004: Robin Treasure - Helping Others Achieve Their Financial Goals & To Shine Their Light

Jonathan DeYoe: Welcome back to the Mindful Money podcast. My guest today is Robin treasure. Robin is a sales coach and the best selling author of heart powered sales. Grow your sales exponentially with emotional intelligence and intuition. Her sales experience is mostly in the area of functional medicine. In her last direct sales position, she grew her territory’s revenues ten x using the heart powered sales method that she teaches. Robin, thanks for coming on the Mindful Money podcast.

Robin Treasure: Thank you so much for having me. Excited to be here.

Jonathan DeYoe: Of course. So I just want to start with some letting people get to know who you are a little bit. So where’s home and where are you connecting from?

Robin Treasure: Yeah, so I live here in Berkeley, California, and that’s where I’m connecting.

Jonathan DeYoe: Good, good. And, uh, where’d you grow up?

Robin Treasure: I grew up in New Mexico. So I was born and raised in New Mexico in a very rural area, up in the mountains, surrounded by pine trees and not much else.

Jonathan DeYoe: What was it like there? I mean, sounds pretty remote.

Robin Treasure: Yeah, it was really, you know, my parents kind of homesteaded. My parents moved out to New Mexico from upstate New York where they were raised, and they kind of fulfilled their life dream of building a cabin, and so they literally built a log cabin on a mountain, and that’s where I was raised. And so for me, you ask, what was it like? It was beautiful. It was natural. There was a lot of love, a lot of simple living, let’s put it that way. And it was wonderful. And I yearned for more. Uh, so once I was in high school, I was really yearning for more. And so once I graduated high school, I wanted to go to a liberal arts college on the east coast, and I had no idea what that really meant culturally, but that’s what I did. And so I ended up going to college and grad school in what is.

Jonathan DeYoe: Uh, I’m imagining that you had a different experience with money as a child than many people. So I’m just curious, what sort of your first, your earliest money memory might be?

Robin Treasure: Yeah, this is great. This is a great topic because for me, growing know, my parents were hippies. My parents are quintessential hippies. Okay. Coming from the east coast, they went to Woodstock. They went to Woodstock shortly after they met. And so they really are iconic. They are iconic of that generation, and that generation kind of consciously rejected wealth and affluence, um, at least at that time. I think a lot of boomers went on to realize that money isn’t necessarily bad, and it just depends on how you use it and what you do with it. But for my parents, their goal was not to make money or be wealthy. They wanted to be wealthy in other ways. And they did achieve that by living the life that they desired and living out their dream of building a log cabin on a mountaintop. And so they achieved their wealth in quotation marks. They achieved their wealth in that way of creating a lifestyle and a life that they wanted. So it didn’t involve a lot of money. Neither of them made very much money in their jobs. And so, for me, growing up, I was accustomed to doing with very little. And we had everything that we needed in terms of shelter and food and all the basic necessities. But any kind of luxury or lavish kind of lifestyle was completely foreign to me growing up.

Jonathan DeYoe: What a great lesson in what’s enough if you are raised with very little, you know, what you can exist on if you have to. Exactly. But did that also come with a message about wealth or about wealthy people?

Robin Treasure: Yeah, they certainly did not villainize wealthy people. It’s not at all that there was that kind of a message of, like, wealthy people are bad, but it was just kind of, like, wealthy wealth and any kind of career that involved earning a lot of money was just kind of foreign. It just wasn’t on the radar for them. And so that’s how I was raised, is that that just wasn’t on my radar. The idea of becoming a salesperson, which I flash forward several decades, that’s what I became. That was never on my radar. Doing anything where you could actually make a lot of money, it just wasn’t on my radar at all growing up. And so that was kind of the message that I got, was that it’s just not in the cards for, uh, us. I think that’s the message that I got. But fortunately, I was also given complete freedom to reach for the stars and to do anything I wanted. So if I had said to them, I want to become a millionaire, they would have said, this is what my dad always said to me, Robin Ann, you can do anything you put your mind to. And that’s the message that cool.

Jonathan DeYoe: I got the exact same message. It’s a very cool message to have. Even so, you get a lesson about enough and a lesson that, hey, you can be whatever you want with your life. So, as you know, this is a podcast about personal finance. We talk about money and financial success, but we try to do it within the context of more meaningful lives and community. And I think that there’s five really broad areas of personal finance, and I wanted you on the podcast because I think you’re really good at one of those areas. The five areas are earning, spending, saving, investing, and giving. And I think you’re an incredible surprise. Surprise. You’re an incredible earner. Right. And I wanted you on this podcast to talk about that specifically. So, as I understand it from your book and just from conversations with you, you studied Italian, you worked as a translator both in Italy and the United States. You got married, you became a mom, you got divorced, and then suddenly, you’re a great salesperson and a sales guru. How did you do that? I think that listeners are like, that’s a crazy transition, but how did that.

Robin Treasure: Sometimes, you know, the path from here to there involves a lot of zigzags. Right. And it’s not a straight line, and that’s definitely how it happened for me. But the thread through all of that, you did a great recap of just, yes, I was an italian translator. I lived in Italy, all these different things. But the common thread is that I just always followed my heart. I always followed my heart. And what that does is it provides me the guidance on what is my next best step, and what am I meant to be doing, and how can I show up in the world in the best possible way and do something that I love and have a positive impact on the world at the same time? So, in my first career as an italian translator, I was guided by my heart to do that, because I love the italian language, and I loved translating, and I loved literally translating people’s words, but really the words behind the words, what their message was. And then, as I continued to follow my heart, I transitioned away from being an italian translator and into the field of health, because I was very passionate about health and nutrition and wellness. So, again, I was just following my heart, following my interests, and I wanted to help people get healthier and live healthier lives. So for several years, I was a health coach. And through that, lo and behold, I was learning the art of sales, because you have to enroll clients in order to serve as a health coach. And so as I learned that, that was really my first introduction into sales. And then from there, I found an opportunity, or I heard of an opportunity, to serve in outside sales as a sales rep for a highly regarded supplement company in b to b sales, selling to healthcare practitioners. And as I mentioned earlier, sales was never on my radar. It was not something I ever thought I would do, but my heart led me to it because of my passion for health and nutrition and for my passion for connecting to people and helping people. And when I realized that sales is really just about service, if you approach it that way in b, two b sales, you are connecting with a business owner and helping them to add revenue to their bottom line and helping them to get better clinical outcomes for their patients. When I realized that I could still follow my heart, I could follow my heart in how can I show up and serve this person in the best possible way. And because I wasn’t attached to making the sale, but I was committed to serving, that’s what enabled me to have the earnings come in. So it’s, um, an indirect way, but it’s actually the straighter path to making more sales and doing great in your sales career.

Jonathan DeYoe: There’s a couple of things in there I want to pull on. One of them was something you said really early. There was, I was going to be a health coach, but in order to be a health coach, I had to be able to sell. And I think know, I don’t know if you got this message growing up. I got this message growing up where, Jonathan, whatever you do, you have to sell. Whether, uh, you’re in a nonprofit and you need to get funding, you got to sell that nonprofit to the community that’s going to provide your funding if you are. For me, as a kid, I had to sell sandwiches door to door to afford being on the soccer team. There was an outcome I wanted, and to get there, I had to learn how to sell stuff. Right. Do you think that that’s something that’s broadly understood?

Robin Treasure: Not at all. Not at all. I think it’s quite the opposite, and I wish that people would embrace it more because we are all in sales. Even as a mom to my daughter, I have to sell her on an idea, right? We are all sales, right? We’re all in sales all the time. And it’s wonderful that you were given that message early on, because it’s an important one. In fact, in my outside sales role, I was working with healthcare practitioners who see themselves as healers, not as business owners. They are healers, but they are also business owners. And in order to deliver the gift of healing, they need to thrive in their business. They need to keep their doors open. So embracing sales, it’s not a dirty word. In fact, it’s the way you deliver your gifts, is to make a sale. So I think if we can really transform the stigma that there is around sales and really embrace it from a place of service, that’s how we can hopefully also, yes, embrace it and know that it’s a necessary part, not a necessary evil. It’s a necessary part of whatever we do. Whether you’re a financial advisor or selling sandwiches or enrolling patients into your healthcare practice.

Jonathan DeYoe: Yeah, this is a total aside, but I was skiing last weekend and I sat on the chair. The singles line is faster, so I get on the singles line and I get on the chair faster, so I get to ski more. But on the chair lift, I was talking to a massage therapist who was just starting off and she was explaining, yeah, I’m going to set my rates at like $60 an hour. Everyone else is charging 120. That way I’ll be able to build. I was like, wait a second. If everyone else is charging 120, why would you charge 60? You’re worth way more than that. The market has already set the price. In fact, you could work half as much and make twice as much if you just set the price accordingly. And we’re all so afraid of setting the price where it belongs and of sales. It’s amazing to me.

Robin Treasure: Yes, we are afraid. And I can really understand and identify with that massage therapist and that fear of being perceived as someone who charges too much or is in it for the money. But look at it from the consumer’s perspective, too. The client who’s searching for a massage, the massage that’s $60, do you think they will perceive that as being as good and as valuable as the other massage? That’s 120?

Jonathan DeYoe: Not at all. No.

Robin Treasure: So we also have to realize that people attach value based on a price tag, too.

Jonathan DeYoe: Totally. So in the second section of your book, we’re sort of bumping up against this topic right now, so I’m just going to ask a question on it. In the second section of your book, you talk about if the opening chapter is titled I had it all wrong, you actually set up the two different kinds of sales. So could you just lay out why we have this notion that sales is such a bad thing? Because I think you do a pretty good job of that in the book.

Robin Treasure: Thank you. Yeah. Look, as a sales coach now, I work with sales professionals. I coach sales reps, and even though they are in the profession of being sales reps, they feel almost guilty for being in sales. Um, so this is truly, we can all feel that way. And so truly, there’s a stigma that even when you’re in sales, you feel apologetic and guilty. I’m so sorry that I am in sales. So I truly believe that if you’re going to approach sales from a place of service, which I think we can wrap our mind around that, right, about serving, that you want to show up and serve and help, and it’s your product or your service that’s actually going to help that person. So if you can approach it from the mindset of, if I don’t have the courage to step up to the plate and offer this product or this service that I represent, I’m actually doing a disservice to that prospective client if it’s a fit for them, right. If it’s a fit for them, I’m doing them a disservice by not letting them know, by not making this offer when that’s your intention. You can know that you won’t be perceived as pushy or salesy if you’re making your offer in the right way. And part of the offer is in opening up the dialogue. So don’t presume that your product or service is the fit. Open up the conversation. Ask, uh, open ended questions so that you can have that dialogue and understand what do they really need or want without any attachment to whether or not you’re going to make the sale. Once you do that, and once you’ve determined, yes, this is a good fit for this prospective client, make your offer. Does that answer your question?

Jonathan DeYoe: Yeah. Well, it answers a different question, and I want to go back to the beginning of this one. So why do we have this stigma? Why do we think sales is bad? Where does that come from?

Robin Treasure: There’s a good reason why there’s the stigma, because for decades, uh, we’ve had this concept that sales sleazy, uh, car salesman. That’s kind of the archetype of the salesperson is sleazy. This is no offense to anyone who is actually in car sales, but this is just kind of the archetypal idea that we’ve had for decades is that sales is about, it’s usually a man, and usually they’re really pushy, and usually they will be manipulative in order to make you buy something. That you don’t want or need. And those practices have been in place, so they’re not unfounded that there’s this stigma around sales, but those tactics and that kind of Persona is really being edged out by a couple of different things that are happening now as we evolve in our society. One is consumers are hip to it, right? So they don’t want to be sold or manipulated, and so they’ll avoid it at all costs. Number two, they’re more empowered because of what you can find online. So they’re kind of taking the sales rep out of the equation by doing their own research. You can do your own research, you can find what you need, so you can kind of edge out that pushy, sleazy salesperson. You can get right around them and avoid them. But at the end of the day, there’s information overwhelm about everything that’s out there. And so if you can show up and be that person who serves, who educates, who helps guide your prospect along that decision making path, you’re providing a great service so that you can transform and not fit into that stereotype or that Persona of that sleazy salesman.

Jonathan DeYoe: I think there’s two, uh, you’ve actually touched on both of these, and I think there’s two elements that are really, really important in this analysis. One is you have to a, ah, know everything about the product you’re offering, and you have to believe in that product. It’s really easy to be sleazy. And I think you’ve had an experience with this. I think in your book, there’s a story about selling, uh, something in Italy that you didn’t believe in. And I know that you’ve sold things you believe in, and so there’s a difference there mentally. And then the second thing is, and you’ve said this twice now, the idea of not being attached to the outcome, and there’s something about believing and not being attached, being of service, that enables you to be. Let me help you. How do I help you get what you want?

Robin Treasure: Yeah.

Jonathan DeYoe: Is that right?

Robin Treasure: Yes, that’s exactly right. The first thing about, just, yes, believe in your product. Believe in it and love it and be excited about it. You actually don’t have to know every detail of the product. You don’t have to know every, I sold supplements, I didn’t have every single ingredient memorized every time. I didn’t know about the chemistry of how it was put together. If the client needed to know that, I would go and find out that information. But what I did know is that the products got excellent clinical results. People loved the products. Patients were benefiting from them. And I believed in them, and I believed in the company, and I knew that they were making really high quality products. That’s in your heart, right? That belief and that passion and that excitement about what you can deliver that has to be there. And if you represent widgets or staplers or office cleaning supplies, maybe you’re not as excited about that actual product. But what you can get excited about is the value that it brings to your clients. You can get passionate about helping about the clients that you serve. Maybe you just love your clients. You just love working with them. You love having conversations with them, whatever that is. Get excited about that, connect to that love, that feel into the love of, uh, what you do and what you represent, and that opens up so many doors.

Jonathan DeYoe: You just changed my mind about something. So I just want to point to it, because I’ve told this story. I love what I do. Obviously, I’m in sales, too. I always compared it to what would it be like to be a salesperson if I was selling Coca Cola or cigarettes or something that I know isn’t good for people, and, uh, I would feel so bad about that. But customers love Coca Cola. It’s like, people drink more coca cola than anything else except water. Right? It sells. People love it. And if you can embrace the fact that people love it and you’re trying to get it in a more place so people can have access to it, maybe that’s not a bad thing. And I’ve always thought it was a bad thing, and I would hate to be a Coca Cola salesman, but no offense to coke or people that own coke, but, uh, it’s just not a very healthy beverage. Right. Um, but that’s okay if you’re selling it because you’re actually serving a need, a desire that exists in the world.

Robin Treasure: That’s very true. That’s really true for me, too. I would have a really hard time selling Coca cola or cigarettes. You have to know that your product is at least not doing harm. Right. But at the same time, yeah, often it is about serving not even what they need, but what they want. So if what you want is Coca Cola, and this is what they are demanding, and you find yourself, especially for financial considerations, this is a job that you have to take. You can show up with love not for the Coca Cola, but for the customer and for making the customer happy.

Jonathan DeYoe: Yeah. So I know there’s going to be a lot of listeners that will listen to this. This is all great sales. Sales. Not for me. And it’s hard to get people over that hump, given that sales is one of those opportunities where you can set your own income. You can have a sizable income from sales, whether you are selling healthcare products b to b, or whether you’re selling phone services or whatever you’re selling. Right. It is something that people can do, and it can be a very good source of income. Do you think anybody can be good at sales? And what would help people get over that hump?

Robin Treasure: I do think. Let’s see. It’s taking me a minute to answer, because this is a great question. I do think that just about anyone could be in sales. You don’t have to be, because there are very few sales training programs out there anyway. It’s not really a major that you can major in in college. Right. So people come to sales from all sorts of different disciplines and backgrounds. Yes. I think if you show up with the right intention, with an enjoyment of connecting to people, you have to enjoy connecting to people again, loving the product or service that you represent, or at least what it can do for people, then, yes, I think you can.

Jonathan DeYoe: I’ve often wanted to talk about sales, and I’ve often sort of pictured myself doing kind of what you’re doing, and that’s sort of training salespeople. It often, in my head, starts with the idea of just listening to what’s important to the other people so that you can provide something that’s of value to those people. Right. But I think there’s a step before that, and that’s we have to be mindful of the way sales can be done. So we have to remember that you can sell from the heart. You can actually. And then that opens up that ability to listen, and that enables us to sort of fulfill the needs of somebody else. Yes, it’s a beautiful story, and I know that if you struggle with creating income, which is the foundation of your financial life, is having an income a source of something you can save and invest. Sales is a great way to get there. And so if you need support, if a listener needs support in know, Robin’s a pretty good coach on this. Uh, and it’s definitely something to think about. I have one more area. Do you have something to add to that?

Robin Treasure: Yeah, I was going to add the. In general, in sales, it still tends to be male dominated, and there are some really amazing leaders out there, like Lori Richardson, who she does a women in sales podcast, and other amazing leaders, too, and they’re doing a lot to help encourage women to more women to get into sales, because, as you said, there is a great potential for a great earning potential and a great way. Sales is a great way to make money and to serve and to kind of realize your own potential. I even see it as a great way for, it’s a great vehicle for personal development, being in sales. And so with all of that said, yes, I think it’s a, um, wonderful field to get into. And I really do encourage so many more women to get into sales.

Jonathan DeYoe: We just took a turn off of the topic I want to go to. That’s fine. Do you see a gender difference in embracing sales? Just in people that you talk to and sales conferences, those kinds of things you do?

Robin Treasure: Look, men and women each have unique gifts to bring to the table, and women are particularly gifted with the ability to listen and to be attuned to what other people are feeling. And when you’re in sales, being attuned to your prospects, feelings and needs and wants is incredibly important. And so this is a wonderful gift that women can bring to the table, along with being more intuitive and having that intuition, being able to act on a moment’s notice to really understand what to do next. And so this is a gift that women bring. Men also have the gift of emotional intelligence and intuition. It just may not be as developed or, and I’m, um, generalizing here, but it may not be as developed just because they haven’t been encouraged to do so. Right. I think we all have the potential for these gifts. It’s just a question of how developed they are. Men have the gift of being more assertive and more confident in kind of jumping into a situation, being a little less fearful. And that is what has enabled many men to succeed and do so well in sales. And there’s nothing wrong with being assertive and confident and being unafraid to make your offer. So I really feel that men and women both bring incredible gifts to the table, and it’s not about one versus the other. It’s more about, let’s learn from each other and what we can both bring to the table.

Jonathan DeYoe: That’s beautiful. I was going to make a joke about overconfidence bias relative to men, but I won’t make the joke. So I know that you have a very successful practice coaching and actually still sales practice as well. You have an excellent income, and you have a skill set in the ability to sell to maintain that income regardless of what happens. Right. So how are you translating that into wealth for your family and for your future and for your community?

Robin Treasure: So with wealth comes with great earnings comes, then you have the decision, what do you do with it? Right? And how do I invest it? How do I save it? Of course, it’s really important to make those smart decisions because you can have lots of it coming in, but if it’s leaking right out, then the net net is you don’t have a lot. Right. So, of course, the first step is spending wisely and investing wisely. And that’s something that I consistently try to do. But also, what do you do with the earnings that come in, in terms of not just spending, saving and investing, it goes beyond that. Those earnings can enable you to do something more impactful and more meaningful. And so in my case, with the earnings that I made in recent years, I decided to invest some time and money and resources into writing and publishing my book. And that’s what I have done. So that’s my investment. It’s a big investment that I’ve made, because what I’ve done is I took something, ideas that were in my head and feelings that were in my heart and just my life experiences, and I created something with it. I created a book. And as we all know, no one’s going to get rich off of, uh, revenue, uh, directly from book sales, right? I mean, we all know this, although it’s not impossible, but, uh, it will pay dividends, and it is paying dividends in terms of the opportunities that it brings. So that’s a direct financial result of making that investment, is the opportunities that it can bring. But even more so, we all have a bucket list of experiences that we want to have and enjoy and feel that we’re leaving a legacy in our lives and creating something like writing a book or for someone else. It may be starting a nonprofit or whatever endeavor or initiative you want to take that will pay incredible dividends, maybe not even financially, but in terms of the legacy that you’re leaving and, uh, in terms of the richness of your life, at the end of your life, when you feel like, what did I do? And writing a book, even if you self publish it, actually doesn’t take a lot of financial resources, but it’s going to require some time. It is going to require some resources, all of that. And so if you are blessed enough to make good money, to be able to carve out some time to do that kind of a thing for yourself, by all means. I really feel that that’s one of the highest rois that you can get, is to create something or do something, whatever it is that you have in your heart that wants to be born right.

Jonathan DeYoe: And I think, uh, with your book specifically, you’re going to enable people that you aren’t going to be able to coach. If they read the book, it gives them a system and you’ll have an impact. And I think that just, I haven’t quantified the impact, but if you have somebody who is struggling to have an income stream and they read the book and they get over their judgment about sales in general, they can embrace the process and the method of heart powered sales, then they can create an income that will support their family and that you had that impact. And that’s a pretty incredible impact when you think about how you can affect a family’s finances by helping them understand something better about sales, which often gets maligned, as we’ve discussed, it’s a great impact. I think it’s important. A couple more quick things before we wrap. And I never prepare anyone for this. So, uh, what was the last thing you changed your mind about? It’s a zinger. At the end.

Robin Treasure: It’s a zinger. I would have to say the last year has been a really interesting year of transition for me. Again, as I kind of alluded to, I gave myself some time and space to write my book and to start sales coaching, but there was a question in my mind about what comes next. Am I going to fully launch into sales coaching or am I going to join another company and work internally again at another company and in a sales role as an individual contributor? And for a while, I was pursuing that track. I felt, okay, my time is done with this experiment, this sabbatical that I’ve been on. And so I was considering going back to a company and really looking into that. And then I changed my mind about that. To answer your question, I changed my mind about that. And I realized, no, I’m already seeing the impact that my work is having on my private clients. I’m already seeing the impact that my book is having on clients. And as you mentioned, I put the whole system in there. And so for those who can’t afford private coaching, the whole system is in there in the book. I didn’t want to hold back on anything, and so it’s all in there. And if you follow it step by step and read it and reread it, hopefully that will give you the tools if you are in a sales role or have your own business as a solopreneur, to really, um, be able to create the wealth that you desire while also having a positive impact on others. And so I changed my mind about not continuing with that, and I am continuing with that. And it has been incredibly fulfilling and rewarding to see the kind of impact that that can have on others.

Jonathan DeYoe: It’s good to hear. That’s really good to hear. And I can’t leave it with just a single zinger. So I have to ask you one more thing, and this gets personal, right? Is there anything that people misunderstand or forget about you that you really want to set straight? You really want them to know about you or want them to remember about you?

Robin Treasure: What I want them to know is I don’t have it all figured out, and none of us do. We don’t have all the answers. None of us do. But we’re all learning. We’re all figuring it out. I’m figuring it out as I go. And in fact, I’m learning in order to teach. In order to teach, you have to learn. And so that is what I would like people to know, is that I don’t have it all figured out and none of us do. But I am figuring it out as I go forward and truly beyond the mission of helping sales professionals to realize their personal and professional goals. My desire and mission is truly to help others shine their light, because each of us has a light to shine, and sometimes we need permission in order to shine it fully. And that’s what I’m really here to do.

Jonathan DeYoe: Beautiful. How can people connect with you? Get the book. Find more out about your coaching so.

Robin Treasure: If they go to my website, which is robintreasure.com, Robin is with an I, so R-O-B-I-N. Treasure.com um, you can find out more about my book. You can order my book, you can learn more about my coaching services, and you’ll also find a little, uh, form. If you want to submit a question or have a complimentary clarity, call to discuss, uh, your personal goals. All of that can be found@robintreasure.com.

Jonathan DeYoe: Great. Thanks for being on, Robin. I really appreciate the time.

Robin Treasure: Thank you. Thank you for having me.