Women in Sales: What Drives Success in Relationship-Led Sales?

Intro (00:03):
Welcome to Women in Sales, a podcast hosted by Jenni Lee Crocker, where we spotlight the voices, stories and strategies shaping the future of sales. In each episode, Jenni sits down with inspiring women across industries to share real experiences, practical insights and lessons from their journeys to success. Now, let's get started.

Jenni Lee Crocker (00:28):
Hi, I'm Jenni Lee Crocker. I'm a regional leader with Alliant Insurance Services, and welcome to our first podcast, Women in Sales. Today, I'm sitting here with two of my dear friends and also colleagues, people that I enjoy spending time with, as well as respected people that I get to work with. Joining us today, I have Beth Phares, who is part of our EB practice in the Richmond, Virginia area. She has a large book of business and an incredibly large team. I also have Julie Rison. Julie and I have crossed paths on more than one occasion professionally, but Julie's great claim to fame is that she's the best at high net worth. Julie is the person that you want in your corner if you are working on private client services. So that's my brief introduction, but Beth and Julie, maybe why don't you all do the team justice and tell us a little bit about yourselves.

Beth Phares (01:16):
I'm Beth Phares. I've been in this industry for a long time in Richmond. I grew up on the carrier side. I worked for both Anthem and United Healthcare, but at a pivotal point in my career, I decided I needed more tools and more resources to be able to solve clients' problems. With a carrier, I only had that one product to sell. I tend to be creative, so I made the broker switch over 20 years ago. I love what I do.

Julie Rison (01:42):
Hello, I am Julie Rison. I am, as Jenni Lee mentioned, in our Alliant Private Client group. I've been in this industry for a very, very long time. I think if we keep adding the decades, we will start showing our ages. So I'm not going to do that, but it's been a very long time and primarily in the high net worth and ultra-high net worth space. I'm one of the national practice leaders here at Alliant Private Client.

Jenni Lee Crocker (02:07):
Well, thank y'all for joining me. This is a treat for me, and it's also a treat that I get to work with friends. That's also a big treat. Our purpose for today and our topic is women in sales, and how, in my theory, I think women are particularly well-suited to this industry, to this business, to this profession. I've always said for years, I love recruiting women because in my mind they have high empathy, strong listening skills, detail-oriented team players. Now, in truth, male or female, anyone who has that skillset is very well suited to our industry. In particular, today, I thought we could talk to this subject, and maybe if you all could give me, why do you all think women might be well-suited to sales?

Julie Rison (02:48):
Honestly, I'll go first, but I think that we just give a different perspective. That's for any kind of demographic, and I think that, but specifically being women, that we have a different perspective when it comes to delivering of products and services. I think we have a different perspective of asking questions at the very beginning about what their lifestyle is like, what their needs are, where we can actually bring some value to them. I also think that we have a different perspective on relationships. Like you mentioned Jenni Lee, anyone, male or female, could have these traits, but for today's topic, I think that we have a really good way of kind of being a chameleon and actually being able to change with our audience and our prospects or our clients or our colleagues of how we approach different things.

Beth Phares (03:38):
I like what you say about that, about being the chameleon, because I think one of the greatest strengths that women have is our intuition. Men can read the room as well, but I think women have a special strength in being able to intuit what our clients need. We're problem solvers at heart. A lot of us have a lot on our on our plate, and I think we're natural problem solvers. Again, I think women really work well on a team, and I do believe a team approach is the best way to win a new client. That can be made up of both men and women, but I think women particularly perform well on a team because of those strengths.

Jenni Lee Crocker (04:10):
Wow, I liked what you all brought out. Problem solvers, adaptability, team players. So, we're all in agreement, and we all think more women should be coming to work with us in sales and also specifically in insurance sales, but there's my big question. Why aren't more women coming into sales? Why are we not attracting as many women as a profession?

Beth Phares (04:33):
I'll go first on that. First of all, there's no official sales training program in place for anything anymore, so you have to have that confidence. You have to take a risk. Being in sales is risky. I do think that women should take more risks because all it takes is that one first win to get you going. I think women by nature are relationship people. I think what maybe we forget is that sales is a relationship business. Once you start earning the trust of your clients and building that relationship, that sales success becomes more of a domino effect. I wish more women realize that and would take that risk early in their career to step outside of that box and just try it.

Jenni Lee Crocker (05:12):
Right, so confidence. Julie, what's your thought?

Julies Rison (05:15):
I definitely agree. I think that women historically, and this isn't necessarily a bad thing, but historically the insurance industry has been a male-dominated industry as an industry in whole. I think that it has been harder for some people, some women that aren't as confident to actually have the confidence to kind of dip their toe in and take that leap of faith. Also, I think that sometimes us women, we think that if we don't have all the criteria, that we must not be qualified. I think a different perspective of men many times is if they have three quarters of the qualifications or criteria, then they're just going to go for it. I think with us women, I think that we feel as though we have to check all the boxes to actually have a good chance.

Beth Phares (05:59):
We are a little bit more cautious sometimes when we approach things. We're not natural risk takers. I tell young women and men in the industry, be a risk taker early on. Be a risk taker. You don't need to be so cautious about things.

Julie Rison (06:11):
I love that we are now, women of our generation, we are promoting this now. We are encouraging, and we're trying to be mentors and coaches to some of the younger women in this industry. They need to see that women can be successful and in leadership in this industry. I think that the more that they see that, the more that young women will actually try to get into this industry as well.

Jenni Lee Crocker (06:33):
You all have given some really good examples of how we can overcome. It first does take people who are more experienced to do some encouragement. We have to pull people in. Then Beth, I love that advice. You can't be cautious in life. Too much caution will not result in the rewards you want. Anything else you think we should be doing to overcome this concept of, if I don't have all the credentials, if I'm not totally confident, then I'm not going to apply or I'm not going to ask for the opportunity. What else can we do to help younger people overcome that concept?

Julie Rison (07:06):
This is back to your previous comment, and then I'll answer that one. Early in my career, I was in service, and I wasn't in sales. My husband is the one that convinced me that I needed to be in sales. He's the one that said, you can do that. It's in your natural wheelhouse. It's who you are. You do it all day, every day anyway. You might as well get paid for it.

Jenni Lee Crocker (07:28):
I love that.

Julie Rison (07:28):
He's the one who actually convinced me and encouraged me to get into a sales role versus just servicing. I just had to give him a shout out real quick.

Beth Phares (07:38):
That's good. I love that.

Jenni Lee Crocker (07:40):
I love that. I think that's a great way of looking at it.

Julie Rison (07:43):
I think other men in the industry can do that too. It doesn't have to be your significant other.

Jenni Lee Crocker (07:48):
Beth, you also referenced something about we have a lot on our plate. When I think of an example of women I've hired over the years into production who maybe were a little nervous, you know, that little pause. I think about women and one of the things I love to say is, gosh, it seems to me right now you are managing your two kids who are in school. You seem to get home and somehow manage to have food in the house. You are managing your parents and maybe five other things that need to happen around the household. You seem like a very capable person. That confidence, you should use that as the springboard to know when you have to get something done, you will actually get it done because you always get it done.

Beth Phares (08:34):
You always get it done. I also think that when you're in sales, I think there's this perception that it's out of somebody's reach, or they would never consider going into sales. I go back to my original comment, sales is nothing more than a relationship business. If you do what you say you're going to do, even if you can't necessarily solve that particular problem. If you get back to your clients, it's tactical things that women are good at anyway, that are skills that are necessary to be successful in sales. Certainly we use strategy, et cetera, but tactical, just doing what we say we're going to do for our clients and solving their problems. So many more females can do that. Men can too, but...

Jenni Lee Crocker (09:11):
Do what you say you're going to do, when you say you're going to do it, how you say you're going to do it. That's trust, and that's a relationship.

Julie Rison (09:18):
Jenni Lee, honestly you actually do this really, really well. You are the connector. I'll give you a shout out real quick because you are really a key asset to this entire industry, and we're very, very lucky to have you at Alliant. You are a huge connector of people, and I think that that comes innately to you. For those of us that are around you, we all benefit from that. Thank you for what you do.

Beth Phares (09:43):
Absolutely.

Jenni Lee Crocker (09:44):
Connecting is why I love this business. That is my joy in this industry. As we round up this session, tell me Beth and then Julie, what you both love about this industry.

Beth Phares (09:57):
I'll go first. I love all of the relationships I have created and maintained over the years, they're clients. I also have a personal connection with most of my clients now, and that gives me great satisfaction.

Jenni Lee Crocker (10:08):
I love that. Julie?

Julie Rison (10:10):
I hate to be a copycat, but me too. I think it's one of those things that I love not only the relationships with our clients, but also with our colleagues. We work for a great organization. This industry has historically has not been a sexy industry, but it's a really fun industry. It challenges me every single day. If I can copy what Beth said, but then tack on something else, it's that.

Jenni Lee Crocker (10:34):
Thank you both. I enjoy my relationships with the two of you all. Working with you all as part of my joy as well. I want to say thank you all for joining this podcast. Thank you for a great addition of Women in Sales.

Julies Rison (10:46):
Thanks.

Beth Phares (10:46):
Thank you.

Outro (10:47):
Thank you for listening to Women in Sales with Jenni Lee Crocker. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe, share it with a colleague and leave a review to help more women discover these conversations. We'll see you next time for more stories, insights and inspiration from women leading the way in sales.