6. Authentic Sales: Building Trust and Lasting Success with Wes Marshburn
What does your sales life currently look like? Is Authenticity a Sales superpower? In this episode, we speak with Wes Marshburn, who provides some very interesting sales insights. It's not all about talking and saying the right words in sales. Stay tuned.
Eric Beels:Hello, everyone. Welcome to the Business Boost Hour podcast. My name is Eric Beals, and I'm the vice president of BNI Escondido.
Crystal Privett:The single CEU podcast. My name is Crystal Privett, president of BNI Escondido, and we're here today with Wes Marshburn of North County Tree. Thanks for joining us, Wes.
Wes Marshburn:Hey. You're welcome. Thanks for inviting me. Appreciate the opportunity to be here.
Eric Beels:Alright. But great having you, Wes. And you got that I think you have a podcast, Wes.
Crystal Privett:Yeah. You're hired.
Wes Marshburn:I don't know about that, but, we'll we'll we'll go with it.
Eric Beels:You got a you got that booming voice. Listen to this guy. So, Wes, today, what we wanted to talk about, is, and I think you are so you're really a perfect person. I've been thinking I've known you for a long time. Perfect person for this and that is sales and authenticity, being authentic in your sales.
Eric Beels:And so, but before we get into that, kind of I'd like to know a little bit about, like, tell the audience a little bit about you, who you are, kind of what you do, kinda like what kinda got you into doing I know you do a lot of sales. So kind of I do. Get what got you into that? Tell us a little bit about who you are.
Wes Marshburn:I I would've I it really boils down to Eric. It's part of my personality. I've been a sales guy my entire life. When I was a kid, I used to sell stuff. I would buy and sell things.
Wes Marshburn:My dad was a rancher. I'd pick fruit and sell it on the side of the road. It just comes to me naturally. It's not something that I find foreign or difficult. I'm always looking for an opportunity to make a buck as long as it's honest.
Wes Marshburn:And at the end of the day, sales is whether you're selling a service or a product. Either way, it's still sales. And there are fundamental things that make it effective or where you flop and do nothing. So sales is something that I find pretty easy.
Eric Beels:Sales been through and through, it
Crystal Privett:sounds like.
Wes Marshburn:To to the core.
Eric Beels:So what what I have a funny question. What was your first thing that you sold then?
Wes Marshburn:Oh, criminy. Funny story. I don't know if it was very first thing, but when I was a kid, a junior high kid, my dad was a rancher, and, we used to have an avocado grove out in Valley Center, young trees. And the deer were, snipping them off every night, killing a 100 trees or so every single night. We had to protect the grove, and so we'd go out in the middle of the night and, let's just say defend the grove from, these marauding hordes of deer with red red beady eyes.
Wes Marshburn:And dad would make jerky out of them, and, I would take bags of beef jerky to school, and I had a jerky sales, sales market going on every day at school in in junior high school.
Crystal Privett:Wow. So you solved a problem and then profited off of the solution from the problem. What a salesman.
Eric Beels:That's fantastic. So you saw you've solved the trees from dying and you made money by reselling the
Wes Marshburn:trees.
Eric Beels:Awesome. That's fantastic. So okay. So then so you've been a salesman then for a very long time.
Crystal Privett:And
Wes Marshburn:Well, it's not too long. I'm old I'm older than you and I'm that much older. But, yes, for a long time.
Crystal Privett:But you didn't just watch a YouTube video.
Wes Marshburn:Let's let's delete the very just say a long time. Okay. Go ahead.
Eric Beels:So what okay. So then how I guess, let's kinda start with what do you who do you sell for currently? What do you what do you do and who do you sell for?
Wes Marshburn:Well, at the end of the day, I primarily sell for the benefit of my own business, but I also sell in other situations. When if I'm representing a group, I work I am part of BNI, for example, and I don't try to sell BNI. I really don't. I offer it. When I meet somebody that I think benefit being a BNI BNI.
Wes Marshburn:English is the only language I know, and I don't even speak it full of my language. But, anyway, when I run into somebody that I think would benefit from a membership in BNI, I offer that to them. I explain to them what it is. And I tell them flat out before I even invite them as a visitor, if you're not a good fit, I'll be honest with you. We don't want you.
Wes Marshburn:Honestly, we don't. I'll shake your hand. I'll still be friendly. Go go to lunch, whatever, but it's gotta be a good fit. We offer something that is beneficial to you.
Wes Marshburn:And then I usually throw in it's worth about a third of my income. I also was a visitor one time, and it's a really valuable group to me. So if you're interested, then I go on to explain it further. So I I sell, if you will, BNI, all the time. But in reality, I'm just offering it.
Wes Marshburn:And that's kind of a core that goes through even if I am selling a contract as a contractor. I'm really offering them an opportunity to solve their problem. The first question that I ask when I go to a potential client's house is, why am I here? What is the issue that you're concerned about? You know, this tree, is it you know, what's the problem?
Wes Marshburn:You're hearing noises, is it cracked, or you don't like it, or the neighbor's griping about it and whatever. What is the issue? And I try to come up with a solution for the problem. If that means a service that I can provide them, then great. But if not, sometimes it isn't.
Wes Marshburn:I'll give them counsel on that.
Crystal Privett:That authenticity sometimes means telling them no or that it won't be a good fit.
Wes Marshburn:Yeah. The bottom line when you're interacting with people, I like to remember to treat others as I would like to be treated. That's a biblical proverb and I am a man of faith and I try to keep that ingrained in everything that I do. I am not there to pick your pocket if you're my client. I'm there to help you.
Wes Marshburn:I genuinely mean that. Sometimes the advice or counsel that I give is not in my my personal financial best interest, but it is in the best interest of the client to the best of my ability. And that is an effective tool for sales, but it's also just a good way to live, I think.
Crystal Privett:Well, and that authenticity sometimes help you because I I've never some people might not know this, but you can be a character witness. Tell us about how your authenticity helps you because I know sometimes with trees, there'll be some, maybe arguments or, people will need evidence to prove, certain thing on a tree. Can you tell them about some of your specialties in that area?
Wes Marshburn:Sure. Well, first of all, I'm a 30 year tree service contractor, so I've seen virtually any conceivable situation that a tree brings to a property. Spent the bulk of my career up in the Lake Arrowhead area, the San Bernardino Mountains, and up there was the high hazard removal contractor. The San Bernardino Mountains is the most urbanized forest in the nation, meaning there are more houses congested in National Forest than anywhere else in the country. So there's a lot of conflict between big trees and high value property.
Wes Marshburn:Well, trees don't respect property lines. They just grow where they grow. So there's a lot of issues sometimes between 2 neighbors and a tree that's on the property line or even a tree that's on one property creating problems on the other. And I always counsel that both parties communicate with each other and cooperate. That tree brings aesthetic value to both properties.
Wes Marshburn:It's big. It's green. It's pretty. It's shady, etcetera. It brings liabilities to both properties.
Wes Marshburn:Let's say, for example, Crystal, you own the tree and there's a fence between you and Eric. Your tree, the fence or excuse me, the roots are encroaching onto Eric's property, and those roots are causing damage to the hardscape maybe as a pool deck or something like that. Well, your tree is damaging his property. He's all up in arms. Sue her or whatever.
Wes Marshburn:I wanna chop these roots down. Oh, well, yeah. You can. You have the legal right to cut those roots or to cut the canopy that encroaches over your property line, Eric. But at the end of the day, if you do that, if you hire me as a contractor to cut those roots or cut that canopy, that tree is now asymmetrically balanced and no longer stable in a big wind and potentially goes into decline because you've cut a bunch of its roots.
Wes Marshburn:So, therefore, you've damaged her tree. What if it dies? Now she has action against you. You've killed her tree. Right?
Wes Marshburn:So it's always best that you 2 cooperate with one another. And as the arborist, I'll give you good counsel on what's best to solve the problem. You both benefit. You both have liability. The tree just grew there, and nobody planted it.
Wes Marshburn:It's just part of nature. So let's work together. It's always best. And then as the contractor, I can't really work on your tree crystal without his permission because I can't levitate. I wish I could, but I can't.
Wes Marshburn:And my guys need to climb that tree, so I need your permission to climb the tree, and I need to work on your property because a lot of that debris is coming down in your yard. So I need your cooperate cooperation anyway to do the job. So it is always best that you guys cooperate. And as the contractor, I'm I'm there to do it so long as you're, on the same page with one another. And to be perfectly frank with you, if you're not, I don't want any part of it.
Wes Marshburn:See you later.
Eric Beels:So I I okay. So this this actually brings up a very interesting question.
Wes Marshburn:Yeah.
Eric Beels:Because I'm I imagine other people might have similar situations out there where there's, like, multiple parties involved. Right? How do you, if at all, may you know, how do you do you have any, like, methods that you help kind of facilitate that where you kinda try to get both parties on the same page? Do you have anything that you do
Wes Marshburn:The about as far into that as I'll go, Eric, because at the end of the day, I'm a nice guy, but I'm not a nonprofit. When occasionally, I'm a nonprofit, it's not on purpose. I'm a nonprofit when I make a bad bid. But besides that, my goal is to actually make a living at this. And so, I'm not really gonna get in an arbitration between the 2, but I will give, counsel for you to both cooperate.
Wes Marshburn:Sometimes I get I get brought in as an arborist where we have 2 neighbors that are warring with one another over some issue regarding a tree. And I will just simply tell them, you need to cooperate because there's no winners here. You know, you can hire counsel. You can hire counsel. You can fight.
Wes Marshburn:You can both pay each other's attorneys. At the end of the day, you both need each other's cooperation anyway because there's issues on both sides. So cooperate. Figure out a solution. Whether that means pruning the tree, reducing the tree, removing the tree, be on the same page.
Wes Marshburn:There is no benefit to going to war with each other ever. It doesn't help either one of you. So as the arborist or the contractor, I'm gonna give counsel that direction. And when I see that you're on the same page with what you wanna do, I'll give you a bid to do it. I can do virtually anything that needs to be done to a tree, but I don't wanna get in the middle between 2 neighbors.
Wes Marshburn:There's just no there's no benefit to me, and I'm not being, frankly, paid to arbitrate arguments. That's not what I do for a living.
Eric Beels:Right. Yep. Okay. So when it come so when when you sit down with with with with somebody, I know you mentioned that you are you you basically try to be straight with with with people. Communication and cooperation.
Eric Beels:Communication and cooperation. And so what, I so for me, I'm not a salesman. I'm the opposite of you. I'm the back I'm the I'm the person in the back. I'm the engineer.
Eric Beels:I'm the
Wes Marshburn:You're the technician.
Eric Beels:I'm the technician. Exactly. I I would be in your case, I would be the tree guy. I'd be the one kind of, like, cutting the trees or something like that.
Crystal Privett:He'd be in the bucket. I'd be
Eric Beels:in the bucket. Exactly. And so so this is this is from this is this area is kind of, like, you know, for me, it's like something I I'm more I don't I'm not a fan of sales.
Crystal Privett:He wants you to share his nuggets of wisdom with you.
Eric Beels:Yes, exactly. And so when you sit down with with somebody who is is, you know, I guess in your case, looking to get their their habit tree trim done, what does that initially kind of look like and what do what kind of what's your like first I guess what's your first questions that you kind of ask somebody that kinda, like, easing down the road? They're not a sale yet.
Wes Marshburn:Yeah. First of all, when I show up on our property, I typically will ask, and I'll tell the client this, what I usually say when I first arrive. I literally tell them those words or something like that is why am I here? Why have you called me out? Because I wanna identify the issue.
Wes Marshburn:It's your property. These are your trees. I'm not here to tell you what to do, but to give you counsel with whatever your issue is. Now I make a living myself in 2 ways. 1, I make a living as a contractor giving a bid and accomplishing a task that you want done.
Wes Marshburn:For example, you have a dead tree. What's it gonna cost to bring down? I'm I'm there. Give you a price. We're done.
Wes Marshburn:Write you a contract. We'll do the job. But I also make a living as an arborist, a certified arborist, where I'm being paid for my opinions and my observations. And whether the report is giving verbal or whether the report is given in a written format with photography, I'm being paid for information and for my opinions, 30 years of experience behind those opinions. So I will ask you, why am I here?
Wes Marshburn:You know, what is you well, you know, I can't see the forest through the trees, you know, that sort of thing. Well, I we can walk the property, and you can point out the things that you're concerned about, or we can walk, and I just began to pontificate on things that I see and observe for your benefit. In my case, if you want me to take photography and take notes, it goes slower, obviously, because I gotta write and take photos and all that. If you wanna take your own notes and take your own pictures and just have me speak and ask me questions, the job will it'll go faster, and therefore, your bill will be smaller, but you get the same information. If you want me to make a report that will end up going into escrow, for example, if you're buying a property or perhaps we wanna dig in deeper and take samples and send them to an analytical laboratory, All of that is possible, but that's driven by you.
Wes Marshburn:What is it that you want? What what need am I here to fulfill? Mhmm. And as a salesman, I try to become as authentic and genuine as I possibly can be. I look for ways of connection, not not in a suck up artificial way.
Wes Marshburn:I mean, genuine connection. When I meet somebody and they have children, I don't oh, I love kids. I really genuinely do. I have 3 kids, and I might look for opportunity to draw parallels with my experience as a father and a young guy's experience as a father teach you know, coaching Little League. I coached Little League for a long time.
Wes Marshburn:So sometimes I'll connect there. Or perhaps somebody is my in my age group, and and they've they've gone through a death in the family recently. Well, I have 2, and I don't I don't use it for sales. I use it for connection because I genuinely do care and empathize with the pain that they're feeling. I know what that feels like.
Wes Marshburn:It doesn't matter whether I sell them a job or not. I don't care. But the purpose is to make connections so they know me and they trust me. And then I try to help. I genuinely try to help.
Wes Marshburn:If that means my services are are helpful, great. If my services are not, then I I say, you know, this is not something that I'm well equipped to do. I can help refer you to somebody that can. And that's where BNI usually comes in. I know somebody that is properly vetted and licensed.
Wes Marshburn:They're a friend of mine if they're my own chapter. But even if they're not, I belong to a big organization that I can find qualified people virtually anywhere in virtually any trade, and I'd be willing to help you. I like to be a source for you for information. There's no money you're not paying me. I just wanna be helpful to.
Wes Marshburn:And BNI is very useful in that respect. I have a brief story that I can tell if you like. Can I tell a quick story?
Eric Beels:Go ahead. Do it.
Wes Marshburn:A good friend of mine, he and his wife moved back to Tennessee, and Dave, is a former general contractor. He happened to have also been the pastor of a little church that I used to go to. Dave is a I mean, the guy has forgotten more about building things than I'll ever know. He's a really good guy with his hands. Well, he's lost a step or 2.
Wes Marshburn:And, Dave, if you ever listen to this anyway We love you, Dave. Yeah. Exactly. But I went back to visiting my wife and I did, and he's lost a step or 2. And his wife, Dwan, was, you know, saying, you know, hey.
Wes Marshburn:I don't want him on the roof anymore, that kind of stuff. So I was telling him about BNI. This is back in Tennessee. I don't know a soul in Tennessee except for Dave and Dwan. And, anyway and I said, well, you know what?
Wes Marshburn:I have a resource for you. I looked up the local chapter of BNI closest to where they lived, called up the president, the reason to be president, by the way, Crystal, called up the president and introduced myself. I said I'm the president of the chapter in Escondido. I was, by the way, at the time, but not now. And, anyway, I called him up, and I said, look.
Wes Marshburn:I'm here in Tennessee visiting a good friend. He doesn't have any local contacts and referrals. He's a former general contractor, knows how to do things, but he really can't so much anymore. I would like a list of your members or people that you know and trust in a variety of trades so that I can listen for him. And when he needs a plumber, an electrician, a roofer, an asphalt guy, whatever, he has a name to call.
Wes Marshburn:And I explained to Dave, these are people you're still gonna need to interview yourself Mhmm. Decide if they're if the price point is right, all that, but they are vetted. We know they're licensed. We know they're they're, have background checks on them. We know they're insured, and we know their quality because there's a quality control aspect to BNI that you just simply don't have if you look somebody up on Google.
Wes Marshburn:True. That is a shot in the dark. Might get a good guy. You might not. But BNI, 9 out of 10, you're gonna get a qualified resource.
Wes Marshburn:And so I gave that to Dave, and I'm I know he's used it a couple of times. So that's a good thing.
Crystal Privett:Nice. Yeah.
Eric Beels:That's a great story. Yeah. I I I have a similar one, actually. So, like, my, my, grandparents are in, Texas, and they're specifically in in, Lubbock, Texas. And, they had issues with some contractors and, and, and also my aunt and uncle over there too.
Eric Beels:They had issues with contractors just in the in the area. And I was like, you know, I bet I could find a BNI chapter in the area. And so I I actually so, I actually put them in contact with them, and they found some people, and they love them now. And so, like, that's kind of like a good a really interesting power of BNI that we don't really talk about too often is the fact that, like, hey. You can get, you know, if you're in a BNI chapter, you can get people like myself.
Eric Beels:In my case, I didn't even, like, call up the the president. I just feel like, hey. Just look. Here's a list. I found the website, and I was like, here's a list.
Eric Beels:Like, whatever you need, like, look at these people on your on on on list. Can't guarantee that that that that they'll be perfect, but
Crystal Privett:At least they're somewhat vetted.
Wes Marshburn:It's a step in the right direction. It's a
Eric Beels:step in the right direction. Yeah. And so, I I and I I found that to be what when I had had done that, I was like, man, this is a pretty, like, cool aspect of BNI that no one really talks about, that that that can happen.
Wes Marshburn:Yeah.
Eric Beels:And where it's like just the fact that you have the BNI badge, just that alone, even even for people that maybe don't even know what BNI is, but because, like, my current they didn't know what what BNI is.
Wes Marshburn:It's a very BNI is a very powerful organization. I mean, I tip my hat to doctor Meissner for kept coming up with a concept, and I admire the business end of owning BNI. It's like, wow. But I ran into something a month or 2 ago that was a little bit surprising, but it doesn't surprise me now that I think about it. I belong, as I mentioned earlier, I'm a man of faith, and I belong to something called a small group through my church, which is essentially a group of people that are friends.
Wes Marshburn:We do bible study, other stuff like that. Anyway, there's, like, 12 of us, 6 couples in this group. And we're talking, and one of the guys, Ken, and his wife, Susie, you know, were talking about this. I've I've taken Ken Fishin before. Somehow, out of the blue, the subject of BNI came up, and turns out Ken and Susie are both members of BNI.
Wes Marshburn:Never even knew. It's like, oh, man. We've had, like, 5 BNI or one to ones, and I didn't even know it. You know? It's like
Crystal Privett:It's pretty cool who
Wes Marshburn:he is.
Crystal Privett:Over the place. I just did a I just did a director training in Temecula, and one of the other directors is from my little teeny tiny hometown in Colorado. And we're both in the San Diego director's, chapter. So my graduating class had, like, 80 people. And the fact that most people out in Colorado don't even know this small town, but the fact that we were brought together by BNI, it's so neat to have those connections.
Crystal Privett:Yeah.
Eric Beels:Yeah. It gets it becomes very kind of kind of becomes tight knit in that sense.
Crystal Privett:Yeah. Yeah. Like a the family that you choose, not the you can expand your network.
Eric Beels:Right. Right.
Crystal Privett:Mhmm.
Eric Beels:Yeah. So when when, so when let's say you, are you're meeting with a a client then or actually not a client, but a prospect, I guess. And when you let's say somebody is is I know you're kind of giving them you're being straight with them with with how they how they should should, you know, what they should do or shouldn't do and whatnot. If somebody's kinda giving you some some some pushback, let's say the the the pushback, oh, something's, like, too expensive or something like that. How do you how do you handle something like that?
Wes Marshburn:Well, my bid process first of all, part of connecting with a client, I I got started and then I we were sidetracked on something else. Something else is important is to is to show or demonstrate to the potential, to use your word prospect, your credentials. In other words, in my industry, and I'm sure this is true across many industries, but in my industries, there's basically 3 niches of the tree service industry. They're the large companies, the Davey Trees of this world, etcetera. They're big.
Wes Marshburn:They're legitimate all the way along. I know several owners and all that, but their margins are really or excuse me. Their their overhead is very high because they have a lot of trucks, big crews, expensive trailers. They can do big projects and come into an HOA with 300 trees and knock it out in a couple weeks. I could do the work, but I'd still be there 2 years from now.
Wes Marshburn:In other words, I'm really not suited because I'm a small contractor for those big projects. On the other hand, on the other end of the spectrum, there's the guys that I call Hack A Wax. They're around cutting trees. You know, hey. Cut trees, chop trees cheap.
Wes Marshburn:You know, that kind of thing. And there's a zillion of them in this industry, and I won't even deny that some of them, even arguably most of them, do decent work. They may not cut everything properly as as I would want them to as an arborist, but they get the job done. But the fact is when they're on-site, they present a liability to the property owner that the owner may be ignorant of. If there's an injury, I got a news flash for you.
Wes Marshburn:Chainsaw accidents are not always. Chainsaw accidents are 6 figure problems or worse. They're serious, very serious. And if something happens like that, a guy that's working out of the table has very shallow pockets, he does by definition, or he wouldn't be cheating because he's breaking the law. So, therefore, that big bill is gonna go to the property address of record.
Wes Marshburn:Paramedics are gonna take that injured employee to the hospital. Paramedics are coming, and the first thing they ask the admitting admission is gonna ask is, oh, is this a worksite accent? Clearly, he's sweaty, bloody, and it's the middle of the day. And then they're gonna say, what's the job site address? Because if there's no workers' comp policy to take the bills, that bill is going to the property owner.
Wes Marshburn:So when a hack a wacker gives a cheap price, but he's not telling the the client, showing them a workers' comp policy, he's actually exposing the client to a lot of liability. You can lose your home over it. I mean, it's a big deal. It really is. You might carry insurance on your trucks, but you might carry just private auto when in reality commercial auto is needed because this is a commercial operation.
Wes Marshburn:Oh, it's cheaper because they get a discount with their wife's car or whatever. But in reality, what they've done is expose to the client a liability because if something happens with one of those trucks on-site, that client is gonna get drawn into a lawsuit also. So a legitimate contractor explains all these things, and that's part of what I mean by connection before I answer your question. First of all, I wanna find out why I'm here. And then secondly, I'm going to connect with you in a personal way so that we have a sense of trust between us.
Wes Marshburn:And then thirdly, I'm gonna show you credentials not to be a braggart, but to give you a peace of mind that I have the right expertise to address the issue that you have or the concern that you have. I'll often present them by saying this is why I answer the questions that I do. I want you to know my background. I'm not just shooting from the hip. This is what I do for a living.
Wes Marshburn:This is my career. I'm not just a guy making bucks on the side. Okay? And then we give a price. Now directly answer your question.
Wes Marshburn:Let's say, oh, it's cheaper or whatever. I will explain to people. Yes. The overhead associated with this kind of work is expensive. It's a part of the bid.
Wes Marshburn:But when you purchase it, you're buying the work, but you're also buying the protection of this overhead. For example or a similar thing. When you go out to eat, for example, with your girlfriend or your wife, if you just wanna go fill your belly, you might go to fast food. But if you wanna go out to dinner, you go to a place with air conditioning, a booth, maybe some live music, which is more expensive because you're purchasing the overhead of a restaurant and the other things that come with it. You're not just getting a meal.
Wes Marshburn:The meal arguably is better prepared in the restaurant than in the fast food place, maybe a little bit healthier. It's a similar parallel. You could go feed yourself at the fast food joint, but if you want quality meal, you're gonna go to that restaurant. Right? Same thing in the contract world.
Wes Marshburn:Yes. You can get a cheaper price typically, but you expose yourself to a lot of problems potentially if you do. Or you go with a middle line contractor like me where I bring the same level of expertise to the job site that a big company does. I just I can make a margin on a residential job where they can't. And if you're the client that represent an HOA with 300 trees, I will thank you for the opportunity, offer my services as an arborist to oversee, but I'm not gonna offer you a bid because I'm not a good fit, and I'll tell you so.
Wes Marshburn:And I've told HOA managers myself, I'd love to do the work for you and but if you need it done in a month, I'm not a good fit for you. If you can spread this out over a year, and some do that, by the way. They'll they'll say, yeah. We have a budget. We can spend x amount per month.
Wes Marshburn:Hey. I'm your man. I can put a crew on this for 2 or 3 days a month and knock this thing out over the course of a year. I'd love that. That's great, but we're gonna clearly understand one another before we set up a contract that way.
Crystal Privett:So your authenticity helps you with your sales.
Wes Marshburn:And and if if and it's a it's a matter of matching. If you as the client want strictly lowest price, we're not a good fit. Yep. You know, I I once a long time ago, we won't say how long because that says how old I am. Right?
Wes Marshburn:But I went to went to a business seminar myself, where frankly, the guy that was teaching the seminar, it was, you know, Snoozville. I I everything that he said, I could have taught myself. But he said one colonel, one thing that really stuck out to me, and I've remembered it to this very day.
Crystal Privett:Let's hear it.
Wes Marshburn:And I here it is. He classifies a potential client in 1 of 5 categories, a's, b's, c's, d's, and f's. Okay? The a the a client is the is the perfect client. Nice job.
Wes Marshburn:Pays right away. No complaints. Gives you all sorts of great reviews. Signs you up with his mother, you know, whatever. You want tons of those.
Wes Marshburn:The b client, good job. Maybe takes 10 or 15 days to pay the bill, but really isn't a problem. It's just kinda standard. C, you do the job, but there's complaints, and it takes 30 days to get paid, and they maybe have to do payments because they don't have the money anymore, you know, these kind of things. D is a problem.
Wes Marshburn:D is full of complaints, slow to please, won't pay. You gotta threaten them with collection, you know, all sorts of issues. And f's are, of course, won't pay the bill. Nothing disappears, won't communicate. They're just gone.
Wes Marshburn:Well, as a business owner, small business, too many of us spend a lot of our energy chasing the d's and f's with all that bills, trying to collect those bills Mhmm. Those invoices that haven't been paid, trying to invest all this energy into pleasing the c. In reality, if you decide when you first meet them, and my antenna are pretty pretty tuned. If I run into a d or an f, I'm polite. You know, I I won't be rude or anything, but I simply declined a bit.
Wes Marshburn:I don't wanna do business with this person. If I run into a c, honestly, it's my judgment call, frankly, how busy am I? If I'm starving, I have no work, then I'll deal with it. But I know it's gonna take some special handling, but I spend most of my energy looking for a's and b's. If I spend more emotional energy, more promotional dollar bills chasing the a's and b's, ultimately, I'll make more money with less effort, and I'll sleep at night.
Wes Marshburn:Whereas the d's and f's leave, you know, leave me twisting and turning, you know, chewing on myself. I don't like it. It's not fun.
Eric Beels:I love that analogy. So, yeah, So I can definitely relate to on on the on on the
Crystal Privett:The spectrum.
Eric Beels:On that spectrum. Yeah. Because I and where because I found, you know, some some clients were actually very, very, very nice. And they actually maintained being very nice, but they were kind of a pain in the butt because they wanted a lot of things. They were nice about it, but they were it's just one of, like, a lot a lot of things.
Eric Beels:I ended up just kind of, like, letting them letting them go in the nicest way possible and such just because it was, like, and and it being not really the route that I wanted to to go down. They were just asking for too much and things like that. How so when you're on the when you're kind of grading people, how do you grade how do you do you do that real time, like, when you're talking so how do you go about, like, figuring out whether they're an a, b, c, or
Wes Marshburn:Unfortunately, Eric, there is not a hard and fast. It's called doing it for 30 years.
Eric Beels:Tuition.
Wes Marshburn:Yeah. And I've made a lot of mistakes. I wish I could say that I don't make mistakes anymore, but I do. I make a lot of mistakes. I have a client right now that owes me a stack of money, and she's disappeared on me.
Wes Marshburn:She won't pay the bills, won't return calls, won't nothing. And, eventually, the the emotional energy vested trying to collect the money that I'm rightfully due, it just it just caused me to just chews me up. And so, ultimately, I've hired a collection company, attorney in collection. She's gone. She's off the books.
Wes Marshburn:I I just don't worry about it anymore.
Crystal Privett:BNI has a bounty hunter. I don't think it I don't think that counts, though.
Wes Marshburn:Right? Yeah. I know. But, you do that. But as a rule, my antennae are pretty accurate.
Wes Marshburn:And when I get there, I get a sense of, and it it it mean, obviously, a home with wealth and just the sense that you you know, the how they present and all that, it gives you confidence that that they'll move forward. Pragmatically, somebody with a lot of assets wanna protect those assets. And if and I only will work with a signed contract. As a contractor, I have the ability to lien their home. They don't want that.
Wes Marshburn:That's not a good thing to me, so I know they're gonna pay as long as I perform my duties. So a property with assets is safer to work on. But let's be real. Most properties aren't that way. And so my antenna, like, is this person good for it or not, I'm far more willing to give, installment payments, for example, to somebody whose character I connect with.
Wes Marshburn:That's part of what I'm learning when we're talking. I wanna expose my character to them, but I'm also measuring theirs. You know what? If I get just a general sense of I'm not liking this too much, either A, I won't work for them, or B, I protect myself with terms that are that protect, right, like that. But it's it's really just boils down to experience.
Wes Marshburn:There's really not a a magic formula, and I still make mistakes today.
Eric Beels:You mentioned, like, with it, they have money, but, I mean, I've had I've worked with some people where the the chintziest people were the ones that, like, had a lot of money. And I was like, bro, like, why are you I don't understand it.
Wes Marshburn:But the thing is, I'm the nicest guy in the world I am. But truthfully, underneath this pill berry Pillsbury Doughboy exterior and sway to the wind, all that, I got a backbone made of steel. I really do. I fired a guy on Christmas Eve one time. Okay?
Wes Marshburn:You know, really, I'm I'm completely serious. At the end of the day, that's one way that as a contractor and I will often, not always, but I will often in the process of negotiation with a job, make sure that a homeowner understands this. As a licensed contractor, mainly the law is in your benefit as the client, but the one place that it really is in mind is I have a legal right to lien your home when I've worked for you if you've signed my contract. And if you don't pay the bill, I get a news flash for you. I will.
Wes Marshburn:Okay? So you're gonna pay my bill. Now as a different type of service where you're not working as a contractor, you may not have those protections. You might have to go to small claims court and argue before a judge to get your invoice paid and all that, but it's a big giant pain in the neck. And, you know, he said, she said, and this, that, whatever.
Wes Marshburn:I don't know your business. But as a contractor, I'm I'm locked solid if I've have a signed contract and I've done my job properly. I have been myself in my career, been to small claims. Most of my jobs, by the way, are a few $1,000. I don't typically do big ticket jobs.
Wes Marshburn:I mean, I've done a few, but most are 2, 3, 4, 5 grand, maybe 10, something like that are in that neck of the woods. So most of my jobs
Eric Beels:Neck of the woods, I heard.
Wes Marshburn:Yes. It's very funny, I think, too. Very funny. Yeah. Anyway, most of my jobs would fall under the jurisdiction of this of small claims court.
Wes Marshburn:And I have been to small claims court, I don't know, 6 or 7 times. I've never lost. Not once, not a single time because I'm documented.
Crystal Privett:You you're yeah. You're really great at this.
Wes Marshburn:Yeah. And so I don't wanna go there. It's a giant waste of my time too. I'd rather you pay the bill. And on a few occasions, rather than go that route, I've made a compromise even though I'm owed x amount.
Wes Marshburn:If you'll pay it off to here at 79%, I'll write off the balance, and we'll just move on. Their account's flagged. They'll never work for them again, but it's it it's very pragmatic. I'm not gonna waste my time, chasing something. But going back to your original question, it's really just experience.
Eric Beels:So, well, I guess I'm wondering, like, have you found other, like, certain, like like like, maybe they say people will say certain certain words or certain things that you've that that maybe you've heard before where it's like, oh, that's a red flag for me or something like that. May it might be it'll probably be for your business, but I don't know. Yeah.
Wes Marshburn:I I don't know. I I am of the opinion that most businesses are the same 90%. The last 10 is what's different between any business, but most of it's keeping the lights on, so to speak. I don't know that there's something I can answer to that gives me a flag. It's really just a general feeling in the conversation when I initially meet them and all that, how they carry themselves, how they answer questions, how they ask questions, etcetera.
Wes Marshburn:And it really has nothing to do with their their economic status. I'll tell you another personal story where I worked for a lady one time. We'll call her Judy because her name really was Judy. But, anyway, I did a job for her, and she happened to be a waitress at the restaurant that I used to go get coffee every morning at. Right?
Wes Marshburn:Did a job for can't remember now what it was. It was years ago. Everything went well. Job was well done. Everything's good.
Wes Marshburn:And a couple weeks afterwards, I'd given her terms. And afterwards, 2 weeks later, she lost her job, and she had no income. And she, communicated with me by phone call or letter or something and said, Wes, I don't have any income. I can't keep the payment plan that we set. Well, she was good to her word.
Wes Marshburn:Every month, she sent me a check. It might have been for $25, and she owed me a couple grand. $25, $50, 100, or she'd send a note. I'm so sorry. I don't have anything this month.
Wes Marshburn:Nothing. And I'll tell you what. She paid that that thing off all the way down to the final penny, and I would give her credit today. It has nothing to do with your financial or economic status. It has to do with your character, and she's an example of someone whose character is right.
Wes Marshburn:She knew what was right. I did the job she hired me to do. We did it well. There were no mistakes. She owed the money, and she was good to her word to pay it.
Wes Marshburn:It took a long time, but I don't care. I mean, yes, I'd rather be paid right away, but I'm a man of compassion and empathy as I think you should be. I wanna treat her as I would like her to treat me, and I gave her terms without any hassles and it worked out well. And I I would work for her today if she called me up.
Eric Beels:Yeah. Well, you know, it sounds like someone someone like that might even, you know, refer refer you now to you.
Wes Marshburn:That's a golden that's a golden thing. I mean, that that's not my motivation. Sure. But that's a golden thing, especially in this world of online reviews and such. This was back when you were, like, wearing diapers and stuff.
Wes Marshburn:This was when there was no Internet. Okay? But, anyway, there wasn't the possibility, but that's a good example in today's world. That person might very well do a bunch of reviews for you because you don't do it for this reason, but they feel indebted to you a little bit perhaps. And so they wanna compensate for their lack of being able to make payment right away by just going to town and writing a bunch of reviews and trying to help you.
Wes Marshburn:You know, that might happen. You certainly don't ask for it. You know, if I do this, do that. No. That's wrong.
Wes Marshburn:Just let it happen organically. If it happens, that's that's just a benefit.
Crystal Privett:Our topic is sales and authenticity, but I keep hearing you say connection and communication, which is interesting.
Wes Marshburn:It's a part of sales. Yeah. Crystal, it absolutely is. It has to be.
Eric Beels:It sounds like it's like kind of like the core part
Wes Marshburn:of Mhmm. Yeah.
Eric Beels:Of of your sales.
Wes Marshburn:It's it's the foundation of it. In sales, though, I mean, initially, we were talking about I I thought of a concept that I'll bring up now now that we're varying that direction. I I also when I'm doing sales, I wanna target a proper market. And up where I used to live, a small community up in the San Bernardino Mountains, I remember this building, and it used to be a real estate office. It's a small town.
Wes Marshburn:I drove past it virtually every day. In fact, I was in this real estate office,
Eric Beels:you
Wes Marshburn:know, getting a job one time, whatever. Anyway, the office closed, and some woman named Candy, opened up a candy store there. And I have no doubt that Candy made the best candy in the world. She probably did. She probably had great passion for the candies that she makes.
Wes Marshburn:Named
Eric Beels:well for the job.
Wes Marshburn:Exactly. I'm
Crystal Privett:sure she was sweet too.
Wes Marshburn:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Very sweet woman.
Wes Marshburn:That's right. The name of the business was literally Candy's Candy, name of the business. And I used to say as I pontificated on business concepts to my employees that were a trapped audience in my crew cab truck. They had no choice but to listen. They were on clock and on the bus, so they had to listen.
Wes Marshburn:Anyway, we drive by and occasionally and say, you know what? That's example. It makes me really sad because I have no doubt that candy is dumping her life savings, her resources, the equity in her home, whatever, into building this business because she has passion for it. She's probably the best candy maker ever. I have no doubt about that.
Wes Marshburn:It's not a matter of can she make quality candy, but I predict that business will fail in 6 months because she put it in a bad place. The town in which I lived, I was a very unique guy in that I lived and worked in this community, but the vast majority of the homes had people that commuted down the hill to the city for their jobs, you know, as brokers or, you know, whatever they do. Most people commuted up and down the grade every day every day. And down there, easy access to See's Candy, easy access to the various other things. So at the end of the day, the clientele that she needed were gonna be getting their candy cheaper and more convenient down the hill.
Wes Marshburn:And so even though she probably had a great product, she had made a mistake in identifying a bad market.
Crystal Privett:She didn't know her audience.
Wes Marshburn:Exactly. And I have made mistakes in the tree business, identifying a market incorrectly with tools that I bought. I I remember one time, I I used to own a skid steer, if you know what that is. It's essentially an engine on tracks, and you put a variety of implements on the front, you know, a stump grinder or bucket or grapple, you know, various tools on there. Anyway, I got this wild idea to put a to purchase a mower because one of the things that we did as a side venture is we we did weed abatement on large properties.
Wes Marshburn:So I bought this mower. Cost me, I don't know, several $1,000. It came all brand spanking new. Perfect. Worked great.
Wes Marshburn:But what it didn't occur to me is that most of the properties that we weed whacked were very uneven and and lumpy bumpy and on-site soap and all that. This tractor was a giant pain in the neck and did a lousy job. That's why I never used it. I used it, like, twice. Well, Wes did a super bad job of identifying his market.
Wes Marshburn:It was much more efficient to pay one of the guys to use a weed whacker. That's what they're made for. Go wax and weeds. And, so I did a bad job, but you learn by experience.
Eric Beels:Mhmm. Yeah. So, like like, identifying that market, especially in in situation, like in in in in sounds like in Candy's case. Yeah. Like, it could be, you know, detrimental, but I think it sounds like, tying this back into the the sales aspect is is kind of, like, really kind of niching down and identifying the specific person as well.
Eric Beels:Like, in your case, you you wanna make that connection with that person, because that kinda helps them, like, relate to you more. So you're kinda building that relationship with them in whatever whatever way way possible. And I imagine that probably, that probably makes it easier for for you to identify whether they're an area
Crystal Privett:fishing in the right pool.
Wes Marshburn:Yeah. Yeah. That's a good way to look at it. And I I also this I don't intend this to sound arrogant in any way, but, I it's not it's not uncommon for me to get a phone call or a text or something from an old client, that maybe I worked for 2 years ago or 3 years ago, whatever. And they just text me assuming that I know who they are because I connected with them.
Wes Marshburn:You know? Oh, I have I need you to come back and trim my trees again. And I had to text back and say, please identify yourself because Please identify yourself. Because they know who I am. They connected, and their tree's a big deal to them.
Wes Marshburn:But no offense to them, but they're one of a few thousand to me. I remember the tree once I see the property, but I may not remember them. Right? But I need like that. But I successfully connected with that client, and so they don't feel the need to introduce themselves.
Wes Marshburn:Mhmm. It just doesn't occur to them that they're just one of many, you know, to me. But but I'm unique to them, and they remembered. I I find it a little bit frustrating, but I also take it as a compliment.
Eric Beels:Yeah. No. That's I think that that sounds like a a huge compliment. I like, if if someone's you left such an impression on them that they've they, you know, feel like that they just know you as a friend, basically. Right?
Eric Beels:Even though they didn't really have that kind of working relationship.
Wes Marshburn:And and I strive for that connection. I mean it honestly and true whether whether I successfully sell a contract or not. I I want that connection regardless of whether we're gonna end up doing business together. There is nothing to be lost by being honest and helpful to somebody. It pays dividends today or May next week or a year or 2 years from now.
Wes Marshburn:You never know. It never hurts you. It is always best. And so that is what I intend to do right out of the gates regardless. And sometimes, like, I even did a bid today or I went to a bid.
Wes Marshburn:I spent some money. First of all, I bought the lead to get the people's information. I drove 45 minutes to the lady's house and then 45 back to actually to come here. And when I got there, I was not a good match for the, for the job. It what she wanted done really is better performed by a landscaper or gardener, and I explained to her.
Wes Marshburn:I I did the same. It was an elderly lady. I I walked her out, made sure she didn't stumble on the on the walkway, you know, this kind of stuff. I knew instantly driving up, this was not a good match for me. But I had spent the time with her.
Wes Marshburn:She was expecting me to come, and I spent some time. And then I pretty gently explained why I wasn't a good match. I said, we can do the work. We can. It's not that my guys won't do it.
Wes Marshburn:We will. But understand that the overhead of my business is pretty expensive because what we typically will do is take down a big tree like that big palm tree over there, and the overhead necessary to do that tree properly is expensive. Well, that same labor expense is gonna be applied to your job too, but you don't need that kind of coverage. You need a gardener. He can do the same job as we can, and my bid is gonna be double or maybe triple of what his.
Wes Marshburn:So I'm not a good match. I'd love to help you, but you don't want me. You really don't. And then I walked her back to her front door, and, you know, that was the end of it. She thanked me for coming.
Wes Marshburn:You never know. She may very well give my name and number to her daughter or grandkid or something. I get a job from somebody else, but there's no harm in treating people with respect and genuine empathy and compassion for their situation. It's always a good thing. Authenticity really came into play.
Wes Marshburn:Situation. It it's always a good thing.
Crystal Privett:Authenticity really came into play. So I have to say, Wes, I am the daughter of an arborist. My my stepdad mention the arborist. Is an arborist still in Colorado, and my mom works with them. I have to say, though, knowing you, you are a little bit more unique on the arborist side because you document everything and the level of documentation that you have with the specifics of the tree and the photos.
Crystal Privett:Can you tell the audience just a little bit about what makes you slightly different in that area of, like, the photos and how you do
Wes Marshburn:Well, I can tell you I can tell you my process. I don't know that I agree with you that I'm that terribly different because I think a lot of guys do processes similar to mine.
Crystal Privett:You're very thorough, though.
Wes Marshburn:I do try to be that. So when I arrive to a job site, I go through my credentials. I show them my contractor's license, and I show them my certificates as an arborist. I'm also additionally trained as a tree risk assessor. We can go into that if you wish if we have time with ISA as well, and I show them my certificates of insurance.
Wes Marshburn:But then when I prepare the bid, I have you lead me about your property, show me the areas of concern, or if I've identified them for you as an arborist, either way, I go around the property and I document each each issue, whether it's each individual tree or generic area, say, the slope, you know, whatever, and I document with photographs and a description of my notes. Those notes are from my eyes only. You would not want to try to decipher my writing. It's it has no value.
Crystal Privett:Nor would we be able to.
Wes Marshburn:That's correct. Yeah. I people ask me for copies occasionally, and I'll say, you know what? A symbol to me means a paragraph. To you, it will mean nothing.
Wes Marshburn:These notes won't help you. I've been known this a long time, and I I use my own form of shorthand every single day. But when I get back to the office, I use those notes. I I first of all, I scan them so I have a permanent copy in my in my database of my field notes so I don't forget stuff. But then I write up the description, and I use a software package designed for tree work.
Wes Marshburn:I like to tell people that, I I pay the licensing use of, but I didn't write it. It's gonna come to you as, hello, Eric. Thank you for the opportunity, then I cut it off and say, well, a bunch of flowery language that I didn't write because it's a template. You know, thank you for the opportunity to service your trees, blah blah blah. It's shortcuts being too wordy because I tend to talk too much anyway.
Wes Marshburn:And there's the link. At the bottom of the of that paragraph, there's a link. Please open the link. Don't be afraid of it. So I'm gonna take you to some spam filled thing because a lot of people that I'm working with are elderly or close to it, and they're afraid of things on the Internet that they're they don't know.
Wes Marshburn:You know? So So it say, please don't be afraid of it. I put it there. Right? So now they know where it came from.
Wes Marshburn:Open the link, and it's gonna show your house on Google Maps. You're gonna see a satellite view of your house. Creepy, but it's there. Okay? And then on top of that, I'm gonna put a pin, a mark on the map on top of the canopy of each of the trees we've discussed, and then I'm going to attach to those pins a photograph or maybe 2 or 3 photographs that I've taken today of that tree.
Wes Marshburn:And then there's gonna be a description, species, what we're gonna do to the tree, specifics, how high, the DBH, where it's located, particular issues, the price, all that stuff is gonna be attached to that tree. And then the software will move it all into a proposal that when you look at it, when you open your link, you're gonna see your house and all these trees with pictures and what it's gonna be done. It's super user friendly. All you gotta do is click approve, and you'll have a DocuSign arrangement that you go through and sign. I get told that I've got a signed contract, and then we communicate on when the job's gonna be done.
Wes Marshburn:Now if you're excuse me. If you've hired me as an arborist, I'm gonna create my own report. It's similar in a way, but I identify each tree, and I take photographs, And then I identify the issue of concern, what my recommendations are observations, and what my recommendations for mitigation are. But I document it all with pictures, and I keep records of everything. You could call me 4 years later.
Wes Marshburn:And if you tell me when I was there, I'll look it up, find your name, and find the report I
Crystal Privett:made for you.
Wes Marshburn:Remember me, but you'll be able to find out. Chris, so
Eric Beels:I will remember you always. Well, so hearing hearing you you you you talk, what's interesting is I kinda thought this would kind of go along like, in my head, I was initially kind of thinking this would kind of go down the lines of, like, oh, you know, saying these things or saying this, that. We haven't talked anything, about that. So what I'm kind of hearing is that, like, like, what what makes you an effective salesperson is actually, I guess, to summarize in a single word, I think, would be, to to create as much confidence in that in your in your your prospect as possible. And and and I'm hearing that from, like, 1, you're you're building a relationship with them.
Eric Beels:So now they they now they they like you.
Wes Marshburn:Yep.
Eric Beels:And then but 2, now you're you're providing, like, hey. These are all these are all my my my credentials that that that I have. Whatever that might that might be. I'm insured on all these different all these Yeah. Different aspects.
Eric Beels:And then also, like, you're you're you have all these these these, sounds like you have these systems and processes. That's my
Crystal Privett:question there.
Eric Beels:And, in place to and and them seeing that and said, well, I'm I haven't seen your your report, but I would assume that it looks it looks really professional like with the yeah. With the the what you mentioned, the satellite view of it. And so all these things are are working towards building that confidence
Wes Marshburn:Correct.
Eric Beels:For the person. Do you get that report before is that like there's do you do that report, like, before they've they've they've paid you? Is that
Wes Marshburn:part of the process? Before we work.
Eric Beels:So yeah. So you're so you're providing all that to kind of, like so then someone goes, okay. I trust this guy. Maybe I you know, maybe it's maybe they're thinking, I know he's more expensive, but he's gonna do
Wes Marshburn:it fast. Building confidence has benefits in lots of ways. First of all, I I sometimes and like you were searching a minute ago, I think you were at least, you know, for a phrase or words or things that I say to build a confidence. There there are none. And this is where experience as a sales guy comes in, I guess, because I look for when I come to the job site, I look for ways to connect, and it may be different with Crystal than it would be for you.
Wes Marshburn:It it's it's unique. It's actually genuine. It's not, you know, pull out Yeah.
Eric Beels:That's the
Wes Marshburn:main menu. Yeah. Number 3. It's Yeah. Actually what really works.
Wes Marshburn:And then in the process of connection, by presenting credentials and explaining them to a degree in a customized way, but basically, I say similar things almost every time. And sometimes I'll off put that the fact that I say this all the time with a little bit of humor. I'll say, you know what? Please excuse me because I say if it sounds like a speech, because it basically is. I've been doing this for 30 years, and so it gets a touch repetitive.
Wes Marshburn:I say that on purpose because I don't want them to get the sense that they're just one of a zillion. I want them to feel like this conversation is at least in part very unique, and it genuinely is. I'm there to help them. Let's identify the issues. Here are the credentials so that you have confidence in what I say.
Wes Marshburn:I try to present as good of professional image as possible, but at the same time, just a touch of local yokel, good old boy, you know, charm sort of stuff, and hopefully it sells the job. I landed a project just a few days ago. As a matter of fact, she's not signed yet, but she gave me a verbal yes. And we went through the whole thing. It's a little bit of an older lady, and she has a lot of issues to take with.
Wes Marshburn:It's a big project, and she ultimately, at the end of my presentation, said, okay. I wanna go with you. And I told her how to make 4. And I said, if you don't mind me saying asking. I don't want any names.
Wes Marshburn:I don't need it. Nothing. It's not my business. But what was the other bid that you had gotten? And it was 1 third of my bid.
Wes Marshburn:1 third. We're talking a triple price, and my price was fair. I think the other guy know what he's talking about. He would've got burned or he left her hanging. But, nevertheless, my bid was triple the other bid, and she went with me because I had established rapport with her, and I built trust and confidence because of presentation and the various things that I've explained to you.
Crystal Privett:But I think the underlying, like, true superpower, but beneath all of your connection is you secretly care.
Wes Marshburn:I do. Yep. Yeah. I don't even try to make a secret. I really do.
Wes Marshburn:I really do.
Eric Beels:So caring is is is kinda like like really what's gonna because people I think people will pick up on that too.
Wes Marshburn:If they
Crystal Privett:if they sense that You're transactional versus
Eric Beels:inflation. Looking to get the the sale.
Wes Marshburn:It's it's a it's a different application, and I won't say that I learned to do it, but I was definitely impressed by one of our friends, mutual friends as part of our chapter, and that's Kwa. He's a financial adviser. And when I first joined our chapter, I was new to it and still sort of my feeling feeling my way and being an advocate.
Eric Beels:Shout out to Kwa.
Wes Marshburn:Yeah. Hey, Kwa. He's the best financial adviser. Anyway, he's a lousy fisherman, but besides that. Anyway, he invited me to go to one of his clients' house to play a poker game.
Wes Marshburn:It was like an in house poker game. I like to play poker. Anyway, we went to this house, and it was one of his his clients. The the woman of the family, the mother of the family had recently been diagnosed with cancer. It was a young family, father, mother, and 2 little kids.
Wes Marshburn:And Qua said, we're gonna hold a little tourney. Half the pot goes to this family. Not that it's gonna pay their medical bills. It's not. It's a, you know, 3, 4, $500 or something to buy some groceries, but the real thing was to give them some encouragement.
Crystal Privett:Yeah.
Wes Marshburn:And that just impressed the tar out of me. Qua got nothing from it. I mean, 0, but he did it to be helpful because the man genuinely cares about people. He he makes a living at it, a good living. You know, I wanna apply for adoption, to be honest with you.
Wes Marshburn:I mean, he he does really well. I don't eat that much, Quah. Anyway, but the fact is he genuinely cares, and that impressed me a lot. It's like, number 1, the character that that Quah has, and number 2, what a good example. And so I try to do similar things, not as well as he does, but I try to help people genuinely.
Crystal Privett:Gain.
Wes Marshburn:Yeah. And and I was a newbie, and I didn't even know that phrase yet. You know? But, yeah, that's what it is.
Eric Beels:So what other, like, secrets do you know about Kwa? You wanna
Wes Marshburn:share? Oh, yeah. Absolutely. You can't fish worth the you know, anyway.
Eric Beels:Wow. So, yeah, this this episode kinda definitely took a turn than what I was initially thinking, but it, like I mean, again, I don't like
Crystal Privett:It was authenticity. Right?
Wes Marshburn:Right. It's it's like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get. I go walk in tomorrow. We'll talk about something completely different.
Wes Marshburn:I can I can pontificate on virtually anything? Been doing this a long time. I did. And I'm shy. I, you know, I don't have any opinions.
Crystal Privett:Yeah. He can't hold a conversation. Yeah.
Eric Beels:Yeah. So, so, Wes, I almost called you Faa. We're talking about FaaS too much.
Wes Marshburn:I could you could call me worse than that. It's alright.
Eric Beels:So, if somebody wanted to get in in contact you with with you either for, like, maybe either tree services or for, maybe they wanna go out fishing with you. 1 on 1 with you fishing.
Wes Marshburn:Yeah. Yeah.
Eric Beels:The better fishermen. Yeah. What's, how how would they contact you?
Wes Marshburn:I'm giving fishing lessons including to qua. Oh, no. Anyway, yeah. You can reach out to me. I'm the owner and arborist for North County Tree.
Wes Marshburn:I guess I should talk to the camera now probably. Anyway, I'm the arborist and owner for North County Tree, and you can reach me best by telephone, which is 760-688-9472. I also have a website, northcountytree.com. That'll take you to the website. You'll see a lot of what we can do.
Wes Marshburn:And if you scroll down on the first page, you'll see a little video that one of our other BNI members made for me, Rich Hawk, some time ago, and you'll see me being interviewed so you'll know who you're talking to. But that's the best way. I prefer a phone call, leave a voice mail if I don't answer, and I'd be happy to return the call. Conversation is always for even consultations about trees on the phone. Hidden Laws is not, you know, really involved.
Wes Marshburn:But if it's just basic questions, I answer questions for people all the time.
Crystal Privett:Any last minute advice or anything you'd like to tell us?
Wes Marshburn:Well, I
Eric Beels:I wanted to kinda just summarize, like, what I what I, you know, to kinda like summarize all this is is, again, back, like, built like, whatever what I kind of got out of this is that from sales is doing everything you can to kind of build that confidence. But from an authentic perspective, like you're not doing it out of out of like maliciousness
Crystal Privett:or
Eric Beels:or just to get the sale. You're doing it authentically.
Wes Marshburn:You're not doing it for your own financial gain. Yeah. Honestly, you're not.
Eric Beels:That's a that that that that the financial gain is a side effect
Wes Marshburn:of that. Correct. It's benefit of, but it is not the primary purpose. Yep. If it's your primary purpose, you'll get jobs, but but people will sniff that out, and that's not a good motivator.
Crystal Privett:Your intention.
Wes Marshburn:Yeah. My intention genuinely is to help you. It really is. If my advice is best for you to move on, whether it's a different size tree company, for example, or a different type of service that's better fit to your needs, I'm gonna tell you. That's what I wanna do because I've experienced.
Wes Marshburn:I know tons of people, and I can help you find somebody for that need. I will sometimes use in my sales presentation, for example. I know all the contractors. I know enough about electricity to burn your house down. Don't hire me.
Wes Marshburn:I'm not your electrician, but I can hook you up with somebody that is. You know? So I'm I would love to be a point of contact for virtually any need, but, that doesn't mean you're gonna pay me anything because you're not. It's, just something that I do. So it'd be helpful to you.
Eric Beels:Alright. Well, thanks so much, Wes. So if you liked this episode and, like, this episode, if you're if you're honestly like like like myself and you know somebody, who maybe needs to work on their sales, maybe is is, has heard traditional sales, like like Hitches. Hitches or whatever it is. And once, another, like, methodology of, sales, this would be a great episode to share with them.
Eric Beels:So this is how the the show grows. This is how how we we grow and and get this podcast in in front of other people. And it's all about just providing value and givers gain. So, share this episode with them and, that would help the show. We we appreciate that.
Wes Marshburn:Alright. Alright.
Eric Beels:Thanks so much for listening.
Crystal Privett:Don't forget to document your CEU. Thank you for joining us for the Business Boost Hour. My name is Crystal Pravette, and this is Eric Buells. Thank you for joining us, and don't forget to document your single CEU. See you next time.
Eric Beels:See you in the next episode.
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