Everyone has a story to tell, especially salespeople. Story telling is a key part of our profession. Sit down with any successful salesperson and I guarantee you they will have a treasure trove of stories to share: some will be good, others will be funny, several will be disheartening, but almost all will be instructive. Many years ago a mentor said to me, "Tell me your story; I'll tell you mine; together we will improve."
Success in sales begins with the stories we tell and the lessons we learn. This blog is dedicated to telling our stories. My hope is that the stories we share will come from every corner of the world, in every type of selling situation. It doesn't matter what you sell-it simply matters THAT you sell. Because if you do, you have a story to tell. I encourage you to take your Andy Warhol "15 minutes of fame" and tell the world your sales story. This is a place where we don't have to "compete to learn" but rather a place where we can "read and learn." Let this be the sight where salespeople can honestly share their sales journey and learn from others along the way, in a non-competitive setting. Let the stories we tell inspire us to be the very best we can be.
Send me your stories (yoursalesstory@travelingsalesman.org) and I will feature them on this website. Tell us who you are if you like, stay incognito, if you desire, but tell us your story. And there are no rules about how to tell your story. For some it will be a story about a win or a loss. For others it will be far more philosophical in nature. Many stories will give us a new understanding of how products get sold by revealing what they sell. The first story featured will surprise you. It's a fascinating tale, with a lesson or two to be learned.
The lessons begin with the stories we tell.
From Tucson to Tbilisi. It's not the destination. It's the journey.
