My Pink Cadillac Theory of Killer Sales People

OK, so what in the world is that?

Let me tell you.

My day to day sales life is in the world of business-to-business
industrial sales. Deals that range from a thousand to a million
dollars in size.

And I work with all kinds of sales people. All of them are full
time professionals. Most, of course, are "average." And a few
are tremendously talented.

Whenver I get a chance to spend some time with a really good
salesman, I ask him:

"What was the first sales opportunity that you ever really sank
your teeth into?"

Of course, successful Mary Kay saleswomen drive Pink Cadillacs,
that's where the term comes from. And my Pink Cadillac theory
never fails. I've always been right on this one.

The theory is this: Any time you find a really good sales
person, they always started out doing brutal, face to face, nose to
nose, kitchen table, door-to-door sales.

Live, real-time sales performance in front of real average
people, asking them to pull out their checkbook and do
business with you, right there on the spot.

I.e., Mary Kay, Fuller Brush, Cutco Knives, Amway, or
Girl Scout Cookies.

Whereas mediocre sales people usually start out in
customer service or accounting or maintenance or something.

So anyway, last week I was having lunch with two good sales guys.
I asked them both the question: What was your first serious
sales endeavor?

"Stock Broker" one replied. "Most brutal profession on earth,
I might add." This guy was in his early 30's.

The other guy, Charlie, was in his late 60's. Been selling
industrial computers and stuff like that for 30 years.

He thought awhile.

"Kirby Vacuum Cleaners" he said.

"Oh Yeah, and I was in Amway, too," he added.

I raised my hand and gave them both a high five.
"Right on, brothers" I said. "The Pink Cadillac Theory never fails."

"Tell me a Kirby Vacuum Cleaner Story, Charlie!" I said.

"You know," he said, "I was actually pretty successful at that.
But there was only one problem. The people who could least
afford it, and who least needed it, always bought."

"For example, I went into this home one time, and this couple
was POOR. They didn't have nuthin'. They had wooden floors.
They had NO carpets at all.

"I did the demonstration. I wanted to just give them the free
steak knives and leave.

"But they wouldn't let me leave without selling them a
vacuum cleaner!"

Yep, that's Charlie. The ultimate peddler. Now we have
a substitute phrase for 'selling ice to eskimos' - Charlie
'selling a Kirby to a woman with wooden floors.'

Now let me tell you something else:

The best advertising, marketing and copywriting guys have
the exact same background. Nose to nose, toes to toes.
They learned how to think on their feet and they know
how to sell on a piece of paper now instead of in person.

That's what marketing really is.

Selling in print is really a more sophisticated kind of selling.

Lots of people can preach. But a select few wrote the
Bible.

And I contend that you can't graduate to marketing until
you've learned how to sell first. Ultimately, marketing
is not journalism, art or literature. It's selling.

Today, I'd like to introduce you to one of the best marketing
and copywriting minds of today, Jeff Paul, a man who
started out selling (Insurance) and has since become
a mail order legend.

His book "How You Can Make $4,000.00 A Day,
Sitting At Your Kitchen Table, In Your Underwear!"
is a masterpiece on selling information.

The book itself can serve as a tutorial on how
to sell in print. If you're serious about marketing,
you should own this book. The ideas in this book
will open doors for you, and cause you to think
of selling and marketing in a different way.

You really ought to get yourself a copy.

Find out more at: http://www.usedtapes.com/4kperday.htm

Have a great weekend!

Perry