The first lesson I learned as a salesperson, was that you have to knock on a lot of doors if you want to hit your sales goal. I was 11 years old and my job was selling imprinted, personalized Christmas cards door-to-door in my neighborhood.
Selling is selling, at any age, and regardless of the product. I had a quota, a suggested script, a product demo, and a target audience.
My goal was to sell enough cards to reach the Gold Level at which time I could choose to get paid by check or make a selection from a list of products as my payment. At that age, I was not terribly motivated by money. A quarter could buy enough bubblegum and candy to keep me happy for at least a week. At the movie theater, 50-cents covered a box of popcorn and a Coke, but when I laid my eyes on that shiny, blue and white Schwinn bicycle, my goal was set.
I come from a selling family. Along with good manners, I had been taught a smile and clean appearance would help open doors. Mom called it “putting on a fresh face.” I had a lovely book of sample Christmas cards to select from and, my-oh-my how beautiful the gold, embossed lettering would look when printed with your name on the card and a “think of the time you'll save” pitch.
Each day, after school, I'd hit the streets, revising my pitch as I went along. If something I said worked well with one homemaker, I'd try it on another. Before long, I had exceeded my goal. I not only earned the bike but received a bonus check to boot!
The next time I hit the streets, I was coasting down the hill on my bike with my braids, flying out past my head, like two little flags, flapping in the breeze.
I did not think about the lessons I learned from that experience until I started working exclusively in sales and a colleague said to me, “You have to knock on a lot of doors, but eventually someone will answer.” How true.
Selling is selling, at any age, and regardless of the product. I had a quota, a suggested script, a product demo, and a target audience.
My goal was to sell enough cards to reach the Gold Level at which time I could choose to get paid by check or make a selection from a list of products as my payment. At that age, I was not terribly motivated by money. A quarter could buy enough bubblegum and candy to keep me happy for at least a week. At the movie theater, 50-cents covered a box of popcorn and a Coke, but when I laid my eyes on that shiny, blue and white Schwinn bicycle, my goal was set.
I come from a selling family. Along with good manners, I had been taught a smile and clean appearance would help open doors. Mom called it “putting on a fresh face.” I had a lovely book of sample Christmas cards to select from and, my-oh-my how beautiful the gold, embossed lettering would look when printed with your name on the card and a “think of the time you'll save” pitch.
Each day, after school, I'd hit the streets, revising my pitch as I went along. If something I said worked well with one homemaker, I'd try it on another. Before long, I had exceeded my goal. I not only earned the bike but received a bonus check to boot!
The next time I hit the streets, I was coasting down the hill on my bike with my braids, flying out past my head, like two little flags, flapping in the breeze.
I did not think about the lessons I learned from that experience until I started working exclusively in sales and a colleague said to me, “You have to knock on a lot of doors, but eventually someone will answer.” How true.
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