This is part eight in the story of my life. Climbing To The Top! Is a story of innocence and learning the trade of selling. The story covers my life from the first sale to the present. The idea or I should say my goal is to change the name to "The Salesman Of The Year" by this years end. Right now I'm leading the way in sales at a total of 129% to last year. I will be running into some tough numbers in the last part of this year. I had run very large numbers during this time last year. Please wish me good luck and feel free to share my story with others that might be interested.
Big Jim and I started out to the call. Jim had a real nice car, a Cadillac, it was big and beautiful. I had never been in one before. Jim lit up a big cigar, like my grandfather smoked. I noticed a big diamond ring that Jim was wearing. I had never saw anything like it before. All I could think about was what were the people going to think of when they saw this guy that I brought to there home.
We arrived to the the appointment, thats what Jim called it, in a short time. I helped unload the vacuum cleaner and some of the brochures. I rang the door bell and Mrs. Gauze answered the door. I introduced Jim, and we got started. Jim talked about how nice the house looked and what a great neighborhood they lived in. He talk about the history of the company and how they came to develop this cleaner. He asked if they had heard of the Rainbow company before. Then he asked if he could demonstrate it for them. He told them that we were going to put some dirt on the floor but not to worry. He assured them it would come clean or he would replace the carpet with new. Next he asked me to help by putting the dirt on Mrs. Gauze's floor for the demonstration. I freaked out at the idea that I was going to dump dirt on the carpet of my best friends folks home. I did it and even stepped on it too for good measure.
Big Jim started the vacuum and it really cleaned the carpet. He explained that with a normal vacuum cleaner that the dirt would still be in the air and the dust would settle all over the house. That we would be breathing all of those particles of dust into our lungs. He explained that with other vacuum cleaners you would have to replace the bags and this was the first bag less vacuum cleaner ever made. The dirt was filtered through water. He took off the top of the vacuum and showed the dirty water. He said that this was good for everyone that had a breathing problem. Wouldn’t you know it my friends brother had Asthma. Thats all it took, the first vacuum sold!
We left feeling pretty good about our selves. Big Jim said that I was going to do good. I was going to be a great salesman, all I had to do was sell the Rainbow just like he did. He said that I could be salesman of the year some day just like he was. On the ride back to the office I dreamed of myself driving a nice car, wearing a good suit, smoking a cigar and wearing a diamond ring. Truly this was what a real salesman looked like.
I was supplied with a sales kit consisting of some brochures. A big picture of the Rainbow Vacuum Cleaner. Some order forms and a letter about the history of the Rainbow Vacuum Company. In those days there were no videos or DVD’s to help you sell.
The next day after school I got dressed up and put on some of my dads smelly stuff. Got my hair all slicked back with some Vitalas. Grabbed my list of customers and sales kit and headed out to the world to sell. I went to one of my friends and talked to his mom about what I had to offer. It sure wasn’t flower seeds or greeting cards this time. This time I was going to ask for some big money. I was pretty nervous. Lost my place right off the bat. My heart was racing. I was starting to sweat. My buddy started to smirk at me. That made me feel more uneasy. I blew it! No sale! I went home, sadden by the thought that I screwed up so badly.
I had heard of salesmen that were successful. What was their secret? Was there a secret? What makes them any different then me? I decided to ask that question to my mother. Surely she would know. She told me that practice makes perfect. She said that sales is just like acting, you make yourself look good, and you practice with someone playing like they’re the customer. She told me that it was called roll playing. She made me get my sales kit and all the presentation materials and bring them to the kitchen to the table. She told me to start the way I was showed at the first sales call I went on with Big Jim. So I started right in with the presentation. Wo! She said. You have to start at the beginning. I don’t even know you. Who are you? And what are you up to? She told me that the introduction was about as important as any part of the sales call.
