The Triple Threat: 3 Secrets to Transform Your Sales Game
Are you showing up as the most powerful version of yourself or just playing a role?
In this deeply honest and energizing finale to their 10-part high performer series, Lisa and Cindy pull back the curtain on the secret sauce that separates top sellers from the rest: authenticity. From real-life stories to tactical action steps, this episode explores how unveiling your true self not only builds lasting connections but also drives stronger results.
Whether you're new to the game or a seasoned rep, this one’s for every rep who’s ready to trade the pitch for a personal touch—and win big.
Episode Chapter Markers
01:00 - Why Authenticity Is the Hardest—and Most Crucial—Skill
03:00 - What Shark Tank’s Robert Herjavec Taught Us About Sales
05:00 - Lisa’s Story: Losing (and Winning Back) a Customer
08:00 - The Real Secret: Selling with Emotion, Not Features
10:00 - Power Play #10 Revealed: Unveil the Real You
11:00 - Action Step 1: Reflect and Own Your Story
16:30 - Action Step 2: Embrace Vulnerability
21:00 - Action Step 3: Envision the Persona You Want to Project
24:00 - Bonus Challenge: Bring Your Vision to Life in Every Interaction
Must-Hear Insights and Key Moments
Unfiltered Is Underrated – Lisa shares how dropping the sales armor and just being herself brought a lost client back—after a full year apart.
Your Story Is Your Superpower – Cindy explains how owning her journey shaped her voice and showed her why trying to fit in just isn’t worth it.
The Triple Threat Framework – The Girls of Grit™ break down three action steps to turn authenticity into sales gold: Reflect & Own Your Story, Embrace Vulnerability, and Define Your Vision.
The Singing Sales Rep – Lisa bonds over childhood voice lessons with a physician, proving that sharing personal experiences can create unexpected connections.
Vulnerability as a Sales Tool – From OR conversations to post-case feedback, being open about your flaws builds trust—and better teamwork.
Words of Wisdom: Standout Quotes from This Episode
"You can’t make someone feel something if you’re not being authentically you." — Cynthia Ficara
"There is no fake-it-till-you-make-it in sales. People sniff that out a mile away." — Anneliese Rhodes
"Your story is your superpower. Nobody can take that from you." — Cynthia Ficara
"People don’t remember what you said. They remember how you made them feel." — Anneliese Rhodes
"Trust isn’t built on pitches—it’s built on connection." — Cynthia Ficara
"Your competitors can have the same product. They’ll never have your story." — Anneliese Rhodes
"Being authentic isn’t soft—it’s your strongest sales edge." — Cynthia Ficara
"Don’t hide your story. That’s the bridge to trust." — Anneliese Rhodes
"Connection in the OR starts with vulnerability, not a script." — Anneliese Rhodes
"Authenticity isn’t a trend. It’s the foundation of every long-term sale." — Cynthia Ficara
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Blog Transcript:
Note: We use AI transcription so there may be some inaccuracies
Anneliese Rhodes: Hello. Hello. Welcome back to another episode of Secrets and Medical Device Sales, brought to you by the Girls of Grit. We have another awesome and very. Authentic episode coming your way today.
Cynthia Ficara: Oh, I love it, Lisa. Hey everybody. You know I'm really excited today actually wraps up a course of our 10 power plays for high performers.
So this is our high performer, number 10, power play, and we wanna just take a minute. To really, point out that we saved the best for last, and Lisa and I were discussing how this one kind of has undertones in everything that you do. in the end, we're gonna kind of pull it all together. But we are really, really excited about today's last power play, and we hope you just settle in and listen because we're taking a little bit of time today to make it, a triple threat.
For you. We're going to give you three action steps to really own this last power play and be as successful as you can be out there in the field.
The Hardest Power Play: Authenticity in Action
Anneliese Rhodes: I think this one above all the other, Cindy, for a lot of people, might be the hardest to do because it's not like you can, like strong work ethic for example, you can work on that, right? I mean, not like you can't work on this, or lifelong learning. You can pick up books and read them and become more knowledgeable. But with this one, this one is something that we actually have to be able to accept and. Embrace, not be scared of and allow ourselves a little bit of vulnerability with it because,
It's not easy being a female out there in male dominated spaces. It's not easy getting your butt kicked every day in sales, just in general for all of us out there. and it's not easy. Showing the world your true self. And so I think that today's episode that, I'm just gonna go ahead and say it. It's all about authenticity.
And that's what we're talking about today. And you guys, I know that word can like be like a, what's the word I'm looking for? It's like a, like a
Cynthia Ficara: buzzword. There you go. Thank
Anneliese Rhodes: you. Like a buzzword. Yeah. But the truth is, it is so key to be authentic in sales. And we're gonna tell you guys why, and I have a couple examples of some things that.
Have happened to me that kind of, I was telling Cindy about these stories earlier when we were discussing this episode, and I think they really ring true because it's important to keep it, you know, don't hide who you are, don't hide your true, authentic self, and we're gonna tell you why it's so important in sales and how it really will help you be super successful.
Cynthia Ficara: Absolutely. And you know, authenticity really can help you build a connection, with trust. when you can build trust and a connection, what a great kind of engine behind your sales. And you know, Lisa, you were talking about, she, found an Instagram post and Oh yeah. You have to say who or do you have that?
'cause I remember what you said. I pronounce
Anneliese Rhodes: his name.
Cynthia Ficara: And if you, and if you don't, so anybody watch Shark Tank out there? He's one of the sharks.
Anneliese Rhodes: I got his last name. I'll just spell it. But it's Robert. Herjavec, H-E-R-J-A-V-E-C. And I saw this Instagram, you guys, this post on or whatever meme video on Instagram this morning and I was like, this is such a.
Perfect video clip. It's like 30 seconds long for exactly what we're talking about today. And you took the notes down, Cindy, when I played it for you just a minute ago. So if you wanna tell him the notes on it. Yes. But you guys, I'm telling you it was posted on Instagram by Millionaire Mentor, who I follow hashtag Millionaire Mentor.
Yeah. Good title. Right. But he posted it a couple days ago, I guess it just popped up on my feed today and I heard it and I was like. Heck yeah. We're gonna talk about this today 'cause exactly right along with what we're talking about.
Cynthia Ficara: So paraphrasing, but essentially, this is what it said, salespeople sell features, good salespeople sell outcomes. Great salespeople sell feelings because people do not remember what you say, but they always remember how you made them feel. let me tell you, you can't make somebody feel something without authentically being you. You try to jump into somebody else's shoes, say something like somebody else, the message gets all jumbled.
It's totally different. When Lisa presents something, by the way she talks is different than the way I do. It could be the exact same message, it could be the exact same words, but delivered in an authentic way is what gives a lasting impact.
Selling with Heart, Not Hype
Anneliese Rhodes: Yeah, God, I love that. And that was per, you summarized it so perfectly. And the truth is, is we say this a lot, but people buy from people they trust. People buy from people that leave them with a lasting feeling of greatness, of goodness, of like, wow, I like that person. I genuinely like that person that I work with. I can't tell you how many of my competitors.
I hear my docs say that, they're like, oh, I love working with so and so. And I'm like, why? And they're like, because they're real. ' cause they're just normal people. And it's like, oh, that's awesome. Right? But what does that really mean? And so I think today we're gonna talk about that, but I'm gonna give you guys a good example of kind of, to get you thinking about this and maybe you've already had this in your past and I would tell you and encourage you to continue doing the same things.
So, a number of years back I was, selling a medical device and. We had had a couple cases that weren't perfect, and so the physician and I, you know, we talked about it and he was just really unhappy with his results and I'm like, you know what? I hear you. I'm sorry. I did everything I could to make it better.
But sometimes you guys, I. You just can't. And so I backed off of him, but I kept in touch with him. And what do I mean by that? Well, when I would see him at meetings, I'd ask him about his wife and his kids. When I would talk to him in the hospital, I'd ask him about, you know, his favorite sports teams. ask him about cases, just say hi.
Just be kind. And I will tell you a year after those couple of cases that were not good. Out of the blue, I got an email from him saying, Hey, I got a couple cases. I think that's gonna be good for your product. I wanna try you again. Wow. And I'm telling you, Cindy, I was blown away. I was like, wait, what? What happened?
Did my competitor like fall off the face of the earth? Like, what? Why are you calling me again? when I saw him, he was just like, and we started, you know, looking through stuff and talking about the cases. He was like, I miss working with you, Lisa. He's like, I just really miss working with you and chatting with you and like, I trust your expertise.
The cases weren't perfect, but everything has its issues, right? nothing is perfect out there. And he's like, you know. I really just miss working with you, and so when I think about today's episode. One of the things that I try and do really well is I'm authentically me. I try really hard to always talk to my physicians and the best way possible of what I know, of what I can bring to them, and then I just relate to them like normal person to person.
I'm not like this. pushy, pushy, salesperson, you must buy this. You're gonna blah, blah, blah. I'm just like, Hey, this is gonna be great. This is what we're seeing. I would love to work with you. And then I follow back up with that. the trustworthiness, the strong work ethic, the lifelong learning, all the things that we've gone through to make high performers, but interwoven in that is that authenticity.
Cynthia Ficara: Oh my gosh. There were so many things you said that just made me wanna say ah, ah, ah. Okay. Number one, you said you talk about being authentic and that is such a great example of you being you showing up as you and look, it turned out in the end. We are gonna spend some time today, we're gonna give you three action steps to tell you.
Exactly how to do yourself. Sounds silly, but so true. But I wanted to say two points. Number one, when you talked about, you went up and you asked him, oh, how are your kids, how are sports that authentically was an interest or conversations that you had? Let's say you know nothing about sports, you care nothing about sports.
You don't care if he cares about sports. If you come out and say, oh. Are you following sports? It sounds so awkward and weird and not you. Right? So true. Like you can't be somebody else. You're right. But there was something else I wanted to say. You said very beginning how your customers want to work with people or sell what they buy from people.
Right? And it made me think, how many of you listening, compete. With a product that is secondary to yours. That is maybe 10, 15 years old in technology. Maybe it's had issues, but they are still ahead of you in the rankings when it comes to the area in which you work. So you have to take a look at that. Am I thinking that my, well, I've got the better product, so I'm better go work for the company with a good product because I'm gonna gain right there.
It's not because that's a perfect example of selling yourself. So I think that links into a perfect time, Lisa, to reveal our secret to power play number five of authenticity. Oh
Anneliese Rhodes: yeah. Yes, yes, yes. So our secret today to authenticity is. Unveiling who you are, like pulling that veil away. Y'all like let it go.
Pull that filter off and being able to embrace who you truly are. And let's say you don't like sports, well then don't talk about sports. You know, talk about something else. Like don't fake the front. There is no, fake it till you make it. And let's be honest, people can sniff that stuff out from a mile away.
So, you know, really unveiling and embracing authenticity can be scary. It can be something where, you think you're doing it, but you may not be doing it. The truth is just know who you are. And so today we have three ways that we are gonna help you guys figure out, which I'm sure you all know who you are, but even when Sydnee and I were talking about this, I don't do this that often and I think I should do the first step a little bit more.
And these three things that we're gonna give you guys today are really gonna help you fine tune and break into your true, authentic self, and then be able to express it, be able to embrace it, be able to interweave it into your sales pitches with your customers, whether they're physicians or they're nurses, or they're techs or they're VPs of.
Of hospitals. These things will help you guys gain that edge. Because I truly think if you're not authentic after a while, people are gonna sniff it out and they're gonna quit buying from you. They just are. It is so
Your Story is Your Superpower
Cynthia Ficara: true. I mean, we've mentioned this before, this is a male dominated field and many of you are women listening.
we can't go be a dude. I mean, it's just so awkward and weird, youso maybe you have a doctor that plays. Golf with your male counterpart, but that's their conversation. You don't have to come ask about their golf game or nope, oh, hey, or go learn golf. But, you know what, how many doctors have children?
Maybe as a female, you have children. Maybe that common ground is, oh yeah, well, how's your 2-year-old? And the terrible twos and relate. and then your conversation isn't about golf. You bring a totally unique piece. To that. So I think that, unveiling, while that sounds like a big word, Lisa said it perfectly, we're really revealing your true self.
Any shed, any layers of pretense that are not you, but then who you are. So let's begin with the very first action step to really help you in your triple threat. So. With authenticity, we're gonna begin with, number one, reflect and own your story. Okay? That may sound crazy, reflect and own your story. Well, let me take, take you back like to a moment in my life where I thought I'd hide parts to succeed.
Like maybe I would just not say something true about myself. Well, if everybody sits back and thinks of a moment when. maybe I could have done better. Maybe if I tried not to fit into a mold or fit into being somebody else. Mm-hmm. Say you're brand new. You know, say you're brand new to this field and all you have is male counterparts, don't think you have to be there.
'cause let me tell you, it is exhausting. But when you step back and really reflect on your unique story, like what shaped you, I've mentioned before, hey, I'm the middle child. I'm the middle of three girls. So what's unique about that? I always have to speak up loud because nobody wanted to listen to me, right?
Yeah, of course. That's my perception. I'm sure my parents might disagree, but it's true, So I find myself being adamant about certain things, speaking up when I find it important. That's just who I am, you know? And why I don't know if I have an answer. I just know that if I look back in certain sequences of instances, this is always my go-to.
This is who I am. AndI mean, do you disagree, Lisa? That No,
Anneliese Rhodes: I, mean, I'm thinking of a couple of 'em, but I mean, I'm trying to think of what happened just recently, but like I was not talking about something and then all of a sudden, like my physician started talking about, I'm like, wait a minute, you do that too.
Like I do that. Oh, you know what it was? It was singing in church. We were talking about, and actually she goes to Baptist Church too, we were talking about it and then I find out that she had voice lessons as a kid. I'm like, oh my God, so did I like, and it was so weird because I don't talk about that kind of stuff, you know?
I don't really, like nobody asked, I'm not gonna really talk about it. And we're sitting there doing something in the, back of the room and she just started talking and I was like. Holy crap. and we literally bonded over that, Cindy, and it's not something that I would've told normally said. It's not that I wanna hide it, it's just not something I lead with.
Right. And there she was lo and behold, talking about singing and all the voice lessons she took, and singing in church and having little kids and all the things that I could completely relate to. And then we bonded over that. And it was, I'll tell you what, my male counterpart couldn't have done that or me competitor or you right.
Or you, I can't sing to save my life. Right. Or you, probably 99% of the people that I compete against couldn't have done that. But I had that. That's part of my story. And I think owning your own narrative, don't hide from your narrative. You know, everybody has, everybody in the world has faced obstacles, has faced opposition, has had things happen to them, good and bad.
And the only way that people can bond is through those experiences. And I think if you shy away. From who you are and what you've been through, that hides part of your narrative. again, people buy from people they trust. Your docs wanna trust you. You know, they wanna know that you're in there with them.
You're their comrade or their confederate. I taught Brooklyn a vocabulary word the other day. We're going through things and I'm like, what does Confederate mean? She's like, I don't know. And I'm like, it's a comrade. And I like called a couple of her friends and she's like, those are my com. Federates now that's like the new word that we use.
I'm like, I don't know if that's great, but my point is like, your customers want to feel, they want you to feel like you're in the partnership with them, not that you're separate. And the only way to do that is to own your narrative, is to be authentic.
Cynthia Ficara: authenticity breeds that trust,
and then trust converts in the business world into lifelong clients. But think back to like college, right? So you grow up in high school. First you go to school with people who are. Living in the same zip code. That's just, those people happen to be where you are and you happen to be in the same room and go to school together.
Then if you have the freedom to choose what you want to do, where you wanna go to college, then you go to college, and guess what? You get to be in a group of people who chose the same thing because you did, and then. Authentically you share your background, where you come from, and think about the bond of friendship that you make with people when you connect on some level.
Oh my gosh. And they become a lifelong friend. Yeah. You know, business has that same direction when you own your story and you know who you are and you bring it to the surface, you know? Yeah. So in this. First action step. We're going to give you an action. We're gonna give you an action right now, and the first action is I want you to set aside, it can be five minutes, it can be 15 minutes, but just take a minute to bring to your forefront and your brain like key moments that shaped you.
Because if you just sit here and try to think of it, you're gonna forget as you're driving. But I want you to kind of think of key moments, like what challenges did you overcome? what experiences, how did you alter that? What did you do to make it better? Like just kind of know what your story is and just bring it up to recent memory, because I think once you kind of know your story, then it's crazy.
It's like this power you have because it's something that nobody can take from you. And then how many times like. When it's right there with you, you can twist and turn it into so many different things and it's just amazing what makes you you, right? So that's your little exercise. Take time. And it's really fun I mean, who doesn't like to think about like fun stories or what shapes them?
Because this is your narrative. Make it good. Know what's the good to come out. So that is action. Step number one is that we want you to reflect and own your story.
Vulnerability Is Key
Anneliese Rhodes: Yes. All right. Number two is embracing vulnerability. And I think that's probably a hard one for everybody. You know, it's a hard one for me it's hard to admit when you're wrong.
It's hard to admit that you may have had a fault. But I also remind everyone that we're all human and that everybody makes mistakes and everybody goes through tough times. and sometimes you realize that you might have, that might be the tie that binds you with the person that you're talking to, whatever that situation can be.
I mean,you know what's funny is I was, now that I'm thinking about it, I was just talking with a girl in the OR the other day It's literally bringing me back. She was talking about having horses and having young kids. And she's like, you know, when I was younger, this horses were therapy for me.
They made me happy. They got me through tough times. You know, I had a really troublesome teenagehood, like being a teenager and all the stuff that you go through as a teenager. And she's like, you know, I've had, unfortunately we have a couple of young kids. My husband works horses are really expensive, and we had to sell a couple of horses and she's like, I've been just so sad about it, and I'm like.
I understand. I totally understand. I've been there, honey, I had to give up horseback riding too after I had a child and it killed me. And every time I see a picture of him now, because he is retired and he is back with his original owner, it kills me that I wasn't able to be the one that could retire him and keep him.
But I got where she was at, Cindy. I knew exactly where she was at in her life, and literally that girl. And I walked into the case together and she was running the room and there was a couple things that I needed and she was like, no problem, no problem. And I mean, it was like, you know, not that she wouldn't have been helpful, but I think just that little bit of human connection prior to walking into the, OR theater and really, you know, have setting the stage for a great case and concentrating only on the patient, the underlying feelings of connection were there and she was even more happy to help out when needed.
wasn't even anything I was trying to do. I just was vulnerable and I'm like. This is where I was. And then at the end of the case, before I left, I encouraged her not to give up. I encouraged her to keep looking and not, giving up on the fact that she wanted horses, figuring out how to make it work.
And I gave her a couple of ideas, but it was like just that small little piece of me. Mm-hmm. I was able to give her some good advice.
Cynthia Ficara: Well, you made a connection. And you know, like we said, it's the connection that builds, but none of these connections happen unless you're authentically experiencing things that are similar or that you can relate to or that you happen to listen.
I mean, some people just really are great listeners and that is an authentic. Tremendous strength that, maybe you could connect, like say you have somebody that their big connection is horses, but maybe you love dogs or maybe you love to do something else, but you understand that you know what, this is something important to them and they have a big heart and this means to them.
And we've all been in places where we want things to go one way and they don't. Or certain circumstances change the path that we're on. And that's relatable. So when you're, vulnerable, it's amazing what you can learn about somebody and also about yourself. So be real when you're in, say you're in a case and you don't know something.
That's where you have to be vulnerable. Mm, good point. You have got to have a lifeline. Yes. You've got to ask somebody. If something doesn't go wrong, something doesn't go right and then maybe you get through at the very end, you need to really be open and reflect on that. What happened, why, what can I do better?
And then make sure you. Use that as a springboard to help another coworker to help the patient. Ultimately, you know, we're a very patient centered job in medical device, and so when something doesn't go wrong, you use that vulnerability to allow yourself to share your story with somebody else to prevent anything from going wrong or making it better, essentially.
Anneliese Rhodes: I think that another good part of vulnerability is utilizing feedback. So let's say you, didn't do something right. Everything went okay. There are all times where maybe the, people in the OR 40% know that it was tough. then you pick up your coworker and you're gonna tell them the other 60% that you hid, okay, this didn't go right.
Cynthia Ficara: I didn't know this and why and what? And go through the steps and be real. Say, this is what I did in the case. Where did I go wrong? What could I have done better? What was I not doing? Because when you partner, make yourself better, that vulnerability allows you to become that much stronger and better of a representative to actually represent the next patient even stronger.
Right? Yeah. Like, yeah. I mean, what do you think, Lisa? I think we're on a breakthrough here. You know? Yeah. I mean, you've got stories, you've got vulnerability. And then what
Visualize Your Impact. Then Become It.
Anneliese Rhodes: I think the third one is, the last piece of this. So, you know, you've written down your strengths, you know, what makes you the, you know, strong, who you are, authentically, what is your narrative?
You have to be vulnerable about all these things, good and bad. And the last part is now. Vision, how are you going? What do you want to be, or who do you want to be perceived as? With your customers, what are the things that you wanna leave somebody with? And going back to that quote at the beginning of this episode, that you summarized so well, is you wanna leave that lasting effect, that feeling, well, what feeling is that?
What do you wanna leave your customers with? Okay. What does that person look like and how are you going to. Make that person come out from all of the things that you've done that we talked about, and I think it's really important to actually visualize it. Who are you? What are you leaving them?What's the partnership that you're offering and why are they gonna call you again? I mean, what are you leaving with them? That feeling, so that the next time they have a case or they think about you, they are thinking X, Y, Z. She's trustworthy, she's dependable, she's a partner, she's knowledgeable, she, God, we had such a great case.
She left me with a great feeling like, what is it that you're gonna leave him with?
Cynthia Ficara: And Lisa, remember, we're the girls of grit here, so we don't want to, we're here to help you. So we don't want anybody out there thinking, okay, yeah. So what am I gonna do? So let's make this simple. So this action step, take out a pen.
We're gonna take a few minutes and here's some questions you can ask yourself. What values do you stand for? You know, Lisa said the best question, how do you want others to perceive you? I think when you walk into a room, I think that one is one of my favorite thoughts of write your story, just write it down on paper, And now also ask yourself your true strengths. Your characteristics, your perceptions. Now, are you ready? Bonus, bonus. Just because you write all this down, I'm challenging you all for the next week. You need to incorporate this persona vision that we're crafting. Into not only your sales calls, but your emails, your text messages, your phone calls.
Ooh, that's your meetings, okay? Yeah. See how this aligns with the actions of your true self. Start practicing. And guess what, if you're a little bit nervous about this and you're afraid to do this with your, clients, go try your sibling. Go try your spouse. Go try your children, right? See if they react like practice, because everything that we do can be so much better.
And I know authenticity just sounds like, oh, just be authentic, be yourself. But I honestly believe that this is a triple threat. The actions that we gave you today, I believe, can transform your sales when you pay attention, when you number one, reflect on your own story. So go back and write it. Like we said, few minutes, what shaped you?
What challenges did you have? Number two, embrace that vulnerability. Always be open to it. See it coming from somebody else. Embrace it with them. And then also be aware of your own vulnerability. Ask for feedback and very last, that vision really, you know, craft, right? Like your own personal brand. When people say.
you need to act like you're already there. Be who you wanna be. So take this time, write down what you want and start. Being it be the actor, the lead actor in your own play. I am telling you, authenticity will shine through customers. You'll be writing us in stories of how this helps because it's all something we have, but it's all something we don't always tap into.
And when we do, we can take this power play number 10 to new heights combine this to unbelievable sales results. I truly, truly believe that. Authenticity unlocks trust and connection. So I'm just gonna ask all of you out there, are you ready? Are you ready to transform that next sales? Because I can't wait to hear about it,
Anneliese Rhodes: Oh my gosh, you guys, we are so excited for today's episode, Cindy and I cannot wait to reveal our last of our 10 part series on high performers. And you guys. This one, it's within all of us. It's within your reach and it's so easy to do. You just have to tap into it.
Cynthia Ficara: That is such an understatement. So we want you to stay tuned because we are about to reveal three powerful action steps that not only will elevate your sales performance, but you also help you embrace your true, authentic self. So are you ready to unlock the secret to your success? Tune in.
