One of the strangest behaviors that consumers have is our dislike or aversion for salespeople. We don’t like to be sold out to with their wares or service. We are afraid to fall for their sweet-talk and end up buying something that we don’t need. And yet, when we are out for shopping, we buy with compulsion even without the aid of any salesman. But the world needs salesmen. Economies do not move without them. Salesmen are the life of any business. Their role is crucial to the development and growth of an enterprise.
Selling is said to have taken place throughout much of recorded human history. It is the oldest profession invented by man. Peter Watson in his book, Ideas: A History of Thought and Invention from Fire to Freud says that some 150,000 years ago, people were already selling by way of bartering goods and services from each other. Others believed that selling must have started earlier with the exchange of obsidian and flint during the Stone Age.
While selling is hardwired in us, only a few are willing to tread this field. From my experience for example, whenever I place a job offer in the papers, I receive more applications for clerical work than a sales job. The notion of pressure and lack of security are probably some of the reasons why there are only a few who would like to try their luck in sales. Others also think that selling as a profession is only reserved for people with naturally-endowed glib tongues and that only those with such talent thrives in this very competitive field.
My dad has always been proud as a salesman. I dearly remember when we were in grade school when he printed a shirt with “My Daddy is a Salesman” on it and told us to wear it with dignity and pride. He raised and educated us in a job that most people do not dare. “Many people are afraid to take this job because they are afraid of rejection. Rejection does not always mean you’re being rejected. It is your proposal that they reject, not you.” dad pointed.
A salesperson is the face of the company in the field. Her role is more than just a mouthpiece of the company she represents, she is also the ears. She listens to every heartache a client has over a product. She willingly absorbs all the grumbles and grievances over poor service and unfulfilled promises. And sometimes, a salesperson even goes beyond the service of selling, she can be a sincere friend who’s willing to listen even to your intimate issues.
The heart of a salesman is one that is incomparable – resilient and driven even during hard times. I would like to also say that salespeople are the most positive-minded creatures that you can find in the service profession. They exude that infectious enthusiasm that you can never tell if they ever had experienced a bad day in their life.
If a salesman had his way, “Sales are contingent upon the attitude of the salesman - not the attitude of the prospect.”
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Speaking of a selling, I am proud to be a colleague and a friend of a true blue salesman who is selected by the Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Award as the Most Promising Entrepreneur of the Year. He is no less than Mr. Anthony “Tonton” Leuterio, who had made a name in the field of real estate selling in just five years.
From a working student, to a barbecue vendor, to a T-shirt seller, Tonton is a proud salesman whose vision is to make millionaires out of what he does. His realty, Leuterio Realty and Brokerage, had already been reckoned to be the most prolific realty firm in the country with a combined affiliation of 3,000 real estate brokers and salespersons using his brand.
Tonton is the first Cebuano to have been chosen for this award from among the hundreds of entrepreneurs in Southeast Asia. He will be joined by top and noted businessmen-awardees in the country who will formally receive their recognition on November 3, at the Dusit Hotel in Makati.