I'll be helping honor one of the best salesmen of a particular industry today. What better way to pay tribute than to play golf with him and his former managers and colleagues?

Dan was a legend. From a sales territory in humble east-central Indiana, he set company sales records for 30 years in his industry. He won national sales awards almost annually, and international sales awards more than once. And you'd never know it.

Dan was (and is) a good, humble man. His effectiveness was due to a few factors we would all be wise to adopt.

Said one long-time customer, "Dan had instant credibility." Instant credibility. He wasn't a showman or a smooth talker. He was sincerely friendly, and patently honest. He made the claims without exaggeration, but also without apology. He welcomed questions because that's how answers are communicated and problems are solved and applications discovered.

Said another long-time customer, "A competitor had a new product they wanted me to buy. It was the first of its kind on the market. I never used it. Then Dan's company introduced a similar product, and I used it -- because Dan explained it in the clearest possible way and I finally understood the benefits."

And I've heard over and over how Dan would be repetitive on the things that were important. This is where many businesses and salespeople struggle. They get tired of their own message long before the market does, so they flit from campaign to campaign and idea to idea without giving their messages time to sink in. Dan drove the points home on the subjects that really mattered to his customers.

You can win awards, and you can earn respect. A lot of people have trouble combining the two. My friend Dan, who did me a great favor ten years ago, did both.

Labels: customers, marketing, salesmanship