#99: How to Create LinkedIn Content That Sells

Deidre Henry (00:00.302)
I just got laid off at two thirty in the afternoon.

Rhona Pierce (00:03.596)
You told people DM me.

Deidre Henry (00:05.494)
I know that I'm damn good at what I do when it comes to sales coaching and I know how much money that I make companies and how I scale companies.

Rhona Pierce (00:14.99)
How do you balance sharing authentically and being vulnerable and what I call being a hot mess online?

Deidre Henry (00:22.582)
I did my announcement post. She literally messaged me and said, I saw your post on LinkedIn and it actually made me get up today. Somebody else is going through the same exact thing and thinks that no one sees them.

Rhona Pierce (00:37.014)
Most people post about getting laid off and ask for sympathy. Dee Henry posted about getting laid off and asked for clients. That post became the foundation of Microsoft Partnerships, a CNBC feature, Carrie Washington's stage, and her own business, the sales loft. Today, we're talking about the audacity of selling your story in your worst moment and the craft of turning pain into a business. Dee, welcome to workfluencer.

Deidre Henry (01:03.788)
Hi, thanks for having me.

Rhona Pierce (01:06.904)
I am so, so excited to chat with you today, but for folks who haven't met you yet, what's the D Henry story in thirty seconds?

Deidre Henry (01:15.21)
Ugh, the D Henry story in 30 seconds is my name is Deedra, but people usually butcher it. So I tell everyone to call me D unless there is free food, free alcohol, or there is a fire of some sort that you need to get my attention for. Otherwise, I'm the girl that got laid off from Zillow on a taco tequila Tuesday.

Rhona Pierce (01:37.08)
Hmm. my. And we're gonna get into that a lot. So I obviously did research about you before we talked, and you were the in the top one percent of sales at Zillow. You were a team leader, your face was being used in their diversity recruiting. Don't even get me started on that. And then one Tuesday, you and two hundred and ninety-nine others were just gone. What does that do to someone?

Deidre Henry (02:08.622)
I think what it does is it actually really brings up imposter syndrome in people. When you are typing away in Slack in an Outlook, just thinking it's another day, and you get a Slack message at 2:30 in the afternoon to join a random Zoom call. And you're just like, Yeah, of course, no problem. And you open that Zoom call and it's just HR telling you, hey, as of 5:30 today.

You don't work here anymore. And you're like, as in like 5 30 today, like 3 30, 4 30, 5 30, because it's 2 30 right now. It just brings up a ton of imposter syndrome because you really question your self worth. Like, why was I chosen out of all people for this to happen to you? Like, did I miss something?

Rhona Pierce (03:01.44)
No, it's it's it's very, very real. And as someone who's been on both sides of it, because unfortunately working in HR, I've had to be that person making that call. And and I've always tried to give as many hints as I could, but still there were people who were totally blindsided by it, by what was happening, but I've also been on the other side of it and you immediately think like, What did I do wrong?

And as a HR person, when pe I've had people ask me what did I do wrong? And legally I can't tell them. But what I wanna do is like hug them and be like, You did absolutely nothing wrong. Chad and the boys decided on this list and I'm just executing.

Deidre Henry (03:47.566)
That's all you're doing. so shout out to all of our HR people because that is one thing. When my Zillow layoff was happening, I had an HR person that practically looked like an anime character. She practically looked like Sailor Moon. The tears were flooding up in her eyes because she could feel it. Where we were asking, like, there's the majority of us are in President's Club. Like, what could we have done?

wrong here to wind up being on this list. And it was just tell them about Cobra, tell them that they're gonna be locked out and deactivated as of today. Tell them what the new workflow is for them no longer being a part of the company.

Rhona Pierce (04:39.638)
It's it's a very, very you can't understand that feeling if you haven't been there. But I've spoken to a lot of people who launched after a layoff, because unfortunately layoffs are kind of popular nowadays. But I always when I speak to someone who's launched after a layoff, I always search for their layoff announcement post because you know, and they're typically the I'm so grateful and looking for this type of role post. Yours was different. You told people DM me.

Win for coaching in the same post where you were talking about crying enough to fill the Hudson River. Was that a plan or was that survival? Hey, have you subscribed? Let's fix that. It's the easiest way to support this show.

Deidre Henry (05:24.81)
It was a plan and I think it just came from gut instinct. Why am I gonna get on here? And I'm so grateful to have been handed Cobra paperwork and have been told that my health insurance is gonna be $700 a month. Like, what are we doing? Like, no. I just got laid off at 2:30 in the afternoon. I was in President's Club. I literally have been

I didn't see a world outside of Zillow. Blinders on. I didn't see a world outside of Zillow. I had recruiters from Salesforce, Amazon, other top companies in my LinkedIn DM saying, come on over, girl. And I was like, who are you? Zillow only? Hello? So it's just that is why when I did my announcement post, I was not gonna go into this with

A sort of false narrative of I'm so grateful. I'm not. I'm angry. I'm angry. I'm sad. I'm blindsided. I'm bewildered to be quite honest. So you know what? I know that I'm damn good at what I do when it comes to sales coaching. And I know how much money that I make companies and how I scale companies. So if that's something that you're looking for, yes, slide into my DMs.

Rhona Pierce (06:51.602)
Yeah, I I absolutely I can say it's one of my favorite layoff announcement post. a lot of people would feel like uncomfortable to sell in the middle of their own like worst moment. Were you thinking about how that looked or you weren't like concerned at all?

Deidre Henry (07:11.948)
wasn't concerned at all. And I think that's the funny part. I wasn't concerned at all, but I noticed how quickly others were concerned for me about something that I wasn't concerned about. Because I started to get messages where it was just like, hey, I know that you're like really blindsided by what happened, but that post didn't seem very LinkedIn professional of you. And if you want to get into another

Fortune 500 Company, maybe you should take that down. Maybe not. Actually, I'm gonna tell everybody now in my next post the call to action is gonna be repost this if you also feel the same way that I feel. And that's what actually wound up spreading my story because everybody else who was equally as outraged about being laid off, about being blindsided, was just like, yeah, she said exactly how I'm feeling.

I'm gonna repost this.

Rhona Pierce (08:13.826)
I absolutely love that. And yeah, like, my gosh, don't get me started on the LinkedIn police. And yes, people mean well, but actually, we're all adults. you shouldn't be telling people what they can post and what they can't post. Like, unless you're my spouse, maybe my mom, because my mom's gonna tell me anyway. She's not my mom. then we don't care about your opinion. And go ahead and repost, please, because that's what you need. That's what people need. Help.

In their next step, whatever they decided that it is. So, like believing your story matters is one thing, right? And and and I know you didn't necessarily do it thinking like, I'm gonna be the voice for all of these people or whatever. But actually telling your story so a stranger stops scrolling and reaches out is a skill. When you told your story publicly.

Deidre Henry (08:56.632)
Please.

Rhona Pierce (09:08.15)
What did you do differently from how most people talk about themselves online?

Deidre Henry (09:14.264)
I spoke about the actual feelings because it's the truth. You know what it is? Feelings actually sell. That is the truth. Feelings actually sell. If you look at any product, any service, it is sold to you eight times out of ten based on how it is gonna make the user feel. And all I did was be raw and honest about my feelings. Like I am not grateful about this moment.

I'm not at all. I am livid. I am livid. And guess what? Other people that were livid, it made them feel safe to say that. And once I saw that, that became the safe space for me. And as I continued to get messages of, hey girl, that's not professional. You need to relax a little bit. It just fueled it even more. That there is a clear safe space.

That is missing for other people who have been laid off like myself. So if you need somebody to be the cheer captain, I volunteer as tribute.

Rhona Pierce (10:27.574)
I absolutely love that. And I love that you said that feelings actually sell. And you are obviously an amazing salesperson and were at that time. So I love how you took your knowledge of selling, because if you were top one percent at Zillow, you were selling. and just use that and apply that to yourself. And I think a lot of us forget that when we're buying stuff.

We again it's it's the feeling, it's how they made you feel, it's the commercials, the music, everything that they use. Well, why aren't you infusing that into your personal brand? Because at the end of the day, you're selling, whether it's a service, whether even if you want a job or anything, you're selling, hey people, come buy what I'm offering type of thing. Did you always know how to do that? Or like, has the the way

You tell your story changed over time.

Deidre Henry (11:25.614)
I will say that I've always known how to do that. And when it comes to sales, that is why, funny enough, any of my past leaders will tell you I was a horrible account executive because there was no relationship being built. If you put me in a CSM or an account manager role, that's when you're going to start to see millions in ARR coming from me. Because all of my sales is based off of feeling.

And relationship. If you don't have that, like what exactly do you have? I never ever performed well in the account executive, just hit it and quit it. World, hey girl, this is it. This is the product. This is the service. Buy it and I never talk to you again. I don't know how the product made you feel. I don't know if the service is working for you. And if it I don't know those things, how am I able

to sell you on what's best for you so that you andor your business progress forward.

Rhona Pierce (12:32.706)
Love that. How do you apply that to your content now? Because yeah, we're you're many years removed from that layoff, but you're still doing numbers and you're still talking to certain people that for the services that you're selling. so how has that transitioned? How do you tell your story now and infuse the feelings?

Deidre Henry (12:55.232)
It is, I think, being truly looking at the raw honesty of things, how I felt at the time, how I have felt on this journey of going from the layoff to the layup, right? Like all of the mistakes that I've made in the business, the wins and then the mistakes. It is sharing that and letting people know that if it's possible for me, it is possible for you.

And that is the biggest takeaway. I've looked at things once upon a time with other people, especially when it came to tech. And I would be like, there is just no way I could pull that off or have that much revenue or do this or do that. And something in me did shift after the layoff that if it was possible for someone to build this thing or do this thing.

That's all the proof that you need that it's possible for you.

Rhona Pierce (13:56.428)
I love that and absolutely truly a hundred percent believe that and that's why to me being a content creator and just sharing the the behind the scenes and what you go through is so important and sharing it honestly because people like to share the highlight real like, Yay, one but it's like what about the days where you're like, Okay, just got a notice from overdraft fee, like 'cause that's the reality of building a business after a layoff.

Deidre Henry (14:25.706)
Is. And I've always been very transparent about that with people because what is the sense in hiding it? Who are you helping in hiding it? You're not helping your ideal customer or client by lying to them. But worse so you're really not helping yourself either. There is a level, there is one thing of Dululu is the Sululu, like, and we we're all about being delusional.

Rhona Pierce (14:45.72)
Mm-hmm.

Deidre Henry (14:53.784)
But we're not gonna blatantly lie to ourselves and make it seem like everything is great when it isn't. And when you're honest and upfront about that, you'll be surprised where help comes in for you when you least expect it.

Rhona Pierce (15:14.222)
How do you balance sharing authentically and being vulnerable and what I call being a hot mess online?

Deidre Henry (15:26.424)
I think I don't have balance it, to be quite honest. Again, I think that that is why I have gotten from former colleagues like you sure you wanna keep that up there? But that's just it. In putting myself out there, even when I am a hot sizzling mess, it has benefited me more than withholding the information.

The amount of people that have said that this is a safe space. I have, I saw your post. I got a a DM from someone that it really brings it back to how down bad people are when they get laid off. And she literally messaged me and said, I saw your post on LinkedIn. And it actually made me get up today and go drink a bottle of water. Because I've just been laying in bed crying over the layoff all day.

Day long. And that was from one of my posts being ash transparent about the fact that, like, look, I have been crying for like five business days. Like I said, enough to fill the Hudson River. I'm like, I am upset. I had two bagels for breakfast. I put it all out there, and somebody else is going through the same exact thing and thinks that no one sees them.

Rhona Pierce (16:51.566)
I think that even though like I don't think you're a hot mess online. And I think the difference is you're telling us about crying for five business days. You're not on here crying. The post isn't about you crying. The post is about this is what I'm going through and this is what I'm doing type of thing. It's to help someone and

A lot a lot of it obviously is gonna help you as you just write it and get that out. But it's for those it's for those like those DMs that you got, the people saying like, my gosh, I see, like I'm not the only one because I think you get in those moments of thinking like, Am I tripping? Is this am I the only one that's like thinking this way? Am I the only one laid up in my bed for five days crying? And no, you're not

Deidre Henry (17:39.852)
Especially in this economic climate where people are legitimately applying to thousands of jobs, you're not getting hired for 13, 14, 15 months. And you're just like, Did I just make up the last few years of how great I was at my job? Did I just does somebody lie to me about my skill set? Like, what is happening right now? So it doesn't help anyone.

If we all can't just be honest with each other and say, like, hey, yeah, I haven't even had a glass of water today because I've been laying in bed crying all day. Or I had two bagels for breakfast because, yeah, the carbs made me smile for 10 minutes at least. Like, right? Be honest about it.

Rhona Pierce (18:29.292)
I love that. So walk me through, cause y you are great at selling and converting in your post, right? Walk me through how you turn like a story into something that actually brings in business. Like not the feeling of it, but like the mechanics. Like let's get tactical. What okay, I have a story. How do I turn that into something that makes me money? Cause I need money.

Deidre Henry (18:54.506)
Amen, especially in this economy. Amen. So I have a framework which is funny enough, my favorite as my ex HR person called PTO. And it's not for paid time off, it's for post to opportunity, right? The framework is actually broken down for the PTO as also profile trust and opportunities. So when you are looking at your LinkedIn profile.

That was something that also shifted in me after the layoff. You come to LinkedIn and we really do look at it as no differently than Indeed or any other job site, right? We have our eyes set on it needs to be polished and this and that. And what shifted for me is I realized that the profile is actually a sales page.

Why would you ever pay for a website and for hosting, especially if you're just starting out? And this applies to if you are seeking a job. You are the actual product that's being sold. And your profile on LinkedIn is literally your sales landing page.

Every one of your posts should be selling this wonderful product and how that product is going to benefit your ideal person. If it is somebody who, if you're looking to get back in the job force, what is it about your skill set that is so incredibly outrageous and different from everyone else that I should buy into as an employer?

Rhona Pierce (20:39.422)
A hundred percent. A hundred percent. And yes, your LinkedIn is your landing page. And a lot of people focus so much on like, I need to get a this website and I need to get this, because I mean I can speak for myself. When you're in that layoff mode and not knowing, I call it my flailing period. You start deciding and listening to everything and I need a this, I need a this, I need a this. Actually, you need a LinkedIn profile that shows people how to con what you do.

why they need to hire you specifically and how to contact you. That's a sales landing page. That we just explained every sales landing page out there and you have that for free on LinkedIn.

Deidre Henry (21:21.738)
Is the thing, and we're whispering so that LinkedIn doesn't try to try start charging us monthly just to have an account. Like, but that is it. It is you start out thinking I need to do this or I need to build this profile, and done is better than perfect. Use what you have available to you and keep it simple. Once I changed my LinkedIn banner, my LinkedIn bio specifically to be super.

SEO friendly and make sure that the right keywords were in there for who I want to find me, who I want to be my dream client and customer. My featured section became a full checkout. That's it. I'm not paying for Shopify. I'm not paying for this. I'm not paying for this other platform or Squarespace. No, right in the LinkedIn featured section.

And when you look at every one of my posts, that is what's going to build the trust between you and I for you to go back into that featured section and actually transact.

Rhona Pierce (22:32.01)
Yes. And then after you've done that, after you've put in the reps, after you know how like how to reach people, you've had a post that convert and people have come to you, you've sold stuff, then you start thinking about the websites and the other platforms and the this and all of that. But like again, LinkedIn, you better never ever charge us. we will protest.

But yeah, like start with what you have 'cause you what you really need to develop is your storytelling, your messaging. That's what you really need to be developing because you can have the best website out there telling the wrong story and you just wasted time and money.

Deidre Henry (23:12.834)
My first client of the sales loft actually came without a website using strictly the LinkedIn profile. It was a ninety six hundred dollar retainer. And it again, it just literally came directly through my LinkedIn profile because I put everything in the right place for that to actually happen.

Rhona Pierce (23:26.071)
Yay.

Deidre Henry (23:40.652)
And it wasn't until that, that's just like what you said. That's when we start building on. All right, now we're gonna get the real website. Now we're gonna get the this. Now we're gonna invest in that. But you would be surprised that if you start using what you have, there are some things that people are absolutely willing to overlook. Like they're not necessarily looking for you to have this grand WordPress website with all these.

Bells and whistles that you spent forty eight hundred dollars on a website to be done. But they're ready to work with you because you've actually your posts have built enough trust that they're like, why would I not take advantage of this? And that sale again, $9,600 retainer. I had less than 2,000 connections on LinkedIn. And at the time on Instagram, 97.

Rhona Pierce (24:38.391)
Wow.

How long did it take from your like launching the business to getting that first retainer client?

Deidre Henry (24:47.598)
Seven months.

Rhona Pierce (24:49.292)
Wow.

Deidre Henry (24:50.99)
So I think what I see a lot of on social that frustrates me is people expecting to see results in 60 days. And again, I get it. Laid off here. So I understand, like we need to see the deposits happening in our account. But you have to separate yourself from that. And whenever you're not seeing the money coming into your account.

What one thing that you can actually dedicate yourself to doing is getting up every single day as if you already have a successful business and operate and act like that person. So if I was gonna send a hundred connections in per day, five days a week, and that's what I would be doing if I was successful, even if I have not had not one stripe notification. Okay, today's Tuesday.

Let's go send our hundred connection requests. Let's go comment on 50 posts. It just needs to become the repetition, regardless of the time. And it will compound. And when it does, you're gonna be like, is that a five figure deposit? Like what is happening? You're gonna be so pleasantly surprised.

Rhona Pierce (26:09.206)
Yes, I I can if I may, I can share my story. I've been laid off four times and I've tried a business a few times. And the first time I tried it, I was like, no one's gonna buy from me. I was doing coaching and it's like no one's gonna buy from me. I'm gonna do a giveaway to get practice and for people to know and blah blah. Well, I posted the giveaway thing and my website I had obviously had set up, I'm a systems person, I had set up how to buy and

Well, one girl was like, I don't even want to do the giveaway. I just want to buy. So my first thing before getting someone to sign up for my giveaway, I got an actual paying client. And I was like, shit, it's time to coach. So I start But yeah, it's like you just never know. You just never know. You have to be ready and you have to live with that. But yes, I hate that thing in social media. I think it's because people are posting like, look, and I got laid off and I got this.

Deidre Henry (26:50.689)
Okay.

Rhona Pierce (27:04.77)
I got laid off the last time three years ago. And my goal was like, okay, I'm gonna go all in and I'm gonna replace my salary. you get really real with how much money you really need versus the salary that you were making. Because just now, this year, I saw it like August 1st. We're we're recording today's August 4th. August 1st was three years since my layoff. And just now, this year, I am on track to replace.

my salary. It did not happen overnight. But I've also been able to pay my bills and survive and not lose everything and be out on the street. So but it it's not an overnight thing.

Deidre Henry (27:46.592)
We all have forgotten the saying that Rome wasn't built in a day. And I know that we don't want to hear it because we're looking at bills and other things and we're just like, no, I need Rome to have been built yesterday. And Rome needs to come with Wi-Fi and everything else. Like everything needs to be set up. But it's not realistic. And the time that you spend worrying and panicking over it is time that you could have been putting in the reps for what's actually going to create a deposit.

Rhona Pierce (28:17.91)
Yes. And you also just really have to get real with yourself about how much money you actually need to live, what you really need to be using. Because there's gonna be a s some time, like, yeah, I love shopping and spending five hundred dollars a month on clothing. That's not something I need. Like, do you get what I mean? And that's a crazy example, just in case my husband's listening, that's a crazy example. but yeah.

It's just you need to get real with what you actually need. And once you get that, I think the the stress level also goes down because you're used to living it operating like, okay, I'm making X amount of money and it's guaranteed guaranteed. and I and I need to replace that immediately. And you actually don't have to. You can look and you can see, okay, while I build this, and yes, you'll get back to that.

this is what I actually need. That stress goes down.

Deidre Henry (29:16.202)
It's the truth. I talk about that a lot. I where I tell people, they're just like, this is not working, or it hasn't replaced my salary. So it means it's not working. And I'm like, you don't even miss your old job. Like, let's be honest here. You don't. You miss the guarantee and the stability. You knew you were going to be paid on the 15th and the 30th. You knew exactly when that deposit was going to hit your account.

You knew all of these things. You knew when your stocks were gonna v. You were used to a routine. And that is what you actually miss. If you do, exactly as you said, get real about what you actually need, then you'll see. And it actually will motivate you to create the same routines that you need to create to make the money faster.

Rhona Pierce (30:08.598)
think a lot of people listening are probably gonna be thinking like, okay, cool, you guys are two examples of people that it turned into something, but plenty of people got laid off, told their story, and nothing happened. Because that is the reality. What separates a story that sells from one that just gets sympathy likes?

Deidre Henry (30:33.656)
Think that there needs to be a system behind it. There's a I think there's a framework. I think it's the system that's actually set up behind it, the intention of that actual person, and how willing to be authentic and raw there is are the three components of it. If you are putting it out there, your story with no intention of turning it into.

Turning your layoff into a layup, then that's all you're gonna get is the sympathy, is the I'm so sorry. And if I see something, you know, I'll I'll let you know. A lot of open to work posts, and I'm not saying that entrepreneurship is for everyone, but a lot of open to work posts are with the intention of sympathy. And unfortunately, they're not being written in a way.

That suits the reality of our current life. We're in a capitalist world. And everybody's looking for what is in it for them. You're open to work post. It shouldn't be with the intention of getting sympathy. It should be with the intention of sales. I was a director of recruiting. This is how amazing I am. This is what I can do. And

I got laid off from XYZ Company. Their loss, but guess what? Their loss can be your gain. Let me tell you exactly how. You are selling yourself with features and benefits. And that's what separates people who get just, I'm so sorry that you got laid off versus people who get DMs of, you know what, I saw your post, and you're right. Like

You did 30 million in ARR and I saw your post that you're open to work. I actually know somebody who is looking for the following. That is what makes the difference.

Rhona Pierce (32:40.908)
Yes. Your post should not be about you or or like sympathy or like the other the company. By the way, just mention them like if if they're a big company for clout type of thing, but not like we're not making them sales, we're making you get your next step. That I I just love how you laid that out because it's it's so true. It's like what can they c get from you? Like what's in it for them?

Deidre Henry (33:08.152)
What's in it for them? Cover letters, anything along those lines, it's all about what's in it for them. And I think that both for founders as well as job seekers, until you make that shift, because I hear from people all the time, and especially when I hear it from my my fellow girls, like it it upsets me when I don't want to be salesy. Life is sales.

Rhona Pierce (33:33.602)
Mm-hmm.

Deidre Henry (33:34.35)
If you need to convince your six-year-old to eat the broccoli on the plate, you are pitching them. Get with it. Like there's no way that you can get around this. This is your life. Selling is your life. If you want your husband to buy you this thing, you need to pitch him. If you want your elder parents to stop doing this, this, and this so that they don't fall and hurt themselves, you are pitching them on why you need them to stop doing the following, right?

That is all we do 24 hours a day, ironically, is pitch. And the faster that you can shift your brain to, you know what, I'm a salesperson. It just is what it is. You will put that into things like your actual job seeking, and you will write things with the intention of selling that client.

Rhona Pierce (34:28.247)
That is so, so true. Everyone is selling all day, every day. Even your six year old, when you're convincing them to eat the broccoli, is trying to sell you and pitch you on why they don't need to eat the broccoli. Everyone is selling all day, every day.

Deidre Henry (34:44.019)
Literal objection handling 101, especially worse so when you're dealing with even a toddler. It's there that that's the first thing that they learn how to do is objection handling. Like, why? No, because like and they list out all their reasons as to why they're not doing this, why they're not doing that, why this I'm not taking a nap. Why would I do that? Here's all the reasons why I'm not interested in taking a nap.

You think that your response to that is not a sales rebuttal? It is. You just you don't see it that way. You guys see sales as something sleazy, somebody like you know, trying to scam or convince somebody to do something or take something that they don't want to take. You're doing that too with your toddler, with your spouse.

With your parents, with your friends. You want to go to this restaurant, but I want to go to that restaurant. You're pitching.

Rhona Pierce (35:48.95)
Yeah.

Deidre Henry (35:50.69)
You're pitching. This place has five stars in Google and they have happy hour. And the margaritas are only six bucks. We should go here. That is a pitch, people.

Rhona Pierce (36:00.597)
That is a pitch.

Deidre Henry (36:02.156)
And you'll realize you're damn good at it.

Rhona Pierce (36:04.778)
Yes. Yes. Is there any downside to building like everything based on your own story or like putting your lowest moment out there? Has it ever cost you anything?

Deidre Henry (36:21.432)
It w it cost friendships. I think that you know, and I think for a lot of people it can cost relationships. Some people look at it as maybe you're going or you're putting yourself through an unnecessary stress, right? Like just just stop yapping on LinkedIn and just hit easy apply, please, and just come on, right?

But that is when you really have to lock in and believe in what you are doing and know the difference in what you are doing. And you have to have the conviction that it is going to work because it has cost me friendships. It absolutely has. People who can't see your vision. And that's okay. I think that is one of the biggest lessons. I spent like a year miserable, like

Okay, things with the sales loft happen to be going great, but I don't have anybody to share this with because some of my closest people were just like, What are you doing? You could have been gotten a job at Amazon already. Like, what do you mean you're not coming out or you can't go out to dinner because you're working on this thing for your business? If you would have just taken an offer from Salesforce.

We could have been having an espresso martini already. Like you have to be okay with the fact that not everyone's gonna see your vision. But that's why it's your vision. Yeah. It's yours.

Rhona Pierce (38:01.452)
I love that. before we we keep going, there I if you watch the show, you know I always do a segment. And this time I'm doing a segment, I've been doing it for for a couple of weeks now that I created because honestly, I've been nosy my entire life. And these aren't the types of questions you were expecting, but they're the ones I'm actually curious about. Are you ready?

Deidre Henry (38:26.286)
I am I'm so ready. Let's do it.

Rhona Pierce (38:28.884)
All right, because I'm nosy, I wanna know, has anyone from Zillow ever reached out since now that you're on the other side of the success, like anyone in leadership that was part of that decision, did they ever has anyone reached out?

Deidre Henry (38:45.46)
Yes and no. So I had one not one. I actually had two leaders who reached out and said, you know, I am I did not see this coming, but I have to say, you just as you put it, you turned your layoff into a layup. Like I am watching from afar.

But I am rooting for you and I'm proud of you. And they were like, I don't know if that means anything to you, but I just want you to know. Like, I am proud of you. And then I had two specific leaders that again, relationships that were cost that I thought would have reached out because of the relationship that we had. And I was super heartbroken to not hear an absolute.

word from them ever again. Like ever again.

Rhona Pierce (39:47.032)
That is a very, very sad part of a layoff. And I did a video about that recently, just sharing my story about that. And I thought I would be alone. And that's something people across all platforms, people are like, no, there's so many people who like have had that experience. It's like, I know it's taught me that I reach out to people after a layoff. Like I said, I've been laid off four times. So like after that,

I would reach out to people and make it a point 'cause it's like you are feeling so lonely, you're feeling so rejected. And then the person or the people that you had relationships with don't even say hi.

Deidre Henry (40:23.022)
I did a post about that because I did kind of highlight the fact that I didn't know that leprosy was back in style. Because like every the way that some of you that I literally rode the train with. And mind you, some of us were commuting an hour and 15 minutes into Manhattan to go to Zillow, especially before the pandemic.

Before they went remote. We rode the train every day with each other. We would wait for each other. Like, you're gonna you have a project and you're not gonna be able to catch that train. Like, I'll find something to do, and then we can leave together. Like, we've driven each other home. All of those things, like, your car is stuck because there's 10 feet of snow outside. Like, hop in my truck. Like, just leave your car here. I got you.

How did we go from that to I don't even you don't even know my name? You don't even know my name. It's it's jarring.

Rhona Pierce (41:34.356)
Wild and and not knowing what to say is not an excuse. Sorry, not sorry. That is absolutely not an excuse.

Deidre Henry (41:41.14)
It's it's not because you know what?

Think what I would say to that group of people is they underestimate the power of just the simplicity of the call. When I've had people who they didn't reach out to me right away, but when they did, they were honest about that. And they said, like, D, I'm just, I didn't know what to say. Like, I'm just, I'm so sad for you. And I just feel like I don't even I I they were like, I'm processing it too. Like, what do you mean?

She's not here anymore. Like, I have your old clients asking me 700 questions. And they were just like, I don't, what do I call her and and and say? And sometimes that is enough to say, like, I have been thinking about you so much, but I am overcome with nerves and anxiety that I don't know what to say. But I'm here and I'm not gonna pretend as if.

We didn't work together as if you weren't a part of my life. Like we work in these companies and we truly do see our colleagues more than we see our family.

Rhona Pierce (42:58.734)
Yes. Yes.

Deidre Henry (43:00.914)
Spouses included. If you think about it, if you are going into an office worse so, if you're physically going into an office for an 8 30, nine o'clock start, by the time that you leave your house in the morning to commute to that place for an 8 30 start, if you get off at five o'clock, by the time that you commute home, right? You are with your loved ones from what seven o'clock until you guys go to bed at eleven.

Four hours? You go to sleep, you get up at six o'clock, get ready, get on the train or jump in your car and drive to work for an 8:30 start. You're seeing your family members on an average of four to five hours a day versus your colleagues.

Rhona Pierce (43:51.604)
Yeah, the these these are important relationships. and I hope everyone listening is never one of those people moving forward. so let's lighting up a little. What did you buy yourself with money from your business that felt like proof that you'd made it?

Deidre Henry (44:13.4)
Ooh.

Deidre Henry (44:17.174)
You know what? And maybe this is like corny and cheesy, but it was the ability to invest in all the tools that I saw other successful business owners have. When I was able to finally afford a CRM, I was like, this is a real business now. Like I'm not in Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets. Like you better.

You better recognize me now. I have a CRM. I'm being charged monthly. Like that it felt like that when I was able to get the tripods and the tech that I saw and that I knew was gonna help move things forward. The simplicity of when I hit a certain revenue number, and this may also sound geeky. When Stripe was finally like, yeah, girl.

Rhona Pierce (45:12.83)
Sh.

Deidre Henry (45:13.016)
You're one of us now and like we're offering you like loans and things like that. I was like, who wait, me? Like my business has actually made it to the point that like I'm qualified for these things with strife. This is a real business. And that was my way of funny enough, celebrating. Because when I was at Zolo, it really was nothing to just like you said, like I I

People who know me again, like, and it's very visible on the internet, you'll you'll you would see it. Like, there's a Louis bag, there's a Versace bag, there's a this, there's a that. Like when I was inducted into President's Club, all of my colleagues talked about my shoes because my gift to myself at President's Club was $2,200 Dolce and Gabbana heels.

That I wore across the stage to accept my award for President's Club. But it's a shift. Like now I know that I made it because I have certain tech and software that I'm like, yeah, I'm part of the we're we're doing something now, we're cooking.

Rhona Pierce (46:29.108)
No, it's it's it's a total mental shift and I I relate to that story so much because yeah, in corporate, you're I would be like, my gosh, yeah, I bought my first designer purse, I bought my first this, I bought like you have those milestones and you remember it. But as a business owner, it hasn't been anything like that. It's been like, my gosh, I can put my bills on auto auto pay. Yes, I don't have to remember to because I'm if you saw a recent post of mine, I don't have my shit together and I forget.

stuff. So it's like, ooh, I can put stuff on auto pay or yes, I can buy this software. I can do this. my gosh, I can hire someone to help.

Deidre Henry (47:08.46)
Yes, that is it's it's such a shift. Like you're looking at certain platforms and they're just when you're first starting out and you're like, what's the free email plan? Is that a MailChimp? How many contacts do I get with that? And you're trying not to feel embarrassed and you have to remind yourself, I'm just starting out, it's okay, I'm just starting out. And then when you quote, made it, you're like.

Yeah, I'll take the enterprise plan. Like yeah, I'll take it annually and I'll save two months according to your little schwiel there. I would love to do that. Like

Rhona Pierce (47:43.51)
Yes, I'll I'll remove the logo from the bottom of the email. I love that one.

Deidre Henry (47:50.094)
It's those little things that other people would be like, that's what you're excited about? Removing the email banner from Flowdesk. And it's like, Yep, because I'm on the annual plan and I'm also saving two months if you were curious. Yep. It's on auto renew. yeah, that's me.

Rhona Pierce (48:09.678)
I love it. And I've absolutely loved, loved this conversation. Thanks again so much. Where can listeners connect with you?

Deidre Henry (48:19.554)
Well, my favorite place, of course, LinkedIn. Absolutely. you can find me at Deedra Henry. So D-E-I-D-R-E as and Mary Henry. And then for everything else, you guys can visit the sales loft. There is right now that I have right on LinkedIn for you guys to find it. If you guys are curious, more about that PTO.

Framework. It doesn't stand for paid time off anymore. It's post to opportunities. Let's turn your profile into something that truly generates inbound opportunities. Because a lot, not just me, a lot of your favorite people on LinkedIn that you're looking at, like, damn, like they're really doing this and they're really doing that. That can be you. It's a lot easier than you think.

Rhona Pierce (49:15.734)
Yes, it is. And and one last thing to leave listeners with before we wrap. I'm sure people are listening and thinking, my story is too small or too painful to be useful to someone else. What's the first thing they can do today to start changing their mindset and sharing that story?

Deidre Henry (49:37.502)
I think the first thing that you can do, which is it's gonna sound crazy, but it's the first thing that shifted my mindset is go to the IRS website and get an EIN for free. Because something in your brain will shift when you see this XLLC, when you see X S Corp, and they immediately, as soon as you're finished filing that EIN.

And it takes you 10 minutes, guys. 10 minutes. And it is free to do on the IRS website. When they immediately send you that PDF that says you have this business, please retain this PDF with this EIN number for your records. Something will shift. And so your story is not too small. And if you think that.

Go on there, file for it, and when you get that PDF, tell me if you don't feel a little bit different looking at your own S Corp or your own LLC on paper.

Rhona Pierce (50:48.27)
Absolutely love that. Thanks again for being on the show.

Deidre Henry (50:51.832)
Thank you so much for having me. I was so excited. This was so great.

Rhona Pierce (50:56.398)
If you're enjoying the Workfluencer pod, share with someone who's changing how we talk about work or who should be. And hey, if this episode gave you ideas or inspiration, leave us a five-star review. Reviews help other listeners find us. And honestly, it makes my day. This show is produced by Workfluencer Media. Visit WorkfluencerMedia.com to learn how we help companies build video-first content systems that attract, engage, and retain qualified talent.

That's Workfluencer Media dot com. Thanks for listening and I'll chat with you next week.