The Power of Adding Value with Brandon Steiner

I had Brandon on the show to talk about what drives him to keep giving back to those around him, and how his upbringing still core values of mental toughness. He also share some stories from his journey that highlight the importance of being ready to make big decisions and how to maximize opportunities once those decisions are made. Let’s listen in.

Brandon, so I know from reading about you and talking with Scott, gratitude’s a big piece of your life, particularly in your morning routine. How does that sort of fit in with everything that’s going on? And second question, how do you think gratitude is helpful in terms of facing adversity?

Brandon 1:40 Well, I mean, I think you can’t move forward unless you’re grateful for what you have. A lot of people want more, but then I’ve been accepting and, and understand why they even have what they have. So the best way to move forward is to have a high level of gratitude. But I think, I think just gratitude if there’s anything We’ve learned even in this a little bit of the shake up what’s going on the world is that you know, the common good is always supersedes everything you know. So whatever you got to accomplish in your companies is important, even if it’s a money grab, but the common good and what you add to the company, as a team and as a group, always supersedes what you do as a family always supersedes what you do individually.

And you know, it’s always true in sports. I mean, you know that the teams that Excel that do really well the ones that are willing to give up for each other, look out for each other, take care of each other. And the leadership you have to show at this particular time from a gratitude standpoint, and everyone can be a leader in this environment. You don’t have to wait for the president, Governor Mayor to get on TV and tell you what to do. In my mind during an environment like this, and really should be an environment everyday for you is just helping somebody making someone feel good doing something that advances someone else’s leadership. I always say you know, helping people is not a burden, but it’s actually an opportunity that will lead you to sheer joy. And I think the grown up game of it all is that we do help people unconditionally. Whether it be in the office, in your community, at home, it’s really the best thing you do. Because that’s why we’re all here. We’re not all here just to fill our pockets. And, you know, worry about getting a nicer car or boat or bigger house, although, I like that. I mean, you know, there’s nothing wrong with liking those things, and going after them and working really hard to get them.

But I think, you know, we’re all here really, to make this planet better collaborate. And that’s really where the true joy comes in and making sure that the people that are left behind, you know, you put out a hand and try to, you know, bring them forward. And I don’t think there’s anything tricky about it. But that’s it. There’s a lot of selfishness, you know, we tend to live in our own little bubble. And the problem is sometimes that carries over to sales and people pick up on that. People know that when you know, you listen, I know the people that have called me and the people that I’m calling and I’m not selling them anything but how checking in. And I’ve never been a sales driven person. I’m a solution driven person. So I’m always calling people up thinking about their problems, and thinking if I could add some value to maybe help them, nobody’s getting rid of people that are trying to help them with problems and value, which nobody seems to talk about. But it’s such a key element in sales. And entrepreneurship is what you could do for someone that they can’t do for themselves.

So I had this client that was really trying to get back in I had been they’ve been a client many years before and I kind of lost them and I know they have a big opportunity to get them back. So I’ve been staying in touch with this client and about three months ago, I know he loves food, Italian food, and I sent him from a bowtique Italian grocery store in California, in New York. I sent him this box of some really rare nothing crazy, you know, but some rare sauce and olive oil and it was just a nice little package. We can make a really outrageous dinner. Three months ago, about two weeks ago, I got a call from San Fran, I need that number. We’ve got that stuff. It’s maybe one of the best meals I’ve ever had. You know, I’m glad you said that, because I know you love food, I know the way you are, I know you enjoy that. So all these years go by, nobody knows me, like, you know me. And that’s the best compliment, ultimately, a client or vendor or customer can give you and, you know, consequently, now we know rolling, we’ve been talking the last couple weeks about possibly doing some projects and some business. So you know, you got to open up both your eyes, you got to make sure you really seen your customers and your clients for who they really are.

And I always say it’s not, you know, or what you know, but what you know about who and now the flow down you realize if you start doing some Google searches, and you realize, oh, wow, I didn’t realize that my one of my best clients is married or his kids just graduated from college or just going to college or mean everybody now is going through trials and tribulations. So like, I have That’s kids just graduating high school, it’s a big moment and going to college. So you know, I have an athlete, that I know who he’s a big fan of doing a quick little video for the kid that’s I’m sending to the client, because it’s probably a bummer, you know, really no graduation, I have a little party at home. But all of a sudden one of his favorite players gonna give him a good luck, congratulations passage. So all these little things you can do or you can sit on your butt and feel bad for yourself and watch news all day. So it’s not who you know what you know, but what you know about who stop selling, start serving and solving and be a solution driven salesperson, not a not just all about the sales because we’re solution driven, sales calm. People want to people want to do business with people they like, have good relationship with it that they know are truly genuinely trying to help them.

Brad 6:50 It sounds like based on what I’ve read, gifting has been a really big part of your business strategy, and maybe you personally, can you take us back in time. was what it was like growing up in Brooklyn, because I think a lot of that may have come from your upbringing.

Brandon 7:05 Yeah, I think I think that’s a good point. You know, one thing I want to mention, you know, in this environment, we’re all troubled. No, our circumstances are troubled, or circumstances confused, you’re not confused, you’re not troubled, you’re good. Some stuff that’s way out of your control. And that’s you have to also sometimes look at your situation. And really, your whole situation doesn’t really matter where you are, what matters is what you want to accept. And I bring up this point, because I think people that are extraordinary and people really get to greatness are the ones that have high levels of non acceptance. That’s all that matters. It doesn’t really matter if you’re the number one salesman or the number 20, salesman or whatever it is. The question is, are you willing to accept it? Are you the number one sales person in your group or the number no more person is generating revenue? Are you willing to accept that and that’s gonna be good enough? Are you looking to break every round on the planet, because once you have a high level of non acceptance, you’ll then move to commitment and everything’s going to change.

So it’s for me, I grew up, you know, King’s Highway 539 King’s Highway Brooklyn. And you know, in a very small apartment, a lot of cockroaches, a lot of bugs were on welfare. And finally, and I have been sent home from school and I started working when I was 10. Just because I was hungry, and I needed clothes. I don’t recommend that you have a 10 year old that put them on the street, literally, I’m on the street trying to find work and give out circulars underneath DL. And finally I go see my mom, I told her that, you know, looking for a new job and she sent me to this paper route. So I opened up a paper route. And when I opened up the paper route, the Daily News, I don’t have UX and use for street. There’s a sign that says what sells the most candy bars. Whoever opens up the most paper route, people who want a box of candy bar sorry. And like, you know, I was 12 at that point and like to win a box of candy bars and bring them home was you We have a lot of food that would have been monster.

So I’m knocking on doors. Now when I took the paper out over, I just want to clarify this, I had 29 dailys and 34 Sunday. Knocking on doors – nothing. Finally I’m knocking on this older woman’s door, she’s probably well in her 70s. And as soon as she got the paper stacked up inside her door, and she says, Can I help you Sunday? I’m like, would you like to get the paper should? Absolutely not. I said why? I’ll be here every morning by seven he says, Yeah, but I get it from the corner store. I said it’s the same crisis from me as the corner store. And the woman says, Yeah, but then I got a tip yet so I go home. I go to my mom whose favorite line by the way, was you gotta have balls that was named my second book, which means be fearless. Don’t stop, be relentless. And don’t put a ceiling on your creativity and how far you want to dream. That’s you got to have boss I named the book after and all the lessons she taught me.

So I went home. I told her we got to move out of this neighborhood because the people are cheap and she Sit down, I’m going to tell you something very valuable. I’m only gonna tell you this once you got to stop selling. You gotta You can’t expect people to buy something from you when they get many other places. You got to differentiate yourself. You got to start solving and serving. How can you serve these people? Not just bring the paper What else can you do for them? You got to solve a problem. So I go back I started knocking on doors. Remember, I’m only 12 and I gotta be honest with you. I got nothing. I mean, I I’m relentless kid. I mean, when I tell you I’m knocking on doors. It’s like 11 at night. It’s 10 at night on a Thursday and I realized my weeks about the end here. And I haven’t signed up. Anyone. 29 days 34 cities. I’ve knocked back on this woman’s door and she goes, is there emergency something’s gone. It’s 10 o’clock at night, something wrong. I said Ma’am, I just need a minute of your time. If this torrential downpour, I storm heatwave snow blizzard. A woman such as yourself should not be out in the street. If I bring you Milk. Every Wednesday and Sunday and hot bagels on Sunday. If you need something else, I’ll bring it for you. But when the weather’s bad, and you did the circumstances, you probably need somebody to help you get some of the essential stuff you need. You would do that for me. So that was concerned. That is so sweet. Not only did she sign up, but she was the mayor of the neighborhood. I went to 199 dailies 234 Sundays, and one two bucks 200 bucks. But really, if you listen to how that story relates to really is about are you really listening to your customers? And are you really delivering what you have. So they, it’s what they need versus what you’re trying to sell.

Are you really listening to what your customers need and understand the value proposition that’s essential for them. Most people are so concerned about what they’re selling and getting their number as opposed to really understand what the customer really needs and how they need to deliver to them. Yes, I was delivering more bagels and milk than I probably was newspapers, but it works. You know, obviously you had our huge route with a lot of swagger biscuits, started making a lot of money as well. And I think there’s a lot of people that are sitting with something that’s really, really good, they don’t need the next thing. But you need to do I always say your first idea is not your best idea. But the goal is, is to really think about your idea. And how you can add more value to that idea of value proposition which is coming up with ideas around your IP or your concept, your product, can add value. And value again, is things you can do for someone that they can’t do for themselves. And the more you think about your some of your better products, you’d be surprised that you’ll leave in a lot of money on the table.

Brad 12:40 I know one of the things that can happen is if you’re adding value that sort of different than what your product is, you can potentially sort of creep into some other market. Do you think that’s where the overline statement as an entrepreneur should fall in your first idea is not always your best idea?

Brandon 12:56 No, I think that’s a mistake that a lot of us entrepreneurs make is they have a little success in their first idea. Now all of a sudden, they think they’re ready to go into a bunch of other ideas. And I’m saying is a huge opportunity. Usually when you come up with an idea, and it starts to stick, stay focused on that idea. I mean, you look at some of the best companies, and you think about the amount of products that they have apple. I mean, they could do 1,000,001 things and they do one thing they do a great. And when you think about some of the best things, even Oreo cookies, I mean, how many years do you get one sleeve or three and that’s it. It’s 30 or 40 years, so they started coming up with a whole bunch of other things. So you want to start a great brand. The foundation usually comes by doing one thing incredibly well. Down the road, it may lead to the door opening when you become extraordinary when you’re the best cookie on the planet. Like an Oreo cookie. Yeah, then you can start getting into the 15 million other flavors and everything else.

Extraordinary opens up the door, not the fact you came up with a good idea. That’s the mistake that entrepreneurs make. They start reading their own headlines. Like I was, I was in my office one day. And I’ll give you a great example of how I probably made one of my big, biggest, biggest ideas into something extraordinary. My inventory manager comes to my office because we have a problem. What’s your problem? basically doing your CEO is deal with a lot of problems. He’s we’re overstocked on balls. Now. You know, my company, we sell a lot of signed baseballs and sign product, my new company’s collectible exchange, by the way, and we have 50,000 different items on there. Perfect. This is almost 20 years ago, inventory manager said we have too many balls. So my first comment was, we got both. So what do I do? I put up a billboard on the highway, we got balls. It was a picture of all these baseball signed by the players. And all of a sudden we started moving our balls. That’s funny, by the way.

So but what what’s interesting about this is again, your first idea is not your best idea is like a lot of people would stop there but why amatory guys Came back up says you know the footballs and basketballs me like okay we got big balls so I had the one billboard we got balls and the next billboard I put the footballs basketballs we got big balls and that was hysterical funny but what’s interesting is I kept thinking like what else what else what’s that’s my whole Montrose when I think about my mindset since I’m 10 is what else what else can I do for bagel store? What else can I deliver this lady and I started thinking about we had this cube that we put the baseballs in I was like you know, some people are probably pretty particular about where they put their balls you know, and all kidding aside like she had a Mickey Mantle ball Joe DiMaggio balls, those were kind of expensive. At the time, there was only these slight little cubes. We sell for five bucks. So I invented a glass case, mahogany wood really nice $20 now on the cube, I could have sat back to Q cost 50 cents we sell them for five bucks can’t ask for better margin. But why stop there? So I go on to create this glass case that sells for $20 And the cost is like $5, a little less than five bucks. And I’m sitting back and really enjoying feel good about myself patting myself on the back, but I’m thinking What else? And I start thinking about what it’s like for the customer now, the customer is really happy they got a good place to put their balls and they could showcase their balls, but I’m thinking wow, one of the biggest problems with autographed baseballs, a lot of times you can’t read the signature.

So what I do I create a glass case that’s got the photo of the ball signature. So if it’s a Mickey Mantle balls, a picture of Mickey Mantle on the behind the ball, and I put a little game use dirt on the bottom to create a feeling. And I go from $19.99 to $39.99. Meanwhile, they have $1 floss. So now I’m selling a $39.99 case cost me six bucks. But the difference is that people are emailing call me thanking me because now they can show off their balls and people actually can actually read the signatures they can enjoy what they’re watching when people come visit the house and the office and everything else. When you serve people and solve a problem. Price doesn’t become that much of an issue. And that’s another big bonus digging deeper, and really trying to solution base your selling. And for me, the number one seller 32 years at my old company was the glass case was the cases incredible, not the autographed items, but the place where people would throw autographed items. And even on my new company and collectible exchange, the website if you go there, that’s the number one item we sell is class cases and our cases, because people always need a place to put their balls, they’re always going to need a place.

Brad 17:31 That’s awesome. Well, Brendon, is there any question or anything that you want to cover that I haven’t asked you yet?

Brandon 17:36 I think it’s just important tell people like you can make away even when you don’t see away, you just have to be committed to that you have a high level of non acceptance. And I’m a big fan of another thing called POP, which is progress on process. You know, for some of us that are not quite able to be aggressive out there with your idea that improve your process. And that’s something you should be doing all the time. Anyway, so you know, work on your presentations, work on your health work on all the things like, Listen, you have more energy and you’re healthier, you’re gonna, when the market does change and open up, you’ll be even more effective and you’ll be able to sell more. That’s a fact that’s not even a thought. So, POP, think everyday about POP and has figured out how you can progress on your processes. Because we all know like, that’s ultimately the way to reach high level success and extraordinary is to improve your processes that shoot for extraordinary but shoot for increased process efficiency.

Brad 18:32 Is there a process that you go through every day? What do you focus on which what’s your POP?

Brandon 18:39 Well, my POP is you know, now that I’m not in an office to be able to do this but I always have my two acts of kindness every day and you know, I like to wake up every day and I want to do something for somebody that I’m not expecting it and is you know, there’s nothing in return I just want to do something for somebody to help them so you know, when I’m in my office have a lot more things available to me. I people helped me do that. Now. You know, just, uh, you know, I’m on a ship out in the middle of the ocean here, you know, on my own. So I have to be more creative about how I do those two acts of kindness every day.

And my favorite thing is that, you know, usually around midday when the mail comes, I always get like to thank you notes, which is the best thing. So, you know, how can I help people so, you know, I go online, I tried to find a charity that maybe I could help with some online marketing, I may find a charities want to write a check to, I may find a charity that’s doing something and I tell them, I’m gonna present all my social media. And I’m trying to, you know, find a person who’s struggling and talk them through how I see their opportunity in their company. And sometimes that can be a couple hours. I’m trying to figure out how I can do some good, and I like to start my day off with two acts of kindness. It’s been a little more difficult, you know, being home by myself, but I always try to start my day with at least a couple of nice acts of kindness with us a card or a nice email of someone. But you know, just trying to be trying To incorporate more and more kindness, I’ve been doing that for over 15 years now, going on 16 years. So there’s a lot of people out there that I’ve like to think I’ve done some nice things for and it’s makes me feel good. Which is the point you know, you want to start your day feeling good know you’ve accomplished something, even though it’s not hitting your bottom line. There’s a lot to be said about your soul getting filled up by doing good.

Listen, life is difficult. It’s always going to be hard. But at the end of the day, really making sure that you’re thinking about how you can make things better get you better. realize these difficulties and absorbing those difficulties and incident will put you on the side of the road are really important and you need to incorporate that in times like this, especially when even when things are going good. You need to keep that kind of attitude going which is really what my mom was always saying about having balls which is I should never be able to tell whether you made a big sale made no sales, you should have the same attitude with the ninth inning World Series, first day, doesn’t matter.

I was at a spring training game. I’ll tell you one last story here with Mariano and waiting for Mariano Rivera to come up set a deal I want to work with. So it’s the fifth inning, just pitch the fourth inning all of a sudden, I think it’d be a while to see him. He comes to stand next to me. Like, wow, I’m watching a Yankee game. It was unbelievable. So I turned them I said, You know, I guess there was no big deal. You went out you fixed one and it goes, No big deal. I just stuck those guys out. 123 I see as a spring training game, yes. Now, when I get on the mound, or anytime I pitch a ball. It’s game seven, ninth inning. It’s the ninth inning, two outs, bases loaded. If you stay ready, you don’t have to get ready. There is no such thing as a big game. I don’t believe in that. If you take everything you do, seriously, to the best you can. You don’t have to get up. And when I say to my sales guys in the office, like I mean, I got a big meeting. What are you saying about the other meetings? You’re disrespecting all the other meetings you’er going on. And that’s Mariano’s point too, is like, that’s a big game or not a big game. So when I played Tampa Bay or if I play Kansas City, that’s that competition is real, it’s serious.

So what I do is by making sure that when I’m pitching in spring training or a game in May, I don’t have to all of a sudden get myself up because the World Series game on the bottom that night, I pitch on the highest level of focus and intensity all the time. And the ones that are great in their businesses and sell and are the ones that are taking every customer, every pitch the same way. No difference whether it’s $100 sale or a million dollar sale, because that hundred dollar sale one day could turn around and be a million dollar sale, and they’ll appreciate your intensity and focus and commitment. That’s how I’ve always approached my business. When you go into my office, you can’t tell if I’m talking to somebody about a $25 sale or $25 million dollar sale, the same energy, same focus when I give this talk and I’m talking to you now in this pot, it’d be the same as I’m talking to you If I was given a graduation speech, if I was talking to the most important people in the world, whatever it is, it’s gonna I’m going to give my all I’m going to do it on one level on one level only.

Brad 23:11 Right? You’ve got to make every day your masterpiece. Well, this has been great. Let’s go ahead and hop into the powerplay, I’m going to ask you three questions and you can just shoot off the first thing that comes to your mind. What’s the toughest decision you’ve ever had to make?

Brandon 23:26 Oh, boy, toughest decision I’ve had to make. Going away to college was really, really hard. And recently whether I wanted to retire or whether I want to go back and start these two new businesses to Steiner agency and collectible exchange at the age of 60 and have the kind of energy that I had when I was 30.

Brad 23:43 What’s your biggest regret?

Brandon 23:47 Not getting home for dinner as often as I would like to. You know, when I first started my business, the first 10 or 12 years was really rigor is just really rigorous. And I wish I got home a little more often a little earlier and a little more for dinner, and was able to pay a little more attention than my kids, the first eight or nine years that were around.

Brad 24:05 All right, born mentally tough or made mentally tough?

Brandon 24:10 Made mentally tough. You know, sometimes your situation of where you are raised and who raises you can have a profound impact on you. I highly recommend to anybody out there to recognize that and either reap the benefits of that or fix it. So to the past doesn’t really drown you for your future because a lot of times your problems growing up, can sometimes hold you back from being the person you want to be in your future. In my case, I had both situation that a lot of stuff that really molded me into the business person I am and I definitely had some things that are problematic and I need to kind of alternate six to make sure that you know, didn’t get away because you know, growing up without a lot of money with only one parent was tough.

Brad 24:57 All right, great stuff from Brandon. I’m going to bring our producer Kiel Hauck on now to share his thoughts on the interview. Kiel, I was inspired by hearing Brandon’s talk about how far he would go out of his way each day to make an impact on someone. What were your thoughts?

Kiel 25:13 Well, yeah, I mean, it’s kind of mind blowing how intentional he is about that. I mean, that’s, it seems like core to not only you know, who he’s about in terms of his business, but who he’s about just in terms of who who is Branton, right. Brandon is somebody that is clearly driven to make an impact on other people’s lives, and to do things that people don’t expect. And I think he talked a lot about like, you know, he does that because it feels good, but it also seems to like open up all different kinds of opportunities.

Brad 25:46 Yeah, I mean, I was sitting there. We were sort of talking before before we got on here and I was thinking to myself like, man, it couldn’t have been profitable to do all the work that he made. He was really running himself ragging on that. Newspaperroute. But what happened was, you know, she opened him up to you know, he called her the mayor, she opened him up to all these other accounts. And I think the big thing, the big takeaway, or the big thing that I think I would highlight in him, is what you said is intentionality. He was very intentional about making an impact on on others.

Kiel 26:26 Well, and it seems like, you know, from your perspective, and in terms of going the extra mile to get a sale, it seems like you have to be intentional about it. It can’t You can’t just say that as like, Well, on every single thing, you go the extra mile to the point where the sale is now no longer worth it, you kind of have to have a vision in mind of what you’re doing to provide somebody as much value as you possibly can, right?

Brad 26:50 Right. And he and he may not know I mean, like if the gal didn’t introduce him to another 90 accounts, it may have been, it may not have been the story that he was getting. He used to tell to tell us about adding value. So but in that case, I mean, you can tell in the stories that he’s that he’s given is that the taking the step of adding additional value, I think it’s really less I think what he was. What I think was really important was not necessarily the actions that he took, but that he was thoughtful and he listened to what what they actually need. Yes, I think that’s the important part. He really understood what the need was, because all the other paper boys were just trying to sell papers, but he understood what she really what she really need, what she really needed.

Kiel 27:36 Yeah, that’s a that’s a great point, that level of listening and understanding is something that I mean, really can make all the difference right? When the sale becomes less about you and more about the person on the other end. I think it’s gonna make the whole the whole process a lot, a lot easier.

Brad 27:53 I mean, I do think you have to be careful in a scenario like that, particularly in a service business. Where you just can’t take no for an answer, hmm. Like, where you end up getting yourself in a situation where you can’t be successful because you promise so many, so many different things that you’re going to do for somebody. So I do think it’s important. If you’re gonna, if you’re in a scenario like that, where you’re adding additional value to the deal that you’re doing in the context of your ability to deliver.

Kiel 28:24 Right, well, that’s, this was all really good stuff from Brandon. He’s a great storyteller. And I’m gonna tease our tease our listeners here just a little bit because he, he shared a story that involved himself and Michael Jordan. We didn’t include it in this interview that you just heard, but there’s a pretty good chance if you stick around and you subscribe to our podcast, we might be releasing that as a bonus track fairly soon. And I gotta tell you, it’s it’s quite the story, but it was just so fun listening to you and you and Brandon chat.

Brad 28:55 Yeah, it’s definitely a story of dreaming big. So I if you get a chance to listen to You need to listen to all right. Well, that’s it. What an exciting, exciting podcast great interview love hearing from Brandon. I think the couple takeaways that I had listened to him is, you know, be a good listener, pay attention to what the client what your client needs be a good solutions seller, never give up and dream big.

So that’s it for today. Remember, if you’d like some further reading on how to grow in mental toughness and become a better salesperson, you can download our mental toughness playbook. Get it for FREE by going to MonsterConnect.com/podcast. Remember to subscribe to your favorite podcast app and leave us a review on Apple podcasts. Until next time, don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.