Wesleyne (00:01.314)

So Daniel, tell me a little bit about your journey from the military into the world of sales.

Daniel Bryan (00:07.535)

Yeah, absolutely. So I got out of the military probably about 18, 20 months ago and found myself looking for the next adventure. Most military people, when they leave the military, they kind of fall into two realms, project management or human resources, HR. Then I kind of ended up doing that same path. But while I started, my company was like, hey, you're really good with talking to people. You understand what we're looking for. Try sales.

Well that was kind of like my first introduction to cells and the cells alignment, which ultimately has me where I'm at now today as the sales director for a company called EasyStack.

Wesleyne (00:48.728)

So you talked about it from kind of a professional sense, but share with us a little bit more from a personal sense. How was that transition? Because I think a lot of our veterans, and thank you so much for your service, when they step out of the military, there's kind of that unknown, like, what do I do next? Or how do I move into that next space? So what was that transition like for you personally?

Daniel Bryan (01:13.027)

Like most service members, it's scary, right? Because I was in the military for 22 years and you find yourself kind of gravitating to what is known, what you know, and then exiting out of that military, entering a whole new workforce, kind of what we call your adult job, right? It's intimidating, right?

Finding your path, finding your way, talking to people, reaching out, getting informational interviews, grabbing all the resources and mentors as much as possible kind of helps calm your nerves, but at the same time, that exit is still daunting. So trying to land on your feet, especially if you have a family, you got to get a renewed sense of...

passion and focus, you know, so it can be daunting and exhilarating all at the same time.

Wesleyne (02:09.676)

What skills that you gain during your time in the service are you able to translate into what you're doing today?

Daniel Bryan (02:18.443)

I think the biggest one is resilience and adaptability. know, underlining to all of that is obviously the leadership that you learn along the way and all the positions that you've held. But I think service members in a whole kind of become very, very resilient, become very, very malleable to the...

the mission set or the environment that's taken place. So as a service member getting out and entering the civilian workforce, we rely heavy on our past experience that builds that resiliency, right? And in sales, you're always gonna be told no. You're always gonna be saying, hey, I can't talk to you right now, or hey, I just can't afford it, or hey, I can't do X, Y, Z, a number of reasons why they can't listen to you or take on your product or solution. And you have to be resilient, right?

you have to be able to mold to the environment and adjust on the fly and be okay with the amount of no's that you get that will ultimately lead you to the yes.

Wesleyne (03:20.078)

Yeah. And I think that that's so relevant, right? Like that resiliency is absolutely the number one skill that you need to be successful in sales because you get more nos than you get yeses. You get more phones hung up in your face than you get people just welcoming you with open arms. And so having a background where that was what you live, that's what you did for so many years and decades, I really think that it sets you up for success in sales.

Daniel Bryan (03:39.182)

So.

Daniel Bryan (03:49.987)

Yeah, I would agree wholeheartedly. And whether you're a specialist or a young sergeant or even like myself, a first sergeant or sergeant major, getting out of the military, you have kind of honed in on your ability to flex as needed to accomplish the mission. So we learn to do whatever it takes and talk to whoever we need to or be creative on the fly to accomplish a specific task or mission. It falls hand in hand with sales.

Wesleyne (04:21.102)

That's so good. So tell us a little bit more about your current organization, what you do day to day, and share that with

Daniel Bryan (04:29.967)

Yeah, absolutely, so EasyStack is a mobile.

concept, a mobile integrator of command and control, storage solutions. There's an array of things that we do when it comes to helping the government agencies. And that's kind of where we fall in line, or at least that's where I land, is on the DOD space, the Department of Defense space. We are a government manufacturer, or a manufacturer that sells to the government. And we use prime vendors to get our product into the

hands of the end users or what I call the green suitors. It's command and control space. If they need storage capability, if they need comms platforms, communication platforms integrated into our trailers, we do that.

Wesleyne (05:20.652)

Isn't it so amazing how the position that you're in, the things that you're doing, like your early life and career literally set you up to be almost like a perfect person to be sitting in this seat.

Daniel Bryan (05:33.871)

It is. And I tell people all the time it was a perfect opportunity to bridge the gap that was 22 years of service, subject matter expert on all things tactical and technical when it comes to the military, and then jumping right into now providing solutions to the end user on any capability and mission set and providing that solution for them. So it was a very good kind of transition for me entering

into this role.

Wesleyne (06:05.134)

That's awesome. So as you said, you haven't been out of the military that long and this position is new to you. So what are some of the challenges that you've experienced in your current position?

Daniel Bryan (06:17.135)

I think the biggest one is just

needing to listen more. You know, because you don't know what you don't know. And I know having a conversation with somebody in the military is easy, right, because I lived that life. But having a conversation with senior leaders in a civilian organization is a little bit different, right. And you have to you have to pay attention, you have to listen more, you have to understand why they're asking that question for us or for me to be able to kind of accommodate, you know, what they're looking

conform and then execute at the level that I'm familiar with, but inside of a civilian organization.

Wesleyne (06:55.694)

Wow, that's good. I wanna stay here for a little bit because listening is a hard skill overall, but when you're literally like stepping into a very different world, I think that skill of listening is even more important. So why do you feel like it's that challenging in the civilian world to listen and to have those conversations with those upper executives?

Daniel Bryan (06:59.172)

Yeah.

Daniel Bryan (07:19.373)

Yeah, so when we get out of the military, and I'm going to speak on behalf of a whole lot of people, we think or feel that we know it all. Right? Like, hey, I'm confident. There's no doubt in my mind that I can run this company or do this position better or sell this solution, this end user. There's no doubt in my mind, right? That's just how we're bred. It's how we're groomed in the military. But that presence can come off as aggressive sometimes. So we have to dial it back.

Wesleyne (07:28.032)

Mmm. Wow.

Daniel Bryan (07:49.249)

I'll give you an example of...

something that I learned many years ago. went to a school in the military called Ranger School and I went through probably about six to eight years already in service. And by that time I had picked up what I thought was good habits, but were ultimately bad habits. And what Ranger School does is it breaks you back down to the fundamental base of what is right doctrinally. And I had to go in there as a young staff sergeant and forget everything that I knew and learn from

Wesleyne (08:13.26)

Yeah

Yeah.

Daniel Bryan (08:22.509)

the subject matter experts and I took that same mentality getting out of the military saying hey I know a lot I'm sure a lot of it's going to translate but when I get into the civilian role I have to listen to those that have been doing this for years decades centuries not centuries but decades so

Wesleyne (08:29.358)

Yeah.

Wesleyne (08:39.576)

Yeah. And that key that you said, that's actually something that I teach a lot when I do sales and leadership training. It's that learning new skills are great. We need to learn new skills, but if we don't unlearn the wrong ways to do things, if we don't unlearn the bad habits, then doesn't matter how much training that we get, we're never going to be at that place where we can execute because the unlearning the bad is where we have to start.

Daniel Bryan (09:07.789)

Yeah, and then I think also being able to influence up tactfully. So I find myself in the position that I'm in now. I'm learning a whole lot about sales, learning about CRMs, learning about documentation, but then there's also good ideas that I have that I'm like, hey,

In the military, we did it this way and it might serve a positive purpose here. And being able to influence your leadership at the highest level, whether it's a vice president or a CEO and coming up with ideas to help better the company, having that ability also helps.

Wesleyne (09:47.104)

Yes, influence and impact. So often I find that leaders focus on their director ports and they're in the sales space, just their customers. But being able to actually impact your leadership is a key skill that a lot of people don't really use. I had a client last year and I said, nobody's knowing, nobody knows what you're doing.

You're literally being the best kept secret. And he was like, what are you talking about, Wesleyan? I was like, you're doing all the right things, but nobody knows. So we started him sending out a update once a month. He would just send it out to his leaders. And he CC'd me on one that he sent out recently. And the person at the top of the organization, the district vice president, sent it out to all the leaders within the company and said, look, I want you guys to do this. This is great because the key there is

Deliver the good news, but also talk about what's not going well. Because that's how your leadership understands how they can help you. And they are like, okay, I see that we might have a bad month. So what can we do to mitigate that?

Daniel Bryan (10:55.705)

Yeah, no, that's...

That's brilliant. And I think that, you know, we have to discuss the bad just as much as we discuss the good, right? Because that's how you get better. And I used to tell all my people that I was working with, you have to have a 360 degree sphere of influence, right? Because I have to be able to influence my subordinates or those that I'm in charge of, my peers, right? Left and right of me, and then also, you know, my bosses, right? My superiors that are above me. It takes a talent, what we'll call it, you know, mental

gymnastics, but having that ability and that self-awareness to be able to do that, especially in the sales world, because in my world and the company that I work with, my peers just aren't.

the fellow employees that I work with. They're also external companies, right? Prime vendors, being able to influence them, being able to influence the prime vendors' sales force, right? Those that are actually out there knocking on doors for us, right? Working as a team. So it takes a lot, right? To be able to self-analyze, self-reflect, you know, and really dig into how to influence them to get a win, not just for yourself, but for your peers.

companies you're working with and then also ultimately yours.

Wesleyne (12:13.676)

And so how do you balance that, that the positives and the, I like to call them areas of improvement for growth, not weaknesses, but how do you balance that when you're communicating with, you know, internal or external partners?

Daniel Bryan (12:26.211)

Let's.

It's delicate, right? Because nobody wants to be told that there's a better way or that what they're doing just isn't as efficient, right? So you have to be delicate in how you approach, right? You have to understand your audience, know who you're talking to, and then why this moment may be a good or bad moment to bring up improvements. You know, so I like to prep the objective, whether it be a lead-in email or, I'm going to bring this up

Wesleyne (12:35.854)

Bye.

Daniel Bryan (12:56.817)

in front of the audience next week, what are your thoughts? Talking to like a vice president or something, right? So that it can be better received and not a poke in the eye.

Wesleyne (13:07.278)

Mm, that's good. That's good. I think that it's balancing that communication, right? So making sure that we're getting our point across. We're saying the things we need to say, but we still have to say, can we change this a little bit? Can we tweak this a little bit? And even from the way that I think it's important to communicate, I'm like, let's not load a lot of stuff on it one time.

What's the one thing we need to talk about, right? Let's send a very pointed email so we can say the one thing that we need to talk about, the thing that we really need to focus on.

Daniel Bryan (13:37.729)

Yeah, and you gotta have an endpoint, right? Like a why behind it. Why is this gonna make us better? And if I pile on five, six, seven different things, I'm gonna become the complainer, right? My goal isn't to complain, my goal is to improve the organization or how we actually do things. So one thing at a time, keep it pointed and direct, understand your audience and the delivery that you need, right? Because it's not about...

Wesleyne (13:50.135)

Yeah.

Daniel Bryan (14:05.589)

you being heard, it's about you being understood, right? And if they're not understanding me, then my voice is useless.

Wesleyne (14:13.762)

We're gonna have to dig into that one. What is the difference between being heard and being understood?

Daniel Bryan (14:19.469)

So, and I think a lot of parents will resonate with this, is you sit there and you talk to your blue in your face and the child is just like, whatever, I'm gonna do my own thing, whether they're five or 15. You know, and I take that same concept when dealing with soldiers or dealing with coworkers or even vice presidents is, hey,

Why am I saying what I'm saying? How do I change my language, my tone, my approach so that whoever I'm telling it to can actually understand what I'm saying and why I'm saying it? And I find that when doing that, especially with senior C-suite level executives, it comes across a lot clearer, a lot better, and it's received more.

Wesleyne (15:08.258)

Yeah. And I think it's like, I say match the energy of the recipient, right? If I'm like this bubbly and the person is like completely withdrawn, they're not going to hear anything that I say, right? Like, yes.

Daniel Bryan (15:13.539)

You have to. You have to.

Daniel Bryan (15:20.751)

And that's Leadership 101.

Leadership and I'll go back to you know, I've said this a few times as I've made my transitions that sales and leadership is synonymous. They go together, right? Because it's ability to influence someone or a decision, right? So that's leadership and that sells and I think that's why ultimately I gravitated to that leaving or exiting the military. So not project management, not HR, did that for 22 years. Now I'm in the realm of

Wesleyne (15:32.238)

Hmm

Daniel Bryan (15:53.393)

Influencing others right to make a decision

Wesleyne (15:56.536)

Yeah, and that is, I think, so important. It's how can we influence, right? Whether they're internal customers or external customers, it's all about getting to the yes. How can I get to the yes? And so often I get a lot of negative, like, but they're gonna do this and this and that. I'm like, what if they say yes? Can we think about the positives? So you mentioned sales and leadership are.

Daniel Bryan (16:10.745)

Correct.

Wesleyne (16:23.138)

the same, they're similar. So we talked a lot about you as a leader. So let's talk about you as a salesperson, or you as really thinking about being in the sales arm. This arm of the company that you are building out, you're in growth mode, you're really helping it develop. What are some of the things you're doing strategically from a sales side to grow?

Daniel Bryan (16:43.709)

man, that's a great question. So I think the biggest thing right now is product identification, right? And name recognition, right? So in our company, who is EasyStack? What do we represent, right? And then what is it that...

We want someone like yourself to walk away knowing, right? We are valuable in nature, whether it's an infrastructure or the DOD space. We fall very similar in line with the military's pillars of leadership, So loyalty, respect, selfless service, honor, things like this, which we cherish inside of our core values. You know, and all that gets broadcasted through the masses, whether it's United States

Marine Corps, US Army, Special Operations Command, just kind of pillars that we operate in. you know, name recognition and, you know, company acknowledgement, I guess.

Wesleyne (17:46.734)

Okay, so as you have really tapped into this name recognition, it sounds like you're focused on the customer. So as you focus on the customer and getting, becoming more recognized in the spaces that you operate in, what are some of the tips or some of the actual actionable items that you guys have used?

Daniel Bryan (18:07.887)

in a sense of actually talking or engaging with the clients. Okay, yeah, so it's easier for me, right, because I come from that world. So having a two-way conversation and talking shop helps.

know, carry the conversation, right? But then when you get down into the product specifics, it goes all the way back to the why and what is the mission, right? So if a unit needs mobile storage that compartmentalizes all of their equipment, I don't know that unless I ask the right questions, right? So what is the mission, right? What are your dilemmas? What are you struggling with, right? And all while they're talking to me, I'm listening and I'm

Wesleyne (18:25.815)

Yeah. Yeah.

Wesleyne (18:32.622)

you

Wesleyne (18:44.846)

Hmm.

Daniel Bryan (18:54.725)

turning the solutions in my head, right? And saying, all right, I see it. I'm painting the picture. And then I come back with a solution-based product that allows them to accomplish their mission, right? And I do it in a sense of almost like a story or an example, right? You have to be a wonderful storyteller. And you sit there and you say, hey, I can get you this trailer at this length with this product inside that stores all of your equipment that helps you solve this problem.

Wesleyne (18:57.058)

Yeah.

Wesleyne (19:05.517)

Mmm.

Wesleyne (19:22.712)

Yeah, yeah, and you know, you use all of the right language, all the things that I say, all the things that I teach. You're talking about solutions and problems and focusing on what they need, not what you need. And I think that that's really the key. And one of the things that I know helped me as I transitioned from being a chemist into the world of sales is I did the same thing. I literally went to my existing customers in my territory and I'm like, teach me, how are you using this instrument?

What are you doing with it? And they would tell me and I would learn their language. So a lot of times people may not come from the industry that they're selling into, but learning the words your customers are using to describe their problems instead of using your internal communications of how we, our products or our services. Like my team members, they were talking in terms of specs and I'm like, they don't.

customers don't care about that. They're like, how fast does this run? it goes this many milliseconds. They don't care. In about five minutes it's done, period, right? So I think that speaking the voice of the customer is something that is really important and is a skill that we often miss, especially in the world of field sales.

Daniel Bryan (20:25.401)

Yep, yep.

Daniel Bryan (20:34.359)

Yeah, and it's the language barrier.

Right? So in civilian and military, there's a large language barrier that a lot of people just don't know about. Right? It's like trying to speak French to a Spanish person. It's going to be very difficult. Right? So, you know, what I've helped some of our, some of my coworkers with is that the army runs off of acronyms, right? Everything's an acronym and you just don't know what you don't know as a civilian. Right? So you have to educate yourself. You have to get spun up on how the military mind works.

Wesleyne (20:57.422)

Mmm. Mmm.

Daniel Bryan (21:07.525)

How they speak and why certain things are important to them once you know that you have that foundation You're able to speak that language you're able to communicate and you're able to kind of Understand their problem set and how you could potentially solve it

Wesleyne (21:10.99)

Yeah.

Wesleyne (21:22.158)

Mmm, that's so good. That's so good. I love it. Speak the language of the customer. So as you think about the organization you're currently in, where do you hope to be in the next five years?

Daniel Bryan (21:28.057)

You have to.

Daniel Bryan (21:35.563)

Five years, that's a big window. Right now, I was blessed with the opportunity to go from being just a business development manager in charge of Army and SOCOM to now a sales director in a matter of 12 months. Now handling all of Army to include the Corps of Engineers, National Guard, all of SOCOM from Ranger Regiment all the way up to the Navy SEALs and then also now all of the Marines.

So I'm hoping that in the next five years, you know, we meet the numbers that our executives expect and we're able to build a team underneath me, you know, that helps me kind of manage that large territory more efficiently.

Wesleyne (22:23.886)

awesome. And so you're in this place now and you're thinking about like building out the infrastructure of the organization under you. What advice would you give to someone who is a few steps behind you?

Daniel Bryan (22:40.015)

Same kind of transition out of the military. hone in on what you've learned in the military, right? Because...

Wesleyne (22:43.042)

Yep, coming out of the military into sales, yep.

Daniel Bryan (22:53.539)

There are a lot of things that will transcribe from what I've done in the military, what I've learned, my leadership, my tactics, how I execute things, and that'll play right into a sales leadership role, a sales director role, and building a team, talent management, right? So I'm not looking for my friend that was a son of first class with me to join my team. What I'm doing is I'm looking for a dedicated, skilled professional who understands the military market, can speak the

language, right, and adapts quickly to change because in this environment it happens so often. And then also, you know, can hone in on the cells, you know, perspective leadership styles and execution, right? So there's a lot there, but I think the biggest thing is just have confidence in yourself and the experience that you have.

Wesleyne (23:37.748)

That's good. Lean into it.

Wesleyne (23:44.206)

Yeah. Ugh, that's so good. Be confident in what you have. And I like to say what you have is enough, right? Like you don't need to become a better version of yourself or do this or do that or try to fit inside of a box more, right? Like tap into who you are and what you have because it is enough.

Daniel Bryan (24:04.235)

It is, it's always enough and you have to be, so you have to understand that with the knowledge that everybody knows you're still growing. You're still growing, you're still learning, you're still becoming that expert, right? We have to continue to learn and as I leave the military and as those that leave the military and into the civilian workforce, rely on your past experience, be willing to learn, be willing to listen, right? And still execute like you've always done.

Wesleyne (24:31.832)

Yeah, I think that's so good. So I always like to ask this question as we wrap up the podcast. What is an experience in your life that has impacted the way that you show up and sell or lead today?

Daniel Bryan (24:45.859)

Ooh, deep questions and I love it. So I'm gonna go two things, personal and professional. So personal, I grew up in a small town in the middle of New Mexico.

not unfortunate circumstances, but trying circumstances, right? So it really tested my resolve in some instances, right? And kind of helped shape me. then it led me to the military. In the military, was...

I was mentored and groomed by some excellent leaders throughout my entire career. If I had to look back on one particular instance, mean, in the military, I really couldn't because it was a cumulative of all the leadership and mentorship that came from the leaders before me that helped kind of...

build me and who I am, how I think, right? And the expectation of myself to execute at a high level, regardless of what I do, whether it's being a parent, a husband, a sales leader, director, or just a mentor to friends and people out there.

Wesleyne (25:39.832)

Yeah.

Wesleyne (25:50.958)

you

Wesleyne (25:54.958)

That's good, that's good, that's good. It's those mentors, it's the things that we don't realize that we'll need in five, 10, 15, 20 years. I literally credit a lot of what I know about sales and leadership to the second person I ever worked for in the arena of sales. And literally, she taught me so much. And a lot of the principles that I use today is because of her time and her attention and her patience.

So that is a great, great O to the people who mentored you.

Daniel Bryan (26:28.675)

Perfect.

Wesleyne (26:30.19)

Well, Daniel, this has been a fantastic conversation. I have enjoyed it thoroughly. If people wanna get in contact with you, chat with you, what is the one best way?

Daniel Bryan (26:41.455)

They could go email or look me up on LinkedIn. You can find me at Daniel.Brian83 at gmail.com and then on LinkedIn. It's easy just Daniel.Brian. You'll see this face and go ahead and click to follow.

Wesleyne (26:57.592)

Well, thank you so much for your time, your talent and your expertise today. This has been a fantastic conversation.

Daniel Bryan (27:04.131)

Thank you so much. appreciate you having me on your show. Thank you.

Wesleyne (27:07.522)

Thank you. And that was another episode of the Field Sales Unscripted Podcast. If you wanna get these delivered to your inbox weekly, make sure you subscribe and please leave us a review and share this episode with someone else. Until next time.