Preface: Somehow, I got to know Craig Jamieson because we were “hanging out in the same places.” For the astute readers, it would cause you to tell Craig he needs to hang out with a better class of people. But Craig has hung in there, we have conversations and exchange ideas and opinions about the state of selling. I was attracted to Craig because he had a different client base and focus than I, but I could learn so much from what he was doing. Plus he, like so many others in this series managed to put up with my “humor.” Craig continues a through line we’ve seen in other articles. It’s the “high” or “adrenaline rush” we get from doing the job. Enjoy his article.
Why I Absolutely LOVE Selling!
While pursuing a history degree, I worked at a local store in the men’s department. It was a fun job. No pressure. After receiving my A.A., I was going to school at night for my B.A.. One evening I got up in the middle of a class and I walked out. What was I going to do with a history degree other than to become a university professor like my maternal grandfather?
I went back to junior college and grabbed another A.A., this time in retail merchandise management. Upon graduating, I was hired by Montgomery Wards as a regional management trainee. I hated every minute of it. I loved selling, but I had come to HATE retail. I decided to pursue a new start in B2B selling. That was 1977.
I went to work for the only company that would hire me. It was a national firm that offered high-end calculating equipment and training that had won many industry awards. It was BRUTAL. 30 door-to-door cold calls a day, plus demos, plus paperwork, and things weren’t going all that well to boot. Straight commission. I’m not sure why I stuck it out, but I did.
Things finally started to click and I was off to the races, becoming the branch sales manager in two years and then being given offices of my own in 1982. I LOVED every minute of it. My next 20 plus years were almost exclusively in management and I lived mostly vicariously on sales calls with my reps. In 2005 I left management to pursue the pure joy of selling.
I won’t lie. I am extremely competitive and I hate losing more than I love winning. I do identify as a hunter. This does not mean that I would ever put my desire to secure the sale above what is best for my client. Quite the contrary. I only pursue those opportunities where I have carefully identified where there is a match between my client’s needs and my services.
From there, it is earning their trust and, only then, earning the sale by doing those things that many salespeople are either too lazy or too complacent to do. The magic formula for me includes helping the customer to understand, and to set, realistic expectations. Then, together, we work consistently to exceed those expectations.
I have always felt that “closing” is highly overrated. When working with clients who lament that “their reps can’t close”, it is an almost universal truth that they have never earned the right to ask for that sale. Their challenge does not lie in the “end” of the sales process. Look at the beginning and the middle. The close is the natural culmination to a sale done right!
Selling gives me a high like nothing else. It is my drug of choice. While I thrive on learning new things, new ideas, my focus is always on honing my craft. I get no greater thrill than an elated customer. Anything less is unacceptable to me. That “competitive” part? I reserve that for my opponents and I never want to be labeled as “first loser”:) Thanks, Dave, for this opportunity to contribute!
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