Tech Sales is for Hustlers Podcast

Campus Series: Stefanie Boyer – Find Your True Passion

Guest-At-A-Glance

Name: Stefanie Boyer

What she does: The head of the sales program, Professor of Marketing at Bryant University

Company: Bryant University

Noteworthy: Stefanie’s path was not the typical path. She was a firefighter, worked at US Customs, sold financial services, sold Cutco knives. When she was in college, she threw the javelin and got injured. She studied psychology and criminology.

Where to find Stefanie: LinkedIn

Key Insights

⚡ Sales tournaments create great salespeople. During this interview, Stefanie talks in detail about sales competitions they conduct at the university. This competition aims to encourage students to talk about sales and help them connect with real-life companies. “Everybody goes into their room at the same time, and they start the conversation. It’s the Voice, where you have a panel of judges in the room, and then the buyer in the room is there to have the conversation with you. All the people in the room are from companies that want to mentor you, that want to give you advice, want to see you succeed. They also want to hire typically. […] As soon as the conversation is done the sales meeting is over. The student stays in the room, and they get immediate feedback from the judges in the room.”

⚡ Sales competitions benefit everybody. While talking about sales tournaments at Bryant University, Stefanie explains how these competitions help students get better, help companies find a workforce and help teachers improve in their fields. “The coaches are trying to get their students involved in these competitions because that’s when you see that epiphany, and the companies are really taking advantage of the opportunity to get there with the students and to interview as much as they can. I guess it’s taking more of a role towards coaching and mentorship. The students will actually try to track down some of the people that are in their rooms during the competition, just to get a little bit more coaching and feedback. It’s less about the competition and more about, ‘How do I get better? How do I make an improvement?'”

⚡ Detours in life can be good. Stefanie remembers her sports injury back in college and explains how it changed her whole life. She thinks that ‘setbacks’ can be good if you have the right point of view. “When it’s your life, and if you’re feeling like it’s a setback, then it feels huge. But you really just think of it as maybe a redirection. When I had that injury, I didn’t think of it as a redirection. I felt sorry for myself. I was upset. I was in pain. I didn’t know what I was going to do. I was panicking. I’m like, ‘How am I going to survive? How am I going to pay for what I want? What am I going to do?’ My world was crumbling around me, but it really was the best thing because I have the life that I have now, and I’m really happy, and it taught me a lot about resilience. The students see that a lot; their first interview doesn’t always go the way that they want it to go. You don’t do things typically really well the first time you try them. I try to help the students understand, ‘Yes, you’re going to have things that don’t necessarily work out, but what did we learn?’ […] ‘What can we control that we can do differently next time? What was out of our control?'”

Episode Highlights

Sales tournaments are a great way to learn

“It seems probably kind of scary to come in and say, ‘Okay, we’re having this huge tournament, and you’re going to compete, and you’re getting judged, but it’s a lot of fun.’ The students learn a case. In this competition this year, Carousel is the main sponsor, and the students are selling a security solution. They’re coming in, and they’re reading the case, and they say, ‘Okay, here’s what’s happening with the potential buyer.’ You have to go in, and you have a conversation. A lot of students think when you have to go in, and you have to sell something that you go in, and you just talk the entire time. But in the sales program, we try to teach that it’s really having a conversation. The students will go into a four-round tournament. It’s like an elimination-style tournament. […] I think we started out with 20 rooms of competition. We take the top few students in each room, they advance to the next round, and you keep doing that until you get to the final four or the final five students.”

 

Sales is about the process and pushing through

“Whenever I would try things, I wasn’t always great at them, and I never felt too embarrassed to keep trying. I played basketball, I was in high school, and I wasn’t very good at it, but I kept at it, and I ended up getting better. Sometimes when people don’t have that early success, they just give up, and they’re like, ‘Ah, you know what, this isn’t for me.’ You have to be able to push past that, especially when it comes to sales. You’re going to be talking all over yourself. You’re going to be talking too much. You’re going to be stumbling over your words. You’re going to get nervous and forget to breathe sometimes. It’s just really important to be persistent and keep trying, especially when you get some rejection which even the best salespeople are going to get. […] It’s always good to really reflect and figure out, ‘What went wrong? What could I have done better?’ But then also, ‘What was just completely out of my control? Did I forget to do a few things? Did I forget to qualify the person?’ I think if you break things down and you look at the process, the process really can be there to help you.”

 

Being supportive and helping young salespeople

“My students, when they’re almost at the point where they want to give up, ‘I just don’t know. I’m not seeing the results. This is frustrating.’ And especially with my students after they’ve graduated, it’s the first month on the job, and they’re like, ‘I don’t know, I’m not booking the meetings that I want. I’m not sure did I choose the right thing.’ I’m like, ‘Just stick with it. Don’t try to do an excessive amount. Do the right amount every day. Put the time in.’ Then usually within a week, they’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, I booked a bunch of appointments now.’ Then they have the confidence, and they feel better about themselves. Then they’re remembering how great they are. It’s just about that, sticking with it. Even if you feel like you’re ready to give up and you’re not sure, just stick with it some more. You’re probably going to see the result of that hard work right around the corner.” 

Build a community to start selling

“I usually tell them to start connecting with everybody at the company and to have meetings, to reach out to people that are the high performers or that were somebody that was a very high performer when they were in that role. Interview them, shadow them, find out what they’re doing, how they’ve made it work. Talk to upper management and just try to really get connected to be a sponge. Don’t try to adjust. Isolate and make as many calls as you can, but also integrate into the office. Put in the work, for sure, but learn from the other people that have had a lot of success. Invest in social selling, grow your network, build your brand on LinkedIn. That way, if somebody does get an opportunity to meet with them, they can look at their LinkedIn, which is usually the first thing that comes up when you look someone up to find out who they are so that they can build a little bit of trust. Maybe start pulling in customers to them to build up their network with the people that they could do business with in the future, to really take the time to build that strong base. That way, when they’re ready to go, they’ve already gotten this strong following.” 

Transcript:

[00:00:02] Kristen Wisdorf: Welcome back hustlers to another edition of the Tech Sales is for Hustlers mini Campus Series.

[00:00:14] Today, we are super excited to have, the head of the sales program, professor of marketing at Bryant University, one of the universities we sponsor here at memoryBlue. Stefanie Boyer, welcome to the podcast. 

[00:00:25] Stefanie Boyer: Oh, thank you so much for having me. It’s exciting to be here with you all today. 

[00:00:30] Kristen Wisdorf: We are very excited to have you as well.

[00:00:32] So Stephanie, we like to start all of our podcasts the same way we start our interviews here at memoryBlue, which is give us 60 seconds, give or take a snapshot of who you are. Give us your highlight reel let’s call it. 

[00:00:47] Stefanie Boyer: Sure. Well, I run the sales program at Bryant University, and that is in Smithfield, Rhode Island, tiny state.

[00:00:56] I’ve been here since, gosh 2009, started, started running sales competitions, bringing students in from all over the Northeast, and then that grew to larger areas all over the US. But then, we started to feel some itch to build something a little bit bigger, and so we turned our sales competition into a digital competition.

[00:01:19] So we still have the one in-person, but then we also have another competition that is using AI to be the buyer and also to score the competition and to do a speed sell competition with it. So that’s pretty exciting. And I wrote a social media book on how to use LinkedIn to really get your brand to grow.

[00:01:43] Kristen Wisdorf: That is super exciting. Okay. So we’ve actually been to the sales competition that you run, NISC. How long has that competition been up and running? 

[00:01:51] Stefanie Boyer: That’s a good question. So, we for, I first started in my sales classes and it actually got attention from some of the local faculty and students. They started calling in.

[00:02:03] And, so we started in 2010, but then when we invited people in, I think that was 2012. So, this year is actually the ten-year anniversary, the competition, the 10th, the 10th competition. 

[00:02:18] Kristen Wisdorf: Congrats, happy anniversary. 

[00:02:20] Stefanie Boyer: Thank you. Yes.

[00:02:22] Kristen Wisdorf: That’s a big deal. I mean, a lot of the professors we speak with, they, host, you know, classroom-style competition, role-play competitions, or they take their sales team to competitions, which obviously you are familiar with, but you run your own at Bryant and you have local schools come in from the area.

[00:02:40] So, I think this is kind of like a very unique concept to some of our listeners that sales competitions even exists for college students. And, kind of all that goes in to developing and hosting these major competitions and what students get out of it. Can you spend a couple of minutes just telling us a little bit about what that weekend looks like from a student’s perspective who were to come in and spend a weekend competing in sales? 

[00:03:06] Stefanie Boyer: Sure. You know, it, it seems probably kind of scary to come in and say, “Okay, we’re having this huge tournament and you’re going to compete, and you’re getting judged and it’s, it’s a lot of fun.” So the students learn a case.

[00:03:18] So, in this competition, this year Carousel is the main sponsor, NWN Carousel, and the students are selling a security solution. And so they’re coming in and they’re reading the case and they say, “Okay, here’s what’s happening with the potential buyer.” And you have to go in and you have a conversation. A lot of students think when you have to go in and you have to sell something that you go in and you just talk the entire time.

[00:03:44] But in the sales program, we try to all teach that it’s really having a conversation. So the students will go into a four-round tournament. It’s like an elimination style tournament. Kind of like, you know, sports, if you see basketball and you keep going down further, further until you get to the final four. You had the Sweet sixteen before that and the semi-finals. Right.

[00:04:08] And so each round students are in, a set of rooms. I think we started out with 20 rooms of competition. We take the top few students in each room, they advanced to the next round. And you keep doing that until you get to the final four or the final five students. So that’s really exciting for the students to have the opportunity.

[00:04:26] So they go in, everybody goes into their room at the same time and they start this conversation. There, it’s, it’s kind of like the voice, right, where you have a panel of judges in the room, and then the buyer in the room is there to have the conversation with you. All the people in the room are from companies that want to mentor you, that want to give you advice, want to see you succeed. And they also want to hire typically. And so we love having your team in there. Your team always gives excellent feedback, excellent advice to the students. So, as soon as the conversation is done the sales meeting is over, the student stays in the room and they get immediate feedback from the judges in the room.

[00:05:08] And then the student leaves and then the next student comes in. So we do that a series of times. And it’s just so much fun because the students really, at that point, they realize they actually are pretty good at selling, which usually when they start the class or like, “I don’t know if sales is for me. I’m not very good at this. I don’t see myself here.” Because they don’t even understand what sales is. So being able to have the conversation they realize, “I don’t have to just go pitch somebody. All I have to do is have a conversation.” And people have been having conversations their whole lives, and they’ll continue to have conversations. In sales, they can actually help people with their conversations and make money with their conversations. And so they’re learning that over the weekend, the students also get to do skill-building sessions. So we have some of the companies that are there, some experts. We have a woman who does improv and she teaches adaptability lessons and workshops during the conference.

[00:06:04] So basically during the competition, you have all these opportunities to compete. You do the skill-building sessions, there’s a speed sell. So everyone goes in 60 seconds. They say, “This is why you should hire me. This is what it is. I’m determined. I’m focused. I’m a team player. I am a great communicator.”

[00:06:22] But they can’t just say that. They have to tell a story around it. So once they do that, then the judges have that scoring sheet and they talk, you know, they evaluate them on their confidence, their flow, the relevance of their story, so many different areas. And so they can actually advance in the speed sell too.

[00:06:39] We do the speed sell usually in English and Spanish, and then some years we’ve done it in Chinese, and French, and Italian as well. So it really just depends on who’s coming to the competition and which judges we can find, because obviously you have to do this in a different language. You have to score it in a different language as well.

[00:06:58] So we give a bunch of prizes out. We try to have a really good time. Mentoring, coaching, networking, getting to know everybody, the students get to meet with the employers and have a conversation about what it’s like to work there. You know, just to get to know them a little bit better.

[00:07:15] Libby Galatis: There is a lot to unpack there. And I was really excited to sit down and speak with you, Stefanie, because I’ve been at NISC, and I’ve also been to quite a few other, you know, university sales competitions that the different programs in schools that we actively partner up with, and NISC is a production. I mean, you’ve guys, you’ve honestly got each, from the preparation to the engagement of the sponsors themselves, making sure that the students are well-prepared across the board. It’s, it’s, it’s honestly a spectacle. It’s, it’s amazing what you guys have been able to build and touch a short time. And I’m sure it’s been amazing to see, the program itself kind of grow over the years as well. I’m curious about, you know, ’cause we talked about how the competition itself is laid out, and having those judges in the room, which can be a little bit intimidating to students. In my experience, NISC is one of the only competitions that actually have the judges sitting in the room, which is really unique. And I wanted to get your, kind of perspective. Would you say that most student competitors have been exposed to that kind of environment prior to NISC? You know, when it comes to the type of individual that you see engaging in that competition itself, would you say that most are traditional sales students with a heavy marketing background, or are you also getting students of different, you know, majors and minors and fields of study outside of what we would consider to be a traditional sales path?

[00:08:34] Stefanie Boyer: I think you see a really good mix because at NISC you’ll have maybe five students that can compete, and sometimes we will even open it up and allow ten students to compete. So, at traditional, traditionally what you see at the major competitions is you can have two students that’ll compete, and you’ll might be able to have a lot of alternates.

[00:08:54] And so I think coaches use this as an opportunity to get more of their team out there in competing. So you might actually have a mixture on the team, where you have, like, you know, two people maybe on the team that maybe they have done something like this before, maybe they came to NISC before. So you’ll have that experienced person.

[00:09:12] They might already know they want to go into sales, and then you might have some people that they’ve recruited along the way that are like, “Oh, I don’t know about sales”, but they’ve got really great communication skills, they’re persuasive, and they’re just so motivated and have a great attitude that usually the coach says, “You would be really great for sales. You’ve got to come try this.” And then usually when they come they realized, “Wow, I actually have some talent”, and it kind of shifts their thinking. But we’ve had students before, I remember the very first year from Northeastern, we had an engineering student who got, you know, I think he got second place, maybe first place in the competition.

[00:09:47] So you’ll see a really interesting mix there. But, you know, some of the schools are major sales programs that are out there. Some schools you might have marketing classes that the students are coming from. But mo, more of them have a bit of a sales emphasis. 

[00:10:04] Libby Galatis: That’s, I just think it’s, it’s a common theme in many of the podcast episodes that we’ve hosted, a to point at the fact that there is just such a wide range of individuals that are perfectly and wonderfully qualified to operate in a sales-like environment, that might contradict, you know, the way that people have perceived sales in the past.

[00:10:22] And part of being a sales educator and somebody, I mean, so closely with so many different campuses and speaking in classrooms, that’s always a point that I like to kind of emphasize. Don’t close yourself out of this just because you don’t think you fit the mold because that mold is actually a lot more flexible than I would say most students think.

[00:10:38] So. 

[00:10:38] Stefanie Boyer: That’s actually a really good point because sometimes what ends up happening is you have, and they have selected a major and for them, you know, it might be the end of their junior year, and then they found sales. Maybe they joined the sales team, or they took that one sales class, and now they’re kind of stuck, and they say, “Oh my gosh, you know, I have invested so much into this major. To be able to change this it would take so much money, extra time.” And so then they just continue on with their major that they’ve selected, but then they get really involved with the sales team. I’ve had a lot of finance majors that ended up going into sales. And I mean, especially if you look at financial services, it’s all really about selling, selling skills are the skills that they actually need. But if, if their curriculum is too rigid and they can’t switch majors, then they might just do the extra curricular activities like these competitions, to learn more about sales and then they go into sales. I know one of the students on my sales team. Now she’s a leader on the team. She’s an accounting major. And so, you probably think like, “What business does an accounting major have steadying sales?” But you know, it’s becoming more and more popular across different areas of study. 

[00:11:51] Kristen Wisdorf: And that’s really the beauty of programs like yours and sales teams at colleges all across the country is that there is an opportunity to get involved in sales without having to change your major, and feel like that time investment is having to be shifted.

[00:12:06] And not only that, it’s not just like a club or an organization. But they actually get to get as close to the real thing of selling as possible by doing these role-plays in these competitions. Which is really incredible. I mean, honestly, I think it’s actually more nerve-wracking, at least in my opinion, doing a role play in front of a bunch of judges from maybe companies I might want to work for than it is actually going through regular sales with one of my prospects.

[00:12:30] So, that is incredible. You mentioned, you know, the types of majors and backgrounds of people getting involved in sales, and how it’s changed along the way. In the last 10 years, how else has the program or the competitions evolved or changed? Like, what are you seeing maybe now that you weren’t seeing 8, 9, 10 years ago?

[00:12:49] Stefanie Boyer: That’s that’s a good question. I have to think a little bit about how the faculty have really changed. Usually, before you would see like maybe one coach would bring the whole team. And now we’re seeing more supplemental people to help coach. I’m seeing more student coaches. So, it’s really exciting to see a student that may have performed well in the past.

[00:13:13] And now they get this manager type role. So they’re getting a little bit more experienced that way. The coaches are definitely bringing big teams. I know university of New Hampshire. They’re, they’re just constantly bringing a huge team. I know one year they brought 30 students to campus and they just kind of took over, they brought this huge bus.

[00:13:34] And, so you’re seeing a lot of that, the coaches trying to get their students involved in these competitions because that’s, when you see that epiphany, and the companies are really taking advantage of the opportunity to get there with the students and to interview as much as they can. I guess it’s taking more of a role towards a coaching and mentorship.

[00:13:55] So the students will actually try to track down some of the people that are in their rooms during the competition, just to get a little bit more coaching and feedback. So it’s less about the competition and more about, you know, how do I get better? How do I make an improvement? So I think we see a lot more of that from the coaches and that faculty and student and. 

[00:14:15] Kristen Wisdorf: Yeah, that’s a really good culture that you’re building with your program and with the competition is this, I guess this weekend is spent about getting better and learning and having the opportunity to develop, which is also great white.

[00:14:28] I think that you allow more than just two competitors per school as well. The more people who can have the opportunity to try this thing out and compete and learn from it. It’s just really cool. And we love going to NISC and we love going to all the sales competitions that we go to. So let’s pivot and talk a little bit more about you.

[00:14:46] You got involved, I think you said in 2009. with the program. Talk to us a little bit about your background. Where’d you go to school? How’d you end up in Rhode Island and walk us through your journey. 

[00:14:56] Stefanie Boyer: Sure. My path was not the typical path. I was a firefighter before. I worked at US Customs. I sold financial services.

[00:15:07] I, I sold Cutco knives, I did have, one summer. So you know, it’s not like I always knew exactly what I was going to do. When I was in college I threw the javelin. And I was really good at the javelin. I didn’t throw it in high school, I only started when I was in college, but I just had an ability to do that.

[00:15:27] And I had a really good coach. I was at University of South Florida in Tampa, and I was training and training and training. And I was trying to get to the Olympic trials. I was training nine hours a day, and I ended up having a career-ending back injury my senior year. So I didn’t get to actually compete.

[00:15:48] I did get to keep the school record for like eight years, until someone finally beat it. You know, I really thought my path was, “Do this, go compete and then go become a javelin coach at a university.” And I thought, that’s my path. Totally didn’t work out because I hurt my back and I was in therapy, and I mean, I was just on lots of medication and I was really struggling. And I studied psychology, and I studied criminology, and, you know, I didn’t know anything about business. I took just a business class, a management class. And, for the management professor, he told me that I could have a role if I got my masters working for him, I just had to, you know, pass the GMAT and everything. But my back ended up hurting so bad that I couldn’t even really sit long enough to take the test.

[00:16:39] So I took the test, and I failed the test. I got like 460 or 480, and you had to have a minimum of 500 to get into the MBA program. But I had a 4.0. And so I was so frustrated because I was like, “How can I have a perfect grades, and I can’t get into this program?” So the management professor called me, I think it was over the summer.

[00:17:02] I was on my way to visit a friend in Orlando. And he called and he was like, “What happened with the test?” I told him I was like, “I failed the test and you know, I’m so sorry. I know you’re counting on me to work for you in the, in the fall.” So he was like, “Just go take the test again. As long as you get a 500. Then I’ll talk to the Dean and you can still get it.” And this is crazy. So I turned around, I was like 10 minutes from my friend’s house. I turned around. I called my mom and, you know, we didn’t have like smartphones at that time yet. I was like, “I need to get in to take this test, help me.” And so she found a test like the very last day I could take it and I went home and I just practice sitting for three hours and taking the practice tests. So, and it was still a struggle. My back was just killing me. And I went in, I took the test and I got exactly 500. So it was like at that moment I had to turn around right then and prepare to mentally sit down and take that test over and over again, until I could focus enough for the three hour test ’cause my back would just hurt so bad. I couldn’t focus. It was just painful. I couldn’t think. So, you know, it was, it was interesting. It was, it was a totally different path, but that changed my entire life because then I went and I got my MBA and I realized like Dow Jones wasn’t just like a man giving money to people.

[00:18:17] I didn’t know anything about any of that. So I studied marketing, international business and finance, and that’s where I found the marketing group on campus. And I ended up getting my PhD there. And when I was told financial services, when I was in the MBA program and, then I just, I, I never turned back, once I went Into the PhD and I found sales. I did research on sales training. And, I always thought, “Gosh, you know, why is it that sometimes they do things really well and I can sell, but sometimes I can’t?” You know, what is it? And it was just driving me crazy. So I was like, “I want to learn how salespeople can learn more effectively. How do you train them better?” And that’s what my dissertation was all about. And I got a job at Bryant. That’s how I went from Tampa, Florida to Rhode Island. It’s kinda crazy, you know, it was so warm there and then it’s not warm here outside of like maybe August. It’s pretty warm. 

[00:19:09] Libby Galatis: Yeah, one, two months of the year.

[00:19:11] Stefanie Boyer: Exactly. Exactly. And you know what? I didn’t even, I didn’t even think about Bryant. I didn’t know anything about Bryant. I didn’t even want to come because I didn’t know. I was like, “What is Bryant and Rhode Island? What is that? I have no business there.” And my mentor was like, “You know what? Just give it a shot. Just use it as a practice interview.” And I did, I went on 26 different interviews. And when I came to Bryant, I fell in love with it. And I was like, “Oh my gosh”, you know, like I totally canceled it out. It was my first interview, but I got there and at campus people were holding the door for me. They were smiling. They talked to me, the president came and welcomed me on the campus. And I thought, “Wow, you know, this is such a nice environment and people are genuinely nice.” So I took the job and I’ve been here for 12 years, starting my 13th year I think. 

[00:20:06] Libby Galatis: Wow. I mean, your path is a lot more diverse than I initially understood, which is incredible.

[00:20:12] And I think that a lot of our listeners can connect to the versatility of what you had been doing prior to actually getting your MBA and the challenges that you had to overcome. The adversity that you’ve faced and, and learn how to work through. So I want to talk about that for a second. And just kind of reflecting on again, what you had been doing and gotten exposure to, working at places like Cutco and, kind of showcasing these really strong intangible qualities that I think a lot of students have, but maybe don’t realize that.

[00:20:40] And those qualities actually set them up perfectly for a sales like environment. So, maybe you could tell us a bit about, now that you are able to take a step back and reflect on all those challenges and past roles, what are some of the intangible qualities that you possessed that pushed you through those times of challenge and ultimately landed you where you’re at today that students can actually recognize in themselves if they, If they have those. 

[00:21:02] Stefanie Boyer: For, you know, when, whenever I would try things, I wasn’t always great at them. And I never felt too embarrassed to keep trying. You know, so I, I played basketball, I was in high school and I wasn’t very good at it, but I kept, I kept at it.

[00:21:17] And so, and I ended up getting better, but sometimes when people have don’t have that early success, they just give up and they’re like, “Ah, you know what, this isn’t for me.” So you have to be able to kind of push pass that. And especially when it comes to sales, you’re, you’re going to be talking all over yourself.

[00:21:34] You’re going to be talking too much. You’re going to be stumbling over your words. You’re going to get nervous and forget to breathe sometimes. And so, it’s just really important to be persistent and keep trying, especially when you get some rejection which even the best salespeople are going to get some rejection.

[00:21:52] They’re probably going to get a lot of rejection. And it’s always good to really reflect and figure out, you know, “What went wrong? What could I have done better?” But then also, “What was just completely out of my control?” You know, “Did I, did I forget to do a few things? Like, did I forget to qualify the person?”

[00:22:09] So I think if you break things down and you look at the process, the process really can be there to help you. And I would say, you know, when I was a firefighter, I learned about the process really early on of just, you know, when you’re in a bind, you don’t panic, you don’t freak out, you have to stick to what did you learn, what’s the process and how do you get yourself into a better situation. So when I was a firefighter, I think I was, 18 at the time. I went into a burning building and we thought that there was a six month old baby that was in there. It was my first structure fire I ever went into, and I was terrified going into it.

[00:22:52] And somehow I lost my team and my math, my rebreather, my oxygen, basically it started beeping. So I only had a short amount of time. So at first I started panicking because I was trapped. I couldn’t find my way out. I was, you know, I, I was like stuck in a room and I didn’t know how to get out of there. And so, I’m like breathing heavy and I’m like, “Oh my gosh.”

[00:23:15] I start thinking like, “I’m going to die now. What’s going to happen?” Like, “This is not how I wanted things to go.” And then I just realized, I was like, “Okay, you have to stick to the process.” And when it comes to firefighting, you have to be on your knees and you have to have your right hand on the wall and you just basically hold it on the wall and you go around until you can find your way out.

[00:23:35] And eventually I did and I had to, you know, stay calm and I had to, you know, breathe slowly instead of panicking ’cause panic breathing like it messes with your mind, but also you run out of oxygen faster. So I realized right then I was like, you know, “I have to stick to my training. I have to stick to the process and the process will help you to get out of the situation.”

[00:23:56] You know, whether it’s in sales and you’re getting an objection or you’re qualifying, or you’re just going through the entire sales process, just sticking with that will help you. And then you can figure out, you know, if the process is like, “I have to stay on the floor and touch the wall with my right hand. Well if I’m, you know, touching it with my left hand, that’s not going to work.” So sticking to the process, you can figure, you can diagnose what’s going wrong and then you can make an improvement there. So process-oriented is, is being, is really huge. 

[00:24:27] Kristen Wisdorf: I have the chills, that you’re the first person we’ve interviewed who was a firefighter, let alone, the first time you were in a building like that, and there’s like, the stakes are literally so high. Right.

[00:24:39] It’s other people’s lives, but also yours. And I think. I, I, you know, through talking to us about your story, a lot of times people would perceive some of the things you’ve been through as setbacks. Right. Like, having this back injury and not getting the 500 the first time, and having your oxygen almost expire in a burning building. Right? Like, those are setbacks to most people, but it’s about, you know, keeping perspective and just that, I guess that natural kind of grit that you have to push yourself through. How do you use your personal experiences nowadays when you’re talking to your students about what they might experience in the future?

[00:25:20] Like, I just think it would be really incredible to be in a classroom and learn from you and your experiences and how you apply that to what they’re about to experience. Even though the stakes, aren’t probably nearly as high in sales. 

[00:25:32] Stefanie Boyer: Well, you know, when it’s your life and it’s a, if it’s your feeling like it’s a setback, then it feels huge.

[00:25:37] But you know, you really just think of it as maybe a redirection. So when I had that injury, I didn’t think of it as a redirection. I thought, I felt sorry for myself, I was upset, I was in pain. I didn’t know what I was going to do. I was panicking. I’m like, “How am I going to survive? How am I going to pay for what I want? What am I going to do?” And my world was crumbling around me, but it really was the best thing because I have the life that I have now, and I’m really happy, and it taught me a lot about resilience. So, you know, the students see that a lot, their first interview doesn’t always go the way that they want it to go.

[00:26:13] You know, you don’t do things typically really well the first time you try them. And so, I try to help the students understand, “Yes, you know, you’re going to have things that don’t necessarily work out, but what did we learn?” You know, “What did we learn in here? What can we, what can we control that we can do different next time? And what was out of our control?”

[00:26:34] So I try to incorporate some of those stories. And usually when I do the students like, “Oh, okay. I wasn’t in a burning building. Okay.” 

[00:26:42] Kristen Wisdorf: But that’s such a good point. And you said it earlier, you know, just because you don’t have that success early on doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not for you. And such good perspective, you know, usually the first time you do anything, unless you happen to be, you know, one in a million, you’re not going to be the best at it, the first time you do it. And it really is about following the process, following the training and kind of just having the persistence to kind of push through that really uncomfortable time at the beginning. Especially if, you know, you want to be doing better than you are.

[00:27:15] Stefanie Boyer: That’s exactly right. And, usually I see that too, with my students, where they’re almost at the point where they want to give up. Right. Like, “I just don’t know. I’m not seeing the results. This is frustrating.” Especially with my students after they’ve graduated, it’s the first month on the job. And they’re like, “I don’t know, I’m not booking the meetings that I want. I’m not sure did I choose the right thing.” And I’m like, “Just stick with it. Don’t try to do an excessive amount, do, do the right amount every day, put the time in.” And then usually within a week then they’re like, “Oh my gosh, I booked a bunch of appointments now.” And then they have the confidence and they feel better about themselves.

[00:27:55] And then they’re remembering how great they are. But it’s just about that, you know, sticking with it. And even if you feel like you’re ready to give up and you’re not sure, just stick with it some more. And you’re probably going to see the result of that hard work right around the corner. 

[00:28:10] Libby Galatis: That is such a, an amazing point.

[00:28:13] And it’s something that we try to enlist in our sales reps because often or more times than not, this is, you know, our sales department representatives first job once they do graduate. And that first role there’s just so much adjustment involved, especially coming from, you know, the economic climate for the last couple of years.

[00:28:29] Having to go to school virtually, start your jobs virtually, all those challenges. And, I, I think it’s awesome that there are sales educators like you that keep in touch with their students post-graduation, and encourage them, and, and promote these ideals, because, you know, moving into the nine to five from a collegiate like environment, it’s, it’s a whole different ball game, that’s for sure.

[00:28:48] I want to talk about, you had mentioned that when you were considering where you wanted to work you went on 26 different interviews. And then when you came to Bryant, you fell in love with it. And I, and I want to talk about that for a second because I’m sure students can relate, especially coming from competitions like NISC, the opportunity that is put forth in front of them, from the companies that want to hire them. And when you have, you know, students that are interviewing at six, seven different companies, I’m sure they’re coming to you for guidance on how to make that decision. So, can you share with us a little bit about how you prepare students or help students kind of navigate through that job search and what you feel should be most important when they’re considering that first role? 

[00:29:28] Stefanie Boyer: Sure, you know, I, I always have the students create an Excel file or a Google Sheet and list out all of the things that are important to them.

[00:29:37] You know, what is it that they want in a company, in, in their future? And sometimes they just don’t know. Like ,when I was going on the job market, I wasn’t really sure. I was interviewing at schools that were, you know, all teaching a mixture of both, where I was going to have a high research load, and, like very heavy, heavy research institutions, like all across the board.

[00:30:00] So if you’re looking at it, you’re like, “What are you going to do with your life? How can you interview at a teaching school, and then also a research school?” So like a research school, you might only have to teach one class a year when you’re starting, or like one class each semester when you’re starting versus a teaching school, you’re going to have to teach four classes each semester.

[00:30:20] Right. So it was like, “What did I want to do with my life?” And so what I did and what I always recommend that students do is look at, you know, what is it that’s important to you? So you’re listing out all these different areas. So it could be like, for me, I was really interested in how likely would I be to make tenure. How, you know, to, to be able to keep my job? What was business like in the area?

[00:30:42] I didn’t want to go to a place that was in the middle of nowhere because I’m trying to get people connected with companies. Right. So I was looking at all of these different factors. Right. Like safety, cost of living, what is my life going to be like there, what’s the culture? So I have the students do that and look at, you know, what is it that they really want?

[00:31:00] Is it that relationship with a manager? Is it growth opportunities? Is it pay? Is it status? Is it the location? Is it the culture and the environment in the office? Is it the opportunity to have a balance of work from home? Is you want to travel? What is it exactly? And so there’s so many things that students are looking for, and then once they identify the things that they actually want, then they rate each of the companies on all these different areas. And then they also have to look at how important is each of these categories to me. So maybe for some students, they just say like, “Number one, 10 out of 10, I’ve got a live like in Boston. I like had this dream, I want to start my career. I’m going to have this apartment in Boston. So I’m going to have to have the means to do it and, you know, live in that particular space.” So it really just depends on what, what’s important to the student. But what I see as very important now that used to not be as important is training, an opportunity for growth.

[00:32:01] So students want to actually go to a place, they want to grow in that place. They want to get feedback and coaching and develop. And they want to be able to, to grow in the company. So move up in their roles as well. I think that’s really important, if a company is investing in you and cares about your wellbeing and to be the best that you can be.

[00:32:20] That’s the place that you want to go that nurtures and develops you.

[00:32:25] Kristen Wisdorf: So let’s build off of that. Right. You walk through all the priorities, the non-negotiables, the things, you know, have students put on paper what’s important to them. Once they actually, you know, pick that job where they’re going to begin their career after college and they get into it, what advice do you give to your students were in their first year after school and that first full-time job, especially that first sales job?

[00:32:50] I imagine you still keep up with alumni, based on what I know about Bryant, how tight knit of a community you are, what are some of the things that they need advice on or they’re struggling with in that first year out of school? 

[00:33:01] Stefanie Boyer: I usually tell them to start connecting with everybody at the company and to have meetings, to go reach out to people that are the high performers or that were, you know, somebody that was a very high performer when they were in that role, interview them, shadow them, find out what they’re doing, how they’ve made it work, strategies, talk to upper management and just try to really get connected to be a sponge.

[00:33:26] Don’t try to adjust, you know, isolate and make as many calls as you can, but to also integrate into the office. You know, put in the work for sure, but to learn from the other people that have had a lot of success, to invest in social selling, to grow their network, to build their brand on LinkedIn.

[00:33:46] So that way, if somebody does get an opportunity to meet with them, that they can look at their LinkedIn, which is usually the first thing that comes up when you look someone up to find out who they are so that they can build a little bit of trust. And, you know, to maybe start pulling in customers, to them, to build up their, network with the people that they could do business with in the future, to really take the time to build that strong base. So that way, when they’re ready to go, they’ve already gotten this strong following. 

[00:34:19] Libby Galatis: I, it’s so funny. You keep answering my questions before I even have a chance to ask them. Because I think it’s important for our listeners to also recognize that even if you’re not, you know, right now operating within a professional selling role or a job that specifically has sales within the title of it, there are huge elements of sales that exist regardless of where individuals are operating in.

[00:34:39] And it’s so important to focus on how to personally sell yourself and have that personal selling skill. But that social selling piece, and I’m going to talk about for a second. You know, do you feel that your students for the most part are actively doing those things and, and, how does social selling play a role in opportunities or general professional kind of lives of the students that you’re, you’re promoting that ideal for?

[00:35:04] Stefanie Boyer: Oh, it’s, it’s huge for my students. They’re required to read my book in the sales class and they’re required to do, it’s like a 30-step process to build their brand up. And the first part is, you know, align your values with your experience and your talent so that they can find who that authentic self is. So that they’ll know how to like put the content out and do everything.

[00:35:27] And, the students do an assignment where they look at their social selling index, which is just basically one small area that you can look to see how influential you are. Scott Ingram, he also has a tool that allows you to see your engagement. So basically, like if you’re posting, how much engagement do you have of your network?

[00:35:46] Some people have a lot of people in their network but when they post something, like five people comment or like on it, you know, so the engagement is pretty low. So he has a really interesting tool. It’s in beta to be able to evaluate your ability to sell there. But the students do presentation at the end of the semester and they talk about how their brand has improved because they follow the steps of, of the process. Is pretty simple.

[00:36:09] And what I see with my students is, the ones that really embrace that, they build up their brand with so many people that are like VPs or C-level executives, and recruiters and managers, all these people. So that way, when it comes to their senior year, they’re, you know, they’re getting a lot of opportunity to interview.

[00:36:29] And that really helps them. You know, as a company, you might be like, “Ugh, I don’t want them interviewing everywhere”, but you do because as they continue to interview, they figure out exactly what they want and what they don’t want. So when they make that choice, they’re actually making a choice that they’re going to stick with. Instead of, you know, “Oh, I only interviewed at one place.” It wasn’t a great idea. And, you know, it wasn’t a good fit for them. They didn’t realize it, six months in they’re switching roles. So they’re getting a lot of mentorship. My students are, you know, they’re, they’re building connections with, like for instance, one of the alums at Bryant, he’s the president at HP of one of the businesses sectors.

[00:37:07] And he’ll just come in and he’ll, he’ll coach and he’ll mentor the students, and he’ll, he’ll carry on conversations online, or even phone calls and just give them advice and coaching them. And I mean, you can’t, you can’t beat that. 

[00:37:22] Libby Galatis: That is amazing advice. and I, a thousand percent agree with everything that you’ve shared today.

[00:37:28] Just about the importance of being proactive and having that activity be high on those platforms. It’ll open up so many doors for you, that your peers who aren’t actively doing that just aren’t going to be able to take advantage of. So yeah, you’ve shared a lot of really great insight today, Stefanie, and I think that your experience is just incredible and, and parallels so well with many professionals in this space, in the sales space that, didn’t necessarily begin their career journey with a hundred percent certainty they’d land in sales, but somehow all of those kind of stepping stones ended, ended up just there.

[00:38:01] So, I have one final question for you. You know, you’ve, you’ve been through so much throughout your career. You’ve accomplished so much during your time at Bryant University. What is your biggest motivation? You know, what’s, what’s next for you? Do you have goals that you want to discuss with us?

[00:38:16] I mean, again, it’s, it’s hard to imagine that you could do anything more than what you’ve already done. But, but you know, what are you, what what’s next for Stefanie Boyer? 

[00:38:25] Stefanie Boyer: Sure. You know, I’m really passionate about trying to elevate the sales profession. I really believe that selling properly is all about helping people.

[00:38:33] So everything that I’m doing, I’m trying to get rid of that misperception of what sales is that it’s icky. But really to try to help elevate the profession, level the playing ground for people. And so we’re trying to do that and on a wider scale with RainMakers, to be able to give free training and competition to everybody.

[00:38:53] So with that tool, students can come in, any college student can play, it’s completely free. Even if you don’t have a sales class that you’re taking or a coach, you can come in, you can get training, you can use the tool, and just get a little bit better. So we’re trying to level that out, bring more people into sales.

[00:39:14] And then, you know, once they test that out, then they might say, “Oh, you know, I’ll take a sales class” or, you know, “I’ll go to a live competition after that”, you know. And then that way they get more and more training. Because when you first start out it’s just not fair. If you don’t have any training and education, in sales, when you just have to take a few sales classes and you can start out like five years ahead of the people that didn’t get that, they had to learn everything by trial and error.

[00:39:41] So, to try to get sales training and education into more people’s hands. I’m very passionate about that. And also to try to empower women with some sales strategies, you know, to be able to go after what you want, and a lot of women just feel like you know, they, they don’t deserve it or they don’t even know how to ask for what they want.

[00:40:00] So I did a TEDx talk on learning how to get what you want and just using some of the selling strategies for an everyday person to be able to use and to, to ask for that promotion or to really go after what it is that they want. 

[00:40:14] Kristen Wisdorf: Yeah, that’s amazing. I remember the first time I saw the app that you built and it was really incredible. And I remember being a student who took a sales class in my college. My college has a pretty great sales program, but to be able to have access to things like that without having to take a class or if my college didn’t have a class would be really incredible. So, you’re doing some really amazing things in the field of sales and sales education. To wrap up today, you know, we have a lot of listeners who are in sales or considering sales, for, I guess, both, Stefanie, what do you personally love most about the sales field?

[00:40:53] Stefanie Boyer: I just, I love helping people connecting and helping and making an impact. And, and that’s really what it’s all about. And I love that you’re doing this podcast that shows that you’re investing in your people, your team investing in sales, and you’re helping to turn it around. So people understand the opportunity that really is right there in front of them. 

[00:41:12] Kristen Wisdorf: That’s great. Well, thank you so much for joining us. We are really proud to be partnered with you and Bryant, and we appreciate your time today Stefanie. 

[00:41:21] Stefanie Boyer: Thank you. Thanks so much for having me. This is a lot of fun.