First I have to tell you that my father is a sales trainer who, amongst other things, does J. Douglas Edwards just about word for word, as well as having originally coined the phrase which is now a Trademark that I own; Gold Calling® (change one letter in the phrase Cold Calling to make it more positive!).
So - yes - I was exposed to selling since I was 17 and took Xerox PSS II, which I still have in my home-office-library, as well as Effective Listening, also by Xerox. And started selling full time right after High School, but, when asked this question, I choose to share and relate my first on-my-own expereinces.
Needless to say my intro to sales is unusual and early, as my father talked me out of University to join him in his business when I was 19, which was a great experience, though short lived for two reasons; (1) I could not get along with my Dad who conveniently missed the fact that I was still at an age when most are Frat Partying ... (2) My mom died in a car crash in 2001, when I was just 21 years old. After that I spent a year away from selling.
Finally came out of that funk ... started feeling my way around as to what I wanted to sell - I found out that a local man sold Door Viewers or Peep Holes wholesale and felt that Home Security was a burgeoning industry, which was proven correct. I bought a bunch of them with borrowed money from my Grandmother. Sold them all day one and spent a year developing the home security business I then sold off when I went back to the office equipment field (it was cold outside and door to door was much harder, so I traded one business for another!).
I developed the style of the pitch ... I would have the prospect, usually the woman of the house, look through the Peep Hole as I told her I had my tools with me and could install it for $15 on the spot.
The cool technique was to put your hands behind your back and basically - without saying so - refuse to take it back. I sold a lot of Peep Holes that year using this simple technique. And I learned I could sell as well as this - I was an entrepreneur. A fact that has dominated my life, which is why I earned more than a million dollars a year (twice, I also had two $800K years too!) along with enjoying the freedom of working from home.
Of course, my current business is far more serious, now 26 years later, I have a new age tool that is far ahead of the competition, sort of a Contact Manager/CRM that actually builds your database entry of a new prospect record automatically from unlimited websites and from VOIP calls (either from Land-line or "Peer to Peer").
Anyway, I credit my father for having exposed me to the best selling skills training that ever was. And I credit the Door Viewer/Home Security business with my development as an entrepreneur.
Most people do not understand what opportunity exists today. Technology is a wide open field, one that is going to create far more millionaires all others that came before it put together. I suggest all of you have a look at this as your chosen field of endeavors in selling - what a time to be alive and making one's fortune!
