In this Business Blast episode, host Tyler Wagner interviews Bill Stallings, a Sherwin‑Williams sales representative. Bill shares a childhood story about lying to his mother about calling a friend, which taught him the importance of honesty in personal and professional relationships. He advises never to waste time or money on cheap paint products, emphasizing that higher‑priced products deliver superior benefits. His core business principle is to "always deliver what you promise." When reflecting on his younger self, he suggests relaxing and enjoying life more. He defines happiness as being satisfied with who you are. Bill recommends the book The Art of the Deal for its lesson on juggling multiple deals and stresses researching a client online before meetings to find conversation starters. His favorite quote is Winston Churchill’s, "Success is not final, failure is not fatal. It is courage to continue that counts," which he interprets as a reminder to keep striving regardless of past outcomes. He notes his online presence is limited to LinkedIn, email, and Facebook under the name William Stallings, as his work is primarily face‑to‑face.
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Alright everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast Podcast. Really special guest, good friend of mine from a while back, his name is Bill Stallings. He's a sales representative for Sherwin-Williams, so welcome to the show, Bill.
Thank you very much.
Of course, dude. Pumped to have you on. We'll dive to the first one. The first question I have for you, Bill, is what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
Well, when I was about 10 years old, my best friend at the time moved away. And, you know, of course I missed him very much because it's somebody I played with, you know, since I was in kindergarten. And so one day my mom had left me at home by myself and, you know, I decided to get on 411 and figure out what, you know, where this number was and to call him. And I did that and I thought I would be slick and just tell my mom, hey, you know, Michael had called me and we talked for a while last night. And, you know, being as old as I am, We had phone bills back then that included long distance. And, you know, my plan went very well until my mom got my phone bill. And of course, the lie I told sort of crashed down around me. And, you know, basically that's one of the things that has always stuck with me is always be truthful, not only to people around me, but my customers. My family, and anybody associated with me.
And what's the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
Well, never waste your time or your money on inexpensive products. Top products are expensive due to the benefits that they offer you and the benefits that they deliver you.
And what's your best piece of overall business advice, so not necessarily industry-specific?
Always deliver what you promise.
And if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
To stop and enjoy yourself more. Don't be so serious and relax.
And in your opinion, what is the key to happiness?
To be satisfied with who you are. Hmm.
And what is the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from it?
Well, and I promise I am not being political when I say this, but when I was in college, I took a management class that dealt more in the aspect of sales. And I read for that book, The Art of the Deal. And what I took away from that that has resonated with me to this day is to look at each deal that you're doing with a customer differently. To keep, as I quote from the book, many balls in the air, meaning have many deals out there that you're working on, and to understand my customer before every meeting. And, you know, things that I do now since we're in a digital age is I sit down on the internet before I meet any new client, and I do a little digging. You know, I want to find web pages, Facebook pages, Anything that will give me a little thing I can pick up, or so it'll give me an edge. Maybe something to talk about, a little icebreaker, you know, something that will elicit some conversation with that customer.
And what is your favorite quote and why?
Well, I've got several, but I'm a big Winston Churchill fan. And I think one of the best quotes that I can ever attribute to him was when he said, "Success is not final, failure is not fatal. It is courage to continue that counts." And to me, that tells me that every success should lead to other successes, that I always know that no matter how good my year is or how good things are going for me, that everything starts over January 1st. If I'm having a mediocre or down year, that it all starts over January 1st. So to always, for me to keep believing in what I'm doing and keep my goals in sight, and I'll be successful in the end. Love it, man.
Dude, thank you so much for coming on. The last question I have for you before we let you go is where is the best place for people to find you online?
Uh, LinkedIn, email, and Facebook are pretty much the easiest way to find me online. I'm under William Stallings in both. I've got a fairly small internet footprint because most of my work is face-to-face.
Got it, man. Thank you again for joining us. We appreciate it.
