Preface: Ron Guilbault has been a thoughtful sounding board for all sorts of ideas on selling. It’s become a fascinating process. I get a note from Ron. It’s about something he’s observed in his work, it may be something I’ve written that has generated more ideas. We’ll go through a few email exchanges, often jumping on calls to dive into the issues more deeply. One of the ideas that struck me in his story is, “When I recommend solutions that solve problems, it’s exciting and rewarding. At times I’ve been asked for help in areas outside of what I was selling. To be trusted in this way let me know the customer knew I was invested in their success. Such trust is a key component of successful selling. ”
Why am I so interested in selling?
I imagine most kids do not dream of sales as a career, or at least I did not and didn’t know anyone who did. In high school I worked at a sporting goods retailer, managing bicycle parts and accessory buying. This was my first exposure to sales reps.
After several years working in retail, I ended up as the senior buyer at a retail chain. One of my reps stopped in to let me know he was quitting to join a competitor in order to make more money. How much? The amount was a hell of a lot more than I was making as a buyer.
I decided I would get a rep job. Selling is the flip side of buying. I could do that.
I found a position with one of my vendors at 100% commission, base against draw, plus expenses. I was to get a new territory. This was before the internet. To create my prospect list, I went to the library and pulled out yellow pages for every city in my new turf. Using index cards, I created a list. I numbered each card, and using AAA maps, I marked each prospect and the corresponding index card.
At the end of my first day on the road, one prospect worked late. I pulled up a chair, chatted with him and got out a pad of paper. I sketched out a custom packaging solution. He said yes, and I went to my hotel with the largest order the company had ever landed. I had a successful run for a number of years.
Next I moved to international sales, calling on manufactures, importers, and major retailers In Europe, Japan, New Zealand and Australia. Those were fruitful years as well.
Opting for a new challenge, I became a successful partner in a Cisco Value Added Reseller. Later I then moved on to manage a team of independent reps for an education publisher. As I loved working with a team, I tried a bigger challenge leading an advertising sales team for a publisher of trade journals. And following that, I built the first SDR team for a SaaS and later did business development work for a business selling to the Department of Defense.
I enjoyed trying new things and remained interested in sales for the challenges of prospecting and qualifying new customers, pioneering new innovative products and technologies, becoming expert in new-to-me product categories, and creating and leading sales teams.
However, in the end it is the people and the relationships that are the biggest factor in my continued passion for sales. I am naturally curious about my customers and their businesses. I want to understand their challenges and opportunities. I care about what they care about.
When I recommend solutions that solve problems, it’s exciting and rewarding. At times I’ve been asked for help in areas outside of what I was selling. To be trusted in this way let me know the customer knew I was invested in their success.
Such trust is a key component of successful selling.
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