We Can Learn A Great Sales Lesson From The Depression

The Great Depression was a time when businesses were failing and people were out of work. They lined up and down the street and around the corner for a bowl of soup and a piece of bread. Perhaps you remember some of the stories from your grandparents regarding this difficult time, or from history books. For several years in the 1930’s the newspapers were filled with front-page stories depicting the grim events of the Depression. What you typically didn’t read about were the stories buried deep inside the business section of the newspapers, those stories of businesses that flourished during the great depression. Many businesses had increases of two and three hundred percent. This may come as a surprise to learn that there were businesses that flourished during the most difficult economic times this country has ever seen. What caused some companies to have phenomenal success during a period when most people did their best just to survive? Nearly every business was so preoccupied with cutting costs to improve their bottom line, that they lost sight of the top line, which is more sales.

Sales drive the success of every business and increased sales is what caused the success of businesses during the great depression. The great depression gave birth to the outside sales person. Business owners figured that if people were not going to come in to their place of business and buy their product, then they would send salespeople to find potential buyers. This is the same pattern that many businesses follow today. They employ outside salespeople to sell their products and services. However, with the advent of outside sale people business owners discovered a new dilemma. They found that they were at the mercy of their salespeople. A company can have the best product in the world, but if the people don’t know what it can do for them and don’t choose to buy it, they will go broke! It is as simple as this: if salespeople don’t sell, businesses go under.

Have you ever asked yourself, or wondered why salespeople don’t succeed as they should? When you interview salespeople, you’re never really sure what you’re going to end up with. They seem to look real good on the surface, but very often, you don’t end up with what you expected. Industrial Distribution Magazine conducted a survey a few years ago. They wanted to find out why salespeople typically don’t succeed as expected. The results of the survey indicated one of three things:

LACK OF MOTIVATION: Difficulty staying excited in the face of constant opposition.

LACK OF DISCIPLINE: Knowing what should be done but just not doing it.

LACK OF SKILLS: Not possessing the professional skills and personal development to get the job done.

I’ve been involved in Sales, Sales Management and Sales Training for over Thirty-three years. During that time I’ve asked a lot of business owners why their salespeople did not succeed, as they should. In addition to poor follow up, poor planning, and just not getting out to see the people, the most common answer was “the salespeople are lazy.” I’ve surveyed hundreds of salespeople and asked them why they felt they were not as successful as they could have been while working for their last employer.

What do you think their answer was? Not too many of them said, “well, it’s because I’m lazy.” No big surprise there. Their main contention was that “there was no training or support from management.” The employer says poor follow up, poor planning, not seeing the people, or that the salespeople are lazy. The salespeople say there is no training or support.

Could both the employer and the employee be right? The answer is a resounding yes! It is amazing to me, the number of companies that do not train their salespeople to sell. They are taught product knowledge, but not the most important knowledge of all – how to sell. Management just assumes that since people present themselves as a sales person they must know how to sell. Some do and some don’t, and most are in need of some serious training. There is no other profession in the whole world that prepares people so poorly for success than the world of sales. Sales training is a multi-billion dollar industry, but the methods used, combined with the mediocre commitment from both business and employee is shocking.

The economy is facing the most difficult time of recent history. I hope it doesn’t approach the devastation of the great depression of the thirties, nor last as long. But this is something I do know, and something that can offer a ray of hope to every business and every sales person in the country – There is enough opportunity in every market for those businesses and salespeople who work hard enough and smart enough to be successful. Get yourselves trained, be accountable for your actions and performance, and overcome the rejection that has always been part of selling and become motivated by the rewards of your trade. Just as there were many businesses that succeeded during the great depression, there will be many businesses that will succeed now, but they will only succeed as they learn to Motivate, Monitor and Train their salespeople.