Anyone who knows me pretty well knows what a great influence my Father has been on me. When I was 18, he and some other old timers taught me how to sell vacuums, door to door, and yes I mean cold calling. When I was looking for a job he told me that if you get into sales, you can earn as much money as you’d like. Well, after a few weeks I realized how tough it was and I told my dad I wasn’t making “as much as I’d like.” So he said . . .
“Do you know what you’re doing?”
I said, not really, and then he told me “then of course it’s tough.” So how about you learn what to do. The reason I was failing was because I wasn’t attending the morning training meetings. I mean c’mon, I was 18, and they were at 7:30AM. But the fact remained, I didn’t know how to sell. So I started to begrudgingly go to the meetings. This is where I first learned about closing sales and of course about the products we offered, as well as the competitor’s products. I also learned how to get in the door to show a client the vacuum, all this among other things and then magically . . . I started to sell more and earn more money.
It was that simple.
But we need to go back in time a little to really understand my dad’s statement that you can earn as much as you want.
In 1971 my Dad was an engineer/machinist by trade and he was one of the best, he worked at that particular job for 5 years, and he was earning $12K a year. He asked for a raise, they said no, so he quit. Here’s where we need the dramatic movie sound track. My parents had just bought a house on Long island and had 4 children. Needless to say my Mom had some mild anxiety about my Dad quitting his job at that time in their lives. To be blunt it seems that my Mom has mild anxiety every day, so I can only imagine what this was like. He he, love ya Mom!
Anyway Dad said that he was out of work for two weeks, and then it happened, he was lured into the world of sales. It all sounded so good, the potential money along with the prizes, trips and the recognition that went with it, and he took the job. So what’s the big deal? He had ZERO sales experience. My mom thought he was crazy. However, his first year in sales, he earned $15K, a $3K increase over the job he had quit, so essentially he gave himself the raise he asked for.
But wait there’s more.
His second year in sales he earned about $30K, and from that point on he continued to be one of the top salespeople for over 30 years. Just to put that $30K into perspective, the house my parents bought 2 years prior was $35K and now, that was pretty much my father’s new income level.
So how did someone with no sales experience do this?
My Father relates his success to a few things:
1: A good product to offer
2: Knowledge of that product
3: Putting the customer first
4: Perseverance
5: Desire
6: Hard work
He also had a need, he said “we had to eat, so I had to sell.” So he learned what to do and how to do it and worked the necessary hours to achieve this success.
I want you to realize that you too can succeed. Serve your customers properly. Put them first, build your business one client at a time. Each consumer that you encounter is an opportunity to either earn their business or lose their business. Do your best to earn it, every time. Become better than the competition, they probably leave sales on the table, don’t do the same thing. Learn the products. Work hard and close sales! Build your client base, earn more this year than you ever have before. It’s possible, for each of you.
Give yourself a raise!
Rob Liano
Rock Star Life Coach & Sales Trainer
www.rockstarsalestraining.com
1.855.832.ROCK (7625)
✪ Best Selling Author ✪ Coach ✪ Speaker ✪ 
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