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The Long Way
They say that the business of America is business. I think that what that means is we like to sell people stuff. At least I do. It wasn't always so. The choice of a sales career, for me, was a happy accident.

In 1980 I was a graduate school drop up. I didn't know what I wanted to do in life but I knew that it had to include adventure. So I arbitrarily (and without significant money) bought a one-way ticket to the Virgin Islands and moved there. I didn't know a soul and didn't even have a place to stay the night. I took a job in a jewelry store for $4.00 an hour plus commission. I knew nothing about jewelry but I learned. I ate macaroni and cheese every night for a year and a half until I had saved enough money to buy a small (22 foot) sailboat. I moved aboard which enabled me to save even more money. I bought a larger boat (31 feet) and became the manager of a marina. I sold people parts, mechanical services, and boats. I made (and saved) more money. I became more and more enchanted with the process of selling. But there was something missing. You see, my customers came to me, and as I understood it, real salespeople have to find their own customers.

In 1987 I moved to Lakeland Florida, a town to which I had never been before. I went there because it was the middle of an undeveloped territory of a marine hardware company and they were willing to let me have a go at building a territory where they had never been able to build one before. I literally left an idyllic life on a sailboat in the most beautiful place on earth to make cold calls! I wasn't too good at it. It scared the heck out of me. I often drove around the block several times before I could make myself stop and call on new potential accounts. Many times I was asked to leave, or worse. With time my skill level grew. Bit by bit I became successful. I relished the challenge.

The fear of prospecting had the effect on me that extreme sports have on others. Additionally, the rewards of sales success were like a tonic. I realized that mastering the art of selling was my only real chance for financial success. I switched to another company, which gave me the chance to manage other salespeople and help them to be successful too. I built a multi-state sales-force, which prospers to this day.

There came a day when I decided that if I could do that for someone else's company then I could do it for my own company. I quit. I mortgaged my house and bought the rights to teach the Sandler method of selling. I didn't really know how to sell the Sandler way but I learned. I'm still learning. It's a better method than anything I could ever have mastered in my own haphazard way. In retrospect, it would have been great if I had learned to sell right earlier in my career but that wasn't in the cards. Even if I had continued to do things the old way, even if I'd gone into a different business, I'm sure that I'd still love the craft of sales. Of course, I love the vicarious thrill of helping other people grow their businesses. And, best of all, I still get to enjoy the thrill of cold calls.

Here are several things I've learned along the way.

1. If it's too easy, it's probably wrong.

2. If it doesn't scare you, you're not growing.

3. If you don't change you'll stay the same.

4. Other people may know how to do things better than you do. Don't let your pride keep you from learning from them.

5. Investing in your own career is always a high return investment.

6. Lack of money is never an insurmountable obstacle. That's what credit is for.

7. You're going to get old anyway. You might as well make life an adventure.

Happy selling!

Mark Fitzgerald, Sales Training Institute, Inc., Tampa, Florida provides this column weekly. Mr. Fitzgerald provides both group and customized sales training for professionals and companies. For more information, please contact him by telephone at 813-831-5555 via email at mark@saleskills.com or visit www.saleskills.com. © Copyright Mark Fitzgerald, 2009, All Rights Reserved.