Five Keys to Supercharging Your Sales

October 17, 2025

My grandma raised four kids in Kokomo, Indiana. She was a teacher, a farmer, and she lived to be 105 years old. I’ll share some of her wisdom later with you later, and why she’s the reason I can’t take a serious photo.

I spent 25 years in digital marketing, working with companies like Microsoft, Salesforce, and NBC. I was also a professional comedian.

Which you might think is the reason I can’t take a serious photo, but it’s not.

And last week, I had the chance to speak to a room full of bottled water delivery professionals about what really drives sales.

Here’s what I learned from studying IBWA award winners, running my own businesses, and yes, from my grandma who lived through a century of change.

We Have to Adapt (Even When It Sucks)

Things change. When you’re in your twenties, you’re like “let’s do some shit.” In your thirties, you’re like “let’s buy some shit.” By your fifties? Well, if you’re a woman, you’re dealing with hot flashes. If you’re a guy, “why isn’t my shit working anymore?”

But here’s the real truth about change: Sometimes to get what we want, we have to do things we don’t want to do.

We think we know that- until change comes calling.

Then we’re like,

“That’s not happening.

And if it is it’s not happening here.

And if it is I’m not dealing with it.

Somebody else should deal with it. It’s not my fault.

It’s somebody else’s fault.”

Obviously, not very constructive.

My first memory as a human being: I was two years old, and we lived in Dayton, Ohio in a little house on a little street called Orlando Terrace, and next door lived this old German lady named Hilda. When I went over to Hilda’s she would give me cheese, crackers, and 7-Up. And that was my favorite thing at two years old.

So, it was my birthday, and I was upstairs in my house. My mom said I had to take a bath. I said, “Maybe you don’t realize it, but I’m a two year old. I don’t want a bath.”

She said, “Well you can’t open your presents until you take a bath.”

I mumbled ok and she went off to run the water.

And I thought to myself. “I don’t want a bath. You know what I want? I want cheese and crackers and seven up!”

So I went next door and knocked on Hilda’s door.

She opened the door but not the screendoor, picked up the phone, called my mom, and said…

“Mary, do you know Brian’s over here- and he’s naked?”

So my mom came and got me, and I had to take the bath, but then I got the presents!

That story illustrates something we all know intellectually but resist emotionally: life will push us out of our comfort zone into a river of pain, but when we cross it, we get to a better life.

I’m 52 now. The last five years I’ve been having a midlife crisis—you know, “Where am I going, how much time do I have left, what am I doing, am I doing enough?”

So I got a Russian personal trainer named Marina who lives in Mexico. She’s very bossy. She makes me do four sets. Nobody should have to do four sets. That’s ridiculous.

(But she’s also really nice. Highly recommended. If you’re interested, go here!)

But here’s what I discovered: doing difficult things has its own value. There’s actual science on this—something called neuroplasticity. When we learn new stuff, our brain gets better.

The more you do stuff you don’t want to do, the better you get at doing stuff you don’t want to do.

Which is a major life skill. What holds us back more than not wanting to do things?

So what does this mean for sales?

Maybe it means taking extra time to build relationships even when it seems inefficient.

Maybe it means investing in community partnerships.

Maybe it means letting employees personalize their approach even when you’re a systems thinker who loves consistency.

The new viewpoints that seem backwards to us might be the one thing that moves us forward.

The Power of Identity: Who Do You Think You Are?

When I was in college, I started smoking. After a couple years of being addicted, I decided I didn’t want to be addicted anymore. I felt gross. The ashtrays in my house were disgusting.

I tried everything—hypnosis tapes, books, all of it.

You know what worked? I read something that said:

Stop thinking of yourself as a smoker. Think of yourself as a non-smoker. Change your identity.

I took it further. “Non-smoker” is a negative—it’s defined by what you’re not. So I became a healthy person. A healthy person would not smoke or hang out with other smokers. Identity change. Life change.

I grew up with social phobia and social anxiety.

Yes, that nerd is me. No, I didn’t go to school in the fifties. Yes, I looked that young in high school. I got beat up a lot. Because I deserved it (just kidding! But it did make me a much stronger person!)

In high school I was voted “Least Likely to Be Voted Mosty Likely Anything”

But I went to Toastmasters in the year 2000 to learn public speaking. One of the speeches required being more emotive, having vocal variety. I felt fake doing that.

So I made a shirt with a big E on it, like a Superman logo. I put my dress shirt over it. I started my speech being nervous, and boring and monotone…

Then suddenly ripped open my shirt to reveal the E.

I yelled out, “I’m the ENTHUSINATOR! I’m going to pump you up!” And I ran around fist bumping and high fiving people and yelling and dancing. It was fun.

I gave myself permission to be “the character.” I became an entertainer. And people responded to my energy.

I needed that experience in front of a crowd, to be energetic, crazy, and not judge myself. It changed everything for me as a speaker.

Your Identity is Your Destiny, For Better or Worse

The way you think about yourself—who you think you are—is your destiny.

So what about route sales?

If you think of yourself as a driver: “I drop off water and pick up empties.”
If you think of yourself as a service professional: “I make sure customers are happy with their water service.”
If you think of yourself as a trusted partner: “Customers call me when they have problems because they trust me to help.”

Those are three completely different identities, mindsets, and impacts.

What if you’re a business leader?

Manager: “I keep things running smoothly day-to-day and put out fires.”
Operator: “I build systems and processes that create consistent results.”
Strategist: “I position our company to win by doing what competitors can’t replicate.”

Identity shifts help us move forward and get better results.

Move from being on the defensive putting out fires to the offensive and position yourself to win!

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