The Experience of BIRTH OF A SALESMAN

Hello all!

First, I want to thank everyone who has followed the website, the YouTube video(s) and Facebook posts for "Birth of a Salesman." Mastering the selling game, writing a novel, getting it published and marketing it ARE NOT easy things to do. Why do I do them you might ask?

As I stated in my first YouTube video for the novel, I feel we are on this earth such a brief time it is our duty to impart the wisdom and knowledge and talents we have on those we encounter. When I landed in a sales job at age 22 fresh out of college, I had some trepidation because I had no idea it would be something I would be good at. However, because I had the fundamentals, the personality, the intelligence and the ability to communicate, crossed with the competitive fire of a professional athlete, I was a star.

I was promoted to management at age 24 and quickly ascended to the #1 position out of 120+ managers in my division. I have sold telecommunications products and services, cable, Internet, wireless, advertising products and services, search products, web products - you name it. At age 26 I was promoted yet again into a new endeavor and a year later I took over an entire division. Each time, I learned the ropes, mastered the game and helped others achieve the success I had managed to achieve.

By no means can anyone go at it alone. Especially the higher you go, you need people. You need them to want to work for you and with you. You need them to try hard for you, to support you and to respect you. Truth be told, it is not an easy task which is why many fail. But I never have.

Believe me: I have made plenty of mistakes. I have let emotions get the best of me. I have been mercilessly attacked by haters and jealous peers who sometimes hit my sensitive spots. I have made bad decisions from time to time. I have also worked with a lot of unscrupulous people, seen horrific management practices and worked for people who ruled with fear, intimidation and threats. In short, I have seen the underbelly of Corporate America and lived to tell about it.

In 1999 as a college sophomore, I sat at a coffee house with my best friend. He being off the beaten path a bit, always a bit of a beatnik and poet, we always seemed to be approached by people of his ilk in these establishments. That cold night in December, a woman talked about the importance of journaling your experiences.

That night in December 1999 I started a journal. I have since amassed over 900 pages in it, but those experiences, mistakes, pitfalls and platitudes have guided me a lot over the years. By no means am I finished stumbling, but I stumbled and fell through the art of mastering the selling game so you don't have to.

"Birth of a Salesman" was born in August 2009. Honestly, I had been watching a show where a main character was a writer and, after a long conversation that night with a friend, she convinced me it was time to begin.

I have always enjoyed writing. My mother first put me in front of a typewriter at age 3. Back then I typed mere sentences. As time went by it became more and more; I won some writing contests in grade school, wrote movie screenplays in college and finally, in the Corporate world as a division manager, I was writing bi-weekly newsletter columns on sales and business acumen.

The book was always in my head. Now it is headed to paper. For, writing the book itself was one thing, but someone who has not written a novel has no idea how many times you read and re-read your work until it's "just right." And, even when it's "just right" how many times you wake up at 3:30 in the morning obsessed with adding or deleting something. And, even when it's "just right" how a friend of yours you trust to read it rips it apart. And, even when it's "just right" how you have trouble reading it and wonder if anyone will like it.

In the end, "Birth of a Salesman" was born; it is the quintessential HOW-TO-SELL book, covering all facets of the sales process from preparation to introductions to fact-finding questions, the presentation, the pitch, the close and the overcomes. The book discusses not only the attitude and charisma required, but the time management necessary, the professionalism and the follow-up. No stone is left unturned.

Surrounding the chapters of the book-within-the-book (the how-to-sell part) entitled "The Selling Game" is the story of VINCENT SCOTT, the protagonist - a relatively young, wildly successful and popular corporate leader. The novel takes place in late 2009-early 2010 but contains flashbacks over his prior ten years - the highs and lows, the joys and sorrows and the friends and foes that shaped his rise to power.

Vincent and his sales team are heading into the uncertain future of an ethics investigation of their district supervisor - a situation that threatens the existence of their fledgling department. The district supervisor leads through fear, intimidation, threats, secrets and lies and bullies any manager who opposes him. Upstart Vincent, however, is the one who refuses to buckle. Because he is so valuable to the operation, Vincent has remained unscathed so far, but when his boss learns of the mutiny going on under his nose, no one is safe.

So - why did I write the book? My passion for writing, for the sales process and for the lessons of life could be held back no longer.

I'm not here for anyone to like me. I'm here in hopes people learn from me. I have a lot to give and if someone else can find the levels of success I have achieved over the years it is worth it.

When a rep or manager that worked for me had a breakthrough because of something I did or said, that meant the world to me. I have recruited, hired, trained, coached, mentored and managed hundreds of people over the years. And if "Birth of a Salesman" can multiply that number, it achieved its quest.

All the best!