Seek first to Understand then to be Understood with Joshua Greco

During How May I Serve You Podcast episode 24, we sit with Mindscan-Certified Business Coach of ProAdvisorCoach, Joshua Greco to talk about how he helps his clients overcome their obstacles and get where they are today. 

About Joshua:

Grew up in Buffalo, then moved to Charlotte to figure out his passion. For the last ten years, he spent time at different sales companies and was always a top performer, but there was always something missing. He decided to become a coach two years ago and started to connect with others who shared a passion for delivering results in the workplace. “Be happy with what you’re doing, and find alignment with companies that you can believe in.” 

Questions Asked:

How did you get started?

He’s from a town called Lockport, North of Buffalo. His competitive spirit comes from growing up with three brothers. Being from a small town, he knew there was more in the world that needed to be explored. After college he did something bold. He picked a date and moved to a city he had never been to, Charlotte. Knowing only one person in the city, a buddy from back home, he stayed on his couch for weeks. Then weeks later the friend moved back to New York, and he had to fend for himself. With six months of bank teller experience he hoped to get a bank job, but it didn’t happen. As his savings dwindled, he was faced with moving back home (not an option) or scraping and clawing until he found something. Then he landed in the restaurant industry, which he felt was beneath him. But in retrospect, it was exactly what he needed at the time. He did that for a year until he earned a sales role. From there he never looked back.

Before you became a coach, what were you doing before that?

The last two positions were outside sales roles: logistics industry for a third-party trucking brokerage company, and a facility maintenance and construction company. He started in account management and knew that there was something more. He loves connecting with customers and solving problems for them. “I’m a very relationship driven person, and that’s why I have succeeded in all the sales that I’ve done.” For the last ten years he’s learned a lot about industry and business traveling the country. Both positions were regional, so there were no territorial restrictions. That hands-on experience prepared him for coaching today.

Why did you get into coaching and who do you coach?

Entrepreneurs, business minded people, and sales people are his typical clientele. Experience is the greatest teacher, so Josh aims to use that to help others who are in the same position he was in. “I was always searching for what my purpose was, and in the meantime, I was living out what I had to live out to get to that point.” Armed with a wealth of knowledge from past experiences, enables him to help others navigate through situations that may be foreign to them. He has seen a lot in his ten years of travelling the country. He sympathizes with business owners. “I call it the lonely island syndrome. Nobody cares about your business more than you do.”  

How do you deal with business owners who struggle with sales?

“If you feel like you’re selling, then you would be selling, and it won’t come off the right way.” People don’t like to be sold but they love to buy. People will pay for value. If they see the value in a product, they will invest in it. As a business owner, if you truly believe in your product or service, then you believe that there’s value to give to people. “If you’re trying to convince somebody to buy your product, then they’re probably not the right person.” There are over 300 million people in this country, and you only need twenty-thirty repeat customers to last your whole career. It’s about finding the right clientele, which starts with being clear on your mission and vision and aligning yourself with that and being true to that. 

What would you say your coaching style is?

Listening is a skill that requires practice. “I am a good listener.” Seek to understand, rather than to be understood. A person may not choose to listen if they don’t feel understood. Josh delves into the psychology of his clients and asks them deep questions like, “Why do you see the world the way you do?” This gets them to open and reveal the heart of what motivates them. This allows him to craft a requisite response to their answer in order to get them to see the world from a different perspective. There is no script. “People first.” 

If someone was looking for a coach, what traits would you advise them to look for?

Someone who they’re comfortable with and will also push them to maximize their potential. Some people may benefit from someone screaming in their face, and some may not. So, it’s paramount to know yourself and what you need. The coach should communicate the value of their services early on and not pitch a perceived value that will or will not occur in the future. “Be clear on what you want and be coachable.” To get what you want, you have to become someone new. It’s important, a client must listen and be open to new perspectives and ideas. “I always strive to become someone that the old me would look up to.”

What is Mindscan?

Created by Dr. Robert Hartman, Mindscan is an assessment that tells what we prioritize in our thinking, our biases, and clarities.  It’s based on mathematical algorithms. “We know at it’s basic core level that results follow our actions, and actions follow our thinking.” To change your lifestyle, you have to change your thoughts and actions.

What drives you?

“I want to help people.” Josh understands how joyous it feels to become a better version of himself and wants to share this with others. He was fortunate to discover how thoughts can change the trajectory of one’s life at a young age. “I want to end suffering in the world.” His mission statement is: Bring relief and eliminate suffering in the workplace. “You can be happy with what you do. And you can work with people you really want to work with. And you can make really great money doing that. That’s my core belief. I want to teach the world that. I want to show everybody that.”

 

Are you working on any new projects?

He’s looking to grow his coaching business. Anyone who wants to find out more about themselves can try the Mindscan assessment. There’s no long-term commitment involved. He hosts a podcast called Truth Seekers with another coach. It’s about success principles in business. They invite guests who have overcome obstacles and have achieved great things in the business sphere, and they break it down to the turning point, so their listeners could apply that to their own lives.

Where can people connect with you?

Proadvisorycoach.com or  Joshua@proadvisorcoach.com.  You can also contact Joshua at LinkedIn. He’s all about the people, so hit him up and flood his inbox.

How may I serve you?

“For you and your network to engage with the Mindscan would be a great thing.”