us to be on edge, not sleep well, and end up getting sick.
I have had many times where I ran in this state for far too long and each time I have had consequences like enjoying the fun of shingles under the age of 50. That’s right shingles doesn’t care what age we are. I was focused on a deadline and trying to win a large 100 million dollar project. I was up at night during spring break working on presentations, pushing teams for information, and preparing for leadership meetings.
I won the project and got the pat on the back and then a week later had the experience of a lifetime with all the fun that shingles can be.
I was worried about what could happen instead of being present with my family and enjoying quality time. I was worn out and couldn’t focus.
Then the sharp pains and blisters from shingles set in. I had to learn how to relax and learn how to focus on the controllables instead of what ifs. I started box breathing during the painful times to lower my heart rate and help me focus. I had to pause and breathe when stress was high. This kept me from spiraling while staying focused on tasks at hand.
Control Our Controllables
We can’t control our customer’s attitudes when our plants missed their shipments. We can’t control a quality spill, and we can’t control what our elected government officials decide is a fair tariff impact.
What we can control is our attitude and how we show up. How we attack each task with focus and sometimes it is even just focusing on one foot in front of the other. Nothing more sometimes. But we have to take control of what we can control and not worry about other things. Maybe it’s just finding the three things we can do today that will make us feel successful for that day.
I start each day doing some reading, affirmations, and figuring out three things that if I get done today, will help me feel like I had a success. Some days its writing blog posts, doing video edits, making cold calls, or practicing a story for my keynote.
Other days it is taking a nap during a busy day, stretching instead of workouts, and taking a walk to clear my head.
What we can control is us and not others or outcomes.
Stress isn’t all bad. There are actually good stresses and yes there are bad stresses. We won’t get into each of these, but stress does make us sharper. When under stress we can focus on the task at hand and we can narrow in on the details that will make the project move forward instead of the stress.
When castings are made they is heat, pressure, and time. To make castings all three have to work together and when they do a new product is formed. A trough product that can be used to move a large truck forward down the road. Sometimes we need this stress to make us stronger.
Using stress to help us focus and learn to not tailspin when we are stressed will help us to succeed with higher levels of success.
This won’t happen overnight, but in time we can learn to harness stress to help us to do better and thrive in stressful environments.
Master the Art of Influence: Build Trust, Drive Sales, and Lead Effectively
Are you ready to become the brand of choice for top customers and employees? Kevin Sidebottom—keynote speaker, trainer, and author—shares proven strategies to elevate your sales success and leadership impact.
In this blog, Kevin reveals why influence is the ultimate currency in building lasting relationships. Learn how to:
✅ Motivate customers to stay loyal to your brand
✅ Build trust and engagement with your team
✅ Transform your approach to leadership and sales
With decades of experience studying why people buy and how to inspire loyalty, Kevin equips sales professionals and leaders to deliver exceptional value, ensuring customers return again and again.
Featured Links to Grow Your Influence:
Winning With Others: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/stopgambling
Kevin’s website: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com
Kevin’s email: kevin@kevinsidebottom.com
The Sales Process Uncovered Membership Page
https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/pricing-page
The Sales Process Uncovered Book
Grit Happens in the Mind. Here’s How to Train Yours.
Last week we talked about Grit and why we need grit if we are going to be successful. We talked about the difference between motivation and grit. This week let’s take a step into how we can become more gritty.
Did you know that grit isn’t about being the toughest person in the room? Most people think that to be gritty we need to have some special training, be an elite athlete, a special forces operator, etc. In fact for those that want to be gritty we just need to train our minds.
How to change our minds to rewire how we approach The one who fails, recalibrates, and keeps swinging. The one who turns down the noise in their head and tunes into something stronger.
If you’re serious about becoming unshakeable, this part matters more than all the rest.
Let’s get into it.
Rewire the Voice in Your Head
The most dangerous thing you’ll face isn’t the set-backs. It’s the story you tell yourself about the set-backs and yourself.
Too many people have focused on getting a trophy for showing up and this has made us a little soft. We have not had to push hard for some time and we want the easy button.
It’s actually our brains that intentionally look for the easier path. It is designed to make us efficient, spend less calories, find the less resisdent path, conserve energy. When I read the book “The Comfort Crisis” earlier this year it was a very thought provoking insight on how our brains function.
Through the journey in the Arctic on a hunting trip sleeping on the ground, in a tent…(we camp in the Holiday Express). This author tells how he has learned about our bodies and how the mind finds ways to make us more efficient and comfortable. This is why as a society we gain weight year after year by choosing to do the not so hard things. We instead look for the easy button like GLP1 insulin shots to magically lose weight (for most people).
The Good News
Grit is like a muscle and can be trained. It takes time like losing my “Dad Bod”, these days. it is taking the hard road, leaning into the tough conversations, and not running away from challenges. We need to look at difficult times as well as set-backs as a way to grow out grit muslcles. it does not happen overnight, but we can grow it over time to build the gritty muscle that looks at challenges as a way to improve instead of fear.
Master the Art of Influence: Build Trust, Drive Sales, and Lead Effectively
Are you ready to become the brand of choice for top customers and employees? Kevin Sidebottom—keynote speaker, trainer, and author—shares proven strategies to elevate your sales success and leadership impact.
In this blog, Kevin reveals why influence is the ultimate currency in building lasting relationships. Learn how to:
✅ Motivate customers to stay loyal to your brand
✅ Build trust and engagement with your team
✅ Transform your approach to leadership and sales
With decades of experience studying why people buy and how to inspire loyalty, Kevin equips sales professionals and leaders to deliver exceptional value, ensuring customers return again and again.
Featured Links to Grow Your Influence:
Winning With Others: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/stopgambling
Kevin’s website: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com
Kevin’s email: kevin@kevinsidebottom.com
The Sales Process Uncovered Membership Page
https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/pricing-page
The Sales Process Uncovered Book
Building Grit: Start Here, Stay Here, Win Later
We all want results. Unfortunately too often we expect Fast ones. Visible ones. The kind that make people say, “How’d you do that?” Thanks Amazon…
But behind every meaningful result behind every transformation and breakthrough is actually a long process of set-backs, lessons learned, and caluses.
Grit is not flashy. Frit doesn’t go viral. But it’s the thing that separates people who try from people who actually finish.And if you want to build it, this is where it starts.
If you're serious about becoming someone who finishes what they start, you have to start enjoying the learning that come with the long process that is required to gain traction that is lasting.
Too many people quit not because they’re incapable, but because they expected it to be quick. Grit begins when you accept that this is not a microwave scenario. It’s more of a crockpot kind of process.
Grit doesn’t show up on demand, but every day you show up, especially when it’s inconvenient or thankless, you prove to yourself that you're in it for real.
How to you build grit?
You don’t build grit by reading about it.
You build it by choosing hard things, on purpose. That’s right, intentionally doing hard things. That is why ost people don’t have grit.
Wake up when your alarm goes off the first time. Finish the workout even when your legs are shaking. Speak up in that meeting. Push send on that uncomfortable email.
Over time, those daily decisions stack up. They don’t just build discipline, they build identity. And once you become someone who doesn’t back down, it changes everything how you show up and engage during hard things.
With Grit, there is one uncomfortable truth: motivation is a liar.
Everyone wants to talk about motivation. “Let’s get motivated.” Motivation actually makes big promises in the beginning. You feel pumped, focused, invincible. Then life happens. Stress piles up. Results don’t show fast enough. And just like that, motivation deflates like a balloon that is let loose with no knot to keep the air in.
Grit is what steps in when motivation bails. It says, “We’re doing this anyway.”
If you only act when you feel like it, results will always be held hostage by your mood. But if you train yourself to show up no matter what if you are tired, frustrated, bored, anxious you take your power back.
This is how champions are made. Not with hype, but with follow-through.
You don’t need more motivation. You don’t need a life coach. You don’t need a breakthrough.
You just need to start. Stay consistent. And trust that every small act of perseverance is building something unshakable.
This is how you build grit:
Accept the long haul.
Do the hard thing even when it’s small.
Show up, especially when you don’t want to.
Repeat that enough times, and you won’t need to act gritty anymore, you’ll be gritty.
Master the Art of Influence: Build Trust, Drive Sales, and Lead Effectively
Are you ready to become the brand of choice for top customers and employees? Kevin Sidebottom—keynote speaker, trainer, and author—shares proven strategies to elevate your sales success and leadership impact.
In this blog, Kevin reveals why influence is the ultimate currency in building lasting relationships. Learn how to:
✅ Motivate customers to stay loyal to your brand
✅ Build trust and engagement with your team
✅ Transform your approach to leadership and sales
With decades of experience studying why people buy and how to inspire loyalty, Kevin equips sales professionals and leaders to deliver exceptional value, ensuring customers return again and again.
Featured Links to Grow Your Influence:
Winning With Others: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/stopgambling
Kevin’s website: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com
Kevin’s email: kevin@kevinsidebottom.com
The Sales Process Uncovered Membership Page
https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/pricing-page
The Sales Process Uncovered Book
How Employees Can Overcome Apethetic Leaders
Ever been in this situation? You are working hard to survive the day of demands, email requests from customers and other departments, as well as trying to manage home life. Only hoping that your leader can enable you to survive the vast requirements, only to find your leader is checked out on your requests for support. There’s nothing more frustrating than working under a leader who seems checked out. You're motivated. You're capable. You want to grow. But the person who's supposed to guide you is MIA—in energy, vision, or both.
But here’s the truth: you don’t need them to be engaged, when leadership goes silent it's often the loudest invitation to rise up yourself.
Apathy sucks the air out of a room, but energy can change it. If your leader’s not bringing motivation, then you bring it. Positivity, focus, and momentum, are contagious forces. You have the power to set a tone that others will follow. Be the one who says, “Let’s figure it out.” The one who believes there’s a way forward. When you choose to lead with energy, even without a title, people will notice. And more importantly, you will feel more in control of your path.
When your leader doesn’t step in, you get the rare opportunity to step up. Solve problems without being told. Take ownership where others hesitate. Push things forward even if you don’t get credit right away. These are the quiet moments where real leaders are born. That’s right not under bright lights, but in the everyday grind. Every move you make with intention builds your credibility, sharpens your instincts, and proves (to yourself most of all) what you're capable of.
Even if your leader is apathetic, not everyone is. Somewhere in your network, there are people who care deeply about what they do. Mentors, peers, and even connections outside your workplace that can help you with you feel stuck. Seek them out. Learn from them. Let them remind you of what’s possible. When you surround yourself with people who value growth, effort, and vision, you build a kind of emotional armor against the disengagement around you. Don’t isolate in this season, connect. That’s how you stay grounded in purpose and drive to move forward. It may be hard but you have another thing keeping you move forward.
The other factor that is going to help you succeed is the fact that you care. But caring in an apathetic environment can wear you down if you're not careful. Protect your drive. Set boundaries. Give your best, but don’t give it all away. Your passion deserves to be protected and redirected into people and projects that will actually value it. That might be within your team, or it might be somewhere new. Either way, don’t let someone else’s indifference steal your best. Keep showing up with heart. That’s what makes you different.
You might not have the leader you hoped for, but that doesn’t stop you from becoming the leader someone else needs. Keep stepping up and showing up. One day, someone will look up to you. And they'll be grateful you didn’t wait for permission to grow.
Master the Art of Influence: Build Trust, Drive Sales, and Lead Effectively
Are you ready to become the brand of choice for top customers and employees? Kevin Sidebottom—keynote speaker, trainer, and author—shares proven strategies to elevate your sales success and leadership impact.
With decades of experience studying why people buy and how to inspire loyalty, Kevin equips sales professionals and leaders to deliver exceptional value, ensuring customers return again and again.
Featured Links to Grow Your Influence:
Winning With Others: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/stopgambling
Kevin’s website: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com
Kevin’s email: kevin@kevinsidebottom.com
The Sales Process Uncovered Membership Page
https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/pricing-page
The Sales Process Uncovered Book
Tips for Buying a Better Home for Your Home-Based Business
From time to time I have guest blog posts and today we have the well educated Candace Sigmon helping us with purchasing a home for our businesses.
There’s a myth baked into the real estate daydream that more space means more freedom, more comfort, more productivity. But if you run a business from home, you know better. You know that square footage can be a red herring when what you really need is strategic design, smarter layouts, and fewer distractions. As more entrepreneurs ditch traditional office spaces for the comfort of their own homes, the house hunt has shifted from “How big?” to “How well does this work?”
Prioritize Flow Over Size
You’re not running a co-working space. You don’t need endless rooms and expansive basements you’ll never use. What you do need is a home that gives your business breathing room without letting it take over your personal life. Open layouts can help here, but only if they allow you to move from task to task without bottlenecks. A poor layout in a large space will always underperform a compact home where work, storage, and downtime each have a defined rhythm.
Separate, But Not Isolated
You’re going to need separation, yes. But the goal isn't exile. Look for homes that let you carve out a workspace that’s private enough for focus without sticking you in a garage with no heat or a windowless corner of the basement. A well-placed spare bedroom or a loft with a door can do the job. Natural light and airflow are not just luxuries, they're productivity tools. You should feel like a human, not a mole.
Zoning and Zoning Out
It’s not sexy, but before you fall in love with that mid-century dream or Craftsman stunner, you’d better make sure your city will let you run a business from it. Some municipalities still have outdated zoning laws that put unnecessary restrictions on home-based businesses, especially if clients or deliveries are part of your workflow. You want a home where your business can grow without local headaches. The irony of buying your dream property only to find your work isn’t welcome there can unravel everything.
Internet Infrastructure Isn’t Optional
Some listings are proud to tell you a home has cable hookups in every room. That’s cute. You need to dig deeper. Reliable, high-speed internet is the lifeblood of a modern home business. Before you sign anything, ask about service providers, test the signal in different parts of the house, and make sure the upload speeds match your workflow. Spotty Wi-Fi can cost you clients, credibility, and your last nerve.
Layer In Protection Early
Before you get too far into the home search, take a moment to think about what happens after the keys are in your hand. A home warranty is worth reviewing as part of your upfront investment, especially if your business leans hard on appliances or if the electrical setup will be working overtime. Extended coverage can offer peace of mind when your income depends on everything staying functional. You’re not just buying a house—you’re backing a workspace, and every layer of protection helps.
Functional Storage Over Aesthetic Cabinets
It’s easy to fall for a gorgeous kitchen with glossy cabinetry, but if you’re storing products, files, packaging materials, or photography equipment, you need more than a pretty pantry. Look for utility closets, built-in shelving, garages that aren’t just car caves, and mudrooms that can moonlight as inventory space. Think about how you’ll move within the space on your busiest workday, not just how it’ll look on Instagram.
Noise Is The Silent Killer of Productivity
The wrong kind of noise—leaf blowers, barking dogs, busy roads, loud neighbors—can unravel even the most disciplined entrepreneur. Spend time in the neighborhood at different hours. Visit during school pickup, during a weekday afternoon, during a weekend morning. See if you can hear yourself think. Homes aren’t just physical containers, they’re sonic environments. And for people who work from home, acoustics matter more than most people realize.
Your Clients (or Deliveries) Deserve a Seamless Experience
If your business involves foot traffic or regular deliveries, think beyond curb appeal. Can delivery drivers easily access your home without parking chaos? Can clients step into a designated area without passing your laundry or kitchen mess? Even if you’re not customer-facing, the flow of goods needs to be frictionless. Look for homes with side entrances, mudrooms, or a semi-private section near the front door that could serve as a mini-reception or drop-off zone.
Don’t Forget How You Live
It’s tempting to center the home search entirely around your business. But don’t build a work kingdom and forget the rest of your life. Does the space energize you when you’re off the clock? Can you close a door, mentally and physically, when you’re done for the day? Your business will take up enough space in your head; don’t let it consume every square inch of your home too. Make sure the place you pick feels like a life upgrade, not just a workspace with a bed.
When you run a business from home, the stakes are different. You’re not just picking a place to sleep and eat. You’re picking a place where ideas will grow, where your workday starts and ends, where your professional energy is either boosted or drained. So forget the pressure to go bigger. Go smarter. Find the home that fits how you live and how you work, not just the one that wows you on a tour. You deserve a space that works as hard as you do.
Unlock your organization’s potential with Kevin Sidebottom’s proven strategies for success— transform your team into top performers and drive growth today!
How Leaders Can Show Results
Leadership isn’t about promises, it’s about results. The true measure of a leader is their ability to follow through on what they said they were going to do. Talk is cheap, but actions speak volumes about their character. Today we are going to focus on three areas that leaders can focus on showing results of follow through.
Promises are meaningless without action. To prove that leaders have followed through, leaders must deliver clear, measurable outcomes. Whether it's hitting KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), completing projects, or achieving specific targets, results don’t lie. When a leader meets their goals and delivers on promises, that’s the proof. No excuses, no ambiguity just tangible success as long as it is done with ethics. Achieving the results, but doing so with bad ethics will just erode the trust in leadership not to mention interest by the authorities. Leaders need to hit the KPI’s with good ethics and follow through.
True leaders take responsibility for failures. They don’t hide behind excuses they face challenges head-on and adjust when things don’t go as planned. Accountability is about taking ownership of the process, not just the outcome. When leaders hold themselves accountable, they prove they are committed, transparent, and ready to make things right. Leaders also tend to give the credit for successes to their teams and the employees while at the same time taking responsibility for the failures themselves.
A leader who doesn’t seek feedback isn’t leading, they’re just making decisions in a vacuum. To prove they’ve delivered on their promises, leaders must ask the tough questions and act on what they hear. Whether from employees, clients, or partners, feedback reveals whether strategies are working, or not. Ignoring feedback is a failure to follow through. Leaders who listen, adapt, and evolve based on feedback show they’re committed to continuous improvement and results. They also show they care and are aware of their shortcomings. Something that everyone has.
Leaders have a great deal to balance, but making sure that they deliver on their promises, take ownership of failures, and consistently take temperature checks to make sure they are delivering on those promises will instill trust with their employees, customers, and shareholders in the long-term allowing them to lead with a firm foundation. One that can weather any storm.
Master the Art of Influence: Build Trust, Drive Sales, and Lead Effectively
Are you ready to become the brand of choice for top customers and employees? Kevin Sidebottom—keynote speaker, trainer, and author—shares proven strategies to elevate your sales success and leadership impact.
With decades of experience studying why people buy and how to inspire loyalty, Kevin equips sales professionals and leaders to deliver exceptional value, ensuring customers return again and again.
Featured Links to Grow Your Influence:
Winning With Others: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/stopgambling
Kevin’s website: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com
Kevin’s email: kevin@kevinsidebottom.com
The Sales Process Uncovered Membership Page
https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/pricing-page
The Sales Process Uncovered Book