Comments on: Advanced Sales from “The Sound of Music”

By: Chad Smith

Chad Smith — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 17:23:45 +0000

I really appreciate this… Your ideas on the power of positive thinking have made me really think about my times on my campus. Next time i am strolling down my universities side walk i will remember all the great things about my times in college. As well how exciting it is to still be working with college students who get to experience the same things that i enjoy. This year is going to be GREAT!

By: Aaron Schafer

Aaron Schafer — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:39:01 +0000

That is a great story Jenny. I know that my summers had a massive impact on me as well. Gaining that confidence and learning to love life regardless of your current circumstances are awesome characteristics to develop. It is unfortunate that a vast majority of our society run from the challenges in their lives that might help them actually develop these things!

By: Aaron Schafer

Aaron Schafer — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:35:34 +0000

So true. It is funny that there are so often universally accepted truths like this, and yet we often forget to put the effort into actually implementing them. Enjoy the present Nate!

By: Nate Wolverton

Nate Wolverton — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 19:21:04 +0000

Great post Aaron! I always find that anything we look back on, even the really hard times (maybe like selling books), we usually find joy in our memories. Yet while living through them we may not have been so joyful. Even the basic days of walking through campus in the fall. We look back at our days in college and think what a joy it was and remember those beautiful days walking, but most of the time during those walks we forget to find the joy in them at that moment. Its all about being present and asking yourself how your going to remember the moment your in, because you will usually look back on it with joy, but finding that joy in the moment is what’s most important.

By: Maurice Howell

Maurice Howell — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 12:06:34 +0000

What it means to be truly happy and excited is to truly enjoy living; that’s powerful! Daily I have to remind myself that in the grand scheme of things being upset about a situation on gets me where? While in reality none of it really matters because the situation occurred and you should respond not react. To react is an quick thoughtless action that typically stems from anger because their is really not a great sense of clarity about what is the proper way to handle the situation. Responding means that you are in control because you have thought through your actions; The point I’m making is that the reason I am happy is because I think through what makes me unhappy and I respond by being thankful for my five senses that work properly, by finding someone I care about and hanging out with them, or remembering that inorder to help others you have to “be the change you want to see in others.”

By: Jenny Cunningham

Jenny Cunningham — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 18:33:33 +0000

Aaron,
Thanks so much for your blog. I have had the same thing happen to me recently. I had a couple of my friends from college ask “how do you do it?” … Sound familiar? I recently went to an “interview” at an upscale bar in downtown Charlotte. While I was waiting to speak with the manager, I sat at the bar and started a conversation with the bartender, Pete. I found out that he was from London and has lived in Charlotte for the past 10 years. He lived in Australia for 3 years. Finding out this information in probably 3 minutes. I told him about SW and that I’ve sold books door-to-door in a different location for the past 4 years. We talked about that for a bit. Then he asked me a question that I have never been asked before, “Jenny, where do you get this confidence from?” At first, I didn’t know what to say. But I answered with “selling books door-to-door.” With his European, smart aleck sense of humor, he didn’t believe me. When I was on the drive home, it made me think. During and after highschool, I was a very under-confident girl. But after my freshman year of college and first summer selling books, I developed an inner confidence that radiated outward. It’s amazing how much I have grown the past 4 years, I’m excited to keep growing! I love being a part of this company.
You are the best, Mr. Schafer! Keep ‘em coming

By: Lee McCroskey

Lee McCroskey — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 02:24:46 +0000

great insights, Christie! thanks for your comment–getting into the sales zone is a challenge: you have to be focused and you have to be carefree at the same time.

By: Christie Bradley

Christie Bradley — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 19:12:44 +0000

Wow, a math man and a great writer…what an awsome combination! This is such an awsome story, and I find that what helps me over the summer to cultivate that great attitude is really and truly living through your buying atmosphere! I remember having so much fun on Saturdays with moms just by telling them in my buying atmosphere that it didn’t matter if they bought or not because the next day was sunday and I was going to have a feast waiting for me! I learned really fast that on the days I believed that it didn’t matter if I sold anything, were the days that I sold the most! On the days that I tried so hard to do everything perfect and tried to be “good in sales” were the days that were just “ok.” So how do we get excited and stay excited? We have to think about all of the little things that help us to realize that our job can be a blast, if you let it be! Tell yourself everyday that nothing else matters but having fun! I used to listen to country all of the time because it made me feel so good and I would find myself singing at the door. If you are a chill person with Mrs. Jones, she will be chill too. Whether it’s collecting water bottles, counting the number of cows you see in a day, or doing cartwheels in the street– find something that helps you to take your mind off of selling books and put it on doing things that make you radiate how much fun your job is!

By: Aaron Wolverton

Aaron Wolverton — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 22:55:11 +0000

Aaron, I think you nailed it here. This is something your great at doing, and something I noticed a while back in our first few interactions. I remember even one time asking you “how do you stay happy all of the time?” and you said something like, “well I’ve got a great wife, great job, new born baby and no one in my family is sick, what could I be possibly upset about?”
Most people are thankful for what they have in there lives, they just normally don’t reference these things unless something really great has just happened to them or if something happened that reminded them of all there blessings.
Referencing these things on a daily basis is key and is something a lot of us can work on. Great post!

By: Trey Campbell

Trey Campbell — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 03:33:08 +0000

Aaron – you make a tremendous point. When ever I get excited about an idea or something I am pitching, the enthusiasm is contagious. The same holds true for a selling situation. The saying “attitude is everything” is so true. What a good sales person has to do is harness the attitude into a controllable emotion in a way that is real. Any prospect can see through a phony, half-hearted sales pitch. Thanks for your perspective on this (and for making me have The Sound of Music songs in my head)…