A war of wills
To sell successfully you have to sell yourself and be able to risk rejection. Have “I will win” as your only option. It helps to be a bit anti-social or at least pseudo-sociopathic… so that you can tolerate the discomfort felt by the victim/ loser/ buyer.
In war as well as in sales, isn't it helpful to know just how hard to push your opponent? In poker does it help to know your opponent’s hand? After WWII the Russian Ambassador, Molotov, knew Truman and Churchill’s exact bargaining positions when it came time for them to negotiate for the freedom of Eastern Europe. The KGB had intercepted communications before the showdown. It wasn’t a fair fight. Truman blinked. Communism got 12 new “republics”.
I thought I was a trained salesman. From Fuller Brush sales in high school 1969 , to selling radio ads for WOKI 1974, selling free vacations to Fairfield Glade in 1973, and selling books to help children with their home work 1971 door-to-door in Gary, Indiana. I went to an intense week of sales school in Nashville 1971 learning the high-pressure skills taught by the SouthWestern Book Company. Why, oh why, could our team not have been sent to Mississippi selling Bibles? We thought we got the short straw going to Gary.
When I graduated University in 1974 I was going nowhere. My friend, Chris, had signed on with New York Life Insurance. An insurance salesman-trainee position came with a draw of $700 per month, a fortune in those days. I thought I was a shoo-in with my experience and Chris for a reference. One of the luckiest things that ever happened to me was when Chris gave me a subtle black ball, “I hear he was interested in post-graduate school at one time”.
I was turned down and felt devastated. I went inward for a year... then got back into grad school in zoology.
Thank you, Chris. I was too co-dependent to do any good at sales, any way.-- James www.flight-of-ideas.com
In war as well as in sales, isn't it helpful to know just how hard to push your opponent? In poker does it help to know your opponent’s hand? After WWII the Russian Ambassador, Molotov, knew Truman and Churchill’s exact bargaining positions when it came time for them to negotiate for the freedom of Eastern Europe. The KGB had intercepted communications before the showdown. It wasn’t a fair fight. Truman blinked. Communism got 12 new “republics”.
I thought I was a trained salesman. From Fuller Brush sales in high school 1969 , to selling radio ads for WOKI 1974, selling free vacations to Fairfield Glade in 1973, and selling books to help children with their home work 1971 door-to-door in Gary, Indiana. I went to an intense week of sales school in Nashville 1971 learning the high-pressure skills taught by the SouthWestern Book Company. Why, oh why, could our team not have been sent to Mississippi selling Bibles? We thought we got the short straw going to Gary.
When I graduated University in 1974 I was going nowhere. My friend, Chris, had signed on with New York Life Insurance. An insurance salesman-trainee position came with a draw of $700 per month, a fortune in those days. I thought I was a shoo-in with my experience and Chris for a reference. One of the luckiest things that ever happened to me was when Chris gave me a subtle black ball, “I hear he was interested in post-graduate school at one time”.
I was turned down and felt devastated. I went inward for a year... then got back into grad school in zoology.
Thank you, Chris. I was too co-dependent to do any good at sales, any way.-- James www.flight-of-ideas.com
posted by James at 11:26 PM
1 Comments:
I'm so glad your friend black balled you! I'm sure the hundreds of patients you've helped over the years would agree. You have really been a blessing to many.
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