Lessons in Adversity

I was hired as a new home sales representative in February of 1987 in the Bay Area of Northern California. The market was strong in the mid-1980’s and it would only get stronger for the remainder of the decade. I never lacked for sales in those early years. In fact, a good part of my job was handling campouts and managing long waiting lists.

I would have told you at the time that I was a great salesperson – and I would have meant it. I was driving a brand new BMW. I bought a new home. There was food on the table and a decent pair of shoes on my feet. By 1989 I was making more than my parents had ever made in one year – combined. Oh sure, I was highly leveraged and in debt, but with my income there was certainly no need to worry, right?

For those of you who are familiar with California economic history you know where this story is headed. In early 1990 the real estate market began its rapid decline into a deep slump. The downturn was sudden and unexpected. The decline was head-spinning.

At first there was denial. “This is a temporary thing. The market is bound to correct itself at some point.”  After that came excuses. “The problem is we just aren’t getting good quality traffic. We need better ads.”  After a short while the confidence began to erode. And then the desperation began to set in. I had to face the reality that I was not prepared for a market downturn. I did not have the skills and I certainly did not have the mental toughness.

And that is when I first learned to sell. I recognized that in a strong market I could blow off the customers with the tough situations. After all, there were always more (and easier) prospects just outside the door. But in a tough market I needed to embrace the difficult challenges that my customers raised.

One of my early mentors in sales was a gentleman (and I use that term with all its best meaning) named Bill Kinnaird. He was a veteran who had already seen tough markets and had lived to tell about them. Bill had a way of counseling his customers through their concerns with grace and ease. He was self-confident without being the least bit arrogant. The most important thing I learned from Bill was that it shouldn’t matter what is happening in the market – a sales counselor should always be prepared to handle the challenges of any customer in any market condition. Bill taught me that handling tough situations in a strong market means you will maximize the opportunities that come your way, and that handling the tough situations in a weak market means you will get the sales that others will not.

I was a successful salesperson right out of the gate. But I was only an effective salesperson when I learned how to handle some of the more tricky aspects of sales in challenging conditions.