Lead with a Story

CHAPTER 27

Sales is everyone’s job

“The real selling doesn’t start until the buyer says no.”

—UNKNOWN

GREG HAS BEEN IN SALES for 25 years. He tells war stories of buying agents at major retailers who react in an odd fashion when presented a slick sales binder during a sales call. “They open the binder, pull out the price list and product spec sheets, and throw everything else in the trash can, right there in front of the salesperson—the sales materials, marketing presentation, even the three-ring binder it came in. They’ll say something like, ‘We don’t want you to waste money on all this sales stuff.’ ” Can you imagine how lost the poor rookie salesperson would be who’s experiencing this for the first time?

Here’s the lesson: If your sales presentation ...