40: Top Cintas Sales Executive - Paul DiVincenzo - Relationships, Focus, Adaptability and Action

0:08 Scott Ingram: You're listening to the Sales Success Stories podcast, where we deconstruct world-class sales performers to provide insights and strategies to help you improve. To learn more, visit us at top1.fm. Here's your host, Scott Ingram. This episode is sponsored by our own Sales Success Summit, where you'll have an opportunity to meet at least half half of the top 1% sales performers who have appeared on this show, including this week's guest, as well as the star of the last episode, Phil Terrill from Microsoft. That's happening here in Austin, May 7th and 8th. For all the details, go to top1summit.com. Today on the Sales Success Stories podcast, my guest is Paul DiVincenzo, who works on global accounts and strategic markets as a senior sales executive at Cintas. Welcome to the show, Paul.

1:01 Paul DiVincenzo: Thanks. Thanks for having me, Scott.

1:02 Scott Ingram: Now, if you're new to the show, these episodes can be long, and something tells me this one might be extra long. So I always try and front-load some of the value. That way you can always get some great insights in the first 10 minutes or so. It's also a great way to go back and review previous episodes to remind yourself of the most important lessons. So Paul, what would you say are the top 3 things that have allowed you to get to number 1 for the last 5 years there at Cintas?

1:31 Paul DiVincenzo: So I think the top 3 things for me have been, uh, relationships and what I call being battle ready, uh, focus and mastery. We'll talk about these and then adaptability and action. So it's a total of 6, but I combine them into 3 because I think they go together.

1:46 Scott Ingram: That's a good cheat.

1:47 Paul DiVincenzo: Yep. So really, you know, with relationships and being battle ready, um, you know, I think this is a core of being successful in sales. And probably more than just that, but in sales specifically, at least I've found being in a couple different industries, you have to be very quick to build relationships. That's with the customer as well as with internal folks. So whether that's VPs or people that you need to approve your deals internally, building those relationships quickly and really understanding each element that goes into it is what I call being battle ready, meaning you are prepared to make that deal happen. And the more you know and the more you truly understand what you're talking about, that leads me into number 2. You're able to really focus with your customer on what they need. Then you also have a mastery of what you're talking about. And that could be anything from the actual product or solution or service you're providing, all the way to internally, whether you're having a business conversation about how this makes business sense for the company. And then leading down into number 3, so really being adaptable and taking action. You know, things change consistently in business, and so being able to adapt to those different scenarios you know, enabled to action, take action on those items for me has been the key to success. So running through those in depth, we can go into them even more. But I think those things are what I keep in the forefront of my mind.

3:28 Scott Ingram: So, you know, I think what's really interesting about this and when you speak to relationships, one of my go-to places and I've mentioned this a few times on the show, but one of the best articles I've ever read on, on networking was a Harvard Business Review article called Better Sales Networks. And the assumption that I think a lot of people come to is they only think of one dynamic. Of relationships and sales, right? They think of the Rolodex and the ability for somebody to bring in deals, but this article talks about there really being 4 different kind of relationship pieces to that puzzle, and the Rolodex and getting into opportunities is only one. But what you talked about is sort of a consistent theme through those that I'm really interested in, is really managing the internal side of sales, right? It's not just managing the relationship and the opportunity with the customer, but you're also managing expectations and things internally. Can you talk more about that and how you think about that and how you're going about managing it?

4:24 Paul DiVincenzo: If we jump all around over here, all over the place here, you'll have to bear with me because I can only, I can only speak hopefully to the audience through my own experience. So I can't really, I'm not going to talk a lot of high-minded things, but I think I'll talk about things that people in many industries can relate to. And so I've got a pretty wide array of industry expertise. So we'll talk about that maybe in my history of sales, but within my current company and my prior company, so I've been with Cintas for almost 15 years now. And what I found here, and I also found it a little bit over at ADP, was that the internal sale is what I call it. And I think we all call it in many cases, sometimes is harder. Than the external sale. So for new sellers coming into the company I work for today, I really try to impress upon them that there's, there's really 3 types of sales in the particular services and products that we offer now. And one is selling the customer on Cintas. So one is selling the customer on why we're so great, why we're better than the competition, all of those things. And then internally, then you have to Sometimes you're out and you're presenting to the customer and you've created a solution and you have to bring that back internal and convince the company, convince our company why we need to take on that particular business under those particular circumstances. And that could be a combination of pricing, terms, agreement, and a layer of other things. But that internal sale for me And my ability to get everybody on my team. So mentally, my… and a lot of what I do is really mental. What I mean by that is I think to myself as I'm going through my day, and I'll do it today, even when we're done with this call, is I think I need to get everybody on Paul D's team. So I need executives, I need approvers, I need service people. So in my business, I actually have a physical product and service that goes and is truck delivered on a weekly basis. It's not an electronic deliverable. It's a physical product and service. So I need to have literally an army on board with me to make sure we deliver to the customer. But before I can even do that, I need to have them mentally on board with me on why they need to deliver it the way I'm asking them to deliver it. And deliver on some promises to the customer that may or may not be standard. So that internal sale, the way I've accomplished that has really been kind of what I talked about in my 3 success focus areas is making sure I'm focused on the relationship. So to me, making sure that I'm taking into account, I'm not just trying to shove something down somebody's throat internally or externally. I'm trying to figure out, How is it a win-win for everybody? And then at the same time, package it in a way that they understand it has been a key to my success. I've seen a lot of people in my role approach it just like a sledgehammer, and that typically doesn't work, at least for me. So really understanding the psychology behind how everybody's looking at something and then packaging it in a way that they feel good about it. And really getting them on my team, uh, has been the key to success for me.

7:57 Scott Ingram: And talk a little bit more. What do you mean by packaging it?

8:00 Paul DiVincenzo: Yeah. So, so again, I'm going to talk kind of specific to, to my business today, but I think it relates to almost every business. So, you know, and I don't think a lot of people talk enough about it, but, um, when people are selling, we're always talking about value and we're talking about, um, building something. But people leave out the fact that pricing is always a factor. And when I say packaging it, in my business today, we've got thousands and thousands of SKUs of different items that can be offered to a customer. So in what I'm selling today, we go in and we actually offer a physical product to a customer. So the people listening, if they haven't looked on Cintas website, we're literally offering, for example, for the software folks, they're gonna probably think we're crazy, but we offer uniforms as a service. And so when you think of hotels, resorts, manufacturing facilities, we offer a wearable product that a company's employees are gonna wear on their backs every single day. 5 days or 6 days a week. It's going to be everything from just getting dirty, meaning working on machinery, and it can go all the way to the level of being a cleanroom garment, which is… Intel is one of our customers, and they use a very specific cleanroom garment whereby you can't have any lint or any specific items on it, because when they're in that manufacturing facility, it needs to be ultra clean so that our iPhones and electronics work just fine. So there's a huge array of things that need to be taken into account from technical to employee level. Literally somebody wears a 36 pant and they don't want a 38, they want a 36. And so just in that one product set, and there's 5 others, they're very specific and very physical. And then they need to be structured and delivered each week. And so taking that into account, pricing is a huge factor. So when we look at competitiveness, we look at packaging, all the different products and services that go into a solution for the customer. And then in my business, we deal with long-term agreements. So our agreement typically is about 60 months. So it's 5 years and there is indemnity if somebody gets injured wearing our garments. There is pricing increases. We actually build in price increases so that every year we get a price increase, which sounds crazy from the outside looking in. So there's a package of things that need to come together across multiple decision makers and teams, sometimes on the company side, to ensure that a deal comes in and gets signed. Gets executed, and that's just the beginning. Then we have to actually go roll it out, sometimes across the country to multiple locations. That's what I mean by packaging. When you think of just what I described, even if you don't understand all the elements, you can envision that there's a lot of people involved, and every stakeholder, to use a traditional term, every stakeholder wants something out of that deal. So The customer, just to use the uniform example, the customer wants to make sure that their employees look great or that they're wearing the proper garment so that it doesn't damage their product. So there's quality control, there's image, the employee themselves wants to wear something that's comfortable, pricing has to be in line from a competitive standpoint. We, Cintas, we have to get an agreement that makes sense. Many customers just want to give us an annual PO, and in our business that doesn't work because it's capital intensive. So we amortize things out over multiple years. So we have to take into account negotiating a multi-year agreement, and then we have to educate the customer in many cases that in our business there's escalating costs, and those can be raw materials such as cotton or other things that are imported. And so we have to build in price escalation that can accommodate those things, whether it's tied to an index like Consumer Price Index, or it's scheduled out almost like a mortgage where we were agreeing upon a specific price increase. So those are just some of the elements that takes into account… take into account when I put together my deals. So I have to… each and every sale in my world takes all of those elements, and many more. But those are just the big ones. And so I have to really, as I'm approaching the customer, I have to build enough value so that they are ready to do those elements, meaning sign a long-term agreement. They have to see why they would do that versus just buy something. And then internally, I have to bring that back in and it has to make financial sense. You know, it's, it's a, it's, there's a lot of money put up front. So when we outfit a company in our products and services, we typically don't charge a large upfront implementation fee. We charge a portion of it, but very little in context to the total investment. So we really have to make sure that it's structured the right way so that we can do what we promised the customer, perform at the levels we promised them, we give them the value, but we've also obviously built in enough margin so that we can make, make it make business sense. So that's what I mean by packaging is really taking into account all those components every single time. And they come together in different ways every single time. Sometimes I'll win in one area for one customer and I have to repackage it internally and say, okay, you know, we're going to have very, very slim margins on this section of the business, but we've, been able to package it up so that this other section makes sense. So as a whole, this is a good deal.

14:10 Scott Ingram: Yeah. And I, that's what I was really interested in too, is you're not just packaging it for the customer, right? It's not just what they're buying, but it's also sort of how you're packaging and communicating this is the value of the business to the company and doing that internal sale.

14:22 Paul DiVincenzo: Oh yeah. That's a big portion of it for us.

14:24 Scott Ingram: Yeah, absolutely. So I love that you gave the context around Cintas for those who aren't familiar, but tell us just a little bit more about your role and what your territory is.

14:33 Paul DiVincenzo: My current role is within our Global Accounts Division, and so we've got a couple levels within that. My territory, and I'll talk about that here in a moment, but really our focus, to give you an idea, is I focus on what we call the mid-market, which is just below our Fortune 500 accounts. And currently I'm focused in the commercial space, so those would be what I described earlier, which would be the, so Southern California is my territory. So think SpaceX is based here in Southern California. That's one of my customers. Coffee Bean, which is a regional coffee and tea facility and retail space. Those, that's one of my customers. So commercial, meaning manufacturing, service, retail, those would be the areas I'm focused today. I got some history in government sales and some other things that we can talk about, but that's where I'm focused now. And the Southern California market is my current area. So that would be from Santa Monica down to San Diego. And I recently just got back Las Vegas. I used to have it and they decided they want me to cover that again. So now I'm covering that as of a month ago.

15:51 Scott Ingram: Excellent. Well, and you've hinted at it in a couple of different ways, but talk us through kind of the origin story and how you got into sales and what that journey has looked like.

16:01 Paul DiVincenzo: So I think people will enjoy this because my sales origin story is, um, it might be a little long, but just bear with me. Somebody told me a long time ago, facts tell and stories sell, and that's exactly how I operate. Um, so I, in Southern California, Uh, when I first came out for college, I worked at a local grocery chain. It's called Stater Brothers. So for the people listening in Southern California, they'll know what that is. But, um, you know, if you have a local grocery chain in any area that anybody listening knows of, um, I was a grocery bagger, uh, in college. I came out to California. I have family out here and my aunt owned a cell phone store. And, uh, I just, I was, she was always very, uh, had told me about sales and I didn't really understand it. But, uh, long story short, uh, I guess got tired of working at the grocery store and I ultimately went over and, um, started working at a different cell phone store because I didn't want to make it feel like my, my, um, family was giving me anything. And during that time, um, the owner He basically said, hey, I'm gonna pay you hourly, and then I'm gonna show you what commission would look like. And I'm like, whatever, I don't know what you're talking about, commission. And so I sold, I just was selling, and I was always a natural. For me, I'm always an outgoing person, so being able to talk to people and engage with people, I wasn't like an introvert that had to go outside. So I didn't know what I was doing, I was just engaging with people, and still today that's my style. Uh, if I'm engaging and making connection, uh, that's what matters. And then if I'm competent, then that's what should get me the deal. But at that point I didn't really know. And so I basically just was selling cell phones. And, um, for people that don't know, in the mid to late '90s, when you sold a cell phone, you could make between $500 and $1,000 per phone you sold. It was crazy. And, uh, ultimately, Uh, he showed me, hey, I'm paying you $8 an hour, but if I paid you commission, this is what it would look like. And I said, put me on commission right now. And, and so that… I proceeded to be in sales at a local cell phone store. And then I moved into a corporate environment, uh, with a company in Southern California called LA Cellular, which was ultimately taken over by AT&T. And so I worked retail sales, which people may not consider sales, but if you've ever seen some of the unique personalities that walk into a cell phone store when their phone is not working, you're not only selling your product, but you're selling people out of losing their minds in some cases. So even in the '90s, you know, that was sales, but I moved into the corporate environment of LA Cellular, then AT&T. And, uh, with AT&T, I started moving into a little bit of outside sales. And so that was my, my start. And at that time, during that whole period of time, um, I was, so that started me around 19 or 20 in sales. And, um, it was 100% commission. So at that point, you know, for people listening, especially the younger sellers, they may not be in a position that's 100% commission, but Sales for a long time was a 100% commission program. You may have gotten almost a payday loan from your company, which I did. It was called a draw. And every week or 2 weeks that I got paid my salary… I have my quotes in the air now… my salary was really just a draw, which was a loan against the commissions you could make. So you're very motivated to try to hit that number and make money, not just be in debt to the company. So that was kind of my start. And then I went through AT&T and I moved from AT&T over to ADP, which is Automatic Data Processing. I take that back. I, my timelines are getting messed up. I went to Cintas actually, and people may not see this on my LinkedIn, but I went from AT&T to Cintas. In 2001. So from the late '90s to 2001, and I was a local sales rep for Cintas in 2001 for 3 years. Did very well. I was President's Club my first year out. My second year I was on President's Club pace, and I had… or my wife and I had our second child at that point. And You know, we had our first child when I was with AT&T, and, um, there's not many more things that would motivate at least me than that. So when, uh, when we had our first kid, I was very young and, uh, and I was selling 100% commission program. Thought many times of just getting a salary job on, on the, the months that were a little bit down. But, you know, to me, Scott, that was, that was kind of my motivation. And believe it or not, still to this day it is. I, I really look at it as knowing exactly what I'm doing and why I'm doing it is what, what can push me to put in the hours that it takes, I think, to be a top performer. And so family has been that for me for a long time, partially just because I had children very young and So I had a little baby to take care of, and there was more than a few days I was driving around, and when I didn't want to go to that next appointment or make that next phone call, it was, it was, you know, like you got to take care of your kids. And, and then we had our second child at Cintas, and there was some, some complications. So he's fine now, but at the time it was very touch and go. He had an issue with his throat, so when he was born, he was Very premature. He literally fit in the palm of my hands. And it, that was another moment where, um, you know, I, Anthony is my younger son and he literally couldn't breathe. He was gasping for breath. Um, as soon as he came out of the womb, he was in something called the NICU, which is the neonatal intensive care unit. And kind of back to my second key of success, focus and mastery. I actually lived at Loma Linda University Medical Center for 3 months. Um, I, I literally lived there. I slept there. I ate there. I showered there. I shaved there. And I went to the field because I was on 100% commission. I went to the field from the hospital. And every morning at 6:00 AM, I met the doctors for their rounds to check in on my son. And the night before, this was, um, this was 2002 and 2003. The internet wasn't what it is today on mobile. So I would drive home, do my mark… my research on what types of drugs they were giving them, what the doctor and I debriefed on the day before, um, so that I could meet them for their rounds at 6:00 AM. And we can debrief on where my son's condition was at and what we're going to do next. And then I would, um, go ahead and leave for the day, go sell, come back midday, uh, to check in, come back late in the day, and check in with the night doctor. And everything ended up working great, but working out great thanks to a great ENT that we had. And ultimately though, those types of experiences definitely are a key component of what drives me in taking into account, for example, you know, building relationships. That's selling, but that's also, you know, in the hospital. I mean, believe it or not, my doctors, my lead doctor's name was Dr. Slaughter and she was amazing. But building a relationship was huge. When I say being battle-ready, meaning really knowing what I'm talking about, whether that's selling or something personal, I use that every day. Focus on what I'm doing, you know, really, Um, being in the moment is a huge thing for me, and then being masterful at what I'm doing. So, um, the joke in the hospital at that time was they thought I was a medical student or something, um, because I just, I dove in and I literally learned what was going on so that I could better understand it. And, um, and then being able to adapt and take action. So for me, that's a, that's kind of a story that goes along with selling to me because I, feel like selling can be more than just what it is, meaning people can talk about tools and tactics, but I don't care if it's business-to-business sales. Really, to me, we're people-to-people, and that for me is what I keep in the forefront of my mind. I'm not just selling a product or service. I really am engaging with people. And if what I'm doing can help them, then I'm gonna make that recommendation. And then I'm gonna do my best to fight for them for pricing, for terms. And then I'm gonna go internally and fight, you know, why that should come together. And it sounds maybe more dramatic than it really is, but when I, when you have a personal anchor, I think people feel that and you really, they really see you differently. They don't think you're trying to sell them anything. Or internally, they don't think you're trying to push a deal through. They really know that you have the best intentions at heart, and that's really what I try to keep in the forefront for me.

25:49 Scott Ingram: Wow, so, so much good stuff in, in that story. A lot of, a lot of interesting connection points for me. So I'm pretty sure I was an LA Cellular customer in the mid-'90s in Southern California. They would have had my pager contract, to date myself a little bit, and then sold for ADP. And then my second daughter was also a guest of the Nick Cube. Fortunately, that was… she was only about 5 weeks early, and that was a day and a half. So it wasn't some big long, uh, thing like it was for you. I can't imagine 3 months in that scenario because even, even 24 or 36 hours was absolutely intense.

26:27 Paul DiVincenzo: Yeah, for sure. It, it's, um, you know, it definitely, you know, like I said in the beginning, um, I can only speak to my experiences, but, um, and I think that's all we can do. But I think that's Those things to me are what make sales exciting. For me anyways, I am curious and I'm truly interested. Yeah.

26:49 Scott Ingram: Well, and in that scenario, I mean, that's life-changing, life-impacting stuff. You know, you've got to be on top of it.

26:57 Paul DiVincenzo: Yeah. You know, I think though, you know, some people, I relate those really heavy that really heavy scenario, maybe to what would be considered much lighter, is just selling a product or service. But, you know, when I think about it is when you… what we're really doing in sales, Scott, to me is engaging with people. I don't really know where I picked that up, but what I really try to do, for example, I always try to engage with people. And that sounds very… people might be thinking, of course you do. But I think a lot of times if you're an experienced seller especially, but even new people, you can become very apathetic where you're, you're really just intently focused on what you're trying to sell and what you're trying to accomplish, whether that be your number or your goal or your KPI or whatever. And I try, I really try not to ever allow that in my mind. Because I think that it clouds the way I operate. So for me, selling, I don't get very many moments to engage with the customer initially. So my first meeting with them has to be memorable and it's also gotta be real. And so I really try to keep that in the forefront of my mind because that is If I don't, and I've, I've just like everybody else, some days I'm rushing through my day and I'll think back on something that I did and I'm just like, that was, that was lazy. You know, you could have, you were moving too quickly. Um, and I know that sounds like something that, um, maybe is not relevant, but I think even today more than ever, it's, it's relevant just because We've got, you know, just in the example in the beginning of this, this interview, um, you know, you just asked if things were off and they weren't going to beep and, you know, and that's, that's what the world we live in. I mean, you literally have to check 15 different things so that it doesn't interrupt your train of thought in your mind. And, um, when you're in front of a customer, that's exactly the same for them. So really engaging with them is almost, has become imperative, but it's, It's just something that I think is a differentiator.

29:18 Scott Ingram: Yeah, and so hard to do anymore. I mean, to your point, I mean, that's great stuff. So, I mean, you have had a long, very successful career. Knowing all that you know now, is there anything that you would have done differently if you could have been more intentional and started over? You know, I think you, like so many of us, this wasn't something that we planned on, you know, like people plan on being a doctor or an engineer. All the rest of us in sales sort of land here and go, oh, well, this is pretty cool. How would you take what you know now to start differently, if you would?

29:51 Paul DiVincenzo: So I guess the answer would be, I overall, I wouldn't do a whole lot different. However, I think that what I would do more… I have, I've read a lot of books, so I guess I would call them my mentors. But I think I would really seek out more in-person mentors. And try to, um, try to listen more on those things. So for me, I've always, and it's worked. So, I mean, it's kind of almost going against the success I've had, but, um, I think that I've, I've always tried to find my own way. So, um, it's funny because I don't know how many other people listening think like this, but I hope a lot just because I don't want to be alone on it. But, you know, Even from a… I'll just give you an example. I've been at companies that have pretty great training programs, and a lot of times as I'm seeing things happen on that, I'm always trying to find my own way. And sometimes I've done it for no other reason than just to say I found my own way. And I think I would really try to find some mentors that I really, really respect, and that could be in personal items. Um, whether it be investing or in other things, but in sales in general, I would just find more in-person mentors and really try to engage with them. I haven't done a good job of that. Mostly what I've done is find my own way and then execute. And, um, I think I could have benefited and I have started to search those out in the last few years, um, to really find great mentors.

31:26 Scott Ingram: Yeah. Love that. And certainly a similar conclusion that I came to. I mean, that's why we're talking right now, and it's certainly why I decided to, to get the summit going, maybe even a little bit prematurely, um, you know, because it's, it's, it's one thing to listen to a one-way podcast. It's another thing to be in the same room and ask the questions and have the conversations and, and build the, the relationships. Let's talk a little about just some more of the context. I mean, put your results in perspective for us a little bit over time there at Cintas.

31:57 Paul DiVincenzo: So I'll try to, I'll try to put it in perspective just in a real way. So what I mean by that is I'm not gonna… I'm gonna give you some real examples and try to describe what we do so that it makes a lot of sense. So in our business, and I'm just going to use one division. So if you happen to look at Cintas, I'm what's called an enterprise seller. So I lead our engagement with a customer or a client. Across all of our divisions. And so if you mentally look at that, and for any of the enterprise sellers on the, on listening, they'll know that that includes a lot of products and specific items within that. But I'm going to use the one we're most known for. That's the uniform business. And when I say uniforms, especially for the software as a service people that haven't had any experience in this, it's probably going to feel like a weird conversation, but I'll just tell you to envision if you go into a a Marriott, every Marriott in the country, the suit at the front desk is a Cintas suit, all the way to the person coming in to do maintenance in your room is wearing a Cintas uniform, to the housekeeper walking in the, in the room to clean it is wearing a Cintas uniform, to the golf course maintenance person out there cutting the grass on the golf course that you go play on, they're probably wearing a Cintas uniform. So to give you, that's to give you some context in that And I'll use that example to give you some context on the numbers. So the way that program works is that every single week, Cintas shows up at… I'm going to use the resort as an example, but it could be a manufacturing, it could be a cleanroom environment, technology company. They get a delivery of clean uniforms for their employees every week, and then we pick up the dirties every week. We take them back to our facility, we wash them, we clean them, we repair them, we inspect them, or we replace that garment. So we're doing a barcoded system that we scan in everything, and we physically have a plant full of people that are inspecting all these uniforms and then bringing them back clean, ready to wear for the next week. So it becomes a rotation every week. So our service is invoiced and paid for Every single week, 52 weeks a year. So to give you an example, I'm going to give you an example from cell phones. When I first came on board with Cintas, I was a rep in 2001, and I was with AT&T, and we were selling a cell phone. And just to give you an example, you know, if we're selling a cell phone, people on this call probably still pay about $100 a month, and depending on what they've got. And when you go into the Cintas world, you would go over to… I'll just give you a small, small customer. They pay like a… let's say you go down to your local automotive shop to get your repairs done and they've all got uniforms, or your dealership, all those technicians have uniforms, and they pay anywhere between $100 a week on the super small customers up to $50,000 a week depending on what products and service set they've got. So on the small end, it can be really small, and on the large end, it can be really big. And it's weekly service, weekly billing added up over the course of the year, over the multi-year agreement. So to give you some context, last year when I was number 1 in the country, so that was my, that was my 4th number 1, I did $53,000 in weekly revenue. And so that adds up to a total contracted value of $13 million A little bit over $13.7 million. And so that was last year's sales contracted revenue, $13.7 million. And prior years were a little bit lower than that because every year we always get our number raised. I think everyone probably can relate to that if you've been in sales for a minute. And the prior year was $43,000. So it was about $11 million. So it was a pretty big jump. And the prior year to that was $41,000 in weekly revenue. Um, so that was about $10 million. And, um, so each year it's, it goes backtrack a little bit into my years of sales, uh, obviously lower numbers, um, depending on the position I was in. Um, but for the past 4 to 5 years, I've done anywhere from $9 to $13 million in contracted revenue.

36:16 Scott Ingram: Perfect. And that gets you to number 1. Talk a little bit. It sounds like Cintas has got a pretty good structure in terms of recognition from President's Clubs and Diamonds and all this other stuff. Can you, can you talk about that just a bit?

36:28 Paul DiVincenzo: Cintas has a very deep sales structure. Um, and even with that deep sales structure, Cintas is more of an operational company. Um, because if you were to look at it, if I was to be able to whiteboard it out for you, um, you know, we have a multi-billion dollar sales organization and then we have a multi-billion dollar service organization. Because all… most of our products are delivered. Um, you know, we're talking about… I'll just give you an example. We have a fleet. Um, we have about the 8th largest fleet of trucks on the road. When you look at number 1 and number 2, it's like UPS and FedEx.

37:09 Scott Ingram: I was just gonna say, I bet there's people listening to this right now that are going to laugh out loud when they drive past a Cintas truck.

37:15 Paul DiVincenzo: Yeah, it's gonna definitely be… once they see the logo People are gonna, all of a sudden, it's gonna be like that car you just saw. Now you're gonna see it everywhere. And you're gonna see it walking into buildings because we do floor mats and our logo's on the side of the floor mats. And, you know, especially hotels, but, you know, really many, many other local businesses. So when you look at in context, just our operational structure, we have over 450 locations across the United States. We have upwards of, 2,000 salespeople on the street every day. So that's local zip code sales reps all the way up into the enterprise sellers. And within the operational side, the 450 locations, we have thousands and thousands of people working in those facilities every single week and delivering products out to our customers every single week. And so when you take all that into account, it's a moving target every single, you know, month, but we have the 8th largest fleet of vehicles out on the road every day. So you definitely, once that logo goes up there, I'm sure everyone will start to see it. But moving back over into the sales side, Cintas has a very deep sales history and a very deep sales structure, which is very structured. And so I'll give you an example. So we've got our different divisions are uniforms, facility services. And when you say… when I say facility services, think Floor mats, towels, you know, restroom products. And you don't think about these things until later on, but you go into your favorite restaurant and I probably have a facility service sales rep that went in there and sold them some mats for the front door, some towels for the kitchen, some aprons for their people at the counter, some chef coats if they're cooking food. Go into the restroom and you'll see air fresheners. You'll see toilet paper, paper towel dispensers, and that seems like something you can just buy anywhere, like on Amazon, and it is. But when you really look out to multiple locations and companies that are trying to scale, they need consistency and predictable, predictable deliveries. And so that's really what we structure for them is we structure consistent image and then predictable deliveries over many, many locations across multiple years. So I'm giving them that structure that can scale up with them. So you got uniforms, facility services, and then we have a deep clean division. So people don't think about this, and I'll just continue to use the hotel example because it's easy, but people don't think, they just think that's a person coming in and kind of scrubbing the rugs. But when you think of a hotel or a casino, if you think of all the different types of rugs, drapery, stone and tile work. And if you walk into a big hotel and just look for a moment at all the surfaces, it's not typically, you know, Stanley Steamer coming in to clean those. Cintas has a multimillion-dollar truck system that's coming in to clean those professionally, and we can go up to 50 floors up for the high-rises. And so you really got a unique set there. And then we have first aid and safety. So if If people get injured in the building, we offer first aid safety programs. And the final one is fire services. So when you think again about a building, they have mandatory inspections for their fire extinguishers, their sprinkler systems, and many other things related to fire services. Those are really our kind of 5 big divisions that I sell across. And to put it in a simple context, we're helping those companies You know, with their image and safety of their people and their buildings. And that's really the highest level. And then we try to combine all of those over time. Sometimes they start with one and then we, we build our portfolio around that within that organization. I wanted to give you that because of all those different divisions have different sellers. So we've got uniforms, facility services, tile and carpet, first aid and safety, and fire. And so we have a really structured President's Club and Diamond level structure for each one of those. And so the sellers are, they start off as a, sometimes as a trainee, and they have criteria that they have to earn to get a territory. Once they get a territory, then they've got specific numbers and KPIs that they move through there. And so at each one of those different divisions, There is a President's Club and a Diamond level for each one of those. And, um, in some of the emerging divisions, um, we also have created, um, you have to be number 1 in that division to get Diamond level, but for the most part, it's a hard line. Um, so there's, there's a specific structure that they're required to hit.

42:04 Scott Ingram: And, and hard line being typically kind of top 2% land, right?

42:09 Paul DiVincenzo: Yeah. So we, we exactly. So we have, um, really a hard line number. Um, but yeah, usually you're not going to get there unless you're in the top 2% to hit diamond level. So that's a big, that's a big win for us. Uh, if you can hit diamond level, um, that is the premier. Uh, there's nothing higher than that in the, uh, the seller roles at Cintas.

42:31 Scott Ingram: Beautiful. Well, unless you're number 1 and there's other diamonds in your division, right?

42:35 Paul DiVincenzo: Yeah. Yeah. So if you're number 1, you, you're, It's kind of like, um, you're Diamond for sure, because you're number one, but also you, uh, you're still Diamond. So in some cases there's a, there might be 2 or 3 Diamond level winners. Um, but of course, just like anything, there's only number one.

42:55 Scott Ingram: So, I mean, you, you've accomplished a lot. I think you said 10 President's Clubs and, you know, 5 Diamonds or something like that. What are you most proud of though, from, from an accomplishment perspective across all of that?

43:08 Paul DiVincenzo: You know, I would say that, um, just based on my history, I don't know that I'm definitely very happy and appreciative that I've been number one. I think those are easy to, to kind of, um, almost forget that, that if you've done it multiple times, it almost feels like it's not a challenge anymore. But I think that for me, the thing I've been most happy to do is be in the forefront of new industries. So Cintas, at Cintas, I've been lucky enough to raise my hand multiple times and say, I'll take on that challenge. And the challenge isn't always put forth by our executives, which I think is a credit to Cintas a little bit, is that they come to us, the field folks, and they do it relatively consistently, meaning 2 to 3 times a year, and sometimes more than that, depending on what's going on. And they really ask, what should we be doing next? And I've been able to jump in, in the forefront of a couple positions that didn't even exist before I took them. So during the recession, I took on government sales, which sounds like that was not a good move. But the reality is, is during the recession, um, the government budgets were trailing the private budgets by 2 years, meaning the tax revenues had already been collected. So their budgets didn't decline until about 2 and a half years after the private market started to decline. Um, so I was able to jump into that. Cintas really never had a government-focused selling role. So to answer your question, Scott, it's really, I've been most proud of the fact that I've been able to jump into multiple new Uh, verticals, I guess, and take on new positions and make those a success where we had no success as a company before that. So I was a pioneer in those particular markets.

45:06 Scott Ingram: Awesome. Love that. Now, what about the flip side? I mean, what, what's the biggest challenge?

45:11 Paul DiVincenzo: I would say for me, the biggest challenge is all mental. So, um, I think we talked about this a little bit before and communicated on it, but for me, it's It's, you know, depending on the company, but I think all of our companies now, year by year seems to become very dynamic. And what I mean by that is things are constantly changing around what's required, not only to hit your number and max your comp, but what's required in the marketplace to make it a success. And so mentally, really every year that you get a curveball thrown at you, whether that's an internal curveball because they change the comp or what they want you to focus on or what they feel that the company needs, to how are you going to position that in the marketplace. Those things, that mental toughness and consistently overcoming that and being able to adapt and execute around it. Um, that to me is the biggest challenge in sales and continues to be. So the days I forget it, I think I feel like, um, it wasn't as productive as it could have been. And the days I keep that in, in my mind, and I know that, um, I've overcome these things before. So don't get overwhelmed by whether it be the minutia or the CRM requests or the proposal items that need to happen, but really just know that you want to fight through that every day. And Um, make sure that your mental state is where, you know, it needs to be, to be optimal. And most of us know where that's internally, but we forget to make sure that we're at that balanced level.

46:52 Scott Ingram: Well, and talk about it some more. I know you touched on it in your top 3/6, you know, when you talked about adaptability, right? But I think that that matters so much, right? There's, there's a lot of things that we don't control when you're in an individual contributor sales role, right? We can probably expect that whatever you did last year, your number's gonna be higher than that the next year, right? Your territory is going to change. Things are going to change. You're going to have to adapt. So how do you deal?

47:21 Paul DiVincenzo: Man, I think that, I think this is a big thing, especially I appreciate you putting this thing, this whole podcast together around individual contributors, because I think that is, it's a, it's an unsung hero podcast we've got going on here. We, we literally don't control, um, the majority of what's coming out. So I'll just, um, I'll give you an example and then tell you how I deal with it. So, um, in the last 3 years, I've been asked to focus on 3 separate focus areas. Every year it's changed. And what I built up the prior year really couldn't be used the next year. So, That I think happens a lot. And so the way I deal with it is I really try to go back to my number 2, which is focusing and mastery. I really try to, um, to create… I read this concept and I really use it, which is something called thinking time. Have you heard about this?

48:22 Scott Ingram: Uh, in general, but maybe not the specific you're thinking of.

48:25 Paul DiVincenzo: All right. So, so there's a, there's a, we haven't gotten to books yet, but I'm going to say one here because I think it's a really, Uh, it's a really great one. Uh, it's a new one, but the guy that wrote it, his name is Keith Cunningham. It's not a sales book. It's a business book. And then the book is called The Road Less Stupid. And so his con… there's a concept in this book, um, that I had heard in a speech a few years ago. So I was a pre… I got a preview to this. The book just came out a while, um, maybe a couple months ago, maybe 6 months ago, but the concept has been in my mind for about 3 years and it's something called thinking time. And it's really, where you think about a problem. And so the answer to your question to me is I get thrown a curveball and that could be a KPI, it could be a minimum expectation, it could be changes to the comp plan. And so what I really try to do is stop for just a little bit and think about what this new problem has for me. And a lot of times I'm able to, to think about that problem and ask myself better questions to give myself better choices. And so an example is a lot of times it's, in many cases, it's not a new challenge. It's just a new tweak on last year's version. So that helps instantly reduce my reaction. And that's an emotion. And so I really try to, to to overcome, uh, and adapt based on that is to take emotion out of it, look at the problem, break it down. And then I can really realize, do I have the skills and the history and the knowledge already within me from my personal life or business life that helps me overcome that challenge? And that helps me get me back into a better state.

50:14 Scott Ingram: Good, good stuff. And I think that, I mean, that's, that's the key. I remember having this conversation a long time ago with, with Debe Rapson on the podcast. I mean, we've… she's also had a long career and she dealt with it, I think, in a lot of similar ways, right? Right. You just have to kind of sit back and take the time to evaluate and think about what does this mean and how am I going to deal with it and then get on with it, right? Like the… let's put the emotions behind and put the, put the plan in place. And speaking of plan, let's start to dig into just the habits and the routines and how you're making this happen, right? Because $13 million worth of uniforms is no small feat. Beat, and I'm sure that you have to be really structured in the way that you put this all together. So, talk me through, walk me through if there is such a thing, just sort of a typical day start to finish.

51:05 Paul DiVincenzo: I think routine is a key component, and I think you've asked this in other podcasts, is if you're a morning person or a night person. And for me, I'm a night person and I'm in a morning industry.

51:19 Scott Ingram: What does that mean? How has it become a morning industry?

51:22 Paul DiVincenzo: Okay, so, so most of the time, our, my, my teams, like my service teams that go out and do deliveries and, you know, everybody in that particular division, they typically start around 5:00 AM. They show up to the facilities, they're picking up their products, they're getting ready to go out to their deliveries for the day. So, so they're up and about at like 5:00 AM and And I'm not joking you, Scott. I've, I literally last night, my last email went out at 1:30 AM. And so I am on the extreme night version. So I've really had to make sure that my routine is, is a very key component. So I do a lot of, uh, so Mondays and Fridays, I really try to, try to have as my office days, if you will. And, um, I try to have that. Mostly alone. And so I think that for me, those days are in the beginning of the week, really trying to get my week structured. I've got follow-up, I've got all the things that, that go with selling. I want to make sure that on Monday I'm getting everything to everybody that they need. And most… what I feel is a lot of my customers, they're busy on Monday. So they may not even look at it until Tuesday and I'm okay with that, but I just want to make sure I know it's out of my way and I've given them what I promised them. And then on Friday, same principle, either I'm trying to push out things that I'm following up on, or I'm scheduling for the next week or the following week, because I've found that people are very optimistic on Fridays and they're willing to commit to me on Fridays. But if I try to set something up on Monday, they're, uh, they're not willing to commit. So if I'm trying to, I usually try to do my follow-up on Mondays where I'm, I'm fulfilling my promises. And on Fridays, I'm asking people for time commitments because they're very optimistic on Fridays. And, um, so I really try to use those 2 days as that. And then Tuesday through Thursday, um, are really, you know, you know, call it activity. And so making sure that I'm trying to be in front of decision makers, push a deal forward, you know, meeting whether hopefully it's for a business deal, but sometimes it's just an account review. But regardless of that, it's in front of a customer. So I think just week to week, that's my structure. And then within that, I try to make sure that I'm allocating my time and resources that way. So Monday, Friday, Tuesday through Thursday.

54:00 Scott Ingram: Beautiful. And, and then, I mean, that Friday hack is genius, so we'll, we'll make sure to, to call that one out. That was really good stuff. I'm using that. Um, what do you use to manage just the, the actions that you need to do, all the follow-ups and stuff on the Mondays, for example?

54:17 Paul DiVincenzo: I haven't gone full digital yet. I think that, um, I really have tried different ways, so I'm, I'm going to be excited to to meet with people, um, and really get their hacks. I know that, uh, Trong Nguyen, uh, went fully paperless, but for me, believe it or not, I, uh, I write down my to-do list and then sometimes I type it up just depending on what it is. And I really try to, to just get those things off the list. So nothing, I wish I would say it's really fancy, but it's not. And it's really just Sunday night. Um, I try to make that list. And that way I can get it out of my head and I can actually get to sleep. And then on Monday, I just start knocking it out. Um, the only thing I guess I would do a little different is I take that list and, um, I break it into chunks. And so I break it into things that are, um, they have to get done, meaning they're, they're, they're urgent and important. And then, um, I kind of stack rank them from there. So there's a lot of things. You know, I think we all have that are urgent, but not important, meaning they don't impact either a customer or yourself. They're just like, they're things that need to get done. So they're, they are important, but they're, uh, they're not something that's critical. So I really try to take that list. I initially brainstorm it. Then I just break it out into a little bit more groups that I say, okay, these ones are a must. I must get these done. And if these ones down here at the bottom kind of flow out throughout the week, That's not as critical, but I just know that I need to get them done throughout the week. Um, that's kind of how I do it. So I don't overthink it too much.

55:53 Scott Ingram: Nice. And then what about other habits and routines? I mean, are you working out? Walk, walk us through other stuff. I know you're a big book reader too. Where does that fit in? Those kinds of things.

56:03 Paul DiVincenzo: So really basic habits and routines. Um, I really try to have a little bit of quiet in the morning. Um, not a significant amount. Um, I definitely would like to do more type of meditation stuff, but really for me, I mean, when I'm home, I picked up, uh, I don't know if you guys have heard of Bulletproof Coffee, but I was drinking coffee before, but the only weird part of this coffee is just that I make it a long way. So I boil the water, I pour it over the coffee, and I've been doing that for a couple of years now. And, um, it's really helped me. So I just, take a little quiet time in the morning and it's not a lot. And as I'm doing those very basic routines, I'm thinking about my day and kind of mentally preparing myself. So that's for me, that's the morning. Remember, I'm a night person, so I'm not getting up at 4 in the morning, banging out a gym workout for better or worse. And then typically a couple of times a week, I'm doing some basic you know, physical exercise. So just to have a, I'm lucky enough to have an elliptical machine in my house and a Bowflex, uh, you know, weight set. So I do the basics, uh, try not to be, uh, too out of shape, but those obviously do help. Um, but I really, I don't, um, I don't overdo it. So those, those are really my 2 basic items that I do.

57:26 Scott Ingram: So you've teased me and opened the door a couple of times with, with the books. Let's, let's cover that now. I mean, I typically ask kind of what the information diet looks like. What is that? And I know you'll get into books, so maybe give us your top 2 or 3 most impactful or however you wanna address that.

57:44 Paul DiVincenzo: So I guess I would break it up maybe into if you're a new seller. For me, when I was a new seller, I read very tactical books on sales. So the first, people might laugh at this, but the first book I ever read on sales was Selling for Dummies by Tom Hopkins. And it actually was a very good book and had a lot of really standard, uh, great tips in sales. And as I progressed in my young sales career where I did a lot of cold calling, um, one of the books that saved me, cause I absolutely hated cold calling, um, that's by phone or in person, but by phone specifically. And, um, there's a book by Stephan Schiffman. Um, it's called Cold Calling Techniques That Really Work. And, uh, and it, it is a very applicable book, uh, even for experienced sellers, uh, just in transitionary conversations. So, so those, those really helped me in the beginning of my career. And I know they sound really ridiculous and basic, but, but those are those. And other than that, in sales, um, I've, you know, just as if you've been around sales a long time, I've read the Um, SPIN Selling and Challenger Sales, kind of the classics almost, if you will. And I haven't, as I've moved into my more experienced selling years, um, for better or worse, I've moved into more business or entrepreneurial books and mindset books. So even some classics like Think and Grow Rich are really ones that helped me with mental toughness and making sure that I'm I'm always focused on the right things. And then I've really started to pick up on, on business books over the last few years. So like I said, Keith Cunningham has been a big favorite of mine, and things that are, are really mindset related have helped me a lot. Um, there's a, there's one that I, I really liked, and, um, now I'm, now I'm drawing a blank on it, Scott, but it's, it's, uh, those are, those are the, the business books are the ones that are really Uh, the ones that have been, you know, most impactful to me.

59:52 Scott Ingram: Cool. Well, I'll harass you about that. So once your memory kicks in or you look it up, um, we'll put it in the show notes. So if you go to top1.fm/40, the number 40, uh, we'll have links to every book, uh, that Paul has mentioned here, including the one that has been forgotten.

1:00:10 Paul DiVincenzo: I know, but you know, you know, it was, uh, it was a, it was such a big one for a few years and now it's been a few years. So obviously it's not as big for me.

1:00:18 Scott Ingram: Yeah, for sure. Well, so you mentioned something that seems like a pretty natural progression. It was certainly, I'd say, sort of matches my progression, right? Where you start early on and it's all sales books all the time, and then you sort of progress to it's more business books. And I've really gotten into biographies the last couple of years and things like that. Would you suggest that people change that process? Is that the right flow or does it make more sense to start to mix some of that stuff in maybe a little bit earlier?

1:00:51 Paul DiVincenzo: You know, I think it's, um, I think it's really, I think you can mix it in earlier. So I guess I would relate this to my mentor. Um, if I was to change anything earlier, it would be that is kind of mixing up my mentors. So if you look at books as your mentors and, and, um, you know, as if you, if you don't have the ability or time, or even maybe your personality doesn't lend itself to jumping out and trying to find an in-person mentor. If you look at books as your mentors and the authors as your mentors, I would say, yeah, mix it up sooner. So, you know, the, um, the book that I was forgetting is called The Alliance by Reid Hoffman. And, uh, if nobody knows what that is, Reid Hoffman is the guy that started LinkedIn and the book The Alliance. It's funny because when I read it a few years ago, it, um, it had a big impact on me because, um, I really try not to look at myself as an employee. I think that's a key to my success and, um, is by acting like what I'm doing is my business and I'm taking responsibility for it. And Reid Hoffman has a, the theory of the alliance is that especially sellers, have an alliance with their company. And that alliance is we're going to sell a lot of business, a lot of good business, and we're gonna, you know, get paid and get handled a certain way. And so the alliance was a really great mental concept for me and helped me focus in different ways, kind of back to that adaptability. So I would say, don't just focus on sales books. I think at a certain point, There's only so many tactics that you can learn, and the tactics aren't going to really get you to where you want to go. It's just a matter of learning those in the beginning. Of course, you always want to continue to improve your skillset, but to me, I think there's only so many tweaks and, you know, little bits and pieces that can hold enough value to say, okay, that took me to the next level. What I think can really take people to the next level is having a much wider mindset and concept of business. So I would encourage people to read earlier, I think, even than I did on that.

1:03:05 Scott Ingram: Yeah, good, good stuff. And I think especially if you're selling B2B, and you're reading more broadly, and you're reading business books, it's yet just another thing that you can connect with your customers on, because oftentimes they've read those books, they… it's unlikely that they've read the same sales book that you did.

1:03:21 Paul DiVincenzo: Yeah. Completely. Yep. Yeah, definitely. You can use it for connecting. So I know that depending on what people do on this call, as an example, I'll just give you one example though, that depending on how you get into your customers. So let's call it prospecting. You know, I think that it's an underrated thing and you can use business books to do this. So I'll give you an example. Let's say you want to get into a company and you're a seller and you, you, um, you don't know how you're going to get in, you can do a couple of things, right? You can go on LinkedIn, kind of figure out the organization structure, find out who you think your decision maker is. Um, but one of the things I think people don't do, um, if they're covering a local territory, they can do this physically, or if they're covering a wider territory, they can do it virtually. Um, but in today's market, I think it works really well and you can get a business book and you just write inside the jacket of the business book, something like, I hope this makes a great addition to your business library. I would love to chat with you about what we can do for your business at some point in the future. And you write your name and your phone number and really making a connection with somebody, a business to business especially. Um, you know, those things stand out. And so, um, you send that out or you have it dropped off, um, to that executive, and then you just make a phone call and, and ask to chat. And it may not be the right time for your product or service, or it may be, and it just wasn't on their radar yet.

1:04:57 Scott Ingram: Yeah, absolutely. And I think the, the saying that leaders are readers proves to be very, very true. You know, most, most executives are reading a lot of these books, and I think that, that frequently connects and there's something to talk about there. So great tip for sure.

1:05:13 Paul DiVincenzo: And sometimes you uncover some things in there that you just didn't expect that relates to sales. So, you know, I had one that as I was reading the business book, it said that, it said, you know, asking yourself really great questions. And, you know, as an example, asking yourself, you know, how would I run my business if I only got all my sales from referral only, or, you know, asking yourself a really great question helps you, you know, those, those types of ideas for me have always come from books. So I think that's another reason to kind of expand the reading beyond just a sales book. Yeah. Yeah.

1:05:50 Scott Ingram: Great, great stuff. Reminds me of my conversation with DeJuan Brown, who will be at the summit as well and on the stage. And, you know, he would just look at it and just tear into one little piece of his routine or what he did and figure out, is there a better way that I can be doing thing that takes up so much of my time? And I think you're asking that question around that is a great way to start a process like that.

1:06:13 Paul DiVincenzo: Yeah, it's just a jumpstart. I mean, I think that just you can get so caught up in your day-to-day, pulling out and reading a book and using that as a tool to engage with your customers and then just beyond your customers. I mean, it really is what helps drive additional conversations. So I think those are, those are, those things happen all the time. And a lot of that stimulated, I know that we all, I think we all probably attend the YouTube University is what I call it. We're always Googling. I'm always Googling something at YouTube and learning something new. And sometimes I get away from that, either reading or, or learning something new. And I realized I've become stagnant. So it's kind of this push and pull constantly to make sure I'm doing that. Sure.

1:06:58 Scott Ingram: Well, and speaking of, you know, doing something new and not being stagnant, you mentioned in our previous conversation that you had hired a coach about a year ago. Talk, talk about that and why you decided to do that and what that process has been like.

1:07:11 Paul DiVincenzo: The, uh, it was a, it was a unique thing. So I, this was, I'm trying to, I'm just going to put it for years. So we're in early 2018 now. So it was mid, mid-2016. And I basically just, it wasn't like I had a crisis. I just thought to myself, it's one of those scenarios where I thought I'd become stagnant. I have built great relationships. Um, every year is a struggle. You always got to fight for your business and all of those things and fight the market. But I had not grown, I would call it, for a couple of years. And I didn't realize it. I just had, allowed it to happen without really paying attention. And I think that's, you know, probably can happen to anybody. And so if you get to that point, you know, the really the thought is, and I'm sure people that have been around, you kind of always have this push and pull of, you know, hey, is it time to go into leadership? You know, I've been in an individual contributor role for a long time. I'm well respected in that role. It's not like I can't go into leadership, but is that what I need to push myself to the next level? And what I really thought was, you know, I just, I, it was back to that mentor piece where I could start searching out mentors and really find if that's the right way. But as I was looking at that, you know, I decided that for me just to jumpstart the scenario, I decided to look for a coach. And, um, so I ultimately found that, um, I ended up hiring, and there's probably many of these, but, um, just because his CDs helped me in the beginning of my sales career, I found out that, uh, the Tony Robbins organization has coaches. And, um, so I set up an interview and, um, an ex-executive from the Hyatt Corporation, uh, had become an executive coach. And so I talked with him. And, uh, kind of interviewed him. He interviewed me and decided that I liked the interaction and that I wanted to engage him for, to, to be my coach. So, um, that's been going on for about a year and a half now, and I've really enjoyed it. And the reason I enjoy it most personally is because, and I think you can find it other ways, by the way, but that's why I encouraged it in the beginning of this conversation is you get, you're not getting just pure industry perspective. So an example is I could have got an executive from Cintas to be my coach, but there's always going to be a slant towards something. And so this independent view has really helped me because I'm just like everybody else. You go through your ups and downs and, and you really get to talk through it with somebody and they get to either call you on your BS Or say, you know, hey, you know, you might want to look at it this way. And, um, I've really found high value in those engaging conversations where my perspective, my mindset, back to that, that portion has been twisted in many cases because I'm too involved or too emotionally hijacked by this particular scenario. So I talked through it with my coach. And they can see you doing things that you can't see. Um, and so I'll give you one example of this. I didn't realize this, and it was pretty profound for me. As I was telling my coach a scenario, I kept saying things like, if I do this or something like that. And we ended up spending 4 sessions just on my language. And I joked with him. I was like, you know, I've got a potty mouth because I was, I was really talking to myself in negative terms that I just didn't realize I had developed over time. And they can really see you doing things like that. And it sounds like such a small thing, but it's a really big thing because it's impacting you in ways you're not expecting, either how you're thinking about things, what your internal conversation is about a scenario. And that could be a sale or it could be just overcoming a challenge.

1:11:24 Scott Ingram: That's really interesting. And I mean, you said that early on books were your mentors, and I can certainly relate to that. How, how has that changed in kind of recent history as you've worked to develop more mentor relationships?

1:11:38 Paul DiVincenzo: I think to me, Scott, and I don't know, this is all going to say something about me, but when I was young, I really, I just, I wasn't a good listener, you know. I would hear things and I would take into account certain pieces, but it's surprising that, 'cause I was an athlete growing up, um, I always tried to find my own way. And so now I'm more mentally able to take in, um, advice and things and really incorporate it. So that's over the last few years. Um, not only have I, I have the executive coach, but I've also, I do have engagement with other people, executives in my industry and outside my industry. And so I think it's, I think it's a very personal thing. If you're a person that takes coaching really well, then I think mentorship is great. If you're a person that doesn't, it takes maybe some practice and some work to really take the advice and then figure out how you're going to use it. Because I don't think, at least for me, I think it's coming to me in the right way over the last few years. Being able to actually take mentorship is something that is, um, is personal. And if you're not ready to take mentorship and you're like me when I was young and you're just like, I'm going to do it my own way, um, then you might not be ready. But if you think that, if you think that you are ready, And somebody's… and you, you go, okay, I'm willing to really listen now and take into account other perspectives, then that's when you should seek out mentors. So I think it's just something that it's a personal choice. And when you're ready, um, to make sure that you feel like, you know, you're ready and then do it quickly.

1:13:27 Scott Ingram: Well, let's, let's switch gears a little bit because one of the things that I feel like this show has done at this point is really smashed a lot of the stereotypes around what the best salespeople are. I think a lot of people have this picture in their mind that's not very flattering, and I think getting to know the folks at the level that we do in these conversations is really helpful. So, along those lines, I wonder if there is something that the average sales professional believes or the stereotypical sales professional believes that you you think is crazy?

1:14:02 Paul DiVincenzo: So I think the average person believes that they know how to do everything necessary to, uh, to get the deal. So what I've found is, even though, um, it may go against, um, a little bit of what I just said, I think the average… what I've noticed is the average salespeople, at least in my industry, I can only speak to that. Um, is they are not a team player, is the best way for me to describe it. I think that the average rep thinks that they are a lone wolf, they can do it all on their own, and that they don't want anybody to take their glory, whether that because they got credit for the sale or whatever it is. But I think that to me is what the definition of average is, and I've seen it specifically on performance. So, you know, we've got many, many reps and, um, that's always what I see is they feel like they can do it all on their own versus even though I guess I wouldn't call it mentorship, but being a team player, at least in most, many sales organizations today, you, you have to be a team player and you have to be great at it, um, to really get the largest accounts and largest deals to come together. And finally be done. And that, that team player mentality, um, is what makes you win. And then you and your whole team win, and the numbers reflect that.

1:15:30 Scott Ingram: Love that. Now, what about the flip side? Is there something that you believe that the average performer would think is a little nuts?

1:15:37 Paul DiVincenzo: I think the average performer, uh, would think of us… I'll say it, us, meaning the, the top sellers I think what they think is that we do it all on our own. And I say that because at least in my industry, once you… and I think in every industry, if you're a top performer and you're at a good company, you're put on a pedestal. And so it's funny because you're put on a pedestal and internally, In my conver… in my company, people in my region specifically, they'll go, oh, Paul does this. Oh, this, this, this, Paul this, Paul that. So your name gets thrown around in a lot of conversations. In many cases, you don't even know that it's getting thrown around. And it's almost like, uh, I'd almost call it like the sibling mentality where, you know, a mom or a dad goes, well, if you could only do it like Scott, or you could only do it like Paul. And then these other sellers go, oh, then I need to do this. And their assumption is you're doing it all on your own. But what they're not realizing is you have everybody's on Paul's team. And I literally have gathered up an army of people that helped me get to where I need to go. So, so that's the difference is, is you're almost looking across the aisle going, oh, I see how they do it. They all, they do it on their own because people talk about them this way. They're number one. But really, they don't realize it's completely the opposite of that. I could never get there on my own.

1:17:10 Scott Ingram: So good. And I mean, it ties back so perfectly to kind of that internal sale we were talking about before, right? It's how do you… you've got so many resources in an organization like yours or in any organization. How do you take advantage of that? How do you take advantage of the services team? How do you take advantage of the executive team and everything in between?

1:17:33 Paul DiVincenzo: I didn't think of it in that particular terms, but I'll tell you this. I, um, and I don't know if it's just because I'm Italian, but the way I look at it is I say, I look at it in terms of favors. I know that sounds weird, but the way I, I literally will take on a challenge for one of my partners. So, um, internally we call our employees partners, but, um, I take on a challenge for one of my partners. I'll just give you an example. Um, And that, that helps me with, with them being on my team. So one of my operations managers last week had a, had a customer. It's not my responsibility at all. Had a customer that came to them and it got really competitive on pricing and some other things. And he was just overwhelmed with how to break down the data and then represent it back to the customer in a way that could help save this particular deal. It's not in my portfolio, it's not in my wheelhouse, but he called me up and said, hey, I need your help, and I'm more than happy to do it. So I took a portion of my Saturday to break down the data, send it back to him, and now we're gonna, you know, we're gonna work on this together this week to make sure that we save this customer and that we, you know, take care of his portfolio. And I am willing to do that so many times and I do it so many times. I don't have a specific time that I allocate, so I couldn't give you that. But in any given month, I am probably working on 10% or 15% of my time is purely working on helping across the enterprise with things that may not be on my particular KPIs. That's really helped me to create this team mentality. So when I need something from them, even if it's not in their KPI, they're willing to go the extra mile for me. And, um, I really do that all the time, every day. And I think that's helped me significantly.

1:19:34 Scott Ingram: Such good stuff. You mentioned something earlier that I want to dig into a little bit. I wonder if there are other misconceptions about you that, you know, as people are talking about how great Paul is behind your back, you know, beyond you do it all yourself, right? Are there other misconceptions along those lines that here's the perfect opportunity to sort of set the record straight?

1:19:57 Paul DiVincenzo: Yeah. I mean, uh, I love the fact in your intro of the podcast, when you first reached out to me and I listened to the intro about that, like people, you can point back to this podcast, but I think the number one is, is that I do it all myself. Um, the number 2 is that we don't have the same struggles as somebody just starting out. I think that the answer is, is we absolutely do. So that's everything from organization, activity, struggling with how to follow up best with customers. There is no shortage of those challenges. And I think that we're the top performers. The only difference that we do Um, is we make sure that we, we have a great team and we have everybody on our team. So we're not doing it by ourselves. And we've committed to pushing ourselves beyond what we're supposed to do and into the realm of what we get the opportunity to do. So looking at challenges and routines and all of those things, um, we don't look at those as things we have to do. We look at those things as opportunities that we get to do. And refine. And we're naturally curious, being able to push ourselves to do that. And I think a lot of people, at least internally, in the companies I work for and at Cintas, is they think that he does it all himself. He's got it all figured out, never worries about his number, and doesn't have any stress. And I'm out on the golf course by 2 in the afternoon every day. Literally, that's what I think they think. And it's Could not be further, further from the truth. Uh, I'm like the hardest working man in show business, uh, emailing at 1:30 in the morning, helping people that's not my, not my responsibility to help, but I'm doing it anyways because I know that it's reciprocal and it'll come back when I least expect it. Um, so literally the opposite of what people outside looking in think, uh, is the way I actually operate. And I think that's been, um, what's allowed me to even be successful.

1:22:04 Scott Ingram: So that reminds me, I don't know that a lot of people know, and I'm probably mentioning this way too late in the show for the people who really needed it, but we have been working through and pulling out little snips and clips and snippets from these interviews and posting them on YouTube to the point now where we're getting pretty close to 400 of them. So like I said, now that we're like, I don't know, an hour and a half in. This is probably for the folks who dropped off an hour ago. But if you ever want just a great reminder, um, or you, you just, you want the, you want the gold nuggets and you don't want to have to go back through and listen to an hour and a half, 2 hours, if you go to top1.fm/youtube, that'll take you directly to the Sales Success Stories channel on YouTube. And there's just tons of them in there. And I, I heard a couple of of gold nuggets there. So that's what reminded me of that. So speaking of gold nuggets, I mean, let's dispense some advice here. And as you know, Paul, I try and kind of break this into 2 pieces, and you've already been doing that, right? I think there is a difference between somebody who's just starting out in sales and somebody who is further into their career and just what they need and the challenges and the feedback is a little bit different. So what do you tell somebody who's just getting started in a sales career that's going to help them lay a great foundation to do amazing things?

1:23:27 Paul DiVincenzo: Yeah. So for, for just getting started, it's, it's funny because I think, I think a lot of people come out and they're, you know, especially now with the environment of entrepreneurialism, people really want to try to be a great business person from day one. And a lot of times you just can't do that. So for new sellers, I'd really tell them to focus on becoming an expert in what they're doing. And then really learning how to, how to excel at that. And so the reason to focus on that in the beginning is because you cannot be successful unless you are really great at what you're doing. So I think a lot of people skip over that. And in the world that we, we live in right now, it's easy to swipe this way or click on that thing and really studying what you're doing and becoming an expert at it leads to credibility. It leads to building your reputation. It leads to building your internal brand. It leads to all of those things that allow you to be successful. And I haven't even talked about work ethic. So taking those mastery pieces, becoming an expert, and then combining them with the mental toughness and work ethic that it takes, and just be a success at what you're doing today. If you're successful in sales in year 1, and you've built those pieces I just described, that allows you to build a long-term successful career. So you're not just a flash in the pan. Uh, one year you were successful and the next year you, you decline significantly.

1:25:01 Scott Ingram: Nice. And then before we go to the next one, just out of curiosity, where does Cintas typically set the bar for President's Club? Because typically I see it's everywhere from, well, it's 100% and you get to go, or… and a lot of times it's, it's… shoot, I was with one organization where the bar was 150% before you got to go to club?

1:25:19 Paul DiVincenzo: Yeah, so Cintas, basically with Cintas, the, um, the numbers range, but the average is 150%. Okay, so you have to be 150% to go to President's Club. And then Diamond levels are, they're pretty flexible, but like we described earlier, it's typically about the top 2% will end up hitting Diamond.

1:25:38 Scott Ingram: Got it. And so the reason I asked was just kind of to set the bar, right? So if, if this is somebody who they're, they're a few years into their career, maybe they're many years into their career, um, and let's say that maybe not quite making club or they make club but not consistently and they're really looking to take it to the next level, right? They've got their eye on, on diamond. What do they do now to, to get grow to that level?

1:26:00 Paul DiVincenzo: I think it's not that difficult, Scott. I mean, meaning that, and when I say it's not difficult, meaning it's not easy to attain, but I think what most people don't realize is, is that they're going to have to sacrifice. There's no, there is no option other than that. I can guarantee it that if we dig in with the average reps that are hitting, you know, I don't know what the names of them are, but Achievers Club or Summit Club. And those are the ones where they tell them, hey, you've made your number, you're hitting quota this quarter or something, but you're not on President's Club pace. I think if they just, if they know that they're doing a good job, but if you're just doing a good job, You're going to get poor results. So you got to really, you got to, at the end of the day, you have to push yourself. And that's the only thing that's going to make it happen. And you have to decide, I'm going to go to the gym an hour less. I'm going to not go see that movie. If I'm not ahead of my number, I don't go do those things because I know that there's, there's work to be done. And that's what it comes down to, to me, is putting in the work. And they have to sacrifice something to get there. And if they can get it without it, more power to them. They're just better than me. But I think putting in hard work is what it comes down to.

1:27:17 Scott Ingram: There you go. So, I mean, you have become a fan of the show. I know you've listened to quite a few episodes. So what's the question that I'm not asking that you wish I would?

1:27:29 Paul DiVincenzo: I think the question that I would ask me, and I think everybody on this podcast, and maybe you have asked it. I have listened to multiple sessions, but I would love to figure out why in many cases executives think they know more than the sellers. And I say that with respect because I have had and continue to have great executives and mentors, but in many cases, most of our companies Sometimes we'll just, we'll get something and they go, and you look at it and you go, why would they think this is the right move? And I think it's a question for all of us. We all work within a box that was created for us. So, you know, a lot of our tactics and tools are all built around how do we overcome and adapt and accomplish that number or that particular KPI. But well, sometimes what we're not, at least for me, I'd love that question is, is do we have insight into why the executives are making decisions the way they're making them? And I think the reason to ask that question is in the future years, I'd like to see, and I'm still working on it, by the way, a way that we can create more consistent to the executives. To say, here's what we're seeing in the field. Cintas does an okay job of it, but I think we could do a lot better. And here's what we're seeing in the field, here's what we're seeing in the marketplace, and how do we adapt to that better? And I don't know that's a good question, so I apologize for rambling on that one. But the question I guess would be is, as a top seller in your organization, how respected do you think your opinion is Uh, to the executives becoming actionable items in your organization, something along those lines.

1:29:28 Scott Ingram: Well, and let me ask it of you a little bit differently, because the way I'm thinking about it is really just how, how are you managing and maintaining the relationships at the executive level in your organization? Right. Because ultimately they're the ones that are making those decisions that are causing us to have to adapt and all those things.

1:29:44 Paul DiVincenzo: Right. What I've found is, and I've done a poor job and a great job depending on the year. Currently, I think I'm doing a great job. That's why I bring that… bring it up, because in past years when I've just been too busy on my own sales or business, those types of things, I've kind of ignored my executive connections. And Cintas is a very large organization. And so when I say executive connections, I think a couple levels. Uh, one is my regional or local executives. So because I cover a physical territory, I actually have a regional executive group that oversees our markets, if you will. And, you know, then there's national executives and you only get, sometimes you only get to see those a couple of times a year. So depending on the size of the organization, there's a lot of layers there, but what I've noticed is it's really just about making sure that you are intently focused on it. So part of it's relationships. So an example is my regional executives. Sometimes we all get so busy, we just don't talk or see each other until it's crisis time or we need to ask for something. And I think that's, that's a key component of not allowing that to happen. You want to make sure that you're fostering those relationships beyond just asking for something. And like I said, currently I'm doing a great job. In the past, I have not done a great job. But when I do that, my, my opinion and my, my thoughts on the market, on our product set, on our service structure, those I've noticed have been taken into account and become actionable. And on the years that I've allowed that to, to kind of atrophy, then it's also where I feel more frustrated, like things aren't going my way. And I've related it to that in the last few years. And then at the national level, I really try to, uh, since I'm on the West Coast, to give you an example, and our corporate is in Cincinnati, Ohio, it's not like I'm at corporate every week. So my direct access to those executives is limited to a couple of times per year. And so what I really try to do with those is when they come out West, I want to make sure I get face time. So I do, I make sure I schedule it. And then after that kind of formal FaceTime, uh, then I try to engage with them separately. So I'll have phone calls or emails with them. And sometimes it's just 10 minutes and, uh, say, hey, I have a thought about something, uh, in the marketplace. Uh, I wanted to at least take 5 minutes of your time and go over it and get your thoughts. And really just these little touches, I guess I would call them. Um, and that's the reason I bring up this whole idea is by making sure that we, as the top sales executives, um, continuously push for that time. And a lot of times it's not even a push. They're willing to give it to us, especially because we've been performing at a high level for a long time. And we don't realize how much they really do. If you have a great executive, how much they really take it into account that you're bringing this up. So you have to use it sparingly, but also consistently. And so that's really what I've found. And that's why I bring it up. I think it's a responsibility almost that if you're in the top 1%, top 2%, um, you don't just put your head down and go to work. Um, you have an extra responsibility to highlight things that you feel and you have uncovered, um, and do it in a professional way, but something that you can present internally. And I think that, um, you'll find that it changes your business. So for me, 6 years ago, I brought up 2 gaps in the marketplace. Uh, one was in our government sales and one was in our mid-market space. And we literally did not have focus in those areas. And, um, over the last 6 years, those have become multi-billion dollar industries internally at Cintas. So 2 new vertical markets that did not exist before. And I also got to do those jobs before anybody else. So I was on the forefront of that. So I say it from experience, um, in that it's kind of our responsibility, but I think if we all do that as top sellers, bring up things, bring up challenges in a constructive way, um, we can push our individual industries and positions into a better, better place. And we have a hand in that.

1:34:08 Scott Ingram: Yeah. Well, that's huge. I mean, I think it speaks massively to the impact that you've had at Cintas. It's, it's not just the revenue results, but when you think bigger and when you think of it like your own business, you create those kinds of opportunities. And I think the other thing that happens, particularly in a larger organization like Cintas, you know, the executives are many, many layers removed from the field and what's going on with customers. And we have a unique opportunity and set of insights that we have because we talk to the customers every day and we see what those realities are. So, you know, I think if you position it right, it's not too difficult to create that type of relationship and bring that type of value to, again, what could be a very high-level executive leader in a, in a multi-billion-dollar organization?

1:34:56 Paul DiVincenzo: Yeah, absolutely. I think they appreciate it. I mean, the, um, like I said, I've gone through years where I've just put my head down, but I can say that it's so much better when you don't, when you bring it up to them. And, and, um, most of the time, um, which I think is maybe a credit to the executives we have so far, they really take it into account that you're bringing up something that is on the ground level. And like you said, they're so far removed, they may not have heard of that. And you're, you're almost looked at as brave for bringing it up because I'm sure you've been in these meetings and I've been in them where an executive will ask a group of people, hey, is there anything else we need to take into account? And people are like, silence, it's crickets. And those are the worst for me. I think that, not that you should complain because that's not the case, but to really, if you're not, if you're not identifying challenges in the marketplace and gaps where you and your company are not performing at, then I don't think you're paying close enough attention. And they can't see that because they're not in front of the customer. So it's, it's your, your responsibility to highlight it and, uh, and say, hey, this is an area that is not just a, uh, a passerby thing. This is something that we gotta, we gotta take a look at this. And, um, they really appreciate it when you do that.

1:36:11 Scott Ingram: Yeah. Well, and I think that silence is, is deadly and horrible for everybody, right? Because if you put yourself in the executive shoes, right? I'm asking the question because I want feedback. I'm trying to get a better sense of what's going on from the field. So, you know, that silence hurts everybody. And, you know, this also reminds me of the conversation I had with Trong Nguyen and the way that he deeply penetrates large, large organizations and gets to the executive level. He's basically doing the same thing, right? He's taking those ground-level insights and sort of filtering them through the organization and, and develop… developing a proper perspective and then putting that in front of them. And that's the secret to not just a first meeting, but a relationship with, uh, very, very senior, very, very influential executives in large organizations.

1:37:02 Paul DiVincenzo: A lot of the things that we've talked about, I, I give weight to the same conversation being had at the customer site as it is internally. And That's no question about it. I mean, if you're… the internal process that we just talked about is exactly the same on the other side, is sometimes your job is to carry the message from the front lines of the customer up to their executives so that they, you know, they get this wow moment, like, okay, we need to… this is something we do need to talk about and we need to go down this road of investigating it.

1:37:36 Scott Ingram: Great stuff, Paul. I could go on for hours, but we should probably think about wrapping it up. And the way I try and wrap this up is make… let's make it actionable, right? It's, it's one thing to talk and have all of these ideas, but what can the person listening to this do over the course of the next 2 weeks until we've got another great episode for them? What would you challenge them to do to improve themselves and improve their results over the next 7 days?

1:38:02 Paul DiVincenzo: What I would encourage people to do is the first thing is, is to stop and think about what you're doing and why you're doing it. And then second to that is to think to yourself, are you working by yourself? Are you working as a team? And if you're working by yourself, if you found yourself alone in the wilderness out in the marketplace, then think about how you can get a team, because I think those things are, are what make a success. And if you don't know how to get a team, Those, those things are what to focus on. And then the final thing is, is, is a very simple of what we talked about earlier, which is, you know, what are you putting into your mind? So really, you know, if you are not thinking about business as a whole and what you're putting into your mind, then those are the things to think about. So I really, I think those are the 3 things I would do for the next 7 days.

1:39:04 Scott Ingram: Love that. And we may talk some more about maybe even having you take the stage a little bit at the Sales Success Summit to talk a little bit about really building that internal team, because I think it is a massively overlooked thing, right? Everybody sort of assumes the lone wolf, but I think the most successful do surround themselves with the best inside the organization, right? Not just a not just in general. And I'll leave it with this. So, for 40 episodes now, I've worked really hard to bring you real stories of real success from the best of the best through the podcast. But the podcast is a one-way street. You can only listen and hope that I ask the right questions. So, the Sales Success Summit is different. This is your opportunity to connect directly with at least half of the top performers I've interviewed so far. And we're going to go even deeper into some of these areas of strength, just like with Paul and building a team around yourself to reach greater heights. And you'll finally have a chance to meet them yourself and ask your own questions to help you get to the next level in your own sales career. So, go to top1summit.com right now. That's T-O-P, the number 1, and summit all smushed together. And register right now so you don't miss your chance. Don't forget to use the referral code SSS to save yourself $250 in the process, and I will see you there. And Paul, I'll see you there too.

1:40:32 Paul DiVincenzo: All right, sounds good.

1:40:34 Scott Ingram: Thanks for listening to the Sales Success Stories podcast. To be sure you never miss an episode and for an invitation to our Sales Success Community powered by Influitive, subscribe to our newsletter at top1.fm.