Episode 463: Be a Person First: Servant Leadership, Social Selling & Building Human-Centered Sales Teams with Brian Beedenbender

Brian Beedenbender 00:00
I think it starts with being a person. And I know that sounds like a weird way to say that, but I think so many of us forget that when we’re not physically in front of somebody—virtually like this or in person—when we’re behind a screen, we forget to be a person.

Intro 00:16
Welcome to the Making Sales Social podcast, featuring the top voices in sales, marketing, and business. Join Brynne Tillman and me, Bob Woods, as we bring you the best tips and strategies our guests are teaching their clients, so you can leverage them for your own virtual and social selling. Enjoy the show.

Brynne Tillman 00:43
Welcome back to Making Sales Social. I’m Brynne Tillman, and my guest today is Brian Beedenbender, VP of Sales at Tech. Brian helps schools bring technology to life, focusing on giving teachers back valuable time through the effective use of educational technology. At Tech, his team doesn’t just sell products—they deliver full outcome-driven solutions that empower educators and students alike.

I’ve invited Brian to be a guest today because of his incredible leadership in sales and how much he values his team, and how much they value him. Brian, welcome to the show.

Brian Beedenbender 01:12
Thank you for having me.

Brynne Tillman 01:14
Well, I’m thrilled. It’s been a lot of years since we worked together, and I’m excited to be back in touch with you. I appreciate you taking a little bit of time to share some of your expertise. I know, as a sales leader, the value you can bring to our audience today is unparalleled. But before we jump in, we ask all our guests the same first question: What does making sales social mean to you?

Brian Beedenbender 01:57
For me, it starts with being a person. So many of us forget that when we’re behind a screen, we try to communicate in ways we would never communicate face to face. We ask things of people we would never ask in person, and that’s where it breaks down.

What we try to teach our team is to start with “I help,” “I solve a problem,” not “I need something from you,” because then it becomes very transactional.

Can I tell a funny story?

Brynne Tillman 02:37
Absolutely.

Brian Beedenbender 02:38
Recently, I had no outreach from a company—won’t name them. I got a text on my cell phone that a DoorDash was coming to my house. I thought it was spam. A few minutes later, some Bundt cakes showed up at my house. They didn’t say who it was from. I texted everybody I knew. The next day, I got a LinkedIn message from the account executive asking, “Did you get the Bundt cakes I sent you?”

I thought it was a unique approach, but the problem was, I had no investment in this person. We hadn’t interacted before. If we had, it would have been a valuable gesture, not a creepy surprise at my home. The mistake wasn’t the action—it was that there were no actions before it.

Brynne Tillman 03:45
They didn’t earn the right to send you a Bundt cake.

Brian Beedenbender 03:47
Exactly. I brought the three Bundt cakes in and gave them to the sales team.

Brynne Tillman 03:52
Interesting. If I hadn’t known who they were from, I might not have eaten them out of fear.

Brian Beedenbender 03:58
I didn’t eat them myself. I gave them away.

Brynne Tillman 04:02
It’s like pitching before they know your name—too soon. A for effort, but still too soon.

Brian Beedenbender 04:23
The first thing I thought was, their finance department must be liberal with their budgets. But it’s a good example.

We’re recruiting for roles now. I get the usual recruiters who just send me lists of candidates. But one recruiter took a different approach. They said, “I have somebody in Canada who builds business for education. Your ad doesn’t mention that, but would you like to speak to him?”

I responded. The conversation didn’t work out—not for any bad reason, just not a fit. But that recruiter clearly spoke to me about our company first and provided something valuable. That’s what I mean by being a person. They offered insight, no stakes involved, just value. That’s how you’d talk to a friend.

Brynne Tillman 05:49
Well, I got one worse—ready? They just put a calendar link on your calendar.

Brian Beedenbender 05:56
Yes, but I don’t even know what we’re talking about.

Brynne Tillman 05:59
Exactly—they just add you to an anonymous list.

Brian Beedenbender 06:03
One of the best people out there is Michael Padone. He runs an organization called Sales Buzz. He is maniacally focused on starting a conversation by stating the problem you can solve for the person, and then asking permission to continue. That’s critically important: earning the right to have the conversation.

Then, you move on only if they say yes. That’s when you get to shine. For us, the focus is always: How does it work? What can it do for you? That last part—“What can it do for you?”—is all anybody cares about.

Brynne Tillman 07:00
Absolutely. We say, stop sharing content you want them to know; start sharing content they want to consume.

Brian Beedenbender 07:07
Yes, exactly.

Brynne Tillman 07:09
That’s the shift in thinking. I want to jump into leadership. You’ve led high-performing teams for years. What separates good managers and leaders, and how do you develop leadership traits in your salespeople?

Brian Beedenbender 07:44
Let me take the first part: what makes a good manager. I’ve always believed in servant leadership. You need to show people you are there for them. My managers and I have no personal accounts; we only succeed if our team succeeds.

No one on my team thinks there’s an “emergency customer” I can swoop in on to make my numbers. That forces us to practice leadership with them.

Also, you must demonstrate you can do what they can do. The biggest poison in a sales team is a manager who tells people what to do but couldn’t do it themselves. Then there’s no ownership.

I try to sell with them, not for them. We strategize together, attend conferences, join calls. Strategy discussions must focus on outcomes, not dashboards. If your team believes it’s about dashboards, they shut down. If they believe it’s about solving problems, you get results.

Brynne Tillman 09:11
Let’s go deeper on that. You focus on quality over quantity. How do you manage KPIs or success metrics with that approach?

Brian Beedenbender 09:40
There has to be a baseline expectation. In K–12 education, getting meetings is harder than ever. My goal is to have my team in front of customers, virtually or in person. Scheduled meetings are my preference—they signal intentionality.

You can have a bad month. Even the best sales reps will. Don’t measure a month in isolation—measure the plan. Did we create pipeline? Did we meet people? Hope isn’t a plan. If the fundamentals are solid, future success is more likely.

Brynne Tillman 11:43
Exactly. Conversations with the right people lead to sales.

Brian Beedenbender 11:58
Sales is simple at its core: talk to people. Follow a process consistently. Be a person, not an account. Do what you say you’ll do.

I have a new sales rep—her first job out of college. Some days she has no meetings, other days she has five before lunch. That’s the streaky nature of sales. Mental resilience is critical. You need to accept failure as part of the process and keep moving forward.

Brynne Tillman 13:16
Sales is like baseball—it comes in streaks. That’s great advice. Let’s talk about developing leadership traits in your team. My next question is: coaching versus mentoring versus managing. How are you helping develop your team members?

Brian Beedenbender 13:46
One of the things we do here at our organization is be very intentional about development. We’re not a large company—unlike a 4,000 or 5,000-person company, there are limited growth opportunities—so the growth for our reps often comes from upskilling. Many times, there aren’t jumps in our organization because a lot of our folks have been here for quite some time.

Our focus is on upskilling, helping people grow financially, and taking on more responsibility. At the beginning, we expect new sales reps to be able to have a conversation with a customer. Then we build toward being able to discuss how our solutions solve problems, give examples of past success, and speak intentionally.

Another thing we do is foster an open-door policy. Before I was in sales, I was in government. We actually removed doors to encourage transparency. People need to feel that if they make a mistake, stepping up and owning it is enough—they won’t be chewed out.

If you do what you ask your reps to do, support them when they fail, and praise them when they win—individually and publicly—that’s key. The old saying applies: discipline in private, compliment in public.

We have these big Lego blocks. At the end of each month, people who had a great sales month or a significant sale get one of these blocks. Some of our reps have walls filled with blocks, almost like a fort around their desks. It’s a physical manifestation of their wins. When we tried to stop it, there was an uproar—they wanted their blocks and walls. During sales calls, I’ll say, “Bob did a great job. Here’s his brick.” It’s cheesy, but it works. Praising success matters.

Brynne Tillman 16:15
Of course, they want money, but public recognition every day matters. It’s not just a gold star sticker.

Brian Beedenbender 16:27
Exactly. New hires don’t have to ask who the best reps are—look at the person with the biggest wall. That’s your signal.

Brynne Tillman 16:35
That’s amazing.

Brian Beedenbender 16:40
Our structure is unique. We don’t stack rank. Reps have a target and a territory of named accounts, and they help each other. Success for one doesn’t hurt another. In education, many customers move, so a rep might build a relationship that later benefits another team member. Team collaboration is key.

Brynne Tillman 17:14
I love that. Collaboration is often more effective than competition.

Technology evolves quickly. How do you lead your team through uncertain times and keep them aligned with the long-term vision?

Brian Beedenbender 17:53
A sales leader is part salesperson, part therapist. Some leaders just say, “This is where we need to go, you need to get there.” That misses the point. You have to explain the why.

For example, we recently changed our CRM, which required monotonous contact cleanup. Explaining that this improves open rates and generates more leads helped get buy-in. You also need to paint the six, 12, 18, and 24-month picture.

About a year ago, we entered a new line of business—bells and paging systems for schools. It’s a long sales cycle. Initially, the team questioned the effort, but after the first rep landed a seven-figure project, they understood why we built the process this way.

We give reps the voice to experiment. They report back on what works and what doesn’t. We adapt. That flexibility builds alignment and ownership.

Brynne Tillman 19:50
Flexibility and nimbleness are essential. Longer deals have a flywheel effect—once the pipeline builds, results become consistent.

Brian Beedenbender 20:13
Exactly. Social selling is key. In an 18- or 24-month sales cycle, you stay involved with customers over time. It’s not just “Are we still good?” Constant engagement adds value, not just pressure to close. Budget cycles matter—schools’ money comes July 1—so we maintain relationships and provide value throughout the process.

Brynne Tillman 21:16
That’s how you become the vendor of choice. Multi-threading is essential in long sales cycles to avoid relying on a single champion. How do you ensure reps bring value across the organization?

Brian Beedenbender 22:14
We tell reps: don’t outsource objection handling. If one champion leaves, the knowledge doesn’t transfer automatically. Reps need to be present in meetings with decision-makers, like superintendents, and help prepare their champions.

Ask questions like, “How can I help you succeed in that meeting?” or “What collateral or data do you need?” In education, the budget isn’t theirs—they need guidance. Position yourself as a partner to make them look good. Often, that gives reps access to decision-makers and full-cycle interactions, from sales to installation and training.

Brynne Tillman 23:57
Are you still using LinkedIn to cross-connect?

Brian Beedenbender 24:04
Not much. Our education customers don’t really use LinkedIn for product research. We use it to highlight customer success stories. Product posts always fell flat—people aren’t shopping there.

Brynne Tillman 24:40
I’m anti-product posts on LinkedIn too. It’s better for pre-call research, mapping decision-makers, and adding value. When you start with your champion, you can show a clear plan of stakeholders for the next 18 months. That’s more effective than pushing product.

Brian Beedenbender 25:39
Agreed. The closest you get is, “Our company finished this big project and we’re excited to launch it.” That’s it.

Brynne Tillman 25:54
Today is the book launch for The LinkedIn Edge—number one bestseller. My post shares “10 Lessons from the LinkedIn Edge.” We’re promoting, but with value.

Brian Beedenbender 26:24
Yes, that drives SEO. In our industry, people ask practical questions: “What’s the best 3D printer for schools?” or “For robotics competitions?” Content should answer those questions. That’s where leads come from.

Brynne Tillman 27:02
Awesome. Is there a question I should have asked?

Brian Beedenbender 27:14
The key advice for any sales rep: this job isn’t as complicated as people make it. Know your product, be a person, keep learning, analyze failures, and don’t blame others. Do that consistently, and you’ll be successful.

Brynne Tillman 27:51
I love that. A great leader supports reps in tough times and celebrates wins.

Brian Beedenbender 28:10
Our company is Teq, teq.com, serving K–12 and higher ed across the U.S. We sell products, provide teacher training, and support project-based learning. You can reach me at bryanbeedenbender@teq.com or on LinkedIn under the same name.

Brynne Tillman 28:42
Thank you so much for your time. Listeners, don’t forget to make your sales social.

Outro 28:50
Thanks for watching. Join us again for special guest instructors sharing marketing, sales training, and social selling strategies. Hit subscribe for the latest episodes of Making Sales Social. Give this video a thumbs up and comment on what you want to hear next. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Youtube Music, and Amazon Music. Visit our website, socialsaleslink.com, for more information.