Peddlers Have the Pulse of the Purchasing Population

As CEO and founder, I humbly wear many hats on any given day.  One that I proudly wear is that of salesperson (sometimes fondly referred to as peddler).  With years of sales leadership under my belt, I have learned this – you cannot TEACH someone to be a great salesperson.  It’s either in their veins or it’s not – great peddlers are born, not made.  They are energized by the thrill from it all – or they just don’t get it.  Frankly, the best in class salesmen are savvy listeners, learners and solution liaisons.

Maybe it’s genetic – my Dad was an awesome salesman.  In his era, salesmen were canvassers and lead generators.  Respectfully, they are still the real deal – sales people working a territory, feet on the street, cold calling – getting the pulse of the buyers, fearless, endlessly tenacious with the attitude of “never say die till you get the deal” type sales people.  Money was less important than the sport of it – the “hunt” and “kill” – capturing a sale for the pride of the conquest – was as much the adrenaline buzz as was the necessity of putting food on the table.  There were moral lessons to be learned from the hard earned buck.  Weren’t the first “peddlers” in the U.S. – the milk peddlers bringing dairy products to the non-agrarian population.  Selling was and will always be the heart and soul of middle class capitalist America.   What a proud and mighty force to be reckoned with they are!

 

I’ve characteristically engaged in deals solidified with a strong handshake and I recollect ambient overtones of loyalty to vendors, a man’s word being “good as gold”, and business partners as allies not adversaries.  Deal making necessitated face-to-face, eyeball-to-eyeball interaction and clients were enthused by who we were, cared about our company and our integrity.  We used phones (people answered them in the day), brochures, ads in trade magazines and promotional campaigns.  Quite rudimentary compared to Virtual Customers, Internet, Facebook, Twitter and selfies.   Don’t get me wrong – I am all about 21^st century data sharing and SEO, but somewhere along the information highway the valuable qualities of dynamic personal interaction, communication & caring have diminished.  Filtered texts and emails corrupt precious personal contact and contaminate the effervescence of caring about who we are and what they need – which continues to be the mainstream business imperative of client solutions we are compelled to provide.

 

The differentiation between salesman and peddler could simply be a fine line of stereotyping and may beg clarification.  Both create economic value – diagnosing, commoditizing and prioritizing granular trends and value-add to the customer.  Both classes must become impervious to rejection and the potholes of the sales cycle.  Peddlers were once stereotyped as quick closers and only knew one best business practice – “get the deal”.  They were fast talkers echoing catch phrases and spouting deals and discounts – they didn’t leave till they sold something.  Sellers are effortlessly analytical – immersing themselves in marketplace trends, embracing client information & demographics – laser focused on strategic information toward customer solutions – thus organic growth through the sale.  Both get to the end goal – just different processes.  Both species of solicitors are that of dynamic shakers and movers.  Maybe it’s more about the culture that used to exist, than the actual terminology one might stumble through.  A sale is a sale right?  I don’t know – I value my long-term relationships picking up the phone just to see how I’m doing.  I relish partners who incorporate our professionalism and knowledge of the industry into their bottom line analytics.

 

We’re at the mercy of metrics – the 21^st century golden rule that inauspiciously gets in the way of the human value proposition.  My heart is steadied by truth in the equation in which altruistic interaction is incorporated into business analytics.  Integers have become the almighty precedence.  C’est dommage.  Relationships with my peers is still my inspiration – in tandem with trying not to get hewn by competitors whose primary mantra is “we’ll do anything for the deal”.  I’m happy to get the deal – but my reason is more personal.  Caring fills up my emotional bucket – in tandem with the contagious adrenaline of closing the deal.  I’m proud to be a peddler and I embrace transitional challenges and complexities of our distinguished profession.  It’s highly likely I’ll be in line for the next new Apple device – and I can’t wait to capture my next deal!

Category: Editorials