A Lesson In Sales & Life From My Father To My Sons

One of the greatest lessons I have learned about the sales business came from my father, and was also at the point in my life I learned how noble the sales business truly should be. Like many young people, my thoughts of a career in “selling” conjured up images of tricks and games that took advantage of people for the purpose of making a commission. My father had a long career in sales by the time I was out of school and in the Marine Corps. He had started in sales selling various products the ole’ fashioned way, door-to-door, like fire alarms and sweepers, and eventually opened a shoe store. Law Enforcement was my interest, desiring to help people and make a difference! I spent four years as a Military Policeman and was proud of this "more respected" position.

. . . most important goal in sales should be to build better relationships, not better commissions

Upon leaving the Marine Corps, I was faced with buying my first pair of shoes on my own, as my father had always provided shoes through birthdays and Christmas gifts when I was younger. By this point my father had sold his store and started a new career selling shoes to shoe stores as a factory rep in a Midwest territory. When I wrote a check for the shoes I was purchasing in a large Midwest shoe store one day, the store owner saw the last name on my check and asked if I was related to one of their wholesale shoe reps. Admittedly I was embarrassed to say yes, as I saw shoe sales as a “Al Bundy; Married with Children TV series” type profession. I told the store owner that in fact the person he referenced was my father as I tried to hurry out of the store. To my surprise, the owner went from being kind to overly friendly and exuberant. He recalculated my price (my first lesson in wholesale vs retail!), selling me the shoes at his cost and telling me how thankful he was for my father and the friendship they had. He gushed about the brilliant advisor role my father played for him which he credited for the store’s success, then ended by telling me he was looking forward to having my father in his home again soon. I left the store curious and confused.

Days later when I saw my father, I told him about the encounter I had with this shoe store owner. I asked my father what the store owner meant by looking forward to having my father at his home soon. My father shared that because his sales territory covered several states, he often stayed in hotels that he grew tired of. He then told me that many of his clients (store owners) would learn about this and invite him to their home as they developed friendships. He shared that as a former store owner himself for 25 years, he learned that his most important goal in sales should be to build better relationships, not better commissions.

My father noticed my confused look I am sure and stopped to point around the room we were in. He said “Son, look around this room. Everything you see had to be sold by a salesperson at one point or another in it’s process to becoming what it now is and getting to this room”. That was a defining moment for me, realizing that sales had a far more nobler cause than I had given the profession credit for previously. He went on to tell me how seriously he took his job in protecting the stores he sold to, because their owners, employees and clients depended on his advice, counsel and integrity. There were many times he encouraged owners to order less based on what his experience taught him about inventory and costs. If he arrived at a store for his sales appointment only to find the owner too busy with customers to meet, he rolled up his sleeves and started helping the customers as if he was one of the store employees. His clients knew he cared about their success before his own. Now I understood why my father had been so successful and won so many awards. It was a result, not a goal.

Clients knew he cared about their success before his own

I soon realized in that conversation that sales was a noble and needed profession, even though some people in the profession could tarnish that calling. When the opportunity was presented to me to enter the mortgage banking (“mortgage sales”) profession, I was excited at the prospect of helping family’s get into homes! When I visited Realtor or builder offices that were busy, I practiced my father’s advice and would offer a drink or assistance to one of their waiting client as if I was part of that office. My adviser role was also shaped by my father’s advice, as I sought to help a client or employee with what was best for them, not me.

This father’s day, just consider where you are at in your career, where you want to be and what you need to be or do to achieve that goal. Then consider the many great lessons you have learned from a father that will inspire and guide you to that goal! 

Enjoy your Father’s day! For those that don’t have their father’s any longer, I am deeply sorry. Relish the positive memories you have that impacted who you are. For those that still have their fathers, or someone you have looked at as a father, make this a special day in some way because we don’t have each other long and too often realize the value of relationships too late.