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About This Episode
You’re hanging out at home, which means you have a little more free time than usual.
You’ve been kicking around the idea of launching a podcast, but you have no idea how to get started.
This episode is handcrafted just for you.
I interviewed Chris Hatfield, Sales and Mindfulness Coach at Not Another Sales Guy, about what inspired him to start his podcast, Not Another Sales Podcast, and the practical steps he took to launch.
“I’ve always been interested in how I can help others develop, not just myself. I’ve wanted to see others succeed alongside me,” Chris said.
He started his own company as a sales enablement manager but wanted to do more.
At first he considered a YouTube channel but went the podcast route because he was on fire to get started quickly.
“Two years on and running Not Another Sales Guy alongside that has given me some great opportunities with the podcast as well,” he said.
Start with why
Chris credits the success of his podcast in large part because he knew why he wanted to host it.
It wasn’t because he wanted to be famous, meet cool people, or drive his revenue number (all of which have happened in varying degrees).
The why for Chris was twofold.
- The external why: Why would people care about that? What will they get out of listening?
- The internal why: What’s your purpose for the podcast? What are you going to get out of it?
“My external why is that I feel that we’re so focused on understanding more about our customer and their business, but if we don’t understand enough about ourselves, how are we going to connect and engage with someone?” Chris said.
His external why was to help people understand others through understanding themselves. He shared that he struggled with anxiety as a new salesperson and believes others do, too.
“My internal why was that I wanted to expand my knowledge,” Chris said. He wanted to open his perspective of how he saw sales.
“I didn’t want to just think I was the smartest person in the room. I wanted to expand it beyond the business, beyond the industry,” he explained.
Honestly, podcasting is like getting an MBA for free. You hit record, you ask the questions you want to ask, and you truly learn so much from your guests.
Podcasting benefits
Besides a free education in your industry, podcasting gives you so many other benefits.
- Builds personal brand. Hosting a podcast helps you develop your credibility as an expert.
- Increases trust. People who listen to your podcast get to know you and trust the knowledge you deliver.
- Develops communication. To show up with great questions and ask them engagingly requires both research and practice.
- Generates revenue. Not right away and usually indirectly, but having a podcast will bring you business.
“Podcasting is a long game,” Chris warned. “In this world of instant, we’ve lost our capability of having patience, which is one of our greatest gifts as human beings.”
A podcast will help you indirectly sell in two ways:
- You can distribute episodes as free resources to build relationships. (A 20-minute podcast is so much more digestible than a 30-page whitepaper.)
- Your podcast listeners will treat you like a friend. (Because, in a sense, you are friends already.)
Another benefit? It’s so, so easy to get started.
Chris used free software and edited the audio in his bedroom with some headphones. Yeah, it was that easy.
5 steps to start podcasting
Here are the first 5 things you need to do to set up a podcast.
1. Define your why
Figure out why you’re doing it and who you’re doing it for.
Chris created an avatar of his target audience. “This guy is named Scott. This is what he does in sales. These are some of his problems,” he said.
Then he chose guests he thought Scott would listen to.
2. Just start
Don’t get caught in the infinite research loop that will hinder you from sending your first email.
“The more we learn, the more we feel we don’t know,” Chris said.
All the research you really need to do is determine your top level guests, figure out their circles, and strategize how to approach their circles with value.
3. Decide on your format
Will the podcast be a conversation? Do you want multiple guests at a time? Is it audio and video both?
“One of the things that stops people is thinking you need to have all the answers,” Chris said. “The great podcast host just needs to have the great questions.”
4. Grab some software
This step is really practical.
Download a product like Anchor, which is free. Play around with it on your phone.
…That’s it.
5. Invite some guests
Sit down and send out a couple of email invites today. Yes, today.
“If you’ve got an idea, just shoot someone an email,” Chris said. “Get it started because it stops you overthinking it and telling yourself all the reasons why you won’t do it.”
As sales professionals, we owe it to ourselves to keep learning. Podcasting is such a great way to help us evolve how we sell.
“Invest time in yourself,” Chris said. “It doesn’t have to be through podcasting, but at least dedicate some time each week to building your expertise.”
For more engaging sales conversations, subscribe to The Sales Engagement Podcast on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or on our website.
About The Podcast
The Sales Engagement podcast is the #1 podcast focused on engaging your customers and prospects in the modern sales era. This show features real-life stories and best practices from revenue leaders doing the job day in and day out, in a casual, radio-like talk show.
Each episode features modern tactics, strategies, hacks, and tips to get the most out of your sales engagement strategy and help you navigate the next generation of sales. You’ll find energetic talks that will provide you with real actionable value around building meaningful connections and creating a better selling experience through authentic conversations that you can measure.
The Sales Engagement podcast is here to help B2B sales leaders, customer success leaders, and marketing leaders innovate and usher in the next era of modern sales by building pipeline, up-selling customers, and ultimately generating more revenue with more efficiency.
Hosted by Joe Vignolo, Senior Content Managing Editor at Outreach, and Mark Kosoglow, Vice President of Sales at Outreach.
