Reflecting on my long career in sales, I think my first lessons in salesmanship came from my dad. I grew up in a small town in New Hampshire. My dad was a politician. He was the town moderator and a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives. On Sundays, we would walk to church; he talked with everyone on the way. After services, he would engage people outside the church and all the way home. As kids, we never really knew when we would get home.

Another popular spot was the local coffee shop. Dad would meet there with two other prominent politicians, the governor and a U.S. Senator who, coincidentally, were from my hometown. They would casually interact with customers and constituents, asking and answering questions. My dad told me that politics is like sales: if you don’t listen, show sincere interest and take corrective action, you won’t keep your job. They vote, they decide. 

Don’t make promises you can’t keep, and all politics are local — old-school lessons I never forgot.

Lessons learned

Throughout my career, I have held various titles: sales representative, sales manager, vice president of sales and senior vice president of sales. The bottom-line constant modifier in my job description was sales. I am known as a people person; I sincerely like people. Most of my priority customers were larger entities, such as manufacturers, hospitals, colleges, universities, and property management companies, among others. 

On one of my first sales cold calls, I remember sitting in the parking lot of Anheuser-Busch, a rookie salesman, feeling intimidated, surrounded by a thousand cars. This was way before Google and LinkedIn. Without an appointment, you couldn’t even get into the building. 

I noticed a food truck parked outside selling coffee and donuts. I walked up and started talking with the people who were coming out for their coffee break. I asked questions. Who’s in charge of maintenance, purchasing, engineering? I got the names. 

One guy offered me a plant tour so that I could see the process of making beer from the pumps to the instrumentation. Along the way, I was introduced to many key people. Afterwards, he took me to the cafeteria, and I met the purchasing manager. He told me about my competitors and what he liked and didn’t like. I told him about our company, and he gave me an appointment for the following week. 

Another lesson learned: Sales is not always about who you talk to, but rather who you listen to and learn from.

Great companies constantly evolve as they react to new realities. It’s challenging enough for employees to keep up, but even harder for your customers. Salespeople have the urgent responsibility of ensuring that they are always leading with the answer to the questions, “What’s new and why?” 

Don’t run the risk of bumping into your competitor’s initiative. Customers have a hard enough time keeping up with their own company. It’s incumbent on you to know if any changes to your customers affect you or provide a new opportunity. 

Another lesson: Don’t become the greatest story never told.

For me, one of the most vexing statements I’ve heard after a customer gave an order to my competitor is, “It’s just business, nothing personal, they had a better price.” The message to me is that relationships matter, and I have more work to do. Keep an eye out for a future opportunity to provide a heroic recovery and earn the next one. Often too expensive means that I could have done a better job explaining why.

A lot of salespeople play golf. It doesn’t matter how many years’ experience you possess; you must keep practicing to get better. Driving off the tee, the second fairway shot (if you actually hit the fairway), the chip shot or the shot from the sand trap and then finally using the putter to hopefully sink it in the hole and celebrate the bogie. 

Another lesson: even sales and golf professionals strive to do better at an activity that can still humble you. There is one major difference — golf is a game, sales is not!

We live in an age of acronyms and buzzwords. Our relevance must be made clear. If potential customers have an immediate need for your products and services and they are Googling for an answer, you have work to do. When a medical emergency arises, nobody Googles it; they call 911. In our business, you are or should be your customers’ 911. Ignorance is not bliss. The difference between worst and first is your service. It’s your job to make sure your customer is always right. Don’t be a vendor, be a partner.

Helping people

I still go to Starbucks every morning. Lots of people working on laptops, and a constant flow of people in a hurry, waiting for their preferred morning brew. I talk with them all. I always ask what kind of day they are having. Two surgeons told me that they were heading in to operate on a patient with an aneurysm and the other to perform an amputation. In some ways, my job seemed easy by comparison. 

Another was a consultant hired by a large local manufacturer to look for cost-saving opportunities. I shared that I was very familiar with this company and had some ideas that could save energy costs. He took my card and said he would reach out later. He did.

One man was the CEO of the largest employer in the state. While he waited for his Frappuccino, I asked if he could help me. I explained that I have been trying to make an appointment with the head of procurement. I gave him my card and he gave me his. He wrote a note on his card to the guy I wanted to meet, asking him to please make time for me. 

It helped a lot. I set up a mini trade show in the plant, which proved very effective and beneficial to both of our companies. We also tied into the company’s purchasing software to automate the replacement process and manage stockroom inventory. 

That same CEO, as we became morning coffee friends, heard about my involvement with a local nonprofit. He asked if he could visit and learn more about the wonderful things we did. He spent half a day with us. Soon after, his company made a significant donation. 

I have a lot of industry and LinkedIn connections, but my coffee connections are the most effective and satisfying. Many years ago, my dad gave me Dale Carnegie’s book, “How to Win Friends and Influence People.” I am grateful for the lessons I have learned from it and from my dad’s example. My definition of sales was to look for opportunities to help people. My reward was accomplishing this every day. I’m still working on the golf game, though!