Yong Pratt 0:00
Today, you're going to meet my personal sales coach. She's helped me view sales in an entirely different way. And she's gonna be revealing that plus so much more today on episode 318 of the Amplify Your Awesome™ podcast. And be sure to share this episode with any friends that you know, that could use help with their sales.

Yong Pratt 0:23
Have you ever felt like there is something missing in your business? Something holding you back from the success that you're seeking? If so, you are not alone. For nearly 20 years, that's exactly how I felt as a business owner. It wasn't until I discovered Human Design, that it all became clear. And it turns out that I was the missing piece in my own business. Join me on this journey of discovering the real me and hear stories from other business owners building businesses around all of their awesomeness. I'm Yong Pratt, and it's time my friend to Amplify Your Awesome™!

Yong Pratt 1:08
Hey, everyone, welcome back to the Amplify Your Awesome™ Podcast. I am so excited you are here today because I have someone who has been a personal mentor of mine and she is the bomb dot com. I cannot wait to have you hear her story, how she's built these businesses, how she is helping women now because she has helped me incredibly in my business. And so today without further ado, I want to introduce Renee Hribar. Now, let me give you...wahoo, Renee!

Yong Pratt 1:35
Yes, let me tell you a little bit more because she has amazing, an amazing bio and I just want to share it with you all the things she's done. So Renee has been a sales professional since 1994 in New York [which I love] making her first million before she was 25 years old. She's gone on to sell millions of dollars of products and services and train 1000s to sell for the first time. She is known in her industry as a fun energetic sales coach who leads with heart. Yes, absolutely. She's a TEDx speaker who offers training sessions at global conferences, on demand courses and virtual workshops. She skillfully breaks down her decades of sales experience with her one of a kind laugh and learn teaching style. You'll certainly gain a new view of the softer side of sales. And don't we all need to tap into that. Renee, I am thrilled that you're here today.

Renee Hribar 2:31
Thank you. Thank you for having me on. I feel the same.

Yong Pratt 2:34
So exciting. So Renee, are there any gaps in that bio? Because I know you have done so many things, you've run different businesses? Can you give us a little sneak peek into the journey into entrepreneurship?

Renee Hribar 2:47
Yeah, absolutely. So thank you. Yes, as with all bios, it's a bio right, not a not an autobiography, not a biography. Those are definitely big gaps. And that is meant to preface my sales experience, which it did do. But yes, I. Sales is important in every business. I've never met a successful profitable business owner who wasn't also really good at selling for themselves. Selling ideas, selling products selling services. So whether they're getting VC funding, or whether they're just trying to sell one-on-one services. And I say just no matter what the sales container, it's important to have that understanding of what it what it actually is meant to do. Where are the mile markers? So the entryway into entrepreneurship? Well, I think I've always been an entrepreneur, because my I grew up around entrepreneurs, and it wasn't like, we never around the dinner table even as children we weren't told or it wasn't even discussed, that you would grow up and work for someone else. It was always what company are you going to create? You know? And then how do you do that? You know, where's the need? Ask. people. There was always like, ask the people, of course, you know. I grew up in the 70s. So there wasn't, there wasn't the internet. Highs, you know, so that also say, you know, my family had a Christmas tree farm and a chicken farm and farmers in my family. And then I also had my, my dad and my uncle and they got into retail, owning retail stores and then owning the buildings that the retail stores were in. So there's always something. How do you fit the need that you see around you? So even when I had my child 38 years old, they're like, Oh, I can't wait to see what business you're gonna create based on your experiences as a new mom. Okay.

Renee Hribar 4:37
So these are the conversations that I was raised with. When it's when I married my husband good goodness gracious in the 90s that, you know, he is a police officer with a pension and like his father is a welder with a pension. Like I've never I never even knew what a pension was. Honestly, if you'd asked me I'm like, never heard of it. I've heard of it, but I didn't really know what it was. So opposites attract, I guess and that noise but you looking at the entryway into entrepreneurship, and what a listener who's listening today might need to know is...It's okay to pave your own way. It doesn't have to be anything. You don't have to be Apple, to create a good business, you know, you, whatever you decided to put your, your name on in this moment is great. And the other part is it can change, give yourself permission to evolve and change. Because what is great is choices. We live in an amazing time when we're able to have these choices. So take advantage of them. Just because you're doing one thing doesn't mean you can't do something else. I was selling for telecom companies. And then I decided I wanted to sell my territory and become a yoga teacher. So I did that. And then I realized I don't want to be more, I don't want to own a yoga studio. It's great. But I want to do something else. And it just happened at that time, I had two students that were PhDs, doctors, and they were creating a cherry juice that was helping with the health industry. And they were they were researching alternative cancer cures. So I came in as a partner and help get into 180 grocery stores. And then we sold that company. And then and so like, yes, there's a lot. So manufacturing and bottling and labeling and nutrition facts and shipping. And I mean, really a lot of conversations around a lot of new things. But what stayed true was I'm still me. I, you know, I'm still energetic. I'm still heart centered. I'm still honest, I still care. I'm still curious. So all those qualities, if you find yourself you're listening this today, or anytime, if you find yourself having these qualities, just think what qualities do I have? And where else can I best use them? Ask the people look for opportunities that you feel good about and that are needed. And that's my best advice in terms of the foray or the entry point into entrepreneurship. So I hope that was best suited.

Yong Pratt 6:46
Yeah, and there's so much goodness in that, too. The the fact that you said it's okay to pivot. It's okay to to change. And you don't negate all the skills you had before you just take them with you and apply them differently. And I think for so long me personally, I was scared to do that. Because, you know, I ran a performing arts school for 17 years. And that's what I had done my my entire adult life. And so to do something else, it took me a while to figure out, Oh, those same skill sets can be applied here. And then you know, when I when I met you, and you came into my world, it was a perfect time where I was kind of struggling with that about, okay, how do I create this new identity? How do I go out there and serve people? How do I do what's in my heart? And the one thing that I really was lacking was the ability to have conversations around sales. Now, I know you have so much great advice around how to start conversations, because your whole philosophy is sales is all about creating these relationships. Can you break down that part? Because I think we so often miss that part, because sales, you know, some of us are taught, you know, it has to be, you know, a hard sale, and it feels icky. And you just walk away from conversations and feeling like, that just wasn't a nice conversation. When I met you, and you taught me Your ways. I mean, the conversations just came much more naturally. Can you talk about conversations and relationships in relation to sales?

Renee Hribar 8:09
Yes. So in the world of entrepreneurship, entrepreneurs, we wear lots of different hats. And so I've had lots of business owners that I've worked with over the years, say, well, when does the sales start? Like? In other words, when do I have to put my salesman cap on? And my answer is, we're really were then wearing them all the time. Because sales is sharing, it's simply having a conversation. So really kind of continuing on with our, with the previous part of the conversation, we take our skill sets with us, we take who we are with us. So if if I've had people expressed concern, I don't want to be pushy, I don't want to be aggressive. Well, if that's not in your nature, there's no words that I could ever give you that would bring that out in you. So don't worry, learning this script, or learning this formula isn't going to make you into something that you're not. It's like, right then and there, they get this huge, like, Oh, I'm not gonna turn into something that I don't want to become. Right? I mean, if I could do that, I would charge a lot more. That's pretty magical. Sounds like you know, magic. But the point is, is that we are who we are, no matter what we do. So we, you know, we get so attached to labels and titles. Like my husband. I'm a police officer, my father in law, I'm a welder, right? And so, being aware of that, I am kind, I am helpful I am giving and I also know a lot about this fill in the blank. So let's talk about this topic, fill in the blank. So to break it down into how to talk about this topic, let's call it dance or let's call it podcasting or let's call it sales conversations. Let's call it travel. I mean, literally, fill in the blank, whatever you want to talk about with someone. It always starts with the question you have Asking them a question. And this is a big shift. Most people think sales is like, I'm gonna do this song dance, and I'm done, I'm done done, and the person is gonna be wowed. And if I say in the right way, they're gonna fall over and give me their wallet. That's not how that might work. Sometimes with some instances where it's you, it's one selling one to many. But when you're selling one to one, that isn't how it goes. It's meant to be it's more like dating in that sense, or any other conversation you have with someone that you don't know totally well yet, but you'd like to keep knowing, even if you decide not to get married. Right, right. It's hard to find good people in this world. And it's easy. So connect with them. Keep the connection going. So what do I mean by that? Ask them a question. And then deeply Listen. My first sales manager said, no matter what you do, only bring two things to the first meeting, a paper and a pencil. That's it. Because all I'm going to be doing is asking the person questions, and then listening and taking notes. And then with those notes, then I can walk away, and think about them, and do my own due diligence, and then come back with something intelligent to ask again, or say again, and then continue to see, you know, how can I help this person, it goes back to what my family would always say, look for the opportunity, ask the people, how can you help. So all of us want to help when we think of sales we think of, I'm going to tell you something, versus I'm going to ask you something. So that's the first part of the process.

Yong Pratt 11:39
And that shift is is subtle, but it makes such a huge difference in being able to enter a conversation, and legitimately wanting to go out there and help and be curious. Because, you know, if there's one thing that I am, I'm curious. I want to know about people, I want to ask them questions. I don't know that they want to tell me about or tell me the answer to. But I'm yeah, I'm curious. And the fact that you're you're grabbing onto that, and you're showing people that a sales conversation really is nothing more than the giving and the taking of asking questions, getting answers, giving feedback, and doing the cycle again, until it makes sense for you to move forward together. I just love that.

Renee Hribar 12:14
Yeah. And it might not even be me if they said everything they need has to do with what you do that I'm gonna say I know someone, right? I know someone. And isn't it great to have a beautiful network to say, I knows when I can, I can refer you sounds like you have the exact problem that Yong knows how to solve. So let me let me connect you guys. And then I've just done the most important thing for my business and my really my, my my fulfillment in my life, which is planted the flag of trusted advisor. Hey, when you come to me, and I ask you questions, there isn't just one way out of this. It's not like by or see ya later, right? It is. It is let's get to know each other. Let's make this a long term relationship. Yeah, and how long have we known each other? I mean, maybe only three years. But in the online space, I feel like it's like it's an actor. Ifyou've been married for three years in Hollywood, it's like 30 years. online for three years, it's like 30 years. So that's the exciting part is that we can find good people, and the internet can bring us together, it just expands our opportunities to ask more questions. So to enter the conversation, always ask a question, whether that's in a post or an email or live on the phone, or on a video call.

Yong Pratt 13:31
Yes, and I love that. It can be that simple to ask questions. Because I know I'm always seeking for the simplest, easiest ways to do things. And before I met you, you know this whole sales cycle was, you feel it felt hard, it felt challenging, it felt not so great. And then when I met you, I was like, Oh, this breath of fresh air. I can actually just get to know somebody. And that's going to be the basis for us working together. That just feels as an entrepreneur, as a woman, it just felt so right. Like all the pieces finally start to come together when you can just have these conversations. So if you're out there listening, definitely I mean, and try this out, ask people questions, be curious about people, because I can tell you from following Renee's advice as as my trusted adviser, this stuff definitely works. I mean, you know, we tend to make business super complicated. Sometimes we want to make it really fancy and do all these things. But when it comes to everything in our business, particularly sales, if we focus on the simple things, and that is kind of the old school, having a conversation, not worrying about the technology, not worrying about having a funnel or having a website or having these really fancy things that we quote unquote should have. It really is about striking up conversations with people that you find interesting and people that you think that you can help because you you see them struggling with something and you're able to provide that so I just love this simplicity of it all. And really before we hopped on it, well, before I push record, we were talking about a great analogy about about getting all these little adjustments you make along the way. Can you take us back to that story because it was such a great analogy. And I was so mad with myself that I wasn't recording that. So now we get to recreate it. So let's talk about that again.

Renee Hribar 15:12
All right, perfect. Yes. So how do we know we're on the right track? How do we know we're doing something? Right? Well, it'll feel right, right, like thinking about the qualities of our person. Who we are and who we're speaking to, versus the titles, or what is it you know, the product or service is it's more of connected with each other. So when it feels in alignment, it feels great. And it's easy to get whacked out of alignment when you know looking at our news feed and all we're given lots of suggestions every day about all the things we should could would be doing better if dot dot dot, and it can really start to spin. So when we're when we're feeling out of alignment, it's kind of like going to the chiropractor's it would be analogy was, is the chiropractor. You go and you're like, Okay, am I in alignment? This is what's important to me. This is why I started my business. This is who I want to connect with this is why right? It was like, find your why. But it's a couple more questions. What am I doing? How am I doing it? What is important to me. I use four buckets. I have to take care of myself every day, like when the S-h-i-t hits that fan, I have to take care of, you know, which happens intermittently, like often, right? There's like now. Like, wah,what's going on today? You know, when somebody's sick, or the car broke out, or the dog is sick, or you know, whatever, 800,000 things that could go wrong, right? You have to secure yourself first, right? Put on your own oxygen mask first. Second, take care of your family, because you know, that's what we're like the on our deathbed, we're never going to be like I wish I had sent out one more email. You know what I mean? Like ever? Not, what we're gonna say. And number three, take care of your paying clients or anybody who's paying you make sure that you're taking care of them and delivered on your goods. And then number four, you can start to look at the broader spectrum. You know, maybe some people that could be paying me or that I do want to connect with things that I want to do add in more. And then five are those extra special creative projects. But getting out of alignment is easy. And so going to the chiropractor, you can be your own chiropractor and say, Okay, I gotta get back in alignment. But knowing having been to the chiropractor, many times you go, you're like, Oh, this feels so good. And then like 12 hours later, you're like, Oh,I need to go again. It's addictive, right.

Renee Hribar 17:18
But the good news is you can become your own chiropractor, and get yourself back in alignment. Or sometimes that's what great coaches and mentors do for us, right? I know, I really lean into my coaches and mentors. Every week, I make sure I make that appointment on her calendar. Because if I don't I'm like, it's like, it's like I missed an adjustment. You know? Haha, hands off.

Yong Pratt 17:37
Yeah, no, and I love this analogy, because when we were talking about it, we were talking in respect to, you know, how do you show up in a business as yourself? And sometimes we do get out of alignment. And I think that the word being the word align or alignment is tossed around so freely on this online space. So I love that you said it's more than just you know, why? Why are you doing this, there's a lot of other pieces to being aligned. So if you can bring all those together, and you can act as your own chiropractor in the sense of your business, and put things back into place. That's a really powerful thing to know about ourselves that we have the power, we have the capacity, we can make the choice to do that every single day. If something whacks out of alignment, we just have to say, Okay, what is it that I need to get back there? And like you said, it could be a conversation with a coach, it could be a conversation with a biz bestie. It could be a conversation with the dog. It doesn't really matter. Sometimes we just need to express those things. I know personally, sometimes just saying them out loud. I mean, the things I say to myself sometimes are just ridiculous, right? We all say those things to ourselves. Like, I would never say that to somebody else. So let's let's fix that. Because that's probably why I'm out of alignment. So, yes, this idea of being in alignment with your business, and you can get yourself back in alignment. Now today, if you were to give one piece of advice to everyone listening about staying in alignment, being true to yourself and building a business based on everything that makes you awesome. What would you tell them? It's a big question.

Renee Hribar 19:09
Yeah, it is. It's easy to forget this stuff, right? Oh, there's my dog. She's gonna want to say hello. It must be Amazon or something dropping off? This day, right? Yeah. So it's easy. It's easy to forget. So my first answer is write it down. Well, where do you write it down? Well, wherever you're going to look at it. So maybe it's one of those things you hand write and you post it on your you know, on a pos- it and you put it on your computer. Maybe it's a big vision board, maybe that's what it means for you. Maybe it's a Google Doc, you keep somewhere and it's like read this when dot dot dot, you know, or maybe it's in an envelope that you keep it near your desk or in your bag or somewhere that you keep your things that you're around every day. Maybe it's a picture with some words on it, you know, there's a lot of really cool neat things I can get off snap fish or other sites like that, right. So whatever it is that helps you remember what is the answer to those questions, keep it nearby and keep it keep it front and center.

Yong Pratt 20:09
Yeah, in for every one is different. And I think it took me a really long time to realize too because you know growing up, I was always taught to follow the rules. So I didn't ever want to break the rules. So when it came to running a business, I was really afraid for a long time to break the rules because I, I was such a good rule follower. And that was my spot in life. And that's what I did. And mostly when I look back, now it did those things to make other people happy. It didn't always make me happy. So this advice you're giving about, put your why put, you know who you are in front of you every day, on the calendar on the wall. I've gone to putting things on my phone with little alarms that give me just little messages throughout the day, they're just random messages, just to bring me back to focus because it is so easy, because now you know, my kids are home for school right now for the first quarter, you know, we're all kind of in the house together milling about and, and the schedule is very different. So sometimes I just need those little reminders to say, Okay, I just need to step back. I need to take a breath, because it's really, really easy to get sucked down and those in the in those in the craziness every day. And like you said, we all have these things, it could be anything to car breaks down. Something happens. Someone gets sick. It happens to all of us. So if there are things in your life that you can do, simple little reminders of who you are, you know why you're why you want to serve what you want to do what you want to accomplish all these big things just in front of you. I think that's such a great gift to remember that, you know, we need to remind ourselves because it's easy to get out of alignment and lose track of ourselves in our businesses. So that's amazing advice. Thank you, Renee.

Renee Hribar 21:43
Thank you. Yeah. And the PS on that is you can you can change it, right. So I use a big one of those big sticky 3M whiteboard sticky papers that you can erase. I have them all over my office.

Yong Pratt 21:58
Oh, I love it.

Renee Hribar 22:00
And I totally change. I change. I don't always do this. I'm still me. But what I offer changes and how I describe myself changes. How I whatever a little things will change, but who I am is not going to change. And that's the I think that's the fear we get to to is, well if I offer that, then what? Not take me seriously enough? Or am I gonna break relationships? Or am I gonna do something wrong? Or oh my gosh, right. Yeah, that rule follower. I'm a rule follower too. So the imposter syndrome comes in. And that's where it's important to have not just what we want to do, but what we want to accomplish. Who are we who are we, at our core, sometimes need help deciphering that too.

Yong Pratt 22:40
Yeah, and I think that's where trusted advisors and friends and people in our lives can come in, because often people outside of ourselves are able to better see our gifts than we are because I know you have done that for me many a time and saying, wait. I know you can do all these things. Why are you not doing that? Like, oh, yeah, I can do those things. And sometimes it's just, you know, that's, that's it, someone just needs to tell you to, you know, like to focus on these things, because our gifts that we have, generally come so naturally we forget about them, we overlook them as not being important or of value. And I think that's where we all miss the boat, right? Because everything we do, we all have amazing gifts, not just in business, but in life, and just hobbies. And, you know, each of us has all these amazing stories. And I know recently, we were doing I think your your happy half hour. And I was just really overwhelmed by the stories of these women, because they were the backgrounds of these women were so diverse, and the roads to entrepreneurship were so varied. But it was such a beautiful thing to know that other people are doing that and all the roads converge. And then we all come together because we're all seeking this network, like you talked about all the time, your your net worth is your network. And being able to, you know, have you there to kind of guide us and bring us together, you're such a great connector, that it was so amazing. And so this whole idea of seeing your gifts and leaning in and pivoting and making choices. I just love that in relation to business because it's so true. We ultimately, at the end of the day, get to make all the choices, whether or not we want to be responsible for those choices. Some days. It's tough. But we get to to do that as entrepreneurs. And so I think that's like the best gift that we can give to ourselves as entrepreneurs is to just allow these gifts to rise to the surface. Allow other people to come into our lives to remind us of these gifts because that is important. And then to find trusted advisors in our world that can help us get to where we want to go next.

Renee Hribar 24:45
Yeah, the trusted advisors, the chiropractors the re-aligners. Yes, it is. You said it. So many times. I'm like, I don't even know what I do. And then, you know, my coach will be like it's so evident. I don't know why we can't see ourselves.

Yong Pratt 24:59
Right. Right. Looking in the mirror is kind of hard sometimes because we just, we don't want to admit it, or we don't want to brag. I know I was composing an email the other day, and I was sharing the story about how growing up, you know, we're always told never to brag about stuff like you don't brag about stuff like you accomplish things like, oh, cool, you you won this, you accomplish this. Okay, cool. pat on the back, move on. You know, so I think sometimes, we need to stop and really take stock of our gifts and appreciate them and just know that it's okay to celebrate the wins, celebrate our gifts, celebrate the accomplishments, because all those little wins are going to help us at the end, or at the end of our journey, because it will guide us to that next thing, and we don't have to struggle so hard or work so hard to get there. When we start to appreciate those little things along the way. I think that in the end, makes the huge quantum leaps for us.

Renee Hribar 25:53
Agreed. Agreed.

Yong Pratt 25:55
Amazing, you know, where they I know you work with clients and you serve the world in such big ways. Can you share with us how you work with the amazing women in your groups?

Renee Hribar 26:06
Yeah. Well, it's always evolving. That's the first answer. It's always evolving. There are digital courses that people can take, there are opportunities to work closer, where there's live group calls, and it's me and I, you know, a couple dozen people, and then there's opportunity to work privately. And it's really everybody gets to the same destination, right? We're all getting to the same place. Just depends on how fast they want to get there. You know, one's one is walking. One is a boat. How fast you want to get to Hawaii? It just depends.

Yong Pratt 26:39
So good. I love that answer. Because you say that a lot. And and I think that just reminds me all the time. Like it just depends like. What is the story, I don't know the full story yet. And you're such an advocate of finding out the full story before you offer a solution. Because you, as the trusted advisor, you always want to know what the full story is because you're not able to make a diagnosis or to help them get back in alignment if you don't know those pieces. So we're on the planet internet to use your phrase, Renee, we're on planet internet, can people find out about the many ways that you serve women and help them to be better at sales and their businesses?

Renee Hribar 27:15
Yeah, I mean. The best place is always my website. It will always take them to whatever down whatever river is available at the time, whatever river is flowing. I spend currently I spend a lot of time in my free Facebook group. I really love that community. I mean, you are one of the first people in it. And so I'm thankful that you've been a part of that, or do I get chills because I just I just really love that community. It's a place that I can lean on and, and enjoy. And so will that always be the case? I can't say nothing will always be the case, right. But that's where I'm really enjoying right now. So my website is the best.

Yong Pratt 27:48
Perfect and I will make sure I put that link directly to your website in today's show notes. Because I think people who are listening, if sales is something that you're uncertain about, you just need a better way to do it. You would you like the idea of building these relationships and connections and being curious about people. Renee is someone you definitely need to have in your life. I know she has been instrumental in helping me to understand my own gifts, and it helped me be able to make sales in my business, even when I was scared to do it. And even just recently, I've you know, jumped back into some of her trainings and gosh, it's just reinvigorated me and like the past couple months have been just an amazing experience because putting her her work into practice. I mean, there's been huge shifts. So for that, Renee, I am so grateful. I'm grateful you said yes to his interview. After all the time we've known each other to have you finally on the podcast. It's such an honor. Thank you so much.

Renee Hribar 28:44
Thank you so much.

Yong Pratt 28:46
Before you go, let's continue this conversation about sales over on today's show notes at www.Yong pratt.com/318. And be sure to share this episode with any friends that could use your help selling inside their businesses.

Yong Pratt 29:04
Next week, you're gonna meet Julia Taylor, one of the only online friends I actually met in person and guess who introduced us? If you guessed today's guest, Renee Hribar, you would be right. Next week Julia is going to share how teaching herself to code has literally exploded into a global brand. Catch you then. Cheers.

Yong Pratt 29:27
Thanks for tuning in to the Amplify Your Awesome™ podcast. Be sure to hit that subscribe button so you don't miss any tips, tricks or secrets on building a business based around your awesome. Hey, and while you're there. Leave us a rating and review. Let us know what you think of the show. And until next time, my friends, go out there today and Amplify Your Awesome™!