Bob on Sales
Bob on Sales
Bob Rutherford returns for his weekly blog post with “Bob on Sales.” It may be a self-explanatory title, but readers don’t want to miss out on the rich information here.
I have a problem. Over the years I have not kept my work very well organized and just can’t push a button and find something, even with all the search functions. However, this is what I am going to use as my introduction to the Learning Without Scars followers.
Are you born to be a salesperson? Do you need to have the gift of gab? Can you be trained to be a professional salesperson? How’s your sense of humor? Can you tell a good joke without screwing it up? Can you really succeed in sales without really trying? Please share your answers in the comments section.
Let’s Start with Sales. Selling.
I grew up in the trucking industry, the machine shop industry, and the “Hell No we Won’t Go” anti-war industry, and discovered there really is a Military-industrial Complex. Just the other day I was explaining to a business associate why military equipment cost so much. I used my real-life example as a young man who had a draft card in his wallet that listed me as 1-A and 2-S most of the time.
I attended college during the day and worked swing shift at a defense plant making aircraft fasteners. We made exploding bolts among other things. These were used to literally blow the canopy of a jet fighter when pilots decide to eject.
I was an exploding bolt inspector some of the time. Here’s what I remember to the best of my ability. We would build exploding bolts in batches of 300. For 150 bolts to pass inspection, we would blow up 150 bolts. That right there, doubles the price, right? IF ONE BOLT fails, we blow up the other 150 bolts. As far as I remember, on my watch, never ever did a bolt in the second round of testing fail. It could take manufacturing 600 bolts to get 150 good ones. What’s that cost? So, assuming pilots’ lives are worth saving and we don’t want fighter jets falling out of the sky, things can get expensive fast.
This introduction brings us to the subjects of the day and what I have been told is my unique perspective on business, selling in business, education, and the politics of logistics.
I saw a recent survey on LinkedIn that asked the questions:
“Did You Intend on Being in Sales?” or “Did You Just Fall into Sales?” I got into sales because the old axiom is true, “Nothing happens until someone sells something.” I was an Industrial Engineer and had to “sell” an appropriations committee on purchasing a package of equipment. I had heard through the grapevine that the committee thought it was their duty to shred young engineers into tiny bits and try to make them cry. So, I prepared. I insisted that I attend a trade show so I could meet potential vendors one on one. Buying and selling are different sides of the same coin. I took copious notes.
I found two kinds of salespeople at that show. Those that tried to sell me, like I was the actual buyer, and the ones I ended up doing business with, the ones that asked me the probing questions and found out that I was going to be their stand-in salesperson. I was going to sell the committee that that they would never get to address in person. The smart salespeople taught me about their product and how to sell it. Smartest tip from that tradeshow: Deal with objects in your presentation, never as an objection.