Let Me Tell You Why I Suck As A Salesman

During these summer months, my primary duty at work has been to do cold-calling. Typically, I am pretty good at talking to people, and generally I'm comfortable [and confident] on the phone. However, when it comes to sales, I'm not really the best. Without sarcasm, I certainly have many areas that I can improve on, but by no means am I the worst salesman out there—I've brought in plenty of business for HPT through bus and van rentals.

In order to help with my sales, there is in my cubicle different sheets of paper plastered all over the walls with different phraseology that I have used previously. Things like, "we offer discounted rates for travel," or "we are the largest group-wholesaler to Colorado for Ski Trips," are never far from my gaze... continually feeding my thoughts with ways to spark a [potential-] client's interest. 

And most of these quotes that I have as reference are not my own. Instead, I have taken the words from two of my fellow workers [buddies] at HPT, Adam "Scoop" Stewart and the cold-call master, Nathan Gunter. If someone were to sit in and listen to our phone conversations, it would be clear that Nathan is the calling master at HPT. He may not make as many calls as I do, but his client "request-per-call" is much higher than say, my own. 

I have learned quite a bit from listening to Nathan. When I listen to him, and then compare his conversations to my own, I learn a lot about how better to present our company to clients and how to show how we really are a "Resource for Ministries on the Go." Nathan is great at connecting with people and making them feel comfortable. The more I sit in my cubicle and think about sales, the more these cold-calls grow to be relevant with evangelism. The way that Nathan converses with people is the same way that Christians should relate to those who are lost: by making connections with them and making them feel comfortable.

As Christians, we are not seeking to get the "business" of a non-believer. All we are to do is be salt and light... that is, do the very things that other people do not typically do. This will make us stand apart by: connecting with them, and by making them feel comfortable. Evangelism is not speaking, it is living.