Janice Chaka [00:00:04]:
Hello, and welcome to the travelling introvert career conversations. This is Janice and I'm here with Mark. How are you doing today, Mark?
Mark Wigginton [00:00:13]:
Hi. I'm doing great, Janice. I so enjoy your podcast.
Janice Chaka [00:00:19]:
Oh, right. Why why thank you, sir. I appreciate that. So therefore, you know what the next Question is and the question is, what does introversion mean to you?
Mark Wigginton [00:00:30]:
Yeah. Yeah. I do. I I have been thinking a lot about this as well As I've been preparing for our our chat today, you know, to me I think introversion is really, about where I draw my power from. I we all live very much in a world that's got lots of information and we're always processing information and dealing with That kind of issue and I have to really go inside a lot to really process that information for myself to listen, to use it, to come up with With Creative Solutions. And and to me, that's what introversion is about is is knowing what that source is of of power.
Janice Chaka [00:01:08]:
Oh, awesome. Alright. Thank you. And so can you tell us a little bit about the work that you do?
Mark Wigginton [00:01:15]:
Sure. So, I wanna tell you, I I just changed careers. So, I'm a a boomer, So I've kind of just gone through the process of leaving full time work. I've spent most of my career in a role that involved either selling or training, You know, marketing, I had a stint at once for a big part of my career where I was in mental health, community mental health as well. And now I've made a Transition away from full time work, and I'm more involved in coaching. I'm involved in strategy consulting using the sales skills and sales background that I I've had, and have accumulated over the last 30 years or so.
Janice Chaka [00:01:52]:
Wow. Okay. So, you mentioned strategies. Are there any specific strategies that you would like to talk about that would be helpful for my audience?
Mark Wigginton [00:02:02]:
Yeah. You know, I I think that there are some Really important elements of being an introvert that lend themselves to sales and business development. And, I I like to use the model that I call the sales spotlight. And it's just like in our conversation right now, whoever is talking, the spotlight is on that person. And in this situation, you ask me a question and the spotlight's on you for a second and then the spotlight comes on me as I answer the question. And what I've really learned is that by being able to listen effectively, being able to be quiet, Being able to ask really good questions, I can keep the the spotlight, the sales spotlight on the customer. If I can keep the customer talking, they're gonna tell me what's really important to them, And that's gonna help me develop an effective strategy to to win more business.
Janice Chaka [00:02:53]:
Oh, okay. So with sales being one of the things that you did a lot of. Can you tell me any misconceptions that people have about sales?
Mark Wigginton [00:03:01]:
Oh my gosh. I think people really have kind of the picture of of, You know, the the stereotypical car salesman, a lot of times, I think even in professional selling, people think that, you know, you've got to be really, really Kind of visually extroverted. Right? So the, you know, the guy with the big, you know, the slap on the back and the big handshake or woman with the The big handshake, taking everybody out to lunch, the golfing, and all all of those kind of elements. I think that that's really Kind of an an outdated picture of what an effective salesperson is like, particularly an effective Salesperson who's selling something large. You know, back in the day in my twenties, when I was selling, you know, things like steak knives and vacuum cleaners, like, You know, a 1000000 other people were. I think that was a very important impression that you had to put out there. But as you advance in your career to be working With senior executives, with senior business leaders, it's much more important to present yourself in a place where you're able to listen And really be almost a consultant, a real partner to that person.
Janice Chaka [00:04:06]:
So you mentioned vacuum cleaners and knives. Were you ever was that door to door where you were in trade shows?
Mark Wigginton [00:04:12]:
That was door to door. That was back in the day. So, yeah, that was in my college days. I I did the rounds like a lot of people did. I think back in those days of, the the the steak knives, the vacuum cleaners, and tear gas Mace for the, you know, for the, sororities.
Janice Chaka [00:04:31]:
Oh. Oh, wow. Alrighty. Okay. That is that is super interesting. And so with sales, you mentioned sort of that misconception and now that you've kind of Got more experience and are doing things differently. Is that something that you say no to?
Mark Wigginton [00:04:52]:
You know, I think there is. I still, you know, I went through such a big change, when I really began to embrace, I think and accept the fact that I was more introverted, and I think I started saying no to to kind of lots of event. I'm very selective and was very selective about, you know, where I went, if I was gonna go to a trade show, if I was gonna do a presentation, if I was gonna do a workshop, I was pretty I really had to understand what the payoff was gonna be. I wasn't I wasn't just gonna go because I wasn't really going for the party. You know, I was really going to find
Janice Chaka [00:05:33]:
a way to work. Yeah. Oh, okay. And so is this something that you do now regularly that has sort of I know you've made a little career change but or job change that has improved your career in general.
Mark Wigginton [00:05:48]:
Could you ask the question again?
Janice Chaka [00:05:50]:
Of course. Is this something that you do regularly that has improved your career in general?
Mark Wigginton [00:05:56]:
Oh yeah, absolutely. I think probably the biggest thing that I do Now to take care of myself, as I've really kind of in my mid 40s, I went through a big kind of life change and, my coping skills Changed tremendously. I went from some really ineffective coping skills, to, you know, that were Probably the result of spending way too much time on the road and way too much time in hotel rooms and hotel bars and things like that to Really focusing on trying to take care of myself. I went through a kind of a tremendous change where I went from really being kind of a A couch potato sales guide to becoming an endurance athlete. I began running long distance and doing triathlons and events like that, and That really led to a change in my business as well because it it helped me find the time I needed to be creative. Randall, when you run distance or you do a triathlon that takes 17 hours, you have a lot of time with yourself to really think and be creative. I think that Really made a huge change and I think, you know, in the last job I had, you could see, You could physically see by looking and tracking my numbers, the change that happened in 2008, basically. You know, that you could see the transition that happened from that point of time until the end of my career last year in in my performance and the the depth of relationships I have with the deliverables, all of that.
Mark Wigginton [00:07:29]:
And it was all it's all a result of being able to, to make healthy choices to cope, To accept my introversion, to accept my own processes and kind of move forward.
Janice Chaka [00:07:42]:
Wow. That's really interesting that you mentioned during those long races gave you More headspace, if if I heard you correctly, to
Mark Wigginton [00:07:52]:
Yeah.
Janice Chaka [00:07:53]:
To, to be more creative and to think things through and process.
Mark Wigginton [00:07:57]:
Right. Absolutely. I mean, and that's, I think, a big part of what I've learned to accept as as an introvert. You know, I'm still very out there and very public and, You know, I do lots of presentations and lots of workshops and and I'm in a kind of a very visible role, but where I develop the concepts and the idea is is on a long run, you know. It's on running, even a medium run, even, you know, getting out running for an hour, an hour and a half, you know, in the morning Helps me clear my head, helps me come up with new insights. I've got 8,000 voice memos on my iPhone, you know, where where I'm running along, and I'll I will come up with a particular thought that will then translate into something. When I was more actively involved in, You know, in commercial sales and and strategic selling, I could develop a whole campaign on a run, you know, and then I would get back Get back to the room, not even change my clothes, just get right to the computer, start getting on doing the research that I come up with, you know, while I was thinking the process through And develop a, you know, develop a full sales campaign for, Pursuit.
Janice Chaka [00:09:01]:
Do you run-in all seasons?
Mark Wigginton [00:09:04]:
I do run-in all seasons. I also cross train. So, I live in Texas, so winter is not horrible down here. I do run-in all seasons. I've run a race in a blizzard, which was quite interesting and I do run-in all season.
Janice Chaka [00:09:19]:
Okay. Because then my follow-up this question was gonna be like, well, what do you do when you can't go running? Is there a time when you can't go running? It's like it's too hot or do you have to change the time of day?
Mark Wigginton [00:09:28]:
You you have to change your time of day. I mean, I have to shift quite a bit. I run early, you know, down here. Well, down here, I mean, it's 80 80, 85 degrees through the summer. The summer here was was killer this year. But, yeah, you know, you run early or you cross Right. I have an elliptical, and I have a Peloton, and, you know, you just kinda do something to to move your body. I learned a little while ago, Within the last few years really, that act that mood follows action.
Mark Wigginton [00:09:55]:
So, you know, just the fact that getting up And and moving changes kinda changes your attitude. If you're if you're stuck, if you're, you know, tired, if you're Depressed, whatever. Just kind of getting up and doing any movement will change your attitude. So that's my commitment to myself is that I get regular movement. And again, one of the payoffs is the creativity. One of the payoffs is managing my state more effectively.
Janice Chaka [00:10:22]:
Alright. And so being in sales and and the kind of work that you you do, have you made or can you tell me about a time, I should say? Oh, that sounds like an interview question. A time when you made a a connection that made a change in your life.
Mark Wigginton [00:10:42]:
Yeah. Do you want that specifically related to a selling situation?
Janice Chaka [00:10:48]:
No. Whatever works for you.
Mark Wigginton [00:10:50]:
Oh, okay. I've I've kind of kind of thought that through a little bit. And, I'm I'm There are 4 people that are really close to me in my life and the tie to each of those 4 people has been that there's been a personal connection. There's been a challenge that we've had to overcome, A common challenge that we've had to overcome together. And so that's one of the things that led to connections. In my business life, I think Part of one of the things that happened, it's actually kind of a funny story, years years ago when I first started, I was selling consulting services. I worked for a company that was Kind of a global business development company, and we would sell proposal support and things like that. And, so we'd have consultants that would go on job sites, And and one of the rules was if you were a consultant and you went on a job site, well, that customer belonged to the company, right, because they put you on that site.
Mark Wigginton [00:11:44]:
And I had a situation where I had a client, and they had hired, one of the consultants around me. Right? They had they've gone outside of the company, and they brought that that person on. And, I made a decision that I was gonna fire that customer. And I went up to visit with her And, you know, it was hard because that customer is worth a lot of money, but I didn't I wasn't comfortable with those ethics. And I made a decision to go up there, and I was gonna fire her, and I Started telling her, working my way through that, and she stopped me about halfway through and she said, wait. You're telling me that this consultant came to us originally through you. I said, yeah. And and we're not getting that person through you? And she and I said, yeah.
Mark Wigginton [00:12:27]:
That's right. And so she got up and walked out of the meeting, and she walked out and she fired that person and sent them home because they had been unethical in the way they had approached her. So that changed the scope of our relationship and we wound up having a really, really tight relationship. And as she progressed in her career, I progressed as a thought partner to her, and when she transitioned to a new company, I transitioned with her to that new company as a thought partner, as Somebody she could trust. And we built a relationship from that point that that we still have today, you know. We've both we've both kind of retired from From that business, but we still maintain that relationship both at a professional level and at a personal level. We've We've gone to dinner with our spouses together and all that. And and it all started from kinda having the courage to say this isn't okay.
Janice Chaka [00:13:18]:
That is a great story and and shows your values and shows now that you work with people who respect and have those same values.
Mark Wigginton [00:13:27]:
Yeah, I mean, to me, that's really important. I think that comes back to your, What do you say no to? Question. You know, to really think about it, it's important to understand your values. And, You know, I think part of that is even understanding your own communication style. Again, we're back to talking about introversion, right? I think in the early part of my career, I would have never done that because I was so uncomfortable with myself and accepting accepting that part of me that had to retreat to regroup and go back out. And as I became more comfortable with that, I became more comfortable and more real with people around me, And I think that resonated with my client. They they knew they could trust me.
Janice Chaka [00:14:09]:
Yeah. Because you were being yourself. Right. Oh, thank you. So can you tell the audience where they can find out more about you or your business or somebody that you like?
Mark Wigginton [00:14:20]:
Sure. Sure. I'd I'd love to. So the name of my business is Focusing on Results, and, my website is www. Focusingonresults.com. That's all one word. I spend an awful lot of time on LinkedIn. That's kind of my primary social media since I've been in the business so long.
Mark Wigginton [00:14:40]:
And so it's Mark Wigginton. And, I'm sure it'll show up in the show notes, but it's w I g g I n t o n. There's Not a third g there, after the I n. If you look me up in LinkedIn, there's a lot of Mark Wigginton's in LinkedIn LinkedIn. So if you often, I come up as the top Mark Wigginton in the list. And if you look for the words managing focus, You'll see, you know, a little there's a little side statement there, and it talks about, are you managing your focus? That'll give you a clue as to me. And I'm I'm always happy happy to connect with anybody that's Interesting. And, Janice, you introduced me at the beginning.
Mark Wigginton [00:15:17]:
It's Mark w, and, my email address is markw@focusingonresults.com.
Janice Chaka [00:15:24]:
I do
Mark Wigginton [00:15:24]:
lots of sales strategy. I do lots of sales strategy consulting. I do business development coaching. I work with folks that are trying to set goals and make transition. And and right now, it's interesting. Right now, I seem to be working with an awful lot of people who are trying to kind of find their next stage. You know, they're they're trying to figure out, you know, either their next stage in their career or are they ready to just spin off and try to do their own thing and and move out of, Out of the corporate world, so I find that really interesting work as well.
Janice Chaka [00:15:54]:
Awesome. Thank you so very much. And, oh, yes. Surprise question, which I almost forgot. Is oh, yes. Is a hotdog a sandwich? Wow. My mind went blank.
Mark Wigginton [00:16:05]:
A hotdog is a sandwich. And I told you at the beginning of the of the Call that I have heard your many, many of your podcasts, both the interviews that you do and the I love the practical elements that you do as well, the little 5 minute, 7 minute segment. Yes. A hot dog is a sandwich. It's it's meat. It's bread. It's vegetables. It's condiments.
Mark Wigginton [00:16:25]:
End of story.
Janice Chaka [00:16:27]:
Done. Alright. Thank you so very much, Mark. I really appreciate it.