Sales is not Magic: Understanding the Discipline of a Sales Connoisseur – Part 1

Sales is not Magic: Understanding the Discipline of a Sales Connoisseur – Part 1

December 28th, 2009 | Author: Gary Whitehill

I’ve seen a lot of posts lately about sales, with many questions revolving around how to make the perfect sales pitch in either a B2C or B2B context. Based on my prior experience, I felt it’d be relevant to now throw my two cents into the bucket with a series of posts on the topic.

Background

Most people don’t know I worked as a high-end salon shoe salesman for 1.5yrs at Nordstrom earlier this decade before moving to NYC. Starting out, I was way behind the average salesperson in terms of their learning curve:

• I had never sold anything in my life
• I knew nothing about salon shoes (Weitzman, Ferragamo, Paul Green, etc)
• When I was hired, I actually had to ask my mother “what is a salon shoe?”
• I had no idea salon shoe salesman were the most aggressive pool of sharks there could be in any sales context-period

In spite of those shortcomings, I ended up doing very well over the course of my tenure at the company- I sold more than $625K in shoes within that short span- unprecedented as a first year salesman at the company. By the way, this was as a 20 year old college student, taking an 18 credit course load, and holding a 3.85 GPA in 3 separate majors.

Why is Selling So Hard?

For most, selling a product or service in either a B2C or B2B context is just too tough of a job. There’s a lengthy sales process, numerous challenges in getting to a decision maker, long hours, etc. As a result, a cultish following has ensued around those who claim to have the keys/tricks/etc for how to sell.

Many believe top sellers (regardless of vertical) hold some sort of magical black book, and that it’s this which makes their numbers skyrocket 60%-200% above their next closest counterpart. Guess what?

Just like anything else in sales- it’s simply a numbers game. But what many do in fact fail to realize is the top sellers encompass two vital qualities which ultimately lead to their profound successes:

1. They are confident and unequivocally believe in themselves and their process
2. They are optimization freaks

It’s crucial to understand, in the world of a top salesperson- every single movement, word, phrase, close toward the sale and follow-up is optimally scripted for a sale (both in the long and short-term). Confidence in themselves, in their process, and in understanding what must be optimized are the crucial levers which determine the viability and scalability of a salesperson’s rolodex.

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Stop At Nothing. Achieve Anything.

Gary Whitehill is the Founder of The Relentless Foundation and New York Entrepreneur Week (NYEW), both of which reflect his entrepreneurial drive and relentless energy.

In 2009, The Relentless Foundation inspired the creation of New York Entrepreneur Week (NYEW), an unprecedented gathering of entrepreneurs, from innovation-minded start-ups to multi-million dollar revenue generators who are given the chance to learn, connect and leverage opportunities to help drive economic change.

The Entrepreneur Week movement continues to grow, with events planned in more US cities and around the world.

Additionally, Gary believes kids should have the ability to create the world they want, and that those who are driven to achieve must also be given tools such as entrepreneurship to learn, grow and express themselves.

Gary supports people and companies invested in driving social and economic change.