Riley was being trained to sell insurance in clients' homes. His manager coached the young rep on how to be a guest while remaining in control of the sales environment.
At one house, a woman in her 50s opened the door, and Riley's manager groaned. He was allergic to cats, and the feline-infested air slapped the older man in the face like a boxer's punch. His eyes started watering, his face started burning, and his nose started running.
The two agents were escorted into the living room. Riley took over the conversation, realizing his boss was miserable and getting worse the longer they were there.
Then, the homeowner excused herself to find some papers for the agents to review.
The enemy strutted into the room.
The tan-colored cat seemed to know exactly who she was tormenting. She leapt onto the couch and padded her way to the manager. He was sniffling into his hanky and looked up and into the eyes of the cat, 6 inches from his face.
He shooed the animal away with a wave of his hand. His huge college ring clipped the cat alongside its head. The pet dropped in his lap, motionless.
As he lifted it away from himself, the manager looked wide-eyed at Riley. The woman's companion was obviously dead.
The manager did the only honorable thing he could think of in the moment -- he slid the cat's limp body under the couch.
The woman returned and the men took her paperwork and got up to leave, promising a review of her materials and a quote, very soon.
They never did discover the ending to their cat encounter. Did she bump its body when vacuuming? Did the smell finally rise through the cushions of the couch?
And the buyer never bought, either.
The Moral: Obstacles! They clutter our path to selling success. They might be related to our poor products, poor health, or poor skills. If you could pick one thing to fix or improve right now in order to better your income, what would that be? Now go and make those adjustments today, and you'll enjoy the raise you will earn for yourself.
Sales from the Dark Side is compiled by speaker and trainer Dan Seidman. For more tales, visit www.salesautopsy.com.
