Episode 56

Unexpected Sales Lessons from a Master Bartender

Introduction:

Discover unexpected sales wisdom from an unlikely source in this eye-opening episode of Connect and Convert! Hosts Dennis Collins and Leah Bumphrey reveal how Gino, a charismatic bartender, teaches invaluable sales techniques through his exceptional customer service. Get ready to transform your approach to sales and customer connections!

Key Takeaways:

• Learn how to create unforgettable customer experiences that drive sales

• Discover the power of remembering personal details to build lasting connections

• Understand Jeb Blunt's 5 silent questions every customer asks and how to address them

• Find out how to spot sales lessons in everyday life situations

Resources and Links:

• Jeb Blunt's "5 Silent Questions Every Customer Asks"

• Free 60-minute Connect and Convert discovery call

• Wizard Academy: https://wizardacademy.org/

Timestamps:

00:00:00 - Introduction and new discovery call feature

00:02:15 - Leah's unexpected sales lesson from her son

00:04:30 - Dennis introduces Gino the bartender

00:07:45 - Breakdown of Gino's sales techniques

00:10:30 - Jeb Blunt's 5 silent customer questions

Connect with the Hosts:

• Dennis Collins: https://wizardofads.org/partner/dennis-collins/

• Leah Bumphrey: https://wizardofads.org/partner/leah-bumphrey/

• Email: dennis.collins@wizardofads.com, leah.bumphrey@wizardofads.com

Recommended Episodes:

• "The Art of Storytelling in Sales: Captivate Your Audience"

• "Building Trust: The Foundation of Successful Sales Relationships"

• "Unconventional Sales Strategies That Actually Work"

Transcript
Speaker:

Welcome back to Connect and Convert, the Sales Accelerator

Speaker:

podcast, where small business owners tune in every week to

Speaker:

hear insider tips on how to grow their sales faster than ever.

Speaker:

Join today as always.

Speaker:

By my lovely partner in crime, Leah, I'm free.

Speaker:

Welcome back.

Speaker:

Glad to be with you.

Speaker:

Always, as always before we get into today's topic,

Speaker:

which I think you will like, it's a fun topic.

Speaker:

I want to talk about a new feature that we are

Speaker:

introducing on this podcast right now, today, we want to

Speaker:

announce our new opportunity for our small business

Speaker:

owners, our Target listeners.

Speaker:

Those are the folks we hope are listening.

Speaker:

We want to give them a possible next step.

Speaker:

The first step would be our connect and

Speaker:

convert discovery call.

Speaker:

Yes, a discovery phone call with you for 60 minutes.

Speaker:

Okay.

Speaker:

It's waiting for business owners willing to take a step back and

Speaker:

take a look at the difference is what the difference

Speaker:

would be working with us.

Speaker:

We can make a difference for some.

Speaker:

We're not for everybody.

Speaker:

We acknowledge that, but a 60 minute phone call.

Speaker:

We can figure that out.

Speaker:

So email us.

Speaker:

The emails are posted there.

Speaker:

Dennis Collins at wizard of ads.

Speaker:

com and Leah Bumfrey at wizard of ads.

Speaker:

com either one or both.

Speaker:

We will send a questionnaire and arrange a 60 minute

Speaker:

virtual conversation.

Speaker:

You'll love it.

Speaker:

And so will we.

Speaker:

Let's connect.

Speaker:

Okay, Leah today.

Speaker:

We sometimes in these podcasts end up talking about alcohol.

Speaker:

I don't know how we get on that topic.

Speaker:

We had one time of one episode with our producer, Paul, and the

Speaker:

whole thing was about alcohol.

Speaker:

That was a good one.

Speaker:

That was a good one.

Speaker:

But anyway, I am going to talk today About

Speaker:

sales lessons from Gino.

Speaker:

Okay.

Speaker:

And before I jump into that, I would like you to tell our

Speaker:

audience about possible lessons.

Speaker:

You've been in the sales business.

Speaker:

You have been a pro in the sales business for some time.

Speaker:

What sales lessons have you learned from the most unexpected

Speaker:

sources, a situation, a place, a person that you never thought.

Speaker:

Could teach you anything about sales.

Speaker:

You know, that's a really interesting question because

Speaker:

sometimes we think of sales inside of a bubble, Dennis,

Speaker:

and it's not sales and sales skills are everywhere.

Speaker:

And I always think of.

Speaker:

I think of my siblings, or I think of and growing up in a big

Speaker:

family, or I think of my kids.

Speaker:

I was blessed with three beautiful boys.

Speaker:

You've met Fletcher, one of them, and this actually,

Speaker:

this story actually is about Fletcher when he was in piano.

Speaker:

Now, we made sure, being, you know, very diligent parents.

Speaker:

Our kids had a sport, and they had a a musical or an

Speaker:

artsy type of venture that they were doing every year

Speaker:

during the school year, and piano, all three of them took

Speaker:

piano for a number of years, and they were pretty good.

Speaker:

Now, Fletcher was he was going into a music festival,

Speaker:

which is a big deal.

Speaker:

was at the university and he was sitting down and he had

Speaker:

his piece already and we're watching and it's being this

Speaker:

is being curated and he's at this and you have to imagine

Speaker:

this little guy in the little glasses he's probably about 11

Speaker:

11 years old at the time and he gets a little tie and it's this

Speaker:

huge magnificent Grand piano that he sits at, and we're all

Speaker:

poised, waiting for him to go.

Speaker:

And what does Fletcher do?

Speaker:

He looks, and he goes on the keyboard, and picture

Speaker:

the 88 keys of a keyboard.

Speaker:

He's checking the tuning.

Speaker:

He's checking the tuning of a grand piano in a concert hall at

Speaker:

the University of Saskatchewan.

Speaker:

The whole audience, including the judges, cracked up.

Speaker:

And you think, what does that have to do with sales?

Speaker:

Sometimes we think of sales as just barreling ahead and doing.

Speaker:

But sometimes sales is about stepping back, making sure

Speaker:

we know where we're at.

Speaker:

And that's what this 10, 11 year old kid was doing.

Speaker:

And it was a magnificent, and it is a magnificent

Speaker:

story of wait before you go.

Speaker:

Now he ended up nailing his his piece.

Speaker:

No surprise.

Speaker:

No surprise.

Speaker:

So that, that came to mind when we were talking.

Speaker:

That's a very interesting story.

Speaker:

And knowing Fletcher a little bit I can see him doing that.

Speaker:

That doesn't, that rings true with me that that he

Speaker:

wants to be totally prepared for any situation as we

Speaker:

should be in sales, right?

Speaker:

As we should be in sales, great.

Speaker:

lesson.

Speaker:

So now I guess I should tell you a little bit about Gino.

Speaker:

Okay.

Speaker:

I remember the first time I met him, it was a beautiful

Speaker:

summer afternoon in Key Biscayne, Florida, just off

Speaker:

the Miami on the causeway.

Speaker:

Beautiful, nice cooling breeze blowing in

Speaker:

on there with you.

Speaker:

Oh, it was nice.

Speaker:

I walked by a very crowded pool bar at the Sinesta Beach

Speaker:

resort, which was one of the nicest resorts on Key Biscayne.

Speaker:

It's a beautiful place.

Speaker:

I mean, and you could hear the laughter.

Speaker:

You could hear the friendly banter from the people

Speaker:

gathered around the bar.

Speaker:

All the stools were taken.

Speaker:

And the crowd was about three deep standing behind each stool.

Speaker:

I said, what the heck is going on over there?

Speaker:

Maybe it's free liquor today.

Speaker:

Maybe so hey, thinking that I inched my way closer.

Speaker:

I said, Oh, I spotted the bartender, a 30 ish year

Speaker:

old, maybe a little older.

Speaker:

He was putting on a show.

Speaker:

He was mixing drinks in that very flamboyant style, making

Speaker:

jokes with all the customers.

Speaker:

And what I thought was most amazing is calling people

Speaker:

by their first names and asking if they wanted to

Speaker:

Yeah, and asking if they wanted their favorite drink.

Speaker:

Now, why was that so impressive?

Speaker:

This was not a neighborhood bar.

Speaker:

Okay.

Speaker:

This was not a neighborhood bar.

Speaker:

This was a resort.

Speaker:

Okay.

Speaker:

All the guests, almost all the guests were from out of town.

Speaker:

Some of them visited only once a year for a short time.

Speaker:

Some came back every year.

Speaker:

Some like me were locals.

Speaker:

Okay.

Speaker:

But what was going on at Gino's bar that made it so special?

Speaker:

What are the lessons that I learned about people, about

Speaker:

persuasion, about influence?

Speaker:

Leah, when I was finally able to fight my way through the

Speaker:

packed crowd and actually sit on a stool, I got a ringside

Speaker:

seat to one of the best sales lessons I've ever learned.

Speaker:

Isn't that funny?

Speaker:

At a bar.

Speaker:

Who would ever think, right?

Speaker:

It can happen.

Speaker:

I love it.

Speaker:

I love it.

Speaker:

Yeah, I wish you had been there.

Speaker:

You would've enjoyed this

Speaker:

, but what I love is you're calling it Gino's Bar, which

Speaker:

I can see a neon sign saying that, but it wasn't Gino's It

Speaker:

Bar, but yet it was his own.

Speaker:

Lemme.

Speaker:

No, let me assure you it was Gino's bar.

Speaker:

He owned that bar or not literally, but

Speaker:

figuratively, this man.

Speaker:

Okay.

Speaker:

So what was going on?

Speaker:

So I sat on the stool and what am I hearing?

Speaker:

I'm hearing connections.

Speaker:

I'm hearing him.

Speaker:

Listen I'm hearing him relate stories to people that maybe

Speaker:

he sees once or twice a year.

Speaker:

And he had your name.

Speaker:

He had the name.

Speaker:

He knew, obviously, where you were visiting from.

Speaker:

He had family information.

Speaker:

You know, he knew, hey, how are your kids?

Speaker:

How's your job?

Speaker:

Of course.

Speaker:

And the most important thing he knew was your favorite drink.

Speaker:

And he'd always ask, are you still drinking

Speaker:

the blah, blah, blah.

Speaker:

And, you know, they weren't just, you know, regular drinks.

Speaker:

They were special Gino drinks, because he would always say,

Speaker:

let me add a little special Gino touch to your drink.

Speaker:

Do you mind if I add a little touch?

Speaker:

Who would say no to that?

Speaker:

So his attitude set the tone.

Speaker:

I mean, you know, we talk a lot about Attitude.

Speaker:

We talk about mindsets.

Speaker:

This man made you feel like a million dollars

Speaker:

just sitting at his bar.

Speaker:

You couldn't help but have fun.

Speaker:

You couldn't help it.

Speaker:

It was laughter, it was conversation.

Speaker:

He took pride in introducing his guests to each other.

Speaker:

Hey, Dennis, there.

Speaker:

I want you to meet this guy, Joe.

Speaker:

He's from New York, or whatever, and start up conversations.

Speaker:

You know, we talk a lot on this podcast about storytelling.

Speaker:

Gino had a magical way of introducing you to a new twist

Speaker:

to your favorite cocktail.

Speaker:

He described exactly how he would make your special drink.

Speaker:

And he would make it there right in front of you.

Speaker:

Now I'm going to put a little of this, I'm going

Speaker:

to put a little of that.

Speaker:

You've probably never had it done this way before, but just

Speaker:

for you, I'm going to make you this special cocktail.

Speaker:

And I bet you nobody asked him how much they cost.

Speaker:

Are you kidding?

Speaker:

That was never discussed.

Speaker:

I never, I don't even think there was a menu or anything

Speaker:

showing the cost of the drinks.

Speaker:

That was never an object.

Speaker:

Why do you think that was Leah?

Speaker:

He took you down a process and you were part of it with him.

Speaker:

It had nothing to do with money.

Speaker:

It was everything to do with the experience.

Speaker:

And.

Speaker:

As you said, the connection, that, that is not, that's

Speaker:

not buying off the right hand side of the menu.

Speaker:

That is being involved.

Speaker:

That is being made to feel part of someone's business.

Speaker:

And you want to you're going with your wallet open going.

Speaker:

Yes.

Speaker:

Yes.

Speaker:

I want to be part of this.

Speaker:

It has nothing to do with the cost.

Speaker:

Nothing.

Speaker:

Absolutely nothing.

Speaker:

And I don't know this for a fact.

Speaker:

I wish I knew, but I believe his revenue figures for that.

Speaker:

And it wasn't a huge bar.

Speaker:

I'll bet his revenue figures rivaled some of

Speaker:

the most successful bars.

Speaker:

in the United States, maybe even in Canada too.

Speaker:

Amazing volume.

Speaker:

He had a lot of offers over the years to go here, go there.

Speaker:

He was recruited heavily to move, but he never left there.

Speaker:

Unfortunately, they closed the Sinesta Beach hotel.

Speaker:

And I believe for a while he went next door to a Hyatt.

Speaker:

And then I moved out of South Florida and I've lost touch

Speaker:

with them and shame on me.

Speaker:

Shame on me because he should be our guest on this show.

Speaker:

Darn it.

Speaker:

If I knew how to contact him, but I have to tell

Speaker:

that story because he made everyone feel they were the

Speaker:

most important person at that bar, even when he was slammed.

Speaker:

Do you know if you're listening, get ahold of us

Speaker:

because we want to interview you and see what happened.

Speaker:

Are you out there, buddy?

Speaker:

It's Dennis.

Speaker:

You remember?

Speaker:

We had a lot of good times.

Speaker:

Cause as you know, I was in the radio business in South

Speaker:

Florida, in Miami, and we did a lot of entertaining

Speaker:

at the Sonesta Beach.

Speaker:

It was a very, it was very convenient to downtown Miami,

Speaker:

just across the causeway.

Speaker:

And our customers, our clients love being there.

Speaker:

So we would do lunches, we would do dinners, we would

Speaker:

do cocktail parties, we would do all kinds of functions.

Speaker:

So I got to know Geno pretty well.

Speaker:

Unfortunately, stupid old me didn't keep the contact up.

Speaker:

So let me pull this right back in to sales, okay?

Speaker:

You know I quote a guy by the name of Jeb Blunt a lot.

Speaker:

To me, he is one of the modern day sales gurus.

Speaker:

You know, we've had Zig Ziglar and we've had Dale Carnegie.

Speaker:

I mean, we've had gurus in the sales and persuasion

Speaker:

business forever.

Speaker:

But to me, the modern day guru is Jeb Blum.

Speaker:

And he says, there are five questions that every customer,

Speaker:

I don't care if you're buying.

Speaker:

Whiskey at a bar or a house or a car or whatever.

Speaker:

They silently ask these five questions to themselves and

Speaker:

all five Leah must be answered.

Speaker:

Yes.

Speaker:

Or you're not going to get a sale.

Speaker:

So how did Gino stack up against those five?

Speaker:

Okay.

Speaker:

What are the five?

Speaker:

The first one is do I like you?

Speaker:

How could you not like Gino?

Speaker:

Number two, are you listening to me?

Speaker:

Gino could repeat things that he heard once or twice

Speaker:

a year ago with precision.

Speaker:

Yeah, he was listening.

Speaker:

Number three, do you make me feel important?

Speaker:

Yeah, because he made a drink just for you with

Speaker:

his own special touch.

Speaker:

He made you feel important.

Speaker:

Hey, do you understand me?

Speaker:

Do you get my stuff?

Speaker:

Yeah.

Speaker:

Cause he'd ask about the kids.

Speaker:

How's the family?

Speaker:

How's the job going?

Speaker:

He made an effort to really understand.

Speaker:

That life situation that, that people were going through.

Speaker:

And of course, number five, do you trust, do I trust you?

Speaker:

I mean, Gino, who knows what he could be putting in

Speaker:

those drinks, but you know, by that time we trusted him

Speaker:

and we were never wrong.

Speaker:

We were never wrong.

Speaker:

Wow.

Speaker:

What an experience.

Speaker:

That's a great story.

Speaker:

And it makes me think of Breakout challenge that we

Speaker:

should give to our listeners for this coming week.

Speaker:

And before we do that, can we pause for just a moment?

Speaker:

I want to talk about wizardacademy.

Speaker:

org.

Speaker:

Okay.

Speaker:

What is wizardacademy.

Speaker:

org?

Speaker:

It, you talk about an experience.

Speaker:

I just shared an experience that I had with Gino the bartender.

Speaker:

Leah shared an experience she had with her son Fletcher.

Speaker:

I'm going to tell you, you're going to be sharing some cool

Speaker:

experiences with your friends, your family, your coworkers,

Speaker:

when you attend wizardacademy.

Speaker:

org.

Speaker:

Go on wizardacademy.

Speaker:

org and look at the list of classes.

Speaker:

It is an unusual.

Speaker:

Business school, not your typical business school, but

Speaker:

the knowledge that you come away with is more than typical.

Speaker:

It's outstanding.

Speaker:

Leah and I are frequent flyers there as well as producer Paul.

Speaker:

We encourage all of our viewers and listeners to

Speaker:

check out wizardacademy.

Speaker:

org.

Speaker:

So breakout challenge.

Speaker:

Breakout challenge, honestly, everyone listening, everybody

Speaker:

watching this week, Look for those lessons in your everyday

Speaker:

life that have nothing to do with your business, nothing to

Speaker:

do with sales, nothing to do with your ultimate financial

Speaker:

goals and where you are.

Speaker:

Look around and see, you'll be surprised if you're open to it.

Speaker:

You know, we see what we seek.

Speaker:

So if you're looking for them, you're going to see them.

Speaker:

And you're also going to see where They could help

Speaker:

you impact your business and shoot us an email.

Speaker:

We do have let questions from our listeners,

Speaker:

questions from our viewers.

Speaker:

And that's a huge part of what we do.

Speaker:

And we, I want to emphasize what Dennis said at the beginning.

Speaker:

Certainly send us the individual questions based

Speaker:

on things that you're hearing from us, but don't hesitate.

Speaker:

Shoot us an email and say you would like to take part in our

Speaker:

60 minute virtual introduction.

Speaker:

We're going to meet each other.

Speaker:

We're going to find out a little bit about your business.

Speaker:

We're going to see, hey, how can we help you convert and connect

Speaker:

and convert more with your,

Speaker:

With your potential customers, with your staff, with what

Speaker:

you're doing for business.

Speaker:

It's a big part of what Dennis and I just value is helping the

Speaker:

people that are listening to us.

Speaker:

Well said, Leah.

Speaker:

I mean, I was just in your beautiful country as as we

Speaker:

record this, I just have come back from the western part of

Speaker:

Canada, the Canadian Rockies which are just magnificent.

Speaker:

And, you know, I bought a lot of services while I was in Canada.

Speaker:

Food services, you know, we had took some excursions, et cetera.

Speaker:

And I watched the salesmanship or lack of, in some cases of

Speaker:

some of these folks, it is amazing what you can pick up

Speaker:

a little phrase that they use a word that they use a little

Speaker:

something that you didn't even expect would hook you.

Speaker:

And it hooked you.

Speaker:

It gotcha.

Speaker:

And, you know, and not in a manipulative way.

Speaker:

That's the challenge.

Speaker:

Send us an email.

Speaker:

Tell us about how the challenge went.

Speaker:

We're going to be back next week with another edition

Speaker:

of Connect and Convert.

Speaker:

We'll see you then.

About the Podcast

Show artwork for Connect & Convert: The Sales Accelerator Podcast
Connect & Convert: The Sales Accelerator Podcast
Insider Strategies for Small Business Sales Success

About your hosts

Profile picture for Dennis Collins

Dennis Collins

Profile picture for Paul Boomer

Paul Boomer

I help businesses grow up after they've grown their revenue. Think about that for a moment. You'll understand what I mean.