Building a Web Business – Part 1 - Foundation

I am a salesperson who doesn’t sell, that is I do not “hard” sell. I never even knew how to ask for an order until it was shoved in my face. That is until someone came running down the street after me, shouting, come back, we want to buy!

Over the past 27 years I have been steadily successful in an industry I knew nothing about when I entered into it. That was despite the fact I had used the industry’s services in a retail business for years. I was a part owner of that retail business as well.

After the first day of training I came back home and said to my wife: “What have I gotten myself into? I am lost!” At that time I held (and still do) a BS degree in economics and an MBA! The company’s product (and services) was in an applied technical field. My educational background included three years of college engineering studies, advanced mathematics, and I worked for three summers drafting for the Cook County (Illinois) Highways Department. The company had an advance training platform, including video tape training and evaluation.

Despite the adversities and being desperate for a steady income, I became a salesman who learned. I studied my company’s products and services and looked at them from a customer’s point of view. I looked for my customer’s needs and I told stories. I looked for applications within my products and services to solve prospect’s needs. Then I offered my prospects a solution. Sometimes those solutions included services from competing companies!

Personal comment: My momma didn’t raise a fool! I would rather get a large piece of the pie rather than no pie!

Finally, I let them make an adult decision. By being frank I developed a following based on trust. When I made a promise to do something for a prospect or a customer, it happened.

To be continued...