Career Path of a President at Nature's Wild Berry
Hank's career path highlights the importance of internships, emphasizing a direct sales internship that taught "how to build value, create urgency, and be likable," and a subsequent internship at Vendor Speak, which honed storytelling skills crucial for sales success because "emotion is what makes people tune into buying decisions." These experiences, combined over eight years, provided the foundation for their current role as President at Nature's Wild Berry.
Sales, Storytelling, Internships, Leadership, Networking
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Hank Watt
President
Nature's Wild Berry
Arizona State University (ASU) - W. P. Carey
NA
Business & Related, Finance
Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG), Food, Beverages & Alcohol
Strategic Management and Executive
Pell Grant Recipient, Took Out Loans, Worked 20+ Hours in School
Video Highlights
1. The importance of direct sales and building trust with clients: Hank emphasizes the necessity of mastering direct sales, which involves building value, creating urgency, and establishing trust with potential clients. This skill, he points out, is essential for any founder or leader in business.
2. Effective storytelling as a key sales tool: Hank highlights the role of effective storytelling in sales. His experience at Vendor Speak, a company known for films like The Hangover, helped him understand how storytelling can connect with people and drive emotional responses that ultimately influence buying decisions.
3. Strategic internships and building relationships: Hank stresses the value of strategic internships. His internships at both companies provided him with the skills and experience to succeed in his career and contributed greatly to his eventual success as president at Nature's Wild Berry. He emphasizes the importance of gaining experience and learning from the right people early in one's career path.
Transcript
Could you walk me through your career path, starting with your experiences in college? Please include any internships or jobs you had before your current role.
I started my current role in 2016, and I graduated college in 2004. At 22, in my senior year, I did an internship. It was the first experience that taught me direct sales.
If you're going to be the founder of a business, you'll probably be the lead salesman in your company. No matter what, you need to know how to build value, create urgency, be likable, and have people trust you. Without those three things, the sale won't happen. Being a founder means you're the leader. That's what really taught me how to do those things efficiently.
After my first business, I moved out to California in 2008. While living in Hollywood, I got an internship with a company called Vendor Speak. They were famous for doing *The Hangover*, if you remember that series. They also did the *American Pie* series and a bunch of others that I was a big fan of.
Getting a chance to work for them taught me how to tell stories. A major component of getting to know people and getting your product out there is effective storytelling. You'll learn in sales that it's a business of repetition. The better you can tell a story, the more you can connect with people and convey emotion. Emotion is what makes people tune into buying decisions. So, the better the story, the more effective a salesperson you'll be.
I combined those two internships. Eight years after that, I did that internship for three years. From 2008 to 2011, I was a first assistant to JC Spink. I wouldn't be here today without those two internships.
I highly recommend getting your foot in the door with the right people. Be strategic about it. Then, when you're ready to follow your calling, you'll have the tools you need to be successful. That's what I found.
Advizer Personal Links
Linktr.ee/natureswildberry