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by Gerald George Mannikarote, MBBS MBA

I first heard about Gary Vee many years ago while meeting with a couple of friends.  We were trying to get a business up and running and he said we need to be like Gary Vaynerchuk in ‘Crush it’.  I asked him what is a Gary Vaynerchuk and what is ‘Crush it’.  He proceeded to enlighten me about this phenomenon known as Gary Vaynerchuk, later known as Gary Vee.  I was intrigued.  I began to research the guy and ended up following him on social media.  I finally had an opportunity to meet him in person.

Gary Vee talks a lot about sales and marketing.  The question often comes up as what does he know about either subject.  It is good to know a bit of his background.  Gary Vee transformed his parents’ wine business from an ordinary liquor store to a multi-million dollar endeavor using the power of YouTube.  From there, he’s launched many successful businesses including his sports promotion company.  So, it’s safe to say that Gary Vee knows a bit about sales and marketing.

Being in sales, I try to glean what I can from all avenues of successful sales people.  Gary Vee is no exception.  As expected, I tried to learn from him as well. So what are some lessons I’ve learned from him?  Here are 5 lessons in sales I’ve learned from Gary Vee. 

1. Don’t listen to the naysayers

Gary Vee talks a lot about confidence in yourself.  He reminds you that you are special and that your efforts are worthwhile.  He also tells you the truth that there are many people out there that will tell you your efforts are not worthwhile.  This resonates strongly for someone in sales. 

A sales person hears ‘No’ quite a bit.  That’s part of their job (even if it’s not in their job description).  But as a sales person, it is important to remember that just because someone says ‘No’ to you means you will never hear a ‘Yes’.  Gary Vee’s message teaches us that even if you are told ‘No’, you shouldn’t listen to them and keep going.  And hey, you may even get a ‘Yes’ from your naysayer.

2. Be positive

Gary Vee speaks a lot about being positive.  He reminds you that life is good and that there is a lot to be thankful for.  He reminds you that there are people out there that want you to succeed.  

This lesson is, in my opinion, is very important in sales.  As a sales person, you will often get negative responses from prospects.  You can’t let that get you down. Gary Vee reminds you to stay positive.  You probably still have it better than most.

3. You may have to create distance between you and your loved ones

We all have family and friends that mean a lot to us.  However, sometimes, our family members may be the ones that are creating negativity in our lives.  Gary Vee tells us that sometimes we may have to distance ourselves from negative people, even if that means they are loved ones. Sometimes, even the people we love will tell us that we are not selling the right product or that we need to just give up.  In such cases, Gary Vee says it may be best to put some distance between you and that person so that you can move ahead.

4. Do work

If you follow Gary Vee on social media, you will often see him saying, ‘Do work!’.  He talks about entrepreneurs that are in love with the idea of being an entrepreneur but don’t put in the work to get them ahead.  He also talks about those people that spend a lot of time ‘planning’ and ‘preparing’ but never executing.  It’s to these points he calls out to people to do work.

This is a great lesson in sales.  In order to be successful in sales, you’ve got to do work.  You’ve got plan.  You’ve got to prepare.  But you’ve got to make the calls.  As a sales person, you can’t expect to succeed if you don’t put in the work and make sales calls.  I remember coaching a mentee once who needed a ‘pep talk’.  He said he was not feeling it when it came to making his sales calls.  I asked him about how many calls he made over the pst week and the week before.  He admitted that he hardly made any sales calls, but that’s why he wanted the ‘pep talk’.  I reminded him of Gary Vee’s lesson.  I told him to, ‘Do work!’  My mentee got off the phone soon after that.  He realized that he can’t simply sit at home not doing anything and expect success.  He realized he had to do work.

Before I get to the

last lesson, I just want to tell you thanks for reading this far.  It means a lot to me that you’ve read my article.  If you found any value in it, please hit the like button.  If you feel others could benefit from this article, please share it with them, or tag them in the comments.  And now, the final lesson…

5. It’s all about love

In many of Gary Vee’s posts on social media, he will tell his followers that he loves them.  He will tell you that you should work out of love for others, out of love for humanity.  He reminds you that love is very important in anything and everything you do.

When it comes to sales, I believe love is also very important.  You need to sell  out of love. Your products or service should be a solution for others and it’s through that you share your love to others.  With this belief, your love will spread and you will find success.

So what do you think?  Do you think Gary Vee’s lessons are relevant to sales?  Let us know in the comments below.  If you prefer, you can contact me directly via email at jerrydmann@dmanntraining.com