In  an  age  when  a  person  is  a  brand  and  their  social  media output is a commodity, the salesperson who wishes to have a successful, sustainable career must be able to do more  than make cold calls and create a solid sales pitch. Today,  potential customers want to buy into the salesperson before  they purchase the goods or services being sold. The savvy  salesperson  invests  as  much  or  more  into  developing personal principles their customers will connect with as they  do in cultivating their sales strategy. When I first met  with Virgil to assist him with  bringing  this book to fruition, I didn’t think of myself as much of a  salesperson. I considered myself to be a writer and aspiring  writing coach whose passion was to help others share their  story. Despite being able to check off all the must haves for  people  selling  goods  or  services  online—a  website,  social  media presence, and email list—I wasn’t booking the clients or  selling  the  number  of  books  I  wanted.  Through  my  interactions with Virgil, I began to understand the reason I  wasn’t  making  sales  had  more  to  do  with  my whether  I adhered  to  the  principles  he  espouses  in  the  pages  of  this  book. Each  moment  of  Virgil’s  twenty-plus  years  of  sales  experience  has  been  carefully  considered  and  mined  to  produce the masterclass on success in sales you hold in your  hands.  Each  principle  is  one  he  has  put  into  practice  in  a  career  boasting  fifteen  President’s  Club  Awards  and  numerous  other  industry  accolades.  These  are  not  trendy  techniques  that  will  be  useless  when  times change,  but proven principles you can continue to utilize and profit from for the rest of your career. 10 Principles of the Life and Death of a Salesperson  isn’t just another sales book promising to make you a better salesman if you adopt a certain trendy sales technique; this book  promises  to  change  you, the  person  behind  the  sales pitch.  It’s  no  secret  that  people  want  to  do  business  with individuals who understand what they  need  and will work diligently to ensure they get it. They want someone who is organized and exhibits a level of integrity in what they do. In  short, they want someone they can trust.

Erica Hearns Seasons Publishing  

Trust is defined by Webster’s dictionary as, “quite often the attitude that we display towards people who we believe and to a degree hope will be trustworthy.” Trust and trustworthiness are similar yet different. In a perfect world, those we trust will be trustworthy, and those who are trustworthy will be trusted. Trust is often mistakenly overlooked and taken for granted. Often, sales professionals are completely unaware of its value. It’s important when working with your coworkers and customers because it allows you to form and develop effective relationships for support, advice, and/or approval. Since trust often involves associated risk, it can often be perceived as very dangerous. Trusting another person with your personal thoughts or professional ideas invites the risk of betrayal.  

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In order for trust to be validated in any relationship,both parties involved must express their willingness to trust each other. There are other conditions for trust and trustworthiness, but you should keep this at the forefront of your thoughts as you work with your peers and customers.  By doing this, you are able to concentrate on effective listening and your choice of words in your discussions. The question I often ask myself is, “Do my words and actions support the direction I foresee our relationship taking?” 

In sales everything you believe makes you successful will be tested.” Those  who  say  they  can  sell  are  correct.  Those  who say they can’t sell are correct.  In the field of sales, these two  statements  are  both  true. Your  words  are  the  magic ingredients framing and creating your world.  My  job  is  to  challenge  you  to  establish  your foundation. By using your words to make better decisions outside of your sales jobs, you will build a solid foundation from which to make the best decisions when you’re selling.  

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THE FORCE OF FEAR IS COMING TO CHALLENGE WHAT YOU BELIEVE 

Fear will come to challenge what you really believe. It will wage a war for your mind. Fear is defined in Webster’s dictionary as an unpleasant, often strong emotion caused by anticipation  or  awareness  of  danger;  an  instance  of  this emotion, or a state marked by this emotion .WHAT RESPONSES CAN FEAR TRIGGER IN YOU?

Integrity  is  a  quality aspired  to  by  every  sales professional  worth  their  weight.  It  encompasses  many  of the best and most admirable traits inside each one of us: honesty, uprightness, trustworthiness, fairness, loyalty, and the  courage  to  keep  one’s  word  and  one’s  promises regardless  of  the  consequences.  The  word “integrity” is derived from the Latin word for wholeness and denotes a  man who has successfully integrated good virtues into his character–  one   who  not  only  speaks  about  integrity but demonstrates its characteristics by his actions.Who are you when no one is looking? 

Listening  with a  sincere  attempt  to  understand is  the first  step  in  building  a  trusting  relationship  with your coworkers  and  customers.  Effective listening “requires conscious effort  and  continued  practice”  (Thompson, Grandgenett,  &  Gradgenett,1999, p.  8). “A  perceived failure to listen is often interpreted by the speaker as a sign of  not  caring,  whereas  the  perception  that  the  receiver  is listening  is  viewed  by  the  speaker  as  a  caring  behavior”  (Bulach, Pickett, &  Boothe,  1998). “Listening first helps the listener to understand what is being said and  adds value at  the  beginning  of  the  relationship.  Empathetic listening (also called active listening or reflective listening) is a way of listening and responding to another person that improves  mutual understanding and trust”  (Salem, 2003). “This type of listening is an act of acknowledging and identifying the feel ings of a speaker while relaying the facts being stated.” The listener can practice this by using statements such as, “You feel _________ when the (described event happens).”  Emotionally, attempting to review the speakers’ concerns will  assist  in establishing effective  and  supportive communication  between  the  listener  and  the  person speaking.