Welcome to the Radiant Soul Sisters Podcast!
Episode #18
Today my guest is Abigail Tiefenthaler , Co-Founder of Sales Saavy Strategy
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts
If you want to read the transcript, check it out below:
Susan
Abigail Tiefenthaler is here with us today as our guests on the Radiant Soul Sister Podcast, and I am super excited to have a conversation with her. I recently met Abigail at an E women SBI, which stands for strategic business introduction. And I gave the offer for anyone to join me on the podcast. And Abigail quickly responded that she would love to be a guest. So I am thankful to have Abigail here today. Abigail is the co-founder of Savvy Sales Strategy. And she honed her marketing and sales skills on fortune 100 clients and discovered client getting requires a strategic and integrative approach that few organizations understand. Abigail, I am so excited to have you here with me today.
Abigail
Thank you, Susan. Thank you.
Susan
You’re welcome. You are welcome Abigail, one of the things I love to hear about and I love to talk about is just to get to know our guest a little bit. And I always ask, what is your favorite childhood memory or a memory from growing up that you would like to share with our listeners to give a little insight into who you are.
Abigail
So I was raised in New York City on the Upper West Side. My father was a madman. Madison Avenue mad marketing, advertising, my mother ran the marketing company out of her home. And did they did a lot of work together, shared a lot of clients. And one of the things that we would do, my parents were involved in a number of different things. But they were very active with a couple that were involved in the Gurdjieff Foundation in New York City. And we would go to this Austrian couple’s house every year for Christmas, you know, at some point during the holiday, and this family embraced many European traditions. And one of my favorite was the fact that when we went it was only for an hour, so maybe two at the most. Everything we gave them as Christmas gifts were homemade and we would sing Christmas carols in front of their tree. Now we’re talking New York City apartment with live candles on it. Now for anybody who has ever seen what a darkened room lit only by live candles looks like, there literally is nothing, nothing that compares to it. It. It is awe inspiring. It is sobering. It is dramatic. It is just peaceful. And so one year my Christmas gift to this couple was to learn how to sing Oh Tanenbaum in German, because they were Austrian. So you know, that’s, I still remember this. I’m 62 and I was probably eight years old when I did that or nine years old when I did that. So when my brothers and I are all, you know talking over the holidays, and we talk about some one of our favorite memories, we all have that tree lit by candle or you know, as a part of the conversation.
Susan
As you share that story, I get goosebumps because I can envision the beauty of that room with these friends gathered together to celebrate this holiday. And I also think whoa, you were in an apartment in New York City. And here was a live Christmas tree with candles on it. Because I live on a farm. I live on 110 acres. After Christmas we take our trees outside and we burn them right. We put all the family’s trees in a pile and it’s amazing how fast they go up. So just to imagine the beauty of that tree and what an amazing gift you gave that couple to learn to sing Oh Tanenbaum in German. That’s not an easy feat.
Abigail
No, it took a while. I mean I was in an elementary choir so I did a lot of singing. It was still, it was a gift because it you know to me a gift is something that you give from yourself. Whether you bought it at Macy’s or not is a different thing. You took time to reflect back on what is it that the recipient is going to appreciate. So to me gift giving, it all kind of stems, my mother was amazing at it. But it stems from, how do you go back to the simplicity of giving something that brings back a good memory that makes their life better in some way that reinforces the friendship and relationship you have with them. So, whenever I’m stumped, I kind of go back to that first major thing I remember giving as a child and go, Okay, how do I replicate that experience?
Susan
Oh, such a beautiful story.
Abigail
I will say one other thing just before. I had known that couple all my life. So one of the gifts I also gave them and my father actually put it in a book was that at the age of six weeks, I ended up peeing on their bed. So I just want to let you know, you know, gifts come in all different sizes and shapes.
Susan
That’s right. That’s right, exactly. I have one other thing I’d like to ask you about in hearing your story. You were talking about your mom and your dad. And you mentioned that your mom worked from home. And that kind of sent a little trigger in my mind, because working from home this day and time is very normal and very, very common, right. I can imagine when your mom was working from home, that that was a very different idea.
Abigail
It was. You know, we’re talking 1968, 1969, 1970, right. I’m 62. And my brother might have even started in 67. And it all came about because again, my dad was very involved in how do you market, you know, some of the brands that we still use today. And he focused a lot of his efforts on the dealer incentives and the salesforce incentives, and things like that. So he was looking for a fulfillment company that could do what’s called handwork, you know, and my mom, they were sitting around having dinner one night, I think they were with friends, and my mom said, “I’ll get some, you know, some of my girlfriends, and we’ll start it.” And that’s how the business started. She actually, you know, we had 30,000 mailing tubes in our dining room when I was a little girl, with pieces of paper and puzzles, and, you know, zip code sequencing, and this was on the 10th floor of an apartment building on the Upper West Side. That’s how this business got started. But yeah, I mean, you know, I’m sure there were home based businesses. I mean, I think Mary Kay was getting off the ground Fuller Brush. There were a lot of direct sales, but maybe some steno or transcribing services. I know, my mother did that at one point. But you know, I was the oldest of three. And we were all in school, she was PTA president. I mean, she just didn’t have time for a nine to five job. So, you know, we started working very young, in our house.
Susan
Well, it has paid off, it has paid off. And it also, you know, it’s no surprise that you are in the marketing and the sales world as an adult, and that you are an entrepreneur, because your mom obviously had that frame of mind. And as you said, you started working very young. And I’m sure you thought a lot of it was fun and games, stuffing those tubes or whatever. But you’ve carried that over into adulthood. I know you’ve had a career, but then you’ve also co created or co-founded Sales Savvy and you take people you work with clients to create six, seven figure companies, right? And to help them understand how to do that with impact and to get there. What would you say would be your biggest lesson as an entrepreneur or working with the modern day entrepreneur trying to really become that CEO?
Abigail
You know, that’s a great question. The biggest lesson that I learned, I actually learned when I was fooling around with a direct sales brand a number of years ago, because I had a seven figure business doing promotional items. I was a distributor and a top 5% of my industry and I got a little bored. And so a girlfriend said come do a taster home party and see if you like it, I liked it so much. I said I’m gonna sell it. But one of the things I learned was in a training and it was you can’t want something more for somebody than they want for themselves. And as you know, as somebody who works in a very visceral vulnerable field, right, I help people get clarity, confidence, and courage around their audience, their message, their business. I have to sometimes be able to step back and go, I may not like it because it doesn’t relate to me, but I’m not your audience. So I have to be able to have that honest conversation with somebody or I also on the other side, sometimes have to be able to say to somebody, this is you. I want you to go and think about it. I want you to go and put this hat on, and walk around the house and see, look in every single mirror, but from different angles, and feel it. So you know, yes, it’s true, I can’t want something more for somebody than they want for themselves. But a part of my job is to help them see a side of themselves that maybe they never thought possible, because they didn’t have a mother who was a mentor, right? They didn’t have a husband who’s supportive or a spouse who’s supportive. Nobody ever said to them, You’re really amazing. And you know what, you can do this.
Susan
I love that. And what I thought about is you were talking about go look in the mirror, look at different angles, and look at different ways, and see what you see or how you feel. And I had this conversation several weeks ago, you know, the coaches are so important, because you have brought forth a very valid point, that sometimes you have to help that person see in their self, what you see in them, right? You know, we have these blind spots, and we can’t see them ourselves. And oh, my gosh, I have an amazing husband who has supported me in every adventure, you know, I’ve had, but yet there have been times he’s as blind as I am, to what the next best bet step is, and he’s somebody who’s not emotionally attached. So I think that’s very important. And you know, your coach, I’m willing to bet you have a coach. Yes, or a mentor, or both? You know, we tend to do that. And I think that’s so important.
You know, we talk about building these businesses and being entrepreneurs and CEOs. And I remind people that they do take work, you know, it doesn’t happen overnight, it takes work. And I find more often with women, that they have trouble creating harmony in their life balancing between that work and that life.
Abigail
Are you going to ask me if I agree?
Susan
Well, what I was gonna ask you is, you know, how do you create work life harmony.
Abigail
So here’s how I apply this to my life. Before I got married, I went out to brunch with some friends of my parents, people, I’d known all my life, and we were planning our honeymoon in Greece. And she’s the woman who I love to death and I’ve called her mama Frieda for four years since I was little. She said two things. One is the key to a successful marriage is you have to love your spouse just a little bit more than you love yourself. And the other thing that I kind of translated that to mean is that, you know, there is no 50/50 anywhere in life. 50/50 means you are on a fence. You are smack dab in the middle of nothing. There are times when you have to give 100% because your spouse gives zero. And there are times that you can only give zero and your spouse is there. So to me balance is a very fluid thing. And there have been times where again, like your husband, mine supports me to the end of the earth. We’ve been married 32 years. You know, he’s looked at me and said, are you really going to do that? And I’m like, yeah, I am because I’m not asking permission. And there are times when I go, you know what, there’s a boundary and I’m not doing this. So balance to me is not about 50% of my life has to live around self care and selfish, not selfish in a bad way, but self, you know, self growth and the other half has to live around being around everything else. It’s about where are we at any given moment. There are times my husband needs 100% and I’ve got to bring 200 because, you know, all my energy and focus is on him, right? There are times all my energy – a couple of years ago, when I was sick, you know the world stopped for eight months. And my husband did what he had to do, my kids did what they had to do. And guess what I did what I had to do. And I said to them, you need to find places to work things out, because I’m not going to be here to help you. Like I am going to be 100% focused on Abigail and her recovery. So, I do think we strive for balance. But balance is a long term, you know, a long term process. It’s not about on any given day, did I spend half my day enjoy and the other half and work?
Susan
Right, and you know, that’s why I like to talk about work life harmony. And I think about it as that symphony, right? Sometimes, the symphony is playing beautifully together, and everything’s just in nice and flow and it sounds gorgeous. But there may be another time where you’re playing one instrument a little bit harder. And it doesn’t sound quite as beautiful. But that’s what you got to do right then. And then it comes back into harmony at another time. Sort of fluid movement. You know, for this measure I’m playing this instrument harder, but I’m going to come back. And that conductor is going to bring me back in you know, and that’s really how I think about it as well, because I believe when you’re striving for balance. It’s not really always there. I love love, love what you said, when you are balanced 50/50 You’re really standing still. Or, you know, you’re on the fence. That’s it.
Abigail
There’s no there’s yeah, there’s no right, there’s no wrong, there’s no yes, there’s no no, there’s no decision.
Susan
Exactly, exactly. So let me ask you this. We know that you’re an entrepreneur, you’ve talked about you, you were sick for a period of time. But when I met you several weeks ago, you just have this beautiful glow and your eyes are shining. And what do you do to keep your radiant, so vibrant, and shining? Is there something you do every day or you try to do?
Abigail
One of my daily practices might have this, and this is gonna sound really crazy, but I started doing it after I was recovering back in 2019. And it was, I won’t get out of bed until I say “today’s gonna be a great day.” So sometimes that’ll happen the minute I wake up, sometimes I need two or three minutes. And, and it’s really, I’m a happy person and a positive person by nature, but I am very grateful for where I am. And I do the things I want to do. That doesn’t mean I don’t occasionally do things I don’t want to do anyway. But they’re small, you know, I don’t spend my day fretting or procrastinating or complaining about the little things that I have to do to create the life I want to live. So there’s no pity party. I was a collaboration author in a in a book series once and you know, my paragraph my opening of my chapter started out with pity parties should be short and always include chocolate. Don’t want to deny you the pity party. Everybody’s got a right to grieve. I certainly have done my fair share of it over the years. But we can’t stay there because there’s no possibility in any stage of grief other than acceptance.
Susan
Exactly. Exactly. I love that every day, today is going to be a great day starts out right. Oh my goodness. Thank you so much, Abigail, I do have one question left for you. But before we get there, I wanted to know if you have a gift for our viewers, listeners, or if there’s any way they can connect with you?
Abigail
I love to connect with people, and especially business owners who are looking to try to balance or outsource or may be able to ultimately use my services. Okay, and so my website SavvySalesStrategy.com There’s actually a 15, there’s a freebie available on it. We would love you to connect with that. And I’m on LinkedIn and Facebook as Abigail Tiefenthaleras you can see. So reach out to me, pm me. Ask me a question, I’m around.
Susan
That’s awesome. And we will also have all of that linked in the show notes. So our listeners will be able to find you that way as well. And thank you so much for that. If this episode has you thinking about how to put yourself first while living out loud or your life on purpose, be sure to connect with me on my socials @SusanCrewsCo. And if you’d like to chat, head to my website, and schedule a time for us to have a great conversation.
Abigail, I’ve already learned so much from you today. I love your story of your gifts and your thought processes behind gifts and how you were raised by entrepreneurs. And that you just really put your heart and soul into working with service based providers mostly to help create the sales within packs so they can achieve their dreams. And so before we move on today, if there was one last tip or piece of advice that you might have for that woman or listener today about how to create a life you love or achieve work-life harmony, what would be your one tip?
Abigail
That’s another great question. I think I would just say start somewhere. You know, this is a journey. This is a step by step process. This is not about cold turkey transformation. But just start somewhere and I don’t care if it’s as simple as a 10 second, today’s gonna be a great day. Just get started.
Susan
Absolutely. Thank you. Thank you so much for that. We hope you have enjoyed another episode of the Radiant Soul Sisters. So many thanks to Abigail Tiefenthaler. Did I say it right? Yay. Join us next time as we shine the light on another radiant soul sister on her path to live in a life she loves. Till then I’m your host Susan Crews.
