In only his first year with Southwestern Consulting, a leadership company dedicated to providing meaningful impact to its members, Rusty Gunther has achieved a myriad of success. Here, he talks us through the journey he’s been on – and the knowledge he’s imparted on his proteges.
Rusty Gunther joined Southwestern Consulting after a decade spent driving results in sales and leadership. Having implemented technology to foster deeper connections with those he serves, he has at the same time helped those same professionals utilize systems that improve time management skills, and lead to substantial growth.
He joined us to discuss his past year, and the tools he takes advantage of to grow himself, and others.
Sarshar: What have you learned in your first year with Southwestern Consulting?
Rusty: For one, I’ve been fortunate to work with a lot of clients in various industries, such as insurance, real estate, banking, and lending; where I’m building organizations in B2B – which is my background.
Sarshar: What’s been the overarching theme of their limitations?
Rusty: The universal hiccups all clients in that specific field experience; from failing to recognize the hurdles getting in the way, to pushback from fear of becoming uncomfortable.
I work with a lot of people on the aspect of time management. That, in particular, is one of those things where – if we can identify how they’re using their time and work through it, there’s such big wins that the trust is almost 100% from the beginning. On top of that, breaking out of their comfort zone is a result of me having those difficult conversations – which I look forward to, because growth happens through adversity.
Sarshar: Talk us through your methodology. What tools do you utilize to help others break their limitations?
Rusty: I work backwards, in that I start with the end in mind. Clients don’t know what’s getting in the way until we look at the big picture. So let’s identify what the vision for this is. I want to know from a client what success looks like for them.
From there, we uncover the hurdles, then create systems and habits to help them hit their goals.
{The pushback}, that’s not on the clients. It’s really about finding what’s triggering that pushback – finding out where the fear is, and sitting uncomfortable until it’s enough to want to move.
That’s how progress is made.
Sarshar: What does progress look like?
Rusty: Having accountability. The people who are truly open to coaching and hold themselves accountable are the ones that get really good results.
Having someone (i.e. me) who follows up with a client and their duties is paramount to their success. For example, asking ‘is this still important to you?’ ‘Do we need to change your goals or do we need to increase and actually commit to what we said we were going to do?’
Sometimes, all it takes is making a small change and achieving those small victories for the client to see their growth.
That one step can be what gets them to hit their goals. They just need to know they can accomplish something and then progress accordingly.
When the daily wins become hyper reachable, that’s where it really gets fun.
Sarshar: Are there any mantras you live by?
Rusty: I lead with love.
That’s a core belief of mine. That we love other people, and build from a place of compassion to do what’s best for the person across from us.
When we live in a place of abundance and gratitude then we position ourselves to love that person and build something we can be proud of because we’re doing the right things for people.
Sarshar: You’re a massive proponent of utilizing technology to foster relationships. How do you achieve this?
Rusty: Systems save yourself time, energy, and money. If you have good systems, technology can make them better.
One of the biggest problems I see with people who utilize technology is they’re only using a portion of it.
I believe where people lose productivity is in not taking a step back sometimes to work ON their business instead of IN their business. A lot of people have limited knowledge of what their technology can do, so they are only able to operate within the limits of their own knowledge. If they take the time to understand the capabilities of the systems they have in place they are often able to unlock TIME MULTIPLIERS that are vital in their success journey.
Learning to harness the full potential of existing technology can transform it into a powerful asset.
Rusty Gunther is a dynamic Professional Sales and Leadership Coach who helps others overcome their limiting beliefs in order to be their best selves. To follow his journey, link up with him over his socials. To work with him and break your own barriers, visit his website.
For a limited time, Rusty Gunther is offering an exclusive complimentary virtual consulting session. Contact rgunther@southwestconsulting.com for more information.
