Get Tuned In to the Greatest Version of You with Steve Gamlin
Episode 16: Get Tuned In to the Greatest Version of You with Steve Gamlin
Hey hey, what’s up everybody, we are back with another killer episode of Call the Damn Leads and today, I’m kicking it with entrepreneur, former DJ, and my friend, Steve Gamlin. There's an art to building trust with clients, and Steve recalls a story where a dog became the reason he clinched a deal, and as we all know, we sometimes trust our dog’s instincts more than our own.
Later on, we spin towards authenticity in the world of sales and how it’s an integral part of building trust. What I love most and what you’ll come to learn is that you’ll always have the same exact conversation, no matter where you find Steve. We also touch on visualization and moving beyond the “Santa” wish list to the rhythm of personal growth. Acknowledging that success encompasses more than just financial wins—it's about who we become and the confidence we build that define our lives and businesses, and realizing that we can achieve all of that through visualization.
Key Moments:
-Steve’s crazy sales story and how a dog helped him sell himself.
-What makes Steve so successful at earning trust from people?
-Visualization - it’s not what you get, but who you become.
-What happened when Steve experienced a gain in confidence.
-The item that became Steve’s greatest sales tool.
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TRANSCRIPT:
Drewbie Wilson (00:01:73):
Hey, hey, what's up everybody. Welcome back to Call the Damn Leads, the show by sales professionals for sales professionals. I'm your host, Drewbie Wilson. With more than two decades in sales, I've seen it, heard about it, lived through a lot of it. And now I'm here to share those stories with you, my favorite people in the world, the sales community. If you've been in sales for any length of time, you had some crazy experiences. You probably have a story or two to tell.
And you also realize that there are things we can learn from each other and share that will allow us to take our success to the next level. What I'm really excited about in today's show is that I've always said success is a perspective. The way I see success is going to be different from what you see as success. Today's guest is someone who has specialized in creating that vision and helping you understand it at a much deeper level. So I'd like you to welcome my friend, Mr. Steve Gamlin. What's up, brother?
Steve Gamlin (01:06:75):
Hey there, Drewbie, happy to be here. Thanks so much for inviting me.
Drewbie Wilson (01:10:32):
Hey, well, I appreciate you taking time out of your busy day to be here. I know that you are always out there putting in the work, calling the damn leads as we say, but more importantly, I know you're truly out there serving the community and helping sales professionals find their vision. So before we get into that too much, I gotta know, what's your craziest sales story?
Steve Gamlin (01:32:77):
Craziest sales story? This is back in the days of my weekend DJ business, which I did for 28 and a half years, 1700 total events, 100% word of mouth all that time. This was prior to Zoom and even email. I was in people's kitchens or living rooms, having conversations with them, and without selling myself, selling myself on being the best choice of DJ for their wedding.
One time, I knocked on the door and there's a dog going ballistic in the living room. They told me upfront the dog didn't like people and offered to put it outside, but it was raining. I said, no, leave the dog inside. Within 15 minutes, the dog had curled up next to me, belly up, head on my lap, snoring away. They looked at each other and said, you're hired. We hadn't even discussed price yet. They said if our dog trusts you, you're the guy for our wedding. And we had a ball.
Drewbie Wilson (02:51:58):
Come on. That's such an awesome story.
Steve Gamlin (02:54:16):
That's the energy you bring to every interaction.
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Be The Greatest Version of You: Sales Philosophy and Personal Approach
Drewbie Wilson (02:58:97):
What I love about that is the simplicity of the know, like, and trust factor. In sales, they tell you, hey, they got to know you, like you, and trust you. Humans trust their dog's instincts more than their own a lot of the time. I love that perspective. How did you even, you know, 28 years of a DJ business, how did you get into understanding that mentality? Is it something that you always had or was it something you developed over time?
Steve Gamlin (03:54:99):
I was just being myself. I've attended sales trainings and gotten tips, but I don't retain most of them. I always seem to fall back to just being an extension of who I am. Has it cost me sales over the years? I'm sure it has. But my number one thing is to be 100% me, on stage, off stage, backstage, walking down the street, or in the Captain Crunch aisle at the grocery store. You're gonna have the same exact conversation with me in every single place.
For better or for worse, here I am 20 years into speaking and coaching, 28 plus years as a DJ, still just being the same exact person. Once in a while, a sales expert will come along and say, I could 10X your sales in a month, and I'm like, well, I would 10X not like who I am. So I just show up as me and front-load the value to whoever I'm talking to. If that makes me magnetic, then rock on, we can work together.
Be The Greatest Version of You: Vision and Success Perspective
Drewbie Wilson (05:02:57):
I love that. When I start working with a small business owner or entrepreneur, they're always like, I need more sales or more leads. If I were to just 10X your business overnight, everything would break because most entrepreneurs aren't ready for that. They don't have the systems, people, or processes in place. So I appreciate your mentality of being yourself and doing what works for you.
I know that comes from you dialing in on your whole process of vision. It's powerful for sales professionals and entrepreneurs. There are a lot of gurus out there, but sales and success are perspectives. How have you dialed in on that vision process and what tips can we share with the listeners?
Be The Greatest Version of You by Having a Practical Visualization Techniques
Steve Gamlin (06:51:87):
Just like you're disrupting sales tactics and trainings, I'm doing the same with visualization. I'm not the vision board party, arts and crafts, woo mystical guy. I call how I do what I do "blue collar woo," which means I'm going to give you a schematic, an outline, and some steps. We're going to roll up our sleeves, grab the tools, and get to work together. The biggest thing I say to people is, look, if your vision board is a Lamborghini, a yacht, a mansion, a private jet, a helicopter, a big gold watch, and a bank vault full of gold bars, that's fine. It's more of a letter to Santa Claus.
For me, it's not just what you get; it's who you become. I work with people in sales and other industries across eight major areas of life. We use a life wheel, talking goals not just for your money but for your physical health, emotional well-being, closest relationships, core values, faith and spirituality, connection to the world, and your work and money. All eight areas are working together 24/7, whether or not you're paying attention. So wouldn't it be a good idea to have a sense of where you want your life to be?
I start with one-year goals. Have a sense of where you want your life to be in each of those areas in one year, but you must understand where you are in every single one of them right now. That's your point A. Then determine your point B. If you have 20-year goals, that's great. What is one year's worth of progress toward that 20-year goal? So many people focus only on money. Nothing wrong with grinding, but know why you're doing it and what you expect on the other side. Know who you want to become, not just what you want to get.
I'm going to be 56 years old in 2024. This is the happiest version of me there's ever been and in many ways the most successful because more of those eight areas are double or triple where they were 20 years ago when my life was completely a mess. I threw it all into the dumpster 21 years ago and put it all back together, took a lot of notes, and now I teach what I teach the way I teach it.
Be The Greatest Version of You by Incorporating Personal Growth and Confidence
Drewbie Wilson (09:34:49):
That's the thing I love about sales and life in general. Our vision, our version of success, will be whatever we decide we want it to be and accept as the truth. Everyone's got their opinion. In my new book, I talk about how your version of success is different from mine. When you create a community and start connecting with individuals who respect the idea that success is personal, you can achieve a lot. Instead of a Lambo and a Rolex, you might want a motor home and a boat to spend time with your family.
The feeling you're searching for is that connectedness, that family embrace. That's the difference between a typical material vision board and one that's truly personal. It's about who you want to become, not just what you want to acquire. I've fallen guilty of chasing the flash, and I know you have too. That's why we're so connected. So when you think back to that time, 21 years ago, packing it all up and blasting off, what were some of the things you focused on initially to get back on that rocket to the top?
Steve Gamlin (12:00:57):
The first thing was figuring out what I wanted to do with my life. I had banked it all on being in radio and having an $11,000-a-year weekend DJ business. In August of '03, very frustrated and down, I spent three bucks on a big bucket of golf balls at a driving range and whacked the crap out of my frustrations. I was at the farthest tee box on the property, underneath power lines, and a thunderstorm came ripping through. Everyone but me ran from the storm. I was so self-loathing, I held up the club and said, go ahead, I dare you, take me out, I don't care.
I finished my bucket and the buckets of two other guys. The next day, I was on the phone with a new life coach. He asked how my week was, and I told him the story, making it as funny as I could. He asked if I'd ever thought of being a motivational speaker or a stand-up comedian. At 11 years old, I wanted to be a radio DJ, an author of my own books, a teacher, and a standup comedian. I hadn't thought about the other two in forever until he asked that question.
All of a sudden, I could see myself doing this. I was terrible at both when I first started. I did standup for seven years and wound up on shows I probably had no business being on. But I worked hard and let my energy, charisma, and confidence sell me. Around 2011, a buddy of mine heard me meltdown on stage and intervened. He told me to stop talking myself down. That shift changed everything. As soon as I stopped talking myself down and became more confident, I started getting booked more.
Drewbie Wilson (14:48:07):
One of the things I talk about in my book is confidence. Confidence in yourself allows you to be confident when making sales. If you walk into a transaction with a self-loathing attitude, people can't trust you'll solve their problem. At this point, especially in 2024, people have a good BS meter. They know what's going on. What I love about how you approach sales and entrepreneurship, Steve, is that you're here to help.
People always say it's not the script or the closing line that works; it's serving people. You are an absolutely phenomenal example of that. What was it like for you putting out a book and getting on stages? I know there are folks listening who want to write a book or get on stage. How did you start making that happen?
Steve Gamlin (17:13:82):
The first book was about being a wedding DJ. I used to have conversations with people and tell them stories of things that had happened to me. Three brides in one week told me I should write those stories down and make a book. So I did. It became my greatest sales tool. I would have conversations with brides and say, I have something to send you. What's your address? I would mail them the book, and they would hire me almost automatically every time. The book cost me like $1.75 to produce. It was called "Table 7, Your Centerpiece is on Fire." It became an amazing tool.
During COVID, I honored all my events and then shut the business down because I enjoyed spending time at home with my wife, Tina, on the weekends.
Drewbie Wilson (18:53:73):
One thing I know about you is that not only do you enjoy spending time at home with your beautiful wife, Tina, but you love doing good in your community. You spend an enormous amount of time giving back and doing right for the folks in your community. Steve, this is one of the greatest things about you. You're always looking to serve and do right by the people around you.
Anyone listening can learn so much from you about vision and service. If they were paying attention, they learned a little lead generation tool that could help them close a lot more sales by putting out a little book. Steve, you're a man ahead of your time and also blessed with vision. Thank you for being here. How can people learn about what you do and get more tips and tricks on vision from you?
Steve Gamlin (20:27:62):
Super easy. Go to visionboardspecial.com. It goes to my website, and there's access to a free video called "Visualize in 5," the five most basic steps of how to approach visualization the way I teach it, which I believe is the most in-depth way out there.
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Be The Greatest Version: An Advice for New Sales Professionals
Drewbie Wilson (20:44:76):
I love that. Before we get out of here, there's one thing I like to ask. There are several new sales professionals entering the industry every single day. My goal is that this show lands in front of at least one of them so we can make a massive impact on their life. If you could give that listener one piece of advice on how to be successful in their new sales adventure, what would you tell them?
Steve Gamlin (21:07:82):
Leave at least one situation a day, every day, better than you find it.
Drewbie Wilson (21:16:85):
Steve, that is beautiful, man. I appreciate you so much for being here with us. I appreciate you for being you and for bringing such amazing vision to our community. If you guys like this, if you got value, not only should you go follow Steve and check out his vision board setup, but you should also hit subscribe, tag us on social media, share this with someone who needs to hear it, and let the world know that if you're in sales, you're not alone. There are amazing stories out there to be told and heard. That's why this show exists.
If you have an amazing story and you'd like to tell it, go to callthedamnleads.com/podcast. Send us your story, send us your information, and let's set up a time to chat. I'd love to bring you on the show. We'll see you guys on the next one. As always, go call the damn leads.
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Connect with Steve:
As The Motivational Firewood® Guy, Steve Gamlin blends back-to-basics Positivity, Visualization & Humor, teaching his clients to SEE their desired outcomes, understand their WHY, and build ACTION PLANS to achieve them.
He delivers this knowledge through his Vision Board Mastery program, 1-to-1 and Group Coaching, plus Live and Virtual events.
Bottom line: Steve teaches the necessary MINDSET to identify what your goals LOOK like, FEEL like, SOUND like, SMELL like and even TASTE like.
Website and Social Media Links:
Website:https://stevegamlin.com
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/Steve.Gamlin.Author.Speaker.Motivationalist
LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevegamlin/
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/stevegamlin/
Podcast:SteveGamlin.show
YouTube:SteveGamlin.video
Stuck on the 'basics' of Visualization works? Check out my FREE 'Visualize in 5' video at http://VisionBoardSpecial.com
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