I am a salesman. That’s it. And frankly, that is all I ever wanted to be. I have been selling since I can remember; professional selling however, and I, met only about 25 years ago.  My first non-paid selling job however began at age 7, and was successfully made by getting my father to by me ice cream, even when my report card said I deserved canned spinach for the rest of my life! I knew however, he was a sucker for ice cream, and I used my first “assumption close” on him. It worked! And I was so proud of myself.

My professional selling career began about 25 years ago in the office products industry. At first, like many sales people before me, I did not have much luck selling. To my defense, I had very little training, probably like many of you in the field today. Because of that, and because of the assumption that I was a “natural” and that selling would come easy to me, I got a hard lesson in life and in my career. The first few years, about three or four of them, were not good. I doubted myself. As most of us know, selling like anything else that one wants to master, takes time and training, none of which I had at that point in my new sales life.

Over the years, and with more practice, my career started taking off. I was making money and having fun doing so. I seemed to always be in the top of my sales class. I even went on to obtain a master’s degree and spent about 5 years in management.  My learning path was never easy however. I often, even to this day, believe that had I had some selling direction, relevant training, or even encouragement by management, my earlier selling progress would have been even faster. Oh well, that was not the case for me, yet I am still alive and well!

Today, I am still selling, and loving the field now more than ever. I have gained wonderful experiences, met so many wonderful friends, both customers and professionals in my industry. My growth and development is part of my daily life.  With that said, my objective for this blog, is to help expedite the learning process, so you that your growth can come with a little less pain, with more encouragement, expediency, and higher results, than you may be experiencing right now in your own selling or business career.

I believe in you. You are taking a necessary step to improvement. You are investing in yourself. Keep up the training, allow yourself the freedom to make mistakes, but most importantly, have fun and be willing to laugh at yourself. And if all else fails, remember to treat yourself to a well-deserved ice cream break!

Ron