Quota: August

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Selling With a Smile

By W. Grant Eppler

Most people gravitate away from a frown and toward a smile, and as such, most people would rather do business with someone who is having fun. I’m not talking about looney-tunes, nut-burger, out-of-this-world-crazy type fun; I’m talking about within the limits, normal, happy, fun. If you don’t sell actual body parts or work in a morgue, having fun selling is one of the most important things you can do to succeed.
    The idea of a fun-in-sales quotient crystallized for me on my way home from a recent sales trip to Hawaii.
    For the record, I was so busy selling to a market that had been under-represented for some time, I didn’t play golf and I didn’t even take my shirt off during the daylight hours. My selling enthusiasm rubbed off on my brokers and customers, and as momentum built, a customer invited me to stay another day and present my product line to his company’s entire sales force. I gladly accepted, but faced the inevitable sprint to the airport the next day.
    In Honolulu, Gates 33 and 34 are so far out that the wiki-wiki (island name for shuttle bus) actually turns around before it drops you at the gate. I made it with 20 minutes to spare, but arrived with a constant rumbling in my stomach from no food, the 6:30 a.m. coffee and the stress of having presented in front of 20 people. After a quick gate-by-gate reconnaissance, I found that the only things to eat came from a lone vending machine.
    Looking around for something more palatable, I spied an inconspicuous golf-cart convoy. It silently rolled to a stop in front of me on the walkway.
    Two beautiful young island women got out of the carts and stood silently. “Is that pizza?” I gamely asked, as the Pizza Hut sign was somewhat hidden. “Yes, I just got them from the oven so they’re hot,” the cart driver quietly informed me. “Great, I’ll take a pepperoni, and a soda.” She rang me up, flashed a brilliant smile, and returned to her guard-like stand. I thanked her, walked inside gate 32 and sat where I could snarf down the pizza and watch the cart sales.
Continued...

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