If our nation, one-time powerhouse for the planet, becomes powerless, tomorrow’s historian, some Gibbon – viewing our life and times from a pinnacle of history yet to be reached – may have to record that our country’s supremacy was sacrificed when the American salesman died.
Traditional salespeople, for the most part, have been replaced by order-takers.
The salesman and saleswoman who used to court customers with patience, persistence and expertise has yielded that courtship to glitzy TV commercials.
Today’s salesperson is a bland, bored, humorless pencil pusher who will take your order only if you wait while he finishes his cigarette or she completes her personal phone call.
The car salesman used to make his model sound irresistible; the waitress used to make the menu sound delicious; the store clerk used to lead you from a single wash cloth to a new set
of matching towels.…
There is measurable evidence that in most companies 20 percent of the sales staff make 80 percent of all sales.
…
For the front-line sales force, the Greenbergs believe you must have certain natural qualifications:
Empathy – the ability to sense the reactions of another person.
Ego-drive – the inner need to persuade.
Service motivation – the need for approval.
Ego strength – the degree to which an individual likes himself or herself and, therefore, can cope with inevitable sales rejections.If you have these qualities, latch onto a product in which you believe and start selling.
You will encounter almost no competition.
Paul Harvey – March 30, 1990
Syndicated columnist in Chicago and a radio commentator.