Preface: I first met Keith Bossey about 15 years ago. We’d been following each other in social media. He read that I was planning to be in Manhattan for meetings and suggested dinner at one of our favorite Steakhouses. We’ve continued our dialogs around the state of selling. In some of his past jobs, Keith has worked for some of the largest research firms, sharing shocking data around engagement, attrition, etc. Today he has his own consulting practice, helping orgs drive higher levels of performance. One of his statements particularly strikes me: “Lots of folks have a negative view of the sales profession, and I even see it in my kids. What I think they don’t understand is that, done right, sales puts you at the center of everything that happens in business.” Part of the reason for this series is that so many, including too many sales people, don’t understand how central selling is to our and our customer success.
One of my first jobs in high school was selling newspaper subscriptions. I worked in a small call room with 10 other people. Most of my colleagues hated the work, but I loved it. Not only did I relish the competition for the incredibly tiny bonuses for the most sales or the first sale of the day, but just engaging with people, going off script, turning a dreaded conversation into something fun…it was simply a great time.
I read…a lot. I am a consumer of information. My mom was a big reader and instilled that love in me as well. I think that has done a lot to help me in my sales career. I know a little about a lot of stuff, and use that to engage people.
In college, I studied management with an emphasis on marketing and finance. I found that I love the concepts of building companies, of corporate strategy, of leadership. I never went on to grad school like a lot of my classmates, but my sales career has probably taught me more about business than I could have ever learned in school.
Shortly after graduating, I joined the world of Wall Street as a stockbroker. During that time, I worked with some of the best salespeople I’ve ever encountered. In fact, I wrote about it here (https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/back-day-keith-bossey-szd8e/?trackingId=D2fWUVEXRbWuoTirk4nOMA%3D%3D). The one thing that stood out during that time was that people didn’t buy investments, they bought hope and they bought the confidence expressed by the stockbroker. Hundreds of times a day I witnessed the success that came from transferring that enthusiasm to the client. That is really what sales is all about.
After about 7 years, I shifted gears and became a corporate seller, working in a variety of related areas – market research, data and analytics, training, and consulting. While I was now in a B2B environment, many of the things I learned as a stockbroker still applied. You really aren’t selling to a company, you are still selling to a person and transferring emotion and confidence is still essential.
After 30 years of selling, I can say that it has brought me a great deal of satisfaction. A sales career is like owning your own business. You are responsible for success and you have a great amount of autonomy to do what you think is best. I’ve met and worked with countless senior executives at some of the largest firms in the world and have gotten into deep strategic discussions. I’ve played a role in the success of so many executives and companies that I can’t even recall them all. I wouldn’t have been able to do that without being in sales.
Lots of folks have a negative view of the sales profession, and I even see it in my kids. What I think they don’t understand is that, done right, sales puts you at the center of everything that happens in business. As the famous management thinker Peter Drucker said, “the purpose of business is to create and keep a customer.” That is the role of the seller. I never actually set out to be in sales. Like a lot of things in life, it just kind of happened. I have to say, I’m glad it did.
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