Doctor Recommended

I have a Bridge In Brooklyn I'd Like to Sell You

About half of the "real world" jobs I've been employed with have been in the professional field of sales. I've done classic cold-call credit card sales (yes, I interrupted you at dinner and then managed to get you to apologize for the inconvenience). I've done door-to-door electricity peddling (and your dog gave me a couple scars on my leg). I've done behind-the-counter-please-oh-please-buy-this-from-me sales at a calendar kiosk in the middle of a ghetto mall. I've even done Girl Scout cookie sales...

At any rate, fellow Aggie and software developer, John Engler, penned the following ode to the salesman which, whether you like it or not, you will have to read. Suck it down:

Everyone on this planet is a sales person.

I firmly believe that this world is driven forward by the actions of good sales people, selling their product, be that product themselves, their ideas, or a tangible product or service.

All of us are sales people, but some of us are better than others. Some of us have more passion for sales than others. Some of us have better products than others. Some of us can deliver our passion for our products better than others.

The better sales person out there... is the mid-level manager that pushes a new idea to his boss, so that his department can be more successful.

The better sales person out there... is the guy that gets angel funding for the next 'great idea' for a business, regardless of what that idea is.

The better sales person out there... is the young woman that lands her dream job right out of college.

The better sales person out there... is the stay-at-home mom that gets her kids to 'just be quiet for a moment' so she can take care of the family finances more easily.

The better sales person out there... is the single dad of two who talks his boss into sponsoring his kids' soccer team for the season.

The better sales person out there... is the sales guy that determines his customers needs before pitching a product to his customer.

Each of us are sales people, regardless of our title or role in an organization (and some of us are better than others).

If you think of every little interaction you have with others as an opportunity to sell that other person on your idea, your product, or yourself, you'll like be more successful in life, no matter what you are selling or what you consider success. Becoming a better sales person is something all of us should strive for.

And they all said amen.

Always be closing!

Posted by Tim at August 20, 2004 11:18 PM | TrackBack