A good friend of mine began his career in sales by going through an exhausting six-month sales training program designed to prepare him for just about any scenario that might arise on a sales call with a prospective client.
His first solo appointment was an hour’s drive away, with a long-time customer who regularly ordered about 50,000 units of the clothing that his company sold. My friend got more and more excited and anxious as he drove to the appointment. But when he got to the site and set up his display, he gave a great sales pitch to the client on the new clothing line being promoted by his company. After he was finished he pulled out his order form and, his heart pounding loudly enough he was afraid the client could hear it, he asked for the order.
What came next was, unfortunately, something for which his extensive training had not prepared him: the client politely informed him that, although he usually bought from my friend’s company, he was definitely not interested in this year’s line. My friend couldn’t bear to let his first solo meeting end without a sale so he pressed the client further. The client was frank with him. “Son, you did a great job on the sales presentation,” he told my friend, “but I have to tell you, God couldn’t sell me that hideous-looking clothing you just showed me.”
My friend loaded up his van with the merchandise and started the long drive home, which gave him plenty of time to wonder if this sales game was really for him. He pondered what he should say to his boss to explain his failure with the client. After a lot of thought he decided to tell his boss the truth about the client’s reaction and take his lumps.
His boss did not believe that such a loyal customer would have said what my friend reported he said. The boss told my friend that he should give some serious thought as to whether or not this was really what he wanted to do for a living, whether he really thought he had what it took to make it in sales. This conversation took place on a Friday leading into a holiday weekend, so the boss told my friend to think about it and give him his answer the following Tuesday.
As the long weekend grew ever longer my friend thought about what had happened. The more he thought about it, the madder and more determined he became to overcome this bad start and become a success at sales.
At the meeting with his boss on Tuesday, my friend told his boss he was going to do everything necessary to become a success in sales and prove the boss wrong. The boss said OK, and proceeded to assign him to a series of deadbeat, long-shot accounts designed to test his will and break his spirit. My friend worked his way through this daunting assignment while also opening enough new accounts to become the top-producing salesman in the country for his company. He would go on to a successful 30-year career in sales during which he was continually a top producer.
Whenever I get a pretty strong dose of rejection I think of my friend’s story and dig down deep so I can overcome it.
Have a great weekend,
Ro