Benefits Think The simple secret to selling

A simple triangle sketched on a soiled bar napkin changed my selling and changed my life. It happened 30 years ago as I sat at the bar in a dark, smoky café in Amsterdam. I thought I knew how to sell. A top salesman at my company, they already called me their “sales superstar.” I’d had all the best sales training — features and benefits, overcoming objections, and my favorite, “ABC” (always be closing). But still, I didn’t know how to sell. Not the right way. Not the way that makes selling easy.

Next to me sat a Dutch native, “Petric.” I never learned his last name. Sadly, at the end of a long evening of strong drink, I failed to get his business card. We discovered that we both were in sales, and I soon learned that he was the top producer in all of Europe in some sort of industrial electronics. After several drinks, Petric leaned in and asked if I wanted to know his success secret. “Yes, of course.”