Rebirth of the Salesman in the digital age (a lesson from my grandpa)

Sales is a much-maligned word. Some people would hate to even consider what they do as sales. Images of pushy people who are inauthentic and smarmy spring to their minds. But sales is a necessary part of business, particularly if you leave the cushy walls of corporate and start your own business, so how do you it and maintain your credibility?

When I was a young lad, all I ever wanted to do was to work for my grandpa. He started a commercial stationery business in High Street, Preston in 1949 after the war and called it RH Grierson & Co. He wasn't one for branding or creativity, unlike his youngest grandchild!

We specialised in importing Pegasus carbon paper from England in huge reams and cutting it down to A4 for secretaries so they could type documents in duplicate. If this sounds like some ancient process, it was. But at the time it was cutting edge entrepreneurship and made my grandparents quite wealthy. He was a hard man, but fair. He imbued the importance of looking after the business by knowing your products, working hard and serving our clients to the best of our abilities. 

I joined the company when my time came and after a few years doing the hard yards in the warehouse, joined the sales team. Armed with a box of catalogues and a cheap suit he gave me all the training of 'go and cold call son'. Being all of 21 and looking about 16 off I went around the industrial areas in the northern suburbs of Melbourne. 

Half a day I lasted until I thought there has got to be a better way. So I pretended to cold call but really just serviced my existing clients. But so eager to please, I was, that I would go over and above for my clients. I knew my industry well and would serve my clients so effectively and with authenticity that they became my friends. I loved visiting them each week had a great relationship - then a strange thing happened.

When Betty would leave one company she would make sure I was well entrenched there and then take me with her to the new company. My business grew. Word of mouth started and I started getting referrals. All of a sudden I was the fastest-growing salesperson in the company without one cold call. Amazing.

Fast forward to life in big IT in the 2000s and I'm in the big league (so I thought at the time). Working for the biggest IT company in the world, Hewlett Packard, so I applied the same principles to my new customer, a computer wholesaler turning over $1m a week. Amazingly the same results. It appeared that if you look after customers and try your best, they will look after you, regardless of the industry and size of business.

"Nice story Andrew but how do we apply this lesson now?" I hear you ask.

In today's fast and furious social media landscape where Gary V says post 64 times a day, it's easy to become impersonal to our clients. We hide behind our computers, do the click funnel courses and believe Facebook ads will make new relationships. Sometimes we forget that it's a good product with genuine value, with quality service and a personal approach that people actually resonate with. If you try your best to help your clients, they will feel that and want to help you. They introduce you to their friends and colleagues and your business will grow slowly but surely.

This is not a story of Internet unicorns, selling for 100x multiples based on a dream, but it's a story of how my grandpa worked hard for 40 years and built a family upon a quality small business. These are most businesses in Australia and ones that I like to work with as they feed most families and teach kids valuable lessons. 

My advice is to slow down, reduce the hustle and focus on your clients. Solve their problems as best you can and act with honour. You can't always fix everything for them and clients will come and go as their business and personal lives change. But if you do your best they will often return or send you their friends when the time comes.

Selling isn't dead, it's just been reborn with a digital edge. My methodology is called e-ttraction, creating digital attraction with authentic storytelling. I believe the same rules of relationship building apply online the same as offline. The difference is, you now have a much more efficient medium to show prospects what you are like as a person and business. 

Remember the energy you bring to your work is felt by all the people around you. Authentic energy is attractive. So stop trying to sell and start helping people and you will do well.

Andrew