Sales God

I'm not sure this applies precisely...but I've been thinking of this.

I used to speak to groups of salespeople. There were two different kinds of groups. People in the same industry, and people in the same company.

The industry groups were mostly made up of top achievers....partly because they paid their own way to the conference, and paid for their own ticket.

The company groups were made up of all the salespeople. Attendance was sometimes mandatory. In this group, in nearly every instance...there was this one guy.

He was the guy that had been there for years, and never achieved anything. He was barely hanging on. The only glory he had, was that he was on a good team.

But he bragged about everything he was going to do. If we were setting goals, his were always hundreds of times more than he ever made. If a top producer was getting an award, this guy would trash him/her. The best word to describe this attitude was bitter.

When he bragged about what he had done, it was never a sales result. He would talk about how many managers "He had seen come and go", or how long he had been "in this business". And he had tons of ideas about how things "should be done". Never something he should do, but how the company should supply him with better leads. He complained about customers and how stupid they were....how they weren't smart enough to buy from him.

And...as a speaker, to me he stood out like a sore thumb.

He would interrupt the talk, by saying things like, "That would never work", and "OK, it sounds great in theory, but our customers are different".

And...always...the inevitable,,,, "Those who can't do...teach". That's the one that angered me, because of the lack of awareness it showed.

But he never learned anything. He would be at the company for years, and not know the first thing about selling. The other reps avoided him, and rolled their eyes when he talked.

Sometimes, he was related to the CEO, and couldn't be fired. Sometimes he was strictly on commission, and so he cost the company nothing to keep around.

But the only people that would listen to him were the brand new people.

When I first started meeting these guys, I would wonder why they didn't try to help the new people...pass on what they knew. After all, part of bragging is showing what you know. (I speak as a seasoned braggart)

And then I realized that the reason they don't really offer to help...is that they don't know anything that they could teach. Simply complaining about how things are, and bragging about what you are going to do...putting down real achievers.....aren't teachable skills.


Anyway, for some reason, there are never two of these guys in a company...only one. And they are nearly always men. Weird.


I've done this dozens of times. In nearly every case, it was hugely profitable. Top salespeople love to learn from another top person, and share what they know. Watching a great salesperson make a sale, is almost as rewarding as making one myself.

I'm pretty good at getting attention arnt I?
The best way to get rid if someone like me is ignore me. But I see you went the route of further promoting me and for that I thank you. All publicity is good publicity. And like rush Limbaugh says. The ones that like me listen to me 2 hours a day and the ones that hate me listen to me 4 hours a day. And by me being on your mind enough to take time out if your day and write this article about me it looks like I'm makin progress and proving that true. The ones who get the most attention make the most money. Remember that.

I like hiring the self titled peacocks who strut about ... not for their ability.
They annoy the quiet ones who in turn "prove themselves" by putting more
on the board.

Win - win

On a place like this, if you don't attempt to make the 'authority play', (naming yourself an expert and making bold, hyperbolic statements being one way to (artificially) develop authority status, to varying degrees of success), you won't develop a following. Which means when your e-book and expensive membership programs is on the shelves, you won't get many takers.


It's part to do with the herd mentality built into the psyche of the vast majority of people, just as part of their personality to be a follower and partly because many beginners don't know better. Many need leaders and authority figures to follow regardless.

In my keen observation of this place, one that is more deregulated than other places making it ideal for frauds and the delusional, many would rather be conned by someone because the person has included the elements of Authority in their presentation or positioning, rather than acknowledge the unvarnished, straight truth from someone who hasn't


Like the SalesGod said, it's all about getting attention, any which way. It doesn't matter to him or others whether it's good or bad.

There's always people who are going to fall for it.