When I graduated from college, the idea of a career in sales was not scary, as much as it was just strange. In my head, sales people were pushy, manipulative and a bit underhanded. There was no way I was going to be the stereotypical sales guy.
However, I was in need of a job, so I used some sort of twisted logic to believe that if I could do well selling crappy accident insurance plans, I could move up in the organization. I apparently was incorrect on several parts of that argument.
It didn't work out that way at all. But I did get some basic sales training, which helped me in my next career move, which was at an office supply company.
The owners of the company had decided that they needed to add an outside sales person to the mix, something their competitors had been doing for years. They took one of their employees, Ed, who worked part-time in the retail store, and moved him to a newly created outside sales position for a summer. With no training, Ed managed to get about 30 local businesses to start billing accounts. This meant that they could buy supplies when they needed them and get one bill each month. Not bad for a guy with no experience.
Ed told his employers he enjoyed the stint but he was enrolled in college and needed to get back to his studies. They put him back into his position in the retail store, but he let them know if they wanted to continue with the momentum he created, he knew a guy who could do the job. You see, Ed was one of my roommates in college, and the guy he recommended was me.
When I took the job, there were two other sales people as well. One was the manager of one of the stores, who saw Ed's success and thought he could do better. He was a true company man, or as I called him, a real kiss ass. The other, a guy named Derek, was also on board.
The owners of the company, a friendly husband and wife, took a map of the area and divided it into three parts. Most of Ed's accounts were concentrated in the business district of town, and the store manager called dibs on that one. That meant that Derek and I would have to create a lot of something out of a lot of nothing.
Within a few weeks, Derek quit altogether. I took over his territory and was making some good gains, and about this time the store manager floundered. His constant complaints, which ranged from his lack of production to his clients' failure to follow through, led the owners of the company to put him back in his position as store manager. This left me with the entire territory.
I did okay considering what I had to work with. Our prices were not in line with our competitors, and as far as our customers cared, our products were just a commodity. Also, the owner's were hesitant about offering deep discounts like our competitors.
The owners had hired a couple of delivery guys, but they didn't work out. One of them smoked and had the worst breath I've ever smelled. He was also suspected of stealing some money, so his days were numbered. His successor was impaired by his marijuana usage, leading to delayed or incorrect orders being filled. I ended up doing it myself as part of my great "customer service".
After a year or so of this, I saw the writing on the wall. There were changes in the office supply industry on the horizon, like Office Depot and Staples opening up locations. The owners made a half-hearted attempt to buy in bulk direct, in an effort to work around the wholesalers. It didn't work, and I could see my future was bleak with this outfit, so I left the company.
In retrospect, I took the skills I learned from selling insurance door-to-door and transferred them to cold calling businesses. Apparently this had been the bane of the store manager, as he didn't like having to walk into a business uninvited and create a conversation. To me, cold calling and opening accounts was the easiest part of the job.
I did learn a lot about how a small business works. The owners never hesitated to share their knowledge with me and I used a lot of that information later when I opened my own insurance practice. And even though I was there for a short amount of time, I consider it a great experience.
Chris Castanes is a professional speaker who helps sales people succeed through workshops and humorous presentations. He's also the author of "You're Going To Be Great At This!", a humorous look at sales. For booking information, click here. He's also the president of Surf Financial Brokers selling life and disability insurance in several states.
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