Embrace the Sales Struggle
Stories sell.
You should be using them in your sales process.
They also teach lessons very well.
Let me tell you one.
Samuel Morse was a struggling portrait artist in 1832 when, by chance, he overheard a conversation about an experiment in electromagnetism.
Intrigued by the concept, he adapted it to send messages over a wire using electricity.
For the next five years, he worked to perfect his invention until, in 1837, he applied for a patent for his Electromagentic Telegraph in the United States and England. The patent was rejected in England because a similar device had already been introduced there, but he was awarded a U.S. patent in 1840.
Morse also assisted in inventing a method of conveying messages in which dots and dashes represented letters and numbers, better known as Morse Code.
In 1842, Morse demonstrated his device in front of several members of Congress in a failed effort to win funding to build a telegraph line. Oliver Hampton Smith, a U.S. Senator from Indiana, later recalled that his fellow legislators were not impressed by Morse's presentation: "I was assured by other Senators after we left the room that they had no confidence in it." After unsuccessfully trying to find other funding, Morse approached Congress again in 1843. Although many still considered his ideas ridiculous, on the last night of the Congressional session he was granted $30,000 to lay a telegraph line from Washington to Baltimore.
On May 24, 1844, he tapped out the first message, "What hath God wrought?", a quotation from the Biblical Book of Numbers. Finally able to prove that his invention worked, Morse offered to sell his rights to the telegraph to the U.S. Government for $100,000. When his offer was rejected Morse formed the Magnetic Telegraph Company with several interested partners. In the first three months the firm earned less than $200, while expenses exceeded $1,800. No small amount for those days. However, Morse refused to quit and eventually began profiting from his invention as others scrambled to create their own telegraph companies.
By 1861 a transcontinental telegraph system was established, and just five years later the first successful transatlantic telegraph cable was developed. The telegraph allowed newspapers to cover significant world events quickly, revolutionized business, lead to the creation of time zones, and for the first time created a global community.
From struggling artist, to ridiculous dreamer, to successful entrepreneur and world changer, Samuel Morse achieved his dreams of electronic communication not because of luck, but only because of his drive to succeed.
There lies within each of us a dormant desire, dream, or vision that could change the world. The trick is having enough will power to bring that dream and vision to fruition. What hath God, or the Universe, or your Higher Power, wrought in your life?
Sales positions give people the opportunity to literally change their lives overnight, when and if they learn how to be good at this craft.
I promise some amazing things can be wrought in your life when you approach sales the right way.
Not the pushy 20th century way of hard closes and false scarcity.
But in a sincere approachable way, with authenticity, a true desire to make someone's life better, and with pure intent.
Samuel Morse struggled in successfully launching the telegraph, but he finally did it and he changed the world.
Embracing the struggle is often where success comes from.
Stories sell.
They also teach.
What will you take from Morse's example to apply in your sales career?
Let me know. I'd love to know how you're going to revolutionize the world.