Written By
Lori Richardson
Have you seen the new documentary called The Story of Sales? It is now viewable through the Salesforce website, who funded the project. There are also some upcoming viewings in cities around the country. I know firsthand how dedicated the interviewers, producer, director and everyone involved in the production were.
When I first heard about this project, I was SO excited because sales gets such a bad rap – in school – at home – and sometimes in the workplace – yet sales is an admirable, smart, amazing profession.
If I was heading to college now, I’d choose a school with a sales program like the Center for Professional Sales that Dr. Howard Dover runs at University of Texas, Dallas. Follow them socially at #utdsales His program is featured in this film (at least a snippet of it is).
There are eight “chapters” to the documentary:
Of everything shown, I liked seeing the sales program at UTD in action, because it shows how universities have changed to help build professional sellers and people who can go off and become successful entrepreneurs or rise through big organizations selling their ideas.
I also loved Jill Konrath’s words of wisdom, and highly recommend reading her books on sales and following her blog and on LinkedIn.
A number of my professional colleagues and friends participated and did a great job too.
My least favorite part was the ongoing storyline with the car dealership – I think it could have been covered quicker – car dealers don’t work like they used to – got it - and then spent more time to further discuss how lots of single parents, heads of households, and others have built amazing careers through the profession of selling. Seeing more from sales programs at universities around the country would be fantastic too. Perhaps there will be a “Part 2”?
Check it out here – and next time you hear someone belittle professional selling – tell them that is an old school idea.
Lori Richardson helps mid-sized companies grow revenues by solving key issues in their sales department - like recruiting, retention, diversity hiring, process, pipeline and leadership. She speaks at CEO groups on topics of sales growth. Clients include companies in the technology, telecom, manufacturing, distribution, and professional services industries. Subscribe to the award-winning blog, follow her on Twitter
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